Day 4 Desert to Andes

We left the lodge very early, seeing two Tschudi’s Nightjar along the track before the rough surface finally caught us out and the van got a puncture. While the driver changed the wheel, we walked along the track. After a couple of short stops for Peruvian Pygmy-Owl and Burrowing Owl, we were soon on our way again and our first main stop was a mesquite forest at Bosque de Pomac where we had a field breakfast.

Peruvian Pygmy-Owl

Burrowing Owl

We walked a loop trail and it was already quite hot but there were new birds to look for. We saw Mouse-coloured Tyrannulet and best of all, the endemic Rufous Flycatcher as well as good views of Snowy-throated Kingbird.

Rufous Flycatcher

Snowy-throated Kingbird

We carried on to another site where two very localised species hung out - Coastal Miner and Tumbes Swallows. We could easily have been back home as they closely resembled Wheatear and House Martin. Then it was a long drive away from the desert and up towards the Andes. On the way we added White-tipped Swift and Tooth-billed (Hepatic) Tanager.

Arid hillside

The plan was to stop at Abra Porculla pass for lunch and some birding but the cloud had descended and visibility was almost zero with heavy drizzle. Even so we still managed to see White-winged Brushfinch and Slate-throated Whitestart, however it was impossible to locate a couple of specialities that we’d hoped to find. After lunch we drove on down and got out of the cloud making the odd roadside stop on the way to Jaen where our hotel awaited.