Peru - Macaws & Machu Picchu Naturetrek Tour Report 11 – 25 September 2015 Hoatzin Capybara Macaws at a clay lick Burrowing Owl Report compiled by Andy Smith Images courtesy of Phil Bignell Naturetrek Mingledown Barn Wolf's Lane Chawton Alton Hampshire GU34 3HJ UK T: +44 (0)1962 733051 E: [email protected] W: www.naturetrek.co.uk Peru - Macaws & Machu Picchu Tour Report Tour Participants: Andy Smith (leader), local guides Carlos (Lima), Uriel & Paul (Tambopata) and Jose Manuel (Cusco and Inca Trail), and nine Naturetrek clients Day 1 Friday 11th September In flight from the UK to Peru. We arrived in Lima in the early evening and transferred across town to our hotel in Miraflores. Day 2 Saturday 12th September In the morning we went on a boat trip from Callao around the Palaminos Islands. We enjoyed close encounters with masses of Southern Sea Lions and a good range of Humboldt Current seabirds including Peruvian Pelican, Peruvian Booby, Guanay and Red-legged Cormorants, Band-tailed and Grey Gulls, Inca Tern and Humboldt Penguin. In the afternoon we visited the Pantanos de Villa Marshes and saw a variety of wetland birds including Great Grebe, Cinnamon Teal and Least Bittern, plus Wren-like Rushbird, Many-coloured Rush-Tyrant, Peruvian Thick-knee and a superb Burrowing Owl. Day 3 Sunday 13th September After breakfast we transferred back to the airport for our flight over the Andes to Puerto Maldonado, where we arrived in the late morning. Our journey continued with a bus ride to the little port of Infierno. Highlights en route included a Tegu crossing the road ahead of us, a King Vulture soaring overhead, a couple of Roadside Hawks, lots of White-collared Swifts, and at a brief river bridge stop some nesting Yellow-rumped Caciques, a Magpie Tanager, two Chestnut-capped Puffbirds and a Rusty-fronted Tody-Flycatcher. Recent rain had left lots of puddles along the roadside which were attracting masses of large, colourful butterflies of a wide range of species. At Inferno we watched an impressive Crimson-crested Woodpecker drumming in a tall riverside tree, and then transferred to the boat that would take us the short distance up-river to the Posada Amazonas. Along the river we saw a Capped Heron, a Grey Hawk, and some Red-and-Green Macaws taking clay at a small cliff. We finished the day at the Posada with a short walk out into the forest during which we saw a Rufous Motmot, a trio of Yellow-tufted Woodpeckers, some Mealy Parrots, a Great Tinamou and a couple of Dusky Titi Monkeys. Day 4 Monday 14th September We started the day at first light with a trip to a nearby oxbow lake where we spent a very pleasant couple of hours pottering sedately on a large wooden raft. Highlights here included sensational views of a pair of Giant River Otters catching and eating fish, plus several Hoatzins, a Sungrebe, a Rufescent Tiger-Heron, two Slate- coloured Hawks, some Wattled Jacanas, both Ringed and Amazon Kingfishers, and a few Greater Anis. In the forest around the lake we enjoyed good views of a Striolated Puffbird and a confiding Black-faced Ant-Thrush. Continuing up-river into ever remoter and more pristine rainforest, we saw a wide range of exciting Amazonian wildlife including Capybara, Greater Yellow-headed Vulture, Great Black Hawk, Collared Plover, White-necked Heron and Side-necked Terrapin. We broke the journey in the mid-afternoon heat at the Chuncho clay lick and © Naturetrek March 16 1 Peru - Macaws & Machu Picchu Tour Report were treated to great views of Blue-and-yellow and Red-and-green Macaws, plus lots of nesting Russet-backed Oropendolas and an interesting range of small birds. Back on the river we finished the boat journey with good sightings of Orinoco Geese, Black Caracara, Razor-billed Curassow and a superb Black-and-white Hawk-Eagle. We arrived at the Tambopata Research Centre (TRC) at the end of the afternoon in good time to settle in before dark. Day 5 Tuesday 15th September We started the day at the Colpa where we were treated to the glorious spectacle of hundreds of noisy and colourful parrots and macaws assembling to eat clay. Undoubted stars were the big macaws, and we had superb views of Blue-and-yellow, Red-and-green and Scarlet Macaws. Additionally there were dozens of the smaller Chestnut-Fronted and Red-bellied Macaws and good numbers of Mealy, Yellow-crowned and Blue-headed Parrots. Several White-bellied and a few Orange-cheeked Parrots also turned up, and other notable sightings on this superb morning included Blue-throated Piping Guan, Lineated Woodpecker, Emerald Toucanet, Violaceous Jay, Gilded Barbet and Bare-necked Fruitcrow. Back at the lodge over breakfast the excitement continued with sightings of White-throated Toucan, Long-tailed Hermit and several graceful Plumbeous Kites. The rest of the day either side of