• Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.

    Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

North Peru DIY Planning (1 Viewer)

lewis20126 said:
Larry, excellent updates - I thought we were lucky with 2spp (Cinereous, Little) - what is the third one?!

Good luck on the rest of the trip

cheers, alan
Click to expand...

Brown.

At seizo now, well actually we've popped back to Moyabamba for a few hours (easy to do very cheap in tuktuk). I've so far only birded the trail upstream from Seizo, and a couple of the offshoot forest trails (all free), and did the waqanki hummer feeders this morning. Somehow I've only managed to find 8 out of what looks like about 100 possible lifers in the area, and each of those only once! Very quiet very slow birding. Unexpected highlight being my first Cerulean Warbler, also a male Fiery-capped Manakin. Please give me a mixed flock, or a trogon or a toucan or a jacamar...or some thing! I've never known anything like this silence and emptiness... Hopefully a bit of luck when I do the trail at Waqanki tomorrow
 
Larry Sweetland said:
Brown.

At seizo now, well actually we've popped back to Moyabamba for a few hours (easy to do very cheap in tuktuk). I've so far only birded the trail upstream from Seizo, and a couple of the offshoot forest trails (all free), and did the waqanki hummer feeders this morning. Somehow I've only managed to find 8 out of what looks like about 100 possible lifers in the area, and each of those only once! Very quiet very slow birding. Unexpected highlight being my first Cerulean Warbler, also a male Fiery-capped Manakin. Please give me a mixed flock, or a trogon or a toucan or a jacamar...or some thing! I've never known anything like this silence and emptiness... Hopefully a bit of luck when I do the trail at Waqanki tomorrow
Click to expand...

Try and see the Striped Manakin with the funny call on the 'zig'zag' trail at Waqanki (forks right off the main trail up the valley) - it's a split / new species, if you didn't know already. Absolute pain to see but easy to hear - we saw one well eventually..

cheers, a
 
Actually Al, I may well have been duffing with Brown Tinamou after all. Was the most stressful part of the trip so far, with Ronnie really wanting to be not in a hide and making lots of noise. Nearly trip cracking point for family sweetland!

Was aware of manakin, but still struggling with common stuff. Had better day today, including side trip to oilbirds. Bwaqanki again tomorrow.
 
Larry Sweetland said:
Actually Al, I may well have been duffing with Brown Tinamou after all. Was the most stressful part of the trip so far, with Ronnie really wanting to be not in a hide and making lots of noise. Nearly trip cracking point for family sweetland!

Was aware of manakin, but still struggling with common stuff. Had better day today, including side trip to oilbirds. Bwaqanki again tomorrow.
Click to expand...

I spent 9 days at Seizo's and birding at Waqanqui back in 2008 and it could be a little hit-or-miss in terms of activity on a day-to-day basis, but when it was good it was amazing! I think it's really worth spending as much time there as you can. If you don't yet have 'Mishana' Tyrannulet (the birds here in San Martin are actually an undescribed, species-level taxon according to Bret Whitney et al in their description of Chico's Tyrannulet), it is much commoner along the road to Jepelacio that at Waqanqui itself. Just get any mototaxi to drop you off a few km past Seizo's and walk back.
 
Heya Larry,

Waqanki is indeed a place that rewards a large time investment, but that can be hard to do with family of course! I spent 3-4 days there and did one massive day up the zig-zag trail, to the summit, down the other trail, and back out. Had ~150 species, really excellent birding. On the flip side Varzea Thrush in the gardens took me about 6 hrs of effort over three evenings and while I saw it, I didn't get luxurious walk away views...

However it shakes out, I hope you're enjoying, and I imagine you're still seeing plenty! I agree the east slope of the Andes is some of the hardest terrain to bird and it can be hit and miss and there are a LOT of hard species. The vast majority of my neotropical dips are from the Amazonian foothills and the Amazon proper. Once you get up to about 2000m I think things get easier.
 
The place is certainly growing on me, especially after today's male Fiery-throated Fruiteater, not to mention the great food at seizo and the outdoor hot baths with overhanging aracaris! Got to move on tomorrow after another morning's birding though.
 
5 nights at seizo including 2 sumptuous meals each day cost 300 pounds for the family. Entry to reserve just 2 pound fifty a day. I could happily spend weeks here. Managed 20 lifers, missing all the specials, but enjoyed finding what I did see myself, without playback, as an antidote to FAN, where I was just the idiot with a guide!
 
