Southern Peru 2016

July 1 - July 24



Introduction:

The thought of going to Peru had been in my head since at least 2005. We did not look into actually going there that year as the list of birds was intimidating and we thought it best to visit some less diverse, but also wonderful, places first. When we began to look into planning a trip to Peru a couple issues caused us to pause. First, the airplane tickets to Lima where quite pricey, and there were four of us. In the latter part of 2015, with the world oil prices low for a little while, the prices were finally within reason given our budget. Second, it was expensive for the four of us to do a round trip flight from Lima to Cuzco, and we'd probably want to rent a car for part of the trip to get to some more remote sites. So we looked into renting a car and actually driving to Cuzco, in addition to driving to other places that were very appealing to visit. We found one reputable rental agency that rented a medium sized suv that was very affordable and decided we'd go with renting a car and be prepared to do some driving. We grew out our itinerary to include points well south of Cuzco and started buying tickets and booking hotels.

Logistically and time-wise, this trip was more than anything we had done before. We typically take a two week or less vacation and it is not much work to plan it out. But add another week and the work goes way up. We had to pay for a number of places and activities ahead of time, starting early in 2016. This creates some stress as you are planning, for example, a stay at a hotel 6 months from now, which you will arrive at on the 22nd day of your trip; I typically do not think that far into the future or that far into a trip.

The trip went off with no real glitches and I can only say that it was amazing. From the wonderful sites along the coast at the beginning of our trip, including Paracas and the boat trip to the Ballestas Islands. To the flyover of the Nazca Lines, something I had learned about as a young child and never dreamed I would do. To the ascent of the west face of the Andes and our passage through the Pampas Galeras. To the history, culture and ruins of Cuzco. To the stupendous birding experience on the Manu Road with our guide. To the wonderful time spent in the Sacred Valley, in particular Ollaytantambo, and the magnificent experience of Machu Picchu. Machu Picchu was a must visit for me and to actually do it was tremendously rewarding. To the wonderful drive to Puno along a modern highway flanked with flamingo laden lakes, with an extremely large moon rising in front of us as we neared Lake Titicaca. To the floating islands of Lake Titicaca. To the gigantic Colca Canyon and the soaring condors. And the challenging but visually rewarding drive back to Lima, filled with foothills, volcanoes, with at least one smoking, giant sand dunes and coast-hugging highway. And these are only the highlights!

As for the birds, wow! This trip delivered. Gobs of wonderful birds, never failing to amaze. From the tiniest of hummingbirds, to flamingos, penguins, cock of the rock, toucanets, tanagers galore, andean condor, ... We got great looks at 327 species and heard very well an additional 24.

Flew down and arrived on July 1, flew back on July 24, getting back to Boston just after midnight.

Bird Guides:

There are many pros and cons for contracting a guide. Some of the obvious pros are: 1) knowledge of the birds and where they are, 2) knowledge of the roads, lodgings and food establishments and 3) good eyes and good ears. Most guides we have worked with have exceptional vision: able to see clear and far, good color separation and excellent movement detection. Their knowledge of songs has also been made apparent after only a short time in the field. Some of the cons are: 1) you may start to relax and let the guide do most of the work, which takes away the excitement of discovering species on your own, 2) you may not get along with the guide, 3) the guide may actually not know the birds and/or area very well.

For the morning we were at Inka Terra we spent some time on the free bird walk with a guide and the walk to see the spectacled bears was led by a very knowledgable guide.

For the Manu Road we got in touch with our guide, Ramiro, when we were making arrangments to visit Wayqecha. We were very pleased with the overall experience. We got along together. He knew the area exceptionaly, and in particular a segment of highway which was being worked on and closed most of the day which we avoided. He knew which places to skip as they held birds which we had seen already. He had very keen sight, good ears and knew the birds. He had a lot of energy, which is valuable as an example to follow when your own energy levels are starting to fade. While he was determined to see the best and most birds we could, he adapted to our desires and was very flexible. We also kept the playing of songs to call in birds to a minimum, which was something we desired.

Areas Birded:

Of course we birded while en route; only locations where we stopped for a length of time are mentioned.

Pantanos de Villa (0m): First stop. Nice swamp and beach.

Pucusana (0m): Didn't expect to see many birds and didn't, but it's a charming fisherman's harbor.

Paracas/Ballestas Islands (0m): Just a wonderful place. Penguins, flamingos, etc. in a beautiful coastal setting.

Nazca (511m): Primarily birded the scrub around Wasi Punko and a stop along the road. Couldn't pass up a trip over the lines.

Manu Road (490m - 2900m): Tremendous place, left a deep impression on all of us. Beautiful scenary and wildlife and very gracious hosts at some splendid lodges. Clay Lick and Oxbow Lake were great on their own.

Ollantaytambo (2808 m): Great little town with some wonderful ruins nearby.

Abra Malaga (4340 m): Great scenery with some nice birds.

Machu Picchu/Aguas Calientes (2050m): Fantastic ruins, though much of our birding was in Aguas Calientes.

Laguna Huacarpay (3078m): Nice stop for a breather with some nice birds.

Lake Titicaca (3827m): Trip to the Uros Islands was nice and we loved the Titicaca Grebe.

Colca Canyon (3643 m): A tremendous canyon and the condors were out of this world.

Books:
Trip Reports:

Always enjoy reading trip reports. Since we were so long in planning and finally taking our trip, I read a reasonable number. I had printed some a while back and not downloaded an electric copy. The electronic copy I found on the internet was removed some time later and though I tried to contact the authors I had to stick with my hard copy. I list here the reports that were most useful. The first two really motivated me to undertake a trip to Peru, the third was very useful and the fourth was quite useful. Also came upon some useful travel advise on www.expatperu.com in the forums; some hotel suggestions were under the topic expat discussion.
Flight Information:

A failure to find reasonable flight prices definitely contributed to our not doing this trip earlier. Finally, this time around we found some reasonable prices.

We used Expedia in booking our flights. We booked with Aeromexico on the way down, stopping Mexico City for about 5 hours, giving us a chance to spend some nice time with relatives in the airport there. On the way back we flew with LAN airlines from Lima all the way to DC. Very nice ride and probably the longest distance flight we've done. From DC to Boston we were on United; these two airlines have a relationship.

To Lima, July 1: Aeromexico 699 700 am Boston - 12:06 pm Mexico City Aeromexico 18 5:00 pm Mexico City - 10:57 pm Lima

From Lima, July 24 LAN 2800 9:25 am Lima - 6:15 pm DC (7hr 50 min flight) 10:00 pm DC - 11:30 pm Boston

The DC airport was Dulles. We actually got notified well before our trip of a slightly different flight from DC to Boston we would be taking and we got to Boston just after midnight. One of our children got a kids discount in price for the trip to Lima and the return trip; nice.

Auto Rental:

Alamo Like the plane tickets, our taking the trip required we find a reasonable car rental price. This year they seemed to dip a little. As I've noticed before, if you're looking for a particular class of car, medium size SUV in our case, you may find that a particular agency has a good deal on that category. This was the case this year when we found that Alamo was offering a very good rate on the Suzuki 'Gran Nomade' model. We rented it through Expedia and got the Expedia auto insurance.

When we arrived late and tired at the aiport the person at the counter would not accept the Expedia auto insurance. They were adamant and after some time, including checking with competitors just to the side of the Alamo desk, we called Expedia. Expedia said they would refund the insurance and they later did. The Alamo person kindly gave us a discount so that the additional amount using the Alamo insurance was minimal.

The car operated great. No complaints and I'd recommend this model. I haven't seen it in the United States. During our 22 days with the car we drove 4025 kms.

Lodging:

Casa Andina Private Collection Miraflores section of Lima (94 m) Poking around expedia noted that Casa Andina seems like a rather nice chain in Peru. We stayed here our first night, 7/1-7/2, and our last night, 7/23-7/23. Rooms were nice and breakfast, which we couldn't enjoy on our last night since we left so early, was good. Very friendly and knowledgeable staff, a tourist desk and a little shop inside.

