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Nature
Calendar in a complete Year - by Regions
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In the mountain Regions the lack of rain is also felt. At the
foot of these mountains the defoliation process begins as moisture saving of the plants to
avoid an excessive evapotranspiration, this occurs in the deciduous forest. This
phenomenon favors the use of scarce resources to allow the reproduction of many vegetable
species, which becomes the best moment to watch the arboreal fauna.In Guayana it still rains. Their raining
pattern is different from the one in the northern part of the country, due to this the
great forests still reflect an unstoppable green. |
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In this month, the rains stop and the chill strikes. With the stopping of
the rains, the flow of rivers and streams has reduced little by little in such a way that
the flooded lowlands has receded and the wild fauna began to move and concentrate around
the tidelands.The lowering in the flow of many rivers allows the gallery forests to be
more easily explored, making that many animal species move into it. |
Guayana Shield - January
The fruit of the
"Pijiguao" Palm begin to ripen. These are important in the diet of many species,
particularly toucans.
On the edges of primary
forests, Guianan Saki Monkeys can be frequently seen. They apparently like the fruit of
some colonizing plants.
At sundown, Blueheaded
Parrots can be seen returning to their roosts. While they fly, they repeat their
characteristic metallic call, "hoy, hoy, hoy".
Due to the drought, the
vegetation along the roads becomes less dense, affording a better view of those southern
landscapes, where the tepuis stand out. These are the famous tabular mountains of
Precambrian rocks which form the Guayana Shield.
Throughout the day the
strident and sharp sound of the Screaming Piha can be heard. For visitors, it becomes the
voice of this region. There is the belief among miners that if one finds the bird, one
finds a gold vein. But it is almost impossible to find it, because its plumage blends with
the foliage of the trees and its voice seems to come from everywhere, because what is
really heard is more than four birds in different places and at different heights.
It is also common to hear,
from morning until night, the Whitetailed Trogon, which responds to the imitation of its
song.
Groups of birds, specially
Turquoise and Paradise Tanagers, can be observed feeding on the fruit of the shrubs and
plants of the Melastomatacea family
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February is the month to watch the birds of the forests that are
adjacent with the moor. Early in the morning and before the sun rays rise the temperature,
is a spectacle to get into those "midget" forests searching for the wonders that
the nature offers |
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The local
fauna movements become more noticeable, besides the accumulation of waters to locate those
resources that form their diet. On the other hand, in many high mountain areas the weather
is still relatively humid , due to the ascent and condensation of the air masses that rise
from the lowlands and favor the forming of mixed bird flocks to locate their nourishing
resources.
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Guayana -
February
During
February the local fauna movements become more noticeable, besides the accumulation of
waders to locate those resources that form their diet. On the other hand, in many high
mountain areas the weather is still relatively humid , due to the ascent and condensation
of the air masses that rise from the lowlands and favor the forming of mixed bird flocks
to locate their nourishing resources.
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March is the peak month of what is known in the plains as
"summer". Throughout this period scarce precipitation is registered all along
the country, which forces to an intense defoliation of the vegetable species including
those in the cloudy forest. That leaf carpet determines a greater concentration of bugs on
the floor, because in the canopy the excess of light and radiation do not allow the
development of a rich life.
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In the whole Venezuela the fauna restricts its activities to the beginning
of the morning, ending of the afternoon or to the night to avoid the high temperatures
that are produced during noon. |
Many species of shrubs
from the Melastomatacea genus are in bloom, which offers an excellent opportunity for
observing groups of Tanagers.
The Redbilled Scythebill
is singing in pairs, inspecting tree trunks and branches for larvae and insects. It likes
decomposed trunks very much.
The Capuchinbird is in
activity with its spreading. It does it while posed on the higher branches of the forest's
canopy.
Another bird active in its
display is the Bearded Bellbird. It is thus called because of its resonant metallic
hammering song. The Bellbirds emit several pealings separated by silences of minutes, to
later resume singing a repeated series of the same.
The Great Tinamou and its
close relative, the Little Tinamou, are looking for mates. They are easily recognizable by
their song. The former begins with a series of sounds which are imitated by the latter.
The Conck Bean Tree is
flowering. It is very sought after for its aromatic bean, used in the manufacture of
perfume and tobacco and in regional cooking.
The Rubber Tree, legendary
for the use of its latex, is in bloom.
The Guianan CockoftheRock
is nesting and with luck a female might be seen flying in search of food.
The Purplebreasted and the
Pompadour Cotingas are busy displaying in the treetops at sundown.
