French Guiana (1 Viewer)

[pbjosh]

I mean, to be clear, I don't completely ignore the seasons. But even beyond the time I spent contiguously from Colombia - Peru (nearly 2 years) I tend to plan most trips with a less aggressive schedule to allow for weather delays / hard to find birds / desire to hang out somewhere longer / etc. And aside from rain / landslide issues, in terms of finding the birds, I really don't think that it makes much of a difference from about 20 N to about 20 S. Off season birding can be better sometimes as more species are running around in mixed flocks, antbirds are more vocal during the rainy season, tinamous and quail-doves can't year you as well on wet leaves / if it is actually raining (though on the flip side leaftossers are much easier to find when it is dry as you hear them rustling leaves)... but I guess in the end it all balances out.

 

[pbjosh]

With limited time, I was thinking of sticking to the Tresor - Sentier de CdR - Kaw axis and maybe basing myself somewhere like Amazonia Lodge. I'd also build in some time for coastal habitats (around Cayenne or Kaw?) to boost my list of New World shorebirds and give myself a break from lowland humid forest birding. Quite happy to wing it solo here as I can get around OK in French, but I know just enough now about South America to recognise I know very little (!) - I'll miss a lot on my own, so if the trip gets confirmed I'll see if your friend is available for a day's guided birding.

Also just to comment on this again... there is good shorebirding around Cayenne for sure. I spent a morning birding with Hugo and we went to a few random spots but I didn't pay a lot of attention. I assume eBird would point you at the productive spots. Of the few we visited, Vieux Port de Cayenne on the W side of the city was the clear winner.

For forest birding, I would say that Kaw Rd / Tresor is probably the least interesting site - really worth getting to Bonaventure if you don't mind sleeping in a hammock!

 

[kb57]

Also just to comment on this again... there is good shorebirding around Cayenne for sure. I spent a morning birding with Hugo and we went to a few random spots but I didn't pay a lot of attention. I assume eBird would point you at the productive spots. Of the few we visited, Vieux Port de Cayenne on the W side of the city was the clear winner.

For forest birding, I would say that Kaw Rd / Tresor is probably the least interesting site - really worth getting to Bonaventure if you don't mind sleeping in a hammock!

Thanks for the advice - I was prioritising Guianan COTR, particularly after your disparaging remarks about it's Andean cousins - but maybe I shouldn't be spending too much time in that area.
I have no problem in theory sleeping in a hammock although I've never done more than nap in one, open-sided structures do seem to give you a better nights sleep in a humid forest environment - my issue is the need to negotiate a few more days away. I've also got such a poor South American bird list that anything with an east of Andes distribution is guaranteed to be new to me, so I'll have less of a focus on restricted range species - there are groups I either missed in Colombia (jacamars for example) or would like to see more of (woodcreepers, antbirds, manakins...). If in your experience Camp Bonaventure is 'birdier' than the Kaw route sites that's an important consideration for me.

 

[opisska]

So I am thinking about French Guyana for this Christmas - @pbjosh it's completely your fault, really, this report just stuck with me so much!

I have read about people who made a 12 day trek from Saul back to the main road system - this frankly is too much for us in this kind of heat, but this looks like just wandering around the interior is freely possible? Would it be worth it flying to Saul and hiking around for a few days, then flying back and renting a car for the rest of the trip? Or is it even possible to travel on the rivers instead of flying?

A year ago, I would consider just bringing our own boat But after Pantanal ... the heat in the tropica really gets you when you try to paddle.

 

[pbjosh]

From what I understand it’s not possible to get to Saul by river (ie rivers aren’t navegable).

When I was there the operator had gone bankrupt and there were no flights to Saul shy of chartering a flight. But it’s certainly worth looking into whether that has changed.

 

[opisska]

Thanks, that really saves me time looking for the boats. Seems there is a new operator, need to check whether it hasn't also bankrupt recently, seems to be a recurring theme.

