This past weekend was the first weekend I had free in months. My ultimate frisbee season (I'll blog soon enough about birding and ultimate frisbee) had ended in Corvallis, Oregon with a 3rd place finish in Northwest Regionals and suddenly I had a bunch of free time again for the first time since May to do things like write in this blog and to get out hiking and birding again. The first spot I wanted to go again was one that I haven't heard many reports from recently but was a favorite of mine since I moved out to Salt Lake City- Silver Lake and the adjacent trails in Big Cottonwood Canyon. This trip also doubled as my first ever hike in aspens in fall and even though the foliage was past peak, I was still enthralled with the beauty of them.

Silver Lake- Big Cottonwood Canyon

I quickly found out why there weren't many birding reports recently from the area- there were very few people up there! I basically had the whole area to myself and took advantage of the situation by taking my time to take in the scenery and to enjoy the birds and other animals I encountered. Unfortunately there weren't many birds up there, but because of the lack of people around they allowed close views and it was nice to see Mountain Chickadees, Red-breasted Nuthatches and Ruby-crowned Kinglets up close again. There were some raptors migrating through as well which is a benefit of this time of year as well. 

I hiked up to Twin Lakes Reservoir and had the whole trail and lake to myself to take in the beautiful vistas. The hike up didn't have much in the way of animals but the hike down more than made up for it. On the way down, I spotted a herd of about 7 Mule Deer and wondered how close I could approach them. I snuck down the hillside until I was about twenty yards away from a doe and her two older fawns. They seemed to not care about my presence at all and I got to watch them as they ate.

Mule Deer family

It was fun to get to view them just acting naturally with them feeding and occasionally having the youngsters romp around. Once the got far enough away from the trail I continued down. I eventually came to some scree slopes where I had heard some pika bleeting on the way up. I was determined to get a good view of these adorable lagomorphs since up until now I have only seen them from far away. Looking at the scree, I saw some pika close to trail so I readied my camera and proceeded cautiously toward the scree. Once I got close I saw one was feeding on nearby shrubs and inched my way closer until I was about 15 feet away. Luckily the pika was hungry and paid me no heed. 

American Pika

It even hung around long enough for me to shoot some video of it eating and running around:

Finally sated by great pika views I continued down the trail as the sun started to dip down behind the mountains. As I was approaching Silver Lake, I heard the light tapping of a woodpecker in some nearby pines. I was hoping for an American Three-toed Woodpecker, but I was thinking it would probably just be a Hairy Woodpecker or a Red-naped Sapsucker. I finally got a view of the woodpecker and it ended up being an American Three-toed.

American Three-toed Woodpecker

This bird was basically a lifer for me since my only other views of this woodpecker were poor and fleeting. The bird let me carefully approach it and also barely took notice of me standing nearby. I managed to get some video of it digging a hole to find insects.

I left the woodpecker as I had approached it, with it pecking away for food. I was excited about the great views I had had of both birds and mammals and thought about how sometimes it pays to go where others aren't. Even if the birding isn't the best, the chance for meaningful encounters with nature is high.

Have you ever been scared to death while bird watching? I don't mean on a boat rocking in the ocean or on a steep cliff edge…I mean scared that you were gonna get beaten up for misidentifying a bird or disagreeing on a certain topic?

I was birding with a few guys today (pictured here, no names given for my own security), and I was frightened…I mean, look at how pissed off they are. Would you be scared to birdwatch with these guys? One of the guys smiled a few times, but I don't think the other two cracked even a half-smile during the day. I made them coffee and fed them at lunch time, but they still looked at me as if to say "hey, watch what you say." We saw a Goshawk the very first bird of the day….great views, it did everything you want -- it soared, it flapped, it showed it's topside, and the response from the 3 goons was "yeah, whatever." Then we had a gorgeous flock of White Pelicans in a blue sky, just soaring and moving in unison. I stated "Man, I love pelicans, I just love the way they move"…the three goons just looked at me without a word but their eyes said "dude, really, pelicans…really?" Oh god, did I just say the wrong thing, please nooooooo. I mean, we were on a hillside with no one else around, these guys could throw me off the cliff and I'd never be found. When I said "the wind isn't the right wind for seeing many hawks today", they said "you better find a Broad-winged or your ass is grass….if you could even identify one." Man was I in over my head. When they asked me what projects I was working on these days, I told them. One responded "is it going to flop like your books." One of the birds we saw today was a Cooper's Hawk that was so close we could almost grab it (photo above, click to enlarge). I was pretty excited, but when I saw them mocking me for showing an emotion, I felt nervous (and uncool).

