Evening River

Milvus 35/1.4 @f6.3; Nikon D600 The local communities benefit from tourism substantially (NP). Our boatman's father transporting a family from another community. They are just having supper. It is the only boat we met during the whole day. Our canoe isn’t this fine looking and carries more stuff. The tourist activities are a day’s ride upstream. Amazon

Sword Bill

Sigma 100-400 C OS @400mm, f6.3, ISO 2200; Nikon D750 The long bill is the species trade and limitation; especially the male’s bill is very long. Cloud forest (3200 m)

Spix's Guan

Nikkor 200-500 VR/TC 14 III @700mm, f8, ISO 1600; Nikon D750 rarely seen, heard more often, high in the canopy most of the time named after naturalist Johann B. von Spix Amazon

Striated Heron

Nikkor 200-500 VR/TC 14 III @550mm, f8, ISO 720; Nikon D750 noon, Amazon

Woolly Tapir

Nikkor 200-500 VR/TC 14 III @600mm, f8, ISO 1100; Nikon D750 3450 m, showers, a pair of Andean woolly tapir very close from where http://tinyurl.com/this-shot was taken Paramo

Sylph II

Nikkor 200-500 VR/TC 14 III @550mm, f8, ISO 360; Nikon D750 Violet-tailed sylph Despite what idealistic tendency would make us believe, the forest niches are pretty tough places to live in. The size of these tiny birds is an example of one of many adaptations the creatures adopted to successfully occupy a niche (in this two-way interaction). There is a parallel and actual case when the body size tends to get smaller and smaller under extreme environmental pressures today. The effects it can have on species can be rapid, from an evolutionary perspective almost immediate, and not dissimilar to those that took place in the past (Chicxulub asteroid impact). Cloud forest

Red-headed Barbet

Nikkor 200-500 VR/TC 14 III @700mm, f8, high ISO image (4000); Nikon D750 late morning sun; you can just make out a bill and parts of head of a larger toucan barbet that is also looking for a snack (right below its foot). Choco/cloud forest foothills

Toucanet

Nikkor 200-500 VR/TC 14 III @700mm, f8, ISO 1800; Nikon D750 Crimson rumped toucanet Cloud forest

Slate-coloured Hawk II

Nikkor 200-500 VR/TC 14 III @700mm, f8, ISO 1600; Nikon D750 Another hawk sitting low in the thickets of the bank; from the prey’s point of view Not that D750 is particularly prone to moiré but here I had a hard time removing it without side effects Amazon

Cordillera II

Sigma 50/1.4 A @f9, Nikon D600 contre-jour, Western Cordillera equatorial Andes

Bat Falcon II

Nikkor 200-500 VR/TC 14 III @700mm, f8, ISO 320; Nikon D750 minute trim, petoensis ssp.; The female bat falcon in the same tree as the male shot previously (on a lower branch). Cloud forest

Paramo Deer II

Sigma 100-400 OS C @400mm, f6.3, ISO 220; Nikon D600 early morning; seconds later, against brighter background equatorial Andes

Paramo Deer

Sigma 100-400 OS C @400mm, f6.3, ISO 640; D600 above 4000 m, ecuadorian paramo deer (Odocoileus ustus) In some ways, the paramo landscape reminded us of the Scotland’s raw beauty.

In the Sky

Sigma 50/1.4 A @f6.3, ISO 100 (2/3 EV underexposed), Nikon D600 early morning, Western Cordillera equatorial Andes wilderness

Masked Flowerpiercer

Nikkor 200-500 VR/TC 14 III @700mm, f8, high ISO image (5600); Nikon D750 cloud forest

Russet-Backed Oropendola

Nikkor 200-500 VR/TC 14 III @700mm, f8, ISO 1250; Nikon D750 A male performing bowing display at the nest. Just as https://tinyurl.com/theCacique they are colonial (monogamous) birds. We’ve seen them raiding nests in the cacique colony. They like nesting in the safety of cacique empty nests (using one of them for nesting). Amazon

Aracari II

Nikkor 200-500 VR/TC 14 III @700mm, f8, ISO 900; Nikon D750 pale-mandibled aracari, choco/cloud forest foothills

Blue-and-Yellow Macaw

Nikkor 200-500 VR/TC 14 III @700mm, f8, ISO 125; Nikon D750 evening light, minute crop (< APS-H) From time to time Macaw's sharp call resounds through the jungle before they are seen briefly flying by. That was a signal for boosting the exposure (our cameras can’t expose for highlights), AISO shutter speed, change the focus point pattern and start persuading our setup to focus on the birds that will any second come into view from somewhere or have already come. Usually, from the opposite side you are just facing:) Here I managed the focus points and was lucky for the exposure (strong highlights). Amazon

Forest IV

Sigma 100-400 0S C @100mm, f8; Nikon D600 About every five miles or so, we came across a waft of a delightful floral scent. It was tempting to ascribe the surreally pleasant scent to the pink flowering tree like this, but we couldn’t verify this. Last time when smell like this overcame us was on a warm day at a shore of the Lake St Clair resembling a scent of pink (coincidentally) dwarf carnations that you can find in some rock gardens (close to their natural form). The scent was sweeter in comparison, almost heavy with sweetness, spicier with a strong note of clove. This one, while similarly striking, felt heavenly-floral and more delicate. It made you want to stop the canoe. The sense of smell may not be the most acute of our senses, but experience tells us that its record is stored deep in the brain for a very long time and more accurately than information of any other sensory system. Amazon

Crossing

Nikkor 200-500 VR/TC 14 III @700mm, f8, ISO 720; Nikon D750 almost noon, Zabalo River (NP); two howlers separated from the group (spooked by our canoe) rejoin the others on the other side of the river by hasty crossing - a few quick jumps Amazon

Roots

Milvus 35/1.4 @f6.3, speedlight; Nikon D600 Amazon

Cloud Forest V

Sigma 100-400 OS C @230mm, f7.1; Nikon D600

Spotted Woodcreeper

Nikkor 200-500 VR/TC 14 III @700mm, f8, high ISO image (7200); Nikon D750 crop (APS-H), noon light, cloud forest

Lucifer Titi II

Nikkor 200-500 VR/TC 14 III @500mm, f8, ISO 800; Nikon D750 A minute trim (< APS-H) @500mm; task for a zoom: a fast moving monkey or bird with a long tail can spoil the framing for it’s all too easy to clip the tail in a wrong way (not to mention being on a moving boat at the same time). Amazon