A free day to do what we will - or so we thought but as we were about to go on our walk we were asked if we minded visiting the oilbirds today rather than tomorrow. We said 'no problem' and instead headed off with a guide and an American family to the cave where the oilbirds live.
We arrived at a narrow cave and went in 2 at a time to see the birds - there were several on the cave ledges but as your eyes adjusted and the torch moved around you could see many more of the 120 strong colony. We even saw a fluffy chick which at 70 days old will weigh twice as much as its parents. After I had taken some photos we moved out to let the others view the birds. Oilbirds are fruit eating night birds and given their name were exploited for the oil, particularly the chicks, they are rich in. In the dark - their eyes glow red and given their call which sounds like a strangulation in progress they have also been called 'devil birds'!
We returned and relaxed for the rest of the day - one new species on the bird table was the spectacled thrush.
After supper we embarked on the night walk - we saw 3 large tarantulas who spend the day in the pipes of the hand rails now sitting on them waiting for supper!(more care with the hand rails needed in the daytime me thinks!), land crabs, fireflies,some stick insects and an eclectic mix of spiders.....and there was a lovely full moon....but no werewolves!