The view from
Pantiacolla's Mirador trail - well worth the 5 hour walk!
Manu is often cited as one of the world's great birding
experiences (not having visited every other place on Earth I
feel unable to either agree or disagree), yet few people seem to
do it independently. Whilst it's true that for some
areas a licensed guide is required, quite a bit of it is
actually easy to get to by yourself and extremely cheap,
especially when you look at what the tour companies are
charging. The famous Manu Road (the only way by road into the
jungle) is simple by bus and all you need is Thomas Valqui's
site guide to tell you where to jump off. There's only one way
into Manu by public transport and that's on the Gallito de las
Rocas bus which leaves from Avenida Diagonal Angamos in Cusco. The ticket
office is also here and you should buy your tickets in advance
(£2.75) to ensure you get a seat. It takes 10 hours on the bus to get to the end
of the road and to the town of Pilcopata, which was our first
destination. The bus is expertly driven by two drivers who know
the road like the back of their hands, so even though it may
seem as though you're about to plummet 1000m to your certain
death, you probably won't. Probably. If comfort is an issue then
this really is not the mode of transport for you; the bus is
packed to bursting with as many people as possible and most of
their possessions. Some people were actually moving house on
this bus. It's a fabulous experience offering epic views of
pristine high altitude rainforest, but just be prepared to share
your journey with a few chickens and goats; on the return
journey we were woken up at 5am by two crowing cockerels in
cardboard boxes at either end of the bus. Valqui's site guide is essential
reading in understanding how the one-way transport system works
along the road and the distances involved - learn it well.
The legendary vehicle that is the Gallito
de las Rocas bus
Pilcopata
"I wonder what's been
happening in Coronation Street?"
One of the only bits of
degraded forest we saw in Manu - excellent
for Tanagers
Land of the giants
Pilcopata is the final destination for the Gallito de las Rocas
bus and the biggest settlement along the Manu Road. There are
shops, restaurants and a few places to stay - it is
unnecessary (perhaps even impossible?) to book accommodation in
advance. We stayed in Albergue Kshipaktona right in the centre of
the village by the bus stop. We had a cheap room which was basic
but clean, and clean communal showers which were cold -
fantastic after a day out in the killer humidity. A huge jungle
breakfast of fried eggs and fresh fruit straight from the
owner's garden was also thrown in for the price as well. Our
birding was done by foot from the road, although you can wander off the
road without any worry of getting lost. Dogs were not a problem
and, quite amazingly, the local kids give you absolutely no
hassle - something that has constantly plagued our previous
foreign birding. The weather became excruciatingly hot and humid
by about late morning - sweat just pours off you (lovely) - so
birding was pretty much intolerable from about 11am-2pm. We
birded the road in each direction out of the village and saw
some really great stuff. For the inexperienced (or just plain neotropical novices like us) it's a good way to break yourselves
in before you head off to the lowland lodges.
Walking back into Pilcopata.
Keep your eyes up for massive swarms of White-collared Swifts
Cinereous Tinamou - commonly heard, seeing them is another
matter.
Undulated Tinamou - ditto.
Black-capped Tinamou - again, ditto, but these were heard
right throughout the day.
Little Tinamou - uncommonly heard.
Speckled Chachalaca - commonly heard at dawn.
Neotropic Cormorant - common.
Fasciated Tiger Heron - usually one viewable from the bridge.
Little Blue heron - occasional fly overs.
Cattle Egret -occasional fly overs.
Capped Heron - 1 fly over.
Great White Egret - occasional fly overs.
Black Caracara - occasionally flew over paddocks just out of
village towards Patria.
Turkey Vulture - common.
Greater Yellow-headed Vulture - uncommon.
Black Vulture - uncommon.
King Vulture - uncommon.
Swallow-tailed Kite - common.
Plumbeous Kite - common.
Roadside Hawk - common.
Ruddy Pigeon - heard occasionally.
Red-and-green Macaw - occasional fly overs.
Chestnut-fronted Macaw - common.
