Day 33

We woke up early to pack up and move to Rock Landing, which I hear has many amazing things like the dart frogs. We had a drive and then stopped at Surama for lunch, and since I was the herpetologist, I didn't need to be on the first round of boats. I waited till about 3 pm and then headed to the river's edge to get picked up by the boats with others. It was about a forty-five-minute boat ride to the site, and the water has been very low for the last week due to lack of rain. One of my most desired animals is the green anaconda, so large exposed roots are a great place to look for them when basking. No sighting this time, but I was keen on looking for them the rest of the time.

Rock Landing has these nice structures in their common areas. I went into the forest and started setting up my hammock. By the time I finished, it was dinner time, so I headed over to grab food. After dinner, we went out on the boat since the water was so low. We hoped to see some stuff near the water's edge. There was lots of mammal activity but not much in the way of reptiles, unfortunately. We did see and caught one amazon tree boa that was right next to camp. The Bat team set up their nets and brought back some unique bats, and I got a chance to photograph them and a whip scorpion before heading to bed.

Day 34

I woke up to a chorus of dart frogs calling all over the place. I got up and saw a bunch right next to camp. They are a very jittery species, so it is pretty hard to photograph them, but I managed to get my photos.

We went on a morning walk to see what was around. Lots of bushmaster have been seen at this site, so I was keen on exploring. I saw three adult dart frogs, and the habitat here looked awesome, lots of giant boulders once you get to the hill part. Next, we went to this massive fallen tree, and a dart frog hopped across it, so I also jumped on the tree to see if anything was there and got a good photo. I discovered a small pool in a divot in the tree not too far from the base of its trunk and saw little dart frog tadpoles inside! Mammal Sean had pulled most of his cameras, so I thought it would be great if we set up some camera traps and catch some dart frogs caring for their young. We took off after lunch to go and set up the cameras. We placed one to look at the pool vertically along the top of the pool and then another horizontally to face down into the pool. If we get footage of this, we can potentially get a natural history note. So, we set them up and hoped for the best.

That evening was pretty chill, and I ran a game of werewolves after dinner, then headed out on my survey. I was not expecting anything just thought it would be a nice area to go to because of a potential bushmaster. As we walk by this bushy area, the guide shouts "snake" and says, "tree boa." So, I assume it is an amazon tree boa. Then I get closer and see that spectacular emerald green color and immediately knew what it was…an emerald tree boa, and I could not believe my eyes as this was the snake I was looking for! The most target snake for herpetologists when they come to South America. This emerald was a juvenile and was stunning. It has gone through its complete color change, so it is a high green color with yellow underneath. We captured it and headed back to camp to show off this stunning animal.

Day 35

I wanted to get out on the water this day before all the rivers fill up from the rains, so I have a successful chance at seeing an anaconda. No anaconda, but about halfway through the boat trip, we saw an animal I have never seen before, two young capybaras and a mother. It was fascinating to see how she stayed in the water as if to distract us so her young ones could make their way up the bank.

That evening, I corrected my data for the annual report that we do here at Opwall, and I heard my name being called and people yelling "snake." I got up and saw Brian motioning me to follow him, and I bolted after him to the forest but was in my Bedrocks flip flops, so the mud made it hard to run. I tossed them off and kept running barefoot through the mud. Brian said, “big boa”, and when we got to the spot to look for it, I saw it was a large rainbow boa. It was absolutely incredible seeing this snake and catching it to show everyone else. The snake had some scales missing from its head, most likely due to predation from a bird, I would imagine, at some point in its life.

We held him, and I showed it around so everyone could see it. Then put him away so I could go out on a survey that night. We wanted to do a boat one, but unfortunately, the weather was coming in, so we had to stick to a night walk. It started raining while we were out, and it sounded like a waterfall in the distance, so I put on my rain stuff and prepared for the deluge. We walked the hour or so back in the rain and got completely soaked. But it was alright because I still had a smile on my face from catching that big rainbow boa. Then I went to bed.

Day 36

This morning we went on a walk, and the others found a coral snake that I did not see because they are such a cryptic and fossorial species that can move under the leaf litter very efficiently. We also saw two juvenile poison dart frogs that were absolutely beautiful.

That night we went on a boat ride, and it was a fun one. We noticed some big beautiful amazon tree boas of multiple colors, and I spotted a beautiful lizard I have not seen yet. Monkey-tailed lizards also called bush anole’s are very cool and have some sweet colors, so I grabbed the lizard for photos and processing.

After an hour of cruising, we spotted a gorgeous snake resting on top of a tree over the river. The guides quickly ID'd it as a yacman. This snake was what I assume is called an amazon whip snake.

