BIRDWATCHING IN THE PACAYA SAMIRIA NATIONAL RESERVE

Pacaya Samiria Amazon Lodge offers birdwatching programs to two protected natural areas in the Peruvian Amazon: The Pacaya Samiria National Reserve and the Allpahuayo Mishana National Reserve.

The Pacaya Samiria National Reserve (PSNR) is the largest protected area in the peruvian amazon. It has 449 species of birds registered, grouped in 288 geniuses and 61 families. Half of the registered birds belong to the order Passeriformes and, among them, the family Tyrannidae has 55 species. In the PSNR, there are different kind of habitats, with the predominance of birds in aquatic habitats. Same importance have the migratory species, due to the existence of lakes and swamps. Eight migratory species have been identified, belonging to the Pandionidae, Scolopacidae and Tyrannidae family.

The Allpahuayo - Mishana Nacional Reserve (AMNR), located 20 km. from the city of Iquitos, was created in 1999 and has a total area of 57,600 hectares. It has a high biological diversity and the most extended white-sand forest in the Peruvian Amazon. There are 475 species of birds that have been registered, some of them white-sand forest specialist and only known in this area. Among them, we can mention the ‘Ancient Antwren’ (Herpsilochmus gentryi),‘Mishana Tyrannulet’ (Zimmerius villarejoi); ‘Allpahuayo Antbird’ (Percnostola arenarum), ‘Northern Chesnut-tailed Antbird’ (Myrmeciza castanea centuculorum), ‘Pompadour Cotinga&#rsquo; (Xipholena punicea) and the ‘Saffron-crested Tyrant-Manakin’ (Neopelma chrysocephalum).

Relation of new species of birds discovered in the AMNR:

• Herpsilochmus gentryi (Ancient Antwren)
• Zimmerius villarejoi (Mishana Tyrannulet)
• Percnostola arenarum (Allpahuayo Antbird)
• Myrmeciza castanea centuculorum (Northern Chesnut-tailed Antbird)

New species of birds in Peru or very rare, which have their habitat in the AMNR:

• Crypturellus duidae (Gray-Iegged Tinamou)
• Nyctibius leucopterus (White-winged Potoo)
• Nyctibius bracteatus (Rufous Potoo)
• Nyctiprogne leucopyga (Band-tailed Nighthawk)
• Notharcus ordii (Brown-banded Puffbird)
• Hemitriccus minimus (Zimmer's Tody-Tyrant)
• Platyrinchus saturatus (Cinnamon-crested spadebill)
• Conopias parva (Yellow-throated Flycatcher)
• Neopelma chrysocephalum (Saffron-crested Tyrant-Manakin)
• Xipholena punicea (Pompadour Cotinga)
• Neopipo cinnamomea (Cinnamon Tyrant-Manakin)

Location:

Pacaya-Samiria Amazon Lodge is located 190 kilometers (120 miles) southwest of the city of Iquitos, on the banks of the Marañon river, at a short distance from the Pacaya Samiria National Reserve.

Daily flights from Lima to Iquitos take approximately 1.5 hours. The journey starts when you embark on the 3.5 hours by boat ride through the Amazon and Marañon rivers to reach the lodge.

9 Day / 8 Night Birdwatching Itinerary

For further information and booking inquiries please contact Sacred Earth.