Tuesday, October 1, 2019

La Selva Amazonas de Ecuador

Jungle Flower

It's hard to believe that a little more than a week ago it was early morning and I was waking up in the Amazon jungle to the sound of howler monkeys, buzzing insects, the "chuck chuck" of treefrogs and Oropendola birds gurgling in the background. In the days since I returned home, I've been trying to hold on to those sensations--the smells, tastes, sounds and sights of la selva Amazonas de Ecuador. The other day I bought some papaya for breakfast, and sat on my porch at sunrise to listen and watch for birds. But it's just not the same, and the memories of the tropics are slowly starting to fade. The only solution is to go back again, which I will gladly do.

Squirrel Monkey

This September, I had the opportunity to travel to Ecuador with my husband for some work he was doing in Quito, and Tena, a small city on the edge of the Amazon jungle. We spent a week in each of those cities and while he worked, I was happily occupied hunting for birds and nature and exploring. The great thing about foreign travel is that everything is new and interesting, because it's not what you're used to at home. I am always sure that people who see me with my camera walking around and tracking their common birds and insects think I am strange, but to me they were all exciting. Ecuador has some of the greatest biodiversity in the world and every day there was another new thing for me. You can see some of my observations by clicking these links to albums on my photo website (Quito, Tena, Sani Lodge). After the working part of the trip was finished, we took advantage of our proximity to the eastern (jungle) side of the country and booked a short stay in an eco lodge in the Ecuadorian Amazon. It was one of the best experiences we have ever had. We chose Sani Lodge, which is located on the Napo River, near the Yasuní National Park. Besides having very good reviews online and in guide books, one of the reasons we chose this place is that it is owned and operated by the local Kichwa Sani Isla community. The lodge provides an income source for the community of about 600 people, while also sharing the natural beauty of their land and educating the public about their culture, in addition to promoting sustainable ecotourism.

Sani Lodge

It takes a bit of work to get to Sani Lodge. We drove first for about 3 hours from Tena to Coca, a port city on the Río Napo, which is a tributary to the Amazon river. There is a small airport there, too. At Coca, we met our guide, Olger, and his assistant, Johnny, who we would be teamed with for the entire stay, and we began a 3 hour journey down the Napo River in a motorized canoe. It was interesting to ride down the river. The Río Napo is a water highway, with lots of other motorized canoes, river taxis, and even some river cruise ships. There is quite a bit of petroleum exploration and industry in the area and we were passed several times by large barges hauling gas and oil semi trucks and heavy building machinery. It made me selfishly sad to see all that industry so close to the Amazon, but they do bring income to very poor people, so it is unfair for an outsider like myself to be too judgmental about it, specially while riding in a gas powered canoe. But this is yet another good reason to support an eco lodge which gives the local people a more environmentally sustainable way to earn a living. The expertise of the boat captain was apparent as we wove back and forth across the river to avoid the ever changing sand bars and hazards on the wide river.

Motorized Canoes at Coca

Oil Trucks head up the Napo River

Eventually we arrived at the dock for Sani Lodge, but we still had some travel ahead. A 10-minute walk on a boardwalk through a mangrove swamp gave us our first tastes of the jungle. We really lucked out with our guides. Olger was a highly trained and experienced guide, and an expert birder. He knew about the culture and natural history of everything around us and could call the birds, monkeys and caimans. He helped me add 60 new birds to my list during our stay. Johnny didn't speak much English, but he had a keen eye and ear and knew when something interesting was near. Typically, Johnny was in the lead, using a machete to clear vines and fallen branches from the trails, while Olger was right behind, carrying his birding scope and guiding us. We followed them like that for 3 1/2 days of hikes and adventures. On the short walk that first day we saw Black Mantled Tamarin monkeys, giant Blue Morpho butterflies and some neat birds--Woodcreepers and Anis. We were told that anacondas frequent the water under the path and lake, as well as piranhas and electric eels, so no swimming! Soon we came the end of the boardwalk and another dock from which we rode in a paddle canoe across Lake Challuacocha to the actual lodge. As we floated through dark mangrove channels with hanging vines and thick greenery, our guide pointed out the birds and monkey sounds. It was a perfect welcome to the jungle.

