Brazil: Amazonia on the Rio Roosevelt

Cryptic Forest-Falcon © Andrew Whittaker

A unique opportunity to experience a true pristine Amazonian wilderness bursting with life. Based in a delightful small, exclusive lodge with comfortable air-conditioned cabins, magnificent cuisine, a well-stocked bar, breathtaking rainforest and river scenery, wonderfully-kept forest trails, and an excellent canopy tower; delightful morning and afternoon boat excursions with over 500 species listed, including many neat Rondonian endemics and a hot-spot for discoveries featuring six newly-described birds (in 2013) plus two new species still waiting to be named (in which your leader is involved); exceptionally good for a great variety of cool primates; plus, exploration of the unique Amazonian Campos on the west bank of the Rio Madeira with a new set of exciting endemics, again with several new species recently described to science!

In 1914, ex-president Theodore Roosevelt teamed with the famous Brazilian explorer Cândido Rondon on a historic expedition to map the course of one of the Amazon’s unknown rivers, the Rio da Dúvida (River of Doubt). The expedition yielded discoveries of countless new species of birds and animals, while pushing the collective endurance, courage, and will of its participants to the breaking point. Fast-forward to the present, where the Rio Roosevelt (renamed in honor of Theodore himself) is still an unspoiled Amazonian wilderness—as wild, rugged, and beautiful a destination as when Roosevelt first laid eyes on it, but with one huge difference. Today one of the finest Amazonian wilderness lodges offers us the opportunity to visit and explore this exciting destination in great style. The lodge offers private chalets with air-conditioning, hot water, bathrooms, and a refrigerator with ice-cold drinks; 24-hour electricity; and a wonderful panoramic air-conditioned restaurant that serves fabulous food, especially freshly caught and imaginatively prepared Amazonian fish dishes and exotic fruit juices and desserts. The lodge is situated on the banks of the spectacular Rio Roosevelt within the Rio Aripuana and Rio Ji-Parana drainage, within an immense forest reserve and a mega hotspot for recent new discoveries of birds and mammals alike.

VENT and your leader, Andrew Whittaker, are proud to have pioneered and opened up the lodge in 2004 for the first birding groups, and in 2008 Andy published the first ever bird list of nearly 500 species. The complete lack of hunting in the area means that the fauna of larger birds, primates, and other mammals is still intact, allowing us the rare opportunity to experience Amazonia at its best. During our 2006 tour, Andrew rediscovered the White-tailed Tityra and saw all of the six new species before they were formally described, had daily close encounters with groups of Dark-winged Trumpeters or Razor-billed Curassows, and observed 11 species of primates, some also recently described to science! Other trip highlights have included Crimson Fruitcrows, the nearly mythical Pale-faced Antbird, Harpy and Crested eagles, Rufous Potoo, a Puma, and Giant Otters. And each of our visits to the area has yielded the recently rediscovered Buff-cheeked Tody-Flycatcher. With amazing new megafauna being described here, there are clearly more opportunities for further exciting new discoveries in this region.

We will explore this Amazonian wilderness both on foot and by boat, and our efforts could yield the newly described Cryptic Forest-Falcon (described by your leader); Manicore Warbling-Antbird; Aripuana Antwren; Roosevelt Stipple-throated Antwren; Alta Floresta Antpitta; Chico’s Tyrannulet; Zigzag and Agami herons; 5 species of macaws; the poorly known Kawall’s Parrot; the spectacular Crimson-bellied Parakeet; Gould’s Toucanet; Red-necked Aracari; 6 species of jacamars; Pavonine Quetzal; Black-girdled Barbet; Eastern Striolated, Rufous-necked, and Collared puffbirds; Snow-capped and Flame-crested manakins; Rondonia Scythebill; Para Foliage-gleaner; Rufous-tailed Xenops; Hoffman’s Woodcreeper; Pearly and Bamboo antshrikes; Rufous-faced and White-breasted antbirds; Black-bellied and Black-breasted gnateaters; Purple-breasted and Pompadour cotingas; Black-necked Red-Cotinga; Rose-breasted Chat; and Musician Wren.

The delightful Amazonian Campos offers a completely different set of exciting endemic birds west of the Rio Madeira with several recently described species: Azure-naped (Campina) Jay, Inambari Gnatcatcher, Inambari Woodcreeper, Rio Madeira Stipplethroat, and Predicted Antwren. Other highlights should include Ocellated Crake, Undulated Antshrike, Reddish-winged Bare-Eye, Hairy-crested Antbird, Black Bushbird, Brown-banded Puffbird, Citron-bellied Attila, and Fiery-capped and Blue-capped manakins to name a few.

Excellent accommodations with air-conditioning at the Roosevelt with scrumptious cuisine, especially fresh fish and tropical fruits; easy terrain; full mornings boating streams or birding secluded forest trails, or birding from a canopy tower; midday breaks followed by relaxed afternoon boat trips; charter flight from Porto Velho; remainder of trip at Humaita also based in pleasant hotel with air-conditioned private rooms and good food; warm to hot and humid climate with pleasant early morning and nighttime temperatures.

Zigzag Heron © Andrew Whittaker