![Like a Hawk_L.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmRUFDeD8S7wvNVcqZKkTVUU3zfBKXaCr1wEzuSxs4PGyV/Like%20a%20Hawk_L.jpg)

<center><h3>It has been a while since I did a birding post here on Steemit. That's mainly because I haven't spotted any more species. I've spotted 67 species so far and a lot of those can be seen in and around our garden. Still I love to share these beautiful animals so I decided to challenge myself to photograph as many species as possible during a period of three hours. If I were a hawk I would have spotted more. </h3></center>

But it went quite well. I spotted 17 different species of birds, 3 butterflies, 3 reptiles and a wasps nest. I Started at 8:00 o'clock yesterday morning and stopped at 11:00. I took around 180 pictures and selected the best. This is the list of the selected pictures.

![List of pictures.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmNqFyC6Wm25Ets1m2hmT4ViQbUGJhCSPVKE2vywrW3CeC/List%20of%20pictures.jpg)

All pictures were taken in and around our garden, not further than 30 meters from our house. The Snail Kite is not on this list but I spotted it later that day and it made a nice thumbnail. So without further ado, here are the photographs that I selected. I hope you'll like them.

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![2U0B1287_L.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmQojgSdvdCdnTQ45B6XNis63WMtbp4QVXUb2F9yqPuuYq/2U0B1287_L.jpg)
_Greyish Saltator (Saltator coerulescens)_

I was very surprised to see this bird in the garden. I only spotted the Greyish Saltator 3 times before but I never was able to take a decent picture. This songbird mainly eats seeds and fruit but also slow moving insects.

![2U0B1312_L.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmVjVguNBsUyNLTHhFWjyx2tw7sMbDxpZF1tmLZZGD6Wgo/2U0B1312_L.jpg)
_Ruddy ground dove (Columbina talpacoti)_

This little dove is a very welcome guest in our garden. All day long they are picking little insects from the lawn and I think it's mainly because of them that our dogs have no tics. If they are not looking for insects they can often been seen in pairs perched on the fence or in a tree. These birds mate all year round and multiple times a day. 

![2U0B1321_L.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmU76UQzPAcNRr4QxXDMDNpgkkYjYXmK9gFZwWFGyqNEoR/2U0B1321_L.jpg)
_Tropical Kingbird (Tyrannus Melancholicus)_

This Tropical Kingbird is a typical flycatcher. Most of the time you can see them perched on a wire, on the lookout for flying insects. If it sees one it will fly off, catch it and land back in the same spot to eat it.

![2U0B1310_L.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmf1fw6QhNzR37eLjsi5naH8TkigsuyLkEPyh6fLLgZs7C/2U0B1310_L.jpg)

We have several of those wasp nests in our garden. The wasps are small and present no problems. They can sting but that hardly ever happens and their sting is not painful. 

![2U0B1327_L.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmVhvKPiCxaTmt3p1bXUyivooTT9NvarEQwyTALZbtjbbR/2U0B1327_L.jpg)
_Wattled Jacana (Jacana jacana)_

A very shy shorebird, this Wattled Jacana. But only if you approach it on foot. If you're in your car you can approach it quite easily, strangely enough. They can often be seen in small groups walking on the vegetation in the canals looking for insects.

![2U0B1334_L.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmdkAZNiToPYKrTkKWa3N9U8ysmxTyKCBEjDTCqRFdwPmU/2U0B1334_L.jpg)
_Striated Heron (Butorides striata striata)_

The Striated Heron is the most common heron from the wetlands in Suriname. You can often see them near canals hunting for little fish. When threatened they fly off with a harsh cry that sets off the dogs in the neighbourhood.

![2U0B1346_L.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmcSPHNqm2d6PEatVLsMfFW2nYgAYir7B3bZSHiY4Jkmpa/2U0B1346_L.jpg)
_Blue-grey Tanager (Tangara episcopus)_

Tanagers love fruit and this one is no exception. They especially like mango, banana and papaya but they also eat insects. Their song is a squeaky twittering, combined with tseee and tsuup call notes.

