Rios Dorado and Zapote
The skiffs from the Delfin II are an amazing tool for exploration. They allow us to comfortably experience this ecosystem, and to penetrate deep into this reserve of Pacaya-Samiria. With a shallow draft and excellent drivers, we are able to explore many of the side tributaries that contain an amazing diversity of wildlife. Today, we explored two of these rivers, the Dorado and Zapote.
Wildlife was abundant today as these small rivers get little human traffic and lush forest is close-by on either side. Birds, monkeys, butterflies, dolphins, and frogs were all encountered. Some of us took again to the kayaks and paddled into a narrow oxbow lake. Here we encountered many kingfishers, Blue-and-Yellow Macaws, and various hawks. We crept up on a Capped Heron, and got incredible photos. The ability to silently approach wildlife, but also to hear the sounds of the forest is certainly an advantage of the kayaks.
In the afternoon, we stayed in the skiffs far up the Zapote River as it got dark. We sat quietly listening as the day shift changed to the night shift. Then we returned slowly searching for the nocturnal creatures. Spectacled Caimans were abundant, and some allowed for close approaches. Bats included insect eaters, fruit eaters and fishing bats. A few Common Potoos were heard and Common Pauraques were spotted. Frogs, bamboo rats, and Boat-billed Herons added to our sightings. As we returned in the skiffs to the Delfin II, a full moon was rising, ending another fantastic day in the Upper Amazon of Peru.