Black Mantled Tamarin

Owl Butterfly

The lodge itself is a collection of thatched buildings at the edge of the lake, tucked in amongst the trees. Ours was a small but comfortable cabin with beds and a bathroom and shower. The covered front porch was a pleasant shady spot to sit and watch birds in the trees, or for my husband to play his guitar. We had electricity for lights and to charge our devices, provided by a solar array on the lake, and hot water from solar water heaters. Mosquito netting over the beds kept the bugs away at night. For our meals (and they fed us very well!), we ate on an open porch next to the water because they were re-thatching the roof of the dining room. I was just as happy sitting by the water because we could see turtles and the resident caiman, and heard the Pauraque (Nightjar) calling at dusk.

Hoatzins, aka "Stinky Turkeys"

After dinner on our first evening, we put on our rubber boots and took a night hike. I forgot to mention that it had rained hard the 2 days prior to our visit and the water was high and the trails were muddy. All our hikes for the rest of the trip were muddy. We slogged along a trail behind the lodge with our flashlights and my camera. I really hoped we would see some of the charismatic mega fauna--aka, anteaters, anacondas or sloths. We did not see any of those, but we saw enough other great critters that I was happy anyway. Our guide told us that sloths are pretty common, but that they are really hard to see. They don't move much, live high up, and have great camouflage, so the odds were against us. But I wore my lucky sloth earrings just in case. As we walked, Olger and Johnny flicked their flashlights on the underbrush, looking for the reflective eyes of spiders, snakes and birds. They found lots of neat bugs and some frogs and toads, and a skinny boa hanging down from a tree branch that we almost walked into. It was just so cool! Art and I were giddy when we got back to our cabin, and really excited about our morning's adventure, even though we had to meet the guides at 5:30am.

Boa

Tree Frog

It rained again that night and I fretted a bit about how to handle my camera gear. I had a poncho, and a rain cover for the backpack, but wondered during the night if I'd even be able to pull out any cameras if it was raining heavily. It turned out that my worries were misplaced because the rain cleared up, but my point and shoot camera didn't charge properly, and the extra battery I should have checked for that morning was left behind in the cabin in another bag. I won't do that again next time I visit. Luckily I had 2 cameras, but they had specific lenses and I was not prepared to take any landscape shots, which is unfortunate. Thank goodness for my husband's phone!

Blue and Yellow Macaws

Our visit that morning was to the observation tower in the canopy of a huge Ceibo or Kapok tree. We began with a canoe ride across the misty lake. It was just getting light and the birds and monkeys were stirring. The Red Howler monkeys started to roar and we saw bands of them clamber through the treetops on the shore. A short walk up the trail brought us to the base of an enormous tree, hundreds of years old. There was a metal stair constructed next to the tree to climb the 100 feet to the platform at the top. Johnny had walked ahead of us and was already there with our breakfast, which we enjoyed from the top of a tree while looking out over the jungle below. It was incredibly luxurious. We looked for Harpy eagles, which are often found there, but didn't see them this time. We did see toucans, macaws, parrots, monkeys and lots of small and colorful perching birds. This is a link to a video about the observation tower on the Sani Lodge web page.

Looking out over the Jungle Canopy

Black-faced Dacnis at the top of the Kapok Tree
Masked Crimson Tanager

After about an hour in the Kapok tree, we climbed down and hiked through the jungle for the rest of the morning. Even though it was very hot outside (the Chachalaca birds were calling that morning, so we knew it was going to be a scorcher!) the dark jungle was fairly pleasant, if steamy and muddy. The light made photography tough, but I managed. We saw lots of interesting insects and toads and followed a band of Titi monkeys off the trail but never quite caught up with them. We had several hours of exploration every morning and afternoon and ended up walking 6-7 miles a day by my reckoning.

Fantastic Bugs

After lunch that afternoon we hiked behind the lodge, where we had been the night before. We found a boa (perhaps the same one that had hung down over the trail!) but this one had a full belly. Pancha, a wild peccary that adopted the lodge, followed us on the hike, stopping every few feet to root around in the mud, looking for food. She would insert herself in the middle of our group and then stop. If we tried to get around her she would block the path for a while, and then move on. Or she would run off, but a few minutes later we'd hear a commotion behind us or to the side, and in would run this wild peccary. Another visitor to the lodge told us that Pancha sometimes rode in the canoes. She was pretty funny. Deep in the woods we came upon 2 bands of monkeys rustling in the trees overhead--some capuchins and some squirrel monkeys. The leader of the capuchins apparently considered us a threat, and so he started breaking big branches off of the trees and throwing them down near us, from 40-50 feet up! We all got away safely, Pancha included.

