Last year Arjan Dwarshuis set a new world record for the highest number of birds observed in a single calendar year: an astonishing 6,841 bird species observed in 40 different countries (about 65% of the world’s species!). Of all those countries, Arjan named Peru as the number one destination for birding. “Hands down,” he says about his choice “…we saw 1,001 species in 24 days – a record within a record! 577 were new for the Biggest Year. It’s also the landscape, culture, people.”

Arjan also had a chance to stay at our Wayqecha and Manu stations, and had some exciting days birding our trails and along Manu Road: “When your day starts with displaying Swallow-tailed Nightjars right over your head and you end that same day with a singing Lyre-tailed Nightjar perched in the scope, then you know it’s a mental day regardless….Ok, long story short I saw more than 70 (!) new birds for my Biggest Year, among them many rare and most wanted enigmas.”

Check out Arjan’s full recap of his days birding at our biological stations here.