Northern Peru – The 7k by 80 Project

1 August to 19 August 2023

Private trip organised by GreenTours, Peru

Guide : Juan Julca

Driver : Miguel Alvan

Client : Peter Marsh

Miguel; Peter; Juan.

Introduction

This trip was undertaken as part of my 7k by 80 project seeking to see 7,000 birds before my 80th Birthday in February 2024. I contacted Birding Direct to find, at short notice, a reliable birding company to run a trip along the classic Northern Peru route. Birding Direct put me in touch with GreenTours, Peru (greentours@greentours.com.pe) who ran the trip. It started in Tarapoto in North East Peru, dropped South to Plataforma (Flor de Cafe) for 3 days and then headed North and West to end up on the coast in Chiclayo after 19 days of intense birding which yielded 200 new birds for my life list.

In this report I am focussed on recording the birds that were new for me. At the end of this report is a list of all of the new birds seen by me on this trip. All photographs were taken by me. Lists of the birds regularly seen at the various sites I visited can be found on e-Bird.

The organisation and conduct of the trip was of a high standard, the accommodation was as good as was possible in the area in which we travelled. Juan and Miguel formed a good team. Juan knew his birds, their calls and where to find them. Miguel was a godsend as his excellent English made communication much easier than it might otherwise have been. He was also an excellent driver, showing patience seemingly well beyond the norm for Peruvian drivers. In addition he is a very competent birder.

This trip was organised at relatively short notice after Birdquest cancelled my confirmed booking on their Northern Peru trip which ran at the same time as the trip described here. I had the misfortune to have Mark Beaman, owner of Birdquest, as a co-participant on a BQ trip to the Philippines in February. At the end of that trip I gave Mr Beaman some private and politely delivered feedback on the trip. Apparently BQ (or at least Mr Beaman) are not able to handle feedback. I was informed, a month later, that I was black-banned from BQ trips, including the two trips I had booked more than a year earlier. The proposed BQ Northern Peru trip had been confirmed and the deposit paid! If anyone is interested the e-mail correspondence between Mr Beaman and myself can be seen in the Birdquest Bastardry page on my web site. Ironically I met up with the BQ group at the Owlet Lodge and found that the trip was run with one space vacant. Mr Beaman’s inflated ego seems the only winner from this sad affair. My trip planning was totally screwed and I had to pay a lot more for a private trip. The leader of the BQ trip would have lost out if he was not paid for the full complement of participants as is the usual BQ policy.

1 August
I arrived at Tarapoto Airport at 8:15 and was met by Juan and Miguel. We immediately set off in a well equipped 4*4 for Bellavista in bright and sunny conditions. Our first stop along the Rio Huallaga was to admire a flock of Comb Ducks feeding beside a sandbar (-6.77206, -76.307846). This was a fortuitous start being the only duck in Peru which was new for me.
In Bellavista we changed vehicles and boarded a larger vehicle with raised suspension for the trip to Plataforma (Flor de Café). We departed at 12:15 with some trepidation having read reports of the road being “the worst in the world!”. At least on our trip the road was very benign. Firstly it was generally dry as there had not been any rain for a few days. Secondly the road has obviously had a lot of work done on it. It was clear to me that our original vehicle could have managed the road easily. I subsequently passed this opinion on to Rob Jansen who subsequently drove the road in fine weather in his 2 wheel drive, high clearance vehicle with no problems.
We arrived at Plataforma at 17:30 after a number of birding stops. We stayed in the Hospedaje Capito, a quite basic establishment run by friendly hosts Eugenio and Olga. Eugenio is also the local bird guide and is a mine of information on the local birds.

We dropped our bags and at 18:15 took off up the hill behind the village for a spot of owling. We had nice views of a Band-bellied Owl. We returned in time for dinner at 19:30.

2 August
Breakfast 6:00 and drove beyond the village to look for the Cordillera Azul Antbird with Eugenio guiding us in sunny conditions with thin cloud developing. We had brief views of this very localised species on the ground in relatively scrubby forest (-7.4196,-76.283446). We walked back to the village for lunch arriving at 12 noon. Best birds of the morning included Napo Sabrewing, Versicolored Barbet, Red-stained Woodpecker, Cordillera Azul Antbird, Peruvian Tyrannulet and Grey-mantled Wren.

