Birdwatching in the Mamirauá Lake as an appeal to ecotourists/birdwatchers.

The Mamiraua Sustainable Development Reserve fits the profile of a good destination for birdwatching, because it has high species diversity, bilingual guides, updated bird lists, field guides and adequate infrastructure. In this paper we present the bird species observed during a regular type of tourist activity held in Uakari Lodge and also relate the richness and diversity of birds to fluctuations in water level during several months. The study was conducted between June 2009 and September 2011, and it took a total of 68 boat trips, 480 ecotourists, adding up to a total of 238 hours. 134 bird species were recorded, which corresponds to 37% of the number of species that occurs in the Mamiraua SDR. Large-billed Tern (Phaetusa simplex) and Striated Heron (Butorides striata) were seen at all the trips. Yellow-rumped Cacique (Cacicus cela) and Black-collared Hawk (Busarellus nigricolis) were observed 62 times. Horned Screamer (Anhima cornuta) and Hoatzin (Opisthocomus hoazin) came right after, with 61 sightings. The distribution of observations of attractive species really provide the more informed ecotourist some real entertainment, as to which would be the best time of year to visit the Mamiraua SDR.