ITINERARY

PRACTICALITIES

Transport

We used public transport throughout the entire trip. Most of the longer distances were covered by (night) busses, whereas shorter distances are better done by collectivos. These kind of shared taxis run between 2 cities and are both faster and leave as soon as they are complete (4-5 passengers). They are only a little pricier than buses. As we were 4 we often preferred this way of travelling. When only little public transport was available (or during early morning) we regularly made use of private taxis as well. We were told by friends that the stretch between Celendin and Leimebamba only gets little traffic. Hence we chartered a car for the full day to take us to the different birding spots and drive us all the way to Leimebamba in order not to lose precious time. On several occasions we also did some hitchhiking...

Accommodation

We opted not to camp and sleep in cities/towns. Most of the times there were good numbers of hotels in most comfort classes. Prices mostly depend on your choice of standard and partly on your ability to bargain.

• At Abra Patricia we spent two nights in the new ECOAN Lodge, otherwise you're charged anyway for entering their trail system and the company of a guide. Fortunately we were able to bargain a special price. The closest and significantly cheaper alternative is sleeping in the nearby restaurant.
  

• At Aguas Verdes the majority of independent birders tend to sleep in a local restaurant which is said to be very basic. We slept in a more comfortable hotel in the town of Naranjos which is only 15 minutes down (direction of Tarapoto).

Money

ATM's were easy to find throughout the country. We did not exchange with other currencies.

Weather

It might have been sheer luck, but we did not lose too much time due to bad weather. While the West slope was dry and hot throughout, the East slope gave some showers. We only had some serious rain at Abra Patricia. Hence we mainly missed some good mixed species flocks. Luckily for us it cleared out at night...

Health and safety

We encountered no problems. It is advised to take precautions against Malaria. Traveling independently caused no safety problems at all. We never experienced any kind of hassle. We found the country safe and the people often honest, friendly and helpful. High altitude birding did not translate into altitude sickness but we did get a bit sunburnt in the beginning of the trip.

VISITED SITES

Below is a list of the sites we birded. Valqui's Where to watch birds was used as a guideline throughout the trip although on many occasions we found it a bit outdated. There are numerous basic trip reports on the net but for the independent traveller Spencer's report is indispensable. Often it is very straightforward to find the birding spot and what taco tics to use.

El Molino

The main reason to visit the village of El Molino is the assured observation of Purple-backed Sunbeam. Getting there is however not straightforward. On public transport it can be done as a long one-day trip from Huamachuco. A daily bus leaves early morning at 2.30am, (but check with locals) and takes about 7 hours to get there. Returning can be less easy, reserve enough time to wait for a bus or other transport going to Huamachuco as traffic is sparse. We were lucky enough to make the bumpy ride sitting on the ground in a filled bus.

A road stop 2-3 km before the village of El Molino due to road works was our first opportunity to do so some decent birding, resulting in flight-by observations of Purple-backed Sunbeam. The main site to bird is a trail to your left just past the village (-7.757778,-77.77194).

Highlights: Purple-backed Sunbeam (20+ readily found along the trail), White-cheeked Cotinga (1 bird seen and photographed to our surprise, unexpected bonus!), Unicolored Tapaculo (2 birds taped in near a small stream along the trail), Rufous-eared Brush-Finch (4 birds along the trail), Rainbow Starfrontlet (1 bird), Coppery Metaltail (1 bird foraging low along the main 2-3 km before the town of El Molino), Rusty-crowned Tit-Spinetail (1 bird only), Baron's Spinetail (2 birds taped in along the main road 2-3 km before El Molino).

San Marcos

The trail starts only 2-3 km along the main road above San Marcos and can be easily reached by mototaxi. Ask to be let off at (-7.316111, -78.184444). A single Buff-bridled Inca-Finch gave brief views at the road edge. A couple of Great Spinetail was seen near the beginning of the trail. Following the trail you will pass a burnt area on your right where we had White-winged Black-Tyrant as well as Andean Tinamou. Further on, you will get to the large clearing described by Spencer (-7.311667, -78.191944).

Highlights: Great Spinetail (a pair easily taped in in the first 100m of the trail), Buff-bridled Inca-Finch (1 bird), Black-necked Woodpecker (1 bird seen and 1 heard).

Rio Chonta

This site near Cajamarca is the only accessible site in the world for the endangered Gray-bellied Comet and can be easily visited from Cajamarca. Ask the taxi to take you to the electric power plant and be let off once the gorge narrows and the cover with ground-bromeliads increases. From this point we followed the canyon up to the trout farm. From there on, the habitat seems less suitable for the Comet. We eventually observed two different birds. One was seen very well near a wooden bridge for pedestrians over the river about 500m before the narrowest point of the gorge (-7.087500, -78.401389); another was seen just past this point up the right bromeliad filled slope.

