“The WINGS 2006 tour to Southeastern Peru and the
Manu Biosphere Reserve marked my ninth tour to this amazing region, yet I
continue to be enthralled by how fantastic the birdwatching is there, and how
pristine the rainforest appears. Our
trip list of some 625 species seen and heard in less than three weeks is still
one of the largest lists produced by ANY regular tour we run in the world. Although the actual number seen is less
important than the overall birding experience and enjoyment had by the
participants, it is difficult to ignore the fact that we encountered more than
50 species of antbirds, 50 species of tanagers, 40 species of hummingbirds, 13
species of toucans and barbets, and on and on through all of the Neotropical
families. The diversity one experiences
during this transect from high elevation paramo
to lowland Amazonian rainforest will make your eyes spin!
We began the tour with a flight from Lima to Cusco,
and went directly out to the Huacarpay Lakes, a scenic area with a nice
selection of high-elevation water birds and other specialties. We had a very productive few hours seeing
such birds as Bearded Mountaineer, Streak-fronted Thornbird, Rusty-fronted
Canastero, Andean Negrito, Puna Teal, Plumbeous Rail, Andean Gull, and Puna
Ibis. On the grounds of our hotel in
the Sacred Valley of the Incas we saw our first Chestnut-breasted
Mountain-Finch, and at dusk, a Black-chested Buzzard-Eagle cruised
overhead. Machu Picchu is always a highlight
of the tour, and our tour with local guide, David, was well worth it! The birding in the Machu Picchu area was
also very good, where some of the better birds we saw included the endemic Inca
Wren, Ocellated Piculet, a male Masked Fruiteater, many Torrent Ducks,
specialty flycatchers such as Sclater’s and Mottle-cheeked Tyrannulets, and fun
hummingbirds such as the endemic Green-and-white Hummingbird, Gould’s Inca, and
Chestnut-breasted Coronet. But, again,
the best memory was the incredible Inca ruins at Machu Picchu!
Although the bulk of the tour concentrates on lowland
areas in the Manu Biosphere Reserve, we do make a transect through high
elevation areas, with one night of necessary camping at Pillahuata, and three
nights at the wonderful Cock-of-the-Rock Lodge. We were lucky “again” with a nice night for camping (NO RAIN!),
and the birding at the high elevations was great. Our journey through the high and dry montane valleys on our way
to Manu netted us some very interesting birds, including Creamy-crested
Spinetail, Slender-billed Miner, both Peruvian and Mourning Sierra-Finches,
Aplomado Falcon, and Andean Ibis. One
of the more amazing moments of the tour was walking right up to a female
Swallow-tailed Nightjar on the ground.
Working our way down slope through the untouched
temperate and subtropical forest, we saw a number of fantastic birds including
Gray-breasted Mountain-Toucan, Undulated Antpitta, White-collared Jay, Inca
Flycatcher, Chestnut-belted Chat-Tyrant, and Grass-green Tanager, and Hooded
Mountain-Tanager. It was on this day
that we experienced our only serious rain (only in the late afternoon), but
driving under a temporary
waterfall was perhaps one of the more memorable moments of the tour! Our stay at Cock-of-the-Rock Lodge was lots
of fun as usual.
The Cock-of-the-Rock lek was incredibly active with
as many as 15-20 males present and displaying right along the road as
usual. Birding above and below the
lodge was excellent, although our search for the new, unnamed species of
tanager was unsuccessful - maybe next year!
Despite missing this rare tanager, we did see a plethora of other fancy
tanagers, including flocks of Paradise, and other Tangaras such as Spotted, Golden, Golden-eared, and
Beryl-spangled. Some of the “upper
tropical” specialties seen included Wattled Guan, Solitary and
Black-and-Chestnut Eagles, Lyre-tailed Nightjar, Cinnamon-faced Tyrannulet,
Chestnut-backed Antshrike, Yellow-breasted Antwren, Black-backed
Tody-Flycatcher, Amazonian Umbrellabird, Yungas Manakin, and Orange-eared
Tanager, just to name a few!
Amazonia Lodge is always one of my favorite places to
visit - an original citrus plantation turned into a birdwatchers paradise. The Yabar family makes us feel at home with
family-style service (cold lemonade upon arrival and Pisco sours on the
porch!). Birding from the porch is a
real highlight, from Red-capped Cardinals and Masked Crimson Tanagers coming
into the feeders, to a wide variety of hummingbirds, including Rufous-crested
Coquette and Golden-tailed Sapphire, coming into the Verbain flowers. It’s a
great spot to spend one’s siesta!
Birding the jeep track is also incredibly productive. Nice birds such as Fine-barred Piculet,
Chestnut-tailed and Black-throated Antbirds, Band-tailed Manakin, Ringed
Antpipit, White-thighed Swallow, and Chestnut-vented Conebill were just a
sample of the many amazing birds we saw there.
