Day 2 started out to the sounds of these crazy birds calling at sun up and me not wanting to get out of bed but after about half an hour of being awake I remembered that I was in the freaking amazon!! I opened my eyes and look outside at the thatch roof and see this guy and another 4-6 friends hanging out. They were there every morning.

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/SnakesUnlimited/Peru%202010/P6291633.jpg

So I rolled out of bed and got some pics and just soaked up the awesomeness of it all and then went and talked with a couple other guest at the lodge, one worked for the Fauna Forever group I was with as their bug person and another was a guest on vacation who happened to me a bug guy. I found out that the rest of the group was not expected back for a couple hours and was given some trail recommendations to try out. After being assured that all the trails either lead to the lake or back to the lodge I decided to go explore on my own again and just turn around when I got down to half my water left.

Out on the trails I was in heaven but sadly I did not really take any shots of the jungle itself. I walked the trails looking all over the place for herps but really didn't see any, or anything else for that matter. The mammals were unseen and so were the birds. I could hear calls and movement in the trees all around me but I could not spot anything. I decided that it was me failing to see them rather than them being invisible, so in looking harder I saw this little guy.

A preying mantis with some amazing camo that upon closer inspection was eating a grasshopper with equally amazing though apparently useless camo

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/SnakesUnlimited/Peru%202010/P6291639.jpg

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/SnakesUnlimited/Peru%202010/P6291642.jpg

I also flipped a few of these intense looking millipedes that I was assured were harmless vegetarians even though they were armored for battle

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/SnakesUnlimited/Peru%202010/P6291645.jpg

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/SnakesUnlimited/Peru%202010/P6291647.jpg

I did a ton of walking and made note of the proximity of the river to the trail and planned on making at least one night hike along the same trail in hopes of tree boas but somehow it never happened. I ended up striking out on herps for the whole hike. I got back to camp all sweaty and smelling and in a pretty foul mood because of my failure and to rub it in my face there were lizards all over the place dashing around. I was never patient enough to get a good photo of any of them but there were ameivas and some skinks that I could never get a good visual on. Back in my cabin to tear off the boots (I was wearing rubber wading boots in case of water or unseen snakes) and change into a dry shirt and my wonderful girlfriend comes in to tell me there is a snake that the group brought back that they are about to take stats off of. Foul mood goes away, smile comes back and off I go. I get to talking to the main herp guy and he asked if I could help him probe the snake and if he could see the gear he heard I brought.

(I brought along a half dozen snake hooks, tongs, tubes, and probes plus another half dozen lights and other crap... I was not going to be wanting for gear haha)

I run back and grab the gear and tubes since I still don't know what he had and run out to see this beauty!!!!

Chironius exoletus, Common whipsnake

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/SnakesUnlimited/Peru%202010/P6291752.jpg

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/SnakesUnlimited/Peru%202010/P6291737.jpg

We did some measuring and weighing of her and some probing

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/SnakesUnlimited/Peru%202010/P6291676.jpg

Had to use my tubes since I brought them but in reality she was pretty mellow.

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/SnakesUnlimited/Peru%202010/P6291665.jpg

Even though she was covered in ticks (which we removed in payment for hassling her)

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/SnakesUnlimited/Peru%202010/P6291690.jpg

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/SnakesUnlimited/Peru%202010/P6291695.jpg

She had some amazing colors through out her body with yellows, greens, oranges, and blues

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/SnakesUnlimited/Peru%202010/P6291742.jpg

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/SnakesUnlimited/Peru%202010/P6291710.jpg

So maybe I over did it with pics (this is barely 1/10 of the ones I kept out of tons I took) but she was my first snake in the jungle. This got me pumped up and ready to go but I was informed that this was a "off day" for everybody so they were only doing a few transects after lunch and that was it. I went out with them to work those and only saw a lizard of some sort that got away and a leaf litter frog which also got away. Got back to camp for dinner and was unable to talk anyone into heading out that night with me. I should mention that everyone else had been out in the jungle a couple weeks already and had a couple more to go on their trip. So that night I set out on my own again but this time down a new trail I had not walked yet because of rumors of tree boas being found.

My girlfriend came out for the first part after dinner and we found this moth

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/SnakesUnlimited/Peru%202010/P6291785.jpg

and this one

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/SnakesUnlimited/Peru%202010/P6291792.jpg

but she didn't feel well so I walked her back to camp and then went back out alone. After a night of more bugs and spiders but not much else I hear this weird noise in the trees way over head, like 60-70 feet up in the low canopy. About this time I also break my personal dry run of herps and find the quintessential snake of the amazon for me and one of the tops on my personal wish list and I believe the tops on my girlfriends as well.