Highlights: Gray-bellied Comet (1 bird seen very well near a wooden foot bridge over the river about 500m before the narrowest point of the gorge; another was seen just past this point up the right bromeliad filled slope), Rusty-crowned Tit-Spinetail (several scattered observations), Baron's Spinetail (4 birds seen, possibly overlooked), Andean Hillstar (sometimes split as Green-headed Hillstar; 1 beautiful male right at the narrowest point of the gorge).

Abra Gavilan

This pass near Cajamarca can be easily reached from Cajamarca by taxi and can be combined with a morning visit to Rio Chonta. The main area to bird is the gully visible once you crossed the pass (-7.250556, -78.467778). Continue along the road for a couple of switchbacks to a point where you can enter the gully. The Tapaculo proved to be quite easy, despite some good effort we failed to find "Piura Hemispingus".

Highlights: Unicolored Tapaculo (2 birds easily taped in and seen and 2 more heard in the gully), Purple-throated Sunangel (2 birds in the gully).

Cruz Conga

As Spencer mentioned Valqui's site is not worth a visit anymore we decided to follow his directions. Coming from Cajamarca we asked to be let off from the bus at (-7.035833, -78.223889) and left our luggage at a nearby house. Nailing down the antpitta required some patience, but we finally succeeded in obtaining very nice views. Afterwards we birded along the road in the direction of Cruz Conga. At the first village (-7.025278, -78.211389) we taped in three White-tailed Shrike-Tyrants. We picked up our luggage and waved down a bus going to Celendin.

Highlights: Rufous Antpitta (sometimes split as Cajamarca Antpitta; 1 bird taped in and seen well near the irrigation canal and 2 more heard), White-tailed Shrike-Tyrant (3 birds in seen in a small village, often calling high up from the pines - see coordinates), Rusty-crowned Tit-Spinetail (3 birds), Baron's Spinetail (2 seen and more heard).

Lucma (Hacienda Limon)

When descending into the Marañon valley, the settlement on the upper hill slopes is known as Hacienda Limón. We hired a car in Celendin to take us here and the Balsas area and drive us all the way to Leimebamba as we were warned by some birding friends that traffic is very sparse here (and it was). On the way towards Balsas take left on the first and only side road (-6.872778, -78.085556) and continue all the way towards the hamlet called Lucma. We followed one of several trails starting from the soccer field. Somewhat higher up the hills we found the Inca-Finches (-6.833611, -78.087500).

Back at the main junction we birded the scrubby area for a while.

We made an extra stop at a vegetated gully a few km below the junction towards Lucma (S06°51'49'', S78°04'30'').

Highlights: Chestnut-backed Thornbird (several singles and pairs were seen and more heard both at Lucma and along the main road), Gray-winged Inca-Finch (2 singing birds seen near Lucma, rather high up the hills), Maranon Thrush (3 birds seen near Lucma), Buff-bellied Tanager (a party of 4 birds near the village of Lucma), Black-necked Woodpecker (1 bird seen), Baron's Spinetail (a few birds seen and more heard).

Balsas

Before reaching the Maranon river we first made a quick stop for Buff-bridled Inca-Finch which we saw immediately (S06°51'02'', W78°03'09''). Further down where the road levels again we had ourselves dropped off and walked all the way down through the cactus vegetation to see the parrotlets (S06°51'05'', W78°02'26'').

Immediately past the bridge over the Maranon we took right and birded along the dirt road next to the river. We were unable to find any Peruvian Pigeons until we spotted one on our way back towards the main road in one of the higher trees near the settlement (S06°50'42'', W78°01'41'').

Continuing the road towards the village of Balsas, we entered town and followed another dirt road parallel to the Maranon river. The first part goes through plantation with some higher trees (S06°50'00'', W78°00'55'') and eventually reaches some dry scrubby area.

Highlights: Peruvian Pigeon (surprisingly it took us quite some time only to find 1 bird perched high up in a dead tree right at Maranon crossing, another was seen much higher up a few km further en route to Leymebamba), Ecuadorian Ground-Dove (2 birds only), Yellow-faced Parrotlet (at least 5 birds were calling continuously and were seen distantly before 1 cooperative bird was found and seen at close range in the cactus filled desert about 4,5 km above the Maranon crossing), Maranon Thrush (at least 5 birds were easily seen along the dirt road at Balsas), Buff-bridled Inca-Finch (fairly common seen about 10 km above the Maranon bridge).

Leimebamba

Probably the easiest accessible place to see the Spatuletail is at the Kenticafé (S06°43'27'', W77°47'52''). This family-run cafe can be found right opposite the Museum. Their feeders attract large numbers of hummingbirds and can be scanned while having a beer on the terrace.

On the way from the center towards the Kenticafé there is a dirt road to the left (at KM 424) leading through the Canyon de los Condores. We birded the first 5 km of this dirt road (S06°44'31'', W77°47'46'').

