Peru Field Course: Avian Ecology and Survey Methods

[Guest Ben Lybarger]

Field Projects International is offering a new field course on tropical ornithology this summer. This course will begin by exploring basic bird biology, as well as the diversity of avian species in the Amazon. It will include both daily exercises and nightly lectures focused on avian natural history, evolution, and taxonomy. Next, we will focus on survey methods, which are crucial for understanding population declines due to climate change, habitat loss, and other causes. Conservation actions aimed at preserving avian diversity and the habitats that they share with other species depend on information gained through the techniques we will practice, such as deploying mist nets or conducting point counts and line transects. Finally, we will examine basic interactions between birds and their habitats, review and analyze research articles, weigh conservation issues and strategies, and discuss the implementation of ornithological projects in the wild.

Along the way, you will be able to canoe in a nearby oxbow lake featuring giant river otters and hoatzins, paddle through a palm swamp while spotting caiman and frogs, and climb a 60-meter tower to view the forest canopy and watch for macaws en route to their morning clay licks.

COURSE DATES
June 16th – July 3rd, 2017

REGISTRATION
Course size is limited, spots are filled on a rolling basis until April 17th, 2017

COURSE FEE
$2250 (includes all meals at the field station, lodging, and transportation from Puerto Maldonado to the field site and back)

MORE INFORMATION
https://fieldprojects.org/participate/courses-2/tropical-ornithology

LOCATION
This course will be held at the Los Amigos Biological Station, also known by its Spanish acronym EBLA (Estación Biológica Río Los Amigos).
Situated between the Madre de Dios and Los Amigos Rivers on terra firme forest rising above the floodplain, this field station was established
in 2000 and boasts incredible biodiversity that includes 11 primate species and 595 species of bird.