Peru

by Gunnar Engblom December 21, 2011 2

Best bird of the world

Newsletter from Gunnar Engblom

This is a very exciting newsletter with10 topics, for example The-Best-Bird-of-the-World Cup, an attempt to break the Big DAY World Record, the Future of Birdwatching, How to Niche an Ecolodge into a Birding Lodge, stunning Bird Photography from Peru by Glenn Bartley and several articles from Peru about our recent AvistarPeru event in Lima, Pelagics, Whalewatching, the popular selection of a New National Bird of Peru, etc.

It is a bit long to read completely, so I have done teasers so you can click through to get the full story for each article. Mark this mail to read it later and please consider sending it forward to a birding friend. I hope you like it.

TIP: If you use lots of different devices, such as Ipad, laptop and a smartphone with Internet I suggest you try Instapaper which works like magic to transform web-pages to reader-friendly articles you can save for later reading across the devices.

Saludos

Gunnar

1. Bird World Cup

Make sure you follow this exciting December game to choose the Ultimate Bird of the World. Right now we are playing Quarter finals. The games are as follows:

Spoon-billed Sandpiper vs Kakapo
Marvelous Spatuletail vs Wandering Albatross
Harpy Eagle vs Wilson’s Bird-of-Paradise
Philippine Eagle vs Shoebill

How can one choose, when they all are good birds. And why was your favorite missing? It didn’t make through round 2 (where you can see photos of all) last week nor the Facebook filter the week before. Yet, here we are with 8 matches played and entering the quarterfinals. Vote HERE!

2. The biggest Day

It is soon 30 years since legendary Neotropical superbirder Ted Parker set the amazing record of 331 species in 24h at Cocha Cashu together with Scott Robinson.

The year was 1982. Scott has later told me that they had around 300 species already by 11 AM, and that they from then on searched for more birds rather casually.

They did not have access to terra firme and did not use motorized vehicles. The record was beaten in Kenya by John Fanshawe and Terry Stevenson who recorded 342 birds on a single day, but also using light aircraft.

I have often thought that these records could be beaten in Peru with modern playback equipment. This year it will happen. In fact there shall be a competition between the US and Peru in September 2012 at Explorer’s Inn. BirdingBlogs’ Rich Hoyer is on the US team and I am on the Peru team. The whole thing shall likely be filmed by Adventure Birding TV. Read more about this birding event of the year on Birdingblogs.com……
Maybe you want to join us?

3. The future of birding

I am wondering if traditional birding as we birders knows it really has a future. You know, the whole listing game and the finer arts of bird identification. Are Big Days or Big Years really that interesting to people in general? Is twitching? Can birding really become main stream, and will listing be interesting enough for masses of people? The only thing regarding watching birds that seems to become main stream is bird feeding, and hard-line birders argue that that is not really birding.

Did you ever wonder why there are more hunters in the world than birders? Why are there more people interested in fishing than in birding? For all I know, there are probably even more stamp-collectors than birders.

Maybe that is the point. Birding is just a collection of observations. At the end of the day, you only write down in a notebook (or insert in a database) your observations – and if you are really lucky, you can put a tick in the check box in a yearlist or a lifelist or next to the bird’s name in the birdbook.

Take a look at yourself, and try to explain to a non-birder, that that is really exciting. A hunter or a fisherman at least gets a trophy. A stamp collector at least has the actual stamps. But YOU, what do YOU have? You have a tick in a checklist! Try to explain to the non-birder, that this really is more exciting than train spotting.
Read the rest of this article on Birdingblogs.com.

4. Jaw dropping bird photography from Peru by Glenn Bartley

Once in a while you come across bird photography that is so jaw-dropping that you simply want to throw your camera to the floor in dispair and scream “I need a new camera with a longer lens, more megapixels and a flash as strong as sunlight”. Then you buy a new camera only to realize that the results are still not what you wanted. The simple truth is of course that you suck as a bird photographer.

Glenn Bartley is a professional photographer, who just returned from a 3 month trip in Peru, and has produced the best set of photos from Peru I have ever seen. Not only of common species, but some that are rarely photographed. The Long-whiskered Owlet for example at the top of this post, is of a species so rare that it has only been documented with some shaky video and a few half decent shots. I have only seen the bird once, and then it was a dark object flying from one perch to another without actually seeing the bird sitting. That is all, after some 5-6 tries for the species.