DoubleTree Resort by Hilton Hotel Paracas (5 m) We were going to see about getting into Hotel Paracas, but on March 8, almost a full four months before our trip, I found all the hotels around Paracas were full except for this one. The DoubleTree turned out to be great. They have a very nice facility and the location is excellent. Food was very good also. We stayed here from 7/2 to 7/4.

Wasi Punko Nazca (511 m) Came across this place in Valqi's book. Owners were consider in letting us pay in cash when we arrived, in order to avoid some absurd fees Bank of America charges to do a transfer. Stayed here 7/4 to 7/5. Owner is very nice, dinner was excellent and breakfast good. Ground provide some good birding opportunities; see below. Also convenient for the Nazca Lines and a starting point before ascending the Andes.

Hotel Tampumayu Sanayca District (2656 m) Saw this mentioned in a blog as being 1/2 way to Cuzco along the highway that ascends the Andes starting just behind Nazca; and it was a convenient mid-point. The owner also worked with me in allowing us to pay when we arrived. Had dinner and breakfast, which were reasonable. Terrible incident with a dog, see below, and witnessed an employee throwing garbage down an embankment to a river. The highway from Nazca to here goes higher than 4000m. Stayed the one night: 7/5 - 7/6.

Unaytambo Boutique Hotel Cuzco (3396 m) Turned out to be a great stay here for two nights; 7/6 to 7/8. There was a little lull while we were there so they let us stay in a bigger room with a great view. Breakfast was ok. The parking is at a guarded lot a short walk away. Very old building with a lot of character.

Wayqecha Manu Road (2900 m) Planned to stay only 7/8 to 7/9 but also stayed 7/13 to 7/14 when we couldn't stay at Villa Carmen. Great place. Loved their canopy walk and their grounds are fairly birdy, despite the fact they have no feeders. Nice dining area and good meals. Friendly staff. Only electricity for a short time each day, but it works.

Cock-of-the-Rock Lodge Manu Road (1392 m) Stayed just one night 7/9 to 7/10. Great location along a birdy stretch of the Manu Road, great feeders, good food. When planning, was not happy that I booked us for only one night, but after spending the one night was glad we only stayed for one night. The lodge was full, which doesn't mean much in terms of the number of people present as there aren't many cabins. But we were given the last two cabins and we had the sense these were often not occupied. As we began to get ready for bed after dinner, we noticed the obvious presence of cockroaches. We saw and chased down a few, particularly in the last cabin. Then we saw a couple more and chased them down. There were different sizes and different species, some of them fairly large. When we thought we'd got the last of them, we'd see one or two more. We mentioned it to the staff and they came and looked around the room and swept it out. These roaches were clever, hiding in the shadows and running very fast. The doors to the cabins had a large gap at the bottom and there were other openings we could see. We stopped by at the lodge to pick up an alarm clock we left in the cabin on 7/13. The staff claimed they didn't find anything in the room and when we looked in the room it was just as we had left it. So it seems that at least some times they do not clean up the rooms for days after they are vacated. See below for the story of the 50$ bill switch that happened with the COTR staff in Cuzco when we were paying. Was not impressed with the running of the operations as compared to the other lodges we stayed at; but the birds were great.

Amazonia Lodge near Atalaya (490 m) Stayed three nights, from 7/10 to 7/13. We began booking the Amazonia Lodge sometime back and were looking forward to it. There bird list is massive. It would be the first lodge we stay at that you can not approach with a vehicle; we'd stayed at lodges off the beaten path but they were still accessible by car. It lived up to our expectations and more; favorite all time lodge for all of us. Nice spacious layout to the grounds, plenty of trails and access to other sites down river like the nearby clay lick and oxbow lake. Granted, the style of birding differs from slowly driving along a road looking for flocks, so you can not really compare our experience at the Amazonia with the other lodges. We did not decide to get a guide until late in our planning and it was a great fortune that the family of our guide actually, until just before our trip, owned the lodge. He was intimately familiar with the area and how to do things, including arraning the river crossing and the trips to the clay lick and oxbow lake. Not that these are hard, but it helps if you know the staff. After our experience the night of the ninth we were a little concerned about the sleeping situation at the Amazonia, but it was excellent: spacious dry rooms, well sealed against critters.

El Albuerge Ollantaytambo (2808 m) Stayed two nights, from 7/14 to 7/16. Wanted to stay three nights but they were booked up on the third night, even though we were checking a few months ahead of time. When we were approaching the hotel we found out the street came to a permanent end and became a pedestrian walkway which shortly led to the gate that one passes through, after showing a ticket, to the train to Machu Picchu. So we parked in a parking lot at the end of the street and discovered you walk through the gate to get to the hotel. We had to change lots because they one they let you park in for free if you are a guest is not the one we initially stopped in. We liked this hotel. It's a cozy but not crowded atmosphere and the buildings are nicely maintained and nicely furnished. The staff were friendly and the food was convenient and good. And the gardens in the courtyard areas are full of flowering plants which attract some nice birds.

Pakaritampu Ollantaytambo (2819 m) Stayed one night, from 7/16 to 7/17. Very nice grounds and buildings. In addition to flower gardens, have some scrub. We left our rent a car in their parking area while we went to Machu Picchu. When we got back, we saw they had cleaned it, and were very careful when they did so; we were quite pleased.

Tierra Viva Aguas Calientes (2055 m) Stayed one night, from 7/17 to 7/18. Friendly staff and conveniently located hotel.

Inka Terra Aguas Calientes (2088 m) Stayed one night, from 7/18 to 7/19. Would have stayed here both nights if we could afford it. Most expensive hotel I've stayed at and we only stayed after my wife strongly suggested we stay at least one night. Breakfast and dinner included in the price. A wonderful place. Very helpful staff, wonderful grounds with fruit and hummingbird feeders. Some great free programs, like a morning birdwalk, and also a chance to visit with a couple of spectacled bears. Their tea, grown on the grounds, is great and available at the afternoon tea as well as breakfast.

Sonesta Posadas del Inca Yucay (2860 m) Stayed one night, from 7/19 to 7/20. Wanted to get a little bit of distance from Ollantaytambo after returning from Machu Picchu. We had seen the place on the way to Ollantaytambo so we didn't have much difficulty making the 45 minute or so drive in the dark. This grounds are very nice with manicured gardens and plenty of space to stroll. Great views of the surrounding mountains as it sits right in the middle of the Sacred Valley. Friendly staff, a few dining choices, and a tranquil location.

Sonesta Lake Titicaca Puno (3827 m) Stayed 7/20 to 7/21. Nice stay here. Very convenient to take a boat from the hotel dock to the Uros Islands. Restaurant and good breakfast. On the edge of town so you need not go to or through downtown Puno.

Casa Andina Colca Chivay (3643 m) Stayed 7/21 to 7/22. Convenient location. Good on site restaurant and breakfast. Except for the earlier dog attack, I had a good sleep at each place we stayed. But here, a neighbor was talking on and off all night. I called the desk and they said they would do something, but we never heard them call or knock on the neighbor's door. Thin walls.

Hotel Lomas Beach Puerto de Lomas (6 m) Stayed 7/22 to 7/23. Came across this nice place by scrolling along the coast in Google Earth looking for a mid-point between Chivay and Lima. We got there at night but did manage to spend a few hours loafing around the hotel and along the beach in the morning. The temperature was nice but the sky was the leaden-grey color of this time of year. The people working there said the sky is a wonderful blue in the summer but the heat becomes really oppressive.

