My friends and I arrived in Iquitos four days before the start of the Margarita Tour. We also stayed an extra day after the completion of the tour. We spent most of these extra days out in the white sand forests of the Allpahuayo Mishana Reserve. This reserve was approximately 45 minutes by taxi from Iquitos and was along the Nauta Road. Allpahuayo Mishana was one of the few places near Iquitos that supported primary forest although this was stunted due to the nutrient deficient sands.
While the trees may not have been all that impressive, the bird life was superb and quite different to what we found at Madre Selva or Santa Cruz. The reserve was particularly good for forest birds and many of these were white sand specialists. Some of the birding highlights included our first Paradise Tanagers, Swallow Tanagers, Swallow-wings, Black Caracaras, Gould's Jewelfront, Brown-banded Puffbirds, Yellow-billed Nunbird, White-necked Puffbirds, Paradise Jacamar, Yellow-billed Jacamar, Ancient Antwren, Yellow-browed Antbird, Plain-throated Antwren, Zimmer's Antwren, Dwarf Tyrant Manakin, Sulphur-bellied Tyrant Manakin, Spangled Cotinga and many more. Especially memorable to me was the incredible call of Screaming Pihas. We heard them repeatedly but never actually saw the drably coloured birds. For those of you unfamiliar with this amazing sound, have a listen to the recording by Don Jones at this site. To me, it is one of the defining bird songs of South America.
http://www.xeno-canto.org/browse.php?query=screaming+piha
If any of you decide to visit this reserve, watch on the right for the km 25 roadside marker. Near this marker was a trail that headed into the white sand forest. This trail was about a kilometer or so before the main entrance to the reserve. We walked it several times but found it to be the best for birds soon after sunrise.
Vegetation along the trail included many myrmecophytic melastomes. Ants that lived within the melastomes were tiny but they could sting! I experienced their stings a few times when I was careless about where I walked while chasing antbirds.
The sand forests were the home of an absolutely stunning amphibian, the Red-backed Poison Frog (Dendrobates reticulatus). These frogs were usually seen as they sat atop leaves or fallen logs. They were tiny animals that also were wary. I was surprised at how far they could jump and I lost them often when then jumped a time or two and then plunged beneath the leaf litter. One afternoon, Ted spotted one of these several meters up in a tree. The frog hopped downwards from leaf to leaf and soon reached the leaf litter. These little frogs could obviously ascend into the canopy when they so desired.
There were several side trails off the main trail from km 25. We always had a guide here and I think that one would be important since there was a maze of trails. The forest was dense, the sky overcast and I soon became completely confused as to the direction that we were travelling.
The habitat along the side trails was rich with orchids and bromeliads. Our guide, Percy, mentioned the name for this stunted, epiphyte laden forest but I cannot remember it now.
1) Orchid
2) Orchid
3) flowering bromeliad
Ted and Percy, our Peruvian bird guide, in the stunted forest:
... terrestrial bromeliad:
We found an impressive beetle while we walked here. It crashed down from the canopy and thumped onto the trail in front of us. I was told that this is a Ceiba Borer, an enorums Buprestid.
Steams in the forest were heavily stained with tannins:
I found a damselfly with a red-banded wings that matched the colour of the flowering bromeliads:
Cocha Whiptail (Kentropyx altamazonica):
After returning to the road from the km 25 trail, we walked to the main entrance to the reserve. Birding along the road was always good and we saw species such as Gilded Barbets, Yellow-naped Woodpeckers, Chestnut-bellied Seed-Finch, White-winged Parakeets, Cobalt-winged Parakeets, White-necked Puffbirds, Greyish Saltators and others.
Photo of our guide, Percy, and a ranger from the reserve (photo compliments of Ed):
Roadside insects were also interesting:
1) beautiful Chrysomelid
2) enormous hemipteran
3) dragonfly
4) rainbow grasshopper
These roadside trees had huge leaves:
... interesting flowers. The second one was a nice passion flower.
Scarlet Peacocks and Tropical Buckeyes were numerous on roadside flowers.
Main entrance sign along the highway:
We followed a trail that eventually reached a fruit orchard:
I found several of these amazing parasol-like fungi:
1) flower -- any ideas as to the family?
2) giant armoured millipede
I was told that this flower has the name "Hot Lips". I wonder why?
These butterflies with translucent wings were abundant. We saw them often as they flitted low across the trail.
Although not dazzling like the Dendrobates, I still liked the colour pattern of these Spotted-thighed Poison Frog (Epipedobates femoralis)
Ted took this photo of Cam, Ed and me:
Dick examined my photo and suggested that this may be an Ucayali Rocket Frog (Colostethus (Allobates) marchesianus). I only saw this single individual.
Crested Forest Toads (Bufo margaritifer complex) were encountered from time to time.
Bridled Forest Gecko (Gonatodes humeralis): We saw a few usually low on the trunks of trees.
