Birding in the morning was another successful day. More doves and a cute little fella known as the yellow crowned euphonia. She was a sweetheart and such a trooper!



I successfully scared birds into the net on two separate occasions! Apparently birds find me terrifying...go figure.

The most exciting parts of the day weren't actually birding! After the bird nets went down around mid-day, I took a stroll on the boardwalk and found this beautiful green heron. Okay, so this discovery is bird related - but still you can't deny how gorgeous this creature is!



...Hard to believe this majestic bird ate a baby jacana only a day earlier. The bird world is ruthless; wrought with siblicide and cannibalism.

Leaving the boardwalk the group happened upon a group of capuchin monkeys. The troop came complete with two adorable youngsters. That's right - baby monkeys. But our presence upset the alpha male. He repeatedly hunched over a companion and hissed at us; a highly intimidating sight for most threats I'd imagine, though highly ineffective to a group of biology students. Rather than run in horror, we all shrieked "Oh look they're posing for us!" - quite the opposite of the desired effect.



We did get a good peek at the baby monkey, or rather, the baby capuchin got a good peek of us!



This was apparently the final insult for the alpha male who then charged over to the tree, huffing and puffing, climbed up above us and, in a fit of rage, broke off a branch with his tail and hurled it down towards us. Thankfully no one was hit, but when his attack failed and he jumped onto a new shakey branch, we all scattered.

This encounter was followed by a hike to reach this incredible view:



Evening birding was also successful. A large group of grooved billed anis came too close to our net, and when a group of us charged, three of them, in a panic, got stuck in the net. It was a great success! They are beautiful black birds and mine was so cooperative. I am improving my technique with every capture and feeling very good about my birding. My fear of their beaks is also dwindling! Which I'm calling a good thing.