Tuesday, 8 July 2025

Peru - Day 21; Los Amigos Biological Station

   Our first full day as Los Amigos started at 05:20 with a quick explore of the Biological Station grounds with the thermal that produced nothing. A breakfast time of 06:00 limited what we could do during the first hour of daylight but there were already a few commoner birds waking up. Over breakfast a plan was decided for the morning and once our fruit, plus omelete and toast, had been consumed we set off.

  The first trail was number 10, which was the same trail we had started yesterday morning. Despite being early the amount of activity was surprisingly low, although a large troop of Black-capped Squirrel Monkeys did not help with this. A Double-toothed Kite was also following the Squirrel Monkeys, shadowing them presumably to catch prey items they might flush. 

  From trail 10 we turned on to trail number 8. This trail continued the theme of being quiet, with the Screaming Pihas being the only birds we could really hear. There were still a few birds of note, as a Pavonine Quetzal was a new bird for me, and from an open area there were fantastic views of Short-tailed Swift, also new for me. At the end of the trail we found a Broad-billed Motmot, my final South American Motmot species. On the mammal front we encountered two more Peruvian Black Spider-Monkeys but they were distant and did not show well, unlike the four Weddels Saddle-backed Tamarins that we found, which showed nicely.

  It was already getting to mid-morning and quite hot when we turned from trail 8 on to trail 9 and started making our way back home. This section of the walk turned out to be the most productive, as a small mixed species flock that moved passed us contained an immature male Tropical Royal Flycatcher. Although it did not show well, it showed better than the Stipelthroat species in the same flock, that sadly got away. Also along this stretch we had the most wanted monkey species for our time here, with a Rylands Saki. Although it was quite high in the trees, it did not move much allowing us to get excellent views of this really quite daft looking animal. 

  From trail 9 we turned on to trail 22, then trail 20, and then trail 1 to take us back to the lodge. Since it was now late morning, we really did not see much during this stage of the walk, but on trail 1 we caught something of a break when we found another Rylands Saki feeding on fruits directly above us, alongside two Tufted Capuchins. After this walk we were ready for a break so sat out the next couple of hours and prepared for the afternoon.

  The afternoon was quiet in the end. We walked trail 1, then down trail 2 until the end, then took trail 9 back to trail 1 and walked back to the lodge. There were a couple of detours as well, down to a palm swamp which produced very little and then to a telecommunications tower, which produced nothing at all. The walk up trail 2 was fairly uneventful, although I had a lifer with Red-necked Woodpecker, and we spotted a group of Tufted Capuchins. 

  Along the stretch of trail 9 things livened up a little bit, with a few songs and calls emerging but the source of which usually remained unseen. The only exception to this was a Chestnut-tailed Antbird which showed really rather nicely in the understorey. The walk back added a few commoner tanager species to the day list, but really peaked just towards the end when I spotted a Little Tinamou skulking in the undergrowth, but scuttling away far too quickly once it had been detected. Despite my best efforts with playback, he did not return. The sun had almost set when we returned to camp at 17:30, which gave us time to relax before exploring after dark. 

  Before dinner I had a walk around the lodge campground with the thermal scope and found two Black-headed Night Monkeys opposite the camp. This brought the primate total for Los Amigos up to eight. After dinner I walked on trail 10, then completed a loop via trail 28 and returning to camp by trail 19. Sadly there was negligible activity on the trail, with a sleeping Manakin being the only thing I found until almost the end of trail 19. Here the hour of unproductive walking finally turned good when I spotted a large luminous blob in the thermal, that turned out to be a sleeping White-throated Tinamou. Having only ticked this species in the morning with poor views, it was nice to get better views whilst completing my dream find of a roosting Tinamou. Absolutely excellent end to the day.

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