Gustavia

The large, spectacular flower of a species in the genus "Gustavia". Finding a Gustavia in flower is always a treat, but even more impressive is the presence of its pollinator (a native bee). Worldwide there are many species of flowering plant of which the species of pollinator is unknown. These types of seemingly simple natural history observations are essential if we're going to fully understand biodiversity. Seasonally flooded forest, on a tributary of the Amazon, Pacaya Samiria Reserve, Peru.

Euchroma

Often the most beautiful thing in the forest is an insect. This is "Euchroma gigantea" one of the largest members of the family Buprestidae, or jewel beetles. The larvae feed on dead kapok, or "Ceiba" trees, ultimately helping to decompose the wood and return nutrients to the soil. Shiripuno Lodge in Yasuni Biosphere Reserve, Ecuador.

Pungal

A deciduous kapok tree in fruit, reflected in the pristine blackwaters of the Pacaya Samiria Reserve, Loreto, Peru.

Black-capped Donacobius

Male and female, seasonally flooded forest, Loreto, Peru ("Donacobius atricapilla", Passeriformes).

Aotus

It is easy to love monkeys because their faces look familiar. This species, the noisy night monkey, the only nocturnal primate in the neotropics holds a special place in my heart. I've had several memorable encounters with night monkeys in both Ecuador and Peru. After about nine encounters with 4 different family groups in the field I achieved a remarkable image of these elusive primates. They're pictured here in their daytime roost in a dead tree, high above the water line in seasonally flooded forest on a tributary of the Amazon, Pacaya Samiria Reserve, Peru ("Aotus vociferans").

Brown-throated Sloth

Brown-throated, three-toed sloths live in the canopy of trees and spend a lot of time in a hanging position. It was the high water season so our boat was closer to the canopy, and this sloth was conveniently in a small tree at the river's edge. Usually they are high in the sky, but not on this day. Seasonally flooded forest, Pacaya-Samiria Reserve, Peru.

Wattled Jacana Nest

A wattled jacana nest (with four eggs), on top of a Victoria waterlily leaf. Wattled jacana is dependent on Victoria waterlily leaves as nesting habitat. Pacaya Samiria Reserve, Peru ("Jacana jacana").

Black Caracara on Palm

Black caracaras are a type of falcon. This individual is on a leaf high in a palm tree at Shiripuno Lodge on the Shiripuno River, Yasuni Biosphere Reserve, Ecuador (family Falconidae, "Daptrius ater").

Victoria Waterlily Habitat

Typical natural habitat of the famous Queen Victoria waterlily, the largest waterlily species on Earth. It prefers slow-moving black water. Waterlily pads in the foreground, month of March, Pacaya Samiria Reserve, Peru (plant: family Nymphaeaceae, "Victoria amazonica").

Social Spiders

Do you know that there are some species of spider that are social and live in colonies? This massive spider web is home to hundreds of related spiders that cooperate in making the web and capturing prey. On a tributary of the Amazon in high water season, Pacaya Samiria Reserve, Peru.

Ucayali Beach

Sunset on a beach of the Ucayali River.

Climbing Sloth

This brown-throated, three-toed sloth was high in the canopy of a tree in seasonally flooded forest of the Pacaya-Samiria Reserve, Peru. Three-toed sloths are fairly common in this part of the Amazon, due in part to the reduction in population of one of their main predators, the harpy eagle. Harpy eagles pluck sloths and monkeys from their canopy homes, but due to habitat loss and other anthropogenic causes the harpy eagle is now an endangered species. (Mammalia: order Pilosa: family Bradypodidae, "Bradypus variegatus"). "Tonal" filter used.

Hoatzin

Hoatzins are large birds that live in social groups along rivers edge, and feed on fresh green leaves, flowers and fruits of a variety of plants. Bacterial fermentation in their gut helps to digest the plant food. The fermentation and aromatic compounds found in their plant food causes the birds to have a disagreeable manure-like odor, and for this reason they are usually not eaten by people. With many Amazonian species in decline due to overconsumption by humans, one could say that the stink has saved this bird. Time will tell how it responds to climate change, however. The debate over the closest living relative of the hoatzin is ongoing; one hypothesis puts them in the Cuculiformes (cuckoos and relatives). Found only in the Amazon lowlands and the Orinoco Delta of South America. Pacaya Samiria Reserve, Peru ("Ophisthocomus hoazin").

Two Rare Invertebrates

The larger one is an onychophoran (of course). If you can guess the second one, you really know your arthropods. Yasuni Biosphere Reserve, Ecuador.

