Explorations of an Ecologist: Secret Forest Research Station

Upon concluding our Manú Road visit, Laura and I met up with her father, Mark, who was visiting Peru for a couple of weeks. Mark had spent the last week traveling from Lima to Cusco by bus, visiting a number of interesting sites along the way, but the second week of his trip would be spent with us. Laura, Mark and I explored Cusco for a couple of days, followed by some birding in Ollantaytambo and the Abra Málaga pass (I've blogged about some of these experiences in an earlier post). But we wanted Mark to experience the Peruvian Amazon as well.

Black-capped Parakeets - Secret Forest Research Station, Madre de Díos, Peru

Chris Ketola is a fellow biologist from Ontario who is living and working in Peru for an organization called Fauna Forever. He currently operates a biological field station at the Secret Forest, a property accessible by boat along the Río Tambopata. Chris reached out to me via social media and invited us to stay at the Secret Forest for a few days. This worked out really well, and Laura, Mark and I booked four nights. The price was a lot more reasonable than many of the other options in this part of the Amazon, plus we knew that our dollars would be going towards funding the research station, not into a rich lodge owner's pocket! We really enjoyed our visit to the Secret Forest and would whole-heartedly recommend it for other biologist/naturalist types who have similar travel needs as us.

Dendropsophus rhodopeplus - Secret Forest Research Station, Madre de Díos, Peru

September 14, 2022

Our flight to Puerto Maldonado was relatively uneventful and we easily met our driver, who Chris had coordinated to bring us to the lodge. Though the research station is not accessible by road, a dock just upstream from the Secret Forest can be accessed by a gravel track, and an hour later we pulled up to the site. Even though it was raining we found a number of new bird species for Mark at the docks, one of which (Plain Tyrannulet) was a lifer for Laura and I as well.

Chris and several of his colleagues met us at the docks. A short boat ride later and we had arrived at the research station.

That afternoon, Chris gave us a brief tour of the facilities and showed us to our accommodations, a beautiful cabin surrounded by trees and only a short walk from the main dining area.

We spent the last hour or two of light poking around the open areas of the research station and watching the birds attending fruiting trees near the cabins. A Black-banded Crake in a wet area was a highlight, as was our first Black-capped Parakeets which allowed for good scope views next to the cabin.

Widespread Eighty-Eight (Diaethria clymena) - Secret Forest Research Station, Madre de Díos, Peru

As dusk fell we sat by the river. This gave us an opportunity to view birds (indeed, macaws, heron-types, swallows and more were readily found here) while this was also the only location on site where Laura and I had cell service. While enjoying the evening, we noticed a nightjar flush from some riverside boulders. This was a Ladder-tailed Nightjar, a species that is always found in wetland or riverine habitats in the Amazon.

Ladder-tailed Nightjar - Secret Forest Research Station, Madre de Díos, Peru

One would be forgiven for assuming that the Peruvian Amazon receives similar temperatures and weather conditions all year round, i.e. hot and humid. But during the austral winter, it is not uncommon for friajes to appear. These cold snaps are caused by frigid air masses from Antarctica moving north, a similar phenomenon that we experience in North America when cold Arctic air masses move southwards. Of course the Peruvian Amazon is only affected by these friajes to a certain degree, but during the most severe events the temperatures may drop to the low teens (Celsius) at night, only rising to the low twenties during the day. A far cry from the typical highs/lows of 35C/24C!

Río Tambopata - Secret Forest Research Station, Madre de Díos, Peru

The first few days of our visit had coincided with the arrival of a mild friaje and while the lack of heat/humidity was most welcome, it also limited some of the wildlife that we would have an opportunity to find. Our first evening was quite cool and the reptile surveys were called off. I set up the moth light and sheet next to our cabin, a practice that I would repeat for each of our four nights.

I wasn't expecting a great haul of moths given the weather conditions. Surprisingly, the sheet was quite active with moths and other insects - here are some of the standouts.

September 15, 2022

The cold and breezy conditions seemed quite foreign to us considering that we were in the Amazon. It really affected the dawn chorus of birds - nearly everything was quiet! That said, we headed out on the trails with Chris and made the best of the situation. Even though it was a slow morning, most things were completely new for Mark so it ramped up the excitement for Laura and I.

Yellow-tufted Woodpeckers - Secret Forest Research Station, Madre de Díos, Peru

Chestnut-fronted Macaws - Secret Forest Research Station, Madre de Díos, Peru

Despite the slow start to the day, the birding picked up and we finished with close to 100 species for the day. One advantage caused by the friaje is that the mid-day lull did not really occur since the temperatures remained comfortable all day long. Knowing this, I took advantage of these conditions and stayed out on the trails for the entire afternoon. Laura and Mark also birded for most of the day, taking a short two hour break in the early afternoon.

