AMAZON RIVER CRUISE A BIRDING & NATURAL HISTORY ODYSSEY ABOARD ZAFIRO (LIMA BIRD LIST INCLUDED ) FEBRUARY 8–18, 2018 Black-collared Hawk. Busarellus nigricollis. Photo: D. Ascanio. LEADERS : DAVID ASCANIO , ANDREW WHITTAKER & PAUL GREENFIELD IE’S NATURALIST : ANGEL CÁRDENAS NATURALISTS : USIEL VASQUEZ , JUAN TEJADA , AND JUAN CARLOS PALOMINO LIST COMPILED BY : DAVID ASCANIO VICTOR EMANUEL NATURE TOURS , INC . 2525 WALLINGWOOD DRIVE , SUITE 1003 AUSTIN , TEXAS 78746 WWW.VENTBIRD .COM AMAZON RIVER CRUISE A BIRDING & NATURAL HISTORY ODYSSEY February 08–18, 2018 By David Ascanio Photo album: https://www.flickr.com/photos/davidascanio/albums/72157667300036438 Every time we lead the Amazon River Cruise we have great expectations because we know that it will not only give us the opportunity to show you great birds, but it will also enhance your life. This year was no exception. Every day, the sunrise greeted us with pale red clouds blending with pink and some with yellow stripes. By the end of the afternoon, it seemed as if the sun was hiding below the tumultuous river that was always carrying huge trees, branches, water hyacinths, and mud. And, when we embarked the skiffs, we noticed that the apparent green Amazonian homogeneity disappeared as we added new words to our lexicon, some being varzea , igapo , oxbow lake, speciation, and more. This great experience started on the west side of the Andes, which is the opposite side of the Amazon basin. A full day on the Pacific coast of Peru allowed us to nail Humboldt current specialties such as the London-police looking Humboldt Penguin (with its black-and-white dress) Victor Emanuel Nature Tours 2 Amazon River Cruise, 2018 and the active and extremely specialized Surf Cinclodes rushing after each wave that splashed over the rocks, as well as several boobies, pelicans, and two species of cormorants. We also visited two large wetlands and added another dimension, that of the Boreal migrants, when we observed 8 species of sandpipers and ten thousand Franklin’s Gulls! Pantanos de Villa was an excellent example of how distant biomes are connected. We saw not only Boreal migrants but also local migrants such as thousands of Black Skimmers flying up and down over a wetland contiguous to the ocean. They weave the continent every year when they migrate from the Amazon to the coast of Peru. After a full day in the coastal area near Lima, we took a flight to Iquitos, the largest city in the Peruvian Amazon. Here we added another dimension. Thousands of years of human presence and a more recent mix of cultures have shaped today’s ribereños (river people) with their distinctive culture. They carry with them an almost encyclopedic knowledge of the medicinal use of the plants. They are the ones that can tolerate high humidity, heat during the midday, and losing their real estate when the river claims islands where their houses were built. They are expert swimmers and impressive canoe builders. Fishing is the everyday task, and farming Victor Emanuel Nature Tours 3 Amazon River Cruise, 2018 their subsistence farms is part of the women’s job. A brief visit to the Belen market gave us a sampling of the richness of the fruits and fishes that can be obtained in the Amazon, from Cupuazú , Moriche, and Azaí to Camu-Camu , a fruit in very high demand in Japan nowadays. A sampling of the fishes included several species of Cinclids, as well as catfishes and the largest scaly fish in the world, the Arapaima . After a delicious lunch in Iquitos, we embarked the wonderful and luxurious Zafiro to explore the Amazon, the Ucayali, and the Marañón rivers, and learn about their natural wonders, untamed habitats, and unique culture. Every day we were out at dawn, listening to the chorus of the forest, and from the skiffs we also enjoyed wonderful views of Pink and Gray dolphins. Then we pulled the skiffs under the flooded forest and explored a specific microhabitat in search of specialized avifauna. How can we forget the first morning outing with a surprising migration of Sand-colored Nighthawks along the river and later the astonishing views of the little-known Black-tailed Antbird? Another day presented us with views of the undulating-flying Amazonian Umbrellabird and observations of little-known river island specialists such as Black-and-white Antbird, as well as Dark-breasted and Parker’s spinetails. Yet, I believe everyone would agree that seeing almost a million White-winged Parakeets (it got dark when we were estimating already three-quarters of a million, and clouds of parakeets kept coming in) flying to tall canes on an island that served as a roost. So much we saw, so much we witnessed, and still, so little is known about these birds. Only recently have we