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Wing-banded Wren was one of the many rainforest understory prizes on this tour. Photo by guide Marcelo Padua.

The rhythm of life in the Amazon is largely dictated by water; the levels of the rivers and amount of rainfall influence everything. And rain was a theme on this particular tour!

We ran into an unexpected amount of rainfall during our first days that cost us some valuable birding time (and species) in terra firme forest. On the positive side, however, it also meant that ant swarms were more active, and we ended up getting some remarkable views of scarce obligate ant-followers that we miss most years, such as White-plumed Antbird and Rufous-throated Antbird. The heavy rains prevented us from reaching the tower on our way to Presidente Figueiredo, but we bounced back from it by visiting a nearby road and pulling in some fabulous canopy flocks and great birds including the usually scarce Dotted Tanager as well as the incredibly handsome Paradise Tanager. Then, thanks largely Bret Whitney's help, we were able to secure a couple of 4x4 vehicles and visit the tower instead on our way back to Manaus.

At Presidente Figueiredo our updated itinerary meant we were staying in a lodge instead of the hammock camp previously used, and so we were able to take advantage of a Guianan Cock-of-the-rock lek just a few minutes from the lodge and even had them showing up around the dining area, where they fed in palm trees along with toucans and aracaris. There was also a flowering cashew tree that brought in a fabulous Racket-tailed Coquette first spotted by Cheryl. The birding in other areas near Presidente Figueiredo was quite productive, too, with multiple great looks at Guianan Red-Cotinga and the scarce Rufous-bellied Antwren, along with a few active ant swarms.

From PF we headed back to Manaus with stops at the INPA tower and a white-sand forest reserve, and we connected with rare species such as Olive-green Tyrannulet, Northern Slaty-Antshrike, Guianan Puffbird, Saffron-crested Manakin, and several others.

Back in Manaus we boarded our boat, and now the watery element was in our favor as the river levels were just right for our purposes. We started making our way upriver, enjoying the “paradise” part of the tour. Our first morning of birding with the boat as our base had us enjoying great looks at Spectacled Owl and Crestless Curassow before breakfast, with Ash-breasted Antbird, Leaden Antwren, Blackish-gray Antshrike, Festive Parrots, Klages's Antwren, and Zimmer’s Woodcreeper following later. After a brief stop at the town of Novo Airao to enjoy some great looks at Three-striped Night-Monkeys, we continued our journey up the Negro and found ourselves at Jau National Park where we birded for the next three days, finding a number of rare and interesting birds such as Wing-banded Wren, Rufous Potoo, Tawny-tufted Toucanet, Cherrie’s Antwren, and Brown-headed Greenlet, as well as the rare and range-restricted Black Uakari monkey.

From Jau we turned back toward the Manaus area, where we visited a host of islands near the meeting of the waters and picked up several island specialists such as Castelnau’s Antshrike and Parker’s Spinetail and the "Island" form of Streaked Flycatcher.

Our last river stop was near the mouth of the Rio Madeira, where a very productive morning yielded great looks at Riverside Tyrant, Scaled Spinetail, Glossy Antshrike, Greater Wagtail-Tyrant, Varzea Piculet, Green-rumped Parrotlet, and Yellow-crowned Elaenia. We then enjoyed a relaxing afternoon as we headed back to Manaus for a final morning of birding from an observation tower where we watched Tiny Hawk, Hook-billed Kite, Black-banded Woodcreeper, Guianan Tyrannulet, and some closeup views of flying Red-and-green Macaws before visiting the famous opera house of Manaus.

All in all this was a great tour with a great group of participants. We missed a few things due to the rains, but as a tradeoff we managed to pick up several rarely seen birds.

Thank you all for joining me on this fantastic journey!

--Marcelo Padua

KEYS FOR THIS LIST
One of the following keys may be shown in brackets for individual species as appropriate: * = heard only, I = introduced, E = endemic, N = nesting, a = austral migrant, b = boreal migrant

One of the Red-and-green Macaws we saw so well from the MUSA tower, photographed by guide Marcelo Padua.

Red-and-white Spinetail was one of the river island birds we found. Photo by participant Sherry Collins.

The dining room area at our lodge near Presidente Figuereido, photographed by participant Thomas Collins.

Chavascal is the Brazilian name for forest habitat that is flooded for much of the year and that is common in Jau National Park. It differs from other forest types here not only in its plants but also its birds. Photo by guide Marcelo Padua.

Yellow-green Grosbeak by participant Sherry Collins -- this species often travels in noisy groups.

Golden-collared Woodpecker is one of the smaller woodpeckers we encountered. Photo by guide Marcelo Padua.

Getting good looks at antbirds is always a treat, especially a flashy one like Ferruginous-backed Antbird. Photo by guide Marcelo Padua.

A big White-throated Toucan photographed by participant Thomas Collins. This is the "yelper" toucan here, while Channel-billed is the "croaker."

Tiny Hawk is a widespread raptor in the Neotropics but still fairly inconspicuous. This one provided some excellent views! Photo by participant Sherry Collins.

Spotted Tanager photographed by participant Sherry Collins.

Check out the abundance of rictal bristles on this Spotted Puffbird -- they probably help the bird sense the position of prey caught in flight as well as protect the eyes. Photo by participant Thomas Collins.

We had great luck with Rufous Potoo on one of our nighttime outings. This photo shows the distinctive "keyhole" pattern of the pupil and iris in this species. Photo by guide Marcelo Padua.

Another lovely Rio Negro sunset to enjoy from the comfort of the vessel serving as our base for river birding. Photo by participant Thomas Collins.

Another fine puffbird, this one Guianan. Much less bristly, but why? Photo by participant Sherry Collins.

Green Aracari showing the distinctive, unbanded yellow breast of this species. Photo by participant Sherry Collins.

Guide Marcelo Padua (carrying scope) with our group and driver for some early-morning birding along a quiet road. Photo by participant Thomas Collins.

Quiet waters in the heart of Amazonia are often covered with the huge lily-pads of Victoria amazonica, whose largest leaves can reach diameters of nearly eight feet! Photo by participant Sherry Collins.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

Totals for the tour: 379 bird taxa and 14 mammal taxa