Highlights: Marvelous Spatuletail (1 male sporadically visited the Kenticafé feeders), Rainbow Starfrontlet (fairly common at the Kenticafé feeders), Purple-throated Sunangel (good numbers at the Kenticafé feeders), Rufous-backed Treehunter (1 bird at the Canyon de los Condores), Red-hooded Tanager (at least 4 birds in a mixed species flock at the Canyon de los Condores), Andean Condor (2 soaring birds at the Canyon de los Condores).

Abra Barro Negro

This pass is situated about 16 km from Leimebamba towards Celendin. We had an early morning taxi from Leimebamba up the pass and had us dropped off near KM 406. We found an overgrown trail and birded the remnant bamboo patch. Later we hitchhiked with a local farmer up to KM 399 where we birded another forest patch (just below the pass, S06°43'18'', W77°52'30'').

Highlights: Russet-mantled Softtail (2 very tape responsive birds seen in a bamboo patch near km 406), Coppery Metaltail (2 birds at KM 399), Yellow-scarfed Tanager (1 bird only in a mixed species flock at KM 399), Rufous Antpitta (sometimes split as Obscure Antpitta; 1 seen very well and both days at least one more heard near KM 406), Rusty-breasted Antpitta (sometimes split as Leymebamba Antpitta; 1 bird seen at KM 406).

Hostal Estancia Chillo

About half way between Leimebamba and Perdo Ruiz one can find this Hotel near KM 466. We heard that their grounds hold a pair of Koepcke's Screech-Owls which can be seen on their day roost. We found them 'our self' after 20 minutes searching as nobody of the staff knew their exact roosting spot. To get here, we jumped out of the bus, birded and continued hitchhiking (???) as the traffic is rather sparse and most busses were full. Read more on their Facebook page.

Highlights: Koepcke's Screech-Owl (2 birds seen on their day roost in the single large tree just opposite the hostel entrance gate), Speckle-chested Piculet (2 birds), Maranon Thrush (several birds in a fruiting tree), Buff-bellied Tanager (good numbers), Black-necked Woodpecker (2 birds), Baron's Spinetail (several birds seen and more heard).

Quebrada Mishquiyacu

This privately owned nature reserve can be found about 3-4 km south of Moyobamba. One of the people involved is José Altamirano, who works as birding guide at the Owlet Lodge (Abra Patricia). We got in contact with him beforehand and he guided us around. In Moyobamba we took a taxi and asked for the Banos Termales. We stayed in the nearby Hospedaje Rumipata, a Japanese run family hostel with great food. They also know where to find José.

In the excellent company of José we birded some kind of loop trail that starts at S06°04'40'', W76°58'37'', leading all up towards a ridge (S06°05'33'', W76°59'28''). Later we explored the orquidario and a scrubby area outside the forest our self.

Between Moyobamba and Tarapoto we made a quick roadside stop on 2 occasions where we had a nice colony of Oilbirds, easily seen during the day and when flying out at dusk. It is in a sharp bend near KM 515 (S06°8'49'', W76°50'29'').

Highlights: Ash-throated Antwren (a pair taped in and seen well higher up along the 'ridge trail'), Mishana Tyrannulet (2 singles seen near a coffee plantation), Speckle-chested Piculet (1 bird), Red-billed Tyrannulet (2 birds), Peruvian Tyrannulet (3 birds), Black-bellied Tanager (daily small numbers), Scarlet-breasted Fruiteater (1 bird seen higher up along the along the 'ridge trail'), Fiery-throated Fruiteater (3 birds seen lower than the previous species), Dusky Spinetail (a pair taped in and seen well higher up), Black-and-white Tody-Flycatcher (a pair seen in lower part),Olivaceous Piha (1 bird heard and seen although others claim Gray-tailed), Zimmer's Antbird (a pair taped in and seen in the white sand forest).

Tarapoto Tunnel

Not far from the city of Tarapoto (about 20 km towards Yurimaguas) the area near the well-known Tarapoto Tunnel (S06°27'05'', W76°17'29'') offers some great roadside birding. We took a bus and hitchhiked up and down and birded 4 km in both directions of the tunnel. Side trails were explored as well but we did not find any worth mentioning, most best birds were seen along the roadside.

Highlights: Plumbeous Euphonia (1 seen in a large mixed species flock just before the tunnel), Dotted Tanager (2 singing birds seen right at the KM 14 marker S06°27'34'', W76°18'00''), Koepcke's Hermit (3 singles seen in total on both sides of the tunnel), Peruvian Tyrannulet (a few birds daily), Fiery-throated Fruiteater (1 bird right before the tunnel). We were unable to find any Blackish Pewee and only ended up with 15-20 wood-pewees spec.

