It was 8:30am and we where on the Lake Sandoval excursion. As we arrived at the Canoe dock (before heading out onto the lake) behind a small sign I heard some noises. I couldn’t believe it, a Rufous-headed woodpecker (Celeus grammicus). This bamboo specialist was foraging for food near the bamboo patch at the lake. It is a very difficult bird to spot and the guests and I where on a front row spectacle. Everyone had a good look and where happy about the sighting.

We went on an early morning adventure; 4:30am to “La Cachuela” clay-lick. On our way there we began our sightings with shore, river and secondary forest birds. Once at the clay-lick we spotted quite a lot of parrots, especially blue-headed parrots (Pinonus menstuus) clay-licking. After “La Cachuela” we went on to “La Cahuchuela” free-way. Our aim, to visit a small farm. There, for about an hour, we observed interesting birds such as: Southern caracaras (Caracara plancus) and Vermilion flycatchers (Pyrocephalus rubinus).

On our way back we took our breakfast on the boat (floating downstream while spotting more birdlife). Then we stopped at Concepción. There we saw interesting birds. One specie in particular caught our attention: Scarlet macaw (Ara macao). After Concepcion we headed to the Hotel for lunch.

After lunch we decided to go visit Rolin Island to look for the Amazonian Umbrellabird (Cephalopterus ornatus). Unfortunately we couldn’t spot it on this particular day. On the other hand we did spot: Common potoo (Nyctibius griseus), Great potoo (Nyctibius grandis) and owls.

A group of 6 guests and I went on the first excursion of their stay; Trail System.

Even for the dry season it was really hot and humid. As we walk through the rainforest I imagined that, just like us, animals would be resting underneath shade, hidden more than usual. Well, they certainly proved me wrong. I troop of red howler monkeys where spotted on top of the branches of a tall ficus tree.

As the day continued we headed on to our second excursion; River by Night. The main attractions are usually the caimans but this time we got a bonus; not only did we see more than 20 caimans on the river banks, we also spotted a family of 10 capybaras; Worlds largest rodents, feeding on the shore.

Couldn’t ask for more.

We planned our first full day so that we could visit the Canopy and Anaconda Walk excursion in the morning and the a tour around the lodge in the afternoon. Our main objectives where:

Black-faced Cotinga (Conioptilon mcilhennyi), Point-tailed Palmcreeper (Berlepschia rikeri), Agami Heron (Agamia agami)

These are the birds we encountered:

Swallow-tailed Kite (Elanoides forficatus), Gray-headed Kite (Leptodon cayanensis), Slate-colored Hawk (Leucopternis schistaceus), White-lored Tyrannulet (Ornithion inerme), Streaked Flycatcher (Myiodynastes maculatus), Vermilion Flycatcher (Pyrocephalus rubinus), Ruddy-tailed Flycatcher (Terenotriccus erythrurus), Gray-crowned Flycatcher (Tolmomyias poliocephalus), Gray-capped Flycatcher (Myiozetetes granadensis), Spotted Tody-Flycatcher (Todirostrum maculatum), Tawny bellied Screech-Owl (Megascops watsonii), Amazonian Pygmy-Owl (Galucidium hardyi), Forest Elaenia (Myiopagis gaimardii), Black-faced Cotinga (Conioptilon mcilhennyi), Point-tailed Plamcreeper (Berlepschia rikeri), Amongst others.

For our second full day we opted for a whole day at Sandoval Lake (early morning; 6:00am until 4:00pm). On this opportunity we spotted:

Rusty-margined Flycatcher (Myiozetetes cayanensis), Yellow-breasted Flycatcher (Tolmomyias flaviventris), Fuscous Flycatcher (Cnemotriccus fuscatus), Dusky-tailed Flatbill (Ramphotrigon fuscicauda), Striated Antbird (Drymophila caudata), White-chinned Sapphire (Hylocharis cyanus), Fork-tailed Woodnymph (Thalurania furcata), White-necked Jacobin (Florisuga mellivora), Black-throated Mango (Anthracothorax nigricollis), Amongst others.

These would be the most interesting birds seen during our birdwatching excursions. Unfortunately we didn’t get to see the Agami Heron but I’m guessing this is just another reason for guests to return to the rainforest!

We were headed to Sandoval Lake really early in the morning. As we traveled by boat close to the river bank I spotted something moving on the shore.

The boat driver reduced speed. There they where. A small group of capybaras (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) were walking along the bank relatively close to the hotel. I did not want to miss the opportunity of the sighting so I managed to take my camera out in time and took a picture. The night before, we had also seen a group of capybaras on the bank but it is uncommon to see them during the day because they hide from humans. It is wonderful to look at these animals while in a group, foraging for grass, taking care of their own; the world’s largest rodent.

My group decided to adventure onto a Tambopata full day excursion. We left early in the morning.
We got the chance to appreciate the beautiful landscape of the lake and all the fauna that lives in it; a great diversity of birds, reptiles, and monkeys. On the walk back towards Concepcion (the second part of this activity) we found our selves very close to the scene of fate. I picked up the sent of collared peccaries (wild pigs). We then began to walk slowly and avoiding sound at all cost. Suddenly at approximately 20 meters we spotted a group of peccaries crossing our human trail. After 10 minutes we were surrounded by these animals, watching tenths of them while listening to their jaw clapping. After a few minutes enjoying the view one of the peccaries caught our smell and sent an alarm. Every single one of these animals fled in less than a minute into the depths of the rainforest not to be seen again.

At around 8:30am Jesús (another interpreter) and me decided to go out on the trail system to spot some birds. The trails we decided to go birding at where A, B and G. As soon as we began walking we saw great birds: White-throated antbird, Hairy-crested antbird, Flame-crested tanager, Red-crowned ant tanager, Chestnut-shouldered antwrem, Dusky-capped greenlet and a Varzea schiffornis, amongst others. Great day, interesting birds.

It was an early morning and the rain that began during the night continued. Suddenly we began to hear birds sing. We decided to head out anyway.
Walking through the trail we only managed to listen to a couple of birds but couldn't spot them.
We headed on to the Canopy Walkway as our first spot. We didn't see any birds. Not wanting to give up we headed to the Anaconda Walk (wetlands) to look for birds. This is where we got our first surprise: 2 White-browed Purpletuft (Iodopleura isabellae) foraging at plain sight, canopy level. We couldn't manage to distinguish if they were a couple but still, seeing two was more than amazing.
We were eager to spot more interesting birds so we decided to try the Canopy again. There we saw: Curl-crested Aracaris, Ivory-billed Aracaris, Paradise Tanagers, and Black-tailed Trogons.
Great rainy day!