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BIRD WATCHING PERU 16
DAYS / 15 NIGHTS |
DAY 1:
Arrive to Lima and rest.
DAY 2:
Early morning flight to Cusco and we head out
south of town with a picnic lunch to Huacarpay
lakes. Here we will see a variety of high Andean
waterfowl and wetland associated birds. We will
be specifically on the lookout for Wren-like
Rushbird and Many-colored Rush-tyrant, Puna Ibis
and Andean White-winged Negrito. Raptors we may
see include Aplomado Falcon, Cinereous Harrier,
Red-backed Hawk and Black-chested Buzzard-Eagle.
Two birds we will look for in the arid scrub
around the lake are the endemic Rufous-fronted
Canastero and Streak-fronted Thornbird. We
should find the pretty , endemic Bearded
Mountaineer feeding in the tree tabacco with
Giant Hummingbird. In the late afternoon we'll
drive to the Sacred Valley of the Incas to put
us in a good position for the next days birding.
Night in the Hotel.
DAY 3: CUSCO / MACHUPICCHU
We take a 2 hours train ride from Ollantaytambo
to Machu Picchu. This trip takes us from the
arid temperate zone to the subtropical forest in
Machu Picchu area. Good portion of this trip is
made along the Urubamba River where Torrent
Ducks are rather common. In the morning we take
a guided trip to the ruins. In the afternoon we
will look for the relatively recently described
Inca Wren. Wrens can be found just around the
very ruins! Then we go dawn to the bottom at the
Urubamba River for late afternoon birding. Night
in Aguas Calientes.
DAY 4: MACHUPICCHU /
OLLANTAYTAMBO
We leave early in the morning to birds the
subtropical forest along the Urubamba River.
Here some species are easier to see than in
areas previously visited. However, we will focus
on species that we did not see on our trip to
Manu. We will be looking for flocks in search of
Sclater's Tyrannulet, and well as the canopy of
trees for Bolivian Tyrannulet. Other specialties
of Machu Picchu are Oleaginous Hemispingus,
Silver-backed Tanager, and Capped Conebill. The
endemic and little-known Green-and-white
Hummingbird is surprisingly common in this area.
We will bird most of the morning. After lunch we
take the train back Ollantaytambo. Night in
Ollantaytambo.
DAY 5:
Very early start . At dawn we will witness the
strange aerial display of the Andean Snipe and
we should get good looks at this bird. The rare
Imperial Snipe is here too, but much more
difficult to see - we may be lucky. After a
substantial breakfast we'll have all day to work
the humid temperate forest. Starting at a large
patch of Chusquea bamboo we should see Parodi's
Hemispingus (endemic) and Puna Thistletail
(endemic).
Other possibilities thruout the day include :
Drab, Three-striped, Black-eared and
Black-capped Himispingi, Golden-collared and
other Tanagers,White-throated and White-banded
Tyrannulets, Andean Ibis, Unstreaked Tit-tyrant,
White-rumped Hawk, Sierran Elaenia, Marcapata
Spinetail (endemic), Inca Wren ( endemic), plus
a lot more. We'll return to the Sacred Valley of
the Incas for the night.
DAY 6:
Early start for the Polylepis woodland at Abra
Malaga. We'll devote the whole morning to
explore this unique habitat. Possibilities
include Line-fronted Canastero, Ash-breasted
Tit-tyrant (endemic), White-browed Tit-spinetail
(endemic), Tawny Tit-Spinetail, Giant Conebill,
Stripe-headed Antpitta, Andean Tapaculo,
Tit-like Dacnis, Blue-mantled Thornbill, Andean
Condor, Thick-billed Siskin and more. On the
valley floor we'll check a variety of
Ground-tyrants and Sierra-finchs.
DAY 7:
Red and White Antpitta should be calling. We
will spend all day birding from our camp at 2800
meters to our next stop at 1600 meters. This is
pristineforest on a little travelled road. Some
of the special birds on this stretch which we
will look for include : White-rumped Hawk,
Golden-plumed Parakeet, Diademed Tapaculo, Black
and Chestnut Eagle, Andean Guan, Scaly-naped
Parrot, a wide variety of Hummingbirds including
Collared Inca, Chestnut-breasted Coronet,
Violet-throated Startfrontlet and
Amethyst-throated Sunangel, Purple-backed
Thornbill, Scaled Meta.
