This Pygmy Antwren is one of more than 40 species of antbirds possible at Explornapo Lodge. Photo: Gary Rosenberg
The Iquitos region of northeastern Peru has a wonderfully rich Amazonian avifauna, and more than 550 species have been recorded on our tour’s route. We’ll begin with two days in the white sands forest at the Mishana-Allpahuayo Reserve, from where no fewer than five new species of birds to science have been recently described! We’ll then travel down the incredible Amazon River to Explornapo Lodge and the ACTS Field Station, where we’ll have the better part of six days to explore the excellent trails, oxbow lakes, Amazonian river islands and best of all, the famous Canopy Walkway. Even if one has birded elsewhere in Amazonia, such as at Manu or in Ecuador, the Iquitos region offers lots of different species and great access to the forest canopy, all in surprising comfort.
This tour can be taken in conjunction with our tour Peru: Machu Picchu and Abra Malaga
Day 1: The trip begins in Lima with the arrival of international flights. Night in Lima.
Days 2-3: Early in the morning of Day 2 we’ll board our flight to Iquitos, a relatively modern city along the Amazon River in northeastern Peru. After a quick check-in at our excellent hotel we’ll drive about 40 minutes for our first visit to the Mishana-Allpahuayo White Sands Forest Reserve.
Mishana is a fascinating birding location with the potential for a number of superb birds. We’ll look especially for five newly described (or in the process of being described!) species: Ancient Antwren, Allpahuayo Antbird, Zimmer’s Antbird, Mishana Tyrannulet, and Iquitos Gnatcatcher. In addition we can expect to see a number of other birds that are amazingly rare in Peru including Brown-banded Puffbird, Pearly Antshrike, Pompadour Cotinga, Saffron-crested Tyrant Manakin, Cinnamon Tyrant-Manakin, Zimmer’s Tody-Tyrant, Citron-bellied Attila, and possibly Rufous Potoo. Nights in Iquitos.
Day 4: After a final morning at the Mishana Reserve we’ll return to our hotel in Iquitos for lunch. After checking out, we’ll leave for Explorama Lodge, arriving around 3:00 pm. Along the river we may see our first Large-billed and Yellow-billed Terns, and we’ll keep a sharp eye out for river dolphins. We’ll spend the late afternoon exploring the islands. Night at Explorama Lodge.
Gary is an excellent and patient guide, outstanding at getting the whole group on a bird and identifying it immediately and accurately, assisting both beginner and advanced birders, young and old alike. His ear for Peruvian specialties is a great asset. And even more: Gary has totally convinced me that antbirds are drop-dead gorgeous, and these favorites of his were on some occasions real showstoppers!
Ken Archambault, Birmingham, Alabama
Days 5-6: We’ll spend the early morning of Day 5 exploring the islands, searching on foot and from our canoe for specialty birds found only in this habitat, including Black-collared Hawk, Zimmer’s Woodcreeper, Bay Hornero, Red-and-white Spinetail, Ash-breasted Antbird, Leaden Antwren, and Dull-capped Attila. We’ll return to Explorama Lodge for lunch, then continue to Explornapo Lodge, our base for the next two nights.
The diversity of birds surrounding Explornapo Lodge is difficult to comprehend and the possibilities far too numerous to list! We’ll work especially the understory mixed-species flocks that are usually rich in antbirds, ovenbirds, and woodcreepers, and are often joined by tanagers and other understory birds. The list for this lodge alone is over 500 species, a remarkable total considering that it was achieved solely on foot and by canoe. The antbird list alone is more than 50 species! Some of the many possibilities include Many-banded Aracari, Golden-collared Toucanet, Chestnut and Scale-breasted Woodpeckers, Long-billed, Cinnamon-throated and Amazonian Barred Woodcreepers, countless antbirds including White-plumed Antbird, Black-spotted and Reddish-winged Bare-eyes, Black-chinned Antbird and Sooty Antbird, several antwrens including Dougand’s, Gray, White-flanked, Long-winged and Stipple-throated, fancy manakins such as Striped, Blue-crowned, Golden-headed, Blue-backed and Wire-tailed, Spangled and Plum-throated Cotingas, Collared Gnatwren, Paradise and Green-and-gold Tanagers, and on and on.
We’ll visit several young river islands, one of the more specialized habitats in the region, looking for island birds such as Lesser Hornero, White-bellied Spinetail, Black-and-white Antbird, Castlenau’s Antshrike, Lesser Wagtail-Tyrant, Riverside Tyrant, White-headed Marsh-Tyrant, Bicolored and Pearly-breasted Conebills and Oriole Blackbird, to name just a few. Along the Sucasari River, we’ll search for the elusive Spotted Puffbird, and have a chance for more riverine species such as Greater Schiffornis and Striped Woodcreeper. Late afternoons may be spent in a clearing by the lodge that attracts numerous species such as Sunbittern, Yellow-billed Nunbird, Pygmy Antwren, Black-banded Woodcreeper, Green-and-gold Tanager and lots more! Nights at Explornapo Lodge.
Day 7-8: On the morning of Day 7 we’ll walk to the famous Canopy Walkway at the ACTS Field Station, where we will spend two nights; the accommodations here are similar to those at Explornapo. We’ll bird as we walk through the marvelous forest, and when we arrive we’ll find that our gear has arrived, too. We’ll spend the remainder of the day working the canopy from a series of walkway-connected platforms. The canopy is another world, and we’ll find it thrilling to watch canopy species at close hand. One never knows what to expect from the platforms, but we are sure to get great views of such hard-to-see birds as raptors, cotingas, and toucans, and in particular Spangled, Plum-throated and Purple-throated Cotingas, Purple-throated and Bare-necked Fruitcrows, Many-banded, Ivory-billed and Lettered Aracaris, Yellow-ridged and Cuvier’s Toucans, canopy flycatchers such as Pink-throated Becard, Gray Elaenia and Slender-footed Tyrannulet, and tanagers such as Paradise, Green-and-gold, Turquoise, White-lored Euphonia, Yellow-bellied Dacnis and Purple Honeycreeper. The list goes on and on! Nights at the ACTS Field Station.
Day 9: The field station is surrounded by excellent forest, and we’ll have ample opportunity to bird the trails, where our 2004 tour discovered a perched Long-tailed Potoo during the day, just one example of how exciting the birding can be here! We’ll bird the Canopy Walkway or the forest trails today before returning to Explornapo Lodge. Night at Explornapo Lodge.
Day 10: A morning’s birding will be followed by lunch at Explornapo Lodge, then the trip to Iquitos by fast boat; as time allows, we may be able to stop to bird river islands along the way to search for any specialties we might have missed. We expect to arrive in Iquitos around 4:00 pm, where we will have the use of a hotel room. After our final dinner together, we will make the return flight to Lima, where the tour concludes.
Updated: 27 August 2008
Prices
- 2009 price about $4,240
- Single Occupancy Supplement $300
Notes
*Note that the dates for this tour have been adjusted since its original publication.
This tour is limited to seven participants with one leader.