July 22-August 1, 2024 with Jesse Fagan
It had been a few years since my last trip to the Tambopata. That didn’t really matter, however, as every visit is unique and always blows me away. This trip was high on critters, and that’s exactly what makes this part of the world so spectacular. The biodiversity is unmatched. From tarantulas and deadly caterpillars to titi monkeys, tapir and puma, plus over 300+ species of birds, it was an awesome trip this year. Thanks again to my small group, plus our local guide, Jair Mariche, who is always superb. It was a pleasure working with Alex, who also did a fine job for his first trip to Peru!
We started off at the closest lodge to Puerto Maldonado, Posada Amazonas. This property is located above the high-water mark and the habitat is described as terra firme. All three lodges along the Tambopata where we stayed have a different suite of birds based on their dryness relative to flooding and their micro conditions. We started off with a bang here the first afternoon with a visit to their canopy tower. Well, you are actually above the canopy. We had both Red-and-green and Scarlet macaws below eye-level, in pairs cruising along to roost sites, a Great Jacamar sang below us but stayed hidden, and a family group of Red Howler Monkeys settled in for the night. We topped off our first night with a stellar Tawny-bellied Screech-Owl in the spotlight. The next morning early found us at Tres Chimbadas which was a whirlwind of “new” stuff. Along the oxbow lake edge there were prehistoric Hoatzins, a confiding Rufescent Tiger-Heron, and a pair of singing Silvered Antbirds. On the forest trails, we were overwhelmed with song and activity: chattering Black-fronted Nunbirds, a sneaky Chestnut-tailed Antbird, and a cooperative Black-faced Antthrush from its song perch.
The boat ride up to our next destination, Tambopata Research Center (TRC), was exciting. There is always cool stuff to look at. During our three-hour boat trip upstream, we enjoyed Capped Heron and Pied Plover on the sandy beaches, more parrots and macaws flying over, and groups of curious Capybaras. One of the other highlights had to be the hundreds of Sand-colored Nighthawks sitting on the sand and perched on river debris. We stayed four nights at TRC, which gave us time to explore the different habitats and make a few excursions along the river. TRC is located further upstream and is more susceptible to seasonal flooding, much of the forest is varzea forest. Nearly one full day was spent in pursuit of bamboo specialists. We did well in finding many of them, including Ihering’s Antwren, Manu Antbird, Bamboo Antshrike, White-lined and Goeldi’s antbirds, Brown-rumped Foliage-gleaner, White-cheeked Tody-Flycatcher, and Large-headed Flatbill. One major surprise from the bamboo was a Black-and-white Tanager, which is a rare migrant to the Amazonian lowlands. Another morning found us on Isla Colorado, where river island specialists were the target for the day: Spotted Tody-Flycatcher and Scarlet-hooded Barbet, for example, but we also had an incredible experience with a dust bathing Blue-throated Piping-Guan, and a nesting pair of Yellow-browed Tody-Flycatchers. Probably one of the biggest draws to this region are the clay licks (or collpas). TRC is quite famous for being one of the premier sites in Peru for seeing birds and mammals at clay licks. Though each year is different, and you can never predict animal movements, our experience was memorable. We traveled down river to Collpa Ocho Gallinas and spent several hours with hundreds of parrots and macaws. It was awesome watching them wheeling around and landing on the exposed riverbank. However, even this experience couldn’t prepare us for what was to come.
Guides always mention to participants that they should be on the lookout for “The Big Three.” I am talking about Brazilian (Lowland) Tapir, Jaguar, and Mountain Lion (or puma). It is certainly possible to encounter them, you see their footprints everywhere along the riverbanks, but, in all honesty, the probability of seeing one of them is very low. So, what do we make of seeing not one, but two of The Big Three on this trip?! Incredible. Both the tapir and puma were in the same river cut on two different days. It really was good luck, but luck favors the prepared mind, and we were actively searching and paying attention to our surroundings. Nice work everyone.