 

[Andrew Whitehouse]

I thought I might provide an update to this thread since, as part of my ongoing policy of going to places a few months after Josh has been to them, I recently spent two weeks in French Guiana. I would certainly recommend it and I saw a lot of good birds (although not quite as many as Josh ). At least in the coastal portion where there are roads, it's easy to do. I visited a few places Josh didn't go to, so will post some notes on those, as well as some updates on sites that Josh discusses. I would add a fairly major qualification, which is that, although there was very good birding in a lot of places, I found the 'forestry roads' sites that Josh mentions uniformly poor for birding when I visited. This may well be some kind of seasonal effect, but they were definitely the big disappointment. Anyway, here are a few logistical notes to start things off.

Travel to French Guiana
The trip followed on from two weeks in the Lesser Antilles, which meant I had a fairly straightforward flight with Air France from Guadeloupe via Martinique to get to Cayenne. This might be a good combined trip to do, if you'd like to visit the Lesser Antilles. My return flight was with Air France from Cayenne to Paris, which was booked on the same ticket as my other flights.

Car Hire
I hired with Sixt from Cayenne airport. This went okay. I paid a bit extra for a higher clearance SUV type car, which was maybe overkill, although it made it a bit easier on some of the bumpier unsurfaced roads. Generally driving is pretty straightforward and there's not a massive amount of traffic, at least away from Cayenne.

Accommodation
I stayed at a few of the places Josh mentions e.g. Camp Bonaventure and Malou et Son Vergers, both of which were good. Otherwise, I mostly stayed in AirB&Bs, which are fairly widespread. Some are available in out of town locations that have good birding on the doorstep. All were good 'European standard' places and were reasonable value (though carbets and camping will undoubtedly be cheaper). I self catered most of the time, which is pretty easy to do. There are good European level supermarkets in Cayenne and the larger towns like Kourou and St Laurent. Shops were a bit more limited in St Georges, although you can still get basics.

Weather
The first half of July is meant to be a bit transitional between wet and dry seasons. That proved about right. The second week was definitely drier than the first, although there was some rain most days. Rain wasn't massively disruptive to birding, although there were some classic heavy tropical downpours. The high levels of humidity could be hard work at times but this is an occupational hazard in the tropics, particularly the lowlands.

Maps
I used a mix of Google Maps and Organic Maps to get around. The latter are probably more accurate, as Josh mentions. Google is mostly okay on main roads. A lot of towns have one-way systems that Google seems to know nothing about, so be a bit careful there. Neither system has all the roads and tracks.

 

[Frank van Drogen]

fairly straightforward flight with Air France

Now, that is something one doesn't hear very often....






(Now, I just gotta hope my French wife is as uninterested in birds as she seems to be, and doesn't somehow stumble upon this post)

 

[Andrew Whitehouse]

I'll go through the areas I visited, with a few notes on birds and access.

Cayenne
I just birded the first day around Cayenne. I visited Sentier Vidal, which is quite a nice forest trail. It was pretty quiet when I was there though. Later, I went to Sentier des Salines, where there is a boardwalk through coastal scrub, mangroves and some lagoons. It's quite varied and there were some nice birds in the heat, including Rufous Crab Hawk, Bicoloured Conebill and Pied Water Tyrant. I spent an hour or two in the afternoon at Vieux Port de Cayenne, birding from the pier that goes out through the mangroves (and which you can drive along and park at). The tides weren't really favourable, but there was a nice selection of waders. There's obviously quite a bit of potential for birding around Cayenne, particularly for shorebirds and some coastal forest birds.

