We are at the end of our week together exploring the Upper Peruvian Amazon. When we go home, will we hear car alarms in parking lots? Or will we hear black-fronted nunbirds, which could easily be the sound that was copied? We have investigated the big and the small, from towering fig trees poking their leafy tops through the forest canopy, to frogs small enough to fit on your thumbnail. Our trio of hardworking, informative, and enthusiastic naturalists–Jorge, Javier, and Ricardo–brought everything we saw to life. We have them to thank for making sense of this massive and diverse batch of biology. During the week, we took piles of pictures. We won’t have Jorge in our living room to remind us that a certain photo features a long-billed woodcreeper, but we can now feed our images into the application called “SEEK.” This application will remind us not only of what we saw, but it will also tell us some of the most interesting facts about that organism. I’m thinking we’ll hear the text play in our minds in Jorge’s voice.
12/17/2022
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Delfin II
Casual and Amazonas
On our last full day exploring the Upper Amazon, the namesake of this area made its presence felt with lots of rain in the rainforest. Sheets of rain fell last night, obliterating the view of the shore across the river less than a mile away. It’s this rain that feeds the tributary rivers and is such a critical part of the rainforest cycle of life. Fortunately, it let up this morning, and we were able to do our walk in the protected forest area of Casual with an occasional drip from above. Our findings included the Goliath tarantula, a rosy-tailed boa, and a couple of poison dart frogs that looked like they were wearing colorful Freddy Mercury tights. The images tell the story of our forest findings and the community that calls this magnificent place home.