Versicoloured Barbet

In the afternoon we followed Eugenio’s directions to a tree in which Scarlet-banded Barbet had recently been feeding on small berries. We departed at 13:40 and walked up the hill behind the village. The track was fairly muddy and rough. Wellington boots were appropriate footwear. We arrived at the tree (-7.402327,-76.310456) at 15:55 after a hard slog and quite a few birding stops. We waited at the tree for about 15 minutes before a pair of barbets arrived and stayed close by for more than half an hour!

Scarlet-banded Barbet

Cloud developed during the afternoon and I though a change of weather was on the way but as the evening developed the sky cleared. We tried for owls again during our return without success.

3 August
Breakfast 6:00. We then walked along a ridge top track extending NE from the village in sunshine with light cloud. We got back to lodge 11:00. Birding was quite good but there were no bird flocks.

Blue-headed Parrot

In the afternoon we walked the road above town from 15:30 to 17:30. Although we did not seem to be swamped with birds in Plataforma the list for the day was OK:- Grey-rumped Swift, Pale-rumped Swift, White-tipped Swift, Fork-tailed Woodnymph, Golden-tailed Sapphire, Squirrel Cuckoo, Scaled Pigeon, Ruddy Pigeon, Turkey Vulture Swallow-tailed Kite, Ferruginous Pygmy Owl, Versicolored Barbet, Ivory-billed Aracari, White-throated Woodpecker, Lineated Woodpecker, Blue-headed Parrot, Rose-fronted Parakeet, White-crested Elaenia, Small-billed Elaenia, Peruvian Tyrannulet, Common Tody-flycatcher, Social Flycatcher, Streaked Flycatcher, Boat-billed Flycatcher, Tropical Kingbird, White-winged Becard,

Chivi Vireo, Thrush-like Wren, Yellow-browed Sparrow, Crested Oropendola, Yellow-rumped Cacique, Epaulet Oriole, Tropical Parula, Slate-throated Whitestart, White-winged Tanager, Green Honeycreeper, Swallow Tanager, Blue Dacnis, Black-faced Dacnis, Bluish-grey Saltator, Silver-beaked Tanager, Magpie Tanager, Black-faced Tanager, Blue-grey Tanager, Bay-headed Tanager and Green-and-gold Tanager.

Blue-grey Tanager

4 August
Breakfast 5:30. We drove to Bellavista departing at 6:40 and arriving at 9:20 with a number of birding stops. We left Bellavista heading in the direction of Tarapoto at 9:50.
At 11:10 we stopped at Upaquihua in hot sunny conditions. We walked along a track here ( -6.729898, -76.377145). Things were pretty quiet but the best bird was a White-browed Antbird. We departed at noon and stopped for lunch at 12:30.
We went to our hotel in Tarapoto after lunch and had a very welcome shower. I dived straight in, clothes and all, after the mud and limited ablutions at Plataforma!
At 15:30 we drove to Lake Ricuricocha which had a number of water birds including Comb Duck and Brazilian Teal. We had a nice showing of a pair of Barred Antshrike.

Brazilian Teal

5 August
Departed Tarapoto at 5:00.
Stopped for breakfast and birding at 5:40 at Mirador y Restaurante El Mono y La Gata (-6.486483, -76.335815). The weather was fine and cool. Coffee was quickly forthcoming and breakfast was taken at 8:30 on the birding verandah.

Yellow-bellied Tanager

We drove on to Aconabikh Reserve (-6.416038, -76.315969) where we sat at the feeders for a while and then walked to the Golden-headed Mannikin lek. We had lunch at the reserve at 14:00 and left at 14:45.

It was a wonderful day’s birding with the following being among those seen. Rufous-breasted Hermit, Koepcke’s Hermit, Great-billed Hermit, Blue-fronted Lancebill, Black-throated Mango, Rufous-crested Coquette, Gould’s Jewelfront, White-bellied Woodstar, Fork-tailed Woodnymph, Golden-tailed Sapphire, Gilded Barbet, Curl-crested Aracari, Variable Antshrike, White-plumed Antbird, Black-faced Antbird, Marble-faced Bristle Tyrant, McConnell’s Flycatcher, Golden-headed Manakin, Plumbeous Euphonia, Rufous-bellied Euphonia, Orange-billed Sparrow, Swallow Tanager, Dotted Tanager, and Yellow-bellied Tanager.