Kaw Road/ Tresor
As mentioned, I stayed at Malou et Son Vergers. It's a nice place, although cooking facilities are a bit basic (just a microwave). A nice feature is the garden and the view from the balcony. Like Josh, I saw female Tufted Coquette here. Males are less frequent, apparently. Other good birds from the garden included Spangled Cotinga, Red-and-green Macaw, Guianan Toucanet, Black-necked Aracari, Golden-headed Manakin, and Green-tailed Jacamar. I birded a few places along Kaw Road. I visited Cock-of-the-Rock trail. Although it's not the time of year for them displaying (think that's November to April, according to the signs) I had very nice views of a male after a bit of waiting at the blind. They're quite a bird. I didn't see too much else in this area though. I birded the RNR Tresor trails a couple of times. On the first occasion, the visit was shortened by a prolonged, torrential downpour. Before that happened, I had fantastic views of a pair of Wing-barred Antbirds near the start of the short loop. I was quite amazed at how easy these were. On my way back to Malou, with the rain pouring down, I saw a group of 11 Grey-winged Trumpeters crossing the road. On my second visit to RNR Tresor, I had good views of a few White-throated Manakins. I didn't find White-fronted Manakin here or anywhere else, despite trying for them.

St Georges
I spent a couple of nights in the St Georges area, which was not visited by Josh. I think if I was planning the trip again, I would spend at least one more night here. I stayed at a pleasant AirB&B called 'Lilicam', which was very comfortable. I tried birding around the town itself (which is quite a small rustic place with a strong Brazilian influence) but it wasn't too productive. The key birding area is Piste Armontabo, which is a good unsurfaced track that goes from near the petrol station at the entrance to St Georges to an area along the river called Maripa. Near Maripa, there is a trail system. I explored the first part of this but it goes much further (though there were a few signs warning that the infrastructure - I guess bridges - weren't in a good state). This road was, by some distance, the best 'forest track' area I visited. Almost everywhere I stopped, there were good bird flocks and there were a few good fruiting trees, attended by species such as Pompadour Cotinga, Green Aracari and Black-spotted Barbet. Other nice birds along the road included Golden-collared Woodpecker, Painted Parakeets, Yellow-throated Flycatcher, Golden-sided Euphonia, and Black-faced Dacnis. Along the trail system, I had good views of a pair of Collared Gnatwrens. Nothing really rare, but a lot of nice birds and it was generally very busy and interesting through the day. I assumed this was what all the forest roads would be like, but the contrast was quite stark.

 

[kb57]

I thought I might provide an update to this thread since, as part of my ongoing policy of going to places a few months after Josh has been to them, I recently spent two weeks in French Guiana. I would certainly recommend it and I saw a lot of good birds (although not quite as many as Josh ). At least in the coastal portion where there are roads, it's easy to do. I visited a few places Josh didn't go to, so will post some notes on those, as well as some updates on sites that Josh discusses. I would add a fairly major qualification, which is that, although there was very good birding in a lot of places, I found the 'forestry roads' sites that Josh mentions uniformly poor for birding when I visited. This may well be some kind of seasonal effect, but they were definitely the big disappointment. Anyway, here are a few logistical notes to start things off.

Travel to French Guiana
The trip followed on from two weeks in the Lesser Antilles, which meant I had a fairly straightforward flight with Air France from Guadeloupe via Martinique to get to Cayenne. This might be a good combined trip to do, if you'd like to visit the Lesser Antilles. My return flight was with Air France from Cayenne to Paris, which was booked on the same ticket as my other flights.

Car Hire
I hired with Sixt from Cayenne airport. This went okay. I paid a bit extra for a higher clearance SUV type car, which was maybe overkill, although it made it a bit easier on some of the bumpier unsurfaced roads. Generally driving is pretty straightforward and there's not a massive amount of traffic, at least away from Cayenne.

Accommodation
I stayed at a few of the places Josh mentions e.g. Camp Bonaventure and Malou et Son Vergers, both of which were good. Otherwise, I mostly stayed in AirB&Bs, which are fairly widespread. Some are available in out of town locations that have good birding on the doorstep. All were good 'European standard' places and were reasonable value (though carbets and camping will undoubtedly be cheaper). I self catered most of the time, which is pretty easy to do. There are good European level supermarkets in Cayenne and the larger towns like Kourou and St Laurent. Shops were a bit more limited in St Georges, although you can still get basics.

Weather
The first half of July is meant to be a bit transitional between wet and dry seasons. That proved about right. The second week was definitely drier than the first, although there was some rain most days. Rain wasn't massively disruptive to birding, although there were some classic heavy tropical downpours. The high levels of humidity could be hard work at times but this is an occupational hazard in the tropics, particularly the lowlands.

