TESTIMONIALS

To thank the JACAMAR CLUB and the instructors of the «XI Interpretive Class of birding and birdwatching for ecotourism and conservation», Barry Walker, Renzo Zepilli, Richard Amable, Leonardo Gonzales and the event organizers, for their extraordinary contribution to the learning about the various species of birds existing in our Amazon, conducting groups of tourists, guiding techniques, ethics in the profession and respect for the environment, as well as friendship and camaraderie among the attending professionals. The event has reached the highest levels of efficiency in its organization and the professional quality required in this type of event. Let’s hope that JACAMAR CLUB continues with this type of event that serves to prepare the tourism professionals of the future. Thanks again and a big hug to all the participants

This past September 2019, I had the opportunity to attend a training course for bird-watching guides, with the main objective of spotting a group of specialized birds in the bamboo forest of the Manu reserve in Peru, taught by Jacamar Club. In addition to observing around 360 species of birds, the organization of the event and the learning obtained through the instructors was magnificent, the locations were ideal, safe, and with a great wealth of species.  As a guide to birds from another country, I highly recommend these training courses and in particular the Jacamar Club courses.

I want to thank and congratulate the Jacamar Club team for all the teaching shared during the birdwatching course specializing in bamboo birds. I feel like I learned quite a bit. I seek to learn and ask a lot and everyone on the team had the patience to answer each of my many questions. I especially congratulate Ana who was in charge of all the organization and logistics. His coordination level was A1. Thank you and congratulation

In 2013 I traveled to Tambopata. Richard was my guide for 1 week after an organized tour with 2 other tourists. Since that time my great wish was to make a tour beginning in Lima, down the Manú River, then up the Manú river to the end of the reserved zone, and staying in the Matsiguenka lodge. So in 2018, I asked him to organize this tour and to be the guide only for me. On the 1st day, the famous Renzo Zeppilli accompanied us to the national reserves Pantanos de Villa and Pucusana close to Lima. Then we flew to Cusco and started our tour. Richard chooses a very good and nice driver, which drove us to Shintuya, the end of the dangerous street. We had 10 days for driving down. So we had enough time to see the different zones of the rainforest (e.g. the different animals and special vegetation like bamboo). Then we had an excellent boat driver which brought us up the Manú river to the community-based ecotourism Matsiguenka lodge owned by the communities of Matsiguenka. Here we stayed for 5 days to discover the majestic nature and wildlife. After this great experience, we drove back to Cusco by boat and car.  

Richard brought his complete equipment, e.g. a spotting scope and voices of birds on his smartphone. He chooses very good lodges. Sometimes we were the only guests. Richard does also bird classes for young people living here in order to sensibilize them for their nature. I was able to visit one of these.

I had 2 bad accidents before the tour. Richard and our boat driver always helped me.

Richard is a very great guide. He knows all the animals which live here, including hummingbirds (we have seen also the very rare hummingbird (the Koepke’s Hermit), monkeys (also the emperor tamarins), and butterflies. He knows also all the plants. I recommend this absolutely great guide and the non-standard tour to everybody who is interested in the different parts of the rainforest zones and the animals, plants and so on living there. See also https://www.jacamargroup.com/richard-amable.

My recommendation: If you want to do a very interesting and unusual/nonstandard tour, do this with Richard. No other traveling agency offers such a long and interesting travel.

As a wildlife filmmaker, I have traveled the world for the last 15 years. I pictured animals in a lot of different places in the world and I have met many guides.

I have to admit that Richard Amable is certainly the most amazing guide I have ever met. During 2 months, he was my guide while I was making my documentary about the amazon rainforest.

Richard has incredible knowledge about the creatures that live in the forest and he knows very well how to encounter them. Every day spent with him was a real adventure full of emotion and surprises.

Richard is also a very easy person to deal with. Every time there was an issue, he found a solution in a quiet way.

I recommend strongly Richard Amable to everyone that would like to live a fabulous experience in the rainforest.

Writer and wildlife filmmaker.

August 2013

John will not remember me, but on your Dry Tortugas tour in 1991, I caused you to come running from one side of the plaza to the other by playing a Connecticut warbler tape – a long way off and softly, I thought.  John, you sure have  (had?) good ears!  I didn’t go on another Field Guides tour (lack of funds) until this past December-January when I went to Oaxaca – a very nice trip and lots of birds.

However, I’m writing this letter, not to socialize, but to tell you about an exceptional bird guide I ran into in Peru.  You do a lot of Peru trips and you might want to use him.  His name is Richard Amable and he’s been guiding tours for RainForest Expeditions, Lima.  They assigned Richard Amable to our group of four people on a trip last October to three of their lodges on the Tambopata River, upstream from Puerto Maldonado.  He met us at the airport when we first arrived from Lima and stayed with us full time until we got on the plane again to go back to Lima.  He was most enjoyable to be around and extremely helpful in all the different kinds of trip logistics.  But his birding skills were the most impressive.  He knew the songs of all the birds we encountered and would seek out the birds and lure them into view so we could all see them – not easy in the jungle.  Oftentimes he’d have the bird in the scope before I could find it with my binoculars.  For calling them in, he had prepared an iPod(?) of bird songs, most of which he had recorded himself over the last few years.

Richard Amable is from Puerto Maldonado, 27 years old, and evidently taught himself, at least at the start, how to be an effective bird guide and how to speak English.  His hearing and eyesight both seem to be exceptional.  His e-mail address is 

I write this letter, not at his urging, but as a friend who was very impressed with his skills.  He also knows the birds well on the Altiplano as well as on the Andean slope, I believe.

I like Field Guides and your group of guides, and I wish you well!

Applied Geophysics, Inc