When I asked them to pose for a picture, this is what I got? These are birdwatchers? These guys scare me. I thought "watch my back and temper my words." They asked me what lens I was using and when I told them, they just scoffed and muttered "pffffff, loser." Be careful if you run into these guys in the field, in fact…walk the other way!!! And, don't misidentify a bird in front of them, you are asking for a beat-down.

August 27, 2012 - Early morning at the Explorer's Inn Clay Lick

A major plus side to joining the group going to the clay lick was an extra 30 minutes of sleep--we didn't have to be at the dining hall till 5am.  Not that sleep actually was all that easy.  The beds were uncomfortable, and we just so happened to be here on the tail end of a Friaje so the temperatures dipped significantly at night.  The single sheet  and thin "comforter" wasn't enough to stop the chill of the night.  Towards 3am or so a pair of CRESTED OWL started piping up and called from time to time for a bit.  We had alarms set, and someone was supposed to wake us at 4:30am as a backup.  Just after 4 though the couple next to us started making racket when they woke.  Several times they dropped things on the floor waking us from the light sleep we were getting.  After a while of dozing in and out I thought it seemed like a lot of time had passed so I reached for my watch which showed the time being 4:50am. Shit--we missed our alarms and no one woke us up.  I hurried out of bed and woke Sam and we rushed to get our gear ready to go.  We were going to miss the boat to the lick if we weren't ready in time, and somehow our luck on this stretch of the trip seemed to be right back where it was 40 hours earlier.

We managed to make it out as the rest of the group was gathering up after breakfast--our guide joked about us missing breakfast but had grabbed us a couple juice boxes and crackers to snack on the boat.  I wasn't really amused--and was cussing in my head, almost missing the singing TAWNY-BELLIED SCREECH OWL as we walked towards the boat.  The little owl was trilling like a champ somewhere inside the forest.  The tinamous were also making their usual racket--the UNDULATED TINAMOU was one of my favorite jungle noises.  We made our way down the stairs to the boat--our new group had one person who to put it nicely, had no business being in the jungle.  This lady was from Germany, and she was dressed more for an afternoon stroll where brightly colored walking shoes.  Did she know where she was?  She struggled through the rocks and mud on the shore, and we eventually passed her to make our way on board.  She was the last tourist on and sent the boat rocking back and forth when she stumbled aboard--now I understood why they had those life jackets.

It was now light enough to see and on the short ride down river we didn't see any birds or wildlife--surprise surprise.  We pulled into the colpa--or clay lick and hiked up the bank to the blind that was directly to the side of the lick.  We had to sit on one half because a group from another lodge was going to be coming as well.  All was quite at the Clay lick.  Several SILVER-BEAKED TANAGERS worked the bushes below the blind and Sam spotted a CRIMSON-MASKED TANAGER.  But no parrots were visiting the lick.  The other group showed  up--it was just two tourists and a guide, but he had a spotting scope.  Across the river you could hear the loud squawking of what sounded like bigger parrots--perhaps macaws.  We then saw several birds land in a large tree across the river--they were CHESTNUT-FRONTED MACAWS.

The first distant Chestnut-fronted Macaws of the morning

While looking at the macaws there appeared to be some toucanets moving around in the tree as well--with binoculars it was almost impossible to ID them, but the other group were looking at them in the scope.  Of course they didn't offer anyone in our group to take a look--unlike when I guide I have on multiple occasions shared a scope look with others who happened to be nearby.  Based on their pointing at the book (same guide I have), I gathered the birds were GOLDEN-COLLARED TOUCANETS, too bad they were too far away to get a decent look.  The occasional flock of macaws, parrots, and parakeets flew over the colpa and off over the jungle.  Our guide warned us that because of the cloud cover, the birds may avoid the lick all together today. Great news--the trip to the jungle may end up a complete wash...