Quebrada Upaquihua

About 30 km south of Tarapoto this site has some good dry forest patches left. In Tarapoto we hired a taxi for half a day to take us there and back. In the village of Buenos Aires take the dirt road towards Santa Rosilla (S06°47'20'', W76°19'34''). After 10 km the vegetation is somewhat better preserved and there is a trail on the right (S06°43'50'', W76°22'38''). We birded the denser forest along this trail and also along the main road.

Highlights: Mishana Tyrannulet (1), Northern Slaty-Antshrike (sometimes split as Huallaga Slaty-Antshrike, several seen and often heard), Rufous Casiornis (3 birds), Ashy-headed Greenlet (1 bird in a flock), Sulphur-bellied Tyrant-Manakin (several seen and more heard), Planalto Hermit (2), Rusty-backed Antwren (3 noisy birds on the hill on the other side of the road).

Abra Patricia

Right in the heart of the Abra Patricia area the newly built ECOAN Lodge offers a great birding opportunity. This is at about KM 364,5 (S05°41' 45'', W77°48'41''). Although we tend to travel on a low budget we included this lodge to see the enigmatic Long-whiksered Owlet. It is also possible to get the owlet at La Esperanza, but it requires quite a hike up and the next day down, on which few good birds were seen by other bird groups. We birded most of the trail system (Mono, Gralaria and Owlet Trail) on our self and were accompanied by an excellent guide at night. All trails are closed for people not staying at the lodge. Right opposite the entrance gate, on the other side of the road, there is another short trail.

About 7 km down towards Tarapoto at KM 371,5 there are steep ridges both left and right, often referred to as the 'Sunangel Ridge'. We reached it by hitchhiking and climbed up the ridge on the left. The sunagels were performing well here in the morning (S05°40'33'', W77°46'31''). We walked further down towards the Garcia Trail.

More downwards, at km 373,5 you can find a fence on the left (S05°40'03'', W77°46'15''). We birded the so-called Garcia Trail all way down. Back to the main road we descended some more and took the first obvious trail to the left, just past a large ad-board (S05°40'07'', W77°46'02'') where we birded the dense bamboo patches (S05°39'56'', W77°46'08'').

Highlights: Long-whiskered Owlet (1 bird taped in and seen well along the new Owlet Trail at the 800m marker (no gps); it took some time before we found a responding bird though), Cinnamon Screech-Owl (1 bird seen along the Mono Trail near the 800m marker (S05°41'21'', W77°48'40''), Royal Sunangel (2 males at the Sunangel Ridge; probably overlooked as we left the spot immediately), Ochre-fronted Antpitta (short views of 1 bird of a responding pair after we taped it in about 100 m along the trail opposite the entrance gate of the ECOAN Lodge; the next we saw it hopping at close distance on the trail without tape usage.), Rusty-tinged Antpitta (2 singles seen and a few more heard all along the Mono and Gralaria Trails), Chestnut Antpitta (1 seen and 1 heard along the Mono Trail), Peruvian Tyrannulet (daily a few seen at the ECOAN Lodge and the Garcia Trail), Cinnamon-breasted Tody-Tyrant (a pair seen in the bamboo along the trail just past the Garcia Trail, at the last given coordinate), Johnson's Tody-Flycatcher (daily small numbers at the ECOAN Lodge and the Garcia Trail), Bar-winged Wood-Wren (at least 2 birds seen and probably more heard along the first stretch of the Garcia Trail), Yellow-scarfed Tanager (1 bird in a mixed species flock along the Gralaria Trail), Rufous-vented Tapaculo (daily a few seen and more heard at the ECOAN Lodge and the Garcia Trail), White-capped Tanager (1 noisy party along the Mono Trail and 1 group along the Garcia Trail).

Afluente

This area lies along the main road about 2,5 km above the small village of Afluente. Near KM 389 there is a vulcanizadora. We birded the main road about 2 km in both directions of the Vulcanizadora S05°40'0", W77°42'0"). There seemed to be no trials... On both days we found a large mixed species flock close to the vulcanizadora in the late afternoon which held a lot of our target species.

Highlights: Equatorial Graytail (on both days a few seen in a mixed species flock), Ecuadorian Piedtail (on both days a single seen foraging low and in the vegetation; both about 1 km past the volcanizadora), Olive-chested Flycatcher (a pair seen in more scrubby habitat about 2 km past the volcanizadora), Speckle-chested Piculet (small numbers seen on both days), Ecuadorian Tyrannulet (2 single birds seen), Red-billed Tyrannulet (1 bird), Peruvian Tyrannulet (daily good numbers), Black-bellied Tanager (several). A large falcon near the volcanizadore might have been an Orange-breasted but was seen with heavy backlight only...

Aguas Verdes

The first day we concentrated on the white sand forest as described by Goodie. In the very small town of Aguas Verdes, near KM 399, we took a dirt road to the right, about 100m after the beginning of the town when driving up. After a few hundred meter there are several footpaths on the right leading towards the forest remnant. We followed the main trails back and forth.

