February 21, 2024 (continued)
We sped down the Amazon and made a left at the confluence with the Napo River. The Napo had noticeably less flow, while we also realized that sandbars were also much more numerous, leading to the presence of many wading birds and terns. At around 10:45 AM we pulled up to the docks for the ExplorNapo Lodge. It was shaping up to be another hot day and the bird activity had mostly stopped.
Laura and I were shown to our room and after putting our bags away we grabbed our binoculars and birded a small mixed flock near our room that contained Paradise, Opal-crowned and Green-and-gold Tanagers.
I was looking forward to a new suite of birds here at ExplorNapo Lodge. Our previous few days had been spent at Explorama Lodge which is situated within flooded "varzea" forest, while ExplorNapo has quite a bit of upland, "terra firme" species. To the untrained eye the differences in plant species between these two forest classifications may not be that obvious, but they are, and they lead to unique bird communities as well.
There were around a dozen bird species regularly found at ExplorNapo that I had never seen before and we found one of the targets within half an hour of arriving. Luis, Laura and I had met up for a pre-lunch walk. Joining us was German Coisffman, an Iquitos-based birding guide who was staying at ExplorNapo with his client. I spotted the bird in question, a Purplish Jacamar, perched in the canopy next to the trail. This species is uncommon and thinly distributed in the western Amazon basin in northern Peru and Ecuador, as well as barely into southern Colombia and western Brazil.
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| Purplish Jacamar - ExplorNapo Lodge, Loreto, Peru |
Laura has a knack for finding snakes and she came through once again. This time, it was a coiled Fer-de-lance, also known as a Common Lancehead, next to the trail that caught her eye.
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| Common Lancehead (Bothrops atrox) - ExplorNapo Lodge, Loreto, Peru |
We enjoyed a delicious lunch and short siesta and at 2:15 PM reconvened with Luis and the boatman for an afternoon of birding by boat. Luis knows every channel leading off from the main Río Napo and we picked our way through flooded forest and took nearly invisible passages to a hidden series of connected oxbow lakes.
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| Paddling along a quiet Río Napo oxbow, Loreto, Peru |
My #1 target for the afternoon was Purple-throated Cotinga, a rare resident of the Amazon. Scanning the treetops along quiet waterways seems to be one of the most effective strategies for finding this species, but don't take my word for it because I've never seen one! Unfortunately, I was unable to reverse that trend as we struck out.
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| Black-tailed Trogon - Río Napo oxbow, Loreto, Peru |
Although the cotinga eluded us, we came away with a nice diversity of bird species and I finished the excursion with 88 species on my eBird list. I particularly enjoyed watching a very cooperative Dot-backed Antbird foraging and singing in the swampy forest. Some of the other birds were new for my Peru list including Hooded Tanager, Cinnamon Attila, Yellow-browed Antbird and Black-chinned Antbird.
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| Dot-backed Antbird - Río Napo oxbow, Loreto, Peru |
As dusk fell, we found ourselves staked out at a particular quiet oxbow where Luis has occasionally seen Zigzag Herons. These tiny, secretive herons are distributed across the Amazon but aren't very easy to find. I had heard one many years ago in the Ecuadorian Amazon but neither Laura nor I had ever seen one before. Anticipation was high as the sun set. While we waited, a Short-tailed Nighthawk emerged for a night of foraging for flying insects.
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| Río Napo oxbow, Loreto, Peru |
The Zigzag Heron was a no-show and so we headed back to the lodge. The final bird was a Sand-colored Nighthawk flying low over the Río Napo, its white wings appearing ghost-like in the beams of our flashlights.
Our day wasn't over just yet, however. After dinner we had plans to visit the famous Amazon Conservatory of Tropical Studies (ACTS) Field Station and its famous canopy walkway. This is an excellent site to look for the very secretive Nocturnal Curassow. We planned to do a search of the curassow, spend the night at the field station, and bird the canopy walkway the following morning.
By the light of the moon, we boated up a tributary, but due to low water levels the boat could only make it about half way to the field station and we had to walk the rest of the way. We dropped our bags off at the station and headed out for a magical visit to the canopy walkway. This Two-Toed Sloth was also interested in exploring the canopy walkway, and we followed her for a while until she found a suitable tree to detour along.
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| Linnaeus's Two-toed Sloth (Choloepus didactylus) - ACTS Field Station/Canopy Tower, Loreto, Peru |
Above the trees yet under a canopy of stars, we watched the forest and listened to Crested Owls, Black-banded Owls, and at least three Tawny-bellied Screech-Owls. A Great Potoo sounded off and then we heard it - the distinctive low hoots of a Nocturnal Curassow.
Over the next couple of hours we followed the sounds of the curassow, led by Luis and another guide he had brought along specifically to help with the curassow search (I did not catch his name). The curassows stay high in the canopy and after a bout of calling, remain silent for an hour or more. This makes it extremely difficult to track them down as lots of patience is required. After several hours we called it quits without having seen the curassow. It was approaching midnight and we had a very early wakeup scheduled for the next morning. Actually laying eyes on a Nocturnal Curassow will have to wait until a different trip to the Amazon basin.
