Today was my first full day in the Allpahuayo Mishana Reserve, and there were several birds I wanted to find, most of which would be difficult to track down. The task before me became all the more ominous as I walked through the forest just after dawn, recognizing only a few of the calls I heard and seeing very few birds.
I was eased a little when I came to a small clearing and heard my first target, the Ancient Antwren. With some effort I finally got views of the bird high in the canopy, far from ideal but my first key target seen. Continuing on the trail I got my first primate of the day, with the Red Saddle-backed Tamarin. The day continued to get better and better, and I had soon found my second target when I bumped into a female Pearly Antshrike. It took a while for me to work out what exactly I was looking at, as I filtered through my options before getting there.
The trail continued and I added possibly the most awkward target that I actually managed to find on this first day, when a Brown Nunlet responded to my speculative playback and then showed very well. Before turning back, I added Humbolts Squirrel-Monkey before reach a small river and seemingly the end of the trail. The way back was quite warm but still managed to add Rufous-backed Stipelthroat to my successful target list.
After lunch I tried a different trail. As expected it was a fairly quiet affair but still enjoyable. I managed to find two lifers with a female Mouse-coloured Antshrike and then an unexpected lek site of Straight-billed Hermit. Perhaps the highlight of the afternoon however, was a small group of White-tailed Titi Monkeys, my first new monkey for this site.
Once darkness fell I set out on the trails again hoping to track down some rare night birds. That did not transpire, but I still found two different Two-toed Sloths and a stunning snake that was bright red in colour. The highlight however has to be a roosting antbird. I could not work out which species I was looking at until it revealed its head and stunning white crest; a White-plumed Antbird! What a bird to find roosting and a brilliant conclusion to my first day here.
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