Fortunately, for those of us who suck, Glenn organizes bird photography workshop in the Neotropics. I was fortunate enough to get Glenn to agree on an interview for Birdingblogs and I am allowed to share some of his amazing photos from Peru. Check out the rest of the interview with Glenn Bartley on Birdingblogs.com. Check this video too

5. How to niche a nature lodge to a birding lodge.

Ten years ago, the Wattled Curassow was thought to be practically extirpated from Peru. Then came rumors of sightings by fishermen from the fishing village of San Juan de Yanayacu. All of a sudden the Wattled Curassow was not only present in Peru, but in fact quite accessible.

Of the three areas in South American where you can spot one, Yanayacu is the easiest. In Bolivia it is a very long journey and at the site in the Brazilian Amazon, the birds are difficult to see. So for a very special birds and a fantastic Varzea/Igapó experience the Yanayacu area has a secure place for visiting birders in the future.

I visited Amazon Refuge Lodge on Yanayacu. They have initiated a new program to turn the eco-lodge into a birding lodge with a 10 step program recounted here. The strategy can be used for any lodge really. Check out 10 ways to turn an eco-lodge into a birding lodge.

6. Avistar Peru

I already talked about Avistar in the last newsletter that ran Nov 2-6, 2011. just wanted to make a fast recap of the event. It lasted 3 days in Miraflores. We had several excursions to near and afar. At least 5000 people attended the fair. 192 photographers participated in the bird photo contest. Here you find the 10 best photos in the dslr category and in the compact camera categories. Around 380 people went birding, most who had never been birding before. We got quite good media coverage and we formed a small group of people who go birding together in the weekends.

Birding in Peru shall grow much in the way I discussed in “the future of birding” above. We can already see how people enjoy to share photos on the newly created groups Facebook.com/avesdelima and Facebook.com/avesdePeru.

7. Peru’s national bird

Unofficially Cock of the Rock is the national bird of Peru, but it has never been established by congress or a presidential decree. This void can be used to start debate in Peru about the virtues of electing a new bird as national for the sake of conservation, of environmental education and simply as a tourist attraction.

The top seeded candidates in the first round are Marvelous Spatuletail, Condor, Cock of the Rock, Inca Tern and Junin Grebe. Check out all 10 candidates on AvistarPeru (in Spanish).

By bashing up interest on Facebook, we hope that in the next stage we can present the idea to PromPeru (the state tourism agency) and Sernanp (the conservation agency) and the biggest newspaper in Peru and with their help take the contest with the 5 top candidates to the next level. In a similar program in Taiwan they got over 1 million votes between five candidates. It would surely be a great publicity scoop for the birds of Peru when this happens. If you like to vote in the first round, check out the Facebook Question and vote.

8. Whalewatching in Lima

Peru is really megadiverse for Cetaceans. If you’re fascinated with whales and dolphins, and live off a coastline that harbors over a third of all cetacean species in the world , you’d be crazy not trying to go out there and see them. If you don’t live here, let me introduce you to 15 species you can see off Peru. Maybe, you’d like to come to Peru and see some of them. Check out the rest of this post if you like dolphins and whales.

9. 20 best pelagic birds of Lima, part 1

Above is one of the most sought by the pelagic fanatics. The Ringed Storm-Petrel (aka as Hornby’s Storm-Petrel). We present the 10 best birds here, and hope that you can name the remaining ten for part 2, by adding your favorites to the list.

10. Kolibri Expeditions 2012

Finally a few sentances about Kolibri Expeditions programs in 2012. First of all until Dec 31, 2011, we are starting the VIP club. For a contribution of $500 VIP club members get 10% off on all tours and several free daytrips in Lima, including pelagics, starting in 2012 for as long as they live. The $500 will be invested in infrastructure for birders in Peru. Hurry up, the offer ends on 31st of Decmeber. Read more about it here.

Even if you don’t want to join the VIP club at this point, but still concider coming on a trip with us in 2012, do check out our tour Calendar. If you order your trip with a deposit before Dec 31, you are entitled to our low 2011 prices. The calendar has many intersting trips such as Central Peru and Northern Peru with Marvelous Spatuletail coming up. There are even trips to Argentina (Patagonia) and Chile with Juan Fernandez archipelago in this years program.

Finally, wishing everyone Merry Christmas – somewhat embarrising, but I wanted to offer you something really special – me singing, or whatever you shall call it.. so please don’t laugh.
This is for you! Merry Christmas!

Photo credits: Long-whiskered Owlet and Common Potoo Glenn Bartley, Marvelous Spatuletail by Roger Ahlman, Ted Parker photo by Haroldo Castro, Peruvian Birders by Barbara J. Fraser all other photos by Gunnar Engblom. All rights reserved.

by Gunnar Engblom July 7, 2011 6

Whalewatching in Lima, Peru

Peru – Megadiverse for Cetaceans

If you’re fascinated with whales and dolphins, and live off a coastline that harbors over a third of all cetacean species in the world , you’d be crazy not trying to go out there and see them. If you don’t live here, let me introduce you to 15 species you can see off Peru. Maybe, you’d like to come to Peru and see some of them.

