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: On the morning of day 2, we’ll board a 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, Northern Chestnut-tailed 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 at Iquitos.
Day 4: After a final early morning at the Mishana we’ll return to Iquitos for an early lunch followed by an hour and one-half motorized canoe ride downriver to Explorama Lodge. 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 arrive at Explorama Lodge in the late afternoon, with ample time to finish the day on the forest trails near the lodge looking in particular for Orange-eyed Flycatcher, a species first described to science in the 1980s. We’ll also search for a number of varzea species, including White-eared Jacamar, Chestnut-eared Aracari, Cinnamon-throated Woodcreeper, White-shouldered Antbird, Gray-headed Tanager, and many others. Night at Explorama Lodge.
Days 5-7: We’ll spend the early morning of day 5 at Yamamono Island, very different from the smaller, early successional islands we’ll visit later in the trip and resembling the flooded forest one finds on the mainland. We’ll search 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. In the late morning, we’ll continue on to Explornapo Lodge, our base for the next two or three nights (we may decide on site to spend one night less here and one night more at ACTS).
The diversity of birds surrounding Explornapo Lodge is difficult to comprehend and the possibilities way 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 of 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, just to name 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.
Days 8-9: On the morning of day 8 we’ll walk the short distance from Explornapo to the famous Canopy Walkway at the ACTS Field Station, where the accommodations are similar to those at Explornapo. We’ll bird as we walk through the marvelous forest, and when we arrive we’ll find 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 hard-to-see birds such 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!
Apart from the Canopy Walkway the field station is surrounded by excellent forest, and we’ll have ample opportunity to bird the forest trails. In 2004 we found a perched Long-tailed Potoo during the day, an example of how exciting the birding can be! Nights at the ACTS Field Station.
Day 10: After a final morning on the platforms at the ACTS Field Station we’ll return to Explornapo Lodge and board the canoes for the journey back to Iquitos. Time permitting, we’ll break up the trip with short stops at river islands looking for any of the specialties we may have missed. We’ll arrive back in Iquitos in time for a bath and an early dinner before boarding an evening flight back to Lima in time to connect with flights home.
Updated: 08 February 2008
Prices
- 2008 price about $3,490
- Single Occupancy Supplement $210
Notes
This tour is limited to seven participants with one leader.