For our last two nights on the river, we traveled to Refugio Amazonas. This is the middle lodge of the three Rainforest Expedition properties. It is a good location to finish the trip and pick up several new birds. This year the biggest draw to this site was an active Crested Eagle nest. In year’s past, Refugio has hosted a breeding pair of Harpy Eagles, but Crested Eagle is the rarer of the two. We spent one afternoon at the eagle nest, but also enjoyed watching the live nest cam from the lodge bar! There’s no better pairing than a pisco sour with a Crested Eagle nest. At Refugio, we rounded out the list nicely: Tiny Hawk dive bombing a second Crested Eagle, Ringed Woodpecker that we had to work for, a White-throated Tinamou that we nearly stepped on, and an incredible Musician Wren in full song!
Thanks again to all of you for joining Alex and me on the Tambopata. Also, a big thanks to our local guide, Jair, who worked tirelessly to show us so many great birds. I look forward to seeing everyone again on a future tour. Best birding for the remaining 2024 season, and onward into 2025.
Mammal List:
Proboscis Bat (Rhynchonycteris naso) – These were the bats on the side of the tree at Tres Chimbadas.
Saccopteryx sp. – The bat we saw in the rafters at TRC. Greater Sac-winged Bat (S. bilineata) looks like a good candidate.
Weddell’s Saddle-back Tamarin (Saguinus weddelli)
Black-capped Squirrel Monkey (Saimiri boliviensis)
Humboldt's Night Monkey (Aotus trivirgatus)
Toppin’s Titi (Plecturocebus toppini)
Bolivian Red Howler (Alouatta sara)
Brown Capuchin (Sapajus apella)
Black Spider Monkey (Ateles chamek)
Hoffmann's Two-toed Sloth (Choloepus hoffmanni) – not much to look at, just a ball of hair really.
Southern Amazon Red Squirrel (Sciurus spadiceus)
Greater Capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) – fairly common on the river banks.
Brown Agouti (Dasyprocta variegata)
Amazon Bamboo Rat (Dactylomys dactylinus) – heard its loud call a few times in the forest.
Giant Otter (Pteronura brasiliensis) – we watched from a distance a family group in feeding mode.
Puma (Puma concolor) – as we left TRC we spotted this magnificent creature crossing a small river inlet. It didn’t seem spooked and lazily walked across the sand bank and disappeared into the vegetation, like a ghost.
Lowland Tapir (Tapirus terrestris) – Amazing, so amazing. One of the prizes of the Amazonian lowlands.
Common Red Brocket (Mazama americana) – Singles were checking out the clay licks.
Non-mammal Critter List:
Spectacled Caiman (Caiman crocodilus)
Black Caiman (Melanosuchus niger) – Prefers slower waters and lakes, unlike the previous species that is found in the rivers.
Yellow-spotted River Turtle (Podocnemis unifilis) – Common along the Tambopata River.
Collared Treerunner (Plica plica)
Giant Ameiva (Ameiva ameiva)
Manaus Spiny-backed Frog (Osteocephalus taurinus) – A “tree” frog seen on our night walk at TRC.
Northern Woodland Racer (Drymoluber dichrous) – A snake that slithered off the trail at TRC.
Tityus kaderkai – The common scorpion we found on most of our night walks.
Pinktoe Tarantula (Avicularia avicularia) – One was living in the banana plant near the walkway at TRC.
Pamphobeteus sp. – A large black tarantula that Jair coaxed out of its den.
Green-banded Urania (Urania leilus) – The common diurnal moth seen throughout the tour.
Cordyceps sp. – The zombie fungus that we found on our night walk at TRC. It had taken over the body of moth.
You can see my complete trip report on eBird at this link: https://ebird.org/tripreport/265992
You can download a combined PDF of this page and the eBird report at this link: https://fieldguides.com/triplists/prs24TRIPLIST.pdf
Jesse Fagan (aka Motmot) from Lima, Peru