We are diversifying our business. Our love and your love for whales and dolphins can together build a new resource for whale/dolphin lovers and researchers alike. How? We shall get our own boat, and you could be our sponsor with a payback that vastly surmount your modest investment. I will give you a special offer which make you eligible to watch cetaceans at sea for FREE in Peru for the rest of your life plus many other bonus features. Interested? Scroll to the bottom. If not – scroll to the pictures.

Some background to whale-watching in Peru

We have been running pelagic birdwatching trips since 2000 in Peru. Few people know that these trips originally were planned to be whale-watching trips. I didn’t think there was enough market of visiting birders to Lima to make pelagic birding trips with a profit. Whales and dolphins were different. Everyone likes them and would like to see them in the wild. Lima with 8-9 million people should have a click that may be interested and afford the trips.

I was right on one of the assumptions. There were a lot of people interested in whale-watching, BUT few people could afford the cost of 90 dollars.

The best strategy to at least see some cetaceans is to make a transect to the 1000m depth line at around 32 nmiles in the hope of seeing some Cetaceans on the way. You see, the cetaceans in Lima don’t have specific spots you can go to and expect to see one. Most are transient varying with the local occurrence of anchoveta banks and upwelling events bringing nutrients closer to the coast. We saw cetaceans on every trip, but different species every time. If there are patterns of occurrence these are not very obvious.

Birders on the other hand loved the transect and saw all their target birds and more. This allowed us to raise the price of the pelagics in order to also go out when there were few birders on board and sell space to occasional Peruvian non-birders who just want to see some cetaceans at a lower price. It became somewhat a mission to allow Peruvians enjoy the wonders of nature.

Over the years we have had a lot of interesting observations. In this blogpost I will go through some of the species we have seen during our trips.

Dolphins

We have seen five species of dolphins on our pelagics from Lima. Bottlenose Dolphin Tursiops truncatus and Dusky Dolphin Lagenorhynchus obscurus are the most numerous. Common Dolphin has recently been split to two species. The Short-beaked Common Dolphin Delphinus delphis and Long-beaked Common Dolphin Delphinus capensis. There are also a few records of Risso’s Dolphin Grampus griseus.

Dusky Dolphin Lagenorhynchus obscurus

The dusky Dolphin is well known for being very acrobatic in the wild making high 3 meter leaps out of the water. They can gather in huge flocks of over 100 individuals around the schools of anchoveta. We see duskies on most of our trips.

Identification: This is a small dolphin (around 1.6m) with an extremely short beak. Easily recognized by its black and light gray pattern and the triangular falcate dorsal fin with a pale thumb-mark.

Bottlenose dolphin Tursiops truncatus

Flipper as we all know it. Seeing wild Bottle-nosed Dolphins away from the aquariums is a treat. They often approach the boat to bow-ride. We see Bottle-nosed Dolphins on most of our trips.

Identification: They reach around 3m and thus larger than the other frequently encountered dolphins species. The prominent falcate dorsal fin and even grayish coloration are other good field marks.

Short-beaked Common Dolphin Delphinus delphis

The Short-beaked Common Dolphin is usually found in warmer waters. The photo is taken in Tumbes. It may be seen in Lima during Niño years or during the summer (January-February).
Identification: Short beak of course, but the other good mark is the mustard yellow side-patch and crisp contrast.

Long-beaked Common Dolphin Delphinus capensis

Long-beaked Common Dolphin is the Common Dolphin most frequently seen on Lima Pelagics. It is bound to cold water of the Humboldt Current.

Identification: Longer bill. The distinct side pattern is shared with Short-beaked Common Dolphin, although the Long-beaked Common Dolphin has more diffused pattern and the side patch more greenish-yellow in color.

Risso’s Dolphin Grampus griseus

Not very common in our waters, only a few records in Lima at deep water in June-July. Risso’s Dolphin can be found near the shelf edge where they feed on squid.

Identification: Identified on the heavily scared body. It has indistinct beak and a rounded head. The prominent (up to 50cm) dorsal fin makes it possible to mistake it for Bottle-nosed Dolphin and even Killer Whale at a distance, but the scared body usually gives it away. The scars are supposed to be caused by the teeth of other Risso’s Dolphins or the squid they pray on.