DAY BY DAY:


July 2:

After a good rest and breakfast made our way to to Pantanos de Villa. We found a parking space on the side of the road near the main entrance and birded the ponds on both sides of the road. We did not bird the entire area on the opposite side of the road but only a part. We saw: turkey vulture, black vulture, ruddy duck, great grebe, andean coot, cattle egret, roseate spoonbill, neotropic cormorant, cinnamon teal, yellow-crowned night-heron, common moorhen, vermillion flycatcher, striated heron (great views of these), great egret, wren-like rushbird, many-colored rush tyrant, west peruvian dove, scrub blackbird, pied-billed grebe, black-crowned night-heron, snowy egret. Heard house wren and fairly sure saw guinea pig. Striated Heron

Headed to the beach down the road from the main entrance, where we saw large quantities of birds. Species included: inca tern, long-tailed mockingbird, gray-hooded gull, belcher's gull, andean gull, kelp gull, american oystercatcher, whimbrel, little blue heron, black skimmer, peruvian meadowlark and killdeer.

With the day moving along fast than we wished, we made a stop at Pucusana marina. Here we had peruvian pelican and amazilia hummingbird. Saw some type of swallow and thought we saw a red-legged cormorant land in the water quite a ways away. We hiked up a hill that went over a large rock structure, 'el boqueron', through which the ocean water flowed, splashing as it did so. We started to make our way to Paracas, stopping in Asia to eat pizza for dinner.

(35 species, 12 lifers)

July 3:

Woke up in Paracas and checked out the beach at the hotel, was very pleased to see chilean flamingo on the beach as well as great egret, snowy egret, rufous-collared sparrow, blue-and-white swallow, little blue heron, house sparrow, neotropic cormorant and kelp gull; with peruvian boobies cruising by just off shore. Chilean Flamingo

Took a drive out to the Julio Tello museum on the peninsula. At the entrance gate to the peninsula we had coastal miner walking around on the ground; both on the entrance and the exit passes. At the end of the path at the museum we could make out more flamingos and some snowy plovers and peruvian terns in the distance. Coastal Miner

Went back out on the road and continued past the museum, going right at the fork and winding up at the end of the road at playa atenas. Great views here and we saw: guanay cormorant, peruvian boobies doing great dives, american oystercatcher, blackish oystercatcher, whimbrel, inca tern, peruvian pelican and neotropic cormorant.

Headed back to the fork in the road and took the left side, first stopping at red beach and then the pueblo of lagunillas where we had some ceviche. We saw, primarily at red beach, royal tern, surf cinclodes, american oystercatcher, turkey vulture, surfbird, inca tern, gray gull, kelp gull, belcher's gull and peruvian pelican. Surf Cinclodes

Headed down to downtown Paracas where we had a nice dinner. 25 species, 8 lifers, 14 new for the trip.

(25 species, 8 lifers), total (49 species, 20 lifers)

July 4:

Woke up again in Paracas. Had booked a boat trip to the Ballestas Islands through the hotel and headed out in the morning with a van provided by the agency running the trip. Knew we weren't going to add many new species with the trip but that it would nevertheless be fantastic. Great looks at the Candelabra on the way out. Loads of guanay cormorants and peruvian boobies, and also neotropic cormorants, inca terns and peruvian pelicans. Had one surf cinclodes. New were the red-legged cormorants and the humboldt penguins; only saw five or so of the later and they were surprisingly high up on the rocks. Great looks at sealions and a fur seal.

Had a late breakfast/early lunch and started to make our way to Nazca; in particular to Wasi Punko which is a bit past the Nazca airport. Made a stop on the road mentioned in Valqi's book heading out of Paracas at some mesquite bushes. Had bran-colored flycatcher, hooded siskin, amazilia hummingbird, vermilion flycatcher, croaking ground-dove, peruvian meadowlark, long-tailed mockingbird and coastal miner.

Unwound at Wasi Punko for a while before the sun set, seeing west peruvian dove, croaking ground-dove, vermillion flycatcher, and a big toad on the grounds while light still existed. Had a nice dinner and hit the sack.

(17 species, 4 lifers), total (54 species, 24 lifers)

July 5:

Woke up early at Wasi Punko just outside of Nazca and took a walk before breakfast. The immediate vicinity around the cabins was good as well as walking down the entrance road until it hits a 'T' and then walking a little bit in each direction, left and right; to the right is where we saw the oasis hummingbird while the slender-billed finches were at the 'T' intersection itself. We saw: harris hawk, west peruvian dove, croaking ground-dove, oasis hummingbird, amazilia hummingbird, white-crested elaenia, house wren, slender-billed finch and rufous-collared sparrow.

After breakfast we departed and made our way to the Nazca airport where we had a 10:30am appointment for a flight over the lines. The flight was with Alas Peruanas, which we booked online and paid via PayPay, and was great. Some of the glyphs are tough to see but it was wonderful nevertheless.

We had our first long drive ahead of us, to get to Hotel Tampumayu in Sanayca, just beyond Chilhuanca. We started ascending the Andes via a canyon behind Nazca and soon realized that the trip would be lasting longer than we anticipated. The road is often quite windy and large trucks are the primary users: you have to pass these guys and wait for the right opportunity. Nevertheless, we made our final destination and the scenery was spectacular. On entering the Pampas Galeras reserve we saw a good deal of vicuna, which are very pretty. As we reached elevation we began to see mountain caracaras and aplomado falcons, and we saw black-chested buzzard eagle, cinereous harrier and rufous-naped ground-tyrant. Once while rounding a bend after leaving the Pampas Galeras, in the vicinity of Puquio, we saw some bird activity near some bushes and trees down the slope and saw: ash-breasted sierra-finch, streaked tit-spinetail and giant hummingbird. Later at a pond we had puna ibis and black-crowned night heron.

Though we arrived a little late to the hotel the restaurant was still open so we had dinner and then hit the sack. In the middle of the night I had heard dogs barking quite loudly and recalled seeing one dog near the restaurant. I was curious as to what the commotion was and walked towards the restaurant from our room. Two large dogs ran towards me, waging their tails but also displaying their large teeth. I said 'hello doggies' and slowly turned and started walking back to the room about 25 meters away. One dog placed his mouth around my left ankle and I could feel his teeth on my flesh through my socks. The other kept nudging me. The combination of the two made it a challenge to stay upright and even more so to walk towards the room. The dog on my ankle would loosen his grip and retighten it each step I took. I yelled out to my wife and she opened the door, with our two children in bed within view. The dog on my ankle put his head through the door before I could get in and my wife pushed the door from inside while I pulled from outside, pinning the dogs neck in the door. As we applied more force he would whine and when we let up he would try to get in the room. Finally we applied a great deal of force with the heavy door and when we left off the dog backed off a bit and I got in the room. It was some time before I could settle down and get a little sleep before the morning came.

(19 species, 10 lifers), total (68 species, 34 lifers)

July 6:

Had breakfast and packed up, for the drive into Cuzco. When checking out the on-site manager didn't seem to consider the dog attack very important so we didn't press the issue. We birded a few minutes around the grounds and at the edge of the river that runs along the property. We saw: spot-winged pigeon, brown-bellied swallow and andean swift. We also saw an employee throw a bag of garbage over the edge of the cliff leading down to the river. On the drive we took some time to traverse the city of Abancay and as time was moving on we did not stop to bird the forest area outside town. We did see, in the course of a couple quick roadside stops: chiguanco thrush, puna ibis, quite a few kestrels, andean parakeets, hooded siskins, andean lapwing and groove-billed annis.

A couple of times we had to wait for about 30-45 minutes due to road work. Both times we were near the front of the line and we were grateful this was the only real type of road issue we had on the trip to Cuzco. On the first stop, while waiting outside the car, some small orange-ish flies were on my hands and wrists and I was looking at them when I noticed at least one appeared to be taking my blood. I continued to have little red spots from these guys for a few weeks. We also stopped, shortly before Cuzco, at our first visit to a ruins site: the small site of Tarahuasi, or Tarawasi. We made it to the hotel in Cuzco, got a spot in a parking area and felt relieved to have traversed the western slope of the Andes; an unforgettable trip.

