Peru | Birding the Peruvian Amazon

Upon arrival in Lima, after clearing customs and immigration, you will be met and taken to your hotel.

Head south of Lima this morning to visit the small fishing village of Pucusana. After boarding a small boat, you'll have the opportunity to see sea lions, Peruvian Boobies, Inca Terns, and the elusive Humboldt Penguin. Return to Lima for lunch and have the remainder of the afternoon at leisure. This evening, attend a program orientation with your guide, followed by dinner overlooking the ruins of Huaca Pucllana, an adobe-and-clay pyramid dating to the pre-Incan Lima culture.

Take a field trip this morning to Lomas de Lachay National Reserve. The Lomas de Lachay represent a unique ecosystem known as a desert mist oasis, which is formed by the fog that rolls in from the Pacific Ocean. The reserve encompasses over 12,500 acres within the vast coastal Sechura Desert, and its unique geography and resulting climate have created a special environment where dwarf forests and small birds and mammals thrive. Hear a lecture, "The Desert Birds Among the Mist." Although the reserve's bird list is relatively short, there are four endemics and a few specialties that are difficult to find elsewhere. Species regularly seen here include Andean Tinamou, Peruvian Thick-knee, Least Seedsnipe, Black-chested Buzzard-Eagle, Thick-billed Miner, Cactus Canastero, and various hummingbirds. This afternoon, return to the hotel for some time at leisure before dinner.

Head to the airport for your flight to Puerto Maldonado in southeastern Peru. Upon arrival, drive about an hour to the river port in the community of Infierno, making stops along the way to look for riparian birds that include Pied Lapwing, Collared Plover, King Vulture, Bat Falcon, Olive and Russet-backed Oropendolas, and Ringed and Amazon Kingfishers. In Infierno, board a covered boat and begin the tranquil, one-hour trip up the Tambopata River to Refugio Amazonas, with lunch onboard. The lodge is located on a 500-acre private reserve within the buffer zone of the Tambopata National Reserve. Upon arrival, receive an orientation to the lodge. Each room has an open wall to view the jungle, private bath with hot water, and mosquito nets; electricity and internet are available only in the common areas. After dinner, take a night walk in search of nocturnal species.

Start the day with a visit to the nearly 100-foot-tall canopy tower to watch for mixed flocks composed predominately of tanagers, including Paradise, Green-and-gold, Flame-crested, Turquoise, and Opal-rumped Tanagers, among others. The tower also offers good opportunities to spot Cream-colored Woodpecker, Gilded Barbet, and Plum-throated Cotinga. Macaws and toucans can be seen flying against the horizon, including Southern Emerald-Toucanet and Chestnut-eared, Lettered, Curl-crested, and Ivory-billed Aracaris. Later, take a short walk to a clay lick known for attracting mammals, particularly herds of white-lipped peccaries numbering from five to twenty individuals. The remainder of the afternoon is free to explore on your own or relax.

Check out and travel further upriver to the Tambopata Research Center (TRC). En route, have a boxed lunch and, weather permitting, stop to visit the Chuncho clay lick for the opportunity to see dozens of large macaws, including Red-and-green Macaws and Mealy Parrots, feeding on the riverbank's sodium-rich clay. Upon arrival at the TRC, check in and get settled. Each room has an open wall to view the jungle, private bath with hot water, and mosquito nets; electricity is available three times a day, and internet is available in the evenings. After dinner, take a guided night walk.

Set out by canoe around sunrise for a visit to the Colorado macaw clay lick. Disembark at a sandbar and walk to a bluff that faces the clay cliffs on the other side of a small gully. Before you know it, hundreds of brightly colored parrots, macaws, and parakeets will start gathering at the clay lick in a raucous and vibrant spectacle. Return to the lodge for breakfast. Next, explore the quintessential rainforest on the five-mile Ocelot Trail and the five-mile Toucan Trail systems. The Ocelot Trail is in the floodplain, where ponds and streams form during the rainy season. The Toucan Trail, on the other hand, is tall rainforest that rarely or never floods. Both of these trails represent the most species-rich habitats for birds, including Starred Wood-Quail, Pale-winged Trumpeter, Black-tailed Leaftosser, trogons, foliage-gleaners, woodcreepers, antbirds, flycatchers, manakins, and more. Mixed-species flocks are especially diverse; understory flocks often contain 30 to 40 species, led by Dusky-throated Antshrike and Red-crowned Ant-Tanagers. Other species might include Plain-winged and Bluish-slate Antshrikes, White-eyed and Plain-breasted Antwrens, Thrush-like Antpitta, White-winged Shrike-Tanager, Amazonian Barred-Woodcreeper, and Spix's Woodcreeper. The Ocelot Trail also crosses some permanently flooded old ponds inhabited by Agami Heron, Rufescent Tiger-Heron, Pygmy and Green-and-rufous Kingfishers, and Sunbittern. After long hikes, you can continue to bird within the confines of the TRC. Possible species on the TRC clearing include Squirrel Cuckoo, Masked Crimson Tanager, Cinnamon-throated Woodcreeper, Speckled Chachalaca, and Yellow-tufted Woodpecker.

Continue birding on the TRC trail systems. Hundreds of species live in these forests, and visitors often see a different set of birds on the same trails as the day before. Search for ant swarms attended by species such as Black-spotted Bare-eye, Black-banded Woodcreeper, Sooty Antbird, and maybe even a Rufous-vented Ground-Cuckoo. Also keep an eye and ear out for uncommon ground birds like tinamous, Striated Antthrush, and Razor-billed Curassow. Other targets include the stunning Pavonine Quetzal, Black-bellied Cuckoo, Amazonian Pygmy-Owl, Great Jacamar, Ringed Antpipit, Casque-headed Oropendola, Speckled Spinetail, big mixed flocks led by White-winged Shrike-Tanager, and many others. Rare surprises such as Crested or Harpy Eagles, forest-falcons, and Yellow-bellied Tanager are also possible. Also bird at the transitional forests above the clay lick. These were bamboo forests until they flowered and died out a few years ago. Now they are akin to riparian forests but will eventually grow into terra firme, as they are not affected by yearly floods. Here you will look for White-throated Jacamar, Buff-throated and Grayish Saltators, Scarlet-hooded Barbet, Crested and Russet-backed Oropendolas, Piratic Flycatcher, Yellow-billed Nunbird, and others. While birding these spots, you will have extraordinary views of the Tambopata River winding its way from the highlands. After dinner, venture out near the lodge to spotlight Common Pauraque, Tawny-bellied Screech-Owl, Great and Long-tailed Potoos, Ocellated Poorwill, and with luck, a Mottled Owl or Crested Owl. There is also the possibility of taking macro shots of American bullfrogs, horned frogs, tree frogs, and other nocturnal creatures.

Depart the TRC, traveling 2.5 hours by boat and then another hour by vehicle to Puerto Maldonado. Fly back to Lima or begin the Machu Picchu extension with a flight to Cusco. Those returning home will catch evening flights back to the US.