Amazon Live Adventure | Angela Neal Grove

Amazon Live Adventure: Well caught! This hummingbird snags a live insect. Insects are an important part of hummingbird diets. They need protein as well as nectar.//Photo: ANGROVE — Well caught! This hummingbird snags a live insect. Insects are an essential part of hummingbird diets. They need protein as well as nectar.

Amazon River Headwaters Adventure

Here is the second of three updates on my recent Lindblad/National Geographic Amazon Adventure. Last week was an overview, Amazon River Headwaters Adventure. This week, I show some of the birds, mammals, reptiles and insects I saw and photographed while exploring on the Delfin II.

I begin in the canopy of the forest high above the river. The captions tell the story.

Hanging Out In The Treetops

Amazon Live Adventure: Here is a three toed sloth, the slowest moving creature on earth. So slow algae grows on its coat.
In hangs out in the tree tops of the Amazon basin.//ANGROVE — A Brown-throated three-toed sloth in the tree tops. Sloths are the slowest moving creatures on earth. So slow, sometimes green algae grows on its coat which helps with camouflage.

Amazon Live Adventure: This huge iguana with its long tail was easy to spot from our boat.//Photo: ANGROVE — This huge iguana with its long tail was easy to spot from our boat. Iguanas hang out in the tree-tops, sunbathing and catching some rays.

Amazon Live In The Forest

Amazon Live Adventure: There were lots of sightings of brilliant colored macaws and parrots in the tree tops. I took this image at the end of the trip in a refuge.//Photo: ANGROVE — There were many sightings of brilliantly colored macaws and parrots. They were too fast for me! I took this image at the end of the trip in a refuge.

Amazon Live Adventure: Poison Dart Frog, its leg firmly anchored by our guide! These amphibians have great toxicity derived from their diets of termites, ants and mites. The indigenous Amerindians used their secretions to poison tips of blowdarts.//Photo: ANGROVE — Poison Dart Frog, its leg firmly anchored by our guide! These amphibians have high toxicity derived from their diets of termites, ants and mites. The indigenous Amerindians used their secretions to poison tips of their blowdarts.

Amazon Live Adventure: This millipede caught my eye scurrying along through some leaves. They live on small insects. Some varieties have bright orange legs. Photo: ANGROVE — This millipede caught my eye scurrying through some deadleaves. They live on small insects. Some varieties have bright orange legs.

Amazon Live Adventure: Tarantula clings to a tree trunk while I photographed from a distance. They mostly hide in holes in the ground during the day.//Photo: ANGROVE — Tarantula clings to a tree trunk while I photographed from a distance. They mostly hide in holes in the ground during the day.

Amazon Live Adventure: Clearly it is important to have a good guide while exploring the forest. Here is a large Red Tailed Boa constrictor well camouflaged by some leaves. We saw it beside the trail.
Photo: ANGROVE — It is important to have a good guide while exploring the forest. Here is a large Red Tailed Boa constrictor well camouflaged in some leaves. It was coiled beside the trail.

Along The River Banks

While photographing this beautiful Gustavia there was a surprise…

Amazon Live Adventure: This beautiful Gustavia bloom caught my eye, but there was an inesect in the center. // Photo: ANGROVE — This beautiful Gustavia bloom caught my eye, but there was more…..

Amazon Live Adventure: As I watched a huge tropical carpenter bee emerged from among the stamens of this Gustavia blossom. //Photo: ANGROVE — As I watched a tropical carpenter bee emerged from the stamens.

Amazon Live Adventure: Gustavia blossom with large carpenter bee pollinator. //Photo: ANGROVE — The bee emerged, then flew off to pollinate more jungle blooms.

Amazon Live Adventure: Hidden in a tree on the river bank, but carefully watching was a small mammal called an Agouti which looked rather like a large guinea pig. Photo: ANGROVE — Hidden in a tree on the river bank, but intently watching, was an Agouti, a small mammal similar to a guinea pig.

Amazon Live Adventure: Red snake on a branch by the Amazon River. Photo: ANGROVE — This red snake was also watching us…

Amazon Live Adventure: There are 1500 species of birds in the Amazon Rainforest. Most of them are brightly colored and photogenic, like this Yellow-rumped Cacique with its blue eyes sitting on its best. :Photo: ANGROVE — There are 1500 species of birds in the Amazon Rainforest. Most of them are brightly colored and photogenic, like this Yellow-rumped Cacique with its blue eyes. The Cacique is sitting on the top of its nest.

Amazon Live Adventure: Hanging out by the Amazon river, are clusters of small bats clinging to a tree trunk.
Photo: ANGROVE — Also hanging out by the river, waiting for the evening, were clusters of bats clinging to this tree trunk

Amazon Live Adventure: Caimans, which are small alligators live on the banks of the rivers in the Amazon rainforest. They come out at nighttime. Their eyes literally glow in the dark. Photo: ANGROVE — Caimans, small alligators, come out at night when their eyes can literally glow in the dark.

Monkey Business

There are nine species of monkeys in the Amazon Rainforest. Many of them are now on the endangered list.

Woolly Monkeys use their impressive long prehensile tails to hang out and move gracefully through the forest canopy.

Night, or owl, monkeys are the only nocturnal monkeys. They are also monogamous. We spotted this pair from the river as they were hiding in a tree trunk. They have huge brown eyes.

There was a large group of squirrel monkeys moving through this group of trees. They live on fruit and insects.

Law of The Jungle

Here is a standoff between a woolly monkey and a coatimundi, a member of the raccoon family. Our guides watched the scene fascinated, they thought the encounter most unusual.

While photographing woolly monkeys, a coatimundi, a member of the raccoon family, began to move aggressively towards the monkey. We watched fascinated.

Sure enough it was law of the jungle, the coatimundi moved in on the monkey and appeared to bite it.

The woolly monkey retreated to the safety of the tree canopy. The standoff was over.

NEXT WEEK: After last weeks overview and this photo essay on birds and animals, next week we meet the people who make their home and live on the headwaters of the Amazon.

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