It's now my last couple of days at the lodge and Stephen's law has already kicked in. The Serra trail yielded a second poison frog, this time ameerega picta, I recorded a new species of metalmark for the reserve, and I was surprised to hear a singing Thrush-like Wren, a common species in the open country around Alta Floresta but one I'd not yet encountered here, from Tower 1. A singing Blue-cheeked Jacamar was my 400th species of the season but the biggest surprise of the past few days came as I was sitting in the bar area cooling off after the morning's walk. A small, cinnamon-coloured bird zipped through the bar and landed in the nearest tree leaving me perplexed as to what it could be. Grabbing my binoculars, I was soon looking at a male Fiery-capped Manakin, perhaps one of the most difficult birds to see here, showing off its fiery crown-stripe, cinnamon back and streaked underparts. What a beauty!