I stopped to photograph this spider on the trail:
... and then spotted this adult Blue-lipped Forest Anole (Anolis bombiceps). The lizard that was almost invisible as it stood in the leaf litter. Its colouration was remarkable ... so cryptic.
... juvenile that was climbing in a small shrub.
Anolis chrysolepis?
Anolis sp: Any ideas?
Western Leaf Lizard (Stenocercus fimbiratus): These lizards also blended well with the leaf litter. We saw a few but no doubt walked by others.
Common Swamp Snake (Liophis reginae): Unfortunately, I only have these bad photos of the snake. We had a ranger from the reserve with us and I did not know whether he would allow me to pose the snake. Later on the walk, the range was caught frogs for me to photo so handling the snake would have been okay.
Birding in the fruit orchard was very productive. We saw some lovely sights here including: Spangled Cotinga, Lettered Aracari, Black-headed Parrot, Magpie Tanagers, Black-tailed Tityras, Yellow-tufted Woodpeckers and Red-stained Woodpeckers. Swallow-wings were common on posts within the clearing as were Smooth-billed Anis. We also tried all sorts of strange, exotic fruits. Most were nice although completely different to our normal western fruits.
We also visited Allpahuayo Mishana at night with some of the other members of the Margarita Tour group.
We only found a single snake and this was a DOR juvenile Common Mussurana (Clelia clelia):
I like the eyes of this frog. Dick suggested its identity to be an Osteocephalis sp. cf fuscifacies.
Turnip-tailed Geckos (Thecadactylus rapicauda) were seen on structures near the headquarters.
Tropical House Gecko (Hemidactylus mabouia): We also saw a few of these on buildings at the headquarters.
We found this sleeping Morpho on a branch that was overhanging a creek. It inner wings were partially black and then a shimmering blue.
Plant Hopper (Lystra lanata, a fulgorid): Carl Olson of the Univ of Arizona has kindly helped Young and I with the identifications of a number of unusual insects.
Wax-tailed Plant Hopper (Lystra pulverulenta, a fulgorid): I think this to be an incredible insect. Carl and one of his colleagues supplied the following information:
tail-less whip scorpion
Micrathena sp.
Tropical House Gecko (Hemidactylus mabouia): We saw a few of these on the walls of the inner courtyard of our hotel, Hospedaje de Pascana, in Iquitos:
Common Whipsnake (Chironius exoletus): I was jet-lagged when I first arrived in Peru so I was usually up and about at 4am. I had also talked with the hotel staff about the Margarita Tours. Early one morning before sunrise, I heard a knock on the door. The manager was distressed about finding a snake in his garden and he asked me to catch it. After a little searching, I found this beautiful Whipsnake. It certainly was responsive. It reminded me of a Leptophis the way that it would gape.
Regards,
David
While the trees may not have been all that impressive, the bird life was superb and quite different to what we found at Madre Selva or Santa Cruz. The reserve was particularly good for forest birds and many of these were white sand specialists. Some of the birding highlights included our first Paradise Tanagers, Swallow Tanagers, Swallow-wings, Black Caracaras, Gould's Jewelfront, Brown-banded Puffbirds, Yellow-billed Nunbird, White-necked Puffbirds, Paradise Jacamar, Yellow-billed Jacamar, Ancient Antwren, Yellow-browed Antbird, Plain-throated Antwren, Zimmer's Antwren, Dwarf Tyrant Manakin, Sulphur-bellied Tyrant Manakin, Spangled Cotinga and many more. Especially memorable to me was the incredible call of Screaming Pihas. We heard them repeatedly but never actually saw the drably coloured birds. For those of you unfamiliar with this amazing sound, have a listen to the recording by Don Jones at this site. To me, it is one of the defining bird songs of South America.
http://www.xeno-canto.org/browse.php?query=screaming+piha
If any of you decide to visit this reserve, watch on the right for the km 25 roadside marker. Near this marker was a trail that headed into the white sand forest. This trail was about a kilometer or so before the main entrance to the reserve. We walked it several times but found it to be the best for birds soon after sunrise.
Vegetation along the trail included many myrmecophytic melastomes. Ants that lived within the melastomes were tiny but they could sting! I experienced their stings a few times when I was careless about where I walked while chasing antbirds.
The sand forests were the home of an absolutely stunning amphibian, the Red-backed Poison Frog (Dendrobates reticulatus). These frogs were usually seen as they sat atop leaves or fallen logs. They were tiny animals that also were wary. I was surprised at how far they could jump and I lost them often when then jumped a time or two and then plunged beneath the leaf litter. One afternoon, Ted spotted one of these several meters up in a tree. The frog hopped downwards from leaf to leaf and soon reached the leaf litter. These little frogs could obviously ascend into the canopy when they so desired.
There were several side trails off the main trail from km 25. We always had a guide here and I think that one would be important since there was a maze of trails. The forest was dense, the sky overcast and I soon became completely confused as to the direction that we were travelling.
The habitat along the side trails was rich with orchids and bromeliads. Our guide, Percy, mentioned the name for this stunted, epiphyte laden forest but I cannot remember it now.