Maps
I used a mix of Google Maps and Organic Maps to get around. The latter are probably more accurate, as Josh mentions. Google is mostly okay on main roads. A lot of towns have one-way systems that Google seems to know nothing about, so be a bit careful there. Neither system has all the roads and tracks.

I've been stalking you on eBird over the past couple of weeks (inadvertently I might add, whilst researching hotspots in French Guiana!) and was going to PM you with a few questions. I've got a flight booked to Cayenne mid-November and was going to do the same as you in reverse - after a short stay in French Guiana meet my partner in Martinique, go on to Guadeloupe to stay with a friend of hers, then return back via Martinique. AF have now cancelled one of the legs, which gives us the right to cancel the trip, and my partner has now decided to put Guadeloupe off for a year. I'm still going to do a solo trip to French Guiana, but will rearrange the flights to enable a longer (2 weeks or so) visit, with a consequently slightly more ambitious itinerary.

I don't want to burden you with a lot of questions, especially if you are going to do a trip report and probably planning to answer these anyway, and you've already answered some...but your thoughts on the following would be helpful:

• I noticed you visited Piste Armontabo near the Brazilian border, which seemed to have an impressive species list (possibly through ringing, like other sites mentioned by Josh) but your list was none too shabby! Would you say this was worth the extra travel east, and staying in St. Georges?
• At the other side of the country you seemed to have had a productive visit to Rizières de Mana, a site which was described as having little interest and no public access in a Surfbirds report from August 2023 (Surfbirds Birding Trip Report: French Guiana - 6th - 26th August 2023) - appreciate you likely benefitted from post-breeding migrant shorebird diversity which won't be quite the same by November, but presume you didn't encounter locked gates and limited access?

I also see you (like Josh) stayed at Malou et Son Vergers - I looked at their website earlier this week and they say it is up for sale, while it seems to have disappeared from Google Maps as an accommodation site - presume they are still there and functioning?

Obviously really looking forward to your trip report!

 

[kb57]

Now, that is something one doesn't hear very often....






(Now, I just gotta hope my French wife is as uninterested in birds as she seems to be, and doesn't somehow stumble upon this post)

See my response above - they cancelled a fairly important part of my itinerary (the section that got me home)! I've come to the conclusion it's not worth booking an AF flight too far in advance of travel, it's bound to change to something a lot less convenient than anticipated.

 

[kb57]

I'll go through the areas I visited, with a few notes on birds and access.

Cayenne
I just birded the first day around Cayenne. I visited Sentier Vidal, which is quite a nice forest trail. It was pretty quiet when I was there though. Later, I went to Sentier des Salines, where there is a boardwalk through coastal scrub, mangroves and some lagoons. It's quite varied and there were some nice birds in the heat, including Rufous Crab Hawk, Bicoloured Conebill and Pied Water Tyrant. I spent an hour or two in the afternoon at Vieux Port de Cayenne, birding from the pier that goes out through the mangroves (and which you can drive along and park at). The tides weren't really favourable, but there was a nice selection of waders. There's obviously quite a bit of potential for birding around Cayenne, particularly for shorebirds and some coastal forest birds.

Kaw Road/ Tresor
As mentioned, I stayed at Malou et Son Vergers. It's a nice place, although cooking facilities are a bit basic (just a microwave). A nice feature is the garden and the view from the balcony. Like Josh, I saw female Tufted Coquette here. Males are less frequent, apparently. Other good birds from the garden included Spangled Cotinga, Red-and-green Macaw, Guianan Toucanet, Black-necked Aracari, Golden-headed Manakin, and Green-tailed Jacamar. I birded a few places along Kaw Road. I visited Cock-of-the-Rock trail. Although it's not the time of year for them displaying (think that's November to April, according to the signs) I had very nice views of a male after a bit of waiting at the blind. They're quite a bird. I didn't see too much else in this area though. I birded the RNR Tresor trails a couple of times. On the first occasion, the visit was shortened by a prolonged, torrential downpour. Before that happened, I had fantastic views of a pair of Wing-barred Antbirds near the start of the short loop. I was quite amazed at how easy these were. On my way back to Malou, with the rain pouring down, I saw a group of 11 Grey-winged Trumpeters crossing the road. On my second visit to RNR Tresor, I had good views of a few White-throated Manakins. I didn't find White-fronted Manakin here or anywhere else, despite trying for them.

