Laguna
Yarinacocha is much nicer when the sun is shining. We spend both Saturday and Sunday mornings cruising around in
Miguel’s peki-peki (the sound the
long-tail motor makes) looking for birds.
Miguel caught on quickly.
He slowed the boat every time we raised our camera or binoculars and he
kept the sun to our backs whenever he could. Large-billed terns dove for the jumping fish and Connie was
a bit startled when a 6-inch mullet landed on her lap.
On Saturday
we cruised the lakeshore and up the canal that connects to the Ucayali
River. We saw three new species
and got good photos of many others.
There were hundreds of black-crowned night herons, many loud Amazon and
ringed kingfishers and of course the long-billed terns. While Miguel stopped to add more
gas to the engine we watched a
pair of pink dolphins hunt for fish.
We returned
today to visit the botanical gardens.
Other than the sign on the riverbank we aren’t sure we actually found
it. Victorio guided us through a
mosquito filled forest on a trail we wouldn’t have found on our own. His two dogs ran ahead, scaring
everything. One of them caught,
killed and devoured a squirrel monkey.
We did manage to see four new species and got great photos of a pair of
capped herons, the nightjar-like great potoo and a laughing falcon.