Dusky-headed Parakeet - uncommon.
Blue-headed Parrot - common.
Squirrel Cuckoo - common.
Smooth-billed Ani -common.
Fork-tailed Palm-Swift - common.
White-collared Swift - huge numbers at dusk over the paddocks
just out of the village towards Patria.
(following Hummingbirds were all seen quite close to the
bridge on the other side of the river)
Phaethornis hummingbirds sp. - aarrgghh!!! One of the
toughest ID challenge I've ever come across. We encountered them
a few times a day and never once managed to nail one. Views are
always brief and extremely frustrating. As I said - aargghh!!!!
Violet-headed Hummingbird
Sapphire-spangled Emerald
Many-spotted Hummingbird
Dark-breasted Spinetail - 1 just on the other side of the
bridge towards Atalaya.
Blueish-fronted Jacamar - 2 just on the other side of the
bridge towards Atalaya.
Emerald Toucanet - 2 just on the other side of the bridge
towards Atalaya.
Blue-crowned Trogon - pair just over bridge towards Atalaya.
Ringed Kingfisher - occasionally flew over village.
Fine-barred Piculet - 3+ in a mixed tanager flock just on the
other side of the bridge towards Atalaya.
Yellow-tufted Woodpecker - 1 just out of village towards
Patria.
Great Antshrike - common just on the other side of the bridge
towards Atalaya.
Chestnut-backed Antshrike - 1 heard just on the other side of
the bridge towards Atalaya.
Stripe-chested Antwren - pair just on the other side of the
bridge towards Atalaya.
White-lined Antbird - commonly heard just on the other side
of the bridge towards Atalaya.
Goeldi's Antbird - 2 heard just on the other side of the
bridge towards Atalaya.
Black-throated Antbird - commonest Ant-thing in the area.
Responded very well to pishing.
Silvered Antbird - 2 females just out of village towards
Patria beyond the big raised farmhouse in an obvious wet ditch
to the right of the road.
Black-faced Antthrush - occasionally heard just on the other
side of the bridge towards Atalaya.
McConnell's Flycatcher - 1 just on the other side of the
bridge towards Atalaya. Supposedly quite rare in the area and a
real surprise, but voice matched recordings perfectly and good
views left no other option.
Black Phoebe - often seen on the river from the bridge.
Vermilion Flycatcher - common in the paddocks just out of
the village towards Patria. Males were absolutely stunning.
Long-tailed Tyrant - common.
Short-crested Flycatcher - 2 just out of the village towards
Patria.
Tropical Kingbird - very common.
Grey-capped Flycatcher - uncommon.
Masked Tityra - uncommon in the paddocks just out of the
village towards Patria.
Black-crowned Tityra - uncommon in the paddocks just out of
the village towards Patria.
Violaceous Jay - common.
White-banded Swallow - common.
Southern Rough-winged Swallow - common.
Moustached Wren - occasionally heard just on the other side
of the bridge towards Atalaya.
Southern Nightingale-Wren - occasionally heard just on the
other side of the bridge towards Atalaya.
House Wren - of course.
Black-billed Thrush - 2 in the paddocks just out of the
village towards Patria.
Blue-grey Tanager - very common.
Palm Tanager - 3+ just on the other side of the bridge
towards Atalaya.
Thick-billed Euphonia - 1 male in the paddocks just out of
the village towards Patria.
Orange-bellied Euphonia - 1 in the paddocks just out of the
village towards Patria.
Rufous-bellied Euphonia - 1 in the paddocks just out of the
village towards Patria.
Turquoise Tanager - uncommon.
Blue-necked Tanager - uncommon.
Magpie Tanager - uncommon.
Silver-beaked Tanager - common.
Swallow Tanager - common.
Blue-black Grassquit -1 just out of the village towards
Patria.
Yellow-browed Sparrow - 1+ just out of the village towards
Patria.
Double-collared Seed-eater - 1 male just on the other side of
the bridge towards Atalaya.
