Birdwatching in Tambopata

Introduction

Birdwatching with Rainforest Expeditions at Tambopata is designed for certain guests with keen birdwatching interests, but not all of them. Our trips are designed for three kinds of birders:

- For those who are unsure they are even birders, but want a first taste of a birding experience, inexpensive yet productive, we have introductory five day birding excursions.
- For birders on a first trip to the rainforest, who are getting used to neotropical birding, we have a nine day birding expedition.
- For hardcore, experienced birdwatchers who have already been one or more times to the Manu region, we have nine day birding expeditions.

For first time ever birders, who want a taste of birding but aren’t sure they want to spend a lot of time or money organizing a full fledged expedition we have a very productive, watered-down version of our expeditions. The essential difference is that we do not travel all the way up to Tambopata Research Center, sacrificing some habitats and species to reduce time and cost. However, we focus on habitats and species that are present in Posada Amazonas and Refugio Amazonas, replicating the experiences of our longer expeditions at those two lodges.

For self-proven birders desiring an introductory experience to the extremely diverse rainforests of southeastern Amazonian Peru we recommend trips to Tambopata because we have a great number of easily accessible lowland rain forest habitats close to our lodges. Unlike Manu, where much time is spent traveling from site to site, all of these habitats are within walking distance or fifteen minute boat rides from our lodges. This allows ample time for listing and soaking in the dozens of bird species you will be ticking each morning during your long trail hikes. Alas, unlike Manu, we can not offer access to the cloud forest, which is why more experienced birders are recommended a trip to Manu.

For hard-core experienced birders who have been to Manu and are focusing on identifying specific lowland species this is a great second or third trip as well. Although Manu offers great cloud forest and lowland birding, birders focusing on the lowland species will find Tambopata to be an extraordinary option because of the clustering of diverse habitats around our lodges. Therefore, time is spent on trails in these habitats, and not on trucks, boats and planes getting from one to the other.

Habitat

Several distinctive forest types cloak the humid lowland rainforest each with distinct avifauna. Terra firme forests are by far the most dominant type, both in the land area covered and in the number of species they contain. Other forest types occur as strands along rivers or as patches within the matrix of Terra Firme forest. Terra firme forests are found in areas high enough to escape seasonal inundations. They are typically rich in buttressed trees, a canopy forest that reaches 25-40 m with emergents of 50-60 m. The understory is relatively thin and includes palms, woody vines and vascular epiphytes such as ferns, bromeliads, and orchids.

Seasonally flooded forest or varzea forests constitute a small but important forest type in the areas visited. This forest type forms a narrow zone (rarely more than 100 m) between the riverbank and the terra firme forest. These are overall less diverse than the terra firme forest in species of birds and plants but equally tall, with numerous heavily buttressed trees and abundant ferns, bromeliads and orchids. This forest type often includes a dense undergrowth. Another important habitat is bamboo. Dense thickets and tangled branches of bamboo mainly Guadua (Graminea) occur in discrete patches. With dense foliage and a height of up to 20 m, bamboo thickets provide numerous foraging substrates for insectivorous birds, some of which are entirely restricted to this habitat type in southeastern Peru. Overall, most bird species are associated with terra firme forest but we will bird the most significant forest types during our stay in western Amazonia.

Finally, river edge forest also offers another community of species. Along river banks, Tessaria and Cecropia trees dominate, creating a transition between the beaches and the floodplain. Rivers and lakes offer different birds as well.

Pace of Tour

Our daily routine consists of early starts with breakfast before sunrise. This strategy will allow us to be in the field when most birds are active and vocal. In the rainforest of Tambopata-Candamo, we’ll bird along trails, by walking slowly and quietly watching for the slightest movement in the foliage that may reveal the presence of a jacamar or puffbird, or the shuffle of dead leaves on the ground revealing the presence of curassows, trumpeters, tinamous and other ground dwelling birds and mammals. Listening for twits, chips and screams is an important way to find birds in the dense foliage of the rainforest. We will pay special attention to the characteristic sounds of the mixed species flocks and the sound of the columns of army ants and their attendant followers including, several species of antbirds and woodcreepers amongst others. Loud calls and screeches will typically correspond to parrots, toucans or macaws or troops of monkeys in the forest canopy.