On our second visit we tried another area to find the sabrewing: about 2 km above the village of Aguas Verdes (ca KM 397) there is a very obvious orange bridge. There is a nice trail just before the bridge to the left and another past the bridge to the right leading towards the river. We mainly explored the latter whereas the left should be better for the sunangel (we found out later).

Unlike most independent travellers we opted to stay in the somewhat larger village of Naranjos as advised by the ECOAN staff. The hotel was basic as well, but we didn't suffer from moisture nor mosquitos. There are restaurants and shops available as well and it is only 15 minutes away from Aguas Verdes (towards Tarapoto).
Highlights: Zimmer's Antbird (a pair taped in and seen in the white sand forest), Black-bellied Tanager (fairly common near the village), White-browed Purpletuft (3 birds in the white sand forest). Surprisingly we did not get any Napo Sabrewing...

Rioja area

A few km before Rioja coming from Moyobamba we noted an obvious large stand of mauritia palms on the left. We took a taxi back there hoping to see a palm-creeper. It should be somewhere over here S06°02'21'', S77°07'20''.

Highlights: Point-tailed Palmcreeper (a party of 4 birds seen in the palms), Spotted Rail (1 bird flushed in the rice paddies when walking towards the palm forest). We tried to find Uniform Crake without success.

Yacumama

This site has some good dry habitat. We went there with the same taxi as for the palm-creeper site. From Rioja it is about 10,5 km in the direction of Nueva Cajamarca where you should turn left at a large sign 'Yacumama Restaurant'. It is near KM 459 (S06°00'30'', W77°14' 57''). We followed the dirt road and took left at a fork. Eventually the road became too bad after 1-1,5km and we birded the small forest patch and surrounding savanna.

Highlights: Black-bellied Tanager (a few), Striped Owl (1 very tape responsive bird seen).

Morro de Calzada

This obvious forest covered hill lies between Rioja and Moyobamba. Turn off towards the village of Calzada and again towards the reserve (S06°01'56'', S77°03'44''). We had us dropped off by a taxi at the visitor's parking and birded the trail (S06°01'31'', W77°02'37'') towards the summit. We did not make it all the way up, since we focused on the lush forest on the way up. On top there should be some savanna vegetation.

On our way out we birded the entire entrance road in order to check all parrotlets and swifts (without result). The same taxi came to pick us up in the evening. The first evening we tried to score some night birds from the same parking lot without success...

Highlights: Buff-throated Tody-Tyrant (1 singing bird seen along the summit trail), Stripe-necked Tody-Tyrant (1 bird seen along the entrance road just before the parking lot), Yellow-browed Tody-Flycatcher (a pair seen high up in the canopy at the lower stretch of the Summit Trail).

Pomacochas

Since Raf joined us after we visited the Kenticafé with it's spatuletails, we included another well-known site to see them. The Heumbo feeders are on a private ground but can be visited for a small entrance fee. It is about 8 km from Pomacochas near KM 315,5 (S05°51'23'', W77°59'02'').

Highlights: Marvelous Spatuletail (3 males frequented the feeders).

Rio Chido

On the way back from Pomacochas towards the coast there is at about 3km a turn-off to the right (S05°50'00'', W77°59'57'') not too far after the large bridge, leading towards San Lorenzo. Reading through the recent trip reports it seemed somewhat complex to reach the right birding spot, which is heavily degraded on top of that. Most people tend to take a trail to the left after about 1 km. We had some up-to-date information from our friend Juve (we saw him at Abra Patricia) on finding the antpitta, so we tried our luck... We continued all the way to the small village of San Lorenzo and looked for the central soccer field (S05°48'40'', W78°00'44''). The trail starts in the far left corner of the football field and is obvious to follow. There is one fork after 400m where you should go right and follow the main trail up. This leads through some pastures and cut-down areas and after a few km you come across the first small remnant patches of dense bamboo. We picked out a suitable one (the second on the right at that time S05°48'34'', W78°01'16'') and immediately scored excellent views of several cooperative antpittas! We continued along the trail (as far as S05'48'06'', W78°01'44'') but heavy habitat degradation was going on all over the place...

Highlights: Pale-billed Antpitta (3 birds readily seen very well in a dense bamboo patch, see coordinate), Coppery Metaltail (1 bird in the paramo area higher up the trail), Unstreaked Tit-Tyrant (several seen a bit higher up the trail), Inca Flycatcher (2 birds), Peruvian Wren (4 tape very responsive birds seen in a bamboo patch near the last coordinate), Trilling Tapaculo (1 bird only, a bit before the last coordinate).

Las Juntas

This general area is found about 50 km north of Jaén and is easily reached by a collectivo. We had our self dropped off a few kms before the village in the early morning. The right bended curve with the guard rail was easy to find near (S05°23'02'', W78°46'29''). We birded the trail on the left through some dense thorny vegetation for about 1 km. Most of the specialities were readily seen here. On our way back we birded along the main road towards Jaén while walking. After a while we decided to hitchhike back to Jaén in order to bird the Chamaya area in the afternoon.