Chestnut-bellied Seed-eater - uncommon.
Black-and-white Seedeater - small flock regularly just out of
village towards Patria.
Buff-throated Saltator - 1 just on the other side of the
bridge towards Atalaya.
Crested Oropendola - common.
Russet-backed Oropendola - very common.
Yellow-rumped Cacique -common.
Olivaceous Siskin - uncommon
I wonder why they
decided to replace this bridge?
Amazonia Lodge
Dense vegetation riddled
with Antbirds and Crakes - all of them completely invisible
Nicknamed the 'Antbird Extravaganza' (not by me), Amazonia Lodge is
considered one of Peru's top birding lodges - a canopy tower,
good trails and a variety of habitats (including a lake) has led
to a lodge list in excess of 600 species. From Pilcopata we took
a taxi to the harbour town of Atalaya and caught the boat to
Amazonia Lodge. The boat had been previously arranged with
Amazonia Lodge by email back in the UK and cost just $10 - now
that's value. The accommodation and food is excellent, the owners
and staff are extremely friendly and helpful, and there are even
hot showers. During our stay the weather began very hot and humid, but then a
friaje (cold front) came through with torrential overnight rain
and the temperatures became much cooler with a thick mist
hanging over the hills until late morning.
Early morning mist
whilst listening to a Horned Screamer
The highlights were our nightly Owling/Potooing
sessions, watching 11 species of hummingbird from the comfort of
the veranda and tracking down a big Army Ant swarm along the
Jeep Trail where we had loads of Ant-things, Woodcreepers and
brilliant views of a beautiful Black-spotted Bare-eye. Oh, and a
very close encounter with 2 Tapir swimming in the lake wasn't
all that bad either. We were really fortunate to bump into
Kolibri Expeditions guide Fabrice Schmitt and his client Per
Smith from Denmark. Both were great company, and as Fabrice's
iPod had decided to die, a deal was struck between us where
Fabrice used my MP3 player and we got some free guiding out of
it - good deal! In short, it was some of the best birding
we've ever done and I just can't recommend the place enough. The
Santiago family are legends! For
a full list of the lodge's birds and booking details check out their
website.
The lodge clearing
after an overnight storm
Grey Tinamou - 1 heard early morning.
Cinereous Tinamou - commonly heard and rarely seen.
Little Tinamou - occasionally heard.
Undulated Tinamou - commonly heard and rarely seen.
Black-capped Tinamou - commonly heard
throughout the day.
Horned Screamer - 1 heard at back of lodge early morning.
Speckled Chachalaca - common
Spix's Guan - common
Wattled Guan - heard calling on two consecutive mornings at
the back of the lodge.
Neotropic Cormorant - common on the river.
Rufescent Tiger-Heron - rare. 1 seen twice by the lake.
Fasciated Tiger-Heron - common on the river.
Striated Heron - 1 at the lake.
Capped Heron - 1 sat in trees behind lodge.
Snowy Egret - common on the river.
Black Vulture - uncommon.
Turkey Vulture - common.
Greater Yellow-headed Vulture - occasionally over the river.
King Vulture - pair occasionally over the hill.
Black Caracara - occasionally over the river.
Plumbeous Kite - common.
Rufous-sided Crake - commonly heard by stream at back of
lodge.
Grey-necked Wood-Rail - seen twice briefly at the lake and
often heard.
Large-billed Tern - common on the river.
Gray-fronted Dove - commonly heard and occasionally seen.
Chestnut-fronted Macaw - common.
Dusky-headed Parakeet - common.
Cobalt-winged Parakeet - 2 behind lodge.
Blue-headed Parrot - common.
Hoatzin - common at the lake.
Tawny-bellied Screech-Owl - 2+ calling in the clearing every
night. Excellent close views by torch.
Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl - 1 behind lodge.
Crested Owl - playback produced the goods one night in the
clearing.
Spectacled Owl - as above and on the same night. Not bad!
Great Potoo - heard each night in the clearing and eventually
good views by torch.