They are very visual snakes who have lots of speed when they hunt. We jam the boat into the tree area that the snake was under, and the snake started to wake up and getaway. We pulled the tree to us, and I managed to hook its tail down to me, so I grabbed it, and I got the snake but then felt the boat move. The next thing I knew, I was falling into the river. Before I fell all the way in, though, I managed to toss the snake to Justin, who then managed to tail it on the side of the boat. My thigh fell onto this metal rod on the boat that is used to connect the row paddles. This hurt like hell, but I guess it gave me enough time to grab onto a tree. My whole ass, thigh, and up to my stomach area got wet, and I looked up, and thankfully Dexter, my guide, grabbed me and pulled me into the boat. I quickly checked if my phone was still there, and it was, so I went and wrestled with the snake, which I managed to pin and then secure in the rice bag.

After that craziness, everyone on the boat just sat there and laughed as they processed what happened. We went back and went to bed for the night.

Day 37

I woke up and went on a hike and am still thrilled because of what I had caught the night before. We did not see much in that hike aside from the stunning dart frogs. They act entirely different in terms of behavior than any frog I have ever seen before.

I come back from the hike and was just relaxing, plugging in data, and I hear my favorite word again. "Snake, snake, get herp Sean"! I headed over with my hook and saw Justin wrangling a skinny snake. At first glance, I thought it was a vine snake, but once I saw that infamous mouth display, I knew it was a parrot snake.

They are slightly on the venomous side but still a colubrid and have this amazing behavior of widening their mouths at a threat. This makes for some great photos. We took some pictures, and I put him away because it was still hot out, and I did not want to bring the snakes out in direct sunlight. As it was getting to 3:30 pm, I brought out the amazon whip snake that I caught the night before and was just opening the bag when I heard that cry again. "Snake, snake, get herp Sean"! So, I book it into the woods, and to my surprise, I find a red-headed racer (officially a brown sepo) with stunning keeled ridged scales going along its spine. What an amazing snake to see!

I taught Justin and Shane some snake-handling technics because these types of snakes are very quick and flighty, which is great practice. We got out every snake that I had caught the previous day and worked with them, took photos, and processed the snakes. I have been so lucky to see all these unique species in the last bit of this trip. Our group was sitting by the river when another bush anole just decided to show up out of random. Unlike the other, we found this one was solid brown.

That night we went out hiking, and I was walking ahead and missed a snake because I then heard one of the uni students yell "snake," so I went out to see what it was and what I found was amazing. Perched upon a leaf was a beautiful juvenile yellow-tailed cribo. They are so wicked cool because they can get up to eight feet long, eat other snakes, and prey upon bushmaster and fer de lance. I put him in a snake bag, and we continued our survey.

I spotted a snake going along a tree and first thought it was a false coral but what threw me off was the head shape. I tapped it with my snake hook and found out it was a coral snake. Coral snakes have bands that wrap around their whole body, and they also do this behavior where they flip their tail up and wiggle it like it is their head.

I did not take it because they are venomous, and I do not have permission to bring venomous snakes into camp. I also spotted a bizarre-looking microhylid frog that had such a beautiful color and yellow belly. We continued our hike, but it started to rain, so we went back to camp. Took some great bat photos with the specimens from the bat team.

Day 38

I woke up and just had a chill day as this was our last day in Rock Landing, so I went and photographed more of the dart frogs.

That afternoon, I noticed a group of king vultures flying overhead riding the thermals, so I got out my camera to photograph them. Also, I saw a group of proboscis bats roosting on the side of a palm in the river and got a photo of them since they are so skittish.

This epic large Ceiba tree wasn't far from camp, and I love to take selfies with large trees. So I headed out to get a selfie with this stunning tree.

That evening, we looked for reptiles, which was the last transect I would do for Opwall this year. We found some of the more common species, like the cane toad and false coral snake. I still wanted to find an amazon horned frog again because they are such a remarkable species, and I did not professionally photograph the first one I saw the first night. My eyes are on the ground, and I hear Dexter say "jaguar," and I look up to see yellow eyes dart across the road. We walk quietly to the spot at which the cat crossed, and I shine in with my head torch in a focused beam; and Dexter spotted it first, but there it was. Not a jaguar, actually, but a beautiful male ocelot. This cat was gorgeous. This is the third cat I have ever seen in the wild and the best view I have ever gotten. I have witnessed bobcats before in Florida but from very far away. The cat stood there for a good thirty seconds before he started moving. The cat began to move diagonally from the road, and we kept moving on the road and were still able to catch sight of the cat using our torches. We headed back to camp and did not see anything much else. I went to bed early because I had a big day ahead.

Day 39

I woke up early to pack all my stuff because I was heading to Sandstone with the group. It is the campsite I had initially been to five weeks ago and had seen some great stuff. The other staff went to Surama to chill out, but I felt that I would regret it if I skipped out on going to Sandstone. A harpy eagle chick has been seen at a nest, so I wanted to try to see this amazing bird. It was also my last chance to photograph the gorgeous dart frogs, and I went around trying to find as many as I could. They indeed are one of the most challenging creatures I have ever photographed.

