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The Tambopata Macaw Project: A new era is coming

Founded and created the same year (1989)  by  Eduardo Nycander and Kurt Holle, the Tambopata Macaw Project, and Rainforest Expeditions were born together in Madre de Dios, PERU.

Under their direction, the project began with the goal of learning about the basic ecology, natural history of macaws, and methodologies for rescuing and rearing macaws in artificial nests so that this information could be used to help their conservation and so that those methodologies could be perfected and put into practice in other places where macaws have disappeared or decreased dramatically. In 1994, an extensive article on the project was published in the famous National Geographic magazine, including a cover that catapulted the fame of the project, Tambopata Research Center, and the macaw clay licks or collpas.

As the project was evolving from 2002 to 2020 a new director assumed the leadership of the project, Dr. Donald Brightsmith, who has contributed important advances in knowledge about wild macaws.

For many years, the project consisted of a long-term multidisciplinary study of the natural history, conservation, and management of macaws and parrots. The main topics of study included monitoring and observation of macaw nests, increasing the survival rates of chicks and juveniles, documenting patterns of clay lick use, and understanding the impact of tourism on the macaw clay lick.

Dr. Donald Brightsmith and his team focused the project on understanding the links between the clay lick, nesting, tree phenology (flowering and fruiting), and movements of parrots in and out of the area. Thousands of mornings of observation of the huge clay wall and literally hundreds of thousands of records may be the largest set of parrot data ever assembled.

Due to their large size and beauty, macaws are excellent flagship species like Harpy Eagles, jaguars, and river wolves, serving as charismatic focal points for ecosystem conservation. Unfortunately, in most tropical America, these umbrella species have suffered large population declines.

In recent years, Dr. Donald Brightsmith has been developing and evaluating techniques to increase the reproductive output of wild macaws, expanding the knowledge of macaw nesting behavior, increasing our understanding of the complexities of collpa use, tracking macaw movements through satellite telemetry, and evaluating tourism as a tool for macaw and forest protection.

Macaw Clay Lick by Carlos Gonzales

Chuncho clay lick by Carlos Gonzales

Some important discoveries developed by his team include:

  1. The climate influences the seasonal behavior of the Collpa Colorado, the number of parrots varies depending on whether it is rainy or sunny days
  2. Seasonal climatic changes generate fluctuations in the annual food supply for Parrots and Macaws (flowers, green fruits and ripe fruits). Food availability is apparently lowest at the end of the wet season and early dry season (March – July) and highest in the early wet season in mid-December and January.
  3.   This fluctuation in the food supply drives two things: the annual movements of Parrots to and from the area around TRC and the timing of breeding.
  4. When there is less food, the birds apparently leave the area around TRC as the number of birds in the forest decreases drastically from April to July.
  5. The timing of breeding is apparently driven by the food supply: the number of breeding Parrot species is closely related to the number of trees in fruit or flowers. However, not all species reproduce simultaneously. Smaller species apparently reproduce before larger ones.
  6.   Parrot movements out of the area during periods of low food abundance reduce the number of birds using the clay lick. When food supplies are high, birds apparently congregate in the vicinity of the clay lick.
  7. The timing of breeding also influences the number of birds in the clay lick, as for most Parrot species, the clay lick uses beaks during the breeding season, specifically when the birds have nestlings. Scarlet Macaws feed their chicks large amounts of clay, especially when the chicks are young. As they grow, the amount of clay they receive decreases and the total use of the Collpa decreases as well. 
  8. Evidence has also been found that the use of clay licks depends on the bird’s need for sodium. Using soil samples analyzed by researchers at Texas A&M University, it was found that birds apparently prefer soils with higher sodium content over soils that are better at neutralizing toxins.

Scarlet Macaws in Tambopata

Scarlett Macaws by Paul Bertner

We at Rainforest Expeditions believe that the key to protecting not only the clay licks and macaws but also the entire forest ecosystem and its umbrella species such as jaguars, otters, and harpy eagles by having more allies for conservation. By giving added value to the forest and producing greater benefits for local communities, these allies form a barrier that protects the forest from illegal activities such as logging, coca leaf cultivation, hunting, and mining.

Integrating the scientific community with visitors and promoting citizen science is also crucial for conservation. We launched Wired Amazon, a conservation program in 2018 that includes citizen science projects like AmazonCam, Aerobotany, and Discovering New Species. The latter project, in collaboration with the San Marcos Natural History Museum and the University of Guelph, has discovered 26 new species in just four years.



Donate to Wired Amazon

In 2020, Dr. Donald Brightsmith and his team left the Tambopata Research Center and formed the Macaw Society to continue their work in macaw conservation. 

Attention all fans of the Wired Amazon Program! Exciting news!

