Secret Forest Research Station - Part 2

Our first day and a half had been spent on the Secret Forest property on the north side of the Río Tambopata, but we would switch things up for the next day, September 16. Chris and his team have access to another property across the river and they made plans to complete some wildlife surveys. Laura, Mark and I were invited along, giving us a chance to investigate this new area. While Chris was completing point counts (a standardized method of surveying for breeding birds), and the mammal team was running transects, we were free to explore the trails at our own pace. 

Secret Forest Research Station, Madre de Díos, Peru

The friaje of the previous couple of days had passed and the temperatures were a little more seasonal. Birdsong was also back to the expected level, giving me ample opportunities to learn new vocalizations and reinforce others that were loosely rattling around in my brain. An early highlight was studying a pair of Plain-throated Antwrens as they foraged in the understory, a new species for us. We heard many other birds including Western Striolated-Puffbird, Slate-colored Hawk, Barred Forest-Falcon, Wing-barred Piprites, and quite a few antbirds, woodcreepers, foliage-gleaners and flycatchers. 

Elegant Woodcreeper - Secret Forest Research Station, Madre de Díos, Peru

Additional lifers came in the form of a heard-only White-throated Antbird and later, a group of lekking Band-tailed Manakins!

Band-tailed Manakin - Secret Forest Research Station, Madre de Díos, Peru

Chris had informed us that Band-tailed Manakins are common on that side of the river and it did not take us too long to find our first males popping off and dancing around. What a bird...

As usual, photography was very difficult in the extreme low-light conditions created by a dense canopy and thick understory. The insects were a little more accommodating than the birds, as they tended to stick to the better-lit forest paths and treefall gaps. 

Haetera piera - Secret Forest Research Station, Madre de Díos, Peru

Woodskimmer (Uracis) sp. - Secret Forest Research Station, Madre de Díos, Peru

The overcast, cool weather had long since left us and by the time that we had boated back across to the research station, the sun was high in the sky without a cloud in sight. As Mark took a late morning rest break, Laura and I headed back out. This proved to be a good decision as we quickly found the rarest bird of our stay at the Secret Forest. 

Ash-coloured Cuckoo - Secret Forest Research Station, Madre de Díos, Peru

This bird is an Ash-coloured Cuckoo, a species which breeds in scrub and savanna in southern South America and winters a little further north. It is a rare visitor to southeastern Peru that is not reported each year. This also represented the first record for the Secret Forest property. Chris had earlier mentioned that it had been a particularly good few months for austral migrants, certainly better than an average year. This Ash-coloured Cuckoo sighting reinforced that notion. 

Ash-coloured Cuckoo - Secret Forest Research Station, Madre de Díos, Peru

Laura, Mark and I hit the trail system together in the mid-afternoon once the hottest hours had passed by. Birding was a little slow at times but we strung together a few sightings of interest. My only lifer of the afternoon was a Needle-billed Hermit that paused ever so briefly as we walked a forest trail. 

Double-collared Seedeater - Secret Forest Research Station, Madre de Díos, Peru

Blue-crowned Trogon - Secret Forest Research Station, Madre de Díos, Peru

Tinamous feature prominently in the soundscape of the Secret Forest. At least eight species live in the forests here, although most tinamou encounters are auditory. Undulated Tinamous are quite conspicuous in the research station clearing, though in typical tinamou fashion they can be tricky to actually get a look at. With a bit of patience, I was finally able to snap a reasonable photo of one that was scuttling around near our cabin. 

Undulated Tinamou - Secret Forest Research Station, Madre de Díos, Peru

Red-and-green Macaw - Secret Forest Research Station, Madre de Díos, Peru

Amazon Green Anole (Anolis punctatus) - Secret Forest Research Station, Madre de Díos, Peru

Yellow-browed Tody-Flycatcher - Secret Forest Research Station, Madre de Díos, Peru

Only one snake was discovered on this night hike, found by Chris in some low bushes. This is a Common Blunt-headed Tree Snake (Imantodes cenchoa), a beautiful little snake that lives in shrubbery and feeds mainly on lizards. Laura and I see more individuals of this species than any other tropical snake, but it is difficult to tire of these cute little guys. 

Imantodes cenchoa - Secret Forest Research Station, Madre de Díos, Peru

My headlamp's beam caught a mouse opossum in a trail-side sapling. While they are not much bigger than a typical mouse, mouse opossums are in the opossum family (Didelphidae). Like all other opossums, mouse opossums are marsupials that give birth to young at a very early stage. This individual was carrying around several very tiny young. 

Mouse opossum (Marmosa) sp. - Secret Forest Research Station, Madre de Díos, Peru

Below are a few other nocturnal finds from the evening. 

Hypoleria sarepta - Secret Forest Research Station, Madre de Díos, Peru

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

Typically, several species of birds are noted when hiking in the Amazonian jungle at night. Tinamous, owls and potoos are regularly heard, while on occasion you can spot a bird roosting deep within some vegetation or, sometimes, even on an overhanging branch above the trail. We found seven birds on this evening's expedition, mainly heard-only owls and tinamous. We spotted a roosting White-throated Tinamou (it flushed before I had a chance at a photo) and this Green-backed Trogon. 

Green-backed Trogon - Secret Forest Research Station, Madre de Díos, Peru

Pterochroza ocellata - Secret Forest Research Station, Madre de Díos, Peru

The moth sheet was rocking yet again and I spent far too much time checking out the sheet before sleep beckoned.