Imantodes cenchoa- blunt head tree snake, first official rain forest find

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/SnakesUnlimited/Peru%202010/P6291768.jpg

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/SnakesUnlimited/Peru%202010/P6291769.jpg

Around this time I bag the snake up and with new vigor roll forward... about 25 feet that is. That is when I hear the noise again. I had just passed the mammal teams soft sand print trap. They basically rake and smooth sand near a known animal trail to see what tracks they can catch. I had just noticed a feline track in the sand and in the tree right above the trap I hear the noise again and then some crashing of leaves and branches. I move around the tree for a better look while turning my light onto spot light mode to see this medium sized feline running along the branches 75 feet overhead. I later find out that they have seen margay (medium sized cats) in that area and I was in no danger but being alone and unsure what was happening (mother and cub of something bigger maybe) and the fact that it was getting near midnight I slowly headed back in herping all the way but finding nothing else all the while doing quick spins to see if I was being followed haha

I get back to camp and the place is quiet, everyone is asleep and so is my girlfriend. I know she is not feeling good but I have to know if she is really the girl for me so I wake her up sick and all and show her the snake and she smiles...SCORE!!!

She hates this picture but whatever...

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/SnakesUnlimited/Peru%202010/P6291804.jpg

She was super excited and even took pics of me holding it.

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/SnakesUnlimited/Peru%202010/P6291814.jpg

This was a decent sized animal but it was just so delicate and thin, truely an amazing animal that is over looked because of how common they are.

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/SnakesUnlimited/Peru%202010/P6291822.jpg


After this I got a shower and some sleep and got up for some morning hikes and transect work with the research crew and again we got next to nothing all day went back for dinner and this time we head back out at night. This night was the beginning of the upswing in activity for everybody. It started out slow and after a full day of striking out while busting out butts doing transect I was not thrilled to be doing one at night way off trail after spotting multiple trees with these crazy ants in them during the day. There are these trees that have ants that live inside them and actually protect them. They have holes all over the tree and if you bump into one the ants come flying out and attack anything nearby, including dropping out of the tree onto you to sting you. I only got one hit by one but I was not in the mood for more.

I did see this dangerous looking caterpillar

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/SnakesUnlimited/Peru%202010/P6301835.jpg

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/SnakesUnlimited/Peru%202010/P6301845.jpg

and this female tarantula in her leaf nest (it was all folded around with 2-3 leaves involved in her "tunnel")

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/SnakesUnlimited/Peru%202010/P6301856.jpg

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/SnakesUnlimited/Peru%202010/P6301857.jpg

A cool beetle

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/SnakesUnlimited/Peru%202010/P6301860.jpg

And a neat little leaf litter frog

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/SnakesUnlimited/Peru%202010/P6301877.jpg

The following were all found this night but shot in the daylight while we worked them up before releasing them.

At the end of this first transect we were walking back out of the forest to the trail and I was looking out for the crazy ant trees at the back of the group when I spotted this little guy clinging to a branch that everybody not only walked by but it was still swaying from somebody bumping into it...

Plica Umbra - Collared forest lizard

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/SnakesUnlimited/Peru%202010/P7011926.jpg

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/SnakesUnlimited/Peru%202010/P7011907.jpg

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/SnakesUnlimited/Peru%202010/P7011913.jpg

Back on the trail still in the back I spot one of these guys trailside just hanging on a tree

Leptodeira annulata, cat eyed snake (male)

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/SnakesUnlimited/Peru%202010/P7012083.jpg

about 50 feet down trail the herp leader in front spots this girl

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/SnakesUnlimited/Peru%202010/P7012093.jpg

pair male is smaller on the left

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/SnakesUnlimited/Peru%202010/P7012106.jpg

Back on a transect or actually while we are laying the lines we get this guy

Imantodes cechoa- blunt headed tree snake

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/SnakesUnlimited/Peru%202010/P7011963.jpg

We then spotted another I. cenchoa before I found this gorgeous girl

Imantodes lentiferus- the less common blond cousin

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/SnakesUnlimited/Peru%202010/P7011989.jpg

Both for comparison

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/SnakesUnlimited/Peru%202010/P7012037.jpg

and a glam shot (maybe my favorite animal shot of the trip)

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/SnakesUnlimited/Peru%202010/P7012068.jpg

The ant was just walking by and I have a picture before and after this one with the snake not moving, it just looks like he cares about the ant, he doesn't hahaha

My baby with a cat eye

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/SnakesUnlimited/Peru%202010/P7012116.jpg

I also spotted this anole trail side on a leaf, just were they are supposed to be

Anolis fuscoauratus

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/SnakesUnlimited/Peru%202010/P7012237.jpg

and Brian grabbed this skink

no ID

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/SnakesUnlimited/Peru%202010/P7012129.jpg

I also found 2 more Imantodes cenchoa and someone else spotted one too. About this time we finish up with all the planned transects and start talking. We are half a kilometer or so from where the bug guy found a fresh as in still wet shed off a bushmaster the day before I arrived (3 days previous) but it is late... a very short conversation with the group and my pushing the idea quite forcefully and we are walking deeper into the jungle instead of heading back in (woohoo!!)