The other group decided to leave, having given up on the parrots, and I guess figuring they could save the morning with some other activity. We had been there almost an hour and the others in the group were starting to bore.  I still stared out at the trees and clay wall in anticipation.  Any moment a flock of parrots could arrive and change the tide.  Any moment.  It's going to happen in just a second. Another flock passed overhead and into the jungle.  Then another that sounded similar--but they seemed to be getting lower, and then they were circling, and then they came down through the trees and into the wall--a flock of YELLOW-CROWNED PARROTS.  The first birds to visit the colpa.

Yellow-crowned Parrots visiting the Colpa

Then the dam broke.  The next visitors were a raucous flock of about 20  DUSKY-HEADED PARAKEETS that came in clinging to the wall and the branches above.  These tiny parakeets reminded me of my Senegal Parrot superficially.  They were by far the most abundant species that came in to the wall and even when other birds scattered from time to time, they were the least flighty staying till all the birds flew off later. Within a minute or two and a few BLUE-HEADED PARROTS joined the fray.

Blue-headed Parrot and Dusky-headed Parakeets

After that parakeets several MEALY PARROTS came in, giving us 4 species at the wall at once.  The mix of birds was awesome--and our guide told us how lucky were were having the three species at the wall and having seen the macaws across the river.  He told us this was a great morning at the lick--he had no idea that it was about to get even better.

One of several Mealy Parrots at the clay lick

Out of nowhere a flock of CHESTNUT-FRONTED MACAWS came screaming into the trees.  They made their way to the wall joining the mix and stirring things up among the other parrots.

4 Chestnut-fronted Macaws landing on the wall

As the group enjoyed the amazing viewing opportunity and the spectacle unfolding Sam asked me what the one with the pink head was.   I knew she had to be talking about a WHITE-BELLIED PARROT and after explaining where it was I had it in my binoculars and then my camera. We told our guide who alerted the rest of the group--although I am not sure how many actually saw the bird, or cared--after all, none of them were birders.

The lone White-bellied Parrot that Sam spotted

I spent a few minutes just watching the odd ball until it disappeared.  It would be the only one to visit the lick that morning, and the only of the trip.  Thank goodness Sam has been birding with me enough to let me know when she sees something that seems out of place--like the parrot with the pink head amongst all the other green ones.  While we let our focus turn back to the parrots another group of birds came in--this time however they weren't parrots, but a flock of VIOLACEOUS JAYS.

A Violaceous Jay preparing to fly

The jays made their way into the feeding frenzy right along side the parakeets, parrots, and macaws.  our guide was in awe of the fact we had seen 6 species of parrots at the lick--he exclaimed that this was one of the best days he had ever had here.  I was stoked, but a little bummed that off all the parrots that came in, one of my favorites was not in the mix.  I had wanted to see an Orange-cheeked Parrot, but knew they weren't as common as other species, and given the state of the trip up to this morning, I kind of gave up hope of seeing one.  I continued watching the jays as they worked the wall, following one as it hopped up into the foliage above.  That brought my attention back to several macaws, which just so happened to be next to the best birds of the morning--there they were, ORANGE-CHEEKED PARROTS!

My lifer Orange-cheeked Parrots alongside several Chestnut-fronted Macaws

I just sort of blurted it out in awkward excitement.  No one else in the blind really cared except for our guide who asked frantically where.  I showed him and soon counted 5 of them in the trees just above the wall.  The never actually came into the clay but stayed just at the edges.  As I giddily watched, photographed, and told Sam how much I wanted to see these birds the others in the group probably thought I was a nut job--they were just parrots after all.  They didn't understand and that was fine with me--the Orange-cheeked was #20 on my top 25 list for Peru.  Besides the black head and orange cheek that stood out, this species had incredibly colored underwings making it a spectacular sight in flight.