Common (Grey) Potoo - as above.
White-collared Swift - very common in huge swarms.
Short-tailed Swift - common in swarms before rainfall.
Probably other Chaetura swifts as well, but ID extremely
difficult.
Koepcke's Hermit - 1 definite behind the lodge and possibly
others, but all behaved like typical Phaethornis -
aarrggh!
Fork-tailed Woodnymph - common from the veranda.
Golden-tailed Sapphire - commonest hummer.
Gray-breasted Sabrewing - often on the feeder by the veranda.
White-necked Jacobin - common from the veranda.
Sparkling Violetear - 1 male near the shower block.
Violet-headed Hummingbird - often from the veranda.
Blue-tailed Emerald - occasionally from the veranda.
Rufous-crested Coquette - one of Amazonia Lodge's star birds,
make sure you put in the effort to see a male. A pair were often
feeding on the bushes by the dining annex.
Sapphire-spangled Emerald - often from the veranda.
Gould's Jewelfront - often from the veranda.
Amethyst Woodstar - apparently rare, but a male was present
from the veranda throughout our stay.
Black-tailed Trogon - 1 at the lake.
Blue-crowned Trogon - occasionally by the lake and on the
Jeep Trail.
Ringed Kingfisher - 1 occasionally seen behind the generator
building and behind the lodge.
Amazon Kingfisher - 1 at the lake.
Squirrel Cuckoo - common.
Little Cuckoo - 1 often around the lake and Jeep Trail.
Chestnut-capped Puffbird - 1 by stream at rear of lodge.
Black-fronted Nunbird - common.
Lemon-throated Barbet - 1 heard calling distantly from the
clearing
Emerald Toucanet - 3 along the trail from the river to the
lodge
Chestnut-eared Aracari - commonest Toucan
Cuvier's Toucan - 1 behind lodge. A proper enormous billed
one
Fine-barred Piculet - uncommon behind the lodge and by the
lake.
Yellow-tufted Woodpecker - 5 behind the lodge.
Lineated Woodpecker - 1 on the Tower Trail.
Crimson-crested Woodpecker - 1 on the Tower Trail.
(Note that even I'm concerned at the number
of Woodcreepers in the following list. They were absolutely
everywhere during our visit, but I fear 1-2 ID fuck ups may
slipped through the net... or maybe 3-4... or 4-5...)
Plain-brown Woodcreeper - Jeep Trail
Buff-throated Woodcreeper - 1 along Jeep Trail.
Lineated Woodcreeper - 1 regularly seen from veranda going
into a hole in the furthest right tree. Breeding?
Plain-brown Woodcreeper - Jeep Trail
Cinnamon-throated Woodcreeper - 1 possibly heard from the lodge but
never managed to see it
Long-tailed Woodcreeper - 1 off the Jeep Trail by an Army Ant
swarm.
Black-banded Woodcreeper - 1 off the Jeep Trail by an Army
Ant swarm.
Straight-billed Woodcreeper - 1 along the trail from the
river to the lodge
Plain-crowned Spinetail - 1 usually from the veranda.
Buff-throated Foliage-gleaner - 1 along Jeep Trail.
Cabanis' Spinetail - 1 on the Jeep Trail.
Pygmy Antwren - occasionally on the Jeep Trail. A real canopy
neck-breaker.
Blackish Antbird - heard behind lodge by stream.
Warbling Antbird - 1 on Jeep Trail
Band-tailed Antbird - 1 male by the lake.
Silvered Antbird -pair regularly seen at the lake. Listen for
the distinctive pryt pryt call.
Goeldi's Antbird - c5 calling one late morning along trail
from river to lodge by small wooden bridge. 1 male showed well.
Chestnut-tailed Antbird - commonly heard but murder to see
Sooty Antbird - 1 off the Jeep Trail by an Army Ant swarm.
Black-throated Antbird - commonest Ant-thing.
Spot-backed Antbird - 1 showed well after playback on the
lodge side of the lake in the muddy open area with low
vegetation. Apparently a regular spot for it.
