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| An Opal-crowned Tanager from the Kapok Tower |
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| A group on a Lodge-managed trip |
Before I tell you about the Kapok Tower, I must mention one decision on the tour that peeved me a bit. The first night at Sacha, when we showed up for dinner, there were two tables for our group. At dinner, Wilson announced that most of our lodge-based outings could only accommodate five people. He was splitting us into two groups by designating the people at each table as a separate group.
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| Our group minus Scott; Photo: Scott Stevens |
So, when our group went for, say, the canopy walk, the other group would go somewhere else. Generally that wouldn’t bother me (and, it turned out fine), but it meant that we didn’t do any Sacha activities with our friends Jenny and Don, with whom we were traveling.
Even worse, Fran and Kathy were split up and they had come on the trip together. It seemed a bit arbitrary. As I said, it was fine, but we missed having the experience with friends.
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| Jenny and Don; Photo: Scott Stevens |
Anyway, while at Sacha, the activities included an excursion to the Kapok Tower, a canopy walk across suspension bridges, a visit to a native village and a night hike.
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| Our excursions |
In this post, I’m going to talk about the first activity Scott and I did: a trip to the Kapok Tower.
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| The platform; Photo: Sacha Lodge |
Oddly, and I do not know why, until I got home, I thought it was called the “Orchid” Tower. Since I didn’t see many orchids there, I wasn’t sure why.
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| Kapok |
Kapok makes much more sense because the 135-foot observation tower has a platform built on the highest branches of a giant kapok tree.
Common throughout the tropics, the kapok is a gigantic deciduous tree of the forest canopy and emergent layer. The tree is native to the New World and Africa and now also grows in Asia, where it is cultivated for fiber ("floss").
We had seen several towering over the jungle on our trip down the Napo.
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| On the Napo |
I was familiar with the tree because there was a famous restaurant at the entrance to my neighborhood when I was growing up called the Kapok Tree Inn, named for a kapok growing in front of it.
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| Kapok Tree Inn and the tree in Clearwater, Florida |
The ones in the Amazon are much, much taller, reaching up to 164 feet.
Bats feed on kapok flowers, serving as a pollinator.
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| Kapok flowers; Photo: Martin LaBar |
Eventually the pods open, exposing the pale fibers that float on the wind for dispersal. The fiber is used as a moisture-resistant, quick-drying, resilient and buoyant stuffing for life preservers, pillows and mattresses, as well as for upholstery, insulation and as a substitute for absorbent cotton in surgery. Unfortunately, kapok is highly flammable; so, its use has diminished.
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| Top of the canopy |
But, I am getting ahead of myself. Let’s talk about how we got to the tower before we talk about the tower itself.
We left early in the morning before sun-up and boarded a canoe just like the one we took to the Lodge the day before.
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| Early morning fog |
Juan paddled us (Scott sat in front and helped) across the lake …
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Lake Pilchicocha |
… and into a narrow canal edged on both sides by jungle ...
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| The canal |
We traveled, almost silently, as fog wafted across the canal and little drops of rain occasionally dropped in the river. With the thick canopy, it can be difficult to tell if it is raining or not.
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| Scott enjoying the trip |
As we drifted, we saw no animals or birds except a number of bats out collecting their last meal before settling in the rafters below the Lodge’s dining ramada for the day. I am not sure what type of bat; the Lodge’s website says they have 50 different species.
Enjoy the trip here.
After about 20 minutes or so, we pulled up to a muddy landing and got out of the canoe. It was very slippery; Angela almost fell but caught herself before plopping in a mud puddle.
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| The jungle |
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| Bottom of the Tower |
Once we were all safely out of the canoe, we walked a short distance through the jungle and then we were there at the Tower.
The Kapok Tower is a metal structure with somewhere between 250 and 300 steps that climb up to three platforms supported by the massive limbs of the kapok tree.
Two of the platforms are connected by a narrow skybridge.
A slightly higher one is accessed by a ladder.
It was hot and sticky, so the climb was a bit clammy.
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| Climbing up; Left photo; Scott Stevens |
But, the top was lovely.
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| Right in the canopy |
I thought, certainly, we would be right on top of birds. Alas, that wasn’t quite what happened. Since I had no birding guide I was almost on my own, although Juan did help point out a few birds. There was a birding group on the platform, as well, and I tried to stay as close as possible to see if I could see what they were seeing. Most of the birds were pretty far off. But, a few came close. The best close-up sighting was a beautiful Opal-crowned Tanager that kept coming back to a bromeliad growing on the kapok branch.
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| Opal-crowned Tanager |
I think it was drinking water captured in-between the plants fronds – or maybe hunting for bugs on the plant.
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| Hiding |
A beautiful bird.
