“If you take care of birds, you take care of most of the environmental problems in the world.” – Thomas Lovejoy

Last year, we began the search for the most talented and most important passionate students and/or professionals that have found birds to be the source of their greatest inspiration and reason to protect the Amazon rainforest. The Franzen Fellowship was implemented as part of our LABO program to increase current efforts in avian research and conservation, as well as to train the next generation of ornithologists. With almost 600 species of birds, Los Amigos harbors a unique avian assemblage, because it contains some species that are rare in other parts of the country and in the rest of Amazon. After a competitive and arduous selection process, we are pleased to announce the first Franzen fellows of the Los Amigos Bird Observatory. Meet our winners!

Igor Lazo, Peruvian biologist, is currently working as an Avian Specialist and Environmental Educator at Centro de Ornitología y Biodiversidad (CORBIDI) in Chiclayo, Peru. He has volunteered in Laquipampa, monitoring local avifauna but particularly the wild population of the white-winged guan (Penelope albipennis). Igor has also collaborated on the Macaw Project within the Tambopata National Reserve, working with the family Psittacidae. He is a consultant in ornithology, and assistant in mist-netting.

Matteo Sebastianelli’s interest in ornithology started in 2012, while volunteering in a biodiversity research project at the Taricaya Ecological Reserve, Madre de Dios, Peru. This experience along with field courses taken in Venezuela have allowed him to learn more about bird monitoring and the biodiversity of tropical birds. Once back in Italy, Matteo joined various ringing stations dedicated to studying avian population dynamics, seasonality of migrants and behavioral traits. Later, at Ornis Italica (non-profit organization based in Rome) Matteo was in charge of monitoring and behavioral studies of the European Roller (Coracias garrulus) breeding in nest boxes in Rome and Viterbo provinces. In 2017, Matteo worked as an assistant research fellow at TechnoSmArt Europe S.R.L., training homing pigeons to test electronic devices, GPS and Axy-Trek application, data collection and aviary maintenance; allowing him to increase his expertise in understanding avian ecology migration and orientation, and GPS skills.

Will Sweet grew up as a birder in Sharon, Massachusetts. His passion for birds pushed him to attend Wheaton College in Massachusetts. He graduated in May of 2017 with a degree in Biology and a minor in Political Science. During his time at Wheaton, Will chose to study abroad with the Organization for Tropical Studies in South Africa. This experience drove him towards the field of ornithology. The summer following his semester abroad, Will returned to South Africa to aid in conducting point counts to help understand how habitat alteration by African Bush Elephants is changing avian community composition. During the fall of 2017, he returned to the field as a research technician for a University of Georgia PhD candidate conducting his research in the Monteverde region of Costa Rica. During this position, Will conducted point counts, mist netted and captured more than 80 species of birds, saw 472 species of birds, and helped attach GPS transmitters to Northern Emerald-Toucanets and Lesson’s Motmots.

Alex Wiebe started birding when he was 9 years old making it a major part of his life ever since. He started his undergraduate degree at Cornell University in 2015 and studies biological sciences and statistics there, with an emphasis in conservation. Alex’s research has highlighted the use of new statistical and technological methods in ecology and evolutionary biology, including using high speed cameras to film superb lyrebird courtship displays in Australia and tracking obligate ant-following antbirds in Panama with radio telemetry. Alex works with the eBird team at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology on their Detectives de Aves and PROALAS (Programa de América Latina para Aves Silvestres) programs to provide educational outreach and develop avian survey methodology for conservation efforts.

Our Franzen fellows will be starting their projects this year, so be sure to check in and learn more about their exciting work! Congratulations to our winners!

Long-winged antwren

If you spend enough time at Los Amigos, there is almost a 100% guarantee that you will learn something new about birds every day. It’s not only the high diversity that can enchant your walks at the break or end of day inside the forest, but also their behavior, different calls, colors, and attractive displays. A few weeks ago, I had the great opportunity to go birding with a passionate local bird guide and after a very active morning of spotting numerous bird species (e.g. the band-tailed manakin, gilded barbet, golden-collared toucanet, cream-colored woodpecker, and more) along floodplain forest we reached a spot close to the oxbow lake “Cocha Lobo.” There was fluttering movement all around the understory, and a variety of songs and calls of at least 20 different bird species. Just looking at an area of only 10x10m, it was clear that there were several birds perching, foraging, and flying from one branch to the other, while also carefully sighting the proximity of any possible predator. This was definitely a mixed-species bird flock (hereafter called “flock”).

Flocks are two or more bird species that move together and forage for a period longer than 5 minutes. These associations are not only common in the Neotropics but all around the world. Despite the commonality of encountering a flock, it is still easy to wonder what exactly makes these species get together? Are there any advantages of these periodic formations? There are some possible hypotheses, but they all are based around an increased feeding efficiency and protection from predators. Most of these flock species are insectivorous, and although flock’s species composition might not always be the same, there are few species that are the core of the flock, known as “nuclear” or “leader” species. Whereas, “transient” or the “follower” species are those who join occasionally to receive some benefits from being part of the flock.

