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.

When I go on wildlife trips I always tell myself to take more video. And then I forget. Last year in Africa, I only took a handful of videos, some of which I’ll post soon. And earlier this month in Guyana, I switched over a few times — one of those times being an encounter with a family of squawking red-and-green macaws. Below is a photo I captured of the scene. Video: Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, 4K/60fps, ISO 64, f/5.6 at 1/125th of a second. Photo: Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 450, f/5.6 at 1/1000th 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.

The first lodge I stayed at in Guyana had eight different species of mango tree on the property. Only one of them was fruiting at the time, but the local squirrel monkeys were all over it. I have photographed squirrel monkeys many times before, but was never as close. I realized just how small they really are. I’d say even smaller than a squirrel. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 1100, f/5.6 at 1/320th of a second.

Guyana is called “The Land of the Giants” for good reason. They have the largest eagle in the world (harpy eagle), the largest armadillo, the largest anteater, the largest rodent (capybara), the largest fresh water fish (arapaima), even the largest lily pad (Victoria amazonica) and single drop waterfall (Kaieteur Falls). And of course, plenty of these guys, the largest otters. We saw them a few times, but they were very skittish so I wasn’t able to capture any behavioral shots, just the heads popping out of the water checking us out. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 280, f/5.6 at 1/1000th of a second.

This is what conjugal bliss looks like to the marine toad. Also known as the giant neotropical toad and the cane toad, these guys were all over the place once night fell on the Rupununi region of Guyana. Nikon D850 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 500, f/8 at 1/160th of a second, Godox V860iii flash.

Toucans can be challenging to photograph in the rainforest because they are inevitably high in the canopy. That said, I was thrilled when I came across several toco toucans in the city of Georgetown on my last day in Guyana. I had heard the city’s botanical gardens were a great place for birds, but didn’t know that included toucans. I had previously photographed this species in the Pantanal of Brazil and didn’t know they ranged so far north. Toco toucans are the largest toucan species in the world — and were the toucan featured in a well-known ad campaign for Guinness. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 220, f/5.6 at 1/1600th of a second.