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| Flying away |
I was also lucky to get some photos of a pair of Flame-crested Tanagers: Mr. …
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| It is obvious where he got his name |
… and Mrs. …
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| The female is quite different |
As I learned in Costa Rica, Tanagers in the Americas are gorgeous, like this super colorful Green-and-gold Tanager ...
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| Amazing bird |
... with its pretty little feather puffs below its eyes …
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| An interesting look |
And, there was even a Tanager we see in the States …
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| A Scarlet Tanager |
But, this was the tropics! How about some traditional tropical birds?
Like, maybe a Black-headed Parrot?
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| Or three? |
Or maybe a Chestnut-eared Aracari?
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| A quintessential South American bird |
I’m pretty proud because I spotted this one on my own.
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| Posing |
I saw two familiar birds from Costa Rica: a male Green Honeycreeper …
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| The male is turquoise; the female is green |
… and a cute little Pied Puffbird sitting (as they do) in a distant tree …
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| These birds are related to Kingfishers |
I also saw a juvenile or female Blackpoll Warbler up close …
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| A female |
… a distant Crimson-crested Woodpecker …
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| It was hiding in the foliage and would not come out |
… and two Lifers: a Golden-bellied Euphonia and a Purple-throated Cotinga …
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| Left: Female Golden-bellied Euphonia; Right: Purple-throated Cotinga |
Not too bad, but, gee, I wish we had had more sunlight and the birds had been closer! As you can see, some of the photos are dreadful. But, you get what you get.
And, we also got a good look at a Brown-throated Three-toed Sloth lounging in another tree at the same level as the Tower.
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| Sleeping in a nearby tree |
The Kapok Tower was a bit different from what I expected, but lovely.
After a fairly decent stay on the platform, we hiked back and re-boarded the canoe.
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| Jungle |
This time, we saw nothing along the canal except one Amazon Owl Butterfly.
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| Our only wildlife on the canal |
At the Lake
When we reached the lake, Juan started to head across directly to the Lodge and Scott asked if we could skirt the shore instead. I think he was hoping for a closer look at some Giant River Otters, which he had seen exit the lake somewhere along the part we could paddle by.
I am so grateful that Scott asked.
We didn’t see any Otters, but we had two other fabulous sightings.
The first was the crazy-looking Hoatzin, also known as a Stink Turkey.
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| A strange bird |
The last surviving member of a bird line that branched off in its own direction 64 million years ago, shortly after the extinction event that killed the non-avian dinosaurs, the pheasant-sized Hoatzin is an unusual creature. With an unfeathered blue face, maroon eyes and a spiky, rufous crest, it also has a unique digestive system. It consumes exclusively plants – 82 percent leaves, 10 percent flowers and 8 percent fruit – with an occasional accidental bug snack.
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| Fluffing up in the rain |
Bacteria in the front part of the gut breaks down and ferments the vegetable material the Hoatzin consumes, much as cattle and other ruminants do. But, ruminants possess a specialized stomach for bacterial fermentation. The Hoatzin doesn’t. Instead, it has an unusually large crop, folded in two chambers, and a large, multi-chambered lower esophagus where the food ferments. Its stomach and gizzard are much smaller than in other birds.
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| Watching us |
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| An ancient bird |
A Hoatzin's meal can take up to 45 hours to pass through its body. Apparently, this process, well, smells a bit. Hence, “Stink Turkey.”
The Hoatzin is a noisy bird, making a variety of hoarse calls, including groans, croaks, hisses and grunts. That’s how we first found it.
Its prehistoric nature surfaces again in the nest: Hoatzin chicks have claws on two of their wing digits which they use to scramble around tree branches without falling into the water. The claws disappear by the time the bird reaches adulthood.
We watched the funny bird for awhile and then, almost immediately, the Snail Kite landed on a nearby branch and we got a really good look at it.
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| Close-up of a cool raptor |
Named for its specialized diet of Apple Snails, the Snail Kite has a sharply curved bill that it uses to extract the meat from the Snail shell. It is known for its graceful flight.
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| Flying (and being harassed by a Great Kiskadee) |
The one we saw was a juvenile, distinguishable by its brown coloration and streaky head. Adult males have dark blue-gray plumage with darker flight feathers and red legs and cere. The adult female has dark brown upperparts, heavily streaked pale underparts, and yellow or orange legs and cere.
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| Adults have red or orangish-brown eyes; juveniles have dark brown. |
In addition to living in Central and South America, Snail Kites can be found in the Everglades, but I have never seen one.
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| A great Lifer |
It was a nice detour before returning to dry (ish) ground.
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| Back at the Lodge; Photo: Scott Stevens |
Trip date: March 7 - 19, 2023
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