Day 7 Tanager city & the Owlet

Owlet Lodge was probably the nicest place we stayed at with spacious cabins, plenty of feeders and large grounds. Overnight lights had attracted a large collection of moths to the walls so we were slightly delayed in arriving down to breakfast.

Atlas Moth

Hawk-moth sp

We drove down the road, making frequent stops to look for bird parties in the cloud forest. The first stop produced the mournful song of an Andean Solitaire plus a pair of Torrent Ducks on the river. We walked down one stretch of road with birds constantly around us including a good selection of tanagers with their helpful descriptive names: Flame-faced, Beryl-spangled, Saffron-crowned, Yellow-throated, Metallic-green, Blue-capped and Silver-backed. Other birds seen in the ever-moving flocks were Barred Becard, Deep-blue Flowerpiercer, Russet-crowned and Three-striped Warblers.

Flame-faced Tanager

Saffron-crowned Tanager

Working our way further down the road we saw a single Magpie Tanager, Squirrel Cuckoo plus two species of Oropendola – Russet-backed and Crested plus a couple of over-wintering North American Wood-Warblers: Blackburnian and Canada.

Magpie Tanager

Blackburnian Warbler

We next stopped at a private family-owned reserve with a good-hummingbird feeding station and plenty of adjacent flowering plants which hosted a dozen species of Hummer plus several migrant Swainson’s Thrushes. 

It was well set up with a raised covered platform plus coffee and cookies! The best hummingbird on show here was Rufous-crested Coquette.

Rufous-crested Coquette

In the afternoon we went to another private lodge and headed straight up to an antpitta feeding station. Such things didn’t exist on my last visit to Peru in 2004 but the phenomena has caught on across South and Central America and is by far the easiest (and often only) way to see these shy and retiring birds. Within ten minutes a Rusty-tinged Antpitta bounded out of the forest and into a clearing to grab a beakful of wriggling worms while cameras snapped into action. A few minutes later with the feast being consumed it disappeared back into the forest. 

Rusty-tinged Antpitta

With the show over we walked back down to some more hummer feeders and spent a pleasant hour sitting and watching these busy little birds feed and spar with each other. New species for the trip included Booted Racket-tail, Rufous-vented White-tip, Speckled Hummingbird and Greenish Puffleg. Also a couple of Black-winged Parrots flew over.

Booted Racket-tail

Andean Emerald

Golden-tailed Sapphire

Long-tailed Sylph

Many-spotted Hummingbird

Then it was time to try for the owlet. This was a much easier walk than back at Owlet Lodge and more reliable at this time of year. We got ourselves into position and just before dusk the Long-whiskered Owlet started calling. This is another special bird of the area, known only from a few spots in NW Peru and discovered as recently as 1977. The local owlet expert give it a short-bit of playback and we saw the bird fly in and land in a nearby tree, however we couldn’t locate it with a torch before it flew off again so the views weren’t as good as we’d have liked. We waited a while longer but didn’t hear it again and it didn’t come back so we had to leave to get back to the lodge for a late dinner.

Day 6 Owlet Lodge

A leisurely start with bags packed and breakfast at 07:15. We made several stops along the way including one for Purple Gallinule in a rice paddy, a Pearl Kite, as well as Speckle-breasted Wren and Bicoloured Hawk on a walk around a patch of woodland. 

Pearl Kite

Another stop by a river added Black Phoebe and Cliff Flycatcher with an Inca Jay at the next stop.

Cliff Flycatcher

We stopped for lunch at a restaurant in town then continued onto Huembo Gardens. Along a woodland trail there was a covered shelter overlooking a row of hummingbird feeders which were already busy with Sparkling and Lesser Violetears, Andean Emerald and Chestnut-breasted Coronets who always seemed to be spoiling for a fight.

Lesser Violetear

Chestnut-breasted Coronet

It didn’t take too long before the main target arrived and as soon as it did, ‘Bird-of-the-Trip’ was already done and dusted. It was a Marvellous Spatuletail, a timid hummingbird that liked to hide in the bushes before visiting its preferred feeder. This didn’t make it particularly easy to photograph but we all great views of this splendid little hummer with its outrageous tail feathers. 

Marvellous Spatuletail

Eventually we saw two males and a female visit the feeders before they got chased off by the other hummers. Also visiting the feeders were a single White-bellied Hummingbird, Bronzy Inca and Violet-fronted Brilliant.