Highlights: Maranon Spinetail (at least 3 seen and a several more heard along the trail), Maranon Crescentchest (2 birds seen and a few more heard along the trail), Necklaced Spinetail (sometimes split as Chinchipe Spinetail; 4 birds along the trail), Sooty-crowned Flycatcher (at least 3 birds seen along the trail), Buff-bellied Tanager (a flock of at least 5 birds along the trail), Drab Seedeater (fairly common), Black-capped Sparrow (sometimes split as Maranon Sparrow; (good numbers along the trail).

Chamaya

This must be the easiest accessible site for the Little Inca-Finch. In the afternoon heat we took a collectivo from Jaén towards Chamaya and got out right at the KM 2 marker (S05°49'12'', W78°45'36''). We did a little roadside birding and since we saw our target species within 10 minutes we decided to skip the rest of this area and move on all the way to Olmos in order to gain time. As most cars coming from Chamaya were still full we walked towards the center and took one there to get back to Jaén, pick up our luggage and move on by bus...

Highlights: Little Inca-Finch (2 bird readily seen), Ecuadorian Ground-Dove (3 birds), Collared Antshrike (possible split ssp shumbae; 1 bird), Sooty-crowned Flycatcher (1 bird).

Porculla Pass

The pass gives access to some somewhat montane forest. From Olmos we took a bus towards Jaén and got of at Limon de Porculla, a few kms before the pass itself. From here we took the dirt road on the left towards San Pedro (S05°53'19'', W79°32'26''). After a few kms the habitat changes into some montane scrub and eventually some taller shrubs/trees. We birded this dirt road for about 5km and after we saw our targets (S05°52'48'', W79°32'25'') got back to the main road and wandered around before we took a bus back to Olmos.

Highlights: Ecuadorian Piculet (a single bird), Rufous-necked Foliage-gleaner (2 singles), Henna-hooded Foliage-gleaner (2 singles), Chapman's Antshrike (good numbers), Elegant Crescentchest (good numbers seen and heard), Pacific Elaenia (2), Piura Chat-Tyrant (5+), Superciliated Wren (10+), Plumbeous-backed Thrush (2), Gray-and-gold Warbler (1), Three-banded Warbler (fairly common), Black-cowled Saltator (good numbers seen and heard), Bay-crowned Brush-Finch (good numbers), Andean Condor (1 imm bird soaring amongst Black Vultures).

El Tocto

This area used to be the original site for the guans, but other sites took over. We birded this less frequently birded area on 2 afternoons. From Olmos we had a taxi taking us along the Pan-American Highway. About 16 kms to the North there is a dirt road to the right after the KM 105 marker (S05°52'41'', W79°47'26''). The first time we concentrated on this dirt road and made several stops from just around the junction to about 10km further along the dirt road. The first part goes through some scrubby habitat with lots of cattle and gradually changes into some more vegetated habitat with scattered mesquite trees. A guan breeding center is located on the first stretch of this track.

The second afternoon we tried the cultivated area behind another (private?) breeding center next to main road, a few kms before the El Tocto track.

Highlights: Red-masked Parakeet (large flocks at both sites), Tumbes Hummingbird (a single bird along the dirt road), Short-tailed Woodstar (5+ along the dirt road), Necklaced Spinetail (4), Collared Antshrike (a few at both sites), Gray-and-white Tyrannulet (good numbers along the dirt road), Tumbes Tyrant (5+ along the dirt road and 1 behind the zoo), Rufous Flycatcher (3 birds along the dirt road), Baird's Flycatcher (5+ along the dirt road and 3 behind the zoo), White-tailed Jay (2 behind the zoo), Superciliated Wren (fairly common along the dirt road, a few behind the zoo), Cinereous Finch (a single bird along the dirt road), Tumbes Sparrow (fairly common along the dirt road), White-edged Oriole (several at both sites). No Crimson-breasted Finches though.

Bosque de Frejolillo (Quebrada Limon)

One of the easiest places to see the White-winged Guans these days is in this protected area. Trip reports stated it is not straightforward to find it though. We gave it a chance and asked around in Olmos to get an early morning taxi. To our surprise we found one rather easily. Make sure you are talking about the right Q. Limon, as there seems to be another one... From Olmos take the Pan-American Highway towards Piura and at KM 115,3 (S05°47'56'', W79°50'07'') there is a dirt road to the right. Follow this road and keep right at a fork at 6,5 km. About 19 km from the highway you will reach the tiny village of Limon (S05°41'44'', W79°44'39''). All of this was passable with a regular car, no high clearance needed as stated by others.