(10 species, 4 lifers), total (76 species, 38 lifers)

July 7:

Had breakfast and headed out for a no-birding day in Cuzco. First stop was Qorikancha, right across the street from the hotel. Spent a good deal of time in this fascinating place, visiting the attached church also.

Went back to the hotel for a breather and got a call from the COTR folks saying they'd stop by in a few minutes to collect the payment. I had left the money in an envelope with reception and went downstairs to meet them. We had heard the Peruvians don't accept US money that is damaged and we took care to get money from our bank that was in good condition. So we were very surprised when a COTR person gave us back a 50 dollar bill with a torn corner and said we'd have to give them another. We did so, but I assure you, that was not our 50. They must have taken a bad one and knowingly substituted it for ours and forced us to take it back. Not good.

We headed back out, this time to the Museo Inka. A large museum which we saw almost all of and enjoyed very much. Went down the street afterwards and toured the Cathedral, which is actually three adjoined buildings. Lots of history here and we enjoyed it very much. Went back to the hotel and planned to go to Saqsaywaman with a taxi, stopping at the office of the new owners of the Amazonia Lodge to pay them. Turns out the office is on a street where the building numbers are not sequential! A first for me. Got to Saqsaywaman with about an hour left before they closed and saw as much as we could, including a few birds: rufous-collared sparrow, andean lapwing, chiquanco thrush. Walked back down to Cuzco's Plaza de Armas, had a nice dinner in the balcony of a restaurant overlooking the plaza. Strolled around the plaza and headed back to the hotel.

We had bought a Boletin Turistico in Cuzco to enter a few of the sights. We bought the one that lasts 10 days as we would use it again after returning from the Manu Road.

July 8:

Just completed our first week in Peru. Had breakfast and had the pleasure of meeting our guide in the hotel lobby. We got the car from the parking area and all headed out towards the Manu Road. We first went to Pisac and then took a deviation towards the Manu Road. The regular way was having road work done and only open for a short time each day.

En route to our first stop we spied andean gull, puna ibis, rufous-collared sparrow and rock dove from the car. Our first stop was at a shrubby area our guide was familiar with and we had: chestnut-breasted mountain-finch (a beauty), mourning sierra-finch, ash-breasted sierra-finch, peruvian sierra-finch. We carried on towards Puacartambo, seeing andean flicker, giant hummingbird, bar-winged cinclodes, masked flowerpiercer and spot-winged pigeon, as well as viscatcha. We had lunch in Puacartambo where we saw torrent tyrannulet and black phoebe in the river. We made another stop for creamy-crested spinetail and continuing saw golden-billed saltator and andean guan. At this point we reached our first destination with our guide: Wayqecha. We birded the bushes in front of our cabins and then birded some on the road. We saw: rust-and-yellow tanager, spectacled redstart, black-throated flowerpiercer, blue-backed conebill, hooded mountain-tanager, scarlet-bellied mountain-tanager, superciliaried hemispingus, great thrush, chestnut-breasted coronet, azara's spinetail, black-faced brush-finch, blue-capped tanager, white-banded tyrannulet and rufous antpitta. The antpitta we saw just as evening was coming in.

Wonderful first day with our guide. Had a great dinner and hit the sack, being sure to take advantage of the electricity which we had only from 6pm - 9pm.

(32 species, 14 lifers), total (102 species, 52 lifers)

July 9:

Had a hearty and early breakfast and looked forward to our first full day on the Manu Road. Around the Wayqecha grounds we had house wren, black-faced brush-finch, great thrush, scarlet-bellied mountain tanager, blue-capped tanager, masked flowerpiercer and chestnut-breasted coronet. Scarlet Bellied Mountain Tanager

We headed over to the Wayqecha canopy walk trail. The canopy walk itself is great. I chickened-out at first but when my daughters went I gave it a go. We had some nice birds, including variable hawk, of the puna form, trilling tapaculo, mountain cacique, amethyst-throated sunangel, rufous-capped thornbill, violet-throated starfrontlet, black-throated tody-tyrant, mustached flowerpiercer, rufous-breasted chat-tyrant, andean guan, citrine warbler. And we heard white-collared jay. The guide had grass-green tanager. Silver Beaked Tanager, Golden Tanager, Buff-Throated Saltator

After the canopy walk we birded the road near the lodge before lunch. We had chestnut-bellied mountain tanager, montane woodcreeper, band-tailed fruiteater, a real treat, red-crested cotinga, mountain wren, blue-backed conebill, white-throated hawk, mountain caracara, pearled treerunner, white-banded tyrannulet, white-throated tyrannulet, cinnamon flycatcher, barred becard and spectacled redstart. The guide also saw drab hemispingus.

Had a welcome and hearty lunch and started birding down the road towards Cock of the Rock Lodge. We ran into a few other groups, birders and naturalists and some of the birds we saw were first spotted by them. We saw: fulvous wren, rust-and-yellow tanager, smoke colored peewee, citrine warbler, black-capped hemispingus, long-tailed sylph, blue-banded toucanets (beauties), cock-of-the-rock, orange-eared tanager, saffron-crowned tanager, black-backed grosbeak, versicolored barbet, three-striped warbler and an andean potoo that I guide knew the roost area of. We heard white-crowned tapaculo, red-and-white antpitta, grey-breasted wood-wren. Our guide also saw common bush-tanager. On the road we saw a dead possum. Blue Banded Toucanet

We birded around the lodge, with their fantastic feeders, and then had a hearty dinner. We saw: orange-bellied euphonia, slate-throated redstart, many spotted hummingbird, fork-tailed woodnymph, violet-fronted brilliant, booted racket-tail, sparkling violetear, peruvian piedtail, bronzy inca, golden tanager, buff-throated saltator, silver-beaked tanager, gray-fronted dove, blue-grey tanager and paradise tanagers. We heard rufous-breasted antthrush. Our guide also saw wedge-billed hummingbird. Their was a brown agouti also at the feeders and later some bats came out. It goes without saying that the tanagers are simply spectacular in their colors.

Due to some other groups being present at COTR, we wound up with the last two cabins. It seems they don't use these too often and we later found out that they don't clean their cabins very quickly (on the return trip we went into one of our cabins to pick up an alarm clock we had left four nights before and the room was still not cleaned). While some of the cabins had large cockroaches, these cabins had numerous roaches. Some got into a bag of ours and they were crawling around in the bathroom, on the beds and on the tables. My wife and kids decided to sleep this night in the car. I slept in my bed with the mosquito netting around me, after killing a roach that was on the netting. I had killed a roach right in the middle of the bed in the other cabin and in the morning it was gone; strange. 44 species on way to cock of the rock, with 32 new for the trip; 21 lifers. 15 species at the cock of the rock, all new for the trip; 6 lifers. So 47 new for the trip. 12 hummingbirds; 7 lifers.

(60 species, 27 lifers), total (149 species, 79 lifers)

July 10:

Ate breakfast and noted three mammals at the feeders: bolivian squirrels, brown capuchin monkeys and brown agouti. There was also a highland motmot hanging out near the feeders. We then took a walk along the road and then camp back and walked one of the lower trails, which was quite quiet. We saw: russet-backed oropendola, golden-eared tanager, beryl-spangled tanager, blue-necked tanager, two-banded warbler, solitary eagle, a real treat, green jay, dusky oropendola, spotted tanager, yellow-throated bush-tanager, plumbeous pigeon, tropical parula, bananaquit, speckled hummingbird, slaty-capped flycatcher, montane foliage gleaner, yellow-rumped antwren, olivaceous siskin and bay-headed tanager. The road very near the entrance to cotr was perhaps the best area. We heard: brown tinamou, yungas manakin, scale-crested pygmy-tyrant, ash-browed spinetail. Golden Eared Tanager

Had a nice lunch and started heading towards our next destination: The Amazonia Lodge. At the second sizeable river you cross after leaving cotr, not very far, we had a dipper and a torrent duck. Continuing down the road to Atalaya, we had: violaceous jay, yellow-bellied seedeater, tropical kingbird, long-tailed tyrant, smooth-billed ani, southern rough-winged swallow, plumbeous kite, white-eyed parakeet, roadside hawk and great potoo, the last seen at a roosting site our guide knew. We heard yellow-breasted warbling antbird.

