DAY 1 ARRIVE GUYANA

Today is planned as an arrival day. Flights to Georgetown, Guyana. International flights usually arrive after dark at the recently renovated Cheddi Jagan International Airport, located 25 miles south of the capital city, Georgetown. You’ll be met at the airport by a representative from our team with a sign with your name on it. You will be transferred directly to your comfortable hotel, a drive that will take about 45 minutes.

Overnight at Georgetown Hotel (meals on your own)

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DAY 2 GEORGETOWN: MAHAICA RIVER, MUDFLATS, BOTANICAL GARDENS

This morning we’ll leave our hotel at 4:30 AM (having downed a cup or two of caffeine to help us get started!) and head eastward along the Atlantic coast, making a few stops to check out the mud flats for Scarlet Ibises as they set out to feed at dawn. We will continue towards the community of Mahaica where we’ll take a boat trip along the river. Among our targets will be Guyana’s national bird, the bizarre, primitive Hoatzin, found in abundance on this river system. We’ll also look for a host of other species including Green-tailed Jacamar, Little Cuckoo, Striped Cuckoo, Wing-barred Seedeater, Plain-crowned Spinetail, Spot-breasted Woodpecker, Long-winged Harrier, Barred Antshrike, Silvered Antbird, Blood-colored Woodpecker and White-bellied Piculet, White-tailed Goldenthroat and the Rufous Crab Hawk (localized). Depending on the level of the tide, we’ll check the shoreline for birds such as Scarlet Ibis, Mangrove Rail, White-cheeked Pintail, Western Sandpipers, Whimbrel, Black-bellied Plover, Short-billed Dowitcher, Tricolored Heron, Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, Little Blue Heron, Magnificent Frigatebird, Royal, Gull-billed and Least Tern. After birding the shoreline we’ll make our way back to Georgetown, for lunch.

During the afternoon, we’ll visit the Georgetown Botanical Gardens or the Georgetown National Park, an area of parkland with open grass, scattered trees, bushes and several ponds and wet areas. Here we will target several special birds including Blood-colored Woodpecker, White-bellied Piculet, the gorgeous Spotted Toddy-Flycatcher, Rusty-margined Flycatcher, Southern Beardless Tyrannulet, Great-horned Owl, Lesser Kiskadee, Black-capped Donacobius, Yellow-chinned Spinetail, Wing-barred Seedeater, Straight-billed Woodcreeper, Black-collared Hawk, and plenty of Snail Kites.

In the treetops, we’ll hope to see Red-shouldered Macaw, Orange-winged, Yellow-crowned and Mealy Amazons, and, with luck, the Festive Amazon, a species in serious decline due to the pet trade. If the trees are flowering, we’ll search for hummingbirds such as Black-throated Mango, and a trio of Emerald hummingbirds: Glittering-throated, Plain-bellied and White-chested. You will then return to the hotel for dinner.
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Overnight at Georgetown Hotel (B, L, D)

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DAY 3 FLY TO KAITEUR FALLS,  2 HOUR STOP, THEN ON TO SURAMA ECO LODGE

After breakfast at your hotel, and depending on the weather condition on the day of travel, we’ll take a chartered flight over miles and miles of unbroken pristine tropical rainforest canopy and is one of the most striking features of Guyana, some would refer to it as the sea of broccoli. After about an hour of flying, we’ll arrive at one of the world’s most powerful water falls, known as the might Kaieteur Falls. Though Venezuela’s Angel Falls is greater in total height, its filamentous drop occurs by stages, whereas Kaieteur is a single massive, thundering cascade 100 meters wide, created as the Potaro River makes a sheer drop of 226 meters, nearly five times the height of Niagara Falls. The spectacle is even more impressive for its remoteness. It is altogether possible that we’ll be the only persons viewing it. Here, we hope to find White-chinned, White-tipped, White-Collared Swifts swirling over the gorge, and the Roraiman Antbird in the dense understory and around rocky boulders. The Guianan Cock-of-the Rock, Orange-bellied Manakin and Plumbeous Euphonia are also possible here. Other regular sightings are Orange-breasted Falcon, Cliff Flycatcher Tepui Golden-throat and Rufous-crown Elaenia. Our time with the charter flight here is limited to 2 hours ground time. We will have bottled water, soda drinks, sandwiches, nuts, and crackers, that we can snack on before arriving at our next destination for a late lunch. Weather willing, after a 2-hour stop at the falls, our flight will continue to Surama Village where we’ll be transferred to the Surama Eco Lodge in the heart of Guyana’s beautiful rainforest.