Hiking with a Wild Peccary

Angry Capuchin

The next morning we were up early again in order to see the parrots at the clay lick. Parrots and macaws need to eat clay to help them process toxic fruits and seeds in their diet. They arrive in large flocks at clay deposits at the river banks in the early morning. We were lucky to see a large group of 4 species of parrots and parakeets. Olger noticed some parrots hopping about in the trees nearby and said there was probably a snake worrying them. Of course, he was right. His ability to spot animals from a distance was a constant source of amazement to us. He would see the animal right away, find it in his birding scope, and then spent a lot of time helping us to find it. We had a tough time seeing the snake. He finally borrowed my camera so he could take a picture for us. After we got home and looked at the pictures on the big screen, I came to believe that there were 2 large snakes. The photos aren't great, but we saw the diamond pattern of a boa on one branch and hanging loops of a larger snake on another.

Parrots and Parakeets at the Clay Lick
Snakes Bothering the Parrots

After the clay lick we visited the Yasuni National Park and hiked through "Terra Firma"--literally "firm earth", land that is high and dry, out of the floodplain. In the heat and humidity, it was more tiring than I expected to climb up, but the views were worth it. And we saw or heard 6 species of monkey, saw tapir tracks, and spotted a Long-tailed Potoo. Yasuní National Park is huge we only saw a small fraction of it. We were surprised to learn that there are remote sections of the preserve where a few isolated tribes still live, preferring to remain separate from modern culture, some of the very few isolated cultures in the world today.

Long-tailed Potoo

After the hike, we rode down the river again and visited the Sani Isla community that is supported by Sani Lodge. We saw their school, examples of farms, crops, solar and water systems, and were treated to a lunch of traditional foods. We ate grilled sweet plantain, and palm hearts wrapped in leaves and cooked over the fire. It was delicious. Afterwards, we saw and purchased some of the handicrafts that the women of the community create to sell. We also took turns shooting darts at a banana from a blowgun. I whiffed the banana the first 2 times, but shot it through and through the third time!

Roasted Plantains and Palm Hearts

Nailed It!

After dinner we took a night paddle and that was probably the most magical thing either of us has ever seen. We went out on the dark water in the quiet canoe. The moon was full a few nights before and had not risen yet and the sky was very dark, so the brilliant stars of the milky way shone from all edges of the horizon. And then we saw the fireflies. I have no idea how many species they have there, but there were so many flashes of light, and they were everywhere. The size and intensity of the glow varied from the trees down to the water plants. And another tiny species glowed on the water's surface, like someone stirred a campfire and sent sparks flying. It was so, so beautiful and was a deeply moving experience. As we paddled, we looked for animals. We kept our flashlights off, but Olger would turn his on in a quick burst and scan, looking once again for eye reflections. We found a caiman and paddled closer, and watched as it sunk down into the water and away. Then he saw something further back, about 50 yards, and said, "I think that's a snake".  As we got closer, we saw a boa, thin as a rope, hanging from one of the leafy plants. Once again, our guide's ability to spot from far away just wowed us.

Pencil Thin Boa

The last day took us on hiking trails into the jungle on two sides of the lake. We followed fresh tapir and peccary tracks, but never saw the animals that left them. How a 300 pound mammal could hide from us is beyond me, but the forests are thick and vast. We saw some more marvelous birds, more insects, more toads, no snakes this time, and no sloths. We saw the flowers and fluff from Kapok trees (used at the end of darts in the dart gun to give something to blow against), Strangler Figs, bromeliads and curare vines (one of the sources of poison for darts). At the end of the day, our expert guides exhibited their superior observation skills once again. After some conversation with Johnny, Olger trained his scope on a tree far, far back in the forest and said, "look, I think this is a monkey finger". Sure enough, we saw one little finger hanging onto a knob on a tree! Then he sent Johnny back to thump on the tree with his machete and we watched in awe as this sleepy looking Night Monkey raised its head in confusion and looked around. It was simply amazing and a wonderful way to end the day.