St Georges
I spent a couple of nights in the St Georges area, which was not visited by Josh. I think if I was planning the trip again, I would spend at least one more night here. I stayed at a pleasant AirB&B called 'Lilicam', which was very comfortable. I tried birding around the town itself (which is quite a small rustic place with a strong Brazilian influence) but it wasn't too productive. The key birding area is Piste Armontabo, which is a good unsurfaced track that goes from near the petrol station at the entrance to St Georges to an area along the river called Maripa. Near Maripa, there is a trail system. I explored the first part of this but it goes much further (though there were a few signs warning that the infrastructure - I guess bridges - weren't in a good state). This road was, by some distance, the best 'forest track' area I visited. Almost everywhere I stopped, there were good bird flocks and there were a few good fruiting trees, attended by species such as Pompadour Cotinga, Green Aracari and Black-spotted Barbet. Other nice birds along the road included Golden-collared Woodpecker, Painted Parakeets, Yellow-throated Flycatcher, Golden-sided Euphonia, and Black-faced Dacnis. Along the trail system, I had good views of a pair of Collared Gnatwrens. Nothing really rare, but a lot of nice birds and it was generally very busy and interesting through the day. I assumed this was what all the forest roads would be like, but the contrast was quite stark.

Ignore my response, you're answering my questions anyway !

 

[Andrew Whitehouse]

Ignore my response, you're answering my questions anyway !

I should answer the rest of your questions soon! I'd not seen that trip report, which covers a few of the sites I visited. The folks at Malou didn't mention that it was closing. It would be a shame if that's the case, as it was one of the better 'birding from accommodation' places I went to.

I'm perhaps being generous to Air France through comparison with Inter-Caribbean, who I did some island hopping with in the Lesser Antilles. They weren't quite as bad as reported in this (very helpful) trip report, but were definitely not great.

 

[Andrew Whitehouse]

Piste Mataroni
This was the first of the 'forestry roads' I visited (by this I mean sites where there's either active forestry or has been in the past). I was a bit slow getting there, which may have been a factor with the birding, which was very slow. There were no bird flocks, no fruiting trees and very few birds singing or calling. This was a pattern repeated at all the other forestry roads I visited. I looked for White-throated Pewee but, although I briefly glimpsed something that looked promising, I didn't find it.

Camp Bonaventure
I stayed at Camp Bonaventure for three nights. Note that if you want to stay here, you should email [email protected]. I got the small two-person carbet, which was fine. I just about got used to sleeping in a hammock! As Josh mentions, it can get surprisingly cold at night, so a blanket might be helpful. Something else to note is there is no available wifi at Bonaventure and I couldn't get a data signal for many miles. That made it a bit hard to do lists and to look for info (and I lost my Wordle streak!). I mostly birded fairly near the camp. Like Josh, I spent a fair bit of time on the Marais Trail and some of the shorter trails around the camp. Note that, although the Marais Trail is not too difficult, it's very wet in places. A pair of rubber boots will be helpful. Good birds in these areas were Band-tailed Antshrike (two females and a male were very easy near the start of the Marais Trail), Black-throated Antshrike, Ferruginous-backed Antbird (gorgeous bird!), Musician Wren, Black-faced Hawk (seen well near the entrance road end of the Marais Trail), Capuchinbird (in exactly the area Josh mentions for them), Red-necked Woodpecker, Spotted and Thrush-like Antpittas, Marail Guan, Golden-spangled Piculet, Chestnut Woodpecker, Guianan Warbling Antbird, and Riverbank Warbler. The biggest disappointment was with nightbirding. I tried along the entrance road but there was absolutely nothing calling or responding. I actually didn't even hear a single species of owl in French Guiana. The only nightbirds at Bonaventure were a couple of Short-tailed Nighthawks around the camp at dusk.

