NORTHERN PERU – MARVELLOUS SPATULETAIL & INCA-FINCHES.
Dates: 1 – 16 August 2009 (Lima / Lima).
Group size: Limited to 8 participants.
Price: £2335.00 per person (Lima / Lima).
Single room supplement: £190.00.
Includes: All accommodation in hotels and one night in safari-style camp, ground transport, all meals, camping equipment (including sleeping bags), gratuities and services of Toucan BirdingTours leader, camp staff, drivers and cooks.
Not included: International flights (check http://www.klm.com/ and http://www.iberia.com/ for suitable flights), drinks, optional tips to hotel staff and airport departure tax (US$6.00 domestic, US$31.00 international).
Tour Leader: Colin Bushell.
ITINERARY.
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 rest of morning birding at Bosque Pomac for Plantcutter, Rufous Flycatcher, Necklaced Spinetail, Baird’s Flycatcher, Superciliated Wren, Cinereous Finch and Coastal Miner. This afternoon we will head for Chaparri probably seeing Tumbes Sparrow and Snowy-throated Kingbird on the way. We should see Red-masked Parakeets, White-tailed Jay and our first White-winged Guans before dusk. Overnight in Chaparri.
Day 3. Full day birding Chaparri for Tumbes Tyrant, Elegant Crescentchest, Tumbes Hummingbird, Guayaquil Woodpecker, Scarlet-backed Woodpecker and Sulphur-throated Finch. Night birding here can produce Scrub Nightjar, Common Potoo, Striped Owl and Peruvian Screech-Owl. Overnight at Chaparri.
Day 4. Early birding around Chaparri before setting off in search of Pacific Elaenia, White-headed and White-winged Brush-Finches on the way back to Chiclayo. We could stop at some wetlands en route where we’ve seen Great Grebe in the past and Peruvian Thick-knee near the coast.
Day 5. Early departure for Porculla Pass for Piura Chat-Tyrant. Northern Line-cheeked Spinetail, Bay-crowned Brush-Finch and Chapman’s Antshrike. On the way to Jaen we’ll stop for a while to look for Little Inca-Finch. Overnight Hotel Bosque in Jaen.
Day 6. A full day in the Jaen area for Marañon Crescentchest, Marañon Spinetail, Northern Slaty-Antshrike, Speckle-breasted Wren and the endemic Buff-bellied Tanager. In the afternoon we’ll drive to Pomacochas.
Day 7. This morning is set aside for one of the special birds of this tour – the Marvellous Spatuletail. Once we have seen the Spatuletail we’ll head towards the cloud forests of Abra Patricia. We’ll spend the rest of the afternoon there and check in to the ECOAN lodge Lechucita Bigotona in the heart of this magnificent birding locality.
Days 8 – 10. Three days to explore the Abra Patricia road: Sickle-winged Guan, Versicolored Barbet, Golden-headed Quetzal, Chestnut-crested Cotinga, Andean Solitaire, Straw-backed Tanager, White-capped Tanager, Equatorial Graytail, Lanceolated Monklet, Yellow-breasted Antwren, Huallaga Tanager, Amazonian Umbrellabird, Andean Cock-of-the-Rock, Red-billed Parrot, Scarlet-breasted Fruiteater, Ecuadorian Tyrannulet, Speckle-chested Piculet can, Lulu's Tody-Tyrant, Royal Sunangel, Bar-winged Wood-Wren, Cinnamon-breasted Tody-Tyrant, Sharpe's Wren, and Rusty-tinged Antpitta, Ochre-fronted Antpitta here. Night birding can be spectacular here (depending on the weather). In the past we’ve seen Andean Potoo, White-throated Screech-Owl, Cinnamon Screech-Owl, Rufous-banded Owl, Band-bellied Owl, Swallow-tailed Nightjar, Lyre-taled Nightjar and even Oilbird on this tour. The mythical Long-whiskered Owlet has been seen in the cloud forests near the pass recently and we’ll be looking for this rare bird during our stay at Abra Patricia. Two nights at the ECOAN lodge, returning to Pomacochas for the evening of day 10.
Day 11. 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 and hopefully the Koepcke’s Screech-Owls will be at their roost. Nearing Leimebamba we’ll spend some time birding in the humid cloud forest patches. This is a good area for Grey-breasted Mountain-Toucan, Mountain Cacique and Golden-headed Quetzal. Overnight in a hotel in Leimebamba.
Day 12. 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. White-collared Jays and Mountain Caciques form noisy flocks as they pass through the 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 where White-chinned Thistletail sometimes take 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 Marañon.
Day 13. 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, Yellow-tailed Oriole and Grey-winged Inca-Finch. We’ll bird a small patch of scrub as we near Celendin for Black-crested Tit-Tyrant, Black-crested Warbler, Jelski’s Chat-Tyrant and Black-billed Shrike-Tyrant. Overnight in our hotel in Celendin.
Day 14. We’ll leave early this morning for Cajamarca where the Conquistadors massacred many Incas 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, Many-striped Canastero and we have had good fortune with Striated Earthcreeper here in the past. Closer to Cajamarca we’ll look for Black Metaltail. Overnight in our hotel in Cajamarca.
Day 15. 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 cactus-clad slopes. 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.
