Boom! The rains have finally started with an impressive storm which brought two hours of torrential rain, strong winds, thunder and lightning. Almost immediately, bird activity seems to have picked up and, today, I had another great morning on one of the observation towers. This is also the time scarce austral migrants turn up and I finally got my third lifer of the season with a Rufous-tailed Attila along the river. It's funny how some groups seem to be luckier than others. My latest group got to see spider and howler monkeys plus Giant Otters and two Agami Herons, all on their first morning. One guy really wanted to see the trumpeters so I suggested going for a short walk late one morning and, within ten minutes, three of them crossed the trail right in front of us! If only it was always that easy. Finally, last year's Paint-billed Crake, only the third for the Alta Floresta region, has made a repeat appearance and is running around out in the open, much to the delight of my last two groups.