Strangler Fig

Surprised Noisy Night Monkey

On the way back to the lodge that evening, we lingered a little to get some last moments floating on the smooth water, listening to the sounds and watching the birds coming in to roost. The stars were just starting to appear as we pulled up to the lodge. The next morning we loaded everything back into the canoe and took our trip in reverse, back up the Napo River, and back to Coca, then to Quito and home to Georgia. We were back home again in hours, but a world away. And now the Amazon is a sweet memory that we yearn to repeat.

Evening Paddle



Monday, August 12, 2019

Leaving the Nest

Adult and Juvenile Brown Thrashers--"I know the food is right under my feet, but I'm HUNGRY!!! Feed me!"
For the past couple of weeks I have observed a steady increase in the amount of bird food necessary to keep our bird feeders full. We're going through 20 pound bags of seed in no time at all. Suet blocks disappear seemingly overnight (and it's not due to squirrels!). A batch of hummingbird nectar a few weeks ago would last for weeks, but now I need to make more every few days. There is a quadruple batch cooling on the counter as I type. So what's causing this feeding frenzy? As it turns out, we have a yard full of fledglings and juvenile birds that are still learning to take care of themselves and they are really hungry! When the baby birds first hatch they are helpless and featherless and their parents bring food to them in the nest. But when they grow some feathers and fledge from the nest, the parents hide them in the bushes and trees and bring food to them. Soon the adults bring them to the food and feed them while teaching them skills like how to forage for themselves and how to watch for predators. And eventually, the juveniles are on their own. The young birds and their parents know that our feeders are a quick and easy source of nourishment. In a perfect world, there would be plenty of naturally occurring seed, fruit, nectar and insects for the birds to eat. But as human activity such as building and pesticide use decreases the available natural habitats and food sources, backyard feeders and wildlife gardens provide an important supplement during this vulnerable period in their lives. The young birds need to eat as much as they can so they are strong enough to survive the cold winter and, in many cases, such as with the hummingbirds, migrate. The adults need to fatten up for winter, as well, while also gathering enough to feed their young. It all adds up to a lot of bird food.

Adult and juvenile American Goldfinches

You can't help but smile when you watch the young birds. They're kind of goofy looking and easy to spot. They are often unsteady flyers with scruffy, incomplete feather growth, big, bright (often light colored) eyes, and wide, sometimes yellow mouths, fluttering their wings and noisily calling for their parents feed them. They keep up the flapping and begging well after they know better. Many times I'll watch young birds that are completely able to fly and forage for themselves, flap and beg to no one in particular as they eat alone.

Fledgling Brown Thrasher--Young, scruffy and pretty helpless

Slightly older Brown Thrasher Juvenile, awkwardly teetering on the perch

Juvenile Red-bellied Woodpecker that hasn't quite grown its pretty red head feathers

Juvenile Northern Cardinal begging to be fed

Same Cardinal 30 seconds later--"oh yeah, I guess I get it"
This Juvenile Eastern Bluebird is easy to peg as a youngster, with its big eyes, wide yellow mouth and dotted chest feathers

It's a rough world out there. The young hummingbirds are constantly chased away from the feeder by the older and dominant birds, and later by their siblings. Sometimes I wonder how they can ever eat enough to supply all the calories they burn just in the chasing. Juvenile jays and towhees are chased out of the flat feeder by the pushy grackles and mourning doves. Wary Carolina wren and catbird parents make loud alarm calls to warn the young when predators (like me) are in the vicinity, but fluffs of feathers from the mockingbirds or cardinals that didn't see the hawk are a reminder that this adulting stuff is hard. But chances are good that the hawk is a juvenile working on its skills, too.

A Juvenile Barred Owl tried to fly away from me as I walked by, but screeched so much that I couldn't help but see it!

Juvenile Red-shouldered Hawk being buzzed by angry Blue-gray Gnatcatchers. The hawk was just perching when they got started to attack.

Ruby-throated Hummingbirds preparing a feeding truce. They're probably hungry after chasing each other around the yard.