Golden-headed Manakin

We drove to Waqanki Lodge (-6.075289,-76.975706) arriving at 19:00. Lots of road works slowed us down. We did not stop at the well known Oilbird site along the way due to the late hour and the heavy traffic.

6 August
Breakfast at 6:00 at the very comfortable Waqanki Lodge.
Birded in the grounds of the lodge from 6:30. We then went out of the back gate of the property and followed the lane up the hill behind the lodge, returning at 10:30. The fruit and sugar water feeders kept us busy until lunch at 12:30. It was a productive morning including sightings of Rufous-breasted Hermit, Black-throated Hermit, Great-billed Hermit, Black-throated Mango, Rufous-crested Coquette, Fork-tailed Woodnymph, Golden-collared Toucanet, Cobalt-winged Parakeet, Riparian Parrotlet,, Peruvian Warbling Antbird, Painted Manakin, Black-billed Thrush, and Paradise Tanager.

Paradise Tanager

An afternoon drive took us first to a palm forest habitat (-6.021568,-76.984086) where we quickly located a perched Point-tailed Palmcreeper. From there we went to a riverine habitat where the highlights were Yellow-tufted Woodpecker, Red-billed Tyrannulet and Chestnut-crowned Becard. Heading back towards the lodge Juan managed to find us a well hidden Russet-crowned Crake. We returned to the lodge at 18:30 in time for a very satisfying dinner.

7 August
Departing at 4:00 for the half hour drive to Calzada we arrived in good time for a bit of Owling. Rufous Nightjar and Stygian Owl obliged among the nightbirds. We continued to pick up interesting birds as it got light including Bluish-fronted Jacamar, Swallow-winged Puffbird, Cream-colored Woodpecker, Wedge-billed Woodcreeper, and Mishana Tyrannulet.

Cream-coloured Woodpecker

At 6:30 we met up with Andre, the manager of the Morro de Calzada Amazon Centre. Andre has been regularly feeding Russet-crowned Crakes and Rufous-sided Crakes and was able to show us both species as they gobbled up the earthworms he offered them. After a bit more birding around the Calzada area we departed at 10:45 for a rice field area which offered the possibility of Black-bellied Seed-finch and Pale-eyed Blackbird. Fortunately both showed nicely.

Russet-crowned Crake

I had mentioned to Juan that I was keen to see Green and Rufous Kingfisher to complete my list of American kingfishers. In response we stopped at Santa Elena (-5.978777,-77.199924) at 12:30. We took a very short walk to a stream side site and a short play of the call produced a Green and Rufous Kingfisher in quick time.

Arena Blanca Lodge (-5.6813,-77.636652) was our next stop, for lunch at 14:30. While lunching we had our first rain of the trip. We departed at 16:10 having had wonderful views of a nice collection of hummers including Brown Violetear, Wire-crested Thorntail, Peruvian Racket-tail, Blue-tailed Emerald, Grey-breasted Sabrewing, Many-spotted Hummingbird, Golden-tailed Sapphire, Sapphire-spangled Emerald and Rufous-throated Sapphire.

White-necked Jacobin

We arrived at the wonderful Owlet Lodge (-5.696894,-77.809514) at 18:00.

8 August
Departed the Owlet lodge at 6:30 to drive back to Arena Blanca. We enjoyed watching the the Hummingbird feeders, the Tanager feeder and the especially the blind. At the latter we saw Little Tinamou, Rufous-breasted Wood Quail, White-tipped Dove and Grey-cowled Wood Rail. We also added Ecuadorian Piedtail and Emerald-bellied Puffleg and at the “tanager feeder” there were Spectacled Bristle Tyrant, Ecuadorian Tyrannulet, Slaty-capped Flycatcher, Purple-throated Euphonia, Bronze-green Euphonia, Huallaga Tanager and Orange-eared Tanager.

