Abra Patricia-Pomacochas

This area is one of Peru's most exciting for birding. Pomacochas is home to one of the world's most spectacular hummingbirds, the threatened endemic Marvelous Spatuletail. There are, of course, many other birds near this town including Buff-bellied Tanager, Rufous-capped Antshrike and many other hummingbirds including Emerald-bellied Puffleg and Collared Inca. Moving up to the nearby Abra Patricia area, there is more incredible birding. Royal Sunangel and Bar-winged Wood-Wren are among the main targets, but almost equally exciting are White-capped Tanager (for which this may be the best area in the world), Orange-breasted Falcon, Rusty-tinged Antpitta and the distinctive local race of Rufous-crowned Tody-Tyrant. There are two birds here which have yet to be seen without the use of mist-nets - Long-whiskered Owlet and Ochre-fronted Antpitta. The opportunity to be the first to see these birds in the wild is one of the reasons birders keep coming back to this area. Further down the road, in the Afluentes area, the biggest prizes are Ash-throated Antwren and Speckle-chested Piculet, with Ecuadorian Piedtail, Scarlet-breasted Fruiteater and Huallaga Tanager also occurring. This area is worth a visit of at least a couple of days.

Connecting Sites
From this area, it is a half day of driving to Jaen-Bagua or Leimebamba, or a long full day to the Nueva Salen -Puerto Imazita area.