Here are a few pictures from the sites I've mentioned so far.

 

[pbjosh]

St Georges
I spent a couple of nights in the St Georges area

Yeah I just didn't have enough time to do everything... I wish I'd had a few more days for St Georges and to try harder for the Coquette and Fruitcrow particularly. But I will perhaps do some exploring in Amapá some day, and I'll get to Roraima at some point as well for certain, so those can still wait to be dipped again later

 

[pbjosh]

Sounds like you had a nice trip! It's fun to read along and relive some of the destinations I wonder indeed, how much seasonality played into things, sounds like it was quieter for you.

Bummed you struck out on night birds so much, I put in a reasonable amount of effort, to be fair - it wasn't dumb luck, but birds were generally vocal and/or coaxable / responsive. I guess I put in at least 6-8 hours of owling / night birding as I was looking for two Potoos and two Owls. The Curassow while owling was a huge bonus, though I never would have seen it without a thermal. It was way up in the canopy up a slope and took some time to find.

 

[Andrew Whitehouse]

Sounds like you had a nice trip! It's fun to read along and relive some of the destinations I wonder indeed, how much seasonality played into things, sounds like it was quieter for you.

Bummed you struck out on night birds so much, I put in a reasonable amount of effort, to be fair - it wasn't dumb luck, but birds were generally vocal and/or coaxable / responsive. I guess I put in at least 6-8 hours of owling / night birding as I was looking for two Potoos and two Owls. The Curassow while owling was a huge bonus, though I never would have seen it without a thermal. It was way up in the canopy up a slope and took some time to find.

Thanks Josh - and thanks again for providing the inspiration and guidance! I probably did an hour or two of night birding at Bonaventure, so it wasn't as long. The total lack of any response didn't encourage me to continue. The nights were very dark with no moon, which may have been a factor.

It's a bit hard to explain why the forest roads were so lacking in birds, particularly as this involves sites that are fairly far apart from one side of the country to the other. They all 'felt' a bit dead though, particularly for passerines. Other sites seemed more humid and there were more insects. In the forestry sites, there seemed to be very little insect activity (e.g. not many insect sounds or butterflies) and things felt hot and dry. It almost felt a bit like wandering about in eucalyptus forests. Maybe at other times of year things are more insect rich and there are a more fruiting trees. Those would have made a big difference at those sites.

 

[Andrew Whitehouse]

Saramaka/ Montagne des Singes
I stayed along the Saramaka road and did some birding in the area. This included a walk around Montagne des Singes ('Monkey Mountain'). The areas along the road were quite birdy and I did well for parrots near the river, seeing a flock of Caica Parrots go over and getting good views of a couple of perched Blue-cheeked Parrots. I also saw that species well at Montagne des Singes. The mountain is a good walk through nice forest at different elevations. I encountered a few good bird flocks there, including good species like Spot-winged Antbird and Fulvous Shrike-Tanager. There's quite a bit of nice habitat along this road and it's easy to explore, with various side roads etc.

Roche Corail
Another forestry road. At this one, the forest is quite fragmented and there are extensive open areas. I struggled here, although I did see Mouse-coloured Antshrike nicely. The open areas made it relatively easy to see parrots and raptors. There was a lack of passerines though, particularly true forest rather than forest edge species.

Crique Nai/ Piste Cormoran
These are two more forestry tracks near Saint Laurent. Crique Nai was very poor. Piste Cormoran (which is really a track to walk along and is not up to being driven) produced Black-faced Hawk, Marail Guan and White-eyed Tody-Tyrant. Both roads were good for roosting Blackish Nightjars. I saw several and had great views of a few.

