| Day 1. Arrival and reception at the airport in Lima and transfer to a hotel. Overnight in Lima.
Day 2. Morning flight to Chiclayo. Reception at the airport by our ground staff and then transfer to our hotel in the city. Late morning and afternoon at Rafan looking for Peruvian Plantcutter and other rarities of the coastal region of northern Peru. This afternoon we will look for Baird’s Flycatcher, Superciliated Wren, Necklaced Spinetail and it is the only site on this tour where we could see the endemic Coastal Miner. Overnight in Chiclayo.
Day 3. Early morning start with a field breakfast at Batan Grande. Another chance to see the plantcutter but this is a good site for the rare Rufous Flycatcher and Snowy-throated Kingbird. Late morning departure for El Tocto near Olmos for the stunning Tumbes Tyrant and the ornate Elegant Crescentchest is here as well. We’ll spend the afternoon in the arid scrub looking for Tumbes Sparrow and Sulphur-throated Finch before returning to Olmos and our hotel for dinner. Nightbirding in the area can produce Striped Owl, West Peruvian Screech-Owl and Scrub Nightjar. Overnight in Olmos.
Day 4. Early start for a full day in the El Limon “Guan Canyons”. Our target bird for today is the rare White-winged Guan. Considered extinct for many years, its discovery in the dry forested canyons of northern Peru was a surprise as it was presumed to be a bird of the coastal mangroves! Rediscovered in the mid 1970's, it is still in danger of extinction due to destruction of their habitat and hunting, despite a considerable conservation effort primarily by concerned local parties. We will increase our chances of seeing this bird by soliciting local scouts to locate the birds over the previous few days. The dry forests here are also the home of many other interesting species. The incredible Tumbes Tyrant can be found here as well as Grey & Gold Warbler, Scarlet-backed Woodpecker, Tumbes Sparrow and Sulphur-throated Finch. The repetitive song of the Elegant Crescentchest can be heard here and these superb birds often show well with a little patience. Less challenging birds like Ecuadorian Trogon, White-winged and White-headed Brush-Finch, Tumbes Hummingbird, Cinereous Finch, Tumbes Pewee and Tumbes Swift can be found here. We'll be alert for screeching flocks of Red-masked Parakeets as they pass overhead as well. We’ll spend the night in a hotel in nearby Olmos.
Day 5. Early departure for Porculla Pass where we have had success finding Piura Chat-Tyrant. Northern Line-cheeked Spinetail, Bay-crowned Brush-Finch and Chapman’s Ant shrike. On the way to Jaen we’ll stop for a while to look for Little Inca-Finch and an area of scrub for our first try for the Maranon Crescentchest. Overnight Hotel Bosque in Jaen.
Day 6. A full day in the Jaen area. This morning we'll be after two special birds of this region - Maranon Crescentchest and Maranon Spinetail. Just to complete the set we'll look for the local race of Speckle-breasted Wren that is potentially a future full species: Maranon Wren. Other birds we can see here include Chinchipe Spinetail, Northern (Maranon) Slaty-Antshrike and Crimson Finch. In the afternoon we’ll drive to Pomacochas. Overnight Hotel Puerto Pumas in Pomacochas.
Days 7 – 9. Three days to explore the Pomacochas area and the Abra Patricia road. We’ll explore a variety of habitats at different elevations right down to the upper tropical zone at Aguas Verdes. The Marvellous Spatuletail is possibly the fanciest of all ‘hummers’ and we'll spend some time at flowering trees in order to see one of Peru's most desired endemic birds. Other hummingbirds here include Chestnut-breasted Coronet and Bronzy Inca. A nearby trail into some cloud forest is a good locality for Chestnut-crested Cotinga and Rufous-tailed Tyrant is a very good chance as well. This is a more humid forest and we have opportunities to encounter a wide variety of birds that may include Sickle-winged Guan, Versicolored Barbet, Golden-headed Quetzal, Andean Solitaire, Straw-backed Tanager and even the strange White-capped Tanager. Abra Patricia is an old collecting site near one of the forested ridges where the almost mythical Long-whiskered Owlet was discovered. The road that passes through the upper tropical and subtropical zone here is fabulous for birding. In the past we have seen Equatorial Graytail, Lanceolated Monklet, Yellow-breasted Antwren, Huallaga Tanager, Amazonian Umbrellabird, Andean Cock-of-the-Rock, Red-billed Parrot and Scarlet-breasted Fruiteater. This is a good locality to see Ecuadorian Tyrannulet (arguably better than anywhere in Ecuador!) and Speckle-chested Piculet can often be found here as well. Higher elevations will be our focus of attention over the couple of days in search of the recently described Lulu's Tody-Tyrant, Royal Sunangel and Bar-winged Wood-Wren. Other special birds of this area include Cinnamon-breasted Tody-Tyrant, Crimson-bellied Woodpecker, Black-throated Tody-Tyrant, Sharpe's Wren, Rusty-tinged Antpitta. Over the last couple years we have been fortunate enough to see the rarely observed Ochre-fronted Antpitta here. All nights near Pomacochas.
