INFORMATION FOR VOLUNTEERS THAT HAVE BEEN ACCEPTED
Others can look at it too to get an idea of responsibilities and letters you will need to get permits
Here is a list of stuff you should bring. Wet Season (Nov-April): It is hard to dry cloths in the wet season so you need more cloths, also the climbing we do is very dirty work, so the more cloths the better. This is not the place to cut corners.
Dry Season (May – October): Things will dry more regularly, but you still get regular rains and you should have good long-sleeved tops and pants to protect against biting insects. In the dry-season we also get cold fronts coming though were the temperature drops to a humid 10 degrees Celsius. So bring at least one sweatshirt and a pair of jeans.
Cloths
1) Long sleeved shirts quick drying. Lots. (T-shirts are very popular for this, but button downs work too, for wet season long sleeved T shirts are a must.)
2) Quick drying long pants
3) Short sleeved T-shirts for use in lodge during day and under button down shirts and 1 or 2 pairs of shorts
4) Underwear. Quick drying is good. Bring extra.
5) One warmer outfit (Sweatshirt and heavy cotton pants or jeans for cold fronts in the dry season only)
6) Towels, 2 small fast drying ones is a good idea.
7) Socks (quick drying is better but cotton ok) bring lots 10 pairs is good
8) Sandals for inside lodge (or you can designate one pair of sneakers for use only in the lodge)
9) Light hikers not leather (dry season only June-October, not very useful in wet season)
10) High rubber boots (all seasons, but especially important during the wet season when you live in them, sizes from Men’s 6 to 10 USA or 37 to 41 are cheap and good in Maldonado. If you have big or small feet bring your own)
11) Good leather gloves for climbing 2 pairs (Wet season only). I like relatively thin, soft leather work gloves with fingers that fit well. I get mine at Home Depot.
12) 2 sets of long sleeved/long pants for use in the lodge. This means no stains and no rips (not expensive $140 Patagonia, just something respectable). You will eat dinner with well to do tourists regularly and should look relatively nice. Please do not bring extra expensive clothing, cloths can get lost, grow fungus or get ripped.
13) Head net if you can find an inexpensive one, the project has some if you don't have one.
14) Bandanas (optional)
15) Rain PONCHO. Rain suits are also good, but a poncho is key to put over you during observations.
16) Flashlight, with extra bulbs. LED headlamps are always good especially if you like to read at night.
17) Batteries
18) Binoculars (absolutely required and should be 8 or 10 power)
19) Insect repellent (12 - 30 % DEET is best, but if you don’t want to use it bring Green repellent too)
20) Sunscreen
21) Field guides (Birds of Peru has just come out. Birds of Ecuador and Birds of Colombia are also useful books.)
22) First aid kit
a. Advil or equivalent
b. Band-Aids
c. Topical antibiotic cream
d. Cipro (YES BRING IT it is the best against all stomach insults)
e. Anti-fungal cream and powder
f. Anti-itch cream and Afterbite or similar ammonia applicator (for insect bites)
g. Benadril (Antihistamine tablets)
h. Gatorade in powder or similar is often good to stay hydrated on hot days.
23) Antibacterial soap (great to make sure that little scratches heal well)
24) Shampoo (any type is ok, biodegradable is not needed)
25) Desiccant (try to get a 1 lb. Jar of Drierite if you can if not the project can lend you some)
26) Airtight container to hold your camera. The project has some army ammo containers but they get pretty full so iif you can find one and bring one down it would be good. Pelican brand cases are also airtight but more expensive. Almost airtight things are Sea Line bags (not the clear ones) and ziplock bags if you have enough to replace them regularly. Not airtight things include, other plastic bags, Tupperware containers, other plastic boxes.
27) Books (good novels are always appreciated)
28) Digital Watch (mandatory)
29) Alarm clock that is loud enough to wake you up
30) Zip lock bags
32) Contacts (they are ok but can lead to eye infections so always bring your glasses)
33) Eyeglasses (extra pair is a good idea)
34) If you like to take photos bring both 100 and 400 speed film. The forest is dark and the river is very bright. If you have a digital camera bring the cable so you can download photos on to the project laptops if you want.
35) Portable CD player. For use in learning parrot calls and of course if you want to listen to music for fun.
36) Blank CD's if you want to burn copies of articles or digital pictures of the project
37) Bathing suit for occasional swims in the river
38) Water bottle
39) Baseball cap or hat to protect your head from the sun
1) Lieshmaniasis: Up at TRC (not Posada Amazonas) there is a small biting fly that carries a disease called Lieshmaniasis. Only a very small percentage of the flies carry the disease, but it is possible to get. It is curable but the treatment can be long (20 days) and somewhat painfull. While in the field you should always work in long pants and long-sleeved shirts. This fly does come in to the lodge, so you should wear long sleeves and long pants at all times up at the lodge. The one exception is midday on hot days, the flies don’t fly during such conditions, at this time you can wear shorts and a T-shirt.