Apatou
This is another new area I visited. I birded the road between Saint Laurent and Apatou (Google is a bit sketchy about this road, but it's a good surfaced road all the way). Some nice birds along here included Painted Parakeet and Black-faced Dacnis. I birded a bit around Apatou town. One species I was hoping would be present and was successful with was Black-collared Swallow. At least seven were out on the boulders in the river. They were a bit distant but the views through a scope were decent. I suspect this is the easiest place to see this species in French Guiana. There was a good selection of other birds and I suspect this area would repay further investigation.

 

[Andrew Whitehouse]

Rizieres de Mana
This is an interesting place. It's a very large area of abandoned rice fields east of Mana and, from Ebird lists, appears to be an excellent wetland site. It certainly is, although access is somewhat arduous. I'll explain what I did, which may not be the 'official' way to do it and has it's challenges. It's possible to park at the east end of the fields. You can park by the edge of the road but it's also possible to drive down the bank a bit and park. If you go down the bank, there is a gate, which was open when I visited. There is then a somewhat clear path that goes along the eastern edge of the fields. The path is often very overgrown and there are some bits where it's wet and rubber boots are useful. It's clear enough where to go but I was often walking through head high vegetation. I suspect things will only get more overgrown in future. I made it through to the first large pool, which is around this point. The pool was absolutely smothered in waders - I would guess 3000+. Most were Semipalmated Sandpipers, Short-billed Dowitchers, Lesser Yellowlegs and Stilt Sandpipers. There were also a lot of White-cheeked Pintail and various terns, including a lot of American Black Terns. I just about managed to get to the next pool but it was less good, although there were a lot of herons. I saw some other good birds there, including Green-throated Mango, Black-collared Hawk, and Olive-Grey Saltator. It's very arduous though, and also rather mosquito ridden. It's still the best place I went for wetland birds and close views of waders.

Digue de Panato
I spent a pleasant morning here and it's an enjoyable and easy place to bird. Josh has full details. There were a lot of Grey-breasted Crakes calling, particularly near the start, and I managed good views of one. I also saw two pairs of Ash-throated Crakes brazenly wandering about the track early in the morning. Other good birds here included Little Hermit, Black-crested Antshrike, Yellow-crowned Elaenia, Black-faced Tanager, and Little Cuckoo. I saw Crimson-hooded Manakin but the views were very poor, just a male shooting across the track.

Trou Poissons
This is a savannah site that I visited while travelling between Mana and Kourou. Turn off the main road here. The track in is okay, although there were a few deep puddles. I stopped at the fork in the road, at this point. Driving might be tricky beyond that point, although you're into a good area for birds and can walk. My main target here was Bearded Tachuri, which is pretty rare in French Guiana. Even though it was the middle of the day, I found a pair easily along the track between where I parked and the line of palm trees. I also saw another bird nearby. The site was good for grassland species I didn't see elsewhere, like Wedge-tailed Grassfinch, Grassland Sparrow and White-tailed Hawk. I suspect the palm trees could produce Point-tailed Palmcreeper and Sulphury Flycatcher, although I didn't see either on a quick look.

Route de Guatemala
This is a varied site east of Kourou. I visited twice and covered the area from the road junction down to the river. It's pretty easy to cover and there's a mix of marshland and woodland, with the river estuary at the end. In a fairly warm afternoon, I recorded 70 species. Good birds included Long-winged Harrier, Spotted Puffbird, Green-rumped Parrotlet, Black-crested Antshrike, Red-breasted Meadowlark, Yellow Oriole, Yellow-hooded Blackbird and Lined Seedeater. I also saw Ariane 6 launch! On my second visit, I had great views of Spot-breasted Woodpecker near the junction. There's apparently good birding along the main road (which is fairly quiet) to the east, but I didn't visit that area. I did do some birding from Pointe de Roches in Kourou, which gives better views of the outer part of the river estuary. There were huge numbers of birds gathered, including 1600 Little Blue Herons and 1000 Black Skimmers.

Route de Saut Leodate
I had one last tilt at forestry road birding but saw very little. There were one or two Pompadour Cotingas and a Spangled Cotinga, but it was a struggle.

 

[opisska]

I am a bit lazy to read the details, did anyone see any mammals during the birding?

We seriously consider going there on December anyway.