Exotic Encounters

Birding can be a rewarding experience wherever you might be, but when that location is Peru, it’s nothing short of thrilling

- Neil Glenn

Is there anything better than birding from a boat? Even by the standard of previous memorable boating trips, a morning’s outing along the Manu River, Peru, is something special. It started at dawn, the orange sky glinting off the fast-flowing surface, with macaws and parrots squawking above, as they moved from one area of rainforest to another.

We sped north-west up the Manu, breakfast in hand (including delicious fresh, hot corn provided by our own personal chef!) and were joined by hundreds of Sand-coloured Nightjars darting alongside and over the boat, looking for one last mothy-meal before settling to roost on the many sandbanks in the river. Muscovy Ducks waddled away from the water’s edge as we approached, joined by Pied Lapwings and Collared Plovers.

Parrots, macaws and parakeets continued to drift nosily over the river and we paused to admire Black Caimans, Jabiru and Wood Storks, Black Vultures and a handful of Orinoco Geese. About two hours into the ride, a glowing rainbow arced over the forest.

I was already in a state of serenity, but now my senses went into overload. Nature was once again proving the ultimate mind healer, stripping away cares and worries, like a storm strips away deadwood from an ancient forest. Several religions strive for a state of enlightenment and I am pretty sure I can touch it from here if I stretch; here on my little boat in the midst of this wilderness.

Local specialities

After the cathartic boating adventure, we moored up and then made a short trek through the forest to transfer to a punted raft along a deserted oxbow river. More serenity in the shape of Hoatzins – a strange prehistoric-looking bird that feeds on leaves but has to sit around waiting for its poorly-developed digestive system to work on the food - evocative calls of Screaming Pihas and yet more parakeets flying over.