Country: Peru
Categories
Amazonia Lodge Grounds and Canopy Tower Birding
Two full days are based at the family-run Amazonia Lodge, which reports a bird list of around 650 species and growing. The lodge sits at 500 m in the transitional zone where the last low foothills of the Andes flatten into the lowland Amazon Basin. Butterfly bushes around the grounds draw hummingbirds such as Rufous-crested Coquette, Golden-tailed Sapphire, Blue-tailed Emerald, Black-eared Fairy and Wire-crested Thorntail. A canopy tower on the hill gives access to foothill canopy flocks, and the group works floodplain and hill forest habitats.
Read MoreNight Birding at Cock of the Rock Lodge
Night birding around the lodge has previously produced Lyre-tailed Nightjar and Andean Potoo, and the group gives the darkness a proper go.
Read MoreBirding the 1500 m Cloud Forest Zone
One day is spent in the 1500 m zone, where the possibilities include White-rumped Hawk, Solitary Eagle, Rufous-capped Thornbill, Crested and Golden-headed Quetzals, Masked Trogon, Highland Motmot, Black-streaked Puffbird, Blue-banded Toucanet, Olive-backed and Montane Woodcreepers, Spotted Barbtail, Montane Foliage-gleaner, Amazonian Umbrellabird, Uniform and Variable Antshrikes, Slaty Gnateater, Scaled Fruiteater, Bolivian Tyrannulet, the endemic Inca Flycatcher, Yungas Manakin, White-throated Spadebill, Fulvous-breasted Flatbill, Saffron-crowned Tanager, Yellow-rumped and Slaty Antwrens, Deep-blue Flowerpiercer and the endemic Peruvian Piedtail.
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Evening Search for Swallow-tailed Nightjar
In the evening, after dark settles over the station, there is a try for Swallow-tailed Nightjar around Wayquecha.
Read MoreAjcanacu Pass Viewpoint and Birding
At Ajcanacu, the last Andean pass, clear weather opens a view from the final peak of the Andes out over the Amazon basin, the same outlook the Incas enjoyed in ancient times. The group looks here for Scribble-tailed and Line-fronted Canasteros and possibly Puna and Diademed Tapaculos.
Read MoreInter-montane Valley Endemic Birding Stops
With the sun hitting the slopes, the first stop is a pastoral scene of Quechua locals with livestock, targeting the endemic Chestnut-breasted Mountain-Finch, with Andean Hillstar, Andean Flicker, Black-throated Flowerpiercer, Chuiguanco Thrush and others expected. A second stop works for the endemic Creamy-crested Spinetail before the road climbs to the last pass.
Read MoreHotel in Puerto Maldonado (TBD)
A comfortable hotel in Puerto Maldonado at the end of the Manu Road journey, giving the group an overnight base before the morning birding along the Cusco road and the flight to Lima.
Read MoreHotel in Cusco (TBD)
An overnight hotel in the old Inca capital of Cusco, used on the first night of the Manu Road journey before the early drive south to Huarcapay Lakes and the inter-montane valleys.
Read MoreBonanza Eco-Lodge
A simple, family-run eco-lodge on the Alto Madre de Dios with basic bungalows and hot water, chosen as the base for four nights of forest and river birding around Bonanza.
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