Today was our only full day at Amazonia Lodge, and it rained. It rained all day. Sometimes it rained heavily, and sometimes it only drizzled but it barely stopped raining for the entirety of the day. This obviously took a heavy toll on the activities of our day, but we made the best of it and tried to find some birds and animals along the trails.
We started on the Jeep trail, which was a new trail for us. With the weather against us it was difficult going, but we had a few birds and some new species for me with Green-and-rufous Kingfisher, Chestnut-crowned Foliage-Gleaner and Bluish-slate Antshrike. An excellent bonus species was a Cinereous Tinamous that was walking on the path in front of us, and a Tinamou tick is always good. A Grey Tinamou also crossed the path later on but it was further away. The main target for this section of our walk was in an area of bamboo, the White-lined Antbird. Fortunately despite the weather, once we reached the correct habitat we were able to easily find a pair. A pair of Ornate Stipelthroat finished off the walk nicely.
After this short walk, and with the rain cleared a little, I walked the base of the Tower Trail to try and track down some antbird species. Activity was quite low but I managed to find the species I hoped for when a single male Brownish-headed Antbird came and responded to the tape. This bird had been a bad dip for us in Bolivia, so it was good to catch up with one here. Otherwise the overall number of birds was quite low, until the end when I caught the back end of a mixed species flock containing two new antbird species for me; Sooty Antbird and Chestnut-tailed Antbird.
After lunch, with the weather still cool and drizzly, we continued exploring around the lodge, returning to the Jeep Trail and then exploring some other areas. Despite a few small groups of birds, activity was very muted. Towards the end of the afternoon I finally managed to track down a pair of Amazonian Antpitta, but despite my best efforts I could not manage to see them within the dense thicket of vegetation they had made their home. Even more frustratingly was that through the thermal imager I could see the outline of the bird clearly, watching it sing away, but I was never able to translate this into actual field views!
At night I once again took the thermal out to search for mammals, and it was once again very rewarding. Helpfully the rain had stopped so it was not unpleasant to be out in the field. On the Jeep Trail I found a small White-browed Hermit asleep, as well as another bird that could not be identified. Around the lodge garden itself I managed to find a large heat signature that would not move, until I was too close when it ran away to reveal itself as a Paca! Sadly too quick for photos, but great to finally see this animal. The evening was rounded off with a small mouse near the lodge.