Arriving at the lodge by 3 pm, we’ll settle into our accommodations before enjoying a late lunch and prepare for the afternoon birding excursion on the nearby forest trails. We’ll keep our focus on finding the Finch’s Euphonia, Cayanne jay, Marail Guan, and if weather permits we’ll try for Ocellated or Ash-throated Crake. Dinner will be served back at the lodge.

Overnight at Surama Eco Lodge (B, L, D)

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DAY 4 BURRO BURRO RIVER TRAIL – NEOMORPHUS AND ANT SWARM DAY

This morning, waking up by the delightful chorus of dawn, we’ll enjoy an early breakfast before heading out in the nearby forest trails near the lodge. Here we will focus, on finding the Lined and Slaty-backed Forest Falcon, Fiery-tailed Awlbill, Gianan Red Cotinga, Yellow-crowned Elaenia and our first chance to for the Rufous-winged Ground Cuckoo. Our best chance is to locate a swarm of army ants or if they are calling, we have a good chance. Other possibilities are Red-necked Woodpecker, Brown-bellied Stipplethroat, Caica Parrot, Painted Toddy-Flycatcher, Golden-headed Manakin, Rufous-throated Antbird, Red-Legged Tinamou, Blue-throated Piping Guan, Rufous-throated and White-plumed Antbird, Black-throated Antshrike, Black-spotted Barbet, Cayanne Jay, Red-Fan Parrot, Waved Woodpecker, Gray-winged Trumpeter and and Tepui Parrotlet.

During the afternoon, we will make a special effort to see the Ocellated Crake also known as the “Ghost Bird”. This may take some effort to see, but is worth the challenge. At dusk we’ll visit an area where the Tepui Parrotlet usually fly over to go to their roost or we can try for the Red-Legged Tinamou, Long-tailed Hermit, Guianan Streaked Antwren and Grey winged Trumpeter.

Overnight at Surama Eco Lodge (B, L, D)

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DAY 5 SURAMA HARPY EAGLE NATURE TRAIL

Today, another early start will find us in primary forest, this time to try our luck for the Red-billed and Northern Long-tailed Woodcreeper. There are also possibilities for seeing the Rufous-bellied Antwren, White-throated Manakin, Cinnamon-rumped Foliage-gleaner and Black-throated Antshrike. The Neomorphus and the Crimson Fruitcrow are also possible on this trail as this area is prime habitat. The Ferruginous-backed Antbird is another beauty here. We will have lunch then continue birding along the access road heading back to the lodge. On tree tops canopy flocks can produce, Blue-backed Tanager, Short-billed Honeycreeper, Todd’s and Spot-tailed Antwren, Ash-winged Antwren, Black-spotted Barbet, Buff-cheeked Greenlet, Lemon-chested Greenlet, Olive-green Tyrannulet and a host of other canopy species. During the evening we’ll try for Black-banded Owl, Long-tailed Potoo and Crested Owl.

Overnight at Surama Eco Lodge (B, L, D)

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DAY 6 FOREST TRAILS AND SURAMA ACCESS ROAD

We have added this extra day to spend more needed time looking for birds we may have missed. There have been regular sightings of the Wing-banded Antbird in this area. We will also look for the Guianan Red Cotinga, Crimson Fruitcrow, Rufous-winged Ground Cuckoo. Finding these specialties requires some amount of effort, but with the knowledge of skilled local guides we’ll have a good chance of locating one. Finding a swarm of army ants will significantly increase our chances. Other possibilities are Golden-collared Woodpecker, White Plumed, Black-chinned and Ferruginous-backed Antbirds, Spotted Antpitta, Rufous-bellied Antwren, we’ll enjoy a full day of birding on the forest trails, following understory flocks. We’ll return to the lodge for lunch. During the afternoon, we’ll try for Tawny-bellied Screech Owl and Amazonian Pygmy Owl, which are found within the environs of the Eco Lodge.

