Birdwatching

For more than 20 years, Amazon EcoLodges has offered visitors a unique opportunity to have both a comfortable stay at our lodges and experience the most amazing bird sightings.

Our programs include the best birding spots of the Manu and Tambopata forests by taking full advantage of our lodges’ (and their surrounding trail systems’) varied geographical location . Each program is led by an expert in bird and nature observation, who, just like you, shares an intimate bond with the flora and fauna of the region.

Get ready to experience the following sites:

Huacarpay Lake

Follow the road around the lake and start seeing most of the waterfowl typical of Andean wetlands including grebes, ducks, gallinules and coots. The wet grasslands in front of the marsh are good for shorebirds and Andean Negrito. We can look for occasional migrants such as the Hudsonian Godwit (rare) and Baird’s Sandpiper. The many- coloured Rush- Tyrant and two endemic, the Rusty-fronted Canastero that can be seen around the ruins on the hillside above the Lake and a spectacular hummingbird, the Bearded Mountaineer.

The Cloud Forest

The Cloud Forest gets its name from the thick cloud layer providing perpetual humidity to the area. The region is home to the Cock of the Rock, Spectacled Bear, Orchids, Tree Ferns (one of the oldest living plants), mosses and lichens. At least 50% of the plant species found here are endemic to this region.
Birders love this place because it is possible to see White-browed chat-tyrant, the Chestnut-breasted mountain-finch, Puna Thistletail, Paramo Pipit, Diademed Tapaculo, Puna Tapaculo, Masked Flowerpiercer, Golden-collared Tanager, Drab Hemispingus among other small mixed flocks.

K’osñipata Valley

It’s possible to see many different species of birds such as the Hooded Tinamou, Stripe-faced Wood-Quail, Golden plumed parakeet, Yungas Pygmy-Owl, Gould’s Inca, Blue-banded Toucanet, Crimson –mantled Woodpecker, Sierran Elaenia, White-collared Jay, Mountain Cacique. Again, it is the best simply to bird your way slowly along the road. After a first tunnel, a mixed bamboo patch on the left should reveal the Rusty-breasted Antpitta, and the endemic Red-and-White Antpitta, which is quite vocal in the morning. At the second tunnel the vegetation becomes more luxuriant, so look for the Chestnut-bellied Mountain Tanager, Tawny-rumped Tyrannuler, Band-tailed Fruiteater and Barred Fruiteater in the mixed flocks, as well as Gray-breasted Mountain Toucan.

Erika Lodge

We can find the Rufous–vented Ground Cuckoo, the Gray-necked Woodrail, Blackish Rail and Rufous-sided Cracked. A small lake nearby houses Purple Gallinules, Hoatzins, Lesser kiskades and occasionally Pygmy Kingfishers and sun grebes. This higher area is also home of the emerald toucanet, ornate flycatcher, orange fronted plush crown and the uncommon tawny-faced gnat wren, umbrella bird among others.

Up the Alto Madre de Dios River

We will have the chance to see Violaceus Jays, the beautiful Capped Heron, Roseate spoonbill, Jabirú Stork, Vultures, Osprey, Black Hawk, Black Caracara,Chestnut-eared Toucan, Black Skimmer, Pied Lapwing, several species of kingfishers, swallows and flycatchers.

Salvador / Otorongo Lakes

Paddle softly around the lakes  to observe the Agami heron, Slender-billed Kite, Pale-eyed Blackbird, Long-crested Pygmy tyrant, Hawk-Eagle, Hairy-crested Antbird, purple-throated Cotinga and many others.

The male Cock of the Rock (Rupicola Peruviana) or “Gallito de las Rocas”, as it is popularly known in Spanish, is a vibrant reddish orange, and as many as several dozen come together for an exhibition of a mating ritual dance in a place called Lek. The males display their crest, showing off and posturing for the females. The females, fewer in number, watch to select the most suitable males. See the Cock of the Rock in any of our 4 Manu programs or 2 special birdwatching programs.

Pick from our Birdwatching 10-day or our Birdwatching 23-day program or contact us to create a program that will fit your group’s particular needs. Get ready to bird with the most experienced tour operators in the Manu and Tambopata!

Download a full bird checklist (PDF)»

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