Steve Howell from his exploration of Sani Lodge in Amazonian Ecuador

We reached the lodge in time for lunch and a siesta, but not before seeing Tropical Screech-Owls roosting by the bar, plus of course the iconic Hoatzin, comical White-eared Jacamars, and the more 'conventional' White-chinned Jacamar—not bad for the first 15 minutes! The next morning at the canopy tower featured prolonged (albeit distant) scope views of a Crested Eagle, which finally flew, as Blue-and-yellow Macaws swept by, swifts circled overhead (including perhaps the first ever photos of juvenile White-chinned), with a background chorus of Sungrebes, toucans, and howler monkeys. Oh, and then there was the eye-level roosting Great Potoo all morning... A forest walk back to the lodge produced numerous other species, including Black Bushbird, Pale-tailed Barbthroat, and Brownish Twistwing, before lunch and a siesta… Ah, just another day in the Ecuadorian Amazon, at a very comfortable lodge with birds all around. 

Tropical Screech-Owl

Hoatzin

White-eared Jacamar

White-chinned Jacamar

Crested Eagle

Juvenile White-chinned Swift

Great Potoo

Pale-tailed Barbthroat