Hip Hip Hooii Hooiii
Thursday 21st December
This morning for 6am we had to be at Benjemins because the Tocos go into his garden at that time. Not today however. Im sure all the Toucans are sat in the trees sniggering saying ¨look the mad english person goes that way lets go this way¨. So after more coffee and breakfast Benjamin took us a different trail to look for them. Benjamin is a typical Argentinan bloke. Usualyy in a wide brimmed hat, moustache and carrying a knife and machete hes a nice old chap and every time we see him he is usually strimming someones garden. We spent a good few hours on the trail but nothing. The South American lot were all in jumpers today but I was in a tshirt and quite comfortable!. We then headed back to C&S as they had a biologist friend of theirs there and his wife and they thought it important that I speak with him. I had compiled a list of about 25 questions to ask!.
He works on Projeycto Ele as well as other projects and being a park ranger who knows the area very well, his wife is a botanist. True Mairee style a lot of my questions he couldnt answer but he culd answer a lot about diets. 70% of fruit they eat are under ripe Advacados and citrus a fave and it isnt high in Tannins. We also discussed bananas not being native to South America and the ones they do eat huimans cant because they are so bitter and also captive diets. Although not all my questions were answered it flagged up some really interesting dietary things that could be vbery interesting for captive diets. Later that day we headed back to the catapult farm to look for Toucans. I spotted one as it went into an advacado tree near me then it flew off round the corner. Trying to clamber through 2 wire fences fast and fall over whilst your binoculars get tangled is no easy feat I can tell you I got so far then got pertanged back by the neck so of course by the time I had untangled myself it had gone. As luck would have it though it appeared on a dead tree 5 mins later then took off to a big tree it sat at the very top then went down at I lost it, 2 mins later right back at the top another one joined it and the they took off together, after an hour of watching them it was very obviously a pair and with a nest with young. YAY 2nd nest site Hip Hip Hoorah for Hoooii Hoooii!!