Day Four


Heather Moore. Copyright © 2002 [Circle of Wings]. All rights reserved. Revised: March 28, 2003 . E-mail Circle of Wings		A Rare Sighting *Blue-headed macaw* Our guide, Pepe, has spotted a lone Blue-headed Macaw (Ara couloni). The macaw settles on a dead tree just above the clay lick and begins to preen himself. He appears to be alone. He is magnificent, with a green back, red tail, and blue head. We see flashes of yellow when he flies. The birds are active much earlier this morning and descend to the clay earlier. None of the large macaws have arrived as of 6:20 am. Ecology Walk Our guide, Vico, leads us down to the beach to point out the various levels of the forest. Here where it floods during rainy season there are no ferns. Cane predominates. Later, we head down the "C" trail where Vico points out the perfidious "strangler fig". This climbing vine wraps itself around a tree, slowly entangling it in its grip. Eventually, the tree is unable to expand its girth and is strangled. As well, the strangler fig's leaves compete for the sunlight at the canopy level, contributing to the host tree's eventual demise. After the tree dies, the environment reclaims it, leaving only the healthy strangler fig in the shape of the host tree.		Terrafirme Trail We take the canoe to the vicinity of Piranha Lake, then walk alongside the small creek that feeds it. We cross the shallow, fast flowing creek and enter the forest where it is very dense, dark, and cool. We hike for an hour and a half but encounter no wildlife except for some bats hunting insects in the twilight. We return, disappointed.