lunch and a siesta was spent out on the trails exploring the forest. Highlights included good views of Red Howler and Black Spider Monkeys, Saddleback Tamarins and a noisy, smelly herd of 50+ White-lipped Peccaries. An exciting range of birds included roosting Long-tailed Potoo, male Red-capped Manakin, Blue-crowned Motmot, both Black-tailed and Blue-crowned Trogons, a pair of White-browed Antbirds and two Black-spotted Bare-eyes. Day 6 Wednesday 16th September Back at the Colpa at dawn we enjoyed another sensational parrot and macaw extravaganza until a Black-and- white Hawk-Eagle appeared and spooked them, and they all rose up in a whirling, shrieking cloud of form and colour and dispersed away into the forest. The supporting cast today included Grey-necked Wood-Rail, Red- capped Cardinal and singing Yellow-browed Sparrow. Breakfast action back at the lodge involved a mixed troop of Brown Capuchins and Squirrel Monkeys making their way around the clearing, and nice views of an impressive Spix’s Guan. Highlights out on the trails included more Howlers and Spider Monkeys, a Sunbittern, some Ivory-billed Aracaris, a stunning little Rufous-capped Antthrush and a handsome Green Amoeva. Day 7 Thursday 17th September We left TRC after an early breakfast and made our way down to the river in the pre-dawn with a wonderful background soundscape of Dusky-Titi, Howler Monkeys, Blue-crowned Motmot, Tawny-bellied Screech Owl, Buff-throated Woodcreeper and Buckley’s Forest Falcon. The journey back downstream to Infierno in the early morning was also very enjoyable and bought us repeated sightings of most of the wildlife that we had seen on the way up plus a few new things including Grey-headed Kite, Pied Lapwing, a flock of White-eyed Parakeets, Channel-billed Toucan, some Chestnut-eared Aracaris and a few Swallow-wings. 2 © Naturetrek Peru - Macaws & Machu Picchu Tour Report From Infierno we transferred by bus to Puerto Maldonado and the airport, and in the early afternoon we touched down in breathless, lofty Cusco. Meeting up with our local guide we transferred to our hotel, took a short break and then set out on an informative tour of parts of this ancient and fascinating city. Day 8 Friday 18th September After breakfast we set off to picturesque Huacarpay Lake, an hour or so to the south of Cusco. Shallow and marshy, surrounded by grassland and scrubby hills, and with a backdrop of spectacular mountains, Huacarpay is a rich place to explore. In a short space of time we saw a wide range of wetland birds including White-tufted Grebe, Speckled and Puna Teals, Yellow-billed Pintail, Andean Ruddy Duck, Andean Coot and Wilson’s Phalarope. Plumbeous Rail, Wren-like Rushbird and dazzling Many-coloured Rush-Tyrants skulked in the rushes, Puna Ibis waded in the shallows, Andean Lapwing strutted around on the fringing grassland, and handsome Andean Gulls passed low over our heads. Black-chested Buzzard-Eagle, Puna Hawk and Mountain Caracara added raptor interest, and smaller birds included Bare-faced Ground Dove, Giant Hummingbird, Andean Flicker, Streak-fronted Thornbird, White-browed Chat-Tyrant, Blue-and-yellow Tanager and Yellow- winged Blackbird. From Huarcarpay we drove along the Sacred Valley to Pisac. Here we explored the remarkable Inca ruins and added Bearded Mountaineer, Rusty-fronted Canastero, Yellow-billed Tit-Tyrant, Peruvian Sierra-Finch and Chestnut-breasted Mountain-Finch to the bird list before returning towards Cusco. We finished the afternoon with a visit to the fortress of Sacsayhuaman and arrived back at the hotel in good time to prepare for our time on the Inca Trail. Day 9 Saturday 19th September After breakfast we boarded our bus and headed out of Cusco and across the high altitude Chinchero plateau. We stopped for an hour or so at Piuray Lake where we enjoyed a short stroll and a nice range of birds. Among the highlights were two pairs of Andean Geese, three Burrowing Owls, a couple of Short-billed Pipits, and out on the lake itself an amazing 175 Wilson’s Phalaropes spinning and pirouetting in classic fashion on the mirror calm surface. Continuing on, we dropped down into the Sacred Valley, passed through Urubamba and continued to the small and bustling little town of Ollantaytambo where we had a chance to stock up with any last minute supplies before beginning the trail. A little further on, at Chilca, we came to the end of the road and found our porters waiting for us. After a little time adjusting loads we all set off. Keeping close to the river, our route took us through a patchwork of farmsteads and dry rocky scrubland and past occasional small Inca ruins. Birds seen as we walked included Peregrine, Andean Swift, Giant Hummingbird, White-winged Black Tyrant, Black Phoebe, Rust-and-yellow Tanager and several superb Torrent Ducks.