We explored the landscape today from three different viewpoints. Starting with terra firma, the land that does not flood during high water season, we explored the Amazon Natural Park, a private park that has a magnificent forest and lake.
We began with a paddle across the fishponds, where we found long-nosed bats all lined up on several thick sticks that were stuck in the lake. The cryptic coloring of the bats could easily convince you that they were simply bumps on a trunk. Upon reaching the far side of the lake we took off on the trails and were introduced to a forest with magnificent buttress root trees, vines as thick as your arm, and the opportunity to mosey across several mid-canopy level bridges. The bridges brought our view to more of a monkey eye level, and some of us were actually able to look down upon as a small troop of saddleback tamarins came scampering through the jungle. As this group of small monkeys moved through the forest, they seemed to be slightly perplexed to be looking up towards people, their viewpoint was a bit different today as well. Upon return, our crossing of the lake was accompanied by a rousing round of row, row, row your boat, giving our paddlers a bit of rhythm to pace their work to.
Our investigations and view came down to water level for the afternoon. Navigating up Nauta Cano by skiff or by kayak both endeavors were richly rewarded. Three sightings of three-toed sloths and a tree full of squirrel monkeys were found before the kayakers had even started to paddle. Howler monkeys could be heard in the distance. With the falling water level of the river, fish are being concentrated into smaller and smaller pools. Great egrets, snowy egrets, and Cocoi herons are taking advantage of this dining opportunity and dozens of these birds lined the banks of the waterway. Ringed and Amazon kingfishers were to be found on practically every other tree branch and black-collared hawks were in force as well. One of the hawks was sighted flying with a fish in its talons.
As the sun set, clouds moved in and the skies lit up in saturated orange, peach, and banana yellow tones, or, here in the tropics would that be papaya, camu camu, and plantain hues? In the far distance we could see great thunderheads dumping rain upriver, an occasional flash of lightening would light up the clouds for a moment or two.
While our day was finished, our night had just begun. Our last perspective was standing in the forest, at night, with an occasional blink of a lightening bug on as we listened to the croak of frogs, the striations of katydid strumming’s and an occasional dog bark from the nearby town of Amazonas.
From sun up to sun down and into darkness, from the treetops to the river, we explored the varied habitat layers and the variety of perspectives each niche contains.