An Orange-cheeked Parrot providing excellent looks

This was the Amazon I had expected--this was the kind of birding I imagined waited for me in Peru.  Then in an instant the entire group flushed from the wall, looping to the north, and then back towards us out over the jungle with their screeches and squawks fading as they disappeared into the vast green expanse.  We sat for another 15 minutes but no birds returned--typically when the birds leave the site for the day they are gone, even though some individuals may linger. It was an amazing experience, and the highlight of the entire trip up to that moment.  Even Sam thought it was a very cool thing to watch all these wild parrots just feet from us.  Our guide said this was the best day he had had at the lick in his time working at the Explorer's Inn.  7 species of parrots visiting this tiny clay lick was outstanding.  The trip to the Amazon wasn't a complete wash!

The parrot flock leaving the lick all at once.

The group made their way out of the blind and headed into the jungle.  We walked about 20 minutes to another clay lick that apparently used to be the place to look for parrots, but was now mostly used by mammals.  There was no wildlife at that lick when we arrived, but a lone ORANGE-CHEEKED PARROT sat on a dead limb above.  It wasn't as great as the looks we had from the blind, but was nice to see one last time.  It wasn't even 8:00am and it seemed like the day could turn up some amazing things if it continued as it had started--or at least that's what we thought.

Me looking quite smug after a great morning at the Colpa

As a side note, up river from the Inn is a huge clay lick that you can visit if you plan a longer stay.  You actually camp out along the river near the lick because the boat ride is too long to do in the morning to get there by first light.  One of the reports I read about a 1/2 day visit to that lick was inspiring.  Something like 96 species were heard and observed on one morning--obviously most of those weren't parrots, but it was simply amazing to me.  Supposedly that lick is one of the most active on the river and you can expect around 10 species of parrots on a good day, including a number of macaw species.  There are several world famous macaw licks in southern Amazonia--and if you ever go to Peru and are a birder visiting one is an absolute must--I know that if I go again, I will likely visit a much larger lick and spend a couple days to take the madness in!

10 life birds this morning / 144 total trip life birds / 189 total trip birds
Photos from the Explorer's  Inn Clay Lick on TimAveryBirding.com

August 26, 2012 - Afternoon and Evening at the Explorer's Inn

"Welcome" to the Explorer's Inn

After the introduction to the Explorer's Inn and the newly enacted rules that were laid out, I was a bit deflated.  I had looked forward to coming to the Amazon on about equal footing with going to Machu Picchu.  I understood that 3 days here in no way would produce the type of birding I really wanted to do, but for a crash course, and just an opportunity there were still certain expectations.  We took our bags to our room and spent a few minutes pointing out the obvious flaws.  Where does one even begin...  It smelled as if they had used kerosene to mop the floors, I almost wondered if I dropped a match would the whole place go up?  The beds were twin as expected, but instead of being what I would expect from America, they were like a thin 6" child's mattress--with no box springs, they sat firmly on the cross beams of the bed, which created a bit of a lumpy surface when you laid down.  That was okay though, I didn't come here to sleep.  The bug nets were clearly too old--they had faded to yellow, and you could find plenty of tiny holes in them.  The bathroom was truly a pathetic situation.  The shower was in ruins, broken and missing tiles, cracks, splintered wood boards, rusty drain and shower head, and grime.  It could have been mold, it could have just been caked on disgusting grout--whatever it was it was disgusting and showering was not on my to do list here.  Something was seriously wrong with the plumbing they did have as you could smell sewage the whole time we were there--it made using the bathroom awful--thank god I had that extra night in Cusco when I was so sick.

Yellow-rumped Cacique near our room

Now before anyone tells me I am being over critical, and looking for tiny details to gripe against--keep in mind I spent 4 summers living out of a car, sleeping on the ground, and using natures toilet while working as a filed biologist.  I know bad accommodations, and I know terrible--Explorer's Inn was the latter.  I don't often complain about lodging but this pretty much takes the cake as the worst place I have ever stayed.  By the time we left, Sam and I agreed we would have preferred our tent, and backpacking gear over the room we had here.  But enough on that, I came to look at birds, so lets talk about birds.

