N. PERU June 2008: The 'home stretch'.

Celendin.

White-tailed Shrike-Tyrant, Cruz Conga June 2008.

26 June.

We left Celendin early this morning, arriving at our first birding site of the day near Cruz Conga as the sun started to warm the air. Sword-billed Hummingbird (our 5th of the trip) perched against the morning blue sky was a nice start but attention switched quickly to the fine White-tailed Shrike-Tyrant perched on top of one of the pines. One target bird down our thoughts turned to the Black-crested Tit-Tyrants, Peruvian Sierra-Finches, Rusty-crowned Tit-Spinetails and Red-crested Cotingas (below) foraging in the undergrowth nearby.

Red-crested Cotinga.

A quick look at the Paramo produced the hoped-for Striated Earthcreeper (above) and as we progressed towards Cajamarca (our last port of call on the circuit) we notched up Rufous-webbed Tyrants, White-browed Ground-Tyrants and Black Metaltail before reaching the city.

The 'Comet Gulley' near Cajamarca.

Thanks to Aero Condor cancelling our flight from Cajamarca to Lima we had to squeeze in an extra site today. Fortunately we had made good progress and reached Cajamaca early enough to arrive in the Chonta Valley and look for the Grey-bellied Comet this afternoon. A short(ish) wait watching White-winged Cinclodes and Streak-throated Bush-Tyrant ended with good viws of the comet. Still faithful to his gulley ...... phew!

N. PERU June 2008: The Maranon Canyon.

Mountain Viscacha, N. Peru June 2008.

Black-necked Woodpecker.

Cactus desert slopes above Balsas in the Maranon Canyon - 2 species of inca-finch.

Grey-winged Inca-Finch near Hacienda El Limon 25 June 2008.

24 & 25 June.

Once again the weather was unkind in the cloud forests in the morning of 24 June. Early morning rain did not deter our intrepid small band of birders however as Russet-mantled Softtail, Red-crested Cotinga, Sword-billed Hummingbird, Sapphire-vented Puffleg and a couple of Plushcaps were all seen in the drizzle. Not bad for a sunny day, let alone a miserable damp morning!

Encouraged by our success we headed up into the Paramo where White-chinned Thistletail, Many-striped Canastero and best of all, at least 3 Coppery Metaltails (another Peruvian endemic) were all seen.

Time to get rid of the snorkel, flippers and poncho and head for a drier climate so we crossed the pass at Abra Barro Negro and started our decent into the Maranon. Slowly but surely the dense cloud and 'green' conditions gave we to a more arid landscape until we reached a stoney cactus desert setting. Huge stick constructions in the bushes revealed the presence of Chestnut-backed Thornbirds but for some reason they refused to show on the first afternoon despite responding (if rather weakly) to playback. One spot at about 1700m was productive though with the expected Buff-bridled Inca-Finch (above) alongside Grey-winged Inca-Finch.

Peruvian Pygmy -Owl, Balsas June 2008.

Maranon Thrush, Balsas June 2008.

Descending to Balsas and our camp (prepared for us in advance by a crew from Celendin) we found Peruvian Pigeons, Maranon Thrushes, Peruvian Pygmy-Owls and frustratingly only heard Yellow-faced Parrotlet near the banks of the Maranon. Camping near Balsas is always a rather pleasant affair - unpack, eat, drink, bird log, wash, brush teeth, sleep.

Next morning we woke early, took breakfast before heading back up the valley where we found a pair of confiding Yellow-faced Parrotlets (above) before crossing the Maranon into Cajamarca department and up the other side of the canyon towards Celendin. Plenty of Buff-bridled Inca-Finches, a few Grey-winged Inca-Finches, Yellow-tailed Orioles and Chestnut-backed Thornbird even showed well in the end.

N. Peru June 2008: Grey-breasted Mountain-Toucan.

Grey-breasted Mountain-Toucan, Leimebamba N Peru June 2008.

Cloud Forest near Leimebamba.

Golden-headed Quetzal (female), Leimebamba June 2008.

Golden-headed Quetzal (male), Leimebamba June 2008.

23 June.

Our journey along the Utcubamba Valley took us to the Andean town of Leimebamba. We took a box lunch out to a nearby patch of cloud forest where we spent the rest of the afternoon birding. Fasciated Tiger-Herons and White-capped Dippers were on the river, Rainbow Starfrontlets and Purple-throated Sunangels fed on small flowering bushes but "flock action" was a little subdued for most of the afternoon. Then suddenly the forest came to life as Grey-breasted Mountain-Toucan, Crimson-mantled Woodpeckers (above), Mountain Caciques, White-collared Jays and Golden-headed Quetzals congregated to feed in the late afternoon sunshine. A superb end to a long day.

Grey-breasted Mountain-Toucan, Leimebamba June 2008.

N. PERU June 2008: Utcubamba Valley.

Male Torrent Duck, N. Peru June 2008.

23 June.

On leaving Pomacochas we headed along the Utcubamba Valley towards Leimebamba. We stopped a few times in appropriate spots seeing Black-necked Woodpecker (above), Chestnut-crowned Antpitta and Buff-bellied Tanagers.


Estancia El Chillo is a charming place (note the Spatuletails on the gate), but unfortunately the Koepcke's Screech-Owls were not in their usual roosting spot in the conifers this morning. Great views of Maranon Thrush here though - the most I've ever seen in one day.

Estancia El Chillo.

