Birds of Peruvian Amazon Birding Tour

Birding in the Peruvian Amazon Tour

This 6-day Birds of Peruvian Amazon tour available request, on which you can expect to see around 250 species of bird, including a handful endemic specie, is perfect for seeing a wide variety of rainforest species. It starts from the town of Iquitos in northeastern Peru and includes birding the canopy walkway near ExplorNapo Lodge, the islands of the mighty Amazon River and the white sand forests of Allpahuayo-Mishana. There are great chances to see Nocturnal Curassow at the Explorama Lodge. The canopy walkway nearby gives a bird's eye view of the treetops.

Flocks of parrots, tanagers, raptors, toucans and cotingas can be seen passing through these areas, often at close range. The river islands have a number of Amazon specialities that cannot be seen on birding trips in southern Peru. For example, we explore a lagoon in search of Agami Heron and Sungrebe.

The white sand forest birding at the Allpahuayo-Mishana Reserve rewards guests with a number of endemic birds of the Peruvian Amazon, including some that have been described as new to science within the last 25 years such as the Mishana Tyrannulet, Allpahuayo Antbird, Ancient Antwren and, if you are lucky, the Iquitos Gnatcatcher. This forest is also good for Rufous and White-winged Potoo.

Six days is probably the minimum you need in order to see a good numbers of the birds of the Peruvian Amazon, certainly in the Iquitos area. And you could happily add 3-5 days to do more exploring in the Allpahuayo-Mishana Reserve as the endemics there are difficult to find. There are many opportunities for good general birding there also. The Yanayacu River, south of Iquitos, is very good for the rare Wattled Curassow. However, an allocation of three days is usually necessary for this elusive species, something that Kolibri would be happy to arrange.

Additional expeditions can also be made to other lodges along the Amazon River for species like the undescribed Herpsilochmus, Spotted Antpitta, White-lored Antpitta, Southern Caracara, Cinereous Becard, South American Snipe and Helmeted Pygmy-Tyrant.

Mammals and general wildlife within 100km of Iquitos are generally sparse. South-eastern Peru is the more abundant area for this kind of wildlife because hunting around Iquitos has put pressure on mammal species and larger monkeys, for instance, are rare. However, Pink River Dolphin and Three-toed Sloth are still quite common.

An added and very comfortable tour extension can be arranged on a riverboat cruise with air-conditioned rooms, private showers and bathrooms. Cruise upriver to the Pacaya-Samiria National Park where land-based wildlife is more common and protected. Please ask for details if you want to visit this area.

Birds of Peruvian Amazon Tour highlights include:

The islands of the mighty Amazon River
The endemic birds of the white sand forests of the Allpahuayo-Mishana Reserve
Chance to see endemics only recently described for science
The rare Wattled Curassow on the Yanayacu River
The ExplorNapo Lodge canopy walkway

For a fantastic and longer birding experience have a look at the Complete Manu Road Peru Birding Tour.

Alternative tour name: Birding in Northern Peru around Iquitos

Day 1

Day 1 - Flight from Lima

Late afternoon flight from Lima and transfer to Allpahuayo-Mishana reserve from airport to do a session of nightbirding. Maybe we find Rufous Potoo or White-winged Potoo. Night in Iquitos.

Day 2

Day 2 - Allpahuayo-Mishana.

In the morning we shall look for the targets of Allpahuayo-Mishana such as Mishana Tyrannulet, Allpahuayo Antbird, Ancient Antwren, Northern Chestnut-tailed (Zimmer's) Antbird.There is also an undescribed form of Fuscous Flycatcher which likely is a new species and many more. With lots oa luck we may also find the extremely rare Iquitos Gnatcatcher. Mid-morning we transfer to Explornapo lodge. In the afternoon we will be checking out the lek for Black-necked Red-Cotinga.

Day 3

Day 3 - Explornapo

AM. River islands holding i.e. Ash-breasted Antbird, Bicolored Conebill, Orange-eyed Flycatcher, Leaden Antwren and many others. In the afternoon we will transfer to the canopy walkway and spend the afternoon there. At night near the base of the Canopy walkway, the Nocturnal Curassow can often be located.

Day 4

Day 4 - Canopy walkway - return to Iquitos

AM birding on the canopy walkway with Dugand’s Antwren, Pavonine Quetzal and Crested Eagle possible, before we head back to the lodge and back to Iquitos. In the afternoon we return to Iquitos. At dusk we shall do a short boat trip from Iquitos port in Nanay delta with Black-crested Antshrike and Band-tailed Nightjar. Night in Iquitos.

Day 5

Day 5 - Allpahuayo Mishana and Cumaceba Lodge.

Additional day at Allpahuayo-Mishana reserve. There are certainly more birds to look for. Night in Iquitos.

Day 6

Day - 6

Another day on the Amazon river where we shall look for Black-tailed Antbird and Zimmer's Woodcreeper. The islands are also good also for Festive Parrot. We bird until midday when we return to Iquitos. In the afternoon we'll look for some Iquitos stakeouts such as Amazonian Parrotlet and Bay Hornero before returning to the airport for flights back to Lima or Tarapoto.

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