Black-spotted Bare-eye - 1 off the Jeep Trail by an Army Ant
swarm. Amazing!
Black-faced Antthrush - heard everywhere! Usually seen
crossing the trails where we had many excellent views.
Amazonian Antpitta - commonly heard and 1 seen
brilliantly after playback
Thrush-like Antpitta - common but you'll
probably need playback to see them
Yellow-browed Tody-Flycatcher - 1 on Jeep Trail.
Yellow-crowned Tyrannulet - 1 in the lodge clearing.
Johannes' Tody-Tyrant - another Amazonia target. Learn the
call and you'll pick them up all over the place.
Mottle-backed Elaenia - 1 at the lake. Just about the only
Elaenia that's easy to ID.
Forest Elaenia - 1 seen and heard on the Jeep Trail.
Long-tailed Tyrant -common.
Social Flycatcher - common.
Grey-capped Flycatcher - quite common.
Masked Tityra - uncommon.
Round-tailed Manakin - 1 seen on the Tower Trail.
Blue-crowned Manakin - heard occasionally
Red-eyed Vireo - common.
Violaceous Jay - common.
White-winged Swallow -common over the river.
Creamy-bellied Thrush - usually 1+ in the clearing.
Black-billed Thrush - occasionally 1 in the clearing.
Hauxwell's Thrush - 1 often singing behind the lodge.
Magpie Tanager - uncommon.
Masked Crimson Tanager - common from the veranda.
Blue-grey Tanager - common.
Silver-beaked Tanager - common.
Paradise Tanager - uncommon.
Yellow-bellied Tanager - 1 on the Tower Trail.
Bay-headed Tanager - 1 on the Tower Trail.
Green Honeycreeper - female from the Canopy Tower.
Purple Honeycreeper - male at the Canopy Tower.
Red-capped Cardinal - common.
Greyish Saltator - common.
Crested Oropendola - common.
Russet-backed Oropendola -common.
Solitary Cacique - pair just before the stream behind the
lodge. Quite elusive and the load quack quack call was
the only thing that really gave them away.
Yellow-rumped Cacique - common.
Pale-legged Hornero - 1 often seen from the veranda.
Ultimate dude
birding - 11 species of hummer just from the Amazonia
Lodge veranda
Boat to/from Pantiacolla
Wrap up warm, it can get freezing
on the river
Neotropic Cormorant - common
Fasciated Tiger-Heron - common
Rufescent Tiger-Heron - 1
Capped Heron - 1
Snowy Egret - common
Cocoi Heron - 3+
Great Egret - 1
Turkey Vulture -uncommon
Black Vulture - 7+ sat on an island feeding on the spine of a
cow - nice.
King Vulture - 1 with above group
Black Caracara - common
Osprey - 1
Roadside Hawk - uncommon
Pied Lapwing - 1
Large-billed Tern - common
Ringed Kingfisher - common
Amazon Kingfisher - 3
White-winged Swallow - common
White-banded Swallow - common
Southern Rough-winged Swallow - common
Little Ground-Tyrant - 1 by Amazonia lodge 'pier' (a very
loose definition of the word)
Purplish Jay - 4+
Amazon Otter
I would have
helped but couldn't really be arsed
Pantiacolla Lodge
The effects of jungle
isolation
Relatively new but already attracting considerable attention,
Pantiacolla Lodge is now a standard destination on most Manu birding
tours. The trail system is much more extensive than at Amazonia
and there are handy distance markers which allow you to
accurately record where you see things. It's about 3 hours by
boat from Amazonia Lodge and you can arrange for the boatmen to
either pick you up at Amazonia Lodge or back at Atalaya. Contact
them at their Cusco office through the
website.
Marianne in Cusco and Gustavo the lodge manager are really
helpful.