After 20 years, Eduardo Nycander returns to Tambopata, where the whole dream of saving the macaws began, where Rainforest Expeditions was born. This time together with the Museum of Natural History of the National University of San Marcos, they will add innovative technology for the conservation of macaws in the region and Latin America. The new goal will be to contribute to the reduction of threats to macaw conservation in the Madre de Dios Region through the use of the best available technology.

Don’t miss out on this opportunity to learn more about the new season and be a part of the journey. Join us now and let’s save the future of the macaws together!

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE TAMBOPATA MACAW PROJECT HERE

  • What our guest say

    • Valuation Excellent
    • 5/5

Maria Carrero June 2026

Lauren Kuenstner June 2026

Adam C June 2026

Perry Killam June 2026

Brad Taylor-White June 2026

Sue_szb April 2026

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Laurence W April 2026

We stayed last february for 4 nights in the TRC lodge. I never could have imagined that I would explore the amazon in such confortable and immersive way. The lodge itself is such a luxurious place, in the middle of nowhere! The food was nicely curated everyday to offer new bits and pieces of the Peruvian cuisine. The absolute highlight of our stay here was for sure the activities and our guide Carmen, who accompanied us everyday! We were able to choose our everydays activities with our very reduced group and our guide. Carmen guided us on very activity, spotting and explaining what animals we saw and interesting facts about our surroundings. Her knowledge and excitement were so infectious that it would even make the sightings even more special! Read all

One of the most unique experiences we’ve had! You are deep in the heart of the Amazon and truly feel immersed in nature. Our guide Dino was awesome and taught us so much about the rainforest-he is like a walking encyclopedia, and his love for the forest really shows. Also very unique to listen to nightly talks from the research team-it really adds to the experience. Food was great and staff very friendly. Bring lots of bug spray and an adventurous spirit! Read all

The lodge was fantastic; they were very attentive to our needs. The dining staff brought special bread for my wife because of her celiac disease and offered to prepare dishes specifically for her to meet her dietary needs. The lodge guides were truly knowledgeable and went out of their way to help us see all the local wildlife. I especially loved the mosquito net service they provided. I was worried we’d be eaten alive, but their setup is fabulous; I had no concerns once I saw how they installed the impenetrable nets and curtains. The meals were as good as—or better than—anywhere else we ate in Peru. We saw the following animals: macaws, parrots, parakeets, pale-winged trumpeters, tamarins, caimans, capybaras, and a ton of insects on our night hike. Read all

We had an excellent guide who was very knowledgeable about the local animals, birds, and plants. I learned a lot. We also participated in the Wired Amazon experience and just received the video clips of the animals that walked by - ocelots, agoutis, ... some amazing animals. It was fun to set up the camera traps, and now I'm inspired to get one for our backyard. Read all

Refugio Amazonas was one of the most memorable and immersive experiences of our entire trip to Peru. From the moment we arrived, it felt like we had entered a completely different world. Waking up to the sounds of the rainforest, exploring the Amazon with knowledgeable guides, spotting wildlife, and disconnecting from everyday life created an experience we will never forget. The guides and staff were exceptional throughout our stay. Everyone was warm, welcoming, knowledgeable, and clearly passionate about the rainforest and the guest experience. Their enthusiasm and expertise added so much to every excursion and activity. For this type of Amazon adventure, Refugio Amazonas felt top-tier. The wildlife experiences were remarkable, the setting was beautiful, and the overall level of immersion was exactly what we were hoping for when we added the Amazon to our Peru itinerary. Read all

Wow what an experience! If you want to be fully immersed in Amazon life in a wonderful , comfortable eco lodge, and not have expectations of a 5 star city hotel (I'm not sure why you would, but some reviewers seemed disappointed it wasn't!) you will love this. You will be in a group, 6 in ours, but you don't all have to do the same activities, you just join another group. Plenty of spaces to chill and downtime if you need it...its hot and humid! There's a fan in the room and I heard the superior rooms have a fan under the mozzie net. Take a torch! We were never bitten, used deet repellent only. They provide rubber boots if you want them, some of the trails were very muddy, but we managed in our walking boots. We loved the open wall to the jungle, despite some bugs, but not too many surprisingly. Sooooo much wildlife, all sorts of monkeys, otters, turtles, caiman, different birds, capybara etc. Luis M was our guide, a local, and he could spot a spider from 5 metres I'm sure... great sense of humour and a wealth of knowledge, loved him. We spent 3 nights 20th-24th April, it rained on a couple of occasions but not much. Perfect holiday for an immersive wildlife experience! Read all

Beautiful lodge in the rainforest, very well maintained and clean. We had a lot of fun and excellent guides. The rooms and facilities were top-notch! Read all

