This spectacled caiman was catching the last rays of the day, surfacing in front of a dark cliff in the Rupununi of Guyana. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 560, f/5.6 at 1/800th of a second.

Here’s another look at the Victoria Amazonica lily pads in the Rupununi of Guyana, but this time with a bit of reference. You can see the pink flowers have already opened up before it got dark. The white flowers were just starting to open and would be fully open when it was fully dark. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 24-70 f/2.8 lens, ISO 1600, f/4 at 1/320th of a second.

Here’s another shot of a scarlet ibis from my Guyana trip. This location was just outside the capital city of Georgetown. Every night, scarlet ibis, snowy egrets and other shorebirds congregate along the mud flats, searching for a late dinner before roosting in the nearby trees. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 220, f/5.6 at 1/1600th of a second.

The tufted capuchin was one of four species of monkey I was able to photograph while in Guyana. In fact, to my surprise, I found this one in the capital city’s botanical gardens. This is a species that I photographed before in Brazil and Bolivia but always good to see again. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 6400, f/5.6 at 1/1600th of a second.

The hoatzin is an odd bird, sometimes called the stinkbird for its unsavory smell and taste. It also happens to be the national bird of Guyana. It’s very prehistoric looking. I’ll post a close up soon, but I really liked this series of flight shots I captured with the hoatzin flying over the Mahaica River in northern Guyana. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 500, f/5.6 at 1/1600th of a second.

Guyana has four species of caiman — the black, two types of dwarf, and the spectacled. I saw quite a few of the spectacled, as well as black, on my recent trip. This spectacled caiman was resting on a sandy bank of the river just after sunset, allowing me to get a low perspective from our boat. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 5000, f/5.6 at 1/160th of a second.

While searching for giant anteaters early morning in Guyana, we came across several burrowing owls. These two looked like they were having an in-depth conversation. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 2800, f/5.6 at 1/250th of a second.

I saw quite a few different species of parrots while in Guyana. This was probably my favorite — the red-fan parrot, also known as the hawk-headed parrot. It’s called the former because of those red and blue feathers on the back of the head — they can be raised to form an elaborate fan, which greatly increases the perceived size of the bird. It is thought that they do this when threatened. He clearly wasn’t threatened by me because he never raised the fan, preoccupied perhaps with all the fruits and berries on the various rainforest trees. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 12800, f/5.6 at 1/400th of a second.

Great curassows are large pheasant-shaped birds that forage on the ground for fruits and insects. Males are uniformly black, except for a bright yellow beak, and have curly crests on top of their heads. A small flock regularly wondered through the backyard of the lodge I was staying at in the Iwokrama rainforest of Guyana. There wasn’t much light left when I was photographing this one, which made for a nice black on black portrait, framed by the few highlights. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 500mm lens, ISO 12800, f/5.6 at 1/160th of a second.