Burmeister’s Purpoise Phocoena spinipinnis

Not a true dolphin, but a Porpoise. Burmeister’s Porpoise is supposedly one of the most common cetaceans in South America, yet it is very difficult too see, because it does not surface very conspicuously. Usually only the dorsal fin is seen. We have one record from the Lima pelagics in July close to Callao. It is best looked for in very calm seas.
Identification: Small size and the triangular dorsal fin with small tubercles on the leading edge.

Baleen Whales

Lima has proved good to find baleen whales. The following species are found regularly. Bryde’s Whale Balenoptera edeni, Blue Whale Balaenopteridae musculus, Fin Whale Balaenoptera physalus and Sei Whale Balaenoptera borealis.

Bryde’s Whale Balenoptera edeni

Bryde’s Whale is resident off Lima and the Peruvian coast. This 11-15 m roqual can be seen year around, but since it often keep low, has a short blow, and does not show the tail when diving, it is easiest to see in calm conditions (normally November- April).

Identification:

Certainly, not straight forward to identify as its dorsal fin is very similar to Sei Whale. The top photo is by no means certain to species, but as it was taken in February when Sei Whale would more likely be found Sub-antartic waters. The only way to safely identify Bryde’s whale is observing the three parallel ridges on the head. See the picture below.

Bryde’s Whale can be difficult to see well as it often is very erratic under water. It is hard to predict where it will show up next time it surfaces.

Sei Whales Balaenoptera borealis

Sei Whale only occurs on passage in Peruvian waters. Taken into account that it is so hard to identify it is very little known about its presence in Peru. The above may or may not be a Sei Whale with a damaged dorsal fin – or it is again a Bryde’s Whale.

Identification: Sei Whale is 12-16 m and only has one central ridge on the head which separates it from Bryde’s Whale this way. Unlike other Rorqual they often feed just under the surface, which results in that the blow hole and the dorsal fin appear simultaneously.

Blue Whale Balaenopteridae musculus

Blue Whale is a magnificent animal. I have seen it a few times in Peru. Apparently there are two forms occurring. The normal 29 meter giant and a smaller pygmy form. This may or may not be the same Pygmy Blue Whale subspecies from the Indian Ocean. I have seen both forms of Blue Whale going out from Lima.

Identification: Both forms have sky blue skin and a very tiny dorsal fin. The bluish skin is typically covered with pale blotches. The normal Blue Whale often announce it presence with the huge blow that can reach 12m. It has a long cylinder like body. Maybe the best way to illustrate how big this form of Blue Whale is checking out the BBC video with David Attenborough as narrator.

The mysterious pygmy Blue Whale of Peru.

The Pymgy Blue Whale occurs normally in the Indian Ocean and the West Pacific and is named as a subspecies of Blue Whale and is sometimes is regarded as a full species. In Nov 2005 researchers from NOAA and Hadoram Shirihai recorded and photographed a pymgy form of Blue Whale about 300 nmiles off the Peruvian coast. In an online detailed report about Cockillaria Petrels and the pygmy blue whale the characteristics of this animal was registered. Check the photo of the head of this Pygmy Blue Whale.
They noted an animal which was shorter, had a shorter rostrum and instead of the long tubular shape this looked like a GIANT tadpole.

Preparing for this article Ignacio Garcia Godos gave me the photo above. This Blue Whale was recorded between Hawaii and Manta, Ecuador on a NOAA expedition that Ignacio attended in 2005. It was supposed to be a regular blue whale. It may be an artifact of the angle, but does this not correspond very well to the description above of the Pygmy Blue Whale?

In Nov 2007 on one of our pelagics we were around 30 nmiles out at sea and we were puzzled by 3-4 whales such as the one in the photo below. They had given away their presence from a distance with several blows, but these were short 3-4 meters high only and not at all the powerful plumes of the regular Blue Whale. At first I thought they were Bryde’s Whale because of small size similar to that of Bryde’s and that it kept low in the water and totally disappeared for a long while indicating deep submersions.
At closer range we could see that it lacked any pale mottling like the larger subspecies of Blue Whale as the photo by Mike Danzenbaker taken on this trip indicates.

Koen van Waerebeck thinks it may represent a non-described taxon that is resident in Peruvian Waters. Isn’t that exciting?

Take note that both this record and the record by Hadoram and NOAA team happened in November. We are organizing a deep sea-pelagic on Nov 6, 2011 – if anyone is interested joining us on a search for the “mysterious pygmy blue whale of Peru”

Pygmy Fin Whale Balaenoptera physalus ssp nov?

Whalewatching in Peru is great because one may make important discoveries merely by taking photos and record position. In March 2007 we had 11 whales surrounding the boat. I did not know what they were and therefore took lots of photos.