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April
is the end of the drought. Many couples of parrots and macaws must be taking care of the
hole where they will nest in the up coming season for two months already. However, in this
month, the custody of this hole is done with more insistence due to the proximity of the
reproductive period.The flows of the rivers and streams are in their lowest level,
forcing many fish to go the surface. This situation is profited by the Cranes the Gray
Cranes, the GrayNecked WoodRail, such is the case of the Jabirus, which accmulate in large
numbers of adults and young, taking advantage in this banquet. |
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noon most
of the country's ecosystems seem "off". Besides, April is the month of the
retiring. Thousands of neotropical migratory birds will make their moving towards North
America to begin there their reproductive period.In what respects to the resident fauna, many
mammals, reptiles and birds concentrate in the few places where there is the alimentary
resource available, some maybe varying their regular diet.
April also is characterized
by being the period of greater birth of bat species.
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The Little Chachalaca is
mating, and the male can be heard singing its three resonant notes which it repeats at
morning and afternoon.
The Long John which grows
in the South finished bearing fruit, while the one from the North continues.
The Whitebrowed Purpletuft
moves around the treetops feeding on insects.
The Swallowwing perches on
some dry or bare branch catching insects.
The Black Nunbird is
courting and its song can be heard surprising everyone because of its high volume.
The Scarlethorned Manakin
is also courting. In the display ritual, the male flies between two branches while it
emits a metallic crack, and ends with fast movements from side to side.
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With May comes the water, and with them, the insects, the birds
and the amphibian sing in unison, as if they were celebrating the arrival of the resource
of life. In this month and during the next bimester the greater amount of nesting will
occur in almost all the tropic's representative ecosystems.In the Regions, the Hummingbirds fly at
amazing speeds like wanting to take nectar from every available flower in their zone of
forage.
The plains come to live at
night, owls actively hunting to feed their pigeons can be seen. The most dramatic change
occurs when the savannas get dressed with an extraordinary green color that does |
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not remind at all the desolation of the late drought.The rivers south of the Orinoco recover
slowly from the scarce flow they use to have. The great water falls nourish from the rains
to form huge free fall flows.
The most transcendent
event takes place in the country's great caves. There the oil bird (Steatornis Caripensis)
concentrates in numerous groups to begin their reproductive period, as well as most of the
bat species, that can be observed in their brood's birth and nursing period.
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Guayana Shield - May
The fruit of the
CannonBall Tree ripens and falls to the ground, emitting a strong and disagreeable smell.
The Giant Armadillo gives
birth to its young, usually two.
In midmorning two or three
Swallowtailed Kites can be seen gliding through the sky.
In the upper branches of
the highest trees, the Plumbeous Kite perches, ready to catch prey.
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In
June it rains all over Venezuela, this is why it is commonly known as the "winter
month" or "of the water entrance".All along the Caribbean coast the sea
turtles begin their spawn period, being this an ancestral behavior of the surviving species.
In the plains, and product
of a more accented sedimentation from the Andes, the rivers get colored in different tones
that go from dark brown to brick red, being this haulage the ingredient that will stimulate
life in this area.
If up North it rains
everyday, in the South it rains |
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the whole
day. Guayana is a sole scream of adult and young parrots and macaws directing to the
sleeping and eating places. Whit this begins the dispersion of many species to the areas
distant from the damp areas. Now there is water everywhere.In the Orinoco, the beaches and sand banks
disappear under the growth and the waters go back into the shallow lagoons that are all
along the great river, which will serve as a breeding place for many fish species, which
will feed from seeds and small plants that are in the bottom of the lagoon.
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Guayana
Shield - June
Due to the abundant
nutrients in the soil, the forests tend to improve their development, due to a relative
abundance of nutrients in the soil. This is because of the haulage of the rivers.
Monkeys are enjoying an
increase in breeding.
Large flocks of parrots
can be observed flying through the forest and emitting their typical screeches.
Period of birth of the
Giant Armadillo.
The increase in
precipitation becomes more notorious in this region of the country. In the cloud forest
the leaves of the trees are more abundant and the undergrowth is enriched by colonies of
palms and heliconias. The ground is covered by moss and ferns.
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In
July the raining period begins. During this months, the rainfalls seem neverending, however,
in the Coastal Region and due to a particular regime, a dry period will begin and it will
last until mid September. In the bird world, the plumage of the immature, juvenile, subadult
and adult get confused all over. The great number of pigeons actively looking for seeds,
fruits or an insect represent an identification challenge for the observer. |
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Both the plains and Guayana are saturated with water. Now the general
animal behavior is oriented towards the search of the few dry places such as a high branch
of a gallery forest, medium height mountains or even the "bank from the plains".
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The
"Chata" Turtle prefers shallow waters, near the borders of rivers, to nest.