The forest floor seemed
less dense than at Amazonia and as a result we found it easier
to see certain things, especially Ant-things, but the
canopy is very dense and mixed flocks were damn hard work,
fly-over calling things were often just invisible. We bumped
into a few herds of Peccary but - despite their allegedly feisty
reputation - they just charged off in a panic every time they saw
us, leaving behind the most revolting smell. Each day
was concluded
watching swarms of Sand-coloured
Nighthawks over the river and big Fishing Bats whizzing past our
ears as they left their roosts. No matter what, you must take a walk
up to the Mirador - it's 5 hours up and 3 hours down, but the
unhindered view of endless rainforest is breathtaking.
You can't see them but
there's loads of Sand-coloured Nighthawks out there... honest
The trails are as follows: CT - Capybara Trail; MT - Mirador
Trail; OT - Oropendola Trail; TT - Tinamou Trail
Undulated Tinamou - common
Cinereous Tinamou - only 1 heard CT
Little Tinamou - often heard
Black-capped Tinamou - only 1 heard TT
Speckled Chachalaca - common
Starred Wood-Quail - 2 near start of MT
Spix's Guan - common
Fasciated Tiger-Heron - usually 1 on the river
Snowy Egret - common on the river
Cocoi Heron - usually 1 on the river
Turkey Vulture
Greater Yellow-headed Vulture - 2+ over the river
Black Vulture - uncommon
Plumbeous Kite - 4+ commonly seen soaring on other side of
river
Pale-winged Trumpeter - 2 by the 450m marker on CT. A real
mega!
Collared Plover - 1 on the river
Large-billed Tern - usually 1+ at the river
Ruddy Pigeon - 1 OT
Pale-winged Pigeon - 1 OT
Grey-fronted Dove - common
Blue-and-yellow Macaw - 11 flew over river after sunrise
Blue-headed Parrot - common
Squirrel Cuckoo - uncommon
Tawny-bellied Screech-Owl - 1 calling each night in the lodge
clearing.
Sand-coloured Nighthawk - common over the river at dusk and
a great way to end each day.
Pauraque - usually 1 in the lodge clearing
White-collared Swift - common over the river
Reddish Hermit - male OT
Gould's Jewelfront - 1 probable CT briefly
Grey-breasted Sabrewing - 1 MT
White-necked Jacobin - 1 MT
Chestnut-capped Puffbird - 1 CT
Black-fronted Nunbird - common
Chestnut-crowned Foliage-Gleaner - 1 CT
Little Woodpecker - 1 CT
Plain-brown Woodcreeper - 1
Wedge-billed Woodcreeper - 1 MT
Red-billed Scythebill - 1 TT
Blueish-slate Antshrike - pair CT, male MT
Pygmy Antwren - 2 in the lodge clearing & 1 on TT
Plain-throated Antwren - 1 MT
White-flanked Antwren - pair TT, male MT
White-eyed Antwren - fem CT, male MT
Striated Antbird - carrying nest material on CT
Warbling Antbird - 1 CT, 1 MT
White-lined Antbird - common
Chestnut-tailed Antbird - common
Goeldi's Antbird - 2+ CT, 1 heard in lodge clearing
Black-and-white Seedeater - pair in the lodge clearing on
August 1st. According to the lodge checklist this was only the
3rd lodge record; we had no idea they were so uncommon, and
having seen plenty in Pilcopata we hardly gave them a second
glance - oops!
Pectoral Sparrow - 2 OT, 2 MT
Buff-throated Saltator - 1 CT, 1 MT
Russet-backed Oropendola - common
Yellow-rumped Cacique - common
Giant Cowbird - 5+ by the river
San Pedro
The Manu Road at San Pedro
At San Pedro most people stay at the Cock-of-the-Rock Lodge,
but having looked at prices online it seemed outrageously
expensive. Instead we stayed at the adjacent
Paradise Lodge
which was modern and pretty luxurious, not to mention reasonably
priced - highly recommended. Raul, the very helpful owner
based in Cusco, speaks perfect English. The best birding was from the road but there
are
also trails
in the bottom of the valley one of which is accessed by a rickety cable car -
ask the lodge staff for directions. If you are limited
with time then I'd sack off the trails and stick to the road
which seemed better - very little traffic
comes past and you have the place pretty much to yourself. Just
below San Pedro seemed the most productive area where we
encountered good mixed flocks of Tanagers.