Silver-beaked Tanager were common here

Sam was exhausted so she opted to take a nap on the beds--when you're tired anything somewhat soft works.  I on the other hand decided to say f*ck the rules and head out into the jungle.  I stepped out onto the porch and immediately heard a clicking.  It sounded tanager-like, so I wasn't surprised when a SILVER-BEAKED TANAGER popped up in a tree nearby.  This was the most abundant tanager species I saw while in Peru, and they were common around the Inn.  I headed towards the dining hall and spotted a BROWN-MANTLED TAMARIN monkey eating a banana on a table behind the hall.  It appeared this is where they washed or cleaned something--and it was also where they threw all their fruit scraps down a hill into the jungle.  What a missed opportunity on their part--why didn't they have a table set up somewhere with the fruit placed in bowls or even just on the table for visitors to watch?  I mean come on this is a no brainer way to attract birds and wildlife and provide your guests with an easy viewing opportunity.  The SILVER-BEAKED TANAGERS were all over the hillside along with numerous  RUSSET-BACKED OROPENDOLA.  The scraps were easy picking for the birds.

One of many Russet-backed Oropendola present

I walked the perimeter of the dining hall where the SOCIAL FLYCATCHERS were easily approachable.  YELLOW-RUMPED CACIQUES and RUSSET-BACKED OROPENDOLA were noisy, and common in the trees just outside the building.   The birds nested here and were easy to approach and watch.  The occasional flock of parakeets would fly over but the chatter was unidentifiable to my ears--just parakeet sp..  I noticed 2 hummingbird feeders in the trees and was excited--for all of 10 seconds when I realized both were bone dry and likely hadn't seen sugar water in months.  Seriously?  This is the world famous Explorer's Inn?  It was apparent the ownership didn't give a shit about even the most basic wildlife viewing opportunities right on their own porch.  As I fretted about the dire feeder situation a woodcreeper rattled off int he palm tree above me--it was a the gorgeous CINNAMON-THROATED WOODCREEPER! I a lifer, and the ONLY woodcreeper of the trip.

Compared to some other jungle birds, the Cinnamon-throated Woodcreeper

may seem plain... But they are quite spectacular!

I wandered pas the soccer field down towards the river, and finally slipping on a trail into the jungle.  It was just me the trail, the trees, and the mosquitoes.  It was late int eh afternoon and the bird activity was limited.  I could hear both UNDULATED and WHITE-THROATED TINAMOU calling while I strolled down the trails.  It would be cool to see a tinamou, but thus far every species I have on my life list has been an obligatory audible.  I didn't see an birds, or other wildlife while I made my way to Sunset Point, but did find a nice group of the  BROWN-MANTLED TAMARIN monkey  right at the river.  Here I watched BLACK VULTURES soaring out over the river as the sun started to dip to the west.

Great view of a Brown-mantled Tamarin along the river

I made my way back through the forest eventually emerging from the trees to a large flock of TUI PARAKEETS which landed in the trees across the soccer field.  The employees and a few researchers were out playing soccer and frisbee in the waning daylight.  As I walked back towards the dining hall I spotted a RED-AND-GREEN MACAW perched in a tree right above the building.  I was stunned until I realized it was a free-flying bird that was rescued from captivity, and kept on the property.  The crazy thing was seeing the large parrot take off and fly out over the jungle out of view--and then return, a free bird but it had no intentions of leaving.

The local "pet" Red-and-green Macaw

I went back and napped in the room until it was time to meet up to go out on the river under the cover of darkness to spotlight caiman on the water.  The Speckled Caiman was the species we should find, and after a 30 minute presentation that was almost unbearable as our guide tried to tell us about the animals in English, I was ready to go--as was the rest of the group I suspect.  We walked towards the river stopping to check out a PINK-TOED TARANTULA at a nest, as well as a frog, and a gecko before taking the stairs down to the boat.