1) Orchid
2) Orchid
3) flowering bromeliad
Ted and Percy, our Peruvian bird guide, in the stunted forest:
... terrestrial bromeliad:
We found an impressive beetle while we walked here. It crashed down from the canopy and thumped onto the trail in front of us. I was told that this is a Ceiba Borer, an enorums Buprestid.
Steams in the forest were heavily stained with tannins:
I found a damselfly with a red-banded wings that matched the colour of the flowering bromeliads:
Cocha Whiptail (Kentropyx altamazonica):
After returning to the road from the km 25 trail, we walked to the main entrance to the reserve. Birding along the road was always good and we saw species such as Gilded Barbets, Yellow-naped Woodpeckers, Chestnut-bellied Seed-Finch, White-winged Parakeets, Cobalt-winged Parakeets, White-necked Puffbirds, Greyish Saltators and others.
Photo of our guide, Percy, and a ranger from the reserve (photo compliments of Ed):
Roadside insects were also interesting:
1) beautiful Chrysomelid
2) enormous hemipteran
3) dragonfly
4) rainbow grasshopper
These roadside trees had huge leaves:
... interesting flowers. The second one was a nice passion flower.
Scarlet Peacocks and Tropical Buckeyes were numerous on roadside flowers.
Main entrance sign along the highway:
We followed a trail that eventually reached a fruit orchard:
I found several of these amazing parasol-like fungi:
1) flower -- any ideas as to the family?
2) giant armoured millipede
I was told that this flower has the name "Hot Lips". I wonder why?
These butterflies with translucent wings were abundant. We saw them often as they flitted low across the trail.
Although not dazzling like the Dendrobates, I still liked the colour pattern of these Spotted-thighed Poison Frog (Epipedobates femoralis)
Ted took this photo of Cam, Ed and me:
Dick examined my photo and suggested that this may be an Ucayali Rocket Frog (Colostethus (Allobates) marchesianus). I only saw this single individual.
Crested Forest Toads (Bufo margaritifer complex) were encountered from time to time.
Bridled Forest Gecko (Gonatodes humeralis): We saw a few usually low on the trunks of trees.
I stopped to photograph this spider on the trail:
... and then spotted this adult Blue-lipped Forest Anole (Anolis bombiceps). The lizard that was almost invisible as it stood in the leaf litter. Its colouration was remarkable ... so cryptic.
... juvenile that was climbing in a small shrub.
Anolis chrysolepis?
Anolis sp: Any ideas?
Western Leaf Lizard (Stenocercus fimbiratus): These lizards also blended well with the leaf litter. We saw a few but no doubt walked by others.
Common Swamp Snake (Liophis reginae): Unfortunately, I only have these bad photos of the snake. We had a ranger from the reserve with us and I did not know whether he would allow me to pose the snake. Later on the walk, the range was caught frogs for me to photo so handling the snake would have been okay.
Birding in the fruit orchard was very productive. We saw some lovely sights here including: Spangled Cotinga, Lettered Aracari, Black-headed Parrot, Magpie Tanagers, Black-tailed Tityras, Yellow-tufted Woodpeckers and Red-stained Woodpeckers. Swallow-wings were common on posts within the clearing as were Smooth-billed Anis. We also tried all sorts of strange, exotic fruits. Most were nice although completely different to our normal western fruits.
We also visited Allpahuayo Mishana at night with some of the other members of the Margarita Tour group.
We only found a single snake and this was a DOR juvenile Common Mussurana (Clelia clelia):
I like the eyes of this frog. Dick suggested its identity to be an Osteocephalis sp. cf fuscifacies.
Turnip-tailed Geckos (Thecadactylus rapicauda) were seen on structures near the headquarters.
Tropical House Gecko (Hemidactylus mabouia): We also saw a few of these on buildings at the headquarters.
We found this sleeping Morpho on a branch that was overhanging a creek. It inner wings were partially black and then a shimmering blue.
Plant Hopper (Lystra lanata, a fulgorid): Carl Olson of the Univ of Arizona has kindly helped Young and I with the identifications of a number of unusual insects.
Wax-tailed Plant Hopper (Lystra pulverulenta, a fulgorid): I think this to be an incredible insect. Carl and one of his colleagues supplied the following information:
... and
... and, when I asked about the "double" compound eyes:
tail-less whip scorpion
Micrathena sp.
Tropical House Gecko (Hemidactylus mabouia): We saw a few of these on the walls of the inner courtyard of our hotel, Hospedaje de Pascana, in Iquitos:
Common Whipsnake (Chironius exoletus): I was jet-lagged when I first arrived in Peru so I was usually up and about at 4am. I had also talked with the hotel staff about the Margarita Tours. Early one morning before sunrise, I heard a knock on the door. The manager was distressed about finding a snake in his garden and he asked me to catch it. After a little searching, I found this beautiful Whipsnake. It certainly was responsive. It reminded me of a Leptophis the way that it would gape.
Regards,
David