We end up spotting yet another I. cenchoa and this sleeping bird trailside

some sort of Ant Bird I was told

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/SnakesUnlimited/Peru%202010/P6301893.jpg

We also spot another of the little leaf litter frogs from above but that is about it. I have pushed the group as far as I can and it is way late so we are heading back in. I am actually pretty tired myself and mostly just walking when at the same time I hear the guy behind me say "ouch" while seeing a little frog jump at my feet. I turn to see him pulling a bamboo thorn from his face and then look back down for my frog. As I am looking and looking I see this quarter in section of tail pop out and disappear under a leaf. What?!?! I flip the leaf and see about an inch of tail, then another leaf and 2 inches, then the next and I say "Tantilla!!" then "no wait I don't know what the hell this is" herp guy is stumped, I am stumped, no one else has a clue but this is easily one of the two coolest finds of the trip. This snake is tiny and the odds of seeing this thing on the crawl THROUGH the leaf litter is insane.

Atractus sp- no common name

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/SnakesUnlimited/Peru%202010/P7012221.jpg

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/SnakesUnlimited/Peru%202010/P7012200.jpg

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/SnakesUnlimited/Peru%202010/P7012235.jpg

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c29/SnakesUnlimited/Peru%202010/P7012231.jpg

Any ideas would be awesome!!

That pretty much ends the most productive night of the trip and it was a huge jump from nothing one night, one snake the next night, to Imantodes all over the place the next!! The bird group also caught tons of birds in mist nets this day and the next, the mammal group got lots of camera and print trap activity and the bug people... well screw them they got it easy every night... hahaha No they also saw lots of activity. Whatever it was, something definitely triggered the jungle into action this night and it was awesome.

I still have one more post of wild finds to go and then some more people and captive stuff too. Give me a couple days for the next part.

Jason

What a great time you must of had! Thanks for posting the series of pictures....it's always cool to see others experiences.

Amazing pics and looks like a great time

The reptiles are all so tiny and camouflaged! I'd never be able to find anything there! Awesome stuff!

The reptiles are all so tiny and camouflaged! I'd never be able to find anything there! Awesome stuff!

Don't worry the next post will have bigger ones. :rockon::rockon::rockon:

Jason

Amazing pictures! All I can think when I look at those snakes is "googly googly" those are adorable!

Amazing pictures! All I can think when I look at those snakes is "googly googly" those are adorable!

The word "noodle" came to mind a lot also! lol

Very cool stuff!!!

nice pics man!!!!!

Every T.pic you have posted so far are all Aviculara!!:rockon:

nice pics man!!!!!

Every T.pic you have posted so far are all Aviculara!!:rockon:

Does that mean pink toe tarantula :dunno::dunno::dunno:

If so, yes they were pretty common including a massive one that lived in the rafters of the dining hall. It looked huge 3 feet up, no idea how big it actually was besides just BIG!! :eek::eek:

If you like other spiders I got a gnarly one coming up that was not a tarantula but it looked like it could have bit through leather gloves. All sorts of nasty scary!!!

Jason

Man that is just killer!!!!
Can't wait to see anymore:rockon:

Sounds like an incredible trip.

Dan

Awesome thanks for the update.

Awesome Pictures! Thank you for sharing them with us!

Does that mean pink toe tarantula :dunno::dunno::dunno:

If so, yes they were pretty common including a massive one that lived in the rafters of the dining hall. It looked huge 3 feet up, no idea how big it actually was besides just BIG!! :eek::eek:

If you like other spiders I got a gnarly one coming up that was not a tarantula but it looked like it could have bit through leather gloves. All sorts of nasty scary!!!

Jason

Yes common name would be pink toe.But you found a few Avic species there.:yes:

looks like it was a great time jason. I really dig the look of the blunt head tree snake. what do they primarily dine on?

If you want to try a trip like this yourself, the group I went with is offering a free trip just for suggesting their page to your friends on facebook. Just wanted to share, check this link to do it.

http://www.facebook.com/FaunaForever?ref=nf

I will be posting the final leg of the jungle portion of the trip and then another one of the serpentariums.

Jason

looks like it was a great time jason. I really dig the look of the blunt head tree snake. what do they primarily dine on?

They are lizard and frog eaters.

Jason

Look like a very productive trip so far.