Strangler Fig

This magnificent strangler fig ("Ficus" sp.) is on terra firme forest, a rare forest type in Loreto. Palms have grown up around the fig, and there are epiphytes growing on it (of course!). Most of Loreto is seasonally flooded forest naturally, and the few areas of upland forest are now occupied by human settlements. "Transfer" filter used.

Drifting on the Amazon

The creeks and rivers act as roads in this part of the Amazon, and people travel by canoe, boat or raft. In the middle of the photo there is a man standing on a raft made of tree trunks. He was the sole occupant of the raft, floating by himself in the rain, downstream to Iquitos. With grey skies and miles of water all around him, it was a sight I will never forget.

Long-Horned Beetle

Long-horned beetle, Family Cerambycidae, Yasuni Biosphere Reserve, Ecuador.

Eyelash Cup

An eyelash cup, the fruiting body/spore producing structure of an ascomycete fungus. The "eyelashes" or long hairs may keep water from entering the cup where the spores are produced. Yasuni Biosphere Reserve, Ecuador ("Cookeina tricholoma", ID by Greg Thorn).

Wattled Jacana

Wattled jacana have huge feet relative to their body size that enable them to walk on floating vegetation. Male and female, getting ready to mate. Pacaya-Samiria Reserve, Loreto, Peru ("Jacana jacana").

Caligo

Owl butterfly, "Caligo" sp., perched on a tree trunk in the forest. Yasuni Biosphere Reserve, Ecuador. "Noir" filter used.

Victoria Waterlily Flower

Victoria waterlilies are another iconic species of the Amazon. With magnificent leaves and flowers, they can be found rooted in submerged soil in black water. This plant supports a number of other species, including wattled jacana, which nests on top of the enormous plate-like leaves (see previous photo). A young leaf is in the top right corner of the image. Red spines are visible on the underside; they protect the leaf from being devoured by the hundreds of fish and other animals living in the water below. Surrounding the flower are just a few of the species that comprise the floating aquatic plant communities on the Amazon and tributaries ("Victoria amazonica").

Shiripuno

The swollen Shiripuno River in May, adjacent to Shiripuno Lodge (pictured is a staff member and boat of the Lodge). So-called "white water" due to suspended Andean sediments, the appearance of the water is more like coffee with lots of milk, inspiring some to call it "mocha water".

Insectivore

The lines are moving insects. The night I snapped this pic it was pitch black and hundreds of insects were swarming around my headlamp. So I took their picture! Inevitably I swallowed a tiny one. Another flew in my ear. The insectivore that night was me. Pacaya-Samiria Reserve, Loreto, Peru.

Amazon Reflection

The glass-like surface of so-called "black water", or waterways lacking Andean sediments and filled with tannins from dead leaves. Seasonally flooded forest, Pacaya-Samiria Reserve, Peru.

Amblypygi

I love arachnids. I find them to be adorable. Try and catch one. It's not an easy task. They run away, fast. They're more afraid of you than you are of them. Amblypygids are my most favourite arachnid of all. Flat as a pancake, with antenniform legs, what's not to love? Yasuni Biosphere Reserve, Ecuador ("Instant" filter used).

Gray-bellied Hawk

We became alerted to the presence of this rare bird (gray-bellied hawk, "Accipiter poliogaster") when the bird it was chasing flew into the dining area at Shiripuno Lodge. I don't often take multiple shots in rapid succession, but I'm glad I did this time. If I had waited for the bird to assume this pose, I most certainly would not have captured this image. The hawk was identified by Fernando, Director, and Randy, naturalist guide of the Lodge. Yasuni Biosphere Reserve, Ecuador ("Noir" filter used).

Jabiru Nest

What is it about storks that make them so charismatic? It is difficult to articulate the reasons, but the Jabiru is one my favourite vertebrates. Encountering a Jabiru stork nest? Joy! It was far away and high in an enormous tree, and our boat would not stay still. Multiple rapid shots produced a couple of respectable images. Seasonally flooded forest, Pacaya-Samiria Reserve, Peru ("Jabiru mycteria").

Jabiru Nest II

Jabiru stork nest up close, taken a few seconds after the previous shot.

Gustavia II

"Gustavia" sp. flower and buds (and ants) in seasonally flooded forest, Peru. The genus "Gustavia" was named by Linnaeus in 1775 in honour of his king, Gustav III of Sweden. Family Lecythidaceae.

