I set the alarm for 0415 as we were being picked up at 5am to go birding. Indeed we left the room at 0450 and the driver and guide were already there so we were able to leave immediately. We drove to the east to Abary Creek trail where we had a quick breakfast of coffee and cheese sandwiches. We then started to look for birds - first we saw the rufous crab hawk sitting in a roadside tree, this was quickly followed by watching and trying, with difficulty, to photograph the blood coloured woodpecker and the slightly easier white bellied piculet. We also saw orioles, brown crested antwrens, blue black grassquits, straight billed woodcreeper, turquoise tanagers, black vulture, turkey vulture, lesser yellow headed vulture, ruddy ground dove, plain breasted ground dove, crimson crested woodpecker and a lovely rufous coloured cuckoo. I then spotted a red rumped agouti and baby crossing the road- great in binoculars but too far away to photograph. When we got to ocean we saw magnificent frigate birds flying overhead, more rufous crab hawks and mud skippers who as we arrived skipped from the mud into the water. The driver arrived to collect us and we had juice, yogurt, cake and coffee to finish off breakfast before going back to Georgetown. On the return trip I saw on the telegraph wires a number of snail kites - one was actually eating a snail.
We got back to the hotel at 1020 ish - after changing we went and did a bit of shopping -but it was now very hot 30+C. We were collected again just before 12noon to go for lunch in a traditional Guyanese restaurant - I had mango curry and roti while John had fried rice and fried chicken. We then returned to the hotel again and rested until 3.30pm when we went to the Demerara river, we crossed via the only bridge and did some birding along a mixed habitat lane before walking back across the bridge (1mile) and meeting up with our driver.
We saw lots of of scarlet ibis in the trees on the way over the bridge but there were only a few, not in photographable distance, when we returned.... ahh.
On the trip were able to see - the greater and lesser kiskadee; the boat billed flycatcher, tropical king bird, grey king bird, laughing falcon, green kingfisher, red breasted blackbird, pied water tyrant,ashy headed greenlet, smooth billed ani, grey breasted martins, ringe kingfisher, mockingbird, wattled jacana, sandpiper, tri-coloured heron, little blue heron, yellow crowned night heron, cattle egret and little egret.
We returned to the hotel and said goodbye to our guide Carlos but we would see the driver again as he was collecting us at 0630 on Thursday to go to the airport. We then had a quick bite to eat, ordered an early breakfast and settled up to enable a smooth departure in the morning.