We stayed at Posada Amazonas Lodge in May 2026, and it was a truly unique experience. It’s important to note that the concept is unlike a traditional hotel: the rooms (the lodge has around 30 in total) are built entirely of wood and open completely to the rainforest, with no windows. The walls are about two meters high, and everything is open-air, meaning you can hear your neighbors as well as the sounds of the forest throughout the night. There is a hot-water shower with drainage flowing through wooden beams beneath the floor, and the beds are protected with mosquito nets. The food is delicious and nutritious, and one pleasant surprise was the excellent Wi-Fi connection (Starlink) available both at the lodge and on the boats. The logistics are flawless from the moment you land in Puerto Maldonado, including a short car ride (accompanied by a security company) followed by a forty-minute cruise along the Tambopata River. The staff is incredibly friendly. Our guide, Luis M. (a member of the local community that manages the lodge), was simply outstanding, with eagle-eyed vision for spotting wildlife and always wearing a smile. Tour highlights: Canopy Tower: a 42-meter tower rising above the treetops with panoramic views. We loved seeing the river, the rainforest, and even the distant Andes Mountains on the horizon. We returned at night during a nocturnal wildlife tour, where we spotted tarantulas, white sloths, and tree frogs. Lake Tres Chimbadas: a peaceful catamaran ride (without a motor) where Luis showed us a group of red-bellied monkeys, giant otters, and caimans. The scenery and tranquility are incredible. Trek to the “Great Tree”: a forest hike where we saw deer, jaguar tracks, a three-toed sloth, and more wildlife. At the end of the trail, we reached the gigantic ceiba tree: around 500 years old, approximately 60 meters tall, and with an impressive 11-meter base diameter. Highly recommended for anyone wanting to experience the true Amazon! Read all

An exceptional experience that truly exceeded all expectations. What impressed me the most is that here they genuinely want to make your stay as comfortable as possible — and that, to me, is what real high-level service is all about. The guide really tries to fill every excursion with emotions and memorable moments, turning simple activities into meaningful experiences. The kitchen team puts great effort into variety and introduces you to Peruvian cuisine — it feels like a small гастрономic journey. Housekeeping works like invisible bees — you don’t notice them, but everything is always perfectly taken care of. Another big highlight is the comfort level: stable electricity and surprisingly good internet both on the way and at the lodge, powered by Starlink. Having this level of connectivity in the middle of the jungle is something truly special. From reception and the bar to the boat driver — everyone is genuinely warm and happy to have you. You can really feel that each person is a small but important part of one big system delivering outstanding eco-tourism service. Bravo — achieving this level of service in the wild is not easy, and it shows. This experience was very valuable for me and my family. I won’t get tired of thanking you for the emotions you gave us. Highly recommended. Dear travelers — don’t hesitate. Go, enjoy the incredible nature and the level of service. This is something you will remember for a lifetime. Read all

We had the most amazing time at Refugio Amazonas for 3 nights, with a huge thanks to our guide Juan Carlos! On the first afternoon we sat down and planned our activities, which we loved! We came face to face with hundreds of birds, tarantulas, leaf carrying ants spanning 10 meter motorways to work and deliver the leaves to the ant house for food, parasites, and even leaves that cause natural dyes on oxidation - we learned so much. Carlos was genuinly interested in showing us everything the jungle had to offer, humorous and caring too. Carlos knew anything and everything about what was around us, pointing out things and creatures that the untrained eye would miss, carrying a telescope at all times for us to see the birds, ensuring we got magical videos on our phones using the telescope! Read all

Many thanks to Refugio Amazonas for an unforgettable experience! Brenda and team were so wonderful and accommodating, and Alan was a great guide. Thank you for a memorable experience! :) Read all

We had an excellent time at Tambopata research center. We are tourists like most who now visit the center, but it’s great to know that you can support research and the local community by visiting a place like this. Our guide for our trip, Esau, was extremely knowledgeable and showed great passion for his job. He described it as a hobby and he would get very excited if you spotted a specific bird or a tree. His specific knowledge about each and every creature in the forest was very impressive and I would recommend asking for Esau to be your guide in the future if you plan to visit. The hotel itself is unique. You are in the middle of the Amazon rainforest - the accessibility to nature is second to none. There are no windows in the hotel rooms. We had bugs in our room, of course, but the mosquito nets keep everything out and, actually, we both slept very well. The bar staff, Harrison, is very knowledgeable with drinks and works very hard. The food isn’t the best you’re ever going to have, but you have to remind yourself you are in the middle of the rainforest and that it takes a 6 hour round trip to get to the nearest town, and so the job that the hotel does in respect of the food is actually intuitive and very good. I would recommend this hotel to my peers and I would love to visit again in a few years time. Read all

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