Horned Screamer

Horned screamers are related to geese, and they are definitely loud. They are also called donkey birds. Though I can hear the resemblance of their sounds to donkeys, screamers make distinctive and quite frankly beautiful sounds. It is a wondrous experience to hear them off in the distance while floating down a tributary of the amazon. They are wary of humans and always fly off when one gets too close. It is difficult to obtain a decent image of these birds. "Anhima cornuta", Peru.

Caiman Lizard

This uncommon reptile swims in the tributaries of the Amazon, searching for its preferred food of aquatic snails. It also climbs trees and shrubs and rests on overhanging vegetation during the high water season (pictured). Seasonally flooded forest, Pacaya-Samiria Reserve, Peru ("Dracaena" sp.).

Sunset in the Amazon

Seasonally flooded forest, Peru.

Spathiella

When I explore the rain forest, I become a little kid in a candy store. The astonishing biodiversity found in rain forest is to me "mind candy". This tiny object (photographed with a dissecting microscope) was my mind candy one day. What could it be? Answering that question is one of my favourite pastimes. Eventually I figured it out. It's a fecal shield! Made by a tiny beetle larva to protect itself, the beetle uses its own feces to construct this object it then carries around on its back. Eventually it pupates inside the basket-like base. Yasuni Biosphere Reserve, Ecuador (family Chrysomelidae: genus "Spathiella").

Rusty Whipsnake

A beautiful juvenile whipsnake. It will change colour as it matures ("Chironius scurrulus"). At Shiripuno Lodge, Ecuador.

Tangled Vegetation of Seasonally Flooded Forest

When the water recedes during the dry season masses of tangled vegetation become exposed on riverbanks, creating living sculptures. A jacamar can be seen perched near the centre of the photo. August, Pacaya Samiria Reserve, Peru. "Mono" filter used.

Boys Fishing

Peoples of the Amazon lowlands in Loreto, Peru, depend on fish as a mainstay of their diet. They learn to fish at a young age, and spend a good part of their lives catching fish. Pictured are two boys on a beach during the dry season on a tributary of the Amazon.

Brown Woolly Monkey

Like so many species, woolly's are at risk of extinction due to multiple threatening human activities including habitat loss, over-hunting and climate change ("Lagothrix lagothricha": IUCN: Vulnerable). Seasonally flooded forest, Loreto, Peru.

Water Hyacinth

Water hyacinth is native to the Amazon River System; it evolved there and is a natural and essential part of the Amazon ecosystem. Unfortunatley, due to the beauty of the flowers it has been introduced in many parts of the world and has become a problematic invasive species. Close-up of the flowers ("Eichhornia crassipes"; family Pontederiaceae).

South American Coati

A South American coati foraging in the canopy during the high water season, seasonally flooded forest, Loreto, Peru . Coatis or coatimundis, are diurnal members of the raccoon family (species: Nasua nasua).

Black-capped Donacobius II

A second shot of the male and female, seasonally flooded forest, Loreto, Peru ("Donacobius atricapilla", Passeriformes).

Prehensile Tail

A second shot of a brown woolly monkey showing the use of the prehensile tail in foraging. ("Lagothrix lagothricha": IUCN: Vulnerable). Seasonally flooded forest, Loreto, Peru.

Seasonally Flooded Forest

Buttress roots of a tree in seasonally flooded forest, Loreto, Peru.

Pseudobombax

Kapok tree, also called punga and munguba, in flower. Pacaya Samiria Reserve, Loreto, Peru ("Pseudobombax munguba", Malvaceae).

Monk Saki Monkey

A monk saki monkey foraging high in the canopy of a rain forest tree. Monk sakis have coarse, long, shaggy fur and long, bushy tails. They spend their lives in the trees in small family groups, feeding mostly on fruits but also leaves and insects ("Pithecia monachus", Pitheciidae).

Horned Screamer II

Horned screamers are difficult to photograph because they don't stick around when you approach them. Slowly, eventually, I will get an interesting shot of this iconic Amazonian species ("Anhima cornuta", Anhimidae).

Kapok Canopy

When the forest is flooded you can sail right into the canopy. This is the very top of a kapok tree ("Pseudobombax munguba"), accessible by boat when the water is high.

Sunset in Paradise

This surreal image captures the beauty and uniqueness of the flooded forest of the Amazon rain forest, Loreto, Peru. I don't believe there is any other place like it on Earth.

The Moon From Loreto

Taken from a boat on the Amazon, near Iquitos in August.