Peru - Day 42; Muyuna Lodge

   For my final full day at the Muyuna Lodge, Moises had planned to search the forest just a little upriver for primates, with the hope of picking out some of the rarer species found in the area. We had a slightly later breakfast at 05:00 and then headed upriver and into the forest. Once again the weather was dark and gloomy, and this kept the forest understorey dark for much later than would have been ideal.

  Since primates were the main focus of the morning, it makes sense to start with them. Despite the poor light conditions, we had a lot of success with finding the primates, although getting good views and photos proved more challenging. We encountered Pygmy Marmoset a few times, as well as a large mixed group of Squirrel-Monkeys and Brown Capuchins. In this group we spotted three Equatorial Saki high in the canopy, but they quickly disappeared.  Shortly after we added the Colombian Red Howler to the morning list, but once again they quickly disappeared.

  The main target of the morning was the White-faced Capuchin, and they proved tricky to pin down. Moises heard a group at one point but they moved off before we could see them. It took us a while but we found a second group further in the forest. These also cleared off very quickly, but one individual decided to sit on a palm leaf staring at us for a few seconds, allowing us to actually see the animal before it fled into the canopy.

  For birds it was a rather frustrating morning. The highlight was a nice pair of Golden-crowned Spadebill, which did not show especially well but were still a delight to see. Amazonian Trogon was also a new species for me, but it was difficult to see well in the terrible light conditions. Otherwise the selection of birds was very limited. A pair of Plumbeous Antbirds was nice, but the singing Collared Puffbird would not show at all.

  After lunch we headed out again, this time taking the boat into the Amazon to try and find the Amazon River Dolphins or Botos, since we had not had a chance to photograph them the previous day. What followed was a fantastic afternoon with double figures of these dolphins emerging all around around boat, including some animals that must have been two metres in length, and some that were incredibly pink. Although I enjoyed seeing this species in Bolivia, this experience far eclipses it.

  At night we took the boat out and headed upriver. It was a little cool tonight and that is maybe why we had limited diversity of mammals, with only ample Amazonian Bamboo Rats and a couple of Capybara. The birds were a little more interesting with a Common Potoo and a Pauraque, as well as several Boat-billed Herons.