The morning was cool and clear with stunning lighting on the clouds, forest, and reflections on the water. The entire forest seemed to be celebrating the new day with songs, trills, car alarms, Star Wars laser fights, and all sorts of other amazing vocalizations. It was hard to believe the sounds were all coming from birds. Amongst the cacophony of sound was a scream of color when we sighted the orange-backed troupial. Other notable sightings included a blue-crowned motmot and a violaceous trogon. All more beautiful than their names could begin to describe. We continued to spot mammals, including the requisite common squirrel monkeys, Isabel’s monk saki monkeys, and a special sighting of a tamandu up in the tree branches. Our week in the Peruvian Amazon may be near to closing, but we continue to have new and amazing sightings every day on every outing!
- Daily Expedition Reports
- 20 May 2022
Nauta Caño, Amazon Natural Park, 5/20/2022, Delfin II
- Aboard the Delfin II
- Amazon
Linda Burback, Naturalist/Certified Photo Instructor
Born in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, Linda and her Air Force family moved extensively throughout the U.S. when she was a child. Linda continues to travel and explore a broader spectrum of the world as a naturalist with Lindblad Expeditions-National Geogr...
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Upper Amazon: A River Expedition
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5/21/2025
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Delfin II
Clavero Lake and Supay Caño, Ucayali River
Our early outing this morning ended with sightings of a great variety of birds, and the beginning of a massive rainfall — which we managed to avoid entirely by the time we finished breakfast and were ready to go out again. We crossed Clavero Lake and entered a “shortcut” to the upper Ucayali that was exceedingly rich in birds and other wildlife. Delfin II was expecting us at the end of it, just when the morning was getting very hot. We sailed during lunch; in the afternoon we kayaked and explored another beautiful caño, to witness an even more spectacular concentration of wildlife and a terrific sunset.
5/20/2025
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Delfin II
Yanayaquillo Creek, Terra Firma, Yanayacu-Pucate River
We were up with the sun this morning and out for an exploratory skiff ride. It rained for most of the night but miraculously we didn’t see a drop of precipitation during our exploration. All the birds were drying themselves in the early morning sun! After breakfast we hiked on terra firma, one of the few places we can walk when the river levels are so high. We encountered quite a few critters, everything from a two-toed sloth to an Amazonian mata mata snapping turtle who had just laid a clutch of eggs and then buried them on high ground. Our afternoon was filled with more birds and even a few gray river dolphins playing in the confluence of the main Marañon River and the Pucate River. The dolphins were busy catching fish in the mixing black and brown waters of the two rivers. Time and again they surfaced, but never where we anticipated them to be, frustrating even the most seasoned photographers.