Northern Peru Specials – Owlet, Barbet, White-Masked Antbird, Spatuletail & More

Fly from Lima to Tarapoto and transfer to the foothills, settling in before lunch. In the afternoon, enjoy slow-paced birding in woodland near Tarapoto, a key stop for the rare Huallaga race of Northern Slaty Antshrike, with Bluish-fronted Jacamar and Sulphur-bellied Tyrant-Manakin among the supporting birds. Dinner is included, and the night is spent at Tucan Suites Apart Hotel, ready for more birding in the Tarapoto area.

After breakfast, transfer by road from Tarapoto to Flor de Café (Plataforma) on the isolated outlying ridge. In the afternoon, bird the area and search for the Scarlet-banded Barbet at the site discovered by explorer Todd Mark, with time also spent on surrounding forest birding. Lunch and dinner are included. Later, an optional evening owling walk around Flor de Café offers the chance to look for the Vermiculated Screech Owl for those still up for it after a day in the field.

Spend a full day birding at Flor de Café (Plataforma), starting with breakfast included in the package. The day focuses on the Barbet area, targeting the Scarlet-banded Barbet and Cordillera Azul Antbird. Supporting avifauna is rich, with foothill fruiteaters, Grey-tailed Piha, Rose-fronted Parakeet, a colourful variety of tanagers and several manakins. A generic lunch and generic dinner are available during the day.

Begin day four with breakfast before an early morning birding session at Flor de Café, watching the ridge while staff load gear for departure. Then take the road transfer from Flor de Café (Plataforma) back to Tarapoto, with birding stops along the way. Lunch and dinner are included as generic meals, and the day ends with a stay at Tucan Suites Apart Hotel in Tarapoto.

Day 5 begins with breakfast before a full-day birding transfer from Tarapoto to Yurimaguas via Cordillera Escalera. The route explores foothill forest, roadside edges, and selected birding spots in Cordillera Escalera, looking for hummingbirds, tanagers, manakins, and Koepcke’s Hermit. This warm, active day offers a useful contrast to the higher Alto Mayo sites. Lunch and dinner are included as listed, and the journey continues toward Yurimaguas.

After breakfast, take a small-plane flight from Yurimaguas to San Lorenzo on the Marañón River, then continue by local transport to the White-masked Antbird forest patch. Most of the day is spent birding this highly diverse forest near San Lorenzo, home to the White-masked Antbird population found in 2013. Once requiring a separate expedition along the Morona River with uncertain chances, the species is now readily available here. Lunch and dinner round out the day.

Day 7 centers on a full-day White-masked Antbird search in San Lorenzo, with breakfast included in the package before heading out. The day is dedicated to this army-ant specialist, typically found by locating a working swarm and waiting for the bird to attend; if swarms stay quiet, playback may be tried as a fallback. A generic lunch and a generic dinner round out the day’s meals. This is a focused birding day built around the White-masked Antbird and San Lorenzo’s army-ant swarms.

After breakfast, take the return small-plane flight from San Lorenzo to Yurimaguas, then continue by road birding transfer toward Moyobamba. Stop at the Oilbird Gorge, where Oilbirds are easily seen on their roosting ledges, a short and reliable roadside stop. Lunch and dinner are included before arriving at Waqanki Lodge, a birdwatching sanctuary in the San Martín Region near Moyobamba, known for hummingbird sightings and orchid gardens in a lush tropical setting.

Day 9 at Wankanki Lodge in the San Martín Region begins with an optional pre-dawn owling and nightjar walk around the lodge grounds. After breakfast, morning birding in the Wankanki Lodge valley offers endemic and foothill species. Lunch is followed by a hummingbird session at Waqanki Garden, working the gardens, feeders and forest edge for hummingbirds, tanagers, butterflies and orchids. Dinner closes the day at Waqanki Lodge, a Moyobamba birdwatching sanctuary known for hummingbirds and orchid gardens.

After breakfast, the group takes a birding drive from Wankanki Lodge up to Abra Patricia, birding along the way through the lower elevations. The first stop may produce Point-tailed Palmcreeper, Pale-eyed Blackbird, Black-billed Seed-Finch and Cinereous-breasted Spinetail before the route continues onward. The day’s journey ends with arrival at Owlet Lodge, where lunch and dinner are available along the way.

Day 11 centers on the Owlet Lodge Trail System in the cloud forest. After breakfast, enjoy full-day birding on the extensive trails around Owlet Lodge, searching for endemic Ochre-fronted Antpitta along with Rusty-tinged, Chestnut and Rufous-breasted Antpitta, plus tapaculos, trogons, quetzals, manakins and fruiteaters. Lunch and dinner are included before an evening guided session on the forested trail outside El Progreso, where local knowledge improves the chance of finding the near-mythical Long-whiskered Owlet; the same site is good for Johnson’s Tody-Flycatcher. Overnight at Owlet Lodge.

Day 12 focuses on the Afluente Roadside Forest below Abra Patricia, beginning with breakfast included in the package. Birding along the road through the upper reaches of lowland tropical forest near the tiny settlement of Afluente offers standout specialties such as the Speckle-chested Piculet and the canopy-dwelling Ash-throated Antwren, with chances of Andean Cock-of-the-Rock crossing the road and the Ecuadorian Piedtail. Lunch and dinner are listed separately, and the day ends at Owlet Lodge.

Begin with breakfast before a morning birding walk on the San Lorenzo Hill Trail near Abra Patricia, where cloud forest patches offer chances to see Pale-billed Antpitta, Rusty-tinged Antpitta, Russet-mantled Softtail, Gray-breasted Mountain-toucan and Golden-headed Quetzal. After lunch, spend the afternoon at the Huembo Hummingbird Center feeders watching the Marvelous Spatuletail alongside Sparkling Violetear, Chestnut-breasted Coronet and Little Woodstar. Dinner and an overnight stay at Owlet Lodge close the day.

Start with breakfast (included in package), then spend a full day of cloud forest birding across altitudinal zones at Owlet Lodge (1000–2200 m). Targets include Cinnamon-breasted Tody-Tyrant, endemic Bar-winged Wood-wren and Royal Sunangel, Equatorial Graytail, and possible endemic antpittas such as Ochre-fronted and Rusty-tinged. Lunch and dinner are listed separately, followed by Owlet Lodge.

Begin your final day with breakfast included in the package before departing Abra Patricia. The morning transport takes you from Abra Patricia toward Tarapoto Airport, with an optional birding window en route to Tarapoto or near the town, depending on flight times. This flexible stop allows for opportunistic birding before drop-off for afternoon or evening flights to Lima and onward homeward connections, closing out the tour with a smooth transfer to Tarapoto Airport.