At Atalaya our guide made a deal for a round trip boat trip to the Amazonia Lodge. He also parked our car in a garage which was a tight squeeze. He mentioned a clay lick and an oxbow lake downriver that are quite productive. We didn't want to pass up these and decided to book the boat folks to pick us up the next morning and take us to the clay lick and then the oxbow. The reason to do it the very next morning was that we knew the weather should be good.

We started heading downriver and had capybara and a fasciated tiger-heron. Upon arriving to the lodge we slowly made our way to our rooms and birded the nearby grounds. It was clear this was going to be our favorite lodge. Around the grounds, including the hummingbird feeders and fruit feeders we had: chestnut-fronted macaw flyover, yellow-rumped cacique, cinnamon-throated creeper, black-fronted nunbird, white-necked jacobin, blue-tailed emerald, silver-beaked tanager, masked-crimson tanager, black-billed thrush, speckled chachalaca, hauxwell's thrush, gould's jewelfront, violet-headed hummingbird, golden-tailed sapphire, sapphire-spangled emerald. We heard cinereous tinamou. My favorite were the gaudy masked-crimson tanagers.

At cotr we had 32 species, 13 of which were lifers; at amazon lodge we had 16 species, 12 of which were lifers. Only one bird, the silver-beaked tanager, was not new for the trip! So far, over 50 percent of the birds are lifers!

(48 species, 25 lifers), total (196 species, 104 lifers)

July 11:

Early big breakfast and down to the 'dock' to catch the boat to the clay lick downriver as the parrots are there only in the morning. In the boat we had: white-winged swallows, sand-colored nighthawk, amazon kingfisher, ringed kingfisher, white-banded swallow and snowy egret. At the lick we had blue-headed parrots, yellow-crowned parrots, chestnut-fronted macaws, white-eyed parrots. Our guide also had blue-headed macaw. Hoatzin

We then made our way over to the oxbow lake, en route and at the lake we had: swallow tanager, black caracara, horned screamers, blue-crowned trogon, purplish jay, yellow-tufted woodpecker, pale-eyed blackbird, hoatzin, social flycatcher, lesser kiskadee, great kiskadee, purple gallinule, little cuckoo, squirrel cuckoo, violaceous jay, red-capped cardinal, black-capped donacobius, southern rough-winged swallow, limpkin, great egret, magpie tanager and johannes tody-tyrant. We heard bluish-fronted jacamar, black-faced antthrush, cinereous tinamou, black-tailed trogon, cabani's spinetail and black rail. Upon arriving at the oxbow lake on a narrow trail through tall vegetation we were surprised to see a couple small buildings and a few folks who collected a small fee and, for another small fee, gave us a ride around the lake in a balsa wood raft; a genuine treat! On the trail we had squirrel monkeys. Horned Screamer

Back on the river we had swallow wing, large-billed tern, greater yellow-headed vulture, little blue heron, cocoi heron. Back at the lodge was a pale-legged hornero walking aournd, gould's jewelfront and a very welcome rufous-crested coquette at the feeders. A gray-necked wood-rail made an appearance as did an undulated tinamou! A violaceous trogon sat in a tree while troupial's joined the tanagers at the fruit feeder and a grey-fronted dove joined the cast. We also looked at a small pond on the property and saw black caiman. 36 new birds for the trip.

(45 species, 25 lifers), total (232 species, 129 lifers)

July 12:

Today we were going to bird the grounds of the Amazonia Lodge. We first did a loop behind the lodge which went into the hills. Then we went up to the canopy tower, which was very quiet, and stayed until the bugs got a little too much. In the afternoon we went to a small swimming area above the lodge and then birded the grounds around the lodge. Orange-Backed Troupial, Silver-Beaked Tanager

While we did see some antbirds, the viewing is quick and typically shadowed so the beauty is subdued. We saw: amtheyst woodstar, rufous-crested coquette, white-collared swift, streaked flycatcher, blue-and-yellow macaw, military macaw, olive oropendola, chestnut-fronted macaw, bluish-fronted jacamar, squirrel cuckoo, magpie tanager, troupial, blue-crowned trogon, red-and-green macaw, black-faced antbird, chestnut-tailed antbird, collared trogon, ringed antpipit, gorgeous golden-collared toucanet, pygmy antwren, golden-bellied warbler, rusty-fronted tody flycatcher, wire-crested thorn-tail, short-crested flycatcher, plain-winged antshrike, bartlett's tinamou strolling the trail, ochre-bellied flycatcher, emerald toucanet. Golden Collared Toucanet

The birds in the late afternoon included: boat-billed flycatcher, white-bearded hermit, gray-capped flycatcher, short-tailed pygmy-tyrant, crimson-crested woodpecker, paraque, palm tanager. We heard, as on previous nights, tawny-bellied screech owl. The guide saw an epaulet oriole and white-browed hermit. 35 species for the day, 19 lifers and 29 new for the trip.

This evening marks the half-way point of our trip to Peru. Usually, after this many days our vacation would be winding down, but we were glad we made this a longer one.

(35 species, 19 lifers), total (261 species, 148 lifers)

July 13:

We got up and had an early breakfast, as usual, and took the boat over to Atalaya. We intended to drive to Villa Carmen, do some birding, spend the night and then head all the way to Ollantaytambo. We also planned to bird the dry area near Pilcopata; we didn't do that on the way in as we were a little pressed for time. We got some nice birds in this dry area and arrived at the bridge to cross in order to get to Villa Carmen and it was completely being rebuilt and we could not cross. One option would be to leave the car in the little town, walk across the bridge and get someone to Villa Carmen to carry our things. Our guide cautioned that leaving a newer model car in a little town could lead to problems. After some discussion we decided to see if we could skip Villa Carmen and drive up to Wayqecha, owned by the same organization, and stay there. The guide contacted the owners and they agreed to it. So we headed up the Manu Road to Wayqecha without visiting Villa Carmen. In hindsight it was a good idea. Even if the bridge were fine, it would be a long drive from Villa Carmen to Ollantaytambo the next day, and we could get some nice birding along the Manu Road in as we drove back up to Wayqecha.

In the lower areas not far from Atalaya we had: olivaceos siskin, black-and-white seedeater, chestnut-bellied seedfinch, blue-black grassquit, red-throated caracara, black-faced tanager, thick-billed euphonia, orange-headed tanager, chestnut-breasted seedeater, red-eyed vireo, dull-colored grassquit, yellow-browed sparrow.

As we worked our way up towards the cock-of-the-rock we had: slaty tanager, saffron-crowned tanager, yellow-throated tanager, golden-collared tanager, deep-blue flowerpiercer, cinnamon flycatcher, common bush-tanager, black-eared hemispingus, grass-green tanager, rust-and-yellow tanager, cock-of-the-rock.

As we passed cock-of-the-rock and headed up towards Wayqecha we had: scarlet-bellied mountain-tanager, hooded mountain-tanager, barred becard, beryl-spangled tanager, violet-fronted starfrontlet. At Wayqecha we had golden-collared tanager, tyrian metal-tail, shining sunbeam. At dusk we headed a little down the road to try again for the swallow-tailed nightjar and were successful, seeing both the mail and female. We also had a yungas pygmy-owl come in and though it was right in front of us only Sophia got a reasonable look at it.

The guide saw an umbrellabird fly by but we could not relocate it. We heard rufous-banded owl.

32 species for the day; 12 near Pilcopata, with 11 new for the trip and 7 lifers; 11 near Cock of the Rock with 7 new for the trip and 4 lifers; 10 near Wayqecha with 4 new for the trip and 3 lifers.

