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Category: GUYANA
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RUPUNUNI SAVANNA & LIST 
GUYANA

region (near Lethem), (Compass)

Lat:00o00´S/00o00´W ha topography msl 
Protected/registered status 
Best Time for visit (10th-15th October, 2006)

 

Birding Site Guide

This excellent birding location is located in the s of Guyana near the border with Brazil. From Boa Vista, the capital of Rotaima state, there are several buses to Bonfim, a town on the border with Guyana. These cost about 13R and take about 2hrs. Do not get off the bus at the terminal but instead stay on until the last stop which is the Brazilian immigration where you need to get an exit stamp. From there, it is a short walk to the river where you can get a boat accross for 3R. On the other side you can change Reais for Guyanese dollars (G$90 for R1) and take a taxi into town (G$500) or walk. The police station is not far from the river and here you get your entry stamp. I had a problem here as I told them I was probably staying 4 days and they stamped a 4 day visa into my passport. Make sure you give yourself enough time. Getting an extension later is difficult and the police are supremely unhelpful and on a power trip. You can then get the taxi (which you should have kept waiting for you) to drop you off at the airport where there is a food shop and internet cafe.

I stayed at Dadanawa Ranch, about 3 hours drive along very poor roads. Contact Justin Defreitas This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. about staying here. His father also runs river tours in the south of the country which look excellent if expensive. Contact Duane Defreitas This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more information. Some form of transport leaves for Dadanawa and the communities beyond most days. Any vehicle leaving town must pass the airport shop, so the best thing to do is sit of the wall outside and ask any vehicle heading out of town if they are going your way. Also ask Jeremy who runs the internet cafe for more info. Here I paid about G$2000 for a ride to Dadanawa Ranch. Hiring your own vehicle would be much, much more expensive.

Accommodation at Dadanawa is very comfortable and food filling but there is no electricity. There is a small lake towards the river where I saw Sunbittern, Sungrebe, Greater Ani and 3 species of kingfisher. The dry forest beyond had Flavescent Warbler, Fincsh's Euponia, Yellow-breasted Flycatcher and Slate-headed Tody-Tyrant. The river beyond this, which is also good for a dip, held Green-tailed Jacamar, Great Black-Hawk and Lesser and Least Nighthawks in the evening. Yellow-crowned Parrot, Red-bellied and Red-shouldered Macaws often fly over the houses and sometimes perch in the mango trees. Some small ponds on the other side of the house had a few waders and White-headed Marsh-Tyrant. I drove into the savanna with Justin and we saw King Vulture, Little Chachalaca and White-tailed Hawk. We also saw fox and Tayra. Sightings of Jaguar in the area are not uncommon. I saw 104 species including 12 lifers 


Species seen


Other Fauna 
A total of -- species of mammals. 

There are -- recorded species of amphibians and reptiles. 

Flora 

Author: Charles Hesse

 

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