Andes to Amazon Birding Tour

You will arrive to Puerto Maldonado airport around noon from Cusco or Lima. Your birding guide will meet you at the airport, and you will ride to the hotel for lunch. The rest of the afternoon will be spent birding the surrounds of Puerto Maldonado allowing everyone to adapt to the tropical climate. We may see: White-tailed Kite, Slender-billed Kite, Southern-crested Caracara, Southern Lapwing, Wattled Jacana, Blue-headed arrot, Red-bellied Macaw, Scaled Pigeon, Burrowing Owl, Ferruginous Pygmy Owl, Black-throated Mango, White-throated Jacamar, Chesnut-eared Aracari, Spotted-breasted Woodpecker, Lineated Woodpecker, Straight-billed Woodcreeper, Barred and Great Antshrike, Boat-billed Flychatcher, Rusty-margined Flycatcher, Rusty-fronted Tody-Flycatcher, Violeceous Jay, Masked crimson Tanager, Turquoise Tanager, at grassy areas Chesnut-bellied Seedeater, Blue-black Grassquit, Saffron Finch, Red-capped Cardinal, Grayish Saltator, Olive Oropendola, Yellow-rumped Cacique and Red-breasted Blackbird and many more birds.

At night, enjoy the local cuisine and recover for the next day travel.

Meals: Lunch

We start the day early with a 45-minute shuttle to the port in the town of Laberinto on the Madre de Dios River. There we will board a boat, and begin the 4.5 hour ride to Los Amigos. The trip will give us excellent opportunities to spot birds along the river’s edge and in the overhanging vegetation. We’ll look for Cocoi and Capped Herons, American Woodstorks, Large-billed and Yellow-billed Terns, Collared Plovers, Pied Lapwings, Sand-colored Nighthawks, and Amazon and Ringed Kingfishers along the shore. We’ll also keep eyes out for Great Black Hawks, King Vultures, a variety of macaws, Mealy Parrots, White-throated Toucans Chestnut-eared Aracaris flying over the river, among others.

We will arrive at Los Amigos around sunset and everyone will have an opportunity to settle in to their cabin, freshen up, and get familiar with the lodge.

Once we are all together again for dinner we can start listening for potoos and owls calling around the station, most notably the Tawny-bellied Screech Owl, Tropical Screech Owl, Black-banded Owl, Crested Owl, and the Great Potoo. An evening hike is optional for those whom are up for it. After dinner, enjoy a presentation about Amazon Conservation, given by our Science Coordinator.

Meals: Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner

We’ll leave the station early to get to the oxbow lake. As we make our way through the campus lookout for local residents, such as the Black-tailed Trogon, Bluish-fronted Jacamar, Black-fronted Nunbird, White-winged Becard, Boat-billed Flycatcher, and the White-browed Antbird. The towering forest on the way to the lake is also great for mixed flocks with species such as the Buff throated Woodcreeper, Wedge-billed Woodcreeper, Bluish-slated Antshrike, Dusky-throated Antshrike, White-flanked Antwren, Pygmy Antwren, and the Red-stained Woodpecker.

Once we reach the lake we’ll paddle around in a small canoe looking for a variety of lowland lakeside specialists. Keep your eyes peeled for birds like Hoatzins, Sungrebes, Striated Herons, Rufescent Tiger-Herons, Greater Anis, American Pygmy Kingfishers, Amazonian Streaked- Antwrens, Silvered Antbirds, Black-capped Donacobiuses, and Pale-eyed Blackbirds. Watch above for birds such as Plumbeous Kites, Red-throated Caracaras, Scarlet Macaws, Red-bellied Macaws, and Crimson-crested Woodpeckers flying over.

After we return to the lodge for lunch we’ll head out to explore the bamboo forests in the nearby vicinity. This dense habitat will give us the chance to spot many bamboo specialists, including the Bamboo Antshrike, Striated Antbird, Ihering´s Antwren, Dusky-cheeked Foliage-gleaner, White cheeked Tody-Flycatcher, Flammulated Pygmy-Tyrant, Long-crested Pygmy-Tyrant, and many others. When we finish up we’ll be able to enjoy a beautiful sunset at the station, with amazing views of the river, lowland rainforest, and the Andes.

Meals: Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner

We’ll begin by birding around Brazil nut trees in the local terra firme (upland forest that doesn’t flood). This habitat is great for species such as the Pavonine Quetzal, Pale-winged Trumpeter, White-fronted Nunbird, White-throated Jacamar, Sclater´s Antwren, Rufous-capped Antthrush, Royal Flycatcher, and the Fiery-capped Manakin. We will eventually reach Pozo Don Pedro, a palm swamp filled with moriche palms (Mauritia flexuosa).

This habitat, locally known as an aguajal, will give us great opportunities to spot residents such as Blue-and-yellow Macaws, Point-tailed Palmcreepers, Sulphury Flycatchers, as well as Agami Herons, American Pygmy Kingfishers, and large families of Hoatzins. As we return to the station we’ll look out for mixed flocks, hoping to spot some target species like the White-winged Shrike Tanager, Red-billed Pied Tanager, Chestnut-winged Hookbill, Red-necked Woodpecker, Golden collared Toucanet, and the Broad-billed Motmot.

After lunch at the lodge we’ll explore the local trails for any birds we may have missed before. We’ll look for regular visitors to the gardens such as Undulated Tinamous, Reddish Hermits, White-necked Jacobins, Blue-crowned Trogons, Lettered Aracaris, Paradise Tanagers, Black-faced Dacnis, Chestnut-capped Puffbirds, Dusky-capped Greenlets, and Bare-necked Fruitcrows. We’ll also search the nearby forest for Black-faced Antbirds, Olive-backed Foliage-gleaners, Golden crowned Spadebills, Dwarf Tyrant-Manakins, and Green-backed Trogons. Lastly, we’ll scan mixed flocks for new birds, hopefully including the Rufous-tailed Foliage-gleaner, Spot-winged Antshrike, and the Long-winged Antwren among others.

Meals: Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner

We’ll leave the station early in the morning by boat for Puerto Maldonado. As we navigate the river we’ll look for anything we may have missed coming down, such as Jabirus, White-winged and White-banded Swallows, Black Skimmers, Gray Hawks, Red-and-green Macaws, and White Tailed Kites. As we leave the river and continue along the highway we’ll look for anything we can spot on the way to the airport such as Red-breasted Blackbirds and Southern Lapwings. Once we reach Puerto Maldonado we’ll make sure you get on your return flight safely.

Meals: Breakfast/Box Lunch