The Audubon Shop

The Audubon Shop's Field Excursions

The Audubon Shop's Tropical Field Excursions

We have been leading small-group guided tours to some of the world's unique tropical locales since 1992. These trips appeal to everyone from first timer's to birding veterans. Through our personal relationships with an extensive network of tropical tour companies, we get top notch local guides and drivers. Our affordable packages include travel, lodging and food expenses. If you are interested in receiving info on one of our future trips, please contact us.

Below is a lucky (very) short, admittedly blurry video of a Bearded Bellbird taken on the Asa Wright property, Trinidad in 2007. The reason we found this remarkable, is that it was shot through Jerry's telescope using a fairly unsophisticated point and shoot camera! The last time we were in Trinidad, 1999, this technology was not available. Ask us about digiscoping! Slideshows from recent trips to Kenya, Brazil and Peru are below that.

Browse below to view pictures and video from some of the trips we have taken.

Click here to see the full size video

Peru 2009

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Peru is located just below the equator, on the western side of South America. It's many geographical features make it one of the most diverse countries on earth. Bird species number 1,817 - incredible for its size.

A closer look at the country. The Manu Road is the only route, a treacherous dirt road not for the faint of heart. Hopping in and out of the bus,we spent a lot of time birding along the way. Nights were spent at a research station and incredible lodges. All of these had limited electricity, mostly run on generators, so we made good use of headlamps.

We flew from Lima to Cusco, then boarded a bus which would take us northeast up and over the Andes and eventually into the Amazon Basin. From 11,000 ft. down to sea level we experienced a wealth of habitats: high Andean puna and paramo, Andean montane, cloudforest and foothills, and a healthy dose of lowland Amazonian rainforest which included riverine, oxbow lakes, varzea, terra firma, and floodplain forests. With such a diverse array of habitats, it’s not surprising that we saw an amazing variety of wildlife – 7 monkeys, a Brazilian Tapir, and 517 species of birds to be exact! Some highlights: 21 species of parrots including 7 macaws; 38 hummers; 8 trogons and quetzels; 4 motmots; 4 jacamars; 15 woodpeckers; 11 woodcreepers; 23 ovenbirds; 30 antbirds; 9 cotingas; 6 manakins; 68 flycatchers; 9 thrushes; 8 wrens; 10 warblers; 53 tanagers; 5 oropendolas

Our hearty group.

Jim Brown and his gear--he has become quite the photographer, and several of the pictures in this show are his--thanks Jim!

Everywhere in the Cusco environs there is evidence of Inca terraced farming.

Our first morning was spent birding in a valley just outside of Cusco, and at the base of the Manu Rd.

A nice sized lake was our first target...

Many-colored Rush-Tyrant

Puna Teal © Jim Brown

Andean Coot © Jim Brown

Bearded Mountaineer, endemic hummingbird. © Jim Brown

Bearded Mountaineer © Jim Brown

Plumbeous Rail

Andean Negrito © Jim Brown

White-browed Chat-Tyrant © Jim Brown

Black-chested Buzzard-Eagle © Jim Brown

Cobble-stoned streets of Cusco

Our excellent drivers, Amerigo and Emalcar. They ferried us on the Manu Road, a treacherous dirt road not for the faint of heart. We often had to stop to let other vehicles pass, though the road is supposed to rotate east/west passage every other day. We saw many wrecks down in the gulleys below the road along the way, so we appreciated our drivers' skills.. Hopping in and out of the bus,we spent a lot of time birding along the way. Nights were spent at a research station and incredible lodges. All of these had limited electricity, mostly run on generators, so we made good use of headlamps.

The view out of our bus of a small village, Huancarnie, where we made a stop.

Golden-billed Saltator © Jim Brown

Andean Flicker © Jim Brown

Chestnut-breasted Mtn.-Finch © Jim Brown

Up and over the Andes, we saw many sweeping vistas, spectacular views, rugged dry terrain.

Ruins - we saw evidence of human habitation, ancient and modern, all along the road.

Ninamarca Chullpas. These small round huts (1-2.5m high and 0.8-1.6m in diameter) were built as burial chambers for elite members of the pre-Inca Lupaca culture.

A Quechan woman and child posed for a photo near the road. They had a nice-sized farm.

Bar-winged Cinclodes (ovenbird)

Peruvian Sierra-Finch

Andean Black-faced Ibis

Puna Ibis © Jim Brown

We stopped at Paucartambo, a bustling village. Women and children in colorful clothing were lined up along one wall. They were visiting the public assistance office.

Colorful!

We stretched our legs and went to look for birds from a bridge over the river that flowed through town.

Jerry's scanning the river banks...

An exciting moment, even if we had almost every stitch of clothing on. Quite cool and drippy...one of Jerry's favorite climates for birds.

Perfect day for a picnic!