As soon as we arrived we were welcomed by Lino Rico, the local guide. He was very happy to show us around and took us right to the 'guan canyon' where the guans were readily seen (S05°42'27'', W79°43'30'').

We also birded the scrub along the main entrance track for a few kms.

Highlights: Pale-browed Tinamou (3 single birds were encountered while walking towards the guan canyon), White-winged Guan (at least 7 birds showed well at the guan canyon), Red-masked Parakeet (20+), Scrub Nightjar (1 bird flushed at the guan canyon - probably more present but we stopped searching after we had one), Tumbes Hummingbird (5+), Short-tailed Woodstar (5+), Ecuadorian Piculet (4), Necklaced Spinetail (5+), Henna-hooded Foliage-gleaner (1 bird seen foraging on the ground at the guan canyon), Collared Antshrike (10+), Elegant Crescentchest (easily 5 seen and several more heard), Pacific Elaenia (4), Gray-and-white Tyrannulet (5+), Tumbes Tyrant (2 in the scrub along the entrance road), Baird's Flycatcher (5+), White-tailed Jay (10+), Superciliated Wren (10+), Plumbeous-backed Thrush (5+), White-headed Brush-Finch (several flocks, in total 10+), White-edged Oriole (5+). The Peruvian Screech-Owl was not present at Lino's day roost...

Santa Rosa

As we arrived in the very heat of the day in Chiclayo we tried some general and easy birding before going to Bosque de Pomac. We headed out of Chiclayo southwards and took right in Monsefu. This road runs though some agricultural fields (S06°52'57'', W79°54'19'') before reaching the coastal town of Santa Rosa. We birded these fields and had a quick look at the ocean...

Highlights: none

Bosque de Pomac

In the vicinity of Chiclayo one can visit the national archeological and ecological sanctuary of Bosque de Pomac. There are plenty of shuttle services to take you there, but we took a taxi as we wanted to stay longer for some owling. You should take the road towards Ferrenafe (ca 20km) and then to Batan Grande (ca 11 km more). Before you reach Batan Grande there is an Interpretation center (S06°29'12'', W79°45'10''). The birding is done along entrance road which starts here, and the better species are seen around the 'old tree' (S06°29'15'', W79°45'53'').

As we had a taxi we also explored a loop and made several stops. The most productive being near the a lookout over the river as there were lots of swallows to scan.

Highlights: Peruvian Plantcutter (at least 5 seen and a few more heard, mainly near the 'old tree'), Short-tailed Woodstar (5+), Coastal Miner (5+ on some fields just outside the entrance), Collared Antshrike (10+), Gray-and-white Tyrannulet (5+), Tumbes Tyrant (1 bird in some arid scrub area), Rufous Flycatcher (1), Baird's Flycatcher (15+), White-tailed Jay 5+), Superciliated Wren (fairly common), Cinereous Finch (10+), Tumbes Sparrow (10+), White-edged Oriole (5+), Peruvian Screech-Owl (2 birds taped in near the old tree at S0629'21'', W79°46'00'').

Chaparri

It was a bit unclear how to get access to this reserve. We took a bus to Chongoyape, a town 65 km east of Chiclayo, and got off at a grocery store on advice of one of the locals on the bus. The shop owners got us in contact with a local bird guide (!) and a driver. Soon we found our self roadside birding the dry scrubby area where the first of many Finches were easily seen (S06°34'12'', W79°26'01''). Later on we made a stop and a short walk on the trails near the interpretation center (S06°32'25'', W79°28'25'').

On our way out we made a brief stop at the huge Tinajones Dam to scan for some water birds (S06°38'12'', W79°25'44'').

Highlights: Sulphur-throated Finch (various large flocks, hundreds birds in total, all along the main track), White-winged Guan (a few heard only but they are all released birds from breeding programs), Red-masked Parakeet (a few flocks, 20+ in total), Short-tailed Woodstar (5+), Collared Antshrike (5+), Elegant Crescentchest (a few seen an several more heard), Gray-and-white Tyrannulet (5+), Tumbes Tyrant (2 singles), Baird's Flycatcher (10+), White-tailed Jay (5+), Superciliated Wren (a few), Cinereous Finch (10+), Tumbes Sparrow (fairly common), White-edged Oriole (10+).

Chao

On our way south we jumped off the bus at the small roadside village of Chao. Here we took a mototaxi to bring us towards the coast. Just passed the village along the Pan-American near KM 496 there is a turnoff on the right towards the beach (S08°32'38'', W78°40'31''). After about 7,5 km you pass a bridge over a small river with some vegetation alongside it. This area was birded on our way back (S08°35'49'', W78°43'03''). A few hundred meters further you will pass next to an obvious hill and just behind it you can take a dirt track to the right (S08°36' 07'', W78°43'15''). We continued the track along the hill for ca 1,5 km until we reached for Spencer's waypoint (S08°35'41'', W78°43'52'').