learned about the importance of microhabitats in the survival of many species that have become specialists, thus their whole concept of the world may hang from a Victor Emanuel Nature Tours 4 Amazon River Cruise, 2018 series of vines in the canopy, or a river island, even from certain leaves of a palm, or are restricted to a given forest strata. This is why the Amazon mysteries, as I like to call them, have been the inspiration of an endless number of expeditions—the early explorers seeking cinnamon, many to understand its ecology and richness, others for gold or rubber, and many for the sake of discovery. A week didn’t seem long enough, but for the Amazon there is never enough time! Towards the last day of the cruise, I noticed a distant storm and realized that the gray clouds added another dimension, that of the shadows and stripes of light projected in all directions. This cruise was truly an inspirational trip. I am sure that our senses were activated by the smell of water, the power of the light, the sound of the river, and the humid air touching our fingers. As we enjoyed this, we then realized that for a short but important time in our lives we had been part of this enormous biome, and by finding ourselves submerged in each special moment we realized that each day and experience was an unforgettable one. Now that you have learned about much of the Amazonian flora, fauna, and history, I want to invite you to join us in other destinations, equally interesting and beautiful but remarkably different from this biome. Some are: Cuba: Birds & People Cuba has always been the bucket-list island to visit. Until recently, it was a dream to go birding there. Not anymore! We bird three major areas of the island and look for most of the endemic birds including the Bee Hummingbird, the smallest bird in the world. See the photos and the video of our 2015 Cuba tour in: Photo album: https://www.flickr.com/photos/davidascanio/albums/72157651912764991 Victor Emanuel Nature Tours 5 Amazon River Cruise, 2018 Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylRHvB1jzdI The Panama Canal: A Relaxed & Easy tour. Panama offers a unique opportunity to enjoy first class birding at a relaxed and easy pace. We spend most of the nights in a small inn located in the town of Gamboa, by the Panama Canal. Short walks around the town plus a boat trip to the Chagres River and a visit to the famous Pipeline Road offer views of a nice mix of hummingbirds, tyrant flycatchers, tanagers, woodpeckers, and honeycreepers. We offer an optional visit to the Canopy Tower where we can see canopy species at eye level. You can enjoy the photos and the video of our 2015 Panama Canal tour in: Photo album: https://www.flickr.com/photos/davidascanio/albums/72157648765567967 Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgnkUxwd5kw Costa Rica: A Relaxed & Easy tour. Our Relaxed & Easy Costa Rica tour is for those who wish to bird various altitudinal levels, from cloud forest to lowland rain forest, and still do it at a slow pace. On this tour we include a ride along the aerial tram, and besides seeing birds we also learn about the flora and other fauna of this spectacular country. This tour is designed for seeing gaudy species such as tanagers and honeycreepers, as well as many hummingbirds. For that, we visit various hummingbird feeder stations. See the photos and video of our 2015 in: Photo album: https://www.flickr.com/photos/davidascanio/albums/72157659475059484 Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzgD6NfVNSE Thank you for joining us! Victor Emanuel Nature Tours 6 Amazon River Cruise, 2018 LOCATIONS: 1: Tahuayo. 2: Lucero Pata. 3: Yarapa. 4: Bagazan. 5: Yanallpa (pronounced Ya-nash-pa). 6: Yuracocha. 7: Zapote. 8: Pawachiro. 9: Yanayacu de Pucate. Victor Emanuel Nature Tours 7 Amazon River Cruise, 2018 ITINERARY: 08 Feb. 2018. Arrival to Peru. 09 Feb. 2018. Lima area: Pantanos de Villa, Pucusana. 10 Feb. 2018. Flight to Iquitos. Birding the Amazon from the ship´s upper deck. Amazon river. 11 Feb. 2018. Tahuayo, Lucero Pata. 12 Feb. 2018. Yarapa river, Bagazán. 13 Feb. 2018. Yanallpa, Yuracocha. 14 Feb. 2018. Zapote, Yanallpa (night outing). 15 Feb. 2018. Yarapa, Paranapura. 16 Feb. 2018. Yanayacu de Pucate, Puerto Prado. 17 Feb. 2018. Itaia river islands (Iquitos). Flight to Lima. 18 Feb. 2018. Departure. HABITATS: RF. Riverine forest. Includes all kind of forest at sides of rivers, either in black water rivers (igapó) or white-water rivers (varzea) as well as natural channels and oxbow lakes. MH. Marsh. SW. Swamp. TF. Terra firme forest. FM. Farmland. RV. River, river edge and floodplains. RI. Sedimentary river island. SG. Secondary growth. BIRDS: Tinamous, Tinamidae Great Tinamou, Tinamus major.