DAY 8:
White-bellied Woodstar. Crimson-mantled
Woodpecker, Bar-bellied Woodpecker, Marcapata
Spinetail, White-throated Antpitta, Barred and
Band-tailed Fruiteaters, White-throated
Tyrannulet, Ochraceous-breasted Flycatcher,
Barred Becard, Pale-footed Swallow, Mountain
Wren, Citrine Warbler and many Tanagers . Night
at the rustic camp plataforms in Union or San
Pedro.
DAY 9 & 10:
Two full days to bird the forest around Union
and SanPedro. One day we'll devote to the 2500
meter altitude zone and one day to the 1500
meter zone. Possibilities include White-throated
Hawk, Solitary Eagle, Rufous-capped Thornbill,
Crested Quetzal, Golden-headed Quetzal, Masked
Trogon, Highland Motmot, Black-streaked Puffbird
, Blue-banded Toucanet, Olive-backed Woodcreeper,
Montane Woodcreeper, Spotted Barbtail, Montane
Foliage-gleaner, Uniform and Variable Antshrikes,
Slaty Gnateater, Chestnut-crested Cotinga,
Scaled Fruiteater, Bolivian Tyrannulet, Inca
Flycatcher (endemic), Yungas and Cerulean-capped
Manakin (endemic) , Uniform Antshrike,
White-throated Spadebill, Fulvous-breasted
Flatbill, Saffron-crowned Tanager, Deep-blue
Flowerpiercer and lots more. We will visit one
of the two nearby Cock-of-the-Rock leks to watch
the strange mating dance of these spectacular
birds. Up to 20 males congregate at this spot to
display. We will also do some night birding here
and we have been lucky previously with
White-throated and Rufescent Screech Owl, Rufous-banded
Owl and Andean Potoo. Nights at Cock-of-the-Rock
Lodge.
DAY 11:
After a dawn breakfast accompanied by the
singing of Andean and White-eared Solitaires and
Paradise Tanagers from the breakfast table, we
leave San Pedro at 1600 meters and spend the day
birding slowly and back to Cusco.
DAY 12, 13, 14, 15: CUSCO
/ PUERTO MALDONADO
This tour is designed to concentrate on what
have become two of our favorite sites in the
region, sites that complement each other
beautifully, support a long list of geographic
specialties, and offer some extraordinary avian
attractions, we'll explore the rainforest in a
wilderness setting and see such wonderful
Neotropical birds as tinamous, screamers, guans
and curassows, trumpeters, quetzals, motmots,
jacamars, puffbirds and nunbirds, New World
barbets, toucans, woodcreepers, antbirds and
antpittas, cotingas, manakins, and oropendolas.
Eight hours upriver from Puerto Maldonado is a
mysterious spectacle that has become one of the
biggest draws for birders to southeastern Peru:
the Ccolpa de Guacamayos . Here, almost daily
(if it's not raining), dozens to hundreds of big
macaws and hundreds of other colorful parrots
gather to a vertical, 130-foot riverbank carved
out of the foothills to consume a beakful or two
of mineral-rich clay, a vital but mysterious
part of their diet. The phenomenon was richly
documented in the January 1994 issue of National
Geographic. Indeed, this site has become known
as the largest macaw lick in South America and
one of the most dazzling wildlife spectacles in
the world, in a high density of big birds and
mammals, sensitive indicators of wildness.
Tayras and Pacas are regular in the clearing,
includes six species of monkeys, Ocelot,
Short-eared Dog , Brazilian Tapir, a herd of
150-200 White-lipped Peccaries, and a Jaguar
strolling along the cobbled riverbed, four hours
back downriver, we have a fair chance of seeing
a Harpy Eagle at a nest. Ese'eja Indians living
in the community have kept track of several
pairs of Harpy Eagles that have nested in the
area for several years. In an effort to utilize
their natural resources to bring in tourist
dollars,
DAY 16: BACK TO LIMA &
HOME
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