(32 species, 14 lifers), total (283 species, 162 lifers)

July 14:

And so our last day with our guide arrived. We would drive to Pisac, he would catch a bus to Cusco and we would continue on to Ollantaytambo. The bird intensive part of our drive was coming to an end, but we knew that in the next 10 days we still had a lot of amazing things to see and experience. He showed us a shortcut to Pisac that was scenic and free of any traffic and we bid him farewell. We made our arrival to Ollantaytambo after sunset and settled into our hotel, where we still had a chance to have a nice meal. Cinereous Conebill

We birded briefly the road around Wayqecha where we saw: great thrush, rufous-breasted chat-tyrant, citrine warbler, sierra elaenia, pearled treerunner, marcapata spinetail, red-crested cotinga, hooded siskin, rufous-capped thornbill, chestnut-breasted coronet, spectacled whitestart, masked flowerpiercer, scarlet-bellied mountain tanager, cinereous conebill, golden-bellied grosbeak, rust-and-yellow tanager, black-throated flowerpiercer, mustached flowerpiercer. On the way to Pisac, but not too far from Wayqecha, we had: sierra elaenia, scaled metaltail, white-browed conebill. For the day we had 20 species, 6 new species for the trip, 6 lifers.

(20 species, 6 lifers), total (289 species, 168 lifers)

July 15:

We were staying at El Albergue in Ollantaytambo and it was a treat. The large inner courtyard is full of various gorgeous flowering plants which attracts some nice birds. Our focus for the day was to leisurely visit the Ollantaytambo Fortress, a magnificent Incan ruin within walking distance of anywhere in the small town of Ollantaytambo. It was a great visit. Aftwerward we went to the interesting ruins of Moray, which required taking a not-to-long drive outside the city. We also saw some wonderful birds, within the hotel courtyard, including: rusty flowerpiercer, black-throated flowerpiercer, bearded mountaineer, black-backed grosbeak, blue-and-yellow tanager, cinereous conebill, chiguanco thrush. There were also plenty of andean gulls at the river nearby and while walking we saw a variable hawk, puna form. 9 species, 3 new for the trip, 3 lifers. Bearded Mountaineer

(9 species, 3 lifers), total (292 species, 171 lifers)

July 16:

As we were in Ollantaytambo and had a day to relax before heading out to Machu Picchu, we decided to take a look around the Abra Malaga area. This was not so much a birding excursion as a desire to get out and stretch out legs. Blue and Yellow Tanager

Before heading out we had house wren and giant hummingbird at the hotel. At Abra Malaga most of the birds we saw were after crossing the summit of the road and heading down towards some small ponds. We did drive to the beginning of the cloud forest on the other side but it was very quiet. We saw: plumbeous sierra finch, bar-winged cinclodes, black siskin, andean goose, brown-backed chat-tyrant, andean ibis, rufous-breasted chat-tyrant, andean lapwing, puna ibis. Black Faced Ibis

We would have like to say in El Albergue for a third night but they were booked up months back when we made our reservation. So we moved over to the nearby hotel Pakaritambo. The grounds here were spread out but, like El Albergue, they had a variety of very nice flowering plants. In the back of the grounds they also had some scrubby area. We had bearded mountaineer, black-throated flowerpiercer, black-backed grosbeak, golden-billed saltator and eared dove on the ground in the afternoon. 16 species this day, 6 new for the trip, 3 lifers.

(16 species, 3 lifers), total (298 species, 174 lifers) Andean Goose

July 17 and 18:

We took a morning vistadome train up to Machu PicchuMachu Picchu. The train ride was nice and we checked into our hotel upon arrival and took a breather. Since we were not able to exchange all of our money and the buses only took cash, we decided to walk up to Machu Picchu. While it was doable, it was quite the chore and my legs felt it. We left at about 11:30 and arrived to the ruins just at 1pm, which was our entrance time for the 17th. We drank in the ruins until closing time. These ruins are fantastic and though I had imagined them for years, being there was incredible. On the 18th we took an early bus up, getting to the ruins before 8am and started the climb up Huayna Picchu. This was quite the climb and the views were amazing. Afterwards we came back down and completed our self-guided tour of the ruins. We saw a few viscatcha in one area and, of course, llamas around on the grassy areas. By this point my legs were feeling it and we skipped going up to the sun gate which is purported to be one of the better places for birding the ruins.

For our second night we were staying at the Inka Terra hotel and we moved our belongings over there and wound down. I anticipated that birding would take a second row to the ruins and it did, but still we saw some nice birds.

We had highland motmot, torrent ducks and dipper from the train, and dipper later from the side of the river. Around the ruins and aguas calientes we had tropical kingbird, blue-and-white swallow, white-tipped swift at the ruins, slate-throated redstart, thick-billed euphonia, chestnut-breasted coronet, white-bellied woodstar, mitred parakeet and siskin though not sure which. Also heard very well singing andean solitaires. 11 species, 3 new for the trip, 2 lifers.

(11 species, 2 lifers), total (301 species, 176 lifers)

July 19:

Today we would spend some time birding the wonderful grounds of the Inka Terra hotel. Our train to Ollantaytambo did not leave until 6pm. We spent some time in the morning with the free morning bird walk, then spent some time with the spectacled bear walk, in which you visit a couple of captive spectacled bears that the hotel maintains. At 6pm we took our train down to Ollantaytambo, got the car and drove to Yucay where our next hotel was. Golden-Naped Tanager

It was a great time and we saw: dusky-green oropendola, streaked xenops, blue-and-yellow tanager, green-and-white hummingbird, sparkling violetear, cock-of-the-rock, thick-billed euphonia, spectacled redstart, slate-throated redstart, blue-grey tanager, blue-necked tanager, silver-backed tanager, blue-necked chlorophonia, flame-faced tanager, golden-naped tanager, a real beauty, golden-olive woodpecker, house wren, grey-breasted wood-wren, saffron-crowned tanager, highland motmot, long-tailed sylph, cinnamon flycatcher, speckled hummingbird, social flycatcher, tropical kingbird. Golden Olive Woodpecker

Perhaps the most frustrating bird of the trip was the inca wren. We missed it at the ruins in large part because my legs were simply too tired. We had gray-greasted wood-wren, which we had heard on the manu road, visit us right next to our door at Inka Terra and I asked the naturalist if one could see Inca Wren on the grounds. He reported it was possible and gave us an idea as to where to go. We went, played the song a few times and a bird returned the song, clambered around in the bushes for a couple minutes and then took off. In the end we all got good enough looks to confirm the bird. We had 26 species for the day, 9 new for the trip and 5 lifers. Cock of the Rock

(26 species, 5 lifers), total (310 species, 181 lifers)

July 20:

After a delightful breakfast at our hotel in Yucay, we headed out toward our next destination: Puno. We intended to stop at Huacarpy Lake enroute to Puno, as it was just off the highway, though our guide said we would probably encounter the same birds at Lake Titicaca. We had read about a restaurant/hotel with a nice garden on the edge of the lake. We saw what looked like it may have been the place and a man nearby said that this was the place, but the former owner could not make ends meet.

At Huacarpy Lake we had: andean lapwing, yellow-winged blackbird, puna teal, yellow-billed teal, white-tufted grebe, common moorhen, andean coot, chilean flamingo.

As we got onto the plateau the highway and the drive were great. Beautiful mountain scenery with the occasional lake off to the side. The sun went down and a huge moon came up right in front of us. As we entered Juliaca the road suddenly turned into a rocky dirt road as some type of work was going on. It took some time to get through the town, with the people always very kind in giving us a hand when we reached out for directions. With the sun down and only a lttle bit of light, the streets were filled with a light dust in the air and a lot of cars on the road. But, with patience we made it to our next hotel in good shape.

While on the plateau driving we had: andean goose, puna ibis, chilean flamingo, andean tinamou, and we probably had cinereous harrier. For the day: 11 species, 5 new for the trip, 5 lifers.