White-bellied Hummingbird

We went for a short walk around the gardens seeing a few Mitred Parakeets fly over as well as a flock of Chestnut-collared Swifts. We just left in time as a thunderstorm began as we drove on towards Owlet Lodge where we arrived just before dusk. There was a little late activity at their feeders with Long-tailed Sylph, Collared Inca and White-bellied Woodstar all added to the day’s list of hummingbirds.

Day 5 Jaen

A normal start as we didn’t have far to go to Gotas de Agua Reserve. On the approach track a Tataupa Tinamou feeding. Once again we had a field breakfast, then walked up the hillside and quickly saw the two main specialities – Little Inca-Finch and Maranon Crescentchest. The Inca-Finches are a group of five New World buntings that are all endemic to Peru.

Little Inca-Finch

Maranon Crescentchest

There were plenty of other birds around as well such as Drab Seedeater which actually looks a lot better than it sounds, as well as Black-crowned Slaty Antshrike. With the area being greener there were also a lot more butterflies although none posed for photos. We admired the handiwork of a Thornbird nest.

Thornbird nest

We stopped at a rather nice hotel and had lunch overlooking the valley before returning for a siesta. 

lunch overlooking valley

We went out again mid-afternoon to a hillside. It was still about 40 degrees centigrade and unsurprisingly there wasn’t a lot of bird activity but we still managed to see a few new birds – three roosting Scrub Nightjar and two Band-tailed Nightjar. Although we couldn’t find the main target, Maranon Spinetail, we got good views of Spot-throated Hummingbird before the heat wore us out and we drove into town to get some cold drinks before returning to the hotel.

Scrub Nightjar

Spot-throated Hummingbird

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.

Day 3 - Chaparri Lodge

After a good night’s sleep we were ready to go birding at 6 but it was still dark so had to settle for a coffee instead. A West Peruvian Screech-Owl was heard but didn’t wish to be seen so we headed off around the grounds for a short walk and saw Baird’s Flycatcher, Collared Antshrike, White-tailed Jay, Peruvian Pygmy-Owl, Scarlet-backed Woodpecker and a rather neat Grey-and-Gold Warbler.

Scarlet-backed Woodpecker

After breakfast we went for a longer wander on the trails. Although this was the dry side of Peru the weather was overcast and there was a light drizzle but at least it kept the heat down and the bird activity up.

Amazilia Hummingbird

Grey-and-White Tyrannulet

Among the commoner birds we found Amazilia Hummingbird, White-edged Oriole, Red-masked Parakeet, Collared Warbling-Finch and Grey-and-White Tyrannulet. There were even a few mammals seen with Guayaquil Squirrel, Collared Peccary and White-tailed Deer to add to the inquisitive Sechura Fox that hung around the kitchen looking for scraps. 

Guayaquil Squirrel

Collared Peccary

Sechura Fox

White-tailed Deer

A little later we passed a rehabilitation centre which housed a couple of Spectacled Bears. Hopefully they’ll be released back into the wild soon. At least these ones didn’t have a taste for marmalade sandwiches!

Spectacled Bear

The birding was excellent and a little further out we encountered more specialities such as Necklaced Spinetail, Tumbes Tyrant and the exquisite Elegant Crescentchest.

Elegant Crescentchest

However the star bird is White-winged Guan which was once thought to be extinct but later found here which is why this protected area was set up; we saw several.

White-winged Guan

Other locally distributed birds included White-headed Brushfinch, Tumbes Hummingbird, Tumbes Sparrow and Pacific Parrotlet. Most of these birds only live in this arid area of Northern Peru and Southern Ecuador. 

Tumbes Hummingbird

White-headed Brushfinch

We also saw some restored rock art which dated back to the time of the Incas.

Golden Grosbeak

White-tailed Jay

We went back to the lodge late morning for a rest photographing birds at the feeder like Golden Grosbeak and White-tailed Jay and a look at a young Boa. 

Boa

In the afternoon we returned to the reservoir but this time parked further away and walked down towards the shore line. The flock of Black-faced Ibis was still present and at least five Ospreys were sat around the water’s edge along with three Cocoi Herons. 

Black-faced Ibis

In the water there were plenty of ducks with the dominant species being White-cheeked Pintail with a few Cinnamon Teal and Blue-winged Teal while several flocks of Comb Duck flew over. 

Comb Duck

Amongst the egrets were two pink American Spoonbills and several Wood Storks. On the walk back we ran into two small wader flocks, firstly Semipalmated Sandpiper then Baird’s Sandpiper. 

Baird’s Sandpiper

We returned to the approach track towards dusk where flocks of Lesser Nighthawks were flying around and a Striped Cuckoo was seen.

Striped Cuckoo