Highlights: Necklaced Spinetail (undescribed subspecies; fairly common), Coastal Miner (4), Superciliated Wren (a few), Cinereous Finch (5+), Chestnut-collared Swallow (at least 10 together with loads of other swallows just past the junction with the main road).

Huaylas Road

From Caraz we had a taxi to drop us off and walked most part of the road down to the main road where we took a collectivo back. Driving north from Caraz towards Sucre for about 14 km, take the turn-off at S08°58'10'', W77°50'27''. We started right at the pass and birded the road back down to about KM 15 (S08°53'07'', W77°52'23''). We hitchhiked down and birded the lower part from KM 10 to KM 7 (S08°55'21'', W77°51'33'').

Highlights: Rufous-backed Inca-Finch (4 seen and a few more heard, all at the highest part), Great Inca-Finch (2 birds along the lower part), Canyon Canastero (2 seen and a few more heard, all along the lower part), Bronze-tailed Comet (5+ seen, most near the pass), Baron's Spinetail (5+ seen and more heard).

Pueblo Libre

We visited this site with a taxi from Caraz. About 5 km south of Caraz there is a turn-off towards Pueblo Libre which crosses the bridge immediately. After ca 2 km just passed the small local plaza there is a dirt track that starts in a sharp bend (S09°05'15'', W77°47'41'') and goes into a valley with large cactus stands (S09°05'10'', W77°47'55'').

Highlights: Creamy-breasted Canastero (sometimes split as Pale-tailed Canastero, 3 seen and a few more heard), Black-necked Woodpecker (2).

Abra Portuchuelo

We started off very early from Yungay in order to reach the pass at first light. We had us dropped off at about 10 km after the pass (KM 47) by a rather expensive one-way taxi (2hrs) and we planned to take a bus down. The main stop was the polylepis forest at KM 58 to 60 (S09°2'36'', W77°33'18''). We ventured around and tried to follow some short trails as well.

Around noon we took a bus to the other side of the pas again and birded from KM 35 down to KM 28 near the second lake (S09°03'20'', W77°37'29''). As it started raining and traffic began to become sparse, we hitchhiked down.

Highlights: Ancash Tapaculo (at least 5 seen and several more heard, very tape responsive and tame), White-cheeked Cotinga (2 birds in the polylepis forest near KM 59), Plain-tailed Warbling-Finch (minimal 3 birds seen in a mixed species flock in the polylepis forest near KM 59), Rufous-eared Brush-Finch (10+ seen in the polylepis forest near km 59), Striated Earthcreeper (a single seen on both sides of the pass), Rusty-crowned Tit-Spinetail (3 birds), Thick-billed Siskin (1 bird at the polylepis forest near KM 58), Black-crested Tit-Tyrant (4), Giant Conebill (5+).

Puerto Huarmey

As it was still clear when we arrived in the coastal city of Huarmey, we checked in in a convenient hotel and went straight towards the port of Huarmey by mototaxi. At the end of the city take right (S10°04'24'', W78°09'16'') and follow the road until you hit the coast. We explored the rocky area and beach at the end of the paved road (S10°05'50'', W78°10'17'').

Highlights: Surf Cinclodes (1 on the rocks near the sea), Coastal Miner (2), Red-legged Cormorant (30+), Peruvian Pelican (fairly common).

San Damian

Most people tend to go to Sinsicap these days for the spinetail but for logistic reasons we preferred this site. From the coastal city of Huarmey we hired a taxi for a full day to take us there and back. There is public transport but not serving at the right hours for birders in a hurry. From Huarmey we took the paved road west towards Huaraz. After about 42 keep left at one of the few junctions (S09°57'53'', W77°51'25''). Proceed ca 19,5 km and turn left at S09°52'22'', W77°45'56''. We were dropped at the far end of the village and hiked uphill as described by Spencer until we reached his waypoint (S09°51'45'', W77°47'07'').

Highlights: Russet-bellied Spinetail (2 birds seen and 1 heard), Piura Chat-Tyrant (5+), Great Inca-Finch (3 seen and a few heard along the hike up), Bay-crowned Brush-Finch (2).

Lomas de Lachay

We gained one day on our circuit so we included this coastal reserve as it could deliver several new species for some of us. From Chancay we took a taxi and entered through the main entrance (S11°24'37'', W77°23'19''). From the visitor center we took the loop trail along waterhole and ridge (S11°21'21'', W77°21'17'').

Later on we drove out the reserve again and took another entrance road on the other side of the reserve (S11°21'12'', W77°19'54''). This dirt road ends in a cactus covered area which proved to be far better for the Canastero (S11°20'53'', W77°21'37'').

Highlights: Raimondi's Yellow-Finch (several flocks on both sites, 30+ in total), Thick-billed Miner (5+ in the higher elevations of the first spot), Cactus Canastero (4 seen and more heard at the second spot), Coastal Miner (10+, most along the main entrance road).