Certainly one of my favourite birds of the tour was the Rufous-fronted
Anthrush we saw well along the jeep track - a species only recently discovered
to be present at Amazonia Lodge. Other fun birds seen here included Common
Potoo, several Hoatzins, Rufescent Tiger-Heron, a beautiful male Scarlet-hooded
Barbet, Sooty and Silvered Antbirds, and Pectoral Sparrow. Our visit to Amazonia Lodge was a memorable
highlight of the tour.
It was then off to my favorite lodge in Amazonia,
Manu Wildlife Center. Our seven hour
boat trip down the Madre de Dios River into the heart of the lowland rainforest
was another highlight, with lots to look at during the journey - lots of
macaws, hundreds of Sand-coloured Nightjars, both Collared Plover and Pied
Lapwings, and fabulous views of raptors such as Black-and-white Hawk-Eagle, Bat
Falcons, and King Vulture. Manu
Wildlife Center has a very varied array of fun birding activities. Our visit to the parrot and macaw clay lick
(Collpa Lorros) was exciting, as some 50 Red-and-green Macaws were seen coming
to the river bank to ingest dirt to counteract the acids from their usual fruit
diet. Other parrots such as hundreds of
Blue-headeds and Mealy Parrots, and the stunning Orange-cheeked Parrot were
also present. At Cocha Camungo we had
great success seeing Pale-eyed Blackbird and Purus Jacamar, and a big surprise
was a family group of Giant Otters. At
Cocha Blanco we found another family of Giant Otters, and had a wonderful
morning floating around this beautiful oxbow where we saw a number of great
birds, including Azure Gallinule, Sungrebe, Black-collared Hawk, Band-tailed
Antbird, Horned Screamer, and Chestnut-fronted Macaw. Our two visits to the canopy tower was yet another big highlight
of the tour. Unless one has experienced
a visit to the canopy, it is difficult to accurately describe how unique and
exciting being among the treetops can be.
Some of the fabulous birds we experienced up there included both
Curl-crested and Ivory-billed Aracaris, Yellow-ridged and Cuvier’s Toucans,
Cream-crested, Scaly-breasted, Red-stained, and Red-necked Woodpeckers,
Turquoise and Opal-rumped Tanagers, Lawrence’s Thrush, Spot-winged Antshrike,
and great views of Chestnut-shouldered Antwren, all birds difficult (or
impossible) to see from the ground. Our ventures into the terra firme forest were equally productive, with some of the better
birds being Pale-winged Trumpeter, Ringed Woodpecker, Plain Softtail,
Long-billed Woodcreeper, White-eyed Antwren, Black-faced Anthrush, and
White-winged Shrike-Tanager.
During our visit to the bamboo, although hard work,
we still managed to see several of the most-specialized species of the region,
such as Manu Antbird, Bamboo Antshrike, Brown-rumped Foliage-gleaner,
Large-headed and Dusky-tailed Flatbills.
In all, our stay at Manu Wildlife Center was incredible for birds,
several species of monkeys, and just an enjoyable experience.
We finished the tour by continuing down river to
Puerto Maldonado - a more secure way of returning to Cusco and Lima. Outside Puerto Maldonado we were able to
spend a morning birding, where we saw a number of interesting species,
including lots of Red-bellied Macaws, Sulphury and Rusty-margined Flycatchers,
Red-breasted Blackbirds (a recent invader into Peru), and the bird of the
morning, Point-tailed Palmcreeper. We
arrived in Lima in the late afternoon in time to do some quick birding along
the coast, where we saw Peruvian Thick-knee, Peruvian Booby, Peruvian Pelican,
Gray, Kelp, Band-tailed, and Franklin’s Gulls, and a wide variety of
shorebirds. T he trip ended in Lima with flights home with, I hope, lots of
incredible memories of a fantastic tour.”
Gary Rosenberg.