Spot-throated Hummingbird.

N. PERU June 2008: Abra Patricia.

20 - 22 June.

Abra Patricia, probably my favourite site in Peru was our next destination. Home of many rare birds, Abra Patricia is the best single site on the "Northern Circuit" in my opinion but the weather certainly wasn't very kind to us this year. Nevertheless we did very well with Yellow-scarfed Tanager, Lulu's Tody-Tyrant, Chestnut-crested Cotinga, Ochre-fronted Antpitta, Royal Sunangel, Cinnamon Screech-Owl, White-capped Tananger and Bar-winged Wood-Wren recorded.

Scaled Fruiteater (female) near Afluente, 22 June 2008.

Despite quite heavy rain both mornings at the pass birds were still active, with flocks passing by the road near Afluente (below Abra Patricia) constantly. A family party of Scaled Fruiteaters kept us entertained in between the flocks that held Huallaga Tanagers, Equatorial Graytails, Yellow-breasted and Chestnut-rumped Antwrens, Andean Cock-of-the-Rock, Ecuadorian Tyrannulet and Buff-fronted Foliage-Gleaner.



Maybe the most memrable moment of our stay at Abra Patricia was a twenty minute period during which we found Black-streaked Puffbird and Crimson-bellied Woodpecker (only my fifth and second personal records respectively) . Great stuff!

N. PERU June 2008: Marvellous Spatuletail.

19 & 20 June.

From Jaen we travelled out to Tamborapa for a real "Maranon Endemic Fest" with Maranon Crescentchest, Maranon Spinetail, Chinchipe Spinetail, Northern (Maranon) Slaty-Antshrike, Buff-bellied Tanager and Speckle-breasted Wren in the semi-humid forest patch there. After a challenging but very rewarding morning we headed off for Pomacochas in the mountains. The Utcubamba Valley is the home of one of Peru's most desired hummers - the Marvellous Spatuletail. On the morning of 20th we watched Spatuletail on a hillside above town (Colin Horne at the blind used by a BBC film crew above) and then at some feeders at the new ECOAN interpretation centre. Top photo shows the Spatuletail's food-plant - Brachiota I think it's called.

Spot the Spatuletail - check out the tail "blobs" against the trunk and scan left!

Male Marvellous Spatuletail, Pomacochas N Peru 20 June 2008.

N. PERU June 2008: Abra de Porculla.

Porculla Pass.

18 June.

What a fantastic morning! After a slow start things really picked up with Rufous-necked Foliage-Gleaner, Bay-crowned Brushfinch, Chestnut-crowned Antpitta, Three-banded Warbler, Line-cheeked Spinetail and best of all (though not a great pic admittedly), this Piura Chat-Tyrant.

The rest of the day was spent travelling to Jaen where we birded the outskirts of town in cactus desert where we found Little Inca-Finch.

N. PERU June 2008: Chaparri.

Great Grebes, Tinajones, Peru June 2008.

15th June.

We left Chiclayo for Chaparri after lunch stopping at a lake near Tinajones where a pair of Great Grebes were close inshore. Our stay at Chaparri was just fabulous - nice accommodation, great food and plenty of time to experince the birds of this arid habitat.

In the dry forest and desert scrub we found Snowy-throated Kingbirds, Tumbes Tyrant, Sooty-crowned Flycatcher, Black-and-White Becard, Elegant Crescentchest, Tumbes Hummingbird, Tumbes Sparrow and a few White-winged Guans.

Pacific Parrotlet, Chaparri, N Peru 2008.

White-tailed Jay.

Chaparri is a conservation project and as well as a guan reintroduction scheme some mammals are penned prior to release such as these Spectacled Bears. They also occur in the wild here as do Pumas.

By night we located Scrub Nightjars, Common Potoo and Peruvian Screech-Owl.

N. PERU June 2008: Bosque Pomac.

Dry Acacia forest and thorn scrub at Bosque Pomac, N. Peru June 2008.

Snowy-throated Kingbird, Bosque Pomac N. Peru June 2008.

Saturday 14 June saw a few of us gathering in Amsterdam for our KLM flight to Lima, Peru. Well, that's what we thought - we ended up stopping in Bogota en route to refuel thanks to a diversion to avoid bad weather in the Caribbean. Truth is of course that the pilot needed the Nectar points!

Anyway after only a few hours sleep we were boarding a plane to Chiclayo where we were met by our driver and after less than an hour we were birding at Bosque Pomac in the dry forests. Necklaced Spinetail, Superciliated Wren and better still Peruvian Plantcutter all "fell" quickly. Snowy-throated Kingbird was a nice surprise (I don't see these here very often).

Rufous Flycatcher

It wasn't too long before we located the second of our target birds though in the form of a Rufous Flycatcher. In fact we found at least 3 as well as Sulphur-throated Finches and Coastal Miner.

LANCS: Rose-coloured Starling 12 June 2008.

Adult Rose-coloured Starling at Inskip, Lancs 12 June 2008.

Always a mistake to pack your birding gear a few days before a trip abroad! News of this adult Rose-coloured Starling had me making a detour on my trip out to collect foreign currency from the bank this lunchtme. It wasn't in with Starlings and appeared periodically around the gardens in the village, sometimes disappearing behind the houses but usually on view in the trees there.
Good to get out in Lancs again and see a few Lancs birding mates like Bill, Bill and er......... Bill.


Next trip Saturday 14 June - North Peru.