Andean Cock-of-the-Rock are common and you can watch them lekking at some purpose built hides on the roadside about
100yds up from San
Pedro.
Brown Tinamou - often heard calling from deep in the valley
Turkey Vulture - 1
Tiny Hawk - 1 caught a Siskin and then perched just a couple
of metres above our heads
Plumbeous Pigeon - 2
Squirrel Cuckoo - 2
Chestnut-collared Swift - common
White-collared Swift - occasionally 3-4 amongst the Chestnut-collareds
Speckled Hummingbird - 1 occasionally seen by road close to
San Pedro
Booted Racket-tail - male often in the Paradise Lodge garden
and once decided to fly into a window
Green-fronted Lancebill - male flew into the window and
survived
Highland Motmot - 1 seen twice about 500yds uphill from San
Pedro by an obvious rock fall, apparently a regular place.
Another just below San Pedro.
Versicoloured Barbet - 1 amongst mixed flock just below San
Pedro
Ash-browed Spinetail - 1 amongst mixed flock just below San
Pedro
Spotted Barbtail - 2 very vocal birds (prrrrrr which
descended in pitch) that went absolutely mental for some gentle
mid-range pishing
Pearled Treerunner - 1
Montane Foliage-gleaner - 1
Golden-olive Woodpecker - 1 by bridge
Montane Woodcreeper - 1
Chestnut-backed Antshrike - common
Yellow-breasted Antwren - 1
Black Antbird - 1 just below San Pedro
Scaled Antpitta - you'll have to go deep into the valley to get
one but from the road listen out for its spooky mid-frequency
hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo
Streak-necked Flycatcher - 1
Cinnamon-faced Tyrannulet - 2 amongst mixed flock just below
San Pedro
Marble-faced Bristle-Tyrant - common
Cinnamon Flycatcher - quite common
Scale-crested Pygmy-Tyrant - quite commonly heard but murder
to find. Well worth the effort though.
Torrent Tyrannulet - 2
Black Phoebe - 1 by the bridge
Tropical Kingbird - common
Golden-crowned Flycatcher - 2
Andean Cock-of-the-Rock - plenty of action by the lekking
hides and often elsewhere along the road and in the valley.
There was no
need to go in the hide as they were lekking close to us on the roadside. Lekking seemed most active from 4-5pm. Madness!
Amazonian Umbrellabird - 1 seen amazingly well shaking up its
umbrella amongst a mixed flock just below San Pedro, and 1 in the
valley bottom along the trail. Another definite trip highlight.
Yungas Manakin - common
Blue-and-white Swallow - common and nesting in Paradise Lodge
roof
Southern Rough-winged Swallow - common
Grey-breasted Woodwren - often heard
White-capped Dipper - 2 on river just below Paradise Lodge
Bananaquit - 1
Yellow-throated Bush-Tanager - common
Black-eared Hemispingus - thought we'd found a new species to
science, and then just remembered that the field guide is shit...
err... I mean not quite adequate at times
Slaty Tanager - 1
Silver-beaked Tanager - common
Blue-grey Tanager - 1
Orange-bellied Euphonia - 1
Bronze-green Euphonia - 1
Yellow-throated Tanager - 1 amongst mixed flock just below
San Pedro
Orange-eared tanager - 2
Paradise Tanager - common
Golden Tanager - 1
Spotted Tanager - occasionally seen
Bay-headed Tanager - occasionally seen
Blue-necked Tanager - common
Beryl-spangled Tanager - 1
Slate-throated Redstart - common
Russet-crowned Warbler - 1
Three-striped Warbler - common
Yellow-browed Sparrow - 2 in Paradise Lodge garden
Black-and-white Seedeater - male in Paradise Lodge garden