Overnight at Surama Eco Lodge (B, L, D)

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DAY 7 SURAMA TO ATTA RAINFOREST LODGE TRANSFER

After a final breakfast at Surama Eco Lodge, we’ll drive to Atta Rainforest, home of the Iwokrama Canopy Walkway. With plenty of birding stops en-route, possibilities include Marail Guan, Green Aracari, Guianan Puffbird, Dusky Purpletuft, Black-spotted Barbet, Ornate and Black Hawk-Eagles, Tiny Hawk, Black-bellied Cuckoo, Blue-backed Tanager, Pompadour, Spangled and Purple-breasted Cotinga. We plan to arrive at our next lodge by noon for lunch.

This comfortable lodge, located in prime rainforest habitat, is one of the very best birding hot spots in the country. One of our key target species here is White-winged Potoo, and we’ll spend the late evening birding at a stakeout to see this bird. Other species found here include Crimson Topaz, Black Curassow, Guianan-streaked Antwren, Green-tailed Jacamar, Guianan Tyrannulet, Red-fan Parrot, and Guianan Toucanet. Dinner will be back at the lodge.

Overnight at Atta Rainforest Lodge (B, L, D)

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DAY 8 ATTA LODGE BIRDING FOR THE CANOPY WALKWAY

The experience at Atta Lodge is unique in many ways, apart from its pristine rainforest surroundings, it has a structure that is called the Iwokrama Canopy Walkway and will give you the opportunity to bird form a higher elevation among the tree. We’ll spend the entire morning birding from the plat forms. After an early breakfast, we’ll take a trail out to the Walkway, it was designed in a way where you’ll have to climb the 120+ steps to the towers and spend some time watching for canopy dwellers, if we’re lucky, Todd’s Antwren, Spot-tailed Antwren, Guianan Toucanet, Green Aracari, Caica Parrot, Black-headed Parrot, Guianan Puffbird, Dusky Purpletuft, Paradise Tanager, Opal-rumped Tanager, Golden-sided Euphonia, Green Aracari, Guianan Woodcreeper, and Black Nunbird to name a few. We’ll spend the remainder of the morning searching the many remarkable birds that make this area home, Black Curassow, Red-fan Parrot, Marail Guan, Waved Woodpecker, Long-tailed Woodcreeper and Ringed Woodpecker.

Overnight at Atta Rainforest Lodge (B, L, D)

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DAY 9 ATTA RAINFOREST LODGE TO ROCK VIEW LODGE

Our final morning birding near Atta Rainforest Lodge we’ll spend time at the White Sand Forest patch, not far from our lodge. This unique habitat offers a variety of white sand specialties including, Saffron-crested Tyrant Manakin, Bronzy Jacamar, McConnell’s Flycatcher and the recently found Pelzin’s Toddy Tyrant, Guianan Schiffornis, Yellow-throated Flycatcher, Spotted Puffbird, and Cinnamon Manakin-Tyrant. Campina Thrush.

After a final morning of forest birding, we’ll head south wards to Rock View Lodge. The area is located on the northern corner of the Rupununi region and supports a high species

Overnight at Rock View Lodge (B, L, D)

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DAY 10 ROCK VIEW LODGE – BIRDING THE RUPUNUNI RIVER – BOATING TRIP

The Rupununi savanna is an extensive flatland that projects south to the border with Brazil. It hosts extensive tropical grasslands and areas with scattered trees (savanna) as well as shrubs and scrubby vegetation. Ecologically speaking, it is part of a series of savannas separating the forest of three immense biomes, the Orinoquian the Amazonian and the Guianan Shield. Despite its apparent homogeneity, there are various microhabitats where highly specialized birds are found. For this reason, we will invest our morning birding along the Rupununi River with a chance to visit an Oxbow Lake where we’ll be in some wetlands and scrubby vegetation to target Amazonian Black Tyrant in the dense undergrowth, while in tall Gallery Forest we hope to find Crestless Curassow. Though very wary of humans this species has been seen along the Rupununi River and we have a good chance of seeing one. The Agami Heron, are also present in the area along with Boat-Billed Heron, Capped Heron, Sungrebe and Sunbittern. We are also likely to see five species of kingfisher along this river system.