Juvenile Blue Jay hides in the bushes after being chased off of the feeder by Mourning Doves
At this time of year, from the vantage of my yard that is literally across the street from the university, I can't help but make the comparison between the birds I am observing at home and the students next door who are preparing to embark on the college journey. Move-in day took place this past weekend and the street was buzzing with the new arrivals and their parents as they unloaded clothes, computers, lamps, bikes and other "necessities" from their cars and trailers. When the parents drove away, leaving their youngster to make their way, I'm sure they felt some anxiety, hoping their young adults would be ok. I remember those feelings, well, and I have family and friends who will be experiencing this soon. My hearts go out to you all, but it will be ok! This morning I watched groups of giddy young people walking to the bus stop, maps in hand, as they figured out their new surroundings. Like the young birds, the young students are easy to pick out and fun to watch. They are a little loud, a little unsure, eager to impress their friends, but so full of excitement and energy. They also have a big job ahead of them. Like the birds, they need to figure out how to take care of themselves in their new semi-independent life. They need to learn how to feed themselves but they also have to figure out how to budget their finances and time, find their classes, pick a major, make friends, learn where everything is, figure out the rules (yes, you DO need to stop for pedestrians at the flashing crosswalks), study, and hopefully come away from it all with a path to a good career. As with the birds, the students face dangers--driving, drinking, sexual assault, and stress, to name just a few. But they have been preparing to be independent adults their whole lives and with luck the lessons they have been given along the way will have sunk in when the crucial time comes.

Yes, it is time for the next batch of young ones to leave the nest and enter the world. Here's to a successful and happy year.

Juvenile Eastern Bluebird, just a little more experienced

Juvenile Northern Mockingbird--"I can do this!"

Young Male Ruby-throated Hummingbird resting on the Fennel after a busy day

Wednesday, July 10, 2019

Up to the Challenge

Acadian Flycatcher in the treetops

We're well into July and I think I'm finally getting back into my normal routine. But for the month of June, I was somewhat possessed, after immersing myself in this year's June Birding Challenge. Everything but the pursuit of my list of target birds took a back burner--family, garden, friends, laundry, bills, cleaning, eating, and even personal grooming! I became single minded, scarfing meals on the run while I tracked reports on ebird and mapped my daily excursions. Most nights I dropped off to sleep, completely exhausted after walking for hours in the heat, binoculars and camera around my neck. And I had a blast! Luckily my husband was out of town for a chunk of this, or he would have felt ignored. I know the dog did.

Walking the Trails through the Woods

For those who have not read about this in my previous posts, the June Challenge is a friendly birding competition put on by the Alachua County Florida Audubon chapter. The goal is to see (not just hear) as many wild bird species within the county limits as possible. Because it is a friendly competition, people share information when they find a special or rare bird and the more experienced birders lead several field trips to help everyone see as many as possible. It's a lot of fun and I looked forward to June when I lived in Florida. Since moving to Georgia, I have tried to keep participating on my own but have (so far) not been able to convince anyone to join me. Maybe one of these years I'll get some converts and this can become a thing in Athens, too.

American Kestrel

For the past few years I had assumed that I was at a disadvantage birding up here because Clarke County is so much smaller (about 1/10th the size) than Alachua County, so I allowed myself to expand the search territory. But this year I looked on ebird at the list of birds that might be found here in June and was delighted to see that the numbers were higher than I had thought. If I managed to see every bird on the list (extremely unlikely) my numbers could be pretty respectable. Of course, the folks in Gainesville will always be way ahead of me. They have a whole lot more birds available down there, especially the wading birds, and lots of expert birders, and I am no expert. But I decided to give it a try, sticking just to my county, and anyway, as I remind myself every year, the experience is so much more than just checking birds off my list.

Orb Weaver

As always with the June Challenge, I found new parks and natural areas to explore. This year I spent a lot of time on the North Oconee River Greenway and in Southeast Clarke Park and visited the Lake Herrick/Oconee Forest Park several times a week. And I finally bought an annual pass to Sandy Creek Park, one of our county nature parks. I am coming to appreciate that for a small county, we have a wonderful number of natural areas. I have more to explore in Junes to come.

Box Turtle peeks out of the English Ivy

We may not have all the fancy and abundant wading birds up here that Florida has, like the Spoonbills and Ibises, or water birds like Anhingas and Gallinules, but we have our own specialties. Grey Catbirds and Brown Headed Nuthatches take a little planning to find in Gainesville but I have them both in my backyard feeders. Canada Geese poop all over the fields near my house--not so common for the Alachua folks. Robins--we have Robins a-plenty, all year. People get excited when they find them down in Florida in June. And I see a Hairy Woodpecker just about every year, which I never did in Florida. But I think the only unique bird I had that they won't find down there at all is the White Breasted Nuthatch, another one that visits my yard feeders.

