Amazon Discovery Tambopata 3days

DAY 1:
Amazon Discovery  Tambopata Center:

We will start at 8:30 am from our Hostel or we can pass to pick you up from your hotel, we will have 2 hour by cay in a 4X4, the first part will be by the high way and the second part will be in a dirt route until we get to the Tambopata River near the limit to the reserve. Our boat will be waiting for us to take us 25 minutes up the Tambopata river to get to our Lodge, we will have good chances to spot capybaras and many shore birds along the river bank, getting to the lodge we will get a welcome drink and the manager will explain us all we need to know about our lodge and its around.

After lunch we will go for an introductory walk in first in a secondary grow forest and then in a primary forest full of huge trees and lianas and vines, at the same time we will talk about the most important economic activities in this region. Chances to spot some Brown capuchin monkeys and squirrel monkeys will be always possible.

When is getting dark we will come back to our lodge to get our torch and go to our boat and we will do one of the most exiting activities… it will be the Cayman spotting, we will go to look for White and black Caymans along the river bank with a big spot light, we might see more capybaras and we always have good chances to spot and ocelot or a jaguar by the river too.

DAY 2.-

Amazon Discovery  Tambopata Macaw Clay Lick Center :

We will wake up around 5:00am, we will get a hot drinks to get some energy and we will take our boat up the Tambopata for 1 hour and 30 minutes. Crossing the check point. We will have all the sunrise just for us in the boat, and we will have really good chances to spot shore birds, capybaras, White caimans, and why not to mention … A jaguar or an anaconda, I like to say it, we have a 20 %of probabilities to see one of these guys by the river bank.

Getting to our destination, we will get a show at the clay lick, parrots and macaws Green, red, blue and yellow birds all around us, flying and making loud noises, it will be spectacular this behavior of this birds. We will explain you the reason why every day the whole year around this birds go to the Cliff to eat clay. We will spend from 6:30 am to 11:00 am approx. Our breakfast

will be in front of the clay lick activity

At the end of this activity, in our way down river to the lodge we will make a short stop in the check point to learn more about the small museum that there is here, after this we will continue toward our lodge to get an unforgettable swimming in the stream or may be in the Tambopata River.

We will get our lunch and then we can take our boat for 30 minutes down the river to go for a fishing afternoon at the Gato stream, there are always hungry piranhas waiting for some meat that would be our bate, the stream is a really good place to swim too after we catch some piranhas, it is an unforgettable experience. We will have a short walk to explain you a Little bit about the local farm.

We will go back to our lodge and then at night before dinner or after dinner we will have a short night walk, the sounds at night, the insects, spider, tarantulas, frogs and maybe snakes will make this night hike something difficult to forget.

DAY 3.-
Amazon Discovery Tambopata   Return to Puerto Maldonado :

We will wake up with the sounds of the birds and probably howler monkeys, will get our breakfast and then we will go for a walk, we will cross by the mammal clay lick and then continue looking for some more wildlife and during this walk we will talk about the medicinal plants, the quinine “good for the malaria”, the cats claw, the dragons blood, and the AYAHUASCA are only a few plants that we will find during our last walk in the jungle before our way back to Puerto Maldonado.

After lunch we will have time to repack and take our backpacks back to the river first and then the car 2 hours back to Puerto Maldonado.

Included in the Amazon Discovery  :

• A professional naturalist Tour Guide;
• Motorboat transportation;
• Private vehicle land transportation;
• Entrance fee to the Sandoval Lake Reserve;
• A professional Cook,
• Meals: 2x breakfast, 2x lunch, 2x dinner and drinking water (Please note: vegetarian option upon request for no extra cost!);
• Accommodation: 2 nights in Maloka lodge;
• First aid kit, including a poison extractor, mosquito bite treatment and an antidote for a snake bite;
• Radio communications;
• Rubber boots.

Not included in the Amazon Discovery :

• Any flight nor airport departure taxes;
• Travel insurance;
• Vaccination;
• Breakfast on the first day and dinner on the last day;
• Drinks;
• Tips to local staff.

What to take with you to the Amazon Discovery:

• Mosquito repellent (DEET 35 recommended as a MINIMUM!!),
• Original passport,
• Small backpack,
• Long sleeved cotton shirts (preferably green coloured),
• Long cotton trousers,
• Cotton long socks (to be put into your trousers),
• Comfortable walking shoes,
• Sandals or light shoes,
• Rain gear (e.g. rain poncho),
• Sweater (for the beginning of the tour in Andes and the cloud forest only),
• Swimsuit;
• Binoculars (we also rent it),
• Camera and its charger,
• Plastic bags to be used for clothes and a camera,
• A hat as a protection against the Sun or rain,
• Toiletries,
• Small towel,
• Toilet paper,
• Sun cream,
• Sun glasses,
• Flashlight (with spare bulb and batteries),
• A bottled water (1 litre as a minimum),
• Pocket money (Soles) to buy some beverages and souvenirs as well as to tip.