(11 species, 5 lifers), total (315 species, 186 lifers)

July 21:

We went ahead and booked a guide to the Uros Islands on Lake Titicaca through the hotel as the price was reasonable and it made things easier. So after a nice breakfast we met the guide and walked over to the dock of the hotel to get picked up. We saw a couple species of bird from the dock, including the sought after grebe. We saw the grebes about a half dozen more times on the lake. The trip to the islands was fun and educational; some of the trip to and from we spent on top of the boat. As far as birds go we saw: titicaca grebe, common moorhen, andean coot, white-tufted grebe, wren-like rushbird, many-colored rush-tyrant, puna teal, andean negrito, yellow-winged blackbird, yellow-billed teal. Around the hotel grounds were some cute guinea pigs. Puna Teal

We headed to the Colca Canyon after our trip on the lake and we really wanted to go around Juliaca. We wound up getting a bit lost on some very slow dirt roads and finally got on the correct highway; skirting Juliaca and possibly seeing more birds, but taking a little more time. On the drive up to Lagunillas we saw: andean lapwing, kestrel, black-crowned night heron, white-winged cinclodes, black-winged ground-doves, which are very pretty up close, andean flicker, puna ibis, andean goose, chilean flamingo and a couple andean tinamou. Titicaca Grebe

We drove by Lagunillas on the highway, which I had read about, and stopped on the part which cuts through one corner of the lake. It was a nice afternoon stop and we saw: andean negritos, chilean flamingos, in large numbers, andean avocet, crested duck, andean coot and common moorhen.

We still had a ways to go to get to our destination of Chivay and we arrived after dark, having crossed one particular stretch of highway that some say is the highest in all the Ameircas, topping out over 16,000 ft high. 22 species for the day, 6 new ones, 6 lifers.

(22 species, 6 lifers), total (321 species, 192 lifers)

July 22:

Had breakfast and headed out to Colca Canyon, specifically the condor viewing site. We arrived there at about 8:00am. The first condor was seen cruising at about 8:30. A few more joined in and we watched three or four cruising down below, stopping from time to time, usually out of site. The looks were not bad and by 9:30am or so, some folks were heading out. We hung on until about 10:30 and were in the car ready to go when Olivia exclaimed that a condor was just above and near us. We got out and enjoyed about a 1/2 hour of condors cruising up and above us, sometimes just over head. These are, to say the least, spectacular birds. Condor

We did some birding when no condors were around. We had andean condor, andean hillstar, black-chested buzzard-eagle, mountain caracara, kestrel, white-browed chat tyrant, giant hummingbird.

We heard that the continuation of the road to the condor viewing site was in pretty good condition. It was a dirt road, and over 150km to the panamerican highway, but we thought we'd do it to avoid backtracking and going through Arequipa. There were small flocks of birds flying off from the ground as we drove the road but we only made one stop, which was a rest stop, in which we saw a few species. The only small flocks that were id'd were bright-rumped yellow-finches. I also recall the following species: thick-billed miner, puna ground-tyrant, hooded siskin.

We got on the panamerican highway. The scenery was fantastic, with a winding highway hugging the cliffs overlooking the pacific. But with the big trucks the going was slow and passing them was a challenge. Later, we drove through immense sand dunes which was just as fantastic. Finally, dark but not too late, we arrived at our hotel. Had 11 species for the day, 6 new for trip and 6 lifers.

(11 species, 6 lifers), total (327 species, 198 lifers)

July 23 and 24:

Had breakfast at the hotel in Puerto de Lomas, loafed around the beach for an hour or so and hit the road to Lima, stopping for lunch/dinner along the way. Once we hit Nazca the road was familiar as we had driven down on it. Saw a few of the same species we had seen along the coast earlier and tried our best to get a good sleep in Lima. Got up at a too-early flight and caught the flight back to Boston.


Bird Count and Methodology:

For our list, we only count the birds that are clearly seen. We do note birds that we heard very well and were certain of what species it was but didn't get any looks as a second list. We saw 327 species and heard an additional 24 species.