Dates: 1 – 16 August 2009 (Lima / Lima).
Group size: Limited to 8 participants.
Price: £2335.00 per person (Lima / Lima).
Single room supplement: £190.00.
Includes: All accommodation in hotels and one night in safari-style camp, ground transport, all meals, camping equipment (including sleeping bags), gratuities and services of Toucan BirdingTours leader, camp staff, drivers and cooks.
Not included: International flights (check http://www.klm.com/ and http://www.iberia.com/ for suitable flights), drinks, optional tips to hotel staff and airport departure tax (US$6.00 domestic, US$31.00 international).
Tour Leader: Colin Bushell.
ITINERARY.
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 rest of morning birding at Bosque Pomac for Plantcutter, Rufous Flycatcher, Necklaced Spinetail, Baird’s Flycatcher, Superciliated Wren, Cinereous Finch and Coastal Miner. This afternoon we will head for Chaparri probably seeing Tumbes Sparrow and Snowy-throated Kingbird on the way. We should see Red-masked Parakeets, White-tailed Jay and our first White-winged Guans before dusk. Overnight in Chaparri.
Day 3. Full day birding Chaparri for Tumbes Tyrant, Elegant Crescentchest, Tumbes Hummingbird, Guayaquil Woodpecker, Scarlet-backed Woodpecker and Sulphur-throated Finch. Night birding here can produce Scrub Nightjar, Common Potoo, Striped Owl and Peruvian Screech-Owl. Overnight at Chaparri.
Day 4. Early birding around Chaparri before setting off in search of Pacific Elaenia, White-headed and White-winged Brush-Finches on the way back to Chiclayo. We could stop at some wetlands en route where we’ve seen Great Grebe in the past and Peruvian Thick-knee near the coast.
Day 5. Early departure for Porculla Pass for Piura Chat-Tyrant. Northern Line-cheeked Spinetail, Bay-crowned Brush-Finch and Chapman’s Antshrike. On the way to Jaen we’ll stop for a while to look for Little Inca-Finch. Overnight Hotel Bosque in Jaen.
Day 6. A full day in the Jaen area for Marañon Crescentchest, Marañon Spinetail, Northern Slaty-Antshrike, Speckle-breasted Wren and the endemic Buff-bellied Tanager. In the afternoon we’ll drive to Pomacochas.
Day 7. This morning is set aside for one of the special birds of this tour – the Marvellous Spatuletail. Once we have seen the Spatuletail we’ll head towards the cloud forests of Abra Patricia. We’ll spend the rest of the afternoon there and check in to the ECOAN lodge Lechucita Bigotona in the heart of this magnificent birding locality.
Days 8 – 10. Three days to explore the Abra Patricia road: Sickle-winged Guan, Versicolored Barbet, Golden-headed Quetzal, Chestnut-crested Cotinga, Andean Solitaire, Straw-backed Tanager, White-capped Tanager, Equatorial Graytail, Lanceolated Monklet, Yellow-breasted Antwren, Huallaga Tanager, Amazonian Umbrellabird, Andean Cock-of-the-Rock, Red-billed Parrot, Scarlet-breasted Fruiteater, Ecuadorian Tyrannulet, Speckle-chested Piculet can, Lulu's Tody-Tyrant, Royal Sunangel, Bar-winged Wood-Wren, Cinnamon-breasted Tody-Tyrant, Sharpe's Wren, and Rusty-tinged Antpitta, Ochre-fronted Antpitta here. Night birding can be spectacular here (depending on the weather). In the past we’ve seen Andean Potoo, White-throated Screech-Owl, Cinnamon Screech-Owl, Rufous-banded Owl, Band-bellied Owl, Swallow-tailed Nightjar, Lyre-taled Nightjar and even Oilbird on this tour. The mythical Long-whiskered Owlet has been seen in the cloud forests near the pass recently and we’ll be looking for this rare bird during our stay at Abra Patricia. Two nights at the ECOAN lodge, returning to Pomacochas for the evening of day 10.
Day 11. 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 and hopefully the Koepcke’s Screech-Owls will be at their roost. Nearing Leimebamba we’ll spend some time birding in the humid cloud forest patches. This is a good area for Grey-breasted Mountain-Toucan, Mountain Cacique and Golden-headed Quetzal. Overnight in a hotel in Leimebamba.
Day 12. 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. White-collared Jays and Mountain Caciques form noisy flocks as they pass through the 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 where White-chinned Thistletail sometimes take 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 Marañon.
Day 13. 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, Yellow-tailed Oriole and Grey-winged Inca-Finch. We’ll bird a small patch of scrub as we near Celendin for Black-crested Tit-Tyrant, Black-crested Warbler, Jelski’s Chat-Tyrant and Black-billed Shrike-Tyrant. Overnight in our hotel in Celendin.
Day 14. We’ll leave early this morning for Cajamarca where the Conquistadors massacred many Incas 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, Many-striped Canastero and we have had good fortune with Striated Earthcreeper here in the past. Closer to Cajamarca we’ll look for Black Metaltail. Overnight in our hotel in Cajamarca.
Day 15. 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 cactus-clad slopes. 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 16. Morning flight to Lima and connect with international flights home.
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