![parrots ornament_L.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmeTkENuCHkT5EMLueCh1TwCJhUU4nQMicHHCBnaiTthEd/parrots%20ornament_L.jpg)

<br>
<center><h3>There are always butterflies in the garden and yesterday was no exception. These were the three that I photographed.</h3></center>

![2U0B1298_L.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmPq8oPkTWKPp4cFa15ZMG7LK4U2CS2Dgbn5C3qAm9BPn7/2U0B1298_L.jpg)
_Banded Orange Heliconian (Drydula phaetusa)_

![2U0B1301_L.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmVg7oPrLKTR2GarrVgNnQqDX9Z486WH6JhJ6yPF6dhdqj/2U0B1301_L.jpg)
_White Peacock (Anartia jatrophae)_

![2U0B1339_L.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmaUyXXBKS4YnryPZicGBQWEfbP5gBTUYNYuNHCuYYFT6P/2U0B1339_L.jpg)
?
![Ornament 2 copy.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmZAhwfmdHtzBN3kGMqhAt3Qbw32qDapn13c8f7vrWk94r/Ornament%202%20copy.jpg)

![2U0B1356_L.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmUqSHFfKW8B8T3Jizhh9FarY8yUU7tR3VHGgA9Wn7SN3u/2U0B1356_L.jpg)
_Wing-barred Seedeater (Sporophila Americana)_

This small passerine bird is a frequent visitor in our garden and mainly eats seeds but also fruit, flowers and buds. They are common still in Suriname but rare in other countries like Venezuela and Guyana. These birds are often trapped and are kept as pets.

![2U0B1374_L.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmbLystEGBs7kBEXpbqLjWMzBiQvp335Ht9LXmhj3G93Qf/2U0B1374_L.jpg)
_House wren (Troglodytes aedon)_

This little bird is very brave and it's the only bird that happily hops on the kitchen floor looking for crumbs to eat. Its main diet is insects though. The female builds a big round nest made out of twigs. The male completes it by adding more and more twigs and sticks. After inspection by the female the nest is lined with softer material like hair, feathers, moss etc. They sometimes play the role as a foster parent for brood parasites like the shiny cowbird.

![2U0B1383_L.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmd5WQJKV5As59YF8mTPVGn2s9oKvBPJqJM8bLNczqEHP2/2U0B1383_L.jpg)
_lesser yellow-headed vulture (Cathartes burrovianus)_

Absolutely not a garden bird but we see them almost every day flying relatively low over the fields looking for carrion. These birds have an exceptional sense of smell which is rare for a bird. At nightfall they often fly over in large groups towards their roosting places. It is a large bird, with a wingspan of 150–165 cm.

![2U0B1386_L.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmSMiCRXG5ANFTf3ahgCkLmmWts8qNs9D2xZUtUiDwsiG6/2U0B1386_L.jpg)
_Tropical Mockingbird (Mimus gilvus)_

The tropical mockingbird is an aggressive bird towards other species and amongst themselves. They don't allow any competition if there's food around. They eat fruit but also insects and even small lizards. They can sing beautifully, especially in the early hours and at dusk. 

![2U0B1392_L.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmcwpdUXWjJK84Z8b3FyKizfu4Hc8hRXrJ56DFXW5i7udj/2U0B1392_L.jpg)
_Gray-breasted Martin (Progne chalybea)_

This is one of the more common swallows in Suriname. Thousand can be found sleeping together with other members of the same genus (family) on electricity wires. But at the moment there are just a few. They hunt for insects, flying low over the fields and the canals. 

![2U0B1404_L.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmTVkqenTCnRX6CtHhTVdB49jiVpaYnC2xRvAZXtRMavbf/2U0B1404_L.jpg)
_Yellow-chinned Spinetail (Certhiaxis cinnamomea)_

It took me a while before I finally saw this bird. It has a distinctive call which I recognise, so I knew it was there in a tree but I could not see it. I appears that it's building a nest and flew to the ground looking for twigs. They mainly eat insects and are usually seen in low vegetation, sometimes in small groups. 

