Abstract
In 2004, the American Federation of Aviculture had originally offered an Educational Retreat to Peru in conjunction with Rainforest Expeditions, scheduled
for January 2005. Unfortunately, the post-convention Watch bird, which contained all of the pertinent information for the event, did not come out until after the sign up deadline. Because of this, the minimum number of participants needed for the event was not met. Still, there were five of us who decided to go to Peru for the Parrot Lovers Tour.
We each arrived in Lima, Peru the day or night before our scheduled departure. In the morning, we met in person for the first time for breakfast in the hotel. Although we had all corresponded via email prior to the trip, it was the first time Ingrid, Diane, Don, Jean and I
The Tambopata Research Center Lodge - we were the last guests as you can see that the riverbank has been eaten away almost to the lodge itself. After we left, the lodge was disassembled and most parts used in the new lodge which was almost complete.
had met together. From Lima, we took a short flight to Puerto Maldonado, where we boarded a bus to the Tambopata River. A shallow, motor-driven boat took us up the river to Posada Amazonas, the first lodge on our excursion.
Posada Amazonas is a nice transition stop on the trip. Each room has its own bathroom with all the amenities of home, although you do use river water for your shower. The rooms are spacious and comfortable, with one wall completely open to the jungle 20 feet away. Only a railing separates you from the butterflies, armadillos, birds and bugs of the jungle. You know that Expedia.com commercial with the mosquito
net and the giant bugs? No, it's not quite like that, but there is a mosquito net and you do end up with a few "critters" on the netting in the morning. Bug bites are rare if you follow the pre-trip instructions. I didn't get a single bite in the entire trip.
Posada Amazon as has a small clay lick that is very nice. There is a 135' tower that you can climb which takes you above the canopy with a terrific view of the entire area. We climbed that tower one early morning (with numerous stops for the less athletic folks in the group - me!) and watched the mists dissipate slowly over the river. White bellied caiques
and Amazonian parrotlets flew by below us and perched near us. Huge Mealy amazons chugged slowly by and cobaltwinged parakeets streaked across the horizon.
Posada Amazon as' capacity is approximately 30 people and it was quite full. We joined some other guests for a ride on a raft around an oxbow lake. There were numerous birds to be seen, including hoatzin, blue-crowned conures, large and small macaws, guan, motmots and kingfishers. We were lucky enough to see a group of 5 giant river otters fishing and eating and lolling in the sun. There were three children in the group, approximately 6, 8 and 1 O years old. The two boys asked if they could fish and one of the local guides showed them how to fish for piranha. As you can see in the photo,
they were successful on their first attempt and quite proud of their accomplishment.
In no time, we were back in the boat heading upriver to the Tambopata Research Center (TRC). Because it was the rainy season, the river was quite high and it took 8 hours rather than the usual 6 to get to TRC. The boat trip was both exciting and relaxing. We would go for a half hour just watching the riverbank
and suddenly Silverio, our guide, would point out capybara families on the riverbank. The birds along the way were numerous as well: great egrets, cattle egrets, snowy egrets, king vultures, black vultures, roadside hawks, and of course, lots of parrots. There were two stops along the way at ranger stations as we entered the park area. Did I mention that it was 90 degrees out and 99% humidity? It was amazing how quickly we became acclimated to the heat and dampness. And though there were periodic showers, it was only on one day that the rain prevented us from doing a lot of hiking.
We arrived at Tambopata Research Center to find that large chunks of the riverbank had been crashing into the river, along with many of the large trees. As you can see in the photo, what had been a ten minute walk from the river to the lodge was now only a 30 foot wide strip of grass. The TRC is used mostly for work by research scientists and EarthWatch volunteers, so the there are not quite as many amenities
as at Posada. You do have your own room, but you share the other facilities with the volunteers.
Our days were spent hiking in the jungle checking out the flora and fauna, such as poison dart frogs, numerous butterflies, small caiman, monkeys, and the occasional boa.