Birding Expedi
tions in Peru
Bar-winged Cinclodes
Andean Condor
Highland Motmot
White-tufted Sumbean
White-browed Tit-Spinetail
Ash-breasted Tit-Tyrant
Royal Cinclodes
Southern Highlands 2
Trip
Basics
Peru's southern
mountains are among the world's most spectacular scenery, and also provide
excellent birdwatching. We'll experience Cusco's Polylepis
forests,
Apurimac's isolated cloud forest, Arequipa's salt lakes and Puno's altiplano and Lake Titicaca.
This promises to be a rewarding trip. This trip is more focused on birding
than the Southern Highlands 1 trip in
May.
Days: 12
Combines with: Tambopata
Spectacular (11 Days), Machu Picchu Extension (4 days), Lima
Pelagic (1 Day)
Traveling Conditions:
This is a fairly comfortable trip, with only a few nights of camping.
The hotels are generally quite good to very comfortable and the food is
similar.
Itinerary
Day 1
We'll start out at the
ruins of Saqsaywaman, looking especially for Chestnut-breasted
Mountain-Finch, and also getting an introduction to the commoner birds of
the highlands such as Green-tailed Trainbearer, Golden-billed Saltator and
Cinereous Conebill. In the afternoon, we'll drive to Abancay for the night
in a hotel.
Day 2
We'll walk in the morning into the isolated cloud forest of Ampay,
where we'll find a number of specialties including Rusty-fronted
Canastero, Apurimac Thistletail (undescribed), Apurimac and Creamy-crested
Spinetails and Apurimac Tapaculo (undescribed).
Other species include Rust-and-yellow Tanager, Mountain Velvetbreast,
Undulated Antpitta and Sword-billed Hummingbird. We'll be back in Abancay
for the night.
Day 3
The main target today will be the threatened Pale-tailed Canastero,
which can be found locally on the dry side of the valley. Other birds in
this rather barren habitat include White-bellied Hummingbird and Mitred
Parakeet. We'll drive to Ollantaytambo for the night in a comfortable
hotel.
Day 4
With Abra Malaga quickly degrading, we have decided to visit the
less-known but perhaps even more impressive Yanahuara Polylepis forest on
this trip. We'll hire horses for those who want them to arrive at this
forest. Here we should find Royal Cinclodes, Ash-breasted Tit-Tyrant,
Tawny and White-browed Tit-Spinetails and Stripe-headed Antpitta. In the
scrub on the way up, we'll hope for Creamy-crested Spinetail and
White-tufted Sunbeam. We'll return to Cusco in the afternoon.
Day 5
We'll begin early at the Huacarpay Lakes, where the targets will be
the stunning Bearded Mountaineer and the less colourful but also exciting
Streak-fronted Thornbird and Rusty-fronted Canastero. We'll also get a
number of Andean waterbirds, including Plumbeous Rail and Puna Teal, while
the reedbeds hold Many-coloured Rush-Tyrant, Wren-like Rushbird and
Yellow-winged Blackbird. We'll drive on to Juliaca for the night.
Day 6
We'll bird our way towards Sandia today, hoping to find something
interesting in this poorly-known area. A few possibilities are
Scribble-tailed and Line-fronted Canasteros. We'll set up camp along the
road.
Day 7
We'll leave early, and spend most of the day in the Sandia area. The main target today will be Green-capped Tanager, a bird known only
from this area. We could also find more widespread birds such as
Mottle-cheeked Tyrannulet and Silver-backed Tanager, while the local race
of Puna Thistletail, sometimes split as Sandia Thistletail, is also
possible. The area is poorly known, and we could find something exciting
such as Hooded Mountain-Tanager, Light-crowned Spinetail or Red-tailed Comet.
We'll spend the night in a basic hotel or camp near good habitat.
Day 8
We'll spend the day driving back towards Huancané, again birding along the
way. We may find some southern species such as the very difficult
Short-tailed Finch in the higher areas. Other possibilities include Puna
Tinamou, Hellmayr's Pipit or Rufous-bellied Seedsnipe. We'll either camp
or arrive in Huancané for the night.
Day 9
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We'll have a leisurely start, and bird the marshy lakes near Huancané for the day. The main target will be Short-winged (Titicaca) Grebe, which seems to be declining at an alarming rate. Other birds could be Red Shoveler, White-backed Stilt and White-tufted Grebe. |
We'll drive on to Puno for the night, hoping for Puna Yellow-Finch on the way. We'll set up for three nights in a comfortable hotel.
Day 10
Our first day trip from Puno will be to the Laguna Umayo area, where
we'll find some good puna birds, hopefully including Darwin's Nothura,
Ornate Tinamou, Golden-spotted Ground-Dove and Tawny-throated Dotterel.
We'll also see the Incan and pre-Incan "tower tombs" perched on
cliffs high above the lake.
Day 11
We'll make an early start and spend most of the day in some of Peru's
highest and most remote grassland, hoping for Lesser (Puna) Rhea,
White-throated Sierra-Finch, Scale-throated Earthcreeper and Puna
Canastero. We'll return for a final night in our Puno hotel.
Day 12
We'll head out early and bird the Salinas area in the morning. The
main attraction here will be Puna, Andean and Chilean Flamingos, but we
could also find Andean Avocet and Puna Miner among others. In the
afternoon, we'll move down towards Arequipa, birding along the way,
looking for White-throated and Straight-billed Earthcreepers as well as
Black-hooded Sierra-Finch, Dark-winged Canastero and Tamarugo Conebill.
We'll spend the night in a hotel.
Day 13
We'll bird around Arequipa, trying to clean up on any missing species
before a flight (not included) to Cusco to conclude the tour. Hotel is not
included this night. For those on the Machu Picchu Extension, we will
drive on to Ollantaytambo and a hotel is included.
Machu
Picchu Extension
Day 14
We'll begin the day
in the scrub around Peñas, looking for any birds we may not have found
earlier. Possibilities include Rusty-fronted Canastero, Creamy-crested
Spinetail, Chestnut-breasted Mountain-Finch and White-tufted Sunbeam, all
endemics. In the afternoon we'll drive on to camp at Canchayoc, hoping for
Andean Ibis along the way.
Day 15
We'll bird Canchayoc in the morning, looking especially for Marcapata
Spinetail and Parodi's Hemispingus. Other birds could include Plush-capped
Finch, White-browed Conebill and Undulated Antpitta. In the afternoon,
those interested can make the downhill and scenic walk from Abra Malaga to
Peñas. This will be another chance for same the Polylepis birds as
Yanahuara, and White-winged Diuca-Finch, Black Siskin and Line-fronted
Canastero are found in the valley bottom. In the evening, we'll catch a
train to Aguas Calientes.
Days 16-17
We'll have two days to explore the Machu Picchu area. We'll walk the
train tracks near town, hoping for the stunning endemic Masked Fruiteater,
Silver-backed Tanager and Dusky-green Oropendola. The Inca Trail leading
from the town to the ruins, will provide excellent birding, possibly
including Silver-backed Tanager, Mottle-cheeked and Sclater's Tyrannulets,
Tricoloured Brush-Finch, White-winged Black-Tyrant and, on the highest
section, Inca Wren is common. Other birds around town include
Green-and-white Hummingbird, Torrent Duck, White-capped Dipper, Gould's
Inca, White-throated Quail-Dove and Pale-legged Warbler. On Day 17,
we'll catch a train back to Cusco to conclude the tour. Hotel is not
included on Day 17.
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