Hi, it's Elliot again. I'm on the way home but I wanted to write one last blog about the trip.
The rain forest is a really cool place but we didn't see as much as we might have because of really unusual weather while we were there. The temperatures were in the 60's instead of the 90's like we expected. Most of the animals were cold and hiding but we did still see some really cool stuff.
One highlight for me was that we saw all of the five different species of Amazonian macaws. Another was a mouse possum that I spotted in the dark with the help of my flashlight. It was eating a spider almost as big as it was (check out the photo I took).
One highlight for me was that we saw all of the five different species of Amazonian macaws. Another was a mouse possum that I spotted in the dark with the help of my flashlight. It was eating a spider almost as big as it was (check out the photo I took).
We also saw hoatzins, agoutis, monkeys, a capybara, a spectacled caiman, and huge red squirrels.
Right as we were leaving, the weather got a lot better. On the boat ride back down the river, we saw the jungle come to life as it warmed up. First, we finally saw parrots and macaws at the clay lick. When it is warm they come to eat clay for their digestion every day, but because of the cold they had not been there.
Then a little farther down the river, I spotted my very favorite animal of the trip. I noticed a huge white-and-gray bird perched in a tree that stuck out of the forest. We were hoping it was a harpy eagle so we showed our guide and asked him what he thought. He said we were right! That made the whole trip worthwhile because harpy eagles are so rare. Most of the guides had seen only one or two in their lives and some had never seen them before at all, so we felt very lucky!
Hey Elliot! That is a really cool photo of the mouse possum! I'd love to see some of the other photos that you took of wildlife. That was a also super cool Harpy Eagle that you spotted from our boat! I'm really glad that you were in my group; I learned a lot about the different types of birds from you.
Yeah! A blog also pretty much entirely about animals. I loved that picture of the mouse possum. If you didn't write it in your blog I would have thought the spider it was eating was a leaf. I have this binder that has all these cool animal fact sheets in them (I subscribed to get the fact sheets for a few months) and one of the fact sheets is about the harpy eagles! I can't believe you got to see them! They spend most of their time up in the canopy so it must have been pretty far up. Cool! I can't wait to here more about the trip, and I am completely (and fully inspired) determined to win this trip. I know I have what it takes. It would just be such an honor to win!
A harpy eagle! I'm SOOOO jealous! But very happy for you.
--Becca's mom (a fellow birdwatcher)