Gecko on the walk to the River

At the rivers edge the COMMON PARAQUE had started to call--and they were everywhere.  The boat headed up river as our guide spotlighted the bank in search of the tiny crocodiles. A SAND-COLLARED NIGHTHAWK grunted and passed in the spotlight beam.   The first thing we spotted in the water was no crocodile, but a rabbit swimming against the current in the middle of the river.  Talking with the guides later, none of them had ever seen this--surely most rabbits that make their way into the river probably end up as croc-bait!

This Rabbit was in for the swim of a life time...

Finally we started spotting SPECKLED CAIMAN and for about 30 minutes we enjoyed close up views of the creatures in the water and on the bank.

Speckled Caiman on the bank of the Rio Tambopata

We got close enough that you could literally reach out and touch one--if you wanted to lose a hand!

Speckled Caiman right next to our boat

After turning the boat back down river they cut the engine and let us glide down river int he current listening to the night sounds coming from the jungle.  It was  pretty fun floating silently through the jungle in the dark--along with the caiman this night turned out pretty well, hopefully a sign that the following day would also be on the up and up.

Sam on the float back to the Inn

When we finally got back to the Inn it was up the stairs in the dark and back to the dining hall for dinner.  The food was actually pretty good--it was chicken and rice with a mango sauce and it was the first real meal I had eaten in almost 48 hours.  After dinner they told us that we would be going to Cocochoa Lake in the morning to see Giant River Otters and needed to be back to the dining hall at 4:30am.  Sam and I had talked an already decided we didn't want to take the morning hike to the lake as we had talked to someone who took 4 trips to the lake in the past week and not seen any otters.  I went and told our guide we wanted to go with another group to see the clay lick, to which he told us we couldn't.  I don't think he fully understood our  situation, so I finally got one of the guides who spoke English to help out--it only took a few minutes and we were squared away with a new guide for the following day--the guide we were supposed to be with originally had our flight not been canceled.

We retired to our room for the night to the sound of singing AMAZONIAN PYGMY-OWLS, and other various insects and creatures whistling and buzzing away.

16 life birds this afternoon and evening / 134 total trip life birds / 178 total trip birds
Photos from the Explorer's  Inn on TimAveryBirding.com

August 26, 2012 - Morning in Puerto Maldonado and boat ride up the Rio Tambopota

When my alarm went off on Sunday morning I felt much better than the previous day.  I still wasn't 100%, but I popped some pills for my stomach and hoped for the best.  We headed down to the lobby and snagged a taxi to the airport for our 9:00am LAN flight to Puerto Maldonado.  Before I passed out the night before I spent about an hour emailing the main office for the Explorer's Inn and our driver for after we left the jungle to let them know about the changes in our travel plan.  I also emailed our final hotel to see if they could get us earlier train tickets to Machu Picchu since we were now flying back to Cusco 4 hours earlier.  We never heard back from the Explorer's Inn (not even in the days and weeks since the trip--more on this in my final recap), but the hotel we were staying at let us know that our driver would be there for us, and they would try to move our train tickets up to earlier in the afternoon.  We made it to the airport, through security, and the flight in from Lima arrived on time.  We boarded, and our flight left on time as well, flying up over the east slope to a cloud covered Amazon.  We didn't see the jungle until we were several minutes from landing--then the green carpet appeared below us, our first glimpse of the Amazon Rainforest.  It is something else to see so much green from above.