2) Immunizations. Yellow fever immunization is required for travel to the area. Go to a travel doctor and talk to them about what other shots to get. The Cashu website also discusses this. You can also get a yellow fever shot in the airport at Puerto Maldonado when you arrive. If you need to do this you must do it immediately when you get off the plane before you get your luggage (look for the person dressed like a nurse and ask for your shot).
3) Malaria. I am not a doctor and cannot and will not give legally binding advice. All I will say is that I don’t know anyone that has contracted Malaria at the lodges and I do not take malarial prophylaxis.
4) Go to Cuzco some time before you leave Peru. Visit Machu Picchu, the Sacred Valley, and tour the city itself. Minimize time in Lima (unless you want to go south to Paracas to see seabird colonies and some of the most insanely dry desert and productive sea in the world, which is also cool. You could spend years wandering around Peru there is so much to see).
5) Evacuation by boat to Puerto Maldonado can be done in 1 day (less than 5 hours if need be).
There is limited e-mail access up at TRC. You will be able to use the e-mail to stay in intermittent contact with immediate family and to arrange your next job. At this point the only available machine for Internet is that of the field leader, so access is restricted. You should have people contact you at the address guacamayero@rainforest.com.pe. When you are in Puerto Maldonado you can go to commercial Internet providers. The field leader can be contacted directly at jefedecampo@rainforest.com.pe
People can also call or FAX messages to the office in Puerto Maldonado. The lodges communicate with the Puerto Maldonado office 1-3 times per day, so emergency messages get up quickly. All of the Rainforest Staff in the offices speaks English (at least in theory). You can also send mail to the following mail address. Mail delivery is never very reliable in Peru so don’t send things of great importance. Also don’t send care packages. They may get held up in customs for a long period of time and cost a lot of time, money and effort to get out.
Phone/fax: +51 (82) 572575
MAIL ADDRESS
Rainforest Expeditions
Casilla Postal 126
Puerto Maldonado, Madre de Dios
Peru
Diamond, J., K. D. Bishop, and J. D. Gilardi. 1999. Geophagy in New Guinea birds. Ibis 141: 181-193.
Gilardi, J. D., S. S. Duffey, C. A. Munn, and L. A. Tell. 1999. Biochemical functions of geophagy in parrots: detoxification of dietary toxins and cytoprotective effects. Journal of Chemical Ecology 25: 897-922.
The Large Macaws: Their care, breeding and conservation. Chapter 21 Manu and Tambopata. Abramson, J., B. L. Jorgen, and S. Thomsen. 1995. This gives an in-depth analysis of the first three years of macaw work in Tambopata. As this early work set the direction for much of the current project it is definitely reading this chapter.
National Geographic January 1994. The photos provide a beautiful look at the birds and the study site. It also gives a popularized account of what went on during the first three years of macaw research at Tambopata.
Here are some other books that give some general information about the tropics, parrots, etc if you have time to do some extra reading.
New World Parrots in Crisis, Noel Snyder and Steve Beissinger editors, 1992. This is the book that inspired Don to study parrots. It covers a wide variety of topics and provides a nice overview of the endangered state of parrots in the Americas even though it is getting somewhat old at this point.
A Neotropical Companion, John C. Kricher, 1989. A good introduction to general tropical ecology including discussions of many of the creatures that you will see. Written in a more simple style than the following.
Tropical Diversity, John Terborgh, 1992. A nice mix of coffee table book and scientific treatise. Interesting and readable scientific-style text describes a wide variety of complex rainforest interactions and it is richly illustrated throughout with photos, graphs and charts.
A Guide to the Birds of Colombia, Steven L. Hilty and William L. Brown, 1986. Most of the species found in the lowlands of Peru where this project will be carried out are also found in Columbia. The guide to birds of Peru is being completed, but until it is published, the Birds of Columbia is still the best book for identifying birds in lowland Peru.
A Guide to the Birds of Peru, J. Clements and N Shany, 2001. This book is far from perfect. In fact as a scholarly work on tropical Ornithology it stinks, but since it has all the species that are found in Peru it will surely become the standard for birding in Peru.
All three of the following books provide good introductions to parrots as a group as well as giving illustrations and descriptions of every parrot species in the world:
Parrots of the World, Joseph Forshaw 1989, Good illustrations and a wealth of knowledge about parrots although it is a little old now.
Parrots and Identification Guide, Tony Juniper and Michael Parr 1998, Very useful, but the illustrations lack aesthetic appeal.
Birds of the World Volume 4, J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, and J. Sargatal editors, 1997. The most attractive of the three because of its beautiful photos in the introductory section. The introduction to parrots as a group is also wonderful.