Back to the Ecuador photos from the Ecuadorian Amazon:
![atop the wooden tower at sacha lodge](http://www.clubantietam.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/IMG_4043dm.jpg)
We climbed the wooden tower at the Sacha Lodge to see more birds and wildlife. The tower is built around a giant Kapok tree that is teeming with epiphytes, especially at the top. You spiral around the giant trunk as you climb the tower’s steps.
![ruby poison dart frog](http://www.clubantietam.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/IMG_4089dm.jpg)
Our guide found a ruby poison dart frog (ameerega parvula). It was seriously impressive how adept he was at finding wildlife. It’s poisonous enough to kill a bunch of people.
![crested owl](http://www.clubantietam.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/IMG_4109dm.jpg)
A crested owl (lophostrix cristata). It reminded me of one of those reverse-perspective optical illusions where a face always appears to be staring at you. The owl would just subtly move its head to look in your direction.
![Palm Strings](http://www.clubantietam.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/IMG_4126dm.jpg)
We took a break for a little demo where Carlos made a string from a palm leaf.
![mossy walkway with leafcutter ants](http://www.clubantietam.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/IMG_4131dm.jpg)
A mossy walkway
![leafcutter ants](http://www.clubantietam.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/IMG_4137dm.jpg)
Leafcutter ants traverse a large exposed root
![redeye piranha](http://www.clubantietam.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/IMG_4165dm.jpg)
We spent an hour in the afternoon fishing. I was the only person of our group who did not catch a fish. That’s not to say that there weren’t any fish – there were piranhas everywhere in the water but they cleverly ate the raw chicken off of my hook. You could feel them bite after less than a second. I think this was a red-eye piranha (serrasalmus rhombeus).
![red howler monkey](http://www.clubantietam.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/IMG_4191dm.jpg)
We went out again for an afternoon canoe ride after our little fishing excursion. This is a female red howler monkey (alouatta) with young attached and what I believe are giant cheek pouches probably full of food.
![common squirrel monkey](http://www.clubantietam.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/IMG_4220dm.jpg)
We continued along our canoe ride and heard a lot of rustling in the trees. It turns out there was a group of common squirrel monkeys (saimiri sciureus) nearby, moving around and foraging. We waited in the canoe for maybe half an hour and enjoyed the show.
![jumping squirrel monkey](http://www.clubantietam.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/IMG_4235dm.jpg)
At some point, all of the common squirrel monkeys needed to cross the waterway. One by one, they jumped across, usually after hesitating for a moment as if they were considering the prospect of falling below.
This one made it. They all seemed to be able to jump across pretty well – we didn’t see any monkeys fall but some of them missed their target but were able to grab on to a branch not far below their landing site.
After dinner, we went out with headlamps for a night hike to see the nocturnal creatures. Here’s a grasshopper/locust that had just finished molting.
![locust laying eggs](http://www.clubantietam.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/IMG_4333dm.jpg)
And here’s one laying eggs in a dead branch
![glass frog on a pole](http://www.clubantietam.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/IMG_4340dm.jpg)
I believe this little guy was a glass frog (centrolenidae)
![bird catching spider](http://www.clubantietam.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/IMG_4348dm.jpg)
A very large burrowing bird-catching spider (selenotypus plumipes)
we didn’t see as many snakes as we’d hoped, but we did see this red vine snake (siphlophis compressus)