Huntsman's Spider--One of the first jungle creatures we saw in Puerto Maldonado

The plane landed to cooler than usual temperatures--the humidity wasn't even noticeable.  We grabbed our bags then headed to the parking lot to find our ride.  After several minutes of looking it became apparent the Explorer's Inn had sent no one to pick us up, despite letting them know 16 hours ahead of time that our flight had changed and we would be coming in the next morning.  One would figure that if the people didn't arrive when they were supposed to that they would probably be showing up some time soon after... But not the Explorer's Inn.  We talked to a porter in the parking lot who wailed us a taxi to their office.  Only it wasn't a taxi, it was a rickshaw--a motorcycle with a carriage attached to the back that can carry 2 to 3 people and some luggage.  These are popular throughout Peru, so it was fun to get to ride on one, especially in this remote place.  The office was literally 3 minutes from the airport--along the way I spotted several PALM TANAGERS and a number of BLACK and TURKEY VULTURES.  Once at the office I tried to explain to the guy there what had happened.  We finally got on the same page about the flight cancellation and who we were.  He told us that the boat wouldn't be leaving until 11:30am because we were waiting on other 4 tourists and a scientist to arrive on a later flight.  I asked how much it would be to charter a boat up the river--but he lamented that it was not possible.  Another 1/2 day wasted away from the jungle.

Grainy shot of a distant Crane Hawk with a snake.

Sam spent most of the next few hours sitting in the office while I wandered around the yard, hoping to catch a glimpse of a new bird or two.  Several PALM TANAGERS were a constant, while WHITE-COLLARED SWIFTS circled high in the air with the vultures.  Several TROPICAL KINGBIRDS were make volleys from the trees across the road, while WHITE-EYED PARAKEETS made passes over the yard and made a ruckus from the tops of the trees.  I picked out one YELLOW-HEADED VULTURE and assumed because we were in an open area that it was a LESSER--but couldn't be positive.  While watching the kingbirds across the road I spotted a CRANE HAWK flying past with a snake in its talons.  A SNAIL KITE was also seen circling rounding out the raptors from the edge of town.  Out of nowhere a small flock of birds came into the yard.  The first one I got in my binoculars was a RED-EYED VIREO--that was a bit of a let down.  It was followed by a PLAIN TYRANNULET and a couple small gray birds higher up in the trees I couldn't see.  A few minutes later a SMALL-BILLED ELAENIA appeared perched on the other side of the yard while all the while a HOUSE WREN sang from the overgrown yard next door.

The Plain Tyrannulet at the Explorer's Inn Office

Finally around 11am the others started arriving, and shortly after 11:30 we loaded into a van for a "short" ride to the dock.  I figured this would be a 5 minute trek across town--boy was I wrong.  Sam had gotten into the van and had to sit in the very back because the tourists who got in the van first decided to be complete jerks and sit at the front.  Common courtesy would tell anyone with a brain to go to the back if you get in first, or wait to get in if you want to sit forward.  I was near the front, but wasn't too worried since this would be a quick drive.  After a few minutes we were on a dirt road--after about 15 minutes the driver pulled over and our guide told us we would have another 45 minutes in the car before our 2 hour boat ride up river.  Unbelievable.  I sat in silence the entire ride, and just wanted to get out.  We passed fragmented and burned stretches of forest.  Fields, shacks, and small villages along the way.  Birds were scarce though.  When we finally pulled into the parking area where the "dock" was located I scurried down a road just wanting to see some birds.  I was delighted when a BLACK-FRONTED NUNBIRD popped up on a limb long enough to get a good look before disappearing into the undergrowth.  All the while a BROAD-BILLED MOTMOT was calling  nearby.

The Rio Tambopata and Amazon Jungle

The dock was more of a steep staircase down to the water, where boats were tied to the handrails.  There were no docks here on the Rio Tambopata, only stairs with boats tied to them.  We got on the boat and sat near the front--I wasn't going to have the tourists who wouldn't even adjust so my wife and I could sit together in the van ruin the boat ride for our already shortened trip in the jungle.  And then we were off, making our way up river, a mighty tributary of an even mightier tributary of the mightiest river in the world--the Amazon.  This is where I would see the most birds of the trip--this area contained the most diverse number of birds and butterflies in the world--surely I was in for an exciting river ride! 

Insert crickets chirping here... Where was the wildlife?

The two hour boat ride produced a grand total of 9 turtles, 13 life birds (maybe 50 actual individuals), a SOLITARY SANDPIPER, and several 1,000 butterflies.