Canada Geese

Robin

White-breasted Nuthatch

On my excursions (BTW, I averaged about 10,000 steps daily for the month, even though there were days I did not go out birding) I encountered not only birds, but rabbits, deer, beavers, a groundhog, armadillos, squirrels, turtles, snakes, lizards, frogs, toads, a salamander, spiders, butterflies, bees, wasps, fungi and slime mold. I found living things and dead. I saw things that were funny and strange and sad. I saw beautiful wildflowers and fireflies and heard the sounds of the cicadas and baby owls. I was out in the sun and rain with walkers and runners, dogs and children. I birded in the morning and evening but mostly in the heat of the day because I can never get my act together for an early morning outing. But the most important thing was that I was outside enjoying nature just about every day. What a great diversion from all the bad news these days. It made me feel so alive and in love with the world.

A Turtle with a Drafonfly on its nose

Great Blue Heron photobombed by a Beaver

Just the Head of an Opossum. Nothing else. Probably from an owl or hawk meal.

This Juvenile Owl and its sibling hissed so much that I finally saw them. Otherwise, my June would have been Owl-less.

In all I counted 75 birds. I tried but never did see a Scarlet Tanager, even though there was one in my yard in May. I expected to find a Nighthawk, but never heard one. I know I see them flying around the football stadium during night games in the fall. And I tried to find Eastern Meadowlarks, but learned that their habitat in our county is disappearing and was unsuccessful. My big scores were the Prothonotary Warbler that I heard then saw on the Greenway and the American Kestrel (rare bird) that I tracked using reports from another birder. I'm pretty happy with my list. I think I am improving each year. A lot of the birding here in Athens in the summer is in thick forests and learning bird sounds is really helpful. I found lots of birds by tracking their sounds and looking for movement. Birds such as the Wood Thrush, Black and White Warbler, Yellow Billed Cuckoo, Northern Parula and Summer Tanager. Of course, when I saw the Alachua County results, I came in at the back of the pack, but I'm ok with that. It's the journey. I plan to take the challenge again next year. If you're in the area, feel free to join me! If you are interested in seeing an album of photos I took during the month, click here.


Sunset over the lake
Here's my list:

1) Northern Cardinal
2) Chimney Swift
3) American Robin
4) Common Grackle
5) House Finch
6) Downy Woodpecker
7) Brown Thrasher
8) Mourning Dove
9) Gray Catbird
10) Blue Jay
11) Ruby-throated Hummingbird
12) Carolina Wren
13) Eastern Towhee
14) Eastern Bluebird
15) Northern Mockingbird
16) Tree Swallow
17) Tufted Titmouse
18) Fish Crow
19) Carolina Chickadee
20) Brown-headed Cowbird
21) Chipping Sparrow
22) White-eyed Vireo
23) Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
24) Red-eyed Vireo
25) Barn Swallow
26) Brown-headed Nuthatch
27) Pine Warbler
28) Wood Thrush
29) American Goldfinch
30) Turkey Vulture
31) American Crow
32) House Wren
33) Acadian Flycatcher
34) Red-bellied Woodpecker
35) Hairy Woodpecker
36) Louisiana Waterthrush
37) Common Yellowthroat
38) Indigo Bunting
39) White-breasted Nuthatch
40) Summer Tanager
41) Red-shouldered Hawk
42) Yellow-throated Vireo
43) Coopers Hawk
44) Great-crested Flycatcher
45) Black Vulture
46) Killdeer
47) European Starling
48) Great Blue Heron
49) Green Heron
50) Eastern Phoebe
51) Red-headed Woodpecker
52) House Sparrow
53) Eastern Kingbird
54) Red-tailed Hawk
55) Yellow-billed Cuckoo
56) Eastern Wood Pewee
57) Rock Pigeon
58) Mississippi Kite
59) Canada Goose
60) Mallard
61) Northern Rough-winged Swallow
62) Pileated Woodpecker
63) American Kestrel
64) Broad-winged Hawk
65) Hooded Warbler
66) Belted Kingfisher
67) Blue Grosbeak
68) Barred Owl
69) Osprey
70) Prothonotary Warbler
71) Great White Egret
72) Northern Parula
73) Black and White Warbler
74) Cliff Swallow
75) Bank Swallow