February 22, 2024
The rooms at the ACTS field station are very simple with thin mattresses and no fan. Due to the warm temperatures it took me quite a while to fall asleep so I was feeling pretty groggy when the alarm went off. One benefit of the poor sleep was that I was awake to listen to the Nocturnal Curassow hooting away every so often. A magical sound.
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| Amazon Conservatory of Tropical Studies (ACTS) Canopy Tower, Loreto, Peru |
The canopy walkway stretches for approximately 500 m through terra firme forest, with different viewing towers at various junctions. A morning session on a canopy walkway is always something we enjoy and so this was going to be a treat!
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| Paradise Jacamar - ACTS Field Station/Canopy Tower, Loreto, Peru |
Laura, Luis and I spent most of the morning on Tower 6, which is the highest tower with the best views over the forest. Quite a few interesting species passed through the canopy tree in which this tower was positioned, and we had amazing views of a Dugand's Antwren, which was a big target for us as it is a canopy dweller with a limited range in western Amazonia.
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| Dugand's Antwren - ACTS Field Station/Canopy Tower, Loreto, Peru |
Other birds seen well in "our" tree included Duida Woodcreeper, Paradise Jacamar, Yellow-throated Woodpecker and Yellow-browed Tody-Flycatcher.
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| Duida Woodcreeper - ACTS Field Station/Canopy Tower, Loreto, Peru |
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| Paradise Jacamar - ACTS Field Station/Canopy Tower, Loreto, Peru |
Laura and I had our best ever views of a Lanceolated Monklet early on, as it perched below eye-level just a few dozen meters from us.
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| Lanceolated Monklet - ACTS Field Station/Canopy Tower, Loreto, Peru |
Another highlight was finally hearing my first Amazonian Black-throated Trogon and managing a good recording of it. Laura spotted a Spangled Cotinga on an exposed snag, and we encountered quite a few parrot, woodpecker and toucan species.
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| Spangled Cotinga - ACTS Field Station/Canopy Tower, Loreto, Peru |
Other highlights included White-necked Puffbird, Chestnut-winged Hookbill, Amazonian Elaenia and Black-headed Parrot. Unfortunately, the lack of any fruiting trees really limited the tanager action and we struck out with both White-bellied Dacnis and Short-billed Honeycreeper, both of which can be seen here if you are lucky.
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| White-fronted Nunbird - ACTS Field Station/Canopy Tower, Loreto, Peru |
The big story from the canopy walkway was the shear number of sweat bees. Their numbers slowly built throughout the morning until we were swarmed by hundreds of them. Though they don't sting, they are rather annoying and very distracting!
As we were leaving the canopy walkway, I tried playing tape for Slate-colored Antbird as it was one of my target birds here. Surprisingly, I immediately had a response! Laura, Luis and I watched as a female Slate-colored Antbird snuck out of the undergrowth and looked around, trying to figure out where the sound was coming from. Despite the limitations of my broken camera lens, I was able to snap a couple of "record" photos. This is a scarce species of terra firme in western Amazonia.
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| Slate-colored Antbird - ACTS Field Station/Canopy Tower, Loreto, Peru |
We walked back to the station, packed up and headed out. Instead of taking the boat back to the lodge, we were going to follow the trail system to maximize our bird sightings.
I didn't know it at the time, but this butterfly is quite rare and this is one of the few photos that now exist of it. It is a type of hairstreak called
Bistonina bactriana.
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| Bistonina bactriana - ExplorNapo Lodge, Loreto, Peru |
The heat had really set in and it was a bit of a struggle, but we persisted. There weren't many birds given the time of day but we teased a few species out of the woodwork, including our lifer Black-and-white Tody-Flycatcher. Later on we watched a small party of Red-crowned Ant-Tanagers bounce through the understory. This must be a somewhat uncommon species here, as Luis mentioned that it was a lifer for him!
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| Black-and-white Tody-Flycatcher - ExplorNapo Lodge, Loreto, Peru |
Lunch, lots of water and a siesta were in order once we returned to the lodge. That afternoon we ventured out by boat to explore some different river islands. It felt great to get out on the water where the breeze created by the moving boat provided some relief from the scorching sun.
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| Black Caracara - unnamed river island near ExplorNapo Lodge, Loreto, Peru |
We visited a location on Isla Yarina where Luis had seen Black-banded Crakes before; they appeared after fifteen minutes of waiting and using playback. The views were pretty good for a few seconds, though I barely even managed a record photo. Still, it was nice to finally lay eyes on this secretive species.
From there we ventured down a tributary to a site where Band-tailed Caciques sometimes come to the river's edge. We waited in the shade for almost an hour and a half but the caciques didn't show. While waiting we were entertained by a male Wire-tailed Manakin. We also found Yellow-crowned Elaenia, Hauxwell's Thrush, Velvet-fronted Grackle and Green Ibis.
