Peru Manu Part II: The Lowland Rainforest Aug 12—21, 2010
Posted by Steve Hilty
Steve Hilty
Steve Hilty is the senior author of A Guide to the Birds of Colombia, and the recently published Birds of Venezuela, both by Princeton University Press. Other credits inclu...Related Trips
The Manu lowlands are supposed to be hot and muggy, right? Instead, we enjoyed some of the most pleasant weather imaginable. Cool and comfortable virtually throughout, with days warming a little at the end, but never unpleasant. Mornings at the two canopy platforms provided opportunities to see species that one would rarely see from the forest floor, and opportunities to witness little insights into the natural history of species that once could only have been imagined from 40 m below—a pair of White-lored Euphonias building their nest on the side of a large epiphyte-covered limb; a sleeping Great Potoo high in the canopy; and a pair of Blue-crowned Trogons nesting inside a large tubular wasp nest hanging from a 40 m-high limb.
The canopy platforms yielded much more than domestic activities, however. Birds large and small entered these large Ceiba trees for various lengths of time and, doubtless, with various motives—tanagers and honeycreepers to examine leaf or bark surfaces for insects or to check for fruit; woodpeckers lured by playback of nonexistent competitors; and Curl-crested Araçaries in search of fruit or on other unfathomable errands. Others flew past the trees en route to unknown destinations—parrots and parakeets to distant fruiting trees, and raptors overhead. Throughout the morning at these canopy platforms one can stand at the edge of the platform railing, peer far downward into thick vegetation, palm fronds, and clutter below, or gaze across a nearby oxbow lake, and listen to one of the world's greatest symphonies—the dawn chorus of perhaps 300 species of birds spread below, a mostly unseen symphony, but vibrant and alive nonetheless, with each member responding to hunger and predators and mates as they sing and search for food, and carry out life cycles that have persisted for tens of thousands of years. We are but the blink of an eye here, brief witness to this cornucopia of life pulsing all around us.
During our days here we spent a morning on a beautiful oxbow lake where the powerful voices of Horned Screamers vibrated from one end of the lake to the other, jacanas with improbably large feet plodded over water lilies, shy Agami Herons and Sungrebes plied safer waters close to shoreline cover, and macaws, parrots, and parakeets criss-crossed overhead, examined large dead stubs, or just sat in stunning beauty in the morning sun. The lake trips provided a relaxing and productive experience with many easy to see birds—in stark contrast to forest trails where we squinted into shadows for shy antbirds, or high overhead for glimpses of species in fast-moving mixed species flocks. The Manu region allows us to experience a true Amazonian wilderness, and to experience many facets of this great region in an all-encompassing way that includes forest trails, the forest canopy, quiet lakes, rivers, clay river banks, mineral licks, bamboo, clearings, and gardens. Yet, all of this is possible with a level of comfort almost unimaginable just a decade or two ago: catamarans for languid mornings on oxbow lakes, canopy platforms, and sleek longboats with shaded roofs, comfortable seats, and outboard power. We need bring only our curiosity and an open mind to enjoy this, one of the world's great wildernesses.