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The write up

by Peter Cowen

Returning from my most memorable summer in the Peruvian Amazon, I have been working hard through the winter months on my Thesis. After draft, after draft etc, it’s all now done and dusted now, handed in to be marked and I am now waiting on my marks.

After studying a number of different species and areas of conservation throughout my education, I have to say that this work was one of the most interesting. The thrills and spills that occurred during my data collection were a joy to behold. The constant encounters with the local wildlife was fantastic, for example being followed by groups of squirrel monkeys (Saimiri sciureus) while working is something that I will never forget. On the other hand, the regular bee stings I could do without.

A picture of a squirrel monkey, I apologise for the quality of the picture. A long summer in the jungle is not the best for my poor old camera lens.

Scarlet, and blue and yellow macaws waiting on trees before their daily fix of clay!

There is however, a more serious point to my studies. Deforestation is well known in the Amazon and continues to threaten all areas of the rainforest be it in reserves or unprotected areas. As more pristine rainforest is deforested, secondary forest may be important for parrot communities. My study assessed the abundance of parrot species in secondary forest and documented important food resources for the parrot community as a whole and for individual species.

A brief overview of some important things I found:

Habitat Associations
• Secondary forest was dominated by smaller bodied parrot species (e.g. Cobalt-winged parakeets (Brotogeris cyanoptera) and Black-capped parakeets (Pyrrhura rupicola).



A Cobalt-winged parakeet. Courtesy of Alan Lee (Tambopata Macaw Project).

A Black-capped parakeet. Courtesy of Alan Lee (Tambopata Macaw Project).
• Whereas larger bodied parrots (e.g. Scarlet macaws (Ara macao) and Mealy parrots (Amazona farinosa) were associated with primary forest.

Foraging information
• Parrots (mainly parakeets and Chestnut fronted macaws (A. severa) heavily consumed flowers of Ochroma pyramidale and Cecropia peltata and may be potential tree pollinators.

The data presented here indicates that secondary forest holds important, albeit seasonally available, food resources and attracts a significant parrot population. Although, high levels of density estimates and foraging events may be linked to seasonality. Therefore, future conservation practices should not just include pristine forest but also modified secondary forest.

So this is the end of my project work for the time being. If anyone would like a copy, please feel free to contact me and I will send you a copy, likewise if anyone would like a copy of my undergraduate thesis entitled:
‘The influence of clay licks on parrot ecology, Tambopata, Peru.’

f anyone would is interested in the Macaw Project please visit the website at:
http://www.macawmonitoring.com

I am currently on the lookout for further work on parrots or birds in general so watch this space for future updates!

Posted by Peter Cowen on 02/10 at 07:18 AM
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Home and Dry!

by Peter Cowen

After spending two months roughing it up in the jungles of Peru, I am now back in (not so) sunny England. The time spent in the jungle will be one of my most memorable experiences due to the things I’ve seen and the people I have met. Compared to my last expedition into the rainforest I feel that this experience was one of the most rewarding. It is one thing seeing the sun set in England but seeing it set over an oxbow lake surrounded by rainforest is breathtaking.



My overall data collection was very successful and everything that I needed was recorded. I now have the tedious process of analysing the data to look for patterns but hopefully I should find some interesting outcomes. A number of food resources were recorded in secondary forest, some were not able to be identified in the field so pictures and detailed descriptions were taken of the fruits and trees. Below is an example of a picture of an unidentified fruit sample.



I’ll update you on my progress!

Posted by Peter Cowen on 08/21 at 05:59 AM
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Back from the wilderness!

by Peter Cowen

After spending two weeks at another lodge to study some more, i am back and have now finished all of my data collection! It also explains the lack of posts for two weeks as i didn´t have any Internet access! The new site was perfect for my study as the majority of the trails and even the area surrounding the lodge was all secondary forest. Many a morning i was awoken by numerous parakeets and Chestnut Fronted Macaws feeding on the plants and fruits!

At this site i had 5kms worth of trails to study. One of the trails meandered through one of the local communities of "La Torre", so on my first day i was shown around the trails and introduced to all the families. All was going well until we came across a new family who was not native to the area, after chatting for a while i was aggressively attacked by the families local herd of jungle dogs! After coming out of the attack fairly unscathed i later realised that i had a gash in the back of my leg which was fairly painful! I have never liked dogs and this just increased this! Below is a picture of the gash, i apologise for the quality as it was hard to take a picture of the back of my leg!



Also while visiting these families, many of them practiced farming! This experience changed my perspective of the causes of deforestation, as i witnessed large of tracts of forest that had been deforested for farming. When people talk about the causes it is never the small farms that have a large effect, i now disagree with this!

Posted by Peter Cowen on 08/10 at 01:19 PM
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The long lost Red Bellied Macaw…...

by Peter Cowen

There are a total of 20 species of parrots that are located in the lower Tambopata. Six of these are macaws, four parrots and the remaining parakeets and parrotlets. Size ranges from the largest, the Red and Green MAcaw to the smallest the Amazonian Parrotlet. Of the six macaws the most endangered is the Blue Headed Macaw. However, during my stay i have recorded this species more than the Red Bellied Macaw. It msay just be my bad luck but it makes for some interesting conversations with fellow researchers!

Today i am back in town awaiting my boat to a new lodge so that i can continue with some more studies.

UPDATE

While visiting town i ventured to a local rescue centre to get a close up of one of my study subjects!

Posted by Peter Cowen on 07/22 at 03:34 PM
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