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| Wire-tailed Manakin - Laguna Urcomiraño tributary, Loreto, Peru |
We continued a short ways up the Río Napo to visit the final river island in a bid to find River Tyrannulet, one of the few river island specialities we still needed. The sun was, mercifully, lower in the sky but it still roasted us whenever we weren't shielded by the trees.
The tyrannulet remained unaccounted for and so we contented ourselves with watching a small group of Black Caracaras and a pair of Riparian Parrotlets. Both Yellow-billed and Large-billed Terns were flying around just offshore.
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| Riparian Parrotlet - unnamed river island near ExplorNapo Lodge, Loreto, Peru |
That evening Laura and I went for a walk with our flashlights in search of herps and whatever else we could stir up.
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| Acanthoscurria sp. - ExplorNapo Lodge, Loreto, Peru |
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| Osteocephalus sp. - ExplorNapo Lodge, Loreto, Peru |
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| Unidentified stink bugs (tribe Ochlerini) - ExplorNapo Lodge, Loreto, Peru |
Spiders were well-represented and included this Pantropical Huntsman Spider making a meal out of a katydid.
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| Pantropical Huntsman Spider (Heteropoda venatoria) - ExplorNapo Lodge, Loreto, Peru |
Laura spotted this Collared Treerunner on a trail-side log, a new species for us. One reason why we have never encountered it before is that it is an arboreal species that doesn't usually come down to the forest floor.
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| Collared Treerunner (Plica plica) - ExplorNapo Lodge, Loreto, Peru |
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| Collared Treerunner (Plica plica) - ExplorNapo Lodge, Loreto, Peru |
Our final frog of the walk was this Painted Antnest Frog. This species has a close relationship with leafcutter ants (Atta cephalotes), and it is often found calling from within the nests of these ants. Typically, leafcutter ants kill and remove any intruders but they don't seem to mind the Painted Antnest Frogs. This is a beneficial situation for the frogs as the ant nests provide a site with high humidity that is safe from predators like centipedes, snakes and spiders. It is not clear how the ants benefit from this arrangement; perhaps the frogs feed on possible intruders that may disrupt the ants.
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| Painted Antnest Frog (Lithodytes lineatus) - ExplorNapo Lodge, Loreto, Peru |
It was, unfortunately, our final morning along the Río Napo but we made the most of it. We visited a trail that follows the boundary of the lodge through a mixture of varzea and terra firme forest types. This would be our best shot at the Black-necked Red-Cotinga, while there was also a chance at the secretive Ochre-striped Antpitta. As the sky lightened, we motored up a small tributary before disembarking at the start of the trail.
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| Great-billed Hermit - ExplorNapo Lodge, Loreto, Peru |
It didn't take long to hear our first Black-necked Red-Cotinga calling from the forest canopy, but despite our best efforts it eluded us. We found a female later on and she cooperated!
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| Black-necked Red-Cotinga - ExplorNapo Lodge, Loreto, Peru |
We slowly made our way along the trail, adding many species to our eBird checklist although many of them were heard-only. These included Fiery Topaz, Golden-collared Toucanet, a nice diversity of antbirds and a surprise Brown Nunlet (they are quite scarce in this area).
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| Achilles Morpho (Morpho achilles) - ExplorNapo Lodge, Loreto, Peru |
Around 9 AM, we heard a few cacique-types vocalizing from further up the path and we quickly caught up with them. We still hadn't seen Band-tailed Caciques, and though I had mostly given up on this tricky species, this would be our chance! They often flock together with other oropendolas and caciques.
We were in luck! Band-tailed Caciques were the most common species in this flock and I estimated there were eight of them. We followed the flock as it meandered deeper into the forest off the trail.
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| Band-tailed Cacique - ExplorNapo Lodge, Loreto, Peru |
This large cacique looks similar to an oropendola. It has a limited range in western Amazonia, and northern Peru is probably the best area to search for them. I was relieved to have finally connected with them!
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| Band-tailed Cacique - ExplorNapo Lodge, Loreto, Peru |
Russet-backed Oropendolas and Yellow-rumped Caciques were traveling with the Band-tailed Caciques. I picked out a single Green Oropendola as well.
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| Band-tailed Cacique - ExplorNapo Lodge, Loreto, Peru |
As we rejoined the main trail to start the long walk back, I heard the distinctive song of an Ochre-striped Antpitta somewhere off trail. We were already running a little late and so we only tried to tape it in for a few minutes. We were unsuccessful, but I managed a few recordings at least.
The final big highlight of our walk was a saki monkey in the trees near the trail! This was only our second ever encounter with a saki but it was short-lived, as it promptly disappeared deeper into the forest. I never managed a photo. Based on range I believe this to be Hairy Saki (Pithecia hirsuta), but I may be mistaken. A very cool moment, even if it was short-lived.
And with that, we finished our walk and boated back to the lodge. We packed up our bags, ate lunch, and then loaded ourselves into the boat for the long drive back to Iquitos. It had been a very busy but productive five days in the Peruvian Amazon!
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