by Gunnar Engblom July 29, 2010 1

Satipo road – last chance – last post

Future birders on Satipo road

The kids at the school at Apaya-Calabaza had a painting contest. Here are the winning items. You can easily tell that these kids are fascinated with nature. In the village sling-shots are now prohibited and not sold in the store. This is the place for the future lodge that RainForest Partnership is raising money to. We hope that this contest will both bring necessary funds and awareness so more people visit this wonderful area.

Pampa Hermosa is the district that comprise Mariposa, Calabaza/Apaya and Carrizales on the birding route known as Satipo road which house endemic birds such as Eye-ringed Thistletail, Marcapata Spinetail (weskei race), Fire-throated Metaltail, obscura ssp of Rufous Antpitta, Unstreaked Tit-Tyrant, the undescribed Millpo Tapaculo and access to Black-spectacled Brush-Finch and the undescribed Wren and Thornbird in the Andamarca valley (Mantaro drainage). Birding is simply fantastic with spectacular birds such as Cock of the Rock, Umbrellabird, Golden-headed and Crested Quetzal, Black-chested and Solitary Eagles, Torrent Duck, Fasciated Tiger-Heron, Sunbittern, Lyre-tailed and Swallow-tailed Nightjar, 45 species of Hummingbirds and 53 species of Tanagers. The species composition reminds me very much of Manu road. There is contineous forest habitat from around 1000m to 3600m.
A more complete species list and birding information can be found on Birding Peru https://www.birdingperu.com/peru/details.asp?idperu=26

The community is commited to conservation and RainForest Partnership is doing great awareness work here. Right now the project is in fifth place in the Global Giving Open Green Challange competition. If RP could sail up as a winner, 10000 dollars extra would be granted.

The money will be used to build a basic community lodge with clean beds and linen and working toilets and showers – as a minimum infrastructure to promote tourism (not only birding) and leave some funding with the community itself. There will also be workshops for the locals to learn to provide food for visiting tourists (hygiene and presentation) and mapping of eco-tourism in general such as waterfalls and cock-of-the-Rock leks. Other projects in a near future include sustainable Butterfly and Orchid farming.

You simply have to visit Satipo road. We shall not only do birding trips there, but also workshops of all type of biodiversity, specific butterfly watching, orchid watching and nature photography trips. The beds will be implemented immediately in the village school. There are already clean toilets implemented this year.

Spot less bathroms, assigned and cleaned by students. Photo: Patricio Prieto

Satipo road goes to Mindo

Below follows the three videos from 2008 when Kolibri Expeditions took three farmers from Pampa Hermosa together with three farmers from Carpish to Mindo in Ecuador. Pampa Hermosa is like Mindo was 10-15 years ago. With this in mind, the farmers now have a vision how the want their valley to develop within the coming years. RainForest Partnerships project and Kolibri Expeditions committment will make this possible – but not without your help.
The videos now have English subtitles thanks to Patricia Gonzales, who kindly helped me. Enjoy!

Satipo road goes to Mindo part one. Arrival and Butterfly garden

Satipo road goes to Mindo part 2. Rafting and Orchid garden

Satipo road goes to Mindo, part 3. Maria the Antpitta and Angel Paz

Upcoming departures.

It is mainly our new community trip to Satipo road and Carpish that has scheduled departures between September to December. Let us know if you want to visit at other times.

by Gunnar Engblom April 29, 2010 6

A Marathon for Conservation 2010

Lima Marathon and conservation.

It is time again for Lima Marathon on May 2, and although training has been a challenge with a nasty virus for 2 weeks and a hurting knee practically the whole period of 11 weeks of training, I am still going to do this race. I will not do my best time and certainly not qualify for Boston Marathon, but I am still running. Because there is something at stake. Conservation in the Satipo road area.
Last year around 1000 dollars were pledged to get me around the 42km and press myself to run faster than my stipulated finish time of 4h13 minutes. One dollar for each kilometer – or a dollar for each minute i shaved off my stipulated time. I managed to finish at 3:58, a time I was very pleased with, in spite of some drawback during the race. (Check the race analysis if interested).

Here is a this year’s pledge. Same as last year. Are you in?

10 dollars. I think this is a great cause, and will support you no matter what with 10 bucks.
1 dollar/min shaved off from 4:13. You can do it Gunnar! For every minute faster you run I will donate one dollar more. Have this in your head at all times!
42 dollars. That’s one dollar per kilometer. You are crazy Gunnar, but you have my support for each kilometer you run.

I’m in.

Within very short time, we got several people signing up to support Satipo raod again. And to help me make it all the way around.

1. Brian Allen, Michigan
2. Joe Church, Pennsylvania
3. Chris Drysdale. British Columbia, Canada. Of course I want to support the region that will play host to the November 22nd trip: $50 if you go under 4.13; $100 if you beat last year’s time.
4. You.

Make your pledge below in the comment section. If you want me to link to your web-page or blog, I will do so above.

Why Satipo road?

I have had my eyes of this area since 2000 when I did my first trip to region. Birding is outstanding. Many endemic species, new species to science some of which are not described yet, and amazing cloud forest from top to bottom – much like more famous Manu road. Countless meetings with the local communities along the road over the years, finally in 2008 led to a trip to Mindo (Ecuador), to which I invited 3 community members (selected by the community) and 3 community members from the Carpish area in Central Peru where we also similarly connect with the communities.

The Ecuador trip was a great success, which has created awareness, not only among the participants, but also among the people locally, as I filmed the whole trip and gave each community a copy of the video. (Thanks goes to Fernando Valdivia for help with editing and Alan La Rue for down-size and YouTube format). I am uploading to YouTube as I write this (not being a very avid YouTube uploader – Man is this slow!!!) and will let you know how to find the videos in due time.

First part with the arrival to Mindo and the visit to the Butterfly house ican be seen below.

Here is the second part involving River rafting and Orchid Garden in Mindo.

The third part is a must-see for all birders. The filming is staged at Angel Paz’s private reserve, where Giant Antpitta (named Maria) is being hand-fed at a few meters of astonished birdwatchers. This visit had tremendous impact on the guests from Peru.

Support Satipo road community eco-project.

Our effort involving local communities eventually reached Niyanta Spelman of Rainforest Partnership (with thanks to Charles Hesse for establishing this contact) resulting in a visit by Niyanta and Maurine Winkley to Mariposa and Apaya in Pampa Hermosa district.

RainForest Partnership have set up a donor page for the project in order to improve the infrastructure to receive birding tour groups. This is only the first step. We have actively promoted Satipo road for 2010 in our sensational bird tour give away. In fact there is a tour their right now hosted by Brian Allen.

Here are the upcoming tours with the corresponding hosts.

Jul 6: Alan McBride, Australia
Sep 25: Chris West, Wisconsin
Oct 19: Joel Brady-Power, Washington
Nov 22: Chris Drysdale, BC
Dec 12: Kimberly Sucy, New York.

Soon RainForest Partnership will stage a continuation of the first activities, which involve forming a legally recognised protected areas in this region. You can help, by making a pledge to support my Marathon or take part in the birding trips to the area.