A visit to the Peruvian Amazon almost certainly involves navigating one of the massive river's tributaries. On my recent trip to the area I explored a tiny section of the upper Madre de Dios river as part of Wild Watch Peru's three-day Manu Short Trip. It's a savory taste of the rain forest on an easy two-night excursion from the bustling city of Cusco in the Andes.
Rivers drain tremendous volumes of water through the greater Amazon basin, as the relatively flat land welcomes moisture collected in the high Andes Mountains to the east . The Madre de Dios carves a path through these jungle landscapes, all the while creating frequently changing channels that are bordered by rocky beaches or clay cliffs. Frequently these channels loop and cross, often creating new waterways. The old, untraveled course becomes either a swamp, like much of the terrain, or what's called an oxbow lake.
One such lake I had the pleasure to visit in the area was Machuhuassy Lake (refered to as Cocha Machuwasi on some local signs). If its fresh water tropical bird life wasn't fascinating enough, the muddy walk through the primary rain forest from our river boat on the Madre de Dios river was just as exciting. Thanks to our wellies - or Wellington boots - we were able to get as close to the lizards and plant life under the dense forest canopy as we were to the new birds at the lake.
One bird that stood out was the hoatzin, also called the reptile bird or stinkbird or skunk bird. Like macaws and other parrots, it's a wide-ranging bird in the equatorial rain forest. But as it's pseudonyms imply, it's got a reputation for a foul smell resulting from a unique form of digestion that is similar in some ways to cattle. Fortunately we didn't get quite close enough to experience that characteristic firsthand. However we did hear their hoarse hisses as we approached too closely for their liking.
They're a fun bird to experience in the wild, and our guide was quick to point out that their chicks are born with claws at the ends of their wings. So the reptile bird might be closer on the family tree to dinosaurs than other avian species. Yet another good reason to slog through the mud to get a couple good shots!
Rivers drain tremendous volumes of water through the greater Amazon basin, as the relatively flat land welcomes moisture collected in the high Andes Mountains to the east . The Madre de Dios carves a path through these jungle landscapes, all the while creating frequently changing channels that are bordered by rocky beaches or clay cliffs. Frequently these channels loop and cross, often creating new waterways. The old, untraveled course becomes either a swamp, like much of the terrain, or what's called an oxbow lake.
One such lake I had the pleasure to visit in the area was Machuhuassy Lake (refered to as Cocha Machuwasi on some local signs). If its fresh water tropical bird life wasn't fascinating enough, the muddy walk through the primary rain forest from our river boat on the Madre de Dios river was just as exciting. Thanks to our wellies - or Wellington boots - we were able to get as close to the lizards and plant life under the dense forest canopy as we were to the new birds at the lake.
One bird that stood out was the hoatzin, also called the reptile bird or stinkbird or skunk bird. Like macaws and other parrots, it's a wide-ranging bird in the equatorial rain forest. But as it's pseudonyms imply, it's got a reputation for a foul smell resulting from a unique form of digestion that is similar in some ways to cattle. Fortunately we didn't get quite close enough to experience that characteristic firsthand. However we did hear their hoarse hisses as we approached too closely for their liking.
They're a fun bird to experience in the wild, and our guide was quick to point out that their chicks are born with claws at the ends of their wings. So the reptile bird might be closer on the family tree to dinosaurs than other avian species. Yet another good reason to slog through the mud to get a couple good shots!
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| Plant growing on a tall tree in the forest. |
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| Crossing a muddy channel through the rain forest. |
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| Our wellies saved the day. |
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| Butterfly in the rain forest. |
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| Very large lizard in the rain forest. |
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| Yellow-rumped cacique high in the rain forest canopy. |
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| Very large (possibly six inches long) butterfly in the forest. |
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| Machuhuassy Lake, or Cocha Machuwasi, and the rafts that would allow us to navigate it. |
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| Another view of Machuhuassy Lake. |
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| Boat-billed flycatcher on the lake. |
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| Hoatzins on the lake. |
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| Hoatzin. |
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| Hoatzin showing its wings as we approached too closely. |
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| Limpkin, or snail-eater because of its primary diet. |
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| Black-capped donacobius. |
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| Moth on our raft. |
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| Red-throated caracaras. |
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| Horned screamers. |
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| Horned screamer in flight. It might be the loudest bird species: one of many superlatives in the Amazon. |
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