Long-tailed Sylph

Birding along the road on our return to Owlet Lodge Juan stopped us at a favourite site for Royal Sunangel. A short walk and there it was, perched on a bush for as long as we wanted it. We arrived at Owlet Lodge at 13:30 for lunch.

The usual site for Long-whiskered Owlet involves a long walk from the lodge. Juan had seen the bird a number of times at another site about an hour and a half drive from the Lodge but only 10 minutes walk from the road. I decided that this sounded a better option for me so we set off at 15:00 to drive to the alternate Owlet site. It was not to be a smooth exercise. Shortly after turning off the main road we were stopped for 1.5 hours by roadworks. We got to the site and as daylight ebbed away we heard the bird calling. Unfortunately it (for the first time in Juan’s experience) refused to come in to the call. After a couple of hours the bird had moved away and we gave up the chase. Driving back to the lodge we got a flat tyre! The Lodge staff were wonderful, providing a nice evening meal at 22:00.

Royal Sunangel

9 August
Breakfast 6:00.
Birded around Owlet Lodge and then along road towards Arena Blanca. We were shown Rusty-tinged Antpitta and Chestnut Antpitta at the lodge before light rain started. After lunch the car was taken to get the punctured tyre fixed. I relaxed photographing hummingbirds around the lodge. It rained on and off during the afternoon. The car returned at 17:00 and we immediately set off again to see the Long-whiskered Owlet at the site we tried last night. There was little response from the Owlet. Juan did a bit of bush bashing and got me to a position where I had a very brief view of the bird. Thank you Juan!
Dinner 22:00.

Despite the rain we had some nice birds during the day including Lesser Violetear, Emerald-bellied Puffleg, Collared Inca, Long-whiskered Owlet, Montane Woodcreeper, Rusty-tinged Antpitta Chestnut Antpitta, Highland and Sierran Elaenia, Black-throated Tody-tyrant, Lulu’s Tody-Flycatcher, Pale-edged Flycatcher Green-and-black Fruiteater, Inca Jay, Mountain Wren, Yellow-throated Chlorospingus, Rufous-crested Tanager, Golden-eyed Flowerpiercer, White-sided Flowerpiercer, Yellow-throated Tanager, Grass-green Tanager, Blue-and-black Tanager and Saffron-crowned Tanager.

10 August
Juan and I looked for Nightjars around the lodge from 5:40 without success. Breakfast at 6:00. We birded around the lodge from 6:30 to 7:30. Sightings included Fawn-breasted Brilliant, Variable Antshrike, Peruvian Tyrannulet, Mottle-cheeked Tyrannulet, Streak-necked Flycatcher, Cinnamon Flycatcher, Pale-edged Flycatcher, Masked Flowerpiercer, Rusty Flowerpiercer, Yellow-scarfed Tanager, Silver-backed Tanager and Flame-faced Tanager.

We departed at 7:45 for the Marvelous Spatuletail Interpretation Centre at Huembo (-5.857634,-77.984843). Spatuletail had not been showing at Huembo so we went across the road and climbed the hill to get to private feeders. A male Marvellous Spatuletail with both tails streamers showed briefly but well. Another male without streamers was also present. We also saw White-bellied Hummingbird here.
On our way towards Jaen we stopped to have a box lunch. Near Chamaya we walked up a dry hillside (-5.832139,-78.751851) where we birded from 15:15 to 17:50. The area was alive with birds including Lesser Nighthawk, Anthony’s Nightjar, Croaking Ground Dove, Collared Antshrike, Maranon Tyrannulet, Short-tailed Field Tyrant, Tropical Gnatcatcher, Little Inca Finch and Chestnut-throated Seedeater. We then drove on to Jaen where we stayed in Hotel El Bosque.