Amazon Discovery Tambopata Macaw Clay Lick  .

The following relationships have been discovered:The daily weather has a strong influence on the number of parrots that use the lick: least on rainy days and the most on clear sunny days. The seasonal climate changes drive the fluctuations in the annual food supply for parrots and macaws (flowers, unripe fruits and ripe fruits). Food availability is apparently lowest at the end of the wet season and early dry season (March July) and highest in the early to mid wet season December and January. The annual fluctuations in food supply drive two things: the annual movements of parrots to and from the area around Tambopata Research Center and the time they breed.During the seasons of lowest food availability the birds apparently leave the area around TRC as the number of birds in the forest drops dramatically from April July.The timing of breeding is apparently driven by the food supply: the number of parrot species breeding is closely correlated with the number of trees in fruit or flower. However, not all species breed simultaneously. Smaller species apparently breed earlier than larger ones.The movements of parrots out of the area during periods of low food abundance reduce the number of birds using the clay lick. In addition when food supplies are high, the birds apparently congregate in the vicinity of the lick.The timing of breeding also influences the number of birds at the clay lick, because for most parrot species, clay lick use peaks during the breeding season, specifically when the birds have young chicks inthe nest. We have found that Scarlet macaws feed their chicks large amounts of clay, especially when the chicks are young. As the chicks age, the amount of clay they receive drops and the total use of the lick by the species drops as well.The number of birds at the clay lick is the result of the daily weather, seasonal climate, seasonal fluctuations of food supply (driven by seasonal climate), nomadic wanderings of the parrots (driven by changes in food supply), and the  timing of the breeding season (also driven by changes in food supply). We are also continually finding evidence that clay lick use is driven by the bird’s need for sodium. Using soil samples analyzed by researchers at Texas A&M University we have found that birds apparently prefer soils with higher sodium content over soils that are best at neutralizing toxins.We have seen parrots engaging in behavior similar to that seen at clay licks while visiting the sodium rich mineral springs in Contamana (central Peru) We have documented parrots behaving as though they were at clay licks, but eating palm trees in other sections of the Tambopata National Reserve. We suspect that the palms are rich in sodium and for this reason the birds are eating them.These new results give us a much more complete understanding of the forces that drive annual changes in clay lick use and give us insight in to the forces driving the annual cycle of the macaws and parrots. The conservation implications of this research are many:It suggests that conserving the areas near clay licks is very important because these areas: oharbor very large concentrations of parrots should have high densities of breeding birds that may serve as a source for individuals that then disperse throughout the wider landscapeIt also shows that many, if not all, species of parrots in Tambopata move throughout the landscape, so just protecting small areas around clay  licks is not enough to support healthy populations of parrots over the long term. As a result, large scale destruction of the forests adjacent to the  Tambopata National Reserve and an increase in pet trade resulting from the Transo ceanic Highway could significantly impact the populations of parrots that use the clay licks around Tambopata Research Center and other licks located deep within the reserve. Macaw nests and reproductive rates
Data from monitoring hundreds of nests from blue & gold, red & green, and scarlet macaw nests show that: Natural, PVC, and wooden nest boxes all have vastly different hatching success rates. Natural nests have a hatching success rate of 65% while the PVC nest boxes commonly used around TRC have hatching rates of only 41%. The hatching rates in wooden boxes may be higher (80%) but the sample sizes are too small to draw any conclusions. Twenty four percent of all Scarlet Macaw chicks monitored (9 of 37) died of starvation or would have if the researchers had not intervened. Our findings suggest that sibling competition and not the overall food supply may be the determining factor in chick survival, but larger sample sizes are needed to confirm these preliminary findings.Dipteryx micrantha and Mauritia flexuosa are keystone tree species for parrot nesting in southeastern Peru. Clearing for agriculture, targeted destruction of parrot nests by collectors and selective felling of key species will reduce the density of suitable nest cavities. Across three studies (two in Costa Rica and the one in Peru) a total of 71 Scarlet Macaws have been released. The combined first year survival post release was 74% and the post first year survival was 96%. Breeding attempts have been recorded at all three sites and hand raised birds with wild mates have successfully fledged young in Peru. Supplemental feeding post release played an important role in establishing a core flock at all three release sites.