Loving the updates Larry. Can't wait for my trip in less than 3 weeks time. We have only booked 2 nights at Siezo's but were thinking of a third and by the sounds of it we probably need it!
 
simmojunior said:
Loving the updates Larry. Can't wait for my trip in less than 3 weeks time. We have only booked 2 nights at Siezo's but were thinking of a third and by the sounds of it we probably need it!
Click to expand...

I'm sure you'll be fine Simmo. I was just birding part time, and maybe there'll be more flocks and vox in a few weeks. I saw a fair few family groups and recently fledged juvs, so maybe not the best month right now. Saw heaps of more widespread easy birds outside the forest, just didn't do well in the forest. If you're after Sunbittern, I saw a pair on the stream c50m upstream of Seizo.

In Tarapoto now, and gonna do a morning at the site up the road tomorrow, so guess that's the end of that stretch. If there's any specific birds or anything (Simmo or Abby) I might be able to help with, feel free to ask. Mention a bird, and chances are I missed it! Still, think the trip list is on about 350 so far, with 87 lifers that I wouldn't have seen in Bristol.
 
Last edited:
Took 3-wheeler up to the tunnel from Tarapoto for 30 soles (7 pound 50) arriving a bit late at 6.30. Walked down as far as the Koepke reserve at km 24.5 with N and R. Compared to trip reports v disappointing, nothing resembling a mixed flock, none of the 5 possible lifer toucan species etc etc etc. Did get two lifers though, one each of White-throated and Red-stained Woodpeckers, and dodgy views of the hermit.

At Koepke centre paid 10 pounds for the family to enter. Plenty of hummers at the feeders including Koepke's Hermits and Gould's Jewelfronts. Easy hitch back up over the hill to the waterfall at km c13 which was packed with visitors (Sunday), but had the most interesting birds! A pair of nesting Blackish Pewees over the stream near beginning of trail, unless I've lost it! Obviously all dark grey pewees, but with just size to go on they appeared smaller than the plenty of wood pewees I'd been seeing all day (rather than larger, as in Smoke-coloured). I was confident at the time, but wouldn't be first time fooled by size. So check them out guys, if they're still there, and see whether I've actually lost all sense of size, and they are in fact melanistic Tropical Kingbird's. You can see them by looking upstream from where you pay to enter. Also a Spot-winged Antbird inspite of the crowds. Easy hitch back to town for 10 soles.

Over and out
 
Thanks for the continued updates, and good luck with the rest of your trip! Where did you stay in Tarapoto?

Unfortunately, after months of asking I finally received word that our funder will not reimburse my travel/registration for the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Group meeting in Paracas, and being in a somewhat tight financial situation at the moment I decided to cancel that part of my trip. But I had my heart set on this journey through northern Peru and that part of the trip was always going to be on my dime anyway, so I will continue with that as planned. Too bad, was hoping to run into you and your family later on next month!
 
Can't recommend Colibri, where we stayed in Tarapoto, in case their problem of staff stealing from rooms is not yet resolved!

Shame we won't meet up this time, hope your trip goes well. We down at Tingo Maria now, at a really birdy place called Villa de Jennifer that Nicky found in lonely planet. I've picked up 6 lifers in their grounds so far, including Musician Wren, Golden-collared Toucanet, and Chestnut-fronted Macaw.
 
Last edited:
Not part of ovenbird's route, but as it's northish Peru, we found a mistake in the Valqui book that cost us some time. To get to the site Jiron Ayacucho, at San Mateo on the central highway, note that the road Jiron Ayacucho is off to the right of the central highway if coming from Lima, not the left!
 
Thanks for all the tips. We're off next week - can't wait. Anyone got any final tips?

In particular, where is the current best site for Little Inca Finch? It seems to change from trip reports.
 
Warning! This thread is more than 7 years ago old.
It's likely that no further discussion is required, in which case we recommend starting a new thread. If however you feel your response is required you can still do so.

Similar threads

ovenbird43
Indochina 2023: Cambodia, southern Vietnam, and Laos
2
Replies
20
Views
2K
ovenbird43
ovenbird43
ovenbird43
Puerto Rico, March 2022
Replies
13
Views
2K
Larry Sweetland
Larry Sweetland
WilsonDiaz
  • Article
APTAE - Promperu birding fam trip 2018
Replies
0
Views
16K
WilsonDiaz
WilsonDiaz
ovenbird43
Paracas and Northern Peru: Endemic Dip-Fest
2
Replies
33
Views
6K
pbjosh
pbjosh
S
Independent North Peru in a hire car
2
Replies
33
Views
4K
foresttwitcher
foresttwitcher

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 2 (members: 0, guests: 2)
Back
Top