Along the trails we may find clearings in which we will spend time standing watching for birds to come into view. This strategy often pays off with some unexpected great views of birds and mammals. We will also use this strategy in the clearings of our lodges. Some of the trails we use may be muddy and may require us to step over roots, or crouch for overhanging branches or tree falls.

While the pace of the birding is intended to be manageable, days can still be tiring. We normally go birding early in the morning, return to our lodge for a late lunch and a break during the heat of the day, then, we go back out in the afternoon or, relax and list at the lodge.

For the die-hard birders birding in the clearing surrounding the lodge during the break or hottest part of the day is an option.

Regional, Endemics and Specialties

These are species that are easier to see in Tambopata than in many other places:

Black-capped Tinamou (Crypturellus atrocapillus)
Bartlett’s Tinamou (Crypturellus bartletti)
Spix’s Guan (Penelope jacquacu)
Blue-throated Pipiing Guan (Pipile cumanensis)
Razor-billed Curassow (Mitu tuberosa)
King Vulture (Sarcoramphus papa)
Crested Eagle (Morphnus guianensis)
Harpy Eagle (Harpia harpyja)
Pale-winged Trumpeter (Psophia leucoptera)
Sunbittern (Eurypyga helias)
Blue and Yellow Macaw (Ara ararauna)
Scarlet Macaw (Ara macao)
Red and Green Macaw (Ara chloroptera)
Black-capped Parakeet (Pyrrhura rupicola)
Amazonian Parrotlet (Nannopsittaca dachilae)
Pavonine Cuckoo (Dromococcyx pavoninus)
Tawny-bellied Screech Owl (Otus watsonii)
White-throated Jacamar (Brachygalba albogularis)
Striolated Puffbird (Nystalus striolatus)
Semicollared Puffbird (Malcoptila semicincta)
Rufous-capped Nunlet (Nonnula ruficapilla)
Scarlet-hooded Barbet (Eubucco tucinkae)
Curl-crested Aracari (Pteroglossus beauharnaesii)
Red-necked Woodpecker (Campephilus rubricollis)
Rufous-headed Woodpecker (Celeus spectabilis)
White-chinned Woodcreeper (Dendrocincla merula)
Chestnut-crowned Foliage-gleaner (Automolus rufipileatus)
Peruvian Recurvebill (Simoxenops ucayalae)
Brown-rumped Foliage-gleaner (Automolus melanopezus)
Bamboo Antshrike (Cymbilaimus sanctaemariae)
Ihering’sAntwren (Myrmotherula iheringi)
Banded Antbird (Dichrozona cincta)
Manu Antbird (Cercomacra manu)
Band-tailed Antbird (Hypocnemoides maculicauda)
White-lined Antbird (Percnostola lophotes)
Goeldi´sAntbird (Myrmeciza goeldi)
White-throated Antbird (Gymnopithys salvini)
Black-spotted Bare-eye (Phlegopsis nigromaculata)
Rufous-fronted Antthrush (Formicarius rufifrons)
Amazonian Antpitta (Hylopezus berlepschi)
Flammulated Pygmy Tyrant (Hemitriccus flammulatus)
White-bellied Tody-Tyrant (Hemitriccus griseipectus)
White-cheeked Tody-Tyrant (Poecilotriccus albifacies)
Large-headed Flatbill (Ramphotrigon megacephala)
Dusky-tailed Flatbill (Ramphotrigon fuscicauda)
White-eyed Attila (Attila bolivianus)
Fiery-capped Manakin (Machaeropterus pyrocephalus)