We then got on the boats and headed out. It was a relatively cloudy day, so I had my camera ready and tucked under my waterproof bag if we see anything. We pass the harpy tree and have no luck. We then took a piss break, and it started to pour. The boat ride is around five and a half hours long. It poured a good bit on us, so I packed my camera up. What was great about the boat ride is that we saw so many proboscis bats, which are a unique species. I already got my photograph of them the other day because they are a challenging species to photograph. We passed the harpy eagle nest and, unfortunately, did not see the chick. We kept on going looking for wildlife.

We got to camp, and I set up my hammock and was waiting for the night to go herping, as this was my last time to see the mata mata potentially. The other boats pull in, and they all say they saw the harpy sitting in the nest right after we left. The rain had come in, and I think the juvenile was somewhere else and flew to the nest when it started raining. I was pretty bummed out about that, but there was hope for tomorrow because we were passing through the same route.

One of the guides comes to me right before dinner time and says "snake," so I go and get my hook and headlamp and, to my surprise, see another fer de lance at Sandstone. They seem to like this spot for some reason. I hooked the snake and showed it to the students and teachers and talked about it, and then took the snake into the forest.

After dinner, we set off, and that night, we found two Pipa pipa, which are always great to see, a couple of water snakes, and got close to a paca. Of course, I wanted to keep decently dry because we were leaving soon, and then right in front of me, there was a hole full of water that I fell in up to my thigh. Soggy boots are not fun. We get back to camp and head to bed for an early ride back to Surama before heading back to Georgetown.

Day 40

We get on the river about 8 am, and I have my favorite guide with me, Dexter. He is an excellent guide and knows his stuff in the forest. As we are riding in, we look at every tree, hoping to see that incredible bird of prey. We found some cool parrot species called the red fan parrot, and of course the proboscis bats were all over the place.

We arrive at the harpy tree and do not see anything until mammal Sean starts making the harpy call. Frank said he saw the bird fly from a lower branch. We parked the boat and looked out for a bit with no luck, so we head off. I am pretty devastated because this would have been my first one, but then I heard Gary, who is a guide on the other boat, shout "harpy," so we swing the boat around, and as we pass, we see that absolutely majestic animal posed right in the open. It is a juvenile, so it still has its white feathers. The grey has not come in yet but is still an impressive bird. We sat there for a bit, and I had one last remaining bar of battery on my camera, so I just blasted the button, and after thirty to forty photos, the camera died. Mammal Sean kept making the sound, and then the harpy started making the same sound and fluttering its wings as if it were calling to its parents for food. I was absolutely thrilled to see this species of bird.

While photographing the bird, Uncle Dan came by in his boat and told me I missed my big snake. He said an anaconda was seen while some guides were clearing an area for some survival guys to be dropped in by helicopter. I was slightly irritated, but hey, I got a harpy for that day, and I will take that over an anaconda at this point in life. This bird's area is very scattered, and they are not a guarantee. If you go at the right time in South America, you can always get an anaconda.

We kept heading down the river, and nothing really stood out too much. We did get a couple of capped herons which are always a beautiful sight to see. While near the landing site to walk to the village, Dexter said he saw a mata mata pop up and disappear. I missed my turtle too, but I plan to catch them next year, so I am not too fussed about it. We got to the landing site and then walked the twenty minutes to the lodge for lunch, and since we were leaving the next day, I quickly did a little bit of laundry to catch the last bit of sunshine.

The savannah looked so beautiful around the hour of 3 pm, so even though I already took a shower, I put on my dirty clothes and set out to get some last photos of wildlife while in the savannah. I walked to a big rock, stood on it, and waited for the macaws and other birds to fly over me. I was always hoping for that giant anteater to walk by, of course! That never happened, though, but it is nice to see the sunset and listen to all the wildlife calls. I had set up a time-lapse earlier of the mountains to capture the clouds moving across the savannah area. I am happy with how it turned out. I wish it got the sunset, but the battery died.

That was our last night there, and the milky way just exploded with brightness, so I ate dinner very fast and headed out for some astrophotography. I am starting to get the hang of it which is nice. I wish I had a little more width to my lenses, but I have a cropped camera with benefits for wildlife, so a fair tradeoff for me. I went to bed early because we were waking up at 3 am to start driving out to Georgetown. I went to bed after I had a beer.

Day 41

I woke up at 2:45 am to get packed and ready for the vans to come. We all packed ourselves in with the gear and such and got headed out way later than we should have. Guyana time is such a real thing. You will get there when you get there. We left at 5 am and got into Georgetown at 11 pm. While driving through the forest, we had to all get out and get muddy again to walk through the sludge, so the vans did not have too much weight in them. Getting stuck happened three more times. It was a very long day of never-ending road and bumps. I kept my eyes out for wildlife but only saw one agouti crossing the road.

End of Week 6