11 August
In the hope of seeing some Owls we departed at 4:00 am. We owled along the PE-5N road in the dark and found a West Peruvian Screech Owl. As day broke more birds showed themselves, including Maranon Pigeon, Maranon Spinetail, Chinchipe Spinetail, Northern Slaty Antshrike, Fulvous-faced Scrub Tyrant, Streaked Saltator, Maranon Crescentchest and Red Pileated Finch. We returned through Jaen at 9:30 driving towards Leymebamba.
It was quite a long drive up the very beautiful Utcubamba valley. We picked up Bran-colored Flycatcher, Maranon Thrush, Speckle-chested Piculet, Black-necked Woodpecker and Blue-and-white Swallow along the drive.
The very attractive Rangra Wasi Lodge was reached at 17:30. There was even a Line-cheeked Spinetail to greet us.

12 August
Departed at 4:30 am for a wonderful morning birding along the Atuen River. Birds seen included Speckled Hummingbird, Rainbow Starfrontlet, Sword-billed Hummingbird, Scaly-naped Amazon Streaked Tuftedcheek, Pearled Treerunner, Tawny-rumped Tyrannulet, White-tailed Tyrannulet, White-banded Tyrannulet, Olive-striped Flycatcher, Smoke-colored Pewee, Maroon-belted Chat-tyrant, Yellow-breasted Brushfinch, Mountain Cacique (Northern), Red-hooded Tanager, Superciliaried Hemispingus and Blue-capped Tanager.
Had a very nice Lunch at the lodge. In the afternoon we left the lodge at 15:30 and climbed dramatically to the Calla Calla pass and a bit beyond. The pass provides the first view over the spectacular Maranon Valley. We found a number of target species up to and over the pass. These included Coppery Metaltail, Great Sapphirewing, Cream-winged Cinclodes, and Many-striped Canastero. A lot of time was spent getting acceptable views of Neblina Tapaculo which was wont to bury itself in thick bushes and dense grass clumps.

View from the Calla Calla pass

We returned to the lodge at 18:35. After another very nice dinner Juan called in a Koepcke’s Screech Owl right outside the dining room.

13 August

Departed at 5:30 for another spectacular drive over the Calla Calla pass and then down, down, down into the Marañon valley. After crossing the mighty Rio Marañon we climbed the equally spectacular western side of the valley. The road seemed to barely cling onto the precipitous hillsides it traversed. We arrived in Celedin 18:00pm.

In the higher reaches of the Calla Calla pass we saw a variety of high altitude birds including Andean Guan, Shining Sunbeam Rainbow Starfrontlet, White-chinned Thistletail, Red-crested Cotinga and Brown-bellied Swallow. As we descended new birds came into view including Purple-backed Thornbill, Chachapoyas Antpitta, Tufted Tit-tyrant, Brown-backed Chat-tyrant, Blue-backed Conebill, Moustached Flowerpiercer and Scarlet-bellied Mountain Tanager.

Once down in the Maranon Valley the population changed again and we gathered in new species including Fulvous-faced Scrub Tyrant, Long-tailed Mockingbird, Buff-bridled Inca Finch, Purple-collared Woodstar, Amazilia Hummingbird, Andean Emerald Yellow-faced Parrotlet and Yellow-tailed Oriole. As we regained altitude and the country became less precipitous we picked up the likes of Chestnut-backed Thornbird, Fasciated Wren, Black-lored Yellowthroat, Grey-winged Inca Finch, Blue-and-yellow Tanager and Great Thrush.

14 August
Departed at 5:30 and birded along the road to Cajamarca. The route went over a high plateau with rolling hills and open grassland. Dairying was in evidence with donkeys carrying milk cans. At 6:40 we stopped and found some targets in Cajamarca Antpitta, Black-crested Tit-tyrant, White-tailed Shrike-tyrant, and Peruvian Sierra Finch. Breakfast at 9:00 when light rain started.

Scenery near Cajamarca

We took a back road to effect a shortcut to our next birding site. After quite some way along this road we came to a ‘road closed’ sign. We did a U-turn and the short-cut became a very long-cut! The diversion did however yield the desired Rufous-webbed Bush Tyrant, Jelski’s Chat-tyrant and Great Thrush. Due to the long backtrack we stopped for lunch in Cajamarca at 12:30.
We drove up the Chonta River valley (-7.100087,-78.418001) in the afternoon. The excursion produced a number of interesting birds including Grey-bellied Comet, Black Metaltail, White-winged Cinclodes, Torrent Tyrannulet, Chiguanco Thrush, Scrub Blackbird, Cinereous Conebill, Plain-colored Seedeater, Black-throated Flowerpiercer, Andean Flicker and Rufous-backed Inca Finch. It rained on and off all afternoon. Birding was stopped by rain at 16:30.