Rufous-breasted Chat-Tyrant

Looking towards our first night's stop. Wayquecha Biologica Station, those white dots high on the mountain side.

Our road cut through high mountain passes, and under tunnels.

Many rivers run through this area.

We skirted along the Manu Biosphere (Parque Nacional Del Manu). Wayquecha Biological Station is in green. We spent the night in their bunk houses.

The habitat changed from dry, arid to wet and drippy...

Pearled Treerunner

Crimson-mantled Woodpecker

Green (Inca) Jay

Our incredibly talented native guide, Silverio Duri-Valdivia. Silverio was born in a community named Infierno, on the Rio Tambopata near Puerto Maldonado. Having learned bird calls and tracking at a very young age, he became interested in guiding several years ago. He was amazing!

White-throated Hawk

Blue-necked Tanager

Blue-necked Tanager © Jim Brown

Masked Trogon

Masked Trogon © Jim Brown

Another picnic lunch.

The view looking east towards the Amazon basin, as we slowly descend.

Montane Woodcreeper

Our next stop--Cock of the Rock Lodge.

Evenings were spent doing our checklists by headlamp and candlelight.

Cock of the Rock Lodge had lovely accommodations.

The river running near the lodge.

Early, before light, we headed out to the Cock of the Rock lek, where we saw these colorful males displaying and calling to a few females. Male Cock of the Rock © Jim Brown

Male Cock of the Rock © Jim Brown

Andean Solitaire

Russet-backed Oropendola

Tufted Capuchin Monkeys were outside the dining room at Cock of the Rock Lodge.

Watching to see if a scrap of food might come their way... © Jim Brown

Chestnut-crested Cotinga

Wow--looks like armor. Sorry, didn't have an insect guide with us!

Rufous-naped Brush-Finch © Jim Brown

Blue & Yellow Tanager © Jim Brown

Sparkling Violetear © Jim Brown

Speckled Hummingbird © Jim Brown

Many-spotted Hummingbird Taken sitting very still, through binoculars!

Many-spotted Hummingbird

Green Hermit © Jim Brown

Gould's Jewelfront © Jim Brown

Plumbeous Kite

Amazonas Lodge

Chestnut-fronted Macaws

Black-billed Thrush

Speckled Chachalaca © Jim Brown

Koepke's Hermit © Jim Brown

Golden-tailed Sapphire © Jim Brown

Rufous-crested Coquette female, endemic

Masked Crimson Tanager © Jim Brown

Silverio, scrolling through his IPod to help us id birds.

Cinnamon-throated Woodcreeper

Chestnut-capped Puffbird

Purplish Jay

Chestnut-eared Aracari

We'd get views of the Madre de Dios River now and again, our final destination aboard the bus.

Rio Madre de Dios, where our boats await.

2 boats, long narrow and thankfully covered. The pleasant cruise to the lowlands took several hours – four on the Alto Madre de Dios to the confluence with the Manu River, then another two hours to the very comfortable Manu Widlife Center.

Along the river we saw many butterflies and moths gathered..

Manu Wildlife Center has very cozy individual cabins with bathrooms in each.

At first we weren't going to lower the mosquito netting, then we saw all of the insects lying on top of it....

In the morning, we boated to the famous Blanquillo Macaw Lick. The sight of hundreds of parrots gathering to eat clay along riverbanks in Amazonia is surely one of the world's great wildlife spectacles. The minerals in the clay are thought to detoxify the poisons in their diet of seeds and fruits. The extensive blinds at Blanquillo allowed for an up-close and personal view of this phenomenon. The ten species that were seen: Dusky-billed and Tui Parakeets, Cobalt-winged Parrotlets, and Blue-headed (most abundant), Orange-cheeked, Yellow-crowned, and Mealy Parrots.

Yellow-crowned Parrot

Orange-cheeked Parrot

The next morning, we set off early for Cocha Blanco, an oxbow lake located a short boat ride (herons, swallows, Osprey, terns) and walk (Red-necked Woodpecker) away.

Sunbittern

Black-capped Donacobius

Purple Honeycreeper

Another early departure to the canopy tower at Cocha Camungo. A bit foggy to start but it cleared soon enough. The Camungo Canopy Tower, larger and more solid than the one at MWC, was the ideal way to spend a morning in Amazonia. We saw many birds, including Slate-colored Hawk, Red-bellied Macaw, White-bellied Parrot, Squirrel Cuckoo, Gray-rumped Swift, White-necked Jacobin, Amazonian Violaceous Trogon, Bluish-fronted Jacamar, Lemon-throated Barbet, Bar-breasted Picculet, Spot-breasted Woodpecker, Cream-colored Woodpecker, Lineated Woodpecker, Cinnamon-throated Woodcreeper, Lineated Woodcreeper, Dull-capped Attila, Swainson’s Flycatcher, Crowned Slaty Flycatcher, Pink-throated Becard, among many others.