A Solitary Sandpiper along the river

I will admit, the butterfly flocks were impressive.  Too bad our tour operator opted to ignore the most abundant wildlife along the river and instead take us as fast as possible to the inn.  I think one of the biggest let downs was the amount of time spent going to places, or doing nothing, and just passing up a spectacle that was really the 2nd most impressive thing I saw in the jungle.  There were no caiman, no capybara, no large flocks of birds, no terns, no swarms of vultures, no other wildlife of any kind.  This was the jungle?  This was a let down.

Swarms of Butterflies on the rivers edge.

We did see birds like a SWALLOW-WINGED PUFFBIRD perched on snags over the river.  There were both WHITE-BANDED and WHITE-WINGED SWALLOWS catching bugs over the water.  I spotted a COCOI HERON sitting in a pile of rocks which our guide argued was a Cattle Egret until I showed him a picture I snapped to prove him wrong.

Cocoi Heron along the Rio Tambopata

The occasional CASQUED and CRESTED OROPENDOLA flew across the river, and a GREATER YELLOW-HEADED VULTURE sat on a snag that I saw just long enough to get a picture. A PALE-EYED BLACKBIRD perched on a snag in the river was a great surprise, as was a SOLITARY BLACK CACIQUE that flew by.  We did spot two large flocks of egrets along the river--one was of several CATTLE EGRETS on the bank, and the other was a flock of SNOWY EGRETS in the tree tops.

Greater Yellow-headed Vulture along the Rio Tambopata

We had to stop at the edge of the Tambopota Reserve to sign in--this meant walking up one of the awesome sets of stairs into the jungle.

Stairs to the check in station for the Tambopata Reserve

Luckily it provided me with great views of a circling PLUMBEOUS KITE.  While we were at the shack waiting to put our information down a pair of BAT FALCONS were flying around and calling like crazy in the trees above.  After the short stop it was back down to the boat.  I took a minute to admire the gorgeous butterflies on the bank, including one of the coolest green and black butterflies I've ever seen.

Stunning butterfly along the river

Back in the boat it was only a few minutes till we were at the stairs to the world famous Explorer's Inn.  It is recognized as having the worlds largest bird list for a single location at over 600 species.  The river didn't produce as expected but surely this place would--it was jungle, it was the Amazon jungle, and I could already hear birds as we made our way up the stairs.

A SHORT-CRESTED FLYCATCHER greeted us at the top, before we made our way down the foot path towards main building and housing area.  The foot path was rough--it needed some major work and looked like it hadn't had much done in maybe 30 years--this seemed to be the general state of almost everything here.  Sam later mentioned that it reminded her of the place we stayed the first week in Costa Rica--in that it had a ton of potential but the people in charge weren't putting the money needed for proper upkeep into the place.  The grounds are a large opening off the river at the edge of the jungle.  A large soccer field makes up the majority of the open space.  The 4 or 5 housing buildings sit on either side of the main building and restaurant.  Behind that are where the employees stay, and further back the forest.

Oropendola or Cacique Nests in a tree towering above the jungle

Our guide led us into the main building which was rustic, but had character--we were in the jungle after all.  Outside YELLOW-RUMPED CACIQUE and OLIVE OROPENDOLA were making a racket.  A pair of SOCIAL FLYCATCHERS never ventured far from the trees around the main building and were easily seen from inside. The assistant manager greeted us and began to introduce us to the history of the place, and talk about some of the wildlife.  Then he started talking about rules--a number of things that were not mentioned on the Explorer's Inn Website.  The first rule was that we could not walk the paths outside of the immediate grounds, without a guide.  So here is a place with like 50 miles of trails through the jungle, and they brag about being able to explore these trails on their website--but once here they tell us we can't go on them?  Then they let us know we can't go to the canopy tower without a guide, and that no guides are going this afternoon.  After rattling off more non sense, they then ironically tell us the remainder of the afternoon is ours to do as we wish.  That meant we could sit in our room, sit on the porch outside our room, sit in the main building, or wander around the soccer fields and house.

I could already tell our time in the jungle was not going to be what I expected.

24 life birds this morning / 118 total trip life birds / 160 total trip birds
Photos from Puerto Maldonado and Rio Tambopota on TimAveryBirding.com