White-winged Cinclodes

15 August
At 6:00 we headed for village of Jesus and birded for 5km along the Rio Cajamarquino. We found Elegant Crescentchest, Southern Beardless Tyrannulet, White-winged Black Tyrant, Piura Chat-tyrant and Bay-crowned Brushfinch along the river. We then drove to El Marco (-7.258906,-78.480942) where we spent a somewhat frustrating 2 hours finding Unicoloured Tapaculo, thanks to Juan’s persistence.
Lunch was taken in the town of Cajamarca and we had a well earned afternoon of relaxation.

16 August
Another 5:00am departure saw us driving along the PE-08 towards the coast birding along the way. Our search for Great Inca Finch was without success however we did pick up a few birds along the way .
Lunch 12 noon at San Jose de Moro. A fantastic session followed at a site south-west of Ucupe (-7.029638,-79.686691) in rubbish strewn sandhills with clumps of bush and a few larger trees. Birds found included Scarlet-backed Woodpecker, Pacific Parrotlet, Coastal Miner, Pale-legged Hornero, Tumbesian Tyrannulet and Peruvian Plantcutter.

We drove to the mouth of the Rio Reque (-6.901844,79.900321) where the river opened into the ocean with a faint hope of seeing Peruvian Terns which typically feed well offshore. We were delighted on getting out of the car to find a flock of the much wanted Terns feeding in the surf zone just off the beach.

Juan getting photos of the Peruvian Terns

It was now time to turn inland towards Chiclayo. On the way Miguel noticed a small group of Peruvian Thick-knee in a dry sandy field. I was delighted as this was my last member of the Burhinidae. As it turned out this was the only time I saw Thick-knee in Peru.

17 August
We left the hotel at the relaxed hour of 7:00 and arrived at Bosque de Pomac (-6.492306,-79.790524) at 8:00. The reserve had been overgrown by a rampant vine during the wet season earlier in the year. The vine had largely died off leaving the habitat in a parlous state. We did however see Collared Antshrike, Grey-and-white Tyrannulet, Brown-chested Martin, Tumbes Sparrow and Parrot-billed Seedeater. we left the reserve at 9:18.

Chaparri Lodge was reached via a fairly rough road at noon. We had a nice lunch and birded around the lodge in afternoon. It is a lovely place set on the side of a small stream deep in the bush. We soon picked up a host of the local birds including White-winged Guan, Tumbes Hummingbird, Ochre-bellied Dove, Scarlet-backed Woodpecker, Golden-olive Woodpecker, Elegant Crescentchest, Fulvous-faced Scrub Tyrant, Tumbes Pewee, Tumbes Tyrant, Sooty-crowned Flycatcher, White-tailed Jay, Tumbes Swallow, Superciliated Wren, Orange-crowned Euphonia and White-edged Oriole. An after dinner walk revealed Anthony’s Nightjar and Tschudi’s Nightjar.

19 August
Today was the last day of the trip and I let the lads know I was 12 species short of achieving 200 new birds on the trip. They responded with enthusiasm to this challenge. We departed at 5:00 for the longish drive to the hills above the village of Casupe. We soon started picking up new birds. Pacific Elaenia, Black-capped Sparrow Grey-and-gold Warbler, Three-banded Warbler, Chapman’s Antshrike, Grey-breasted Flycatcher, Little Woodstar, Pacific Pygmy Owl, Ecuadorian Trogon, Rufous-necked Foliage-gleaner and Henna-hooded Foliage-gleaner got us to 199! We had exhausted our chances in the hills but the lads had a secret plan !

Lunch was taken at very nice restaurant in Tierras Blancas called El Secreto de la Sazon. At the end of lunch they revealed the plan. We would go to a marshy area close to the coast where Peruvian Pipit is frequently seen. They executed the plan, I got the bird and 200 was achieved. Well done lads. We returned to Chiclayo airport in good time for my flight to Lima.