The fantastic Scarlet-banded Barbet was one of the highlights of the tour; it was only described in 2000 (Mark Van Beirs) NORTHERN PERU 1 – 20 AUGUST 2019 LEADER: MARK VAN BEIRS Peru is well known as being one of the richest birding countries in the world and on all our different itineraries through this immensely varied country we observe terrific selections of specialities and endemics, together with barely manageable, huge birdlists. On our current Northern Peru route we assembled an incredibly high quality range of goodies, which only ten years ago one could only have dreamt about. Species like Scarlet- banded Barbet, the legendary Long-whiskered Owlet, Cordillera Azul Antbird and Ochre-fronted and Pale- billed Antpittas have only recently been discovered, have only of late become obtainable or needed major expeditions till only a few years ago. Our good friend and colleague Paul Coopmans, who passed away 1 BirdQuest Tour Report: NORTHERN PERU www.birdquest-tours.com much too young (44) in 2007, created and perfected our Northern Peru tour in the late nineties and he would be truly amazed by the sheer quality of rarities seen these days. The six most appreciated species of the tour included exactly the five birds mentioned, together with that incredibly attractive hummingbird, the Marvelous Spatuletail. We saw a glorious number of hummingbirds (68 species), often at the well organised feeding stations that are now well established. The highlights amongst the 696 recorded species included White-winged Guan, Andean Condor, Paint-billed Crake, Band-bellied and Stygian Owls, Oilbird, Swallow- tailed Nightjar, Buff-tailed Sicklebill, Rufous-crested Coquette, Grey-bellied Comet, Lanceolated Monklet, Buckley’s Forest Falcon, Yellow-faced Parrotlet, Point-tailed Palmcreeper, Great Spinetail, Rusty-tinged, Chestnut and Ochre-fronted Antpittas, the Fulvous and Cajamarca races of Rufous Antpitta, Lulu’s Tody- Flycatcher, Tumbes Tyrant, Peruvian Plantcutter, Scarlet-breasted Fruiteater, Tumbes Swallow, Bar-winged Wood Wren, White-eared Solitaire, Marañon Thrush, Pale-eyed Blackbird, a fine selection of Tanagers including Dotted, four species of Inca Finches and Sulphur-throated Finch. Mammals were not obvious on this route, but we did have lovely sightings of Saddleback Tamarin, Sechura Fox and a Brown-throated Three-toed Sloth. The tiny, exquisite Long-whiskered Owlet was virtually unknown till just a few years ago; it performed brilliantly in its mossy cloud forest habitat (Mark Van Beirs) 2 BirdQuest Tour Report: NORTHERN PERU www.birdquest-tours.com The trip started in the early morning at the airport of the city of Chiclayo, the economic hub of Northern Peru. We were welcomed by Miguel and his capable team and soon a well-equipped minibus took us a short distance to some wooded dunes not far from the ocean, where we enjoyed a bout of introductory birding. The highlight here was the rare and declining Peruvian Plantcutter, a pair of which eventually showed very well while posing on top of a bush. We also obtained excellent views of Amazilia Hummingbird, a male Peruvian Sheartail, a pair of dainty Scarlet-backed Woodpeckers, Tumbesian Tyrannulet, Superciliated Wren, Tropical Gnatcatcher, Long-tailed Mockingbird, Cinereous Finch and Bananaquit. In late morning, we drove further north, escorted by Turkey and abundant Black Vultures and West Peruvian Doves and explored a stretch of rocky coast where several large roosts of Peruvian Pelicans and Peruvian and Blue- footed Boobies could be admired at close quarters. We also found Neotropic and Guanay Cormorants, We were able to admire Peruvian Boobies at a clifftop roost along the coast (Mark Van Beirs) 3 BirdQuest Tour Report: NORTHERN PERU www.birdquest-tours.com Belcher’s Gull, Inca Tern and several ghostly Coastal Miners. A nearby reed-edged river was splendidly birdy as it held Cinnamon Teal, Black-crowned Night Heron, Striated Heron, Western Cattle Egret, Cocoi Heron, Great and Snowy Egrets, Little Blue Heron, Common Gallinule, Black-necked Stilt, Killdeer, Snowy and Collared Plovers, Spotted and Least Sandpipers, Greater Yellowlegs, Black Skimmer, Groove-billed Ani, Northern Crested Caracara, American Kestrel, Pacific Hornero, Black Phoebe, Tropical Kingbird, Grey- breasted Martin, Blue-and-white and Southern Rough-winged Swallows, Fasciated Wren, Lesser Goldfinch, Rufous-collared Sparrow and a smart White-edged Oriole. Another stretch of coastline held lots and lots of Kelp and Grey-headed Gulls and just a few migrant Franklin’s and Grey Gulls. In the afternoon we left the misty coast and headed inland to the famous Chaparri Reserve. A party of subtly-plumaged Sulphur-throated Finches obliged and we obtained excellent scope views of this localized species. We also