White-fronted Nunbird - Secret Forest Research Station, Madre de Díos, Peru

Monkey grasshopper sp. - Secret Forest Research Station, Madre de Díos, Peru

We encountered a few new species - heard-only Golden-collared Toucanet, Sclater's Antwren, White-bellied Tody-Tyrant and Chestnut-winged Foliage-gleaner. A pair of Black Antbirds provided good views from a creek-side thicket.

Black Antbird (female) - Secret Forest Research Station, Madre de Díos, Peru

White-bellied Tody-Tyrant - Secret Forest Research Station, Madre de Díos, Peru

The antbird family (Thamnophilidae) and ovenbird family (Furnariidae) both reach peak diversity in the Amazon. It can be absolutely mind-boggling how many species belonging to these two families can survive and coexist at one particular site. An attentive ear is required for many IDs because these birds are far more often heard than seen, and most spend their days either hidden in the understory, obscured as they sneak around bromeliads and tree trunks, or backlit as they flit in the canopy.

I had learned many Amazonian antbird and ovenbird vocalizations along the lower stretches of Manú Road and it was enjoyable to reinforce these IDs as well as learn new ones at the Secret Forest. During our first full day we encountered a number of interesting species including five species of foliage-gleaners, a locally rare Strong-billed Woodcreeper and around fifteen species of ant-things.

Rufous-rumped Foliage-gleaner - Secret Forest Research Station, Madre de Díos, Peru

White-eyed Stipplethroat - Secret Forest Research Station, Madre de Díos, Peru

The "best" bird was probably the Rufous-tailed Xenops that I discovered on my own early in the afternoon, the first record for the Secret Forest lodge. It was foraging with a mixed flock and provided good views, though as you can see, my photos leave a lot to be desired. It can be hard to photograph birds in a lowland forest!

Rufous-tailed Xenops - Secret Forest Research Station, Madre de Díos, Peru

A small clay lick is located at the edge of the forest and it is often attended by parrots and parakeets. Laura, Mark and I surprised a couple of Black-capped Parakeets there in the afternoon, giving us a chance to improve on our scope views from the previous day.

Black-capped Parakeet - Secret Forest Research Station, Madre de Díos, Peru

That evening, the herp surveys were back on. The temperatures were still cool but we decided to give it a go, anyways. Laura, Mark and I joined Chris and a couple of the interns for a couple of hours on the trails after dark.

Copiphora sp. - Secret Forest Research Station, Madre de Díos, Peru

Pristimantis altamazonicus - Secret Forest Research Station, Madre de Díos, Peru

The lack of snakes during our hike was not at all surprising considering the cool weather. But, with enough keen eyes looking for any irregularities in the vegetation, numerous biological curiosities were teased out of the woodwork.

Oreobates cruralis - Secret Forest Research Station, Madre de Díos, Peru

Fulgorid planthopper sp. - Secret Forest Research Station, Madre de Díos, Peru

Gnamptogenys concinna - Secret Forest Research Station, Madre de Díos, Peru

An Amazonian Brown Brocket was sleeping just off the trail. This is a widespread deer of tropical lowland forests of South America, but is rarely seen due to its secretive habits.

Amazonian Brown Brocket - Secret Forest Research Station, Madre de Díos, Peru

Dendropsophus sarayacuensis - Secret Forest Research Station, Madre de Díos, Peru

Pristimantis reichlei - Secret Forest Research Station, Madre de Díos, Peru

Laura and I were getting a little antsy since we had yet to find a snake at the Secret Forest. Typically, we have pretty good luck with snakes, likely caused by the hundreds of hours of experience that we have looking for them in the tropics at night. It was Mark's first time in the Amazon and we couldn't let him leave snake-less! Luckily, Chris came through - he spotted an adult Amazon Tree Boa high up a tree. Using his long snake-hook, he was able to carefully extract the serpent so that we could collect it for processing.

Corallus hortulana - Secret Forest Research Station, Madre de Díos, Peru

Chris and the herp team take length and weight measurements of each snake that they capture. If the snake is large enough they will implant it with a PIT tag, which is a microchip the size of a grain of rice that sits subcutaneously. This particular boa had already been outfitted with a PIT tag and so Chris was able to scan the microchip to figure out its identity. Recapture data is valuable as it provides a snapshot of how an animal has grown over time. while it might also provide information about the size of this individual's home range.