Column 1 =
number of days recorded
Column 2 = greatest daily total
H = heard
only
|
Gray Tinamou |
4 |
1 |
H |
Tinamus tao |
|
Great Tinamou |
3 |
1 |
H |
Tinamus major |
|
Hooded Tinamou |
1 |
1 |
H |
Nothocercus nigrocapillus |
|
Cinereous Tinamou |
2 |
1 |
H |
Crypturellus cinereus |
|
Little Tinamou |
1 |
1 |
H |
Crypturellus soui |
|
Brown Tinamou |
3 |
1 |
H |
Crypturellus obsoletus |
|
Undulated Tinamou |
2 |
1 |
H |
Crypturellus undulatus |
|
Black-capped Tinamou |
3 |
1 |
H |
Crypturellus atrocapillus |
|
Variegated Tinamou |
2 |
1 |
H |
Crypturellus variegatus |
|
Bartlett's Tinamou |
1 |
1 |
H |
Crypturellus bartletti |
|
Horned Screamer |
3 |
8 |
|
Anhima cornuta |
|
Muscovy Duck |
4 |
2 |
|
Cairina moschata |
|
Torrent Duck |
2 |
30 |
|
Merganetta armata |
|
"Andean" Speckled Teal |
1 |
20 |
|
Anas flavirostris andium |
|
Yellow-billed Pintail |
1 |
3 |
|
Anas georgica |
|
White-cheeked Pintail |
1 |
30 |
|
Anas bahamensis |
|
Puna Teal |
1 |
20 |
|
Anas puna |
|
Cinnamon Teal |
2 |
40 |
|
Anas cyanoptera |
|
"Andean" Ruddy Duck |
2 |
20 |
|
Oxyura jamaicensis ferruginea |
|
Speckled Chachalaca |
5 |
5 |
|
Ortalis guttata |
|
Andean Guan |
3 |
3 |
|
Penelope montagnii |
|
Spix's Guan |
3 |
2 |
|
Penelope jacquacu |
|
Wattled Guan |
1 |
1 |
|
Aburria aburri |
|
Razor-billed Curassow |
1 |
1 |
H |
Mitu tuberosum |
|
Rufous-breasted Wood-Quail |
2 |
2 |
H |
Odontophorus speciosus |
|
White-tufted Grebe |
2 |
2 |
|
Rollandia rolland |
|
"Peruvian" Brown Pelican |
1 |
3 |
|
Pelecanus occidentalis thagus |
|
Peruvian Booby |
1 |
15 |
|
Sula variegata |
|
Neotropic Cormorant |
5 |
40 |
|
Phalacrocorax brasilianus |
|
Red-legged Cormorant |
1 |
1 |
|
Phalacrocorax gaimardi |
|
Guanay Cormorant |
1 |
3 |
|
Phalacrocorax bougainvillii |
|
Anhinga |
1 |
2 |
|
Anhinga anhinga |
|
Rufescent Tiger-Heron |
3 |
1 |
|
Tigrisoma lineatum |
|
Fasciated Tiger-Heron |
2 |
1 |
|
Tigrisoma fasciatum |
|
Black-crowned Night-Heron |
1 |
1 |
|
Nycticorax nycticorax |
|
Agami Heron |
1 |
1 |
|
Agamia agami |
|
Striated Heron |
2 |
1 |
|
Butorides striata |
|
Cattle Egret |
3 |
1 |
|
Bubulcus ibis |
|
Cocoi Heron |
5 |
25 |
|
Ardea cocoi |
|
Great Egret |
6 |
25 |
|
Ardea alba |
|
Capped Heron |
6 |
3 |
|
Pilherodius pileatus |
|
Snowy Egret |
6 |
25 |
|
Egretta thula |
|
Little Blue Heron |
2 |
1 |
|
Egretta caerulea |
|
Puna Ibis |
3 |
22 |
|
Plegadis ridgwayi |
|
Andean Ibis |
1 |
2 |
|
Theristicus branickii |
|
Roseate Spoonbill |
1 |
1 |
|
Platalea ajaja |
|
Jabiru |
1 |
1 |
|
Jabiru mycteria |
|
Wood Stork |
2 |
3 |
|
Mycteria americana |
|
Turkey Vulture |
4 |
20 |
|
Cathartes aura |
|
Greater Yellow-headed Vulture |
7 |
25 |
|
Cathartes melambrotus |
|
Black Vulture |
8 |
50 |
|
Coragyps atratus |
|
King Vulture |
5 |
2 |
|
Sarcoramphus papa |
|
Osprey |
1 |
1 |
|
Pandion haliaetus |
|
Swallow-tailed Kite |
2 |
10 |
|
Elanoides forficatus |
|
Slender-billed Kite |
1 |
1 |
|
Rostrhamus hamatus |
|
Double-toothed Kite |
3 |
2 |
|
Harpagus bidentatus |
|
Plumbeous Kite |
8 |
50 |
|
Ictinia plumbea |
|
Tiny Hawk |
2 |
1 |
|
Accipiter superciliosus |
|
Semicollared Hawk |
1 |
2 |
|
Accipiter collaris |
|
Slate-colored Hawk |
1 |
1 |
|
Leucopternis schistaceus |
|
Great Black Hawk |
1 |
1 |
|
Buteogallus urubitinga |
|
Solitary Eagle |
1 |
3 |
|
Harpyhaliaetus solitarius |
|
Black-collared Hawk |
2 |
2 |
|
Busarellus nigricollis |
|
Black-chested Buzzard-Eagle |
2 |
1 |
|
Geranoaetus melanoleucus |
|
Roadside Hawk |
6 |
4 |
|
Buteo magnirostris |
|
Short-tailed Hawk |
3 |
1 |
|
Buteo brachyurus |
|
Puna Hawk |
1 |
1 |
|
Buteo poecilochrous |
|
Black-and-white Hawk-Eagle |
3 |
1 |
|
|