The Papilio androgeus and
Caligo illioneus butterflies are abundant.
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During
August, the beaches of the Caribbean serve as a scenery for the arrival of migratory
shorebirds of North America. These birds concentrate around the coastal damp areas where,
among Flamingos and Herons, they feed from the rich fauna of the salty waters.In Guayana and in
the rest of the country a great silence is felt all the time. With a good weather for |
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the
breeding, and the ending of the reproductive period, most of the birds seem to rest from the
active months with a silent behavior.On the other hand, in the Western coast of
Venezuela, in Falcón State, a short rain regime begins.
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Guayana Region August
The Freshwater Otter begins its
reproduction season.
The Marmosa demerae areniticola, a
small marsupial which inhabits the tepuis, is also breeding.
The Long John begins to bear fruit.
Its flowers and fruits attract tanagers and honeycreepers.
In the Orinoco Delta, the Greater
Largebilled SeedFinch and the Cinnamon Attila, are singing and actively defending their
territory.
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September
is the best month for the watching of frogs and toads. A ride along any damp area would be
impressive because of the quantity of singing and croaking at dusk and dawn.The birds begin the
formation of "flocks of mixed species". |
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In the
plains any mata surrounded by water serves as rookery for the nesting. During the following
months its a spectacle watching how these "maternities" begin leaving their space
for the reproduction of waders. This process will last until the endings of December. |
Guayana Region September
Around this time many
birds have finished raising their young and begin to form large feeding flocks.
The Harpy Eagles can be
seen flying over large jungle extensions. Their young take many months to leave the nest,
and both parents take turns feeding it. This species is particularly common in the Reserva
Forestal de Imataca.
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Regarding the visits, the arrival from the Northern hemisphere of bird
flocks searching for a refuge towards the south. One can see them crossing the lower areas
of the Regions to continue their pass towards South America. At least some 70 species of
birds, that include Shorebirds, Gulls, Swallows, Songbirds and Hawks lodge in the ecosystems
of our country or pass through them on their way to
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other
warm areas of the tropic.The gallery forest disguises of nests of different sizes. Platforms
with sticks, gramine balls and feathers, bags hanging in an exposed branch and even fifty
centimeters diameter platforms of dry sticks in the lower branches of the bushes. When in
the interior of this last one two white color eggs can be observed, that indicates the
presence of the Rufescent TigerHeron. |
Guayana Region October
The
Floss Silk Tree begins to flower.
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November is known as the month of the lowering, even when the dry season
begins in the whole country, in some areas isolated patterns continue. In the Venezuelan
Eastern coast it rains, in the Andes during the morning the atmosphere will be cleaner, and
in the plains almost the whole savanna seems flooded, but without so much precipitation. |
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end later
than the rest of the ecosystems. In the plains the water begins to stop and the damp areas begin to dry
gradually, being this a process that ends in April. However, this soil continues to receive
an important flow of those rivers that pour their waters through the eastern side of the
Andean Region. |
Guayana Region November
The
Ruffle Palm is in bloom. The fruit of this palm attracts parrots and macaws.
The Bearded Bellbird is nesting.
In the Sierra de Lema, where
"La Escalera" or ascent towards the Gran Sabana is found, the phenomenon of
feeding flocks of mixed birds occurs.
The leaves begin to fall in the
deciduous forests. In the majority of species, flowering occurs after the trees are bare.
This process of defoliation in deciduous forests is accompanied by an exodus of small
mammals (mice, shrews and others) seeking refuge in areas with greater cover.
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December is famous for bringing in the cold. This happens because of the
arrival of the soft trade winds, which move from the East towards the West, or said in other
way, in the opposite direction of the great rivers as the Orinoco and the Apure.In the high areas
the temperature lowers significantly in the early morning. In the plains the dry season or
"summer" has already begun, and with it, the regular processes of this time of the
year are showing: the floggings go away, the Savanna's grasses turn yellow and the water
fauna begins to feel the radical changes in the bodies of water. |
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From
November the different migratory warblers may be found in the mountain forests. For many
hunting birds this month marks the beginning of the courting and reproduction period, while
some aquatic birds are initiating their process of flying with their babies. The lower forests seem drier everyday and
the falling of the leaves from the deciduous trees speeds up.
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Guayana Shield
End
of the flowering period of the CannonBall Tree, the Floss Silk Tree and the Ruffle Palm.
At this time it is possible to
see, in an emerging tree of the forest, the nest of the Harpy Eagle. During this period
the nest is taken care of by the male and female.
The inhabitants of this region
say that in this month the jaguar with its babies can be seen, and it is the time in which
it becomes more aggressive.
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Nature
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