During the afternoon period we will explore the short seasonal grasses for Buff-necked Ibis, Pinnated Bittern, Pantanal Snipe or the dull Yellowish Pipit that may be singing there. Other open country birds we might come across include Aplomado Falcon, Pearl Kite and American Kestrel. After a good afternoon of birding in open country, we’ll return to the lodge for evening drinks, and dinner.

Overnight at Rock View Lodge (B, L, D)

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DAY 11 KARASABAI VILLAGE TO MANARI RANCH BIRDING THE RUPUNUNI SAVANNAHS – SUN PARAKEET ADVENTURE

Today will be a very special day. Another early departure from our comfortable lodge will take us to the community of Karasabai, an Indigenous village in the foothills of the Pakaraima Mountains, where the astonishingly beautiful Sun Parakeet is found. This area is a good example of a bird conservation project hosted by a local community. Once almost wiped-out of the region by intense trapping for the pet trade, there is now a thriving population of over 500 Sun Parakeets in this area. We are likely to spend some time learning from the Karasabai community about this successful conservation program. We will also look for the distinctive subspecies of the White-bellied Piculet and Yellow-hooded Blackbird, which may soon be elevated to full species status. Hooded Siskin, Toco Toucan and ferruginous Pygmy-Owl are also present.

After lunch, we will bird our way back across the savannas to Manari Ranch, on the outskirts of Lethem looking for open country birds, such as Crested Doradito and Bearded Tachuri. The drive will likely take all afternoon, but the comfort of Manari Ranch we will relax and enjoy an early dinner. At dusk we’ll watch the skies for Lesser, Least and Nacunda Nighthawks leaving their roosting sites for their foraging grounds.

Overnight at Manari Ranch (B,L,D)

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DAY 12 RED SISKIN QUEST

This morning we’ll meet our local guides who have been studying the rare and localized Red Siskin, a bird only discovered in Guyana in 2000. We will dedicate our efforts to seeing birds near the foothills of the Kanaku Mountains Protected Area, and we’ll be in the competent hands of our local guide who will know where the birds are feeding. If weather conditions are good, we may find them at water seepages from large rock sheets where we usually enjoy great views. If needed, we’ll visit some Siskin feeding sites. In the area we will have additional chances for a range of other savannah birds including Sharp-tailed Ibis, Yellowish Pipit, Double-striped Thick-knee, Grassland Sparrow, Eared Dove, Vermillion Flycatcher, American Kestrel, White-barred Piculet and Chivi Vireo. After a good morning of birding activities, we have lunch at the community of Sandcreek before driving back to Manari Ranch for evening drinks, checklist and dinner. On the return trip we’ll try for the Bearded Tachuri.

Overnight at Manari Ranch (B, L, D)

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DAY 13 IRENG RIVER GALLERY FOREST – SPINETAIL & ANTBIRD

Another early morning start will have us leave our delightful base where we have access to the dry scrub gallery forest and savannah alongside the Takatu and Iring Rivers. Once again, our 4×4’s will come into play as we move to an area where two highly restricted and poorly known species occur, namely Hoary-throated Spinetail, and Rio Branco Antbird. These two birds will be our main focus, and once under our belts, we will spend the remainder of the morning searching areas of wetlands as well as the savannah habitat for a variety of species, such as Pinnated Bittern, Maguari Stork, Double-striped Thick-knee, Pantanal Snipe, Pied-billed and Least Grebe, Crested Bobwhite, Pearl Kite, White-tailed Kite, Savanna Hawk, Aplomado Falcons, Brown-throated Parakeet, Pale-legged Hornero, Fork-tailed Palm Swift, Sooty-capped Hermit, White-tailed Goldenthroat, Rufous-tailed Jacamar, White-bellied Piculet, Black-crested and Barred Antshrikes, Mouse-colored Tyrannulet, Yellow-olive and Ochre-lored Flatbill, Vermilion, Short-crested and Fork-tailed Flycatchers, Yellowish Pipit and Orange-backed Troupial. We’ll head back to the Ranch for lunch and prepare for check in on the afternoon flight back to Georgetown. The flight is just under an hour you will be picked up by one of our staff at the airport and take straight to your hotel. You will enjoy a final dinner at the hotel.

Overnight at Georgetown Hotel (B,L,D)

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DAY 14 INTERNATIONAL DEPARTURE FOR HOME

Our designated driver will pick you up form the hotel to take you to the airport for your departing flight. END OF TOUR

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