![Steem ornament_L.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmUVvZipA7ZH9D3yRXjxzxE9zpYqwdaGKeNBHqFEz5kkVc/Steem%20ornament_L.jpg)

<center><h3>I saw a few reptiles as well yesterday. I especially love the iguana. Recently I photographed three of them together. You can see them [here](https://steemit.com/nature/@gardenbsquared/three-iguanas-in-one-photograph) if you're curious.</h3></center>

![2U0B1267_L.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmNSg3KouqEZHkdkpdbBX2ZQ8rA1AGkzpDjwhcrG1dg9JP/2U0B1267_L.jpg)

![2U0B1343_L.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmPAdTPmhheqAFUV1NW4CJDKvFTaWYbGZ872CjetAhUFaR/2U0B1343_L.jpg)

There are quite a few of these cayman in the canals. They are no threat to humans and mainly hunt for fish and shorebirds. They grow up to 5 feet long.

![2U0B1364_L.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmaR1GBkE3QdHfsvdUHy1Cuq1AS9KTarMdm9QUwGYS8YHY/2U0B1364_L.jpg)
_A small whiptail lizard_

![Ornament 2 copy.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmZAhwfmdHtzBN3kGMqhAt3Qbw32qDapn13c8f7vrWk94r/Ornament%202%20copy.jpg)

![2U0B1412_L.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmPCHeDmmTF8Zrupc3ppZ4QHnambGT2dErrq7z3QEHdi8M/2U0B1412_L.jpg)
_Variegated Flycatcher (Empidonomus varius)_

In the same tree where the yellow-chinned spinetail is building its nest, there was this variegated flycatcher. But I couldn't see this one either. But I knew it was there because I could hear it and I recognised its song. It can be very frustrating if you cannot spot it. To make things worse I stepped in a red ants nest, while I was walking around the tree.
But finally it showed itself so it was worth it.

![2U0B1418_L.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmeLtijAJz4SyKRnZH8SvRpQeNCYpF2ctpYTvZutvCR5P7/2U0B1418_L.jpg)
_Green-rumped Parrotlet (Forpus passerinus)_

I never seem to get a nice picture of this little parrot. If it lands close to our house it's always on a wire or an antenna. They are the smallest parrots of all the different parrots in Suriname. They eat seeds, fruit and flowers. They have very strong pair bonds but they don't mate for live like other parrots do.

![2U0B1422_L.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmePTmfTrcUECj1kZBJR948H8Ycjj9ry7FFzuq4Ww8cH8h/2U0B1422_L.jpg)
_Palm Tanager (Thraupis palmarum)_

The palm tanager is very closely related to the blue-grey tanager. So close that they can interbreed. They sound exactly the same as well. The palm tanager also loves fruit and are often seen in small groups.

![2U0B1440_L.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmeGRGJfnSzJWVPRHob9r9wymv79EdyQsWLQMxMMiv59a7/2U0B1440_L.jpg)
_Blue-black grassquit (Volatinia jacarina)_

'Meester Danser' is the dutch name for this little bird. It dances on his own by jumping up and down in the same spot for minutes on end. The jump is always accompanied by a persistent wheezing jweeee call.

![2U0B1444_L.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQme7agvuBi1Xg6ipZs4WbUv2Ma2cuuP1sGWyfWKLYti5Za/2U0B1444_L.jpg)
_Great Kiskadee (Pitangus sulphuratus)_

One of the most common birds in Suriname is the great kiskadee. Easily recognisable by its call: kiskadee, kiskadee. They eat everything like fruit, insects, small lizards and even small fish and tadpoles. It was the last photo I took yesterday morning and the last photo of this rather long post. 

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I hope that you enjoyed my little challenge. If so, let me know in the comment section.

Much love,

Gardenbsquared

<br>

![banner.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmNcFf9tDkUkhWSeW9r8NWCXTvkVQApNUX61vBjiBrxwRH/banner.jpg)