picked up Croaking Ground Dove, Eared Dove, Pacific Parrotlet, Vermilion Flycatcher, Peruvian Meadowlark, Shiny Cowbird, Scrub Blackbird, Blue-grey Tanager, Saffron Finch and a couple of cute Sechura Foxes. As the sun went down we rolled into the grounds of lovely Chaparri. The rare, threatened Peruvian Plantcutter and the unobtrusive Coastal Miner perfomed near the coast (Mark Van Beirs) An early start took us to the magnificent bromeliad-laden subtropical woodlands of the Casupe area by dawn. A Peruvian Thick-knee and lots of Lesser Nighthawks enlivened the journey. We enjoyed a fantastic morning in this beautiful venue and picked up specialities like Pacific Pygmy Owl, Grey-chinned Hermit, Purple-collared Woodstar, Ecuadorian Piculet, Guayaquil Woodpecker, Red-masked Parakeet, Rufous- necked and smart-looking Henna-hooded Foliage-gleaners, Collared and Chapman’s Antshrikes, a well- performing Elegant Crescentchest, Tumbes Pewee, Plumbeous-backed Thrush, Black-capped Sparrow, White-winged and White-headed Brushfinches, Three-banded Warbler and Golden Grosbeak. An Ochre- bellied Dove remained a voice only. More widespread species included Variable and White-throated Hawks, White-tipped Dove, Southern Beardless Tyrannulet, Yellow-olive Flatbill, Smoke-coloured Pewee, Speckle- breasted and House Wrens, Tooth-billed Tanager, Ash-breasted Sierra Finch and Dull-coloured Grassquit. After a short break in the heat of the day, we birded the extensive grounds of the Chaparri lodge, where we noted Harris’s Hawk, Black-chested Buzzard-Eagle, Tumbes Hummingbird, a nice male Short-tailed Woodstar, Tawny-crowned Pygmy Tyrant, Grey-and-white Tyrannulet, Tumbes Tyrant, Baird’s Flycatcher, White-tailed Jay, Tumbes Sparrow, Collared Warbling Finch, Parrot-billed Seedeater and a Guayaquil Squirrel. In late afternoon a nearby dam produced White-cheeked Pintail, Pied-billed Grebe, Puna Ibis, Savanna Hawk, Andean Coot, Pectoral Sandpiper, Burrowing Owl, Ringed Kingfisher, Necklaced Spinetail, a cracking Short-tailed Field Tyrant and Chestnut-throated and Variable Seedeaters. We stayed out till dark and heard the distinctive song of a Buff-fronted Owl, but the bird wouldn’t budge, sadly. 4 BirdQuest Tour Report: NORTHERN PERU www.birdquest-tours.com The skulking Elegant Crescentchest gave quite a show as did Black-capped Sparrow (Mark Van Beirs) White-winged Guans are now easily seen at Chaparri (Mark Van Beirs) 5 BirdQuest Tour Report: NORTHERN PERU www.birdquest-tours.com A posing Pacific Screech Owl (of the coastal form pacificus) enlivened our pre-dawn walk at Chaparri (Mark Van Beirs) A pre-dawn walk around the Chaparri lodge quickly allowed perfect views of a splendidly behaving Pacific Screech Owl (of the coastal form pacificus) and a Buff-fronted Owl was heard again. While enjoying a tasty breakfast two White-winged Guans flew in and posed beautifully at close range. We obtained cracking views of these very rare cracids as they showed off the large white patch on their primaries. For most of the morning we explored the surrounding dry woodland, which yielded marvels like Andean Condor (four together), Long-billed Starthroat, Golden-olive Woodpecker (of the distinctive race rubripileus), Lineated Woodpecker (of the race fuscipennis), Pacific Elaenia, Bran-coloured Flycatcher and Grey-and-gold Warbler. More widespread species included Streak-headed Woodcreeper, Common Tody Flycatcher, Hooded Siskin, Thick-billed Euphonia, Yellow-tailed Oriole and Blue-black Grassquit. Guayaquil Squirrels, a well behaved Sechura Fox visiting the kitchen, a White-tailed Deer and an impressive Green Iguana completed the faunal 6 BirdQuest Tour Report: NORTHERN PERU www.birdquest-tours.com list. In late morning, as bird activity had died down, we boarded our minibus and drove to the famous Bosque de Pomac. A short walk in the Prosopis woodland gave us the attractive, rare Rufous Flycatcher. At a nearby viewpoint over a stretch of gnarled algarrobo trees we scanned through numbers of Blue-and-white Swallows and eventually obtained excellent looks at several rare, very elegant Tumbes Swallows as they hunted low over the dune-like hills. Several lovely Chestnut-collared Swallows also showed. After this resounding success we drove to our hotel in the little town of Olmos. Spot-throated Hummingbird and Piura Chat-Tyrant are both Peruvian endemics (Mark Van Beirs) Next morning we birded the scrubby hillsides of the Abra Porculla pass. Bird activity seemed quite low, but persistence paid off as eventually a smashing, rather skulking Piura Chat-Tyrant and a pair of rare Ecuadorian Seedeaters performed very nicely. We also spotted Band-tailed Pigeon, Sparkling Violetear, Green-tailed Trainbearer, Great Thrush, Bay-crowned Brushfinch, Black-crested Warbler,