Your journey begins the moment you arrive at the international airport. Immediately upon arrival, we'll do some grocery shopping for breakfast in the village of Zanderij. Then, we'll head to Colakreek, arriving about fifteen minutes later. At Colakreek, we'll have a simple guesthouse with bedrooms furnished with beds and shared bathroom facilities. The house has a spacious veranda where dinner is prepared in the outdoor kitchen.

From 07:00 AM, we'll begin birdwatching in the surrounding area. At sunrise, Red-shouldered and Red-bellied Macaws are highly likely to be spotted, as are Orange-winged Amazons. There's a good chance of encountering a flock of Cayenne Jays. We often hear and see toucans. After breakfast, we'll go birdwatching in the area and then have lunch at a restaurant in Zanderij. In the afternoon, we'll go birdwatching near the runway. Burrowing Owls are often found on or near the airport fence. We'll also find the White-headed Marsh Tyrant, as well as the Meadow Sparrow and the Eastern Meadowlark. There are usually also many Black Vultures and some Yellow-headed Vultures. Plain-crested and Rufous-crowned Elaenias live in the shrubs and scattered throughout the savanna. The low savanna woodlands are home to the Black Manakin, Saffron-crested Manakin, and Bronzy Jacamar. After returning to Colakreek and dinner, there's still time to look for owls, including the Black-banded Owl. The next day, we'll also spend time in the same area to observe and photograph other species.

After an early start at 05:30 a.m., we drive through the Powakka and Phedra savannas, home to a wealth of unique birdlife. This is Ashraf's favorite spot. We drive towards Brownsberg, arriving around lunchtime. We'll spend the next few days here in the guesthouse, which offers basic rooms and shared bathroom facilities. The plateau is the best place for birdwatching. The surrounding roads offer excellent views of the canopy. We'll encounter many species of antbirds. Interesting species regularly observed include the Guianan Red Cotinga, Red-and-black Grosbeak, Ringed Woodpecker, Collared and Black-tailed Trogon, and White-throated and White-fronted Manakins. The park is undoubtedly the best place to find Grey-winged Trumpeters. They are fed rice every morning and can be photographed from as close as 5 meters. The near-endemic White-throated Pewee, which was common on the plateau and had not been seen since 2009, was recently rediscovered along the mountain road to the plateau.

In the afternoon, we leave Brownsberg and continue towards Fredberg, where we prepare for our stay for the next few days. We'll stay at base camp in one of the lodges, which have rooms with beds and shared bathroom facilities. Meals are shared in the dining hall. The forest where the camp is located is within the logging concession and is a secondary forest. A very interesting forest still remains, and the logging has made birdwatching much easier. We drive along the roads to look for birds. Somewhere along the main road is a Capuchinbird lek. The very rare and difficult Band-tailed Antshrike has been seen frequently. The beautiful and rare Blue-backed Tanager has been seen on every tour so far. The even rarer and more spectacular Crimson Fruitcrow is regularly spotted. Brown and Paradise Jacamars are common and easy to spot. Glossy-backed Becard is regularly seen, and the very rare Green-backed Becard has been spotted. There have been several sightings of the Harpy Eagle. The most sought-after bird in this area will likely be the Cock-of-the-Rock. Fred Pansa discovered a new Cock-of-the-Rock lek near his camp, which is very easy to reach. The Cock-of-the-Rock is spotted here on every standard tour during the breeding season, from December to April. Outside of the breeding season, there's still a good chance of seeing this bird. The very rare Dusky Purpletuft has been photographed not far from the Cock-of-the-Rock lek. Many species of the parrot family can be found, as well as five species of toucans. On the last day, we leave for Paramaribo in the afternoon, where we will spend the night in a hotel in the city.

Depart by car at 5:30 am for Leonsberg. From there, take a boat to Bakkie. A boat trip to Warappa, heading out to sea. We have a chance of seeing a wide variety of coastal birds, with the scarlet ibises as one of the highlights. After lunch, we return to the Commewijne River. Depending on the tide, we will return to the hotel in town in the late afternoon or early evening, where we will dine in a restaurant that evening.

Depart at 06:30 AM for birdwatching southwest of Paramaribo. Here we can find marsh birds such as the Little Bittern and the Cinquefoil. After lunch and an afternoon rest, we depart after dinner for an evening tour at Peperpot Nature Park. Peperpot is an abandoned coffee plantation. It is full of coffee bushes covered in vines, with a canopy of motherworts that protect the coffee from the sun. The coffee berries are eaten by many birds. Because this is a good location for both day and night birdwatching, we will make two visits to the park. This evening we will look for owls and other nocturnal birds, including the mysterious Great Potoo, which has been frequently seen. We will return to the hotel in Paramaribo around midnight.

Depart at 06:30 for a daytime birding in Peperpot Nature Park. This is a good place to see Ashy-headed Greenlet, Blood-colored Woodpecker, Arrowhead Piculet, Painted Tody Flycatcher, Straight-billed and Striped Woodcreeper. Green Ibis and Slender-billed Kite may fly over our heads, while we listen to the songs of Cinnamon Attila, Blackish, Silvered and Black-throated Antbird. The spectacular Spotted Puffbird occurs here, but is difficult to attract. Hopefully we will see Black-capped Donacobius waving their tails in the tall grass at the entrance of the park. Green-tailed Jacamars are very common here. After lunch we depart for Weg naar Zee, a road of about 5 km through marshy meadows, with many Snail Kites. Sometimes we see a Long-winged Harrier or a Limpkin. Red-breasted larks, with their incredibly red breasts, are common. Toco toucan has also been seen here. Finally, there are two places where we can reach the Atlantic Ocean: a Hindustani temple and a crematorium. Here we can see thousands of North American shorebirds in the right season. Outside their breeding season, from September to April, scarlet ibises forage on the mudflats at low tide. Three species of egrets are common. This is probably the second best place in the world to spot a Rufous Crab-Hawk. So far we have never missed it. In the mangrove forests along the coast we have a good chance of finding the Bicolored Conebill. In a swamp forest not far from 'Weg naar Zee', named after the Cocoa Thrush 'Chocopot', we make a stop to see the Crimson-hooded Manakin.

Depending on your return flight, you will be taken to the airport during the day.

The above program is subject to change. 

Costs included in the trip:

Not included:

Birding trip incl KLM flight
Suriname Holidays can put together this trip to Suriname based on connecting KLM flights. If you would like to extend your stay in Suriname or combine the trip with a closure in the Antilles, you can let us take care of this.

Land arrangement
If you prefer to arrange your own flight or have already booked a flight, please book the land package.