undulated tinamou amaz
bartlett's tinamou amaz
andean tinamou puno
.
chilean flamingo paracas, huac, puno
.
andean goose abra, puno
puna teal huac, titi
yellow-billed teal huac, titi
cinnamon teal coast
ruddy duck coast
crested duck puno
torrent duck cotr, mach
.
speckled chachalaca amaz
andean guan pisac, way
.
titicaca grebe titi
white-tufted grebe huac, titi
pied-billed grebe coast
great grebe coast
.
peruvian pelican coast, paracas
.
humboldt penguin paracas
.
peruvian booby paracas
.
neotropic cormorant coast, paracas
guanay cormorant paracas
red-legged cormorant paracas
.
cocoi heron amaz
fasciated tiger-heron amaz
roseate spoonbill coast
cattle egret coast
great egret coast, paracas, amaz
limpkin amaz
yellow-crowned night-heron coast
black-crowned night-heron coast, pampas, puno
snowy egret coast, paracas, amaz
little blue heron coast, paracas, amaz
striated heron coast
.
horned screamer amaz
.
puna ibis pampas, abancay, pisac, abra, puno
andean ibis abra
.
black vulture coast
turkey vulture coast, paracas
greater yellow-headed vulture amaz
andean condor colca
plumbeous kite cotr
solitary eagle cotr
white-throated hawk way
roadside hawk cotr
variable hawk way, ollan
black-chested buzzard eagle pampas, colca
harris hawk pampas
red-throated caracara pilco
black caracara amaz
mountain caracara pampas, way, colca
cinereous harrier pampas
american kestrel abancay, puno, colca
aplomado falcon pampas
.
common moorhen coast, huac, titi, puno
gray-necked wood-rail amaz
purple gallinule amaz
andean coot coast, huac, titi, puno
.
american oystercatcher coast, paracas
blackish oystercatcher paracas
.
andean lapwing abancay, cuzco, abra, huac, puno
andean avocet puno
snowy plover paracas
killdeer coast
whimbrel coast, paracas
surfbird paracas
.
kelp gull coast, paracas
belcher's gull coast, paracas
gray gull paracas
inca tern coast, paracas
gray-hooded gull coast
andean gull coast, pisac, ollan
peruvian tern paracas
large-billed tern amaz
royal tern paracas
.
black skimmer coast
.
plumbeous pigeon cotr
spot-winged pigeon abancay, pisac
eared dove ollan
rock dove pisac
west peruvian dove coast, nazca, pampas
black-winged ground-dove puno
croaking ground-dove paracas, nazca, pampas
gray-fronted dove cotr, amaz
.
blue-and-yellow macaw amaz
military macaw amaz
chestnut-fronted macaw amaz
red-and-green macaw amaz
white-eyed parakeet cotr, amaz
mitred parakeet mach
andean parakeet abancay
blue-headed parrot amaz
yellow-crowned parrot amaz
.
smooth-billed ani cotr
groove-billed ani abancay
squirrel cuckoo amaz
little cuckoo amaz
.
hoatzin amaz
.
andean potoo way
great potoo cotr
.
yungas pygmy-owl way
sand-colored nighthawk amaz
paraque amaz
swallow-tailed nightjar way
.
white-collared swift amaz
andean swift abancay
white-tipped swift mach
.
white-bearded hermit amaz
giant hummingbird pampas, pisac, ollan, colca
white-necked jacobin amaz
fork-tailed woodnymph cotr
blue-tailed emerald amaz
gould's jewelfront amaz
sparkling violetear cotr, mach
wire-crested thorntail amaz
violet-headed hummingbird amaz
rufous-crested coquette amaz
sapphire-spangled emerald amaz
golden-tailed sapphire amaz
green-and-white hummingbird mach
peruvian piedtail cotr
speckled hummingbird cotr, mach
many spotted hummingbird cotr
violet-fronted brilliant cotr
shining sunbeam way
andean hillstar colca
chestnut-breasted coronet pisac, way, mach
bronzy inca cotr
violet-throated starfrontlet way
long-tailed sylph way, mach
amethyst-throated sunangel way
booted racket-tail cotr
bearded mountaineer ollan
scaled metaltail way
tyrian metaltail way
rufous-capped thornbill way
white-bellied woodstar mach
amtheyst woodstar amaz
oasis hummingbird pampas
amazilia hummingbird coast, paracas, pampas
.
blue-crowned trogon amaz
collared trogon amaz
violaceous trogon amaz
.
highland motmot cotr, mach
.
amazon kingfisher amaz
ringed kingfisher amaz
.
bluish-fronted jacamar amaz
.
swallow wing amaz
black-fronted nunbird amaz
.
versicolored barbet way
.
emerald toucanet amaz
blue-banded toucanet way
golden-collared toucanet amaz
.
yellow-tufted woodpecker amaz
golden-olive woodpecker mach
andean flicker pisac, puno
crimson-crested woodpecker amaz
.
montane woodcreeper way
cinnamon-throated woodcreeper amaz
.
coastal miner paracas
thick-billed miner colca
surf cinclodes paracas
wren-like rushbird coast, titi
bar-winged cinclodes pisac, ollan
white-winged cinclodes puno
streaked tit-spinetail pampas
azara's spinetail pisac
marcapata spinetail way
creamy-crested spinetail pisac
pearled treerunner way
montane foliage gleaner cotr
streaked xenops mach
pale-legged hornero amaz
.
trilling tapaculo way
.
plain-winged antshrike amaz
pygmy antwren amaz
yellow-rumped antwren cotr
black-faced antbird amaz
chestnut-tailed antbird amaz
rufous antpitta pisac
.
slaty-capped flycatcher cotr
sierra elaenia way
white-crested elaenia pampas
torrent tyrannulet pisac
white-banded tyrannulet pisac, way
white-throated tyrannulet way
many-colored rush tyrant coast, titi
ochre-bellied flycatcher amaz
cinnamon flycatcher way, cotr, mach
short-tailed pygmy-tyrant amaz
johannes tody-tyrant amaz
black-throated tody-tyrant way
rusty-fronted tody-flycatcher amaz
ringed antpipit amaz
bran-colored flycatcher paracas
smoke colored peewee way
vermillion flycatcher coast, paracas, nazca
black phoebe pisac
andean negrito titi, puno
rufous-naped ground-tyrant pampas
puna ground-tyrant colca
brown-backed chat-tyrant ollan
rufous-breasted chat-tyrant way, ollan
white-browed chat-tyrant colca
streaked flycatcher amaz
gray-capped flycatcher amaz
boat-billed flycatcher amaz
lesser kiskadee amaz
great kiskadee amaz
social flycatcher amaz, mach
long-tailed tyrant cotr
tropical kingbird cotr, mach
short-crested flycatcher amaz
.
barred becard way
.
red-crested cotinga way
band-tailed fruiteater way
andean cock-of-the-rock way, cotr, mach
.
red-eyed vireo pilco
.
purplish jay amaz
violaceous jay cotr, amaz
green jay cotr
.
blue-and-white swallow paracas, mach
brown-bellied swallow abancay
white-banded swallow amaz
southern rough-winged swallow cotr, amaz
white-winged swallow amaz
.
grey-breasted wood-wren mach
inca wren mach
fulvous wren way
mountain wren way
house wren pampas, way, ollan, mach
black-capped donacobius amaz
.
long-tailed mockingbird coast, paracas
chiguanco thrush abancay, cuzco, ollan
great thrush pisac,way
black-billed thrush amaz
hauxwell's thrush amaz
.
dipper cotr, mach
.
silver-beaked tanager cotr, amaz
masked-crimson tanager amaz
black-faced tanager pilco
magpie tanager amaz
slaty tanager cotr
black-eared hemispingus cotr
superciliaried hemispingus pisac
black-capped hemispingus way
orange-headed tanager pilco
rust-and-yellow tanager pisac, way, cotr
blue-capped tanager pisac, way
palm tanager amaz
blue-and-yellow tanager ollan, mach
blue-grey tanager cotr, mach
yellow-throated bush-tanager cotr
common bush-tanager cotr
hooded mountain-tanager pisac, way
chestnut-bellied mountain tanager way
grass-green tanager cotr
scarlet-bellied mountain-tanager pisac, way
golden-collared tanager cotr
yellow-throated tanager cotr
silver-backed tanager mach
flame-faced tanager mach
golden tanager cotr
beryl-spangled tanager cotr, way
golden-naped tanager mach
saffron-crowned tanager way, cotr, mach
golden-eared tanager cotr
blue-necked tanager cotr, mach
spotted tanager cotr
bay-headed tanager cotr
swallow tanager amaz
paradise tanager cotr
orange-eared tanager way
cinereous conebill way, ollan
blue-backed conebill pisac, way
white-browed conebill way
rusty flowerpiercer ollan
masked flowerpiercer pisac, way
deep-blue flowerpiercer cotr
mustached flowerpiercer way
black-throated flowerpiercer pisac, way, ollan
.
yellow-browed sparrow pilco
peruvian sierra-finch pisac
mourning sierra-finch pisac
plumbeous sierra-finch ollan
ash-breasted sierra-finch pampas, pisac
slender-billed finch pampas
chestnut-breasted mountain-finch pisac
bright-rumped yellow-finch colca
blue-black grassquit pilco
dull-colored grassquit pilco
yellow-bellied seedeater cotr
black-and-white seedeater pilco
chestnut-bellied seedeater pilco
chestnut-bellied seedfinch pilco
red-capped cardinal amaz
black-faced brush-finch pisac, way
rufous-collared sparrow paracas, pampas, cuzco, pisac
.
golden-bellied grosbeak way
black-backed grosbeak way, ollan
buff-throated saltator cotr
golden-billed saltator pisac, ollan
.
tropical parula cotr
slate-throated redstart cotr, mach
spectacled redstart pisac,way, mach
bananaquit cotr
citrine warbler way
two-banded warbler cotr
golden-bellied warbler amaz
three-striped warbler way
.
dusky-green oropendola cotr, mach
russet-backed oropendola cotr
olive oropendola amaz
yellow-rumped cacique cotr
mountain cacique way
scrub blackbird coast
troupial amaz
pale-eyed blackbird amaz
yellow-winged blackbird huac, titi
peruvian meadowlark coast, paracas
.
hooded siskin paracas, abancay, way, colca
olivaceous siskin cotr, pilco
black siskin ollan
blue-naped chlorophonia mach
thick-billed euphonia pilco, mach
orange-bellied euphonia cotr
.
house sparrow paracas
..............................................................


Heard:

cinereous tinamou
brown tinamou
spix's guan
black rail
tawny-bellied screech owl
rufous-banded owl
black-tailed trogon
plain-crowned spinetail
cabani's spinetail
ash-browed spinetail
bluish-slate antshrike
yellow-breasted warbling antbird
black-spotted bare-eye
rufous-breasted antthrush
black-faced antthrush
red-and-white antpitta
thrush-like antpitta
amazonian antpitta
white-crowned tapaculo
scale-crested pygmy-tyrant
yungas manakin
round-tailed manakin
white-collared jay
andean solitaire
..............................................................


Non-Bird notables:

sealion paracas
fur seal paracas
vicuna pampas
llama various locations
viscatcha pisac, machu picchu
brown agouti cotr
bolivian squirrel cotr
brown capuchin cotr
squirrel monkey amazonia lodge
capybara amazonia lodge
black caiman amazonia lodge
guinea pig titicaca
..............................................................
Vicuna Brown Capuchin Bolivian Squirrel

Ruins Visited:

Tarahuasi
Saqsaywaman
Ollantaytambo
Moray
Machu Picchu
Machu Picchu Moray