Sean Williams, PhD., studied the behavior and ecology of mixed-species bird flocks at Los Amigos. Here, at least a pair of Dusky-throated antshrikes (Thamnomanes ardesiacus) and a pair Long-winged antwrens (Myrmotherula longipennis) are the “leader” species, whereas the most common “followers” are the wedge-billed woodcreeper, the white-flanked antwren, the white-eyed antwren, and the red-crowned ant-tanager. While trying to study if followers were more attracted to antshrikes, antwrens or both, Sean found that more follower species were attracted to antshrike than antwren calls, supporting the idea that antshrikes provide greater defense from predators due to their farsighted vision and loud alarm calls that can rapidly prevent other flock members from the proximity of majestic raptors, soaring high in the sky. But if antwrens are also leader species, they should provide some sort of benefit to the flock. Indeed, they might not be able to give alarm calls but their nearsighted vision allows them to quickly detect gleanable insects in between leaves and branches. Given the inextricable link between antwrens and antshrikes in flocks, antwrens could have become a critical indicator of flock presence. Essentially meaning that where there are antwrens there must be antshrikes!

Watching a flock is quite a spectacle! The next time you encounter a loud, numerous group of birds flying from perch to perch in the forest understory, grab your binoculars and enjoy the complexity and splendor of these flying living beings, but be sure to acknowledge how many passionate human beings are working to understand them in their natural environment.

Plain xenops

  Tawny-crowned greenlet

Dusky-throated antshrike

Any passionate birdwatcher or avian researcher knows that a forest with a diverse array of habitats is a likely treasure trove of brilliant, rare and charismatic avifauna. The Los Amigos Biological Station and reserve managed by Amazon Conservation in southeast Peru is just such a place. Situated in two floodplains, with terra firme, bamboo and palm swamp habitats, Los Amigos is home to almost 600 bird species, almost a third of the total number of birds registered in Peru!

Los Amigos is not only a biodiversity hotspot, but is also a biological corridor connecting millions of acres of Protected Areas, including Manu National Park, the Reserve for Indigenous People in Isolation and the Tambopata National Reserve. Its conservation is critical to a thriving Amazon rainforest, and the diversity of bird species found there. As stewards of this vital bird habitat, we have a responsibility and opportunity to better understand bird wildlife, and enhance conservation efforts among birdwatchers, young scientists, and conservationists that visit us year after year. To this end, Amazon Conservation recently launched the Los Amigos Bird Observatory (LABO) program. LABO’s vision is to develop Los Amigos as a key site for birdwatching, ornithological research, and avian conservation in the southwestern Amazon, contributing to the protection of the over 360,000 acres of forest.

As part of this new program, we have begun research on tinamous, a group of forest-dwelling birds that are only found in the Neotropics. As home to 11 of the 47 total tinamou species, Los Amigos is an epicenter of diversity for this group. This research aims to assess habitat selection of the tinamou community, through camera traps and audiovisual surveys, among four main habitat types. This is one of the many avian research projects that will be conducted at Los Amigos through LABO’s Jonathan Franzen Fellowship Program. This program seeks to train the next generation of avian researchers by selecting passionate young scientists who see bird conservation as their career path. We are working with accomplished and well-known avian scientists and conservationists, including Dan Lebbin, PhD (Vice President of International Programs at American Bird Conservancy), Rich Hoyer (birding guide at WINGS), David Winkler, PhD. (Cornell University), and more, to provide technical expertise to the program and assist in selecting and supporting fellows. We are in the process of recruiting talented and passionate candidates to start their projects in 2018.

Plan a trip to Los Amigos to experience this birding hotspot for yourself!

Peru is home to an impressive number of birds—almost 2,000—and many of them live right in the Amazon. Even if you have already been birding in a tropical country, there are still several endemic birds that can only be found in Peru and nowhere else on the planet.

Rich Hoyer’s first guiding and teaching experience came when he was a senior in high school when he was asked to teach a birdwatching class to a group of 3rd and 4th graders. Since then he has been a guide with WINGS Birding Tours for over 20 years. Check out what he had to say about his recent trips to Peru.

Any passionate birdwatcher or avian researcher knows that a forest with a diverse array of habitats is a likely treasure trove of brilliant, rare and charismatic avifauna. The Los Amigos Biological Station and reserve managed by Amazon Conservation in southeast Peru is just such a place. Situated in two floodplains, with terra firme, bamboo and palm swamp habitats, Los Amigos is home to almost 600 bird species, almost a third of the total number of birds registered in Peru!