Identification: Prominent dorsal fin. Eventually, I could see the right side of the lower jaw, which is white and the best field mark for Fin Whale. But there were features that did not fit. They were dark in color without the pale line on top that normal Fin Whale is supposed to have. And they were small. Most individuals were around 14-16 m and a few larger up to 18-20 meters. Normal Finwhales are around 24 meters.

Again I sent my pictures to Koen Van Waerebeck. He confirmed that this must be the Fin Whale which was hunted in the 20th century off Peru and thus most likely resident. Koen wrote up a manuscript (still in press) that was presented at the International Whaling Commission meeting in Anchorage in May 2007. I appeared as co-author by simply providing the pictures and the coordinates.

Other Whales

The other whales possible on Lima Pelagic whalewatching trips are Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae, Sperm whale Physeter macrocephalus, Killer Whale Orcinus orca, Short-finned Pilot Whale Globicephala macrorhynchus and Peruvian Beaked Whale Mesoplodon peruvianus.

Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae

The photo above was from a November pelagic in 2003. Whalewatching outfitters love Humpbacks – because they always put on a great show. Although there is no breeding area in Lima or permanent winter population, they are often encountered on passage and sometimes they put on a show like this.

Identification: It is the easiest of all the big whales to identify. Long flippers with lots of white, showing huge fluke when diving with various amounts of white. No tail is like on other tail why tails should be photographed and deposited at one of the fluke picture repositories. A friend of mine Ignacio Garcia-Godos has started a fluke catalogue for Peru. We hope our continuous whalewatching pelagic trips will make new additions to the catalogue.
The dorsal fin is another good field mark as it has a hump in front of the fin. Hence its name.

Sperm Whale Physeter macrocephalus

Sperm Whales are found far away from shore at the continental shelf where they feed on giant squid. It is always an exciting whale to look out for near our turn around point.

Identification:

Very large toothed whale reaching up to 18m. The blow is directed forward. Very short dorsal fin, Show its totally black fluke when diving.

Killer Whale Orcinus orca

I have only seen Killer Whale once from Lima. It is a bit surprising that it is not more common regarding the enormous amounts of sea-lions present at Isla Palomino and at sea. I have been told it may be because of the straight coastline of Peru, there are few bays or sheltered areas where they can rest-

Identification: Male virtually unmistakable. The lack and w2hite pattern and the 6 ft (1.8m) tall dorsal fin gives it away immediately. The female with a smaller dorsal fin may be confused with Risso’s Dolphin or False Killer Whale (which is possible off Peru, but which we still have to find).

Short-finned Pilot Whale Globicephala macrorhynchus

We only have two records of this Pilot Whale. Once on the same trip we saw Sperm Whale at the deep sea and once in Tumbes.

Identification

Peruvian Beaked Whale Mesoplodon peruvianus

This little known small Beaked Whale was described in 1991 from a carcass on a beach in Peru by Reyes, Mead and Waerebeck. Additional specimens have been secured from sharkfishing by catch. Also, several sightings at sea between Mexico and Peru. In July 2006 an unidentified small beaked whale was seen by Dylan Walker and myself on a pelagic tour from Callao. We only saw a short triangular dorsal fin surrounded by a blackish back. We saw no white or other pale markings.

Identification: This is a very small beaked Whale. Only 5 meters long. That the male looks like the picture above is a hypothesis based on observations in the wild of individuals that look like this with a white field over the back. Presumably they are males Peruvian Beaked Whale, but it has not been proven. There are no specimens of the male. The female is uniform slaty in color and has a small but distinct melon on the head.

Special offer for whale and dolphin lovers.

Now you know what is awaiting you when you come to Peru and do whale-watching with us. As mentioned at the beginning of this post, you have the possibility to be able to go on our whale-watching and pelagic birding trips for the rest of your life for free. We are investing in our own boat. You will help us as You’ll become a member in:

Kolibri Expeditions VIP Club

Your investment is:

500 US$

Seems like a lot of money? By taking a few trips with us in Peru and elsewhere in South America, as Kolibri VIP you will regain you investment through a series of benefits. You don’t loose, we don’t have to borrow money and a permanent resource for nature lovers is created and puts Peru on the whale-watching map. Here are the benefits:

One free space on a Lima pelagic/whalewatching once we have the boat that you can book on very short notice. You decide the date and we’ll run the pelagic – Value $175 to $1000 depending on the number of people taking part in the end.
One free space on a Lima pelagic/whalewatching trip any day of the year, booked with minimum 9 months in advance. Value $175 to $1000 depending on the number of people taking part in the end.
Perpetually free 1 day pelagic/whalewