Birdsongs and the Amazon: Three Days in Las Palmas, Peru

We begin in Loreto, Peru: the country’s largest region. Loreto is in the Peruvian borderlands near Ecuador, Colombia, and Brazil, and is dominated by the Amazon Rainforest. The climate is tropical, with temperatures regularly hitting up to 90 degrees Fahrenheit! Las Palmas is a hamlet located deep inside Loreto, near the Timicuro Islands, and is only reachable by boat down the majestic Amazon River. The hamlet is located 50 kilometers down the river from Iquitos, the capital of Loreto, and is home to around 30 families. It is truly a special place!

Fundación Los Amigos de la Naturaleza (“Friends of Nature”) is a Peruvian coalition of environmental educators. The group is profoundly dedicated to education about birds, conservation, and promoting local knowledge to communities, no matter how remote or small a community may be. The team of facilitators, comprised of Katterine Aliaga, Cesar Sevillano, and Percy Reyna, travelled to Las Palmas to bring their work there!

The team departed a day ahead of their start date in Las Palmas to ensure that they would be ready for days filled with education on birds and community building activities. They had a long journey, spending a night in Indiana, a community on the way to Las Palmas. The overnight rest allowed the team to reach Las Palmas filled with energy and determination.

The team arrived in Las Palmas early in the morning on their first day of activities, bringing with them educational materials and binoculars to share with the community. This was the first time that community members in Las Palmas used binoculars, so there was excitement in the air! As a result, the team had to teach the community how to use binoculars. Together, beaming with joy, people of all ages in the community observed birds “up close”  with the binoculars. The community discovered new details of the birds’ appearances and were fascinated by birds’ movements and interactions with other birds and their surroundings. It was amazing!

Later, the team ran a series of creative activities related to birds: a drawing contest based on the observations that the community made earlier in the day, and a song contest about birds. Only one participant sang in the song contest, earning herself an automatic first place! After a delectable lunch, community members of all ages participated in a bird call imitation contest. To top off the day, the Fundación Los Amigos de la Naturaleza team gave an educational talk on the importance of bird conservation in Las Palmas and beyond. At the end of the afternoon, everyone in the community went home filled with emotion, sharing beautiful accounts of the birds they observed with family and friends. The Amigos de la Naturaleza team returned to Indiana to spend the night and celebrate their accomplishments from the day.

The team kicked off their second day with a boat ride back from Indiana to Las Palmas. Unfortunately, the team was delayed due to a problem with the boat’s motor. Not to fret, though, as the team was soon on their merry way and even made up some time! The depth of the Amazon Rainforest certainly has its challenges, but they were no match for the Fundación Los Amigos de la Naturaleza team. The team soon met up with the community, now anxiously waiting for them, and was able to arrive in time to complete all their planned activities. Soon, they began the first event of the day: a bird nest construction competition. It was lovely and inspiring to see more active participation of community members of all ages. Everyone wanted some action!

Next, there was a storytelling session, where the community told tales related to birds, and where the Fundación Los Amigos de la Naturaleza team gave another talk on the importance of avian life in the region. At the end of the day, the community gave the team a grateful goodbye. The team returned to Iquitos by boat, full of contentment at their accomplishments and eager to return to Las Palmas soon to continue their mission.

For the community of Las Palmas, the activities run by Fundación Los Amigos de la Naturaleza had a huge impact. The education and experiences they gained strengthened the ties of the community to itself and to its natural environment, and they were grateful to learn from a passionate group of educators.

A special thank you to the team at Fundación Los Amigos de la Naturaleza – Katterine, Cesar, and Percy, for organizing these activities in Las Palmas, and to the community of Las Palmas for their unending enthusiasm and joy for sharing and enjoying the wonderful birds in their community.

Fundación Los Amigos de la Naturaleza acknowledges the Cornell University Lab of Ornithology for providing the mini-grant that made these days of education, science, and community possible.

Photos courtesy of Katterine Aliaga.

Article written by Maoz Bizan.