Day 10. Today we’ll travel from Pomacochas to Leimebamba. We’ll break our journey in search of the endemic Buff-bellied Tanager, Black-necked Woodpecker and Spot-throated Hummingbird. The river valley is a good place to see Torrent Ducks or even Fasciated Tiger-Heron. Nearing Leimebamba we may spend some time birding Abra Barro Negro en route if time permits. Overnight in a hotel in Leimebamba.
Day 11. Full morning in the Abra Barro Negro area to explore the paramo and cloud forests for a host of good birds. Our targets will be more Peruvian endemic species like Russet-mantled Softtail and higher elevations for Coppery Metaltail and Blackish Tapaculo. White-collared Jays and Mountain Caciques form noisy flocks as they pass the fragmented cloud forest. Flocks can be surprisingly good in this fragmented habitat and may include Barred Fruiteater and Yellow-scarfed Tanager. Grey-breasted Mountain-Toucans survive here and Chestnut-crowned Antpitta calls from the dense undergrowth. White-chinned Thistletail sometimes takes a little ‘coaxing’ into view, Smoky-brown Woodpecker, Smoky Bush-Tyrant, Plush-cap and Red-crested Cotinga are all possibilities. After a field lunch in the Paramo we’ll descend into the Maranon canyon to Balsas. Descending into the canyon we’ll look for Buff-bridled Inca-Finch and Yellow-faced Parrotlet. Overnight in camp on the banks of the Maranon where we have seen Maranon Thrush and Peruvian Pigeon regularly.
Day 12. We’ll bird the Balsas area for Maranon Thrush and Peruvian Pigeon before leaving for Celendin. As we climb out of the canyon we’ll stop at Hacienda Limon we’ll look for Chestnut-backed Thornbird and Grey-winged Inca-Finch. Overnight in Hotel Celendin.
Day 13. We’ll leave early this morning for Cajamarca where the Conquistadors massacred many Inca and imprisoned their king Atahualpa. We have seen the rare White-tailed Shrike-Tyrant in the past on many occasions and we’ll look for the cajamarcae race of Rufous Antpitta as well. Throughout the day we'll have the chance of a wide variety of species including Rainbow Starfrontlet, Black-crested Warbler, Many-striped Canastero, Jelski's Chat-Tyrant and Southern Line-cheeked Spinetail. We have had good fortune with Striated Earthcreeper here in the past and even Tit-like Dacnis in the few patches of Polylepis that line some of the fields. Overnight in our hotel in Cajamarca.
Day 14. An early start this morning as we take the journey to the San Marcos area for Great Spinetail. Another bird that has only recently been rediscovered, this big Furnariid lives in a large valley with cacti-clad slopes. It is worth looking for the endemic Black-necked Woodpecker here as well as the Maranon Gnatcatcher. The attractive Buff-bridled Inca-Finch can also be quite numerous here as well. We’ll return to Cajamarca again this afternoon with some more birding in a river valley close to the city where we discovered a regular site for Grey-bellied Comet during a 2002 North Peru tour. Overnight in a hotel in Cajamarca.
Day 15. Morning flight to Lima and connect with international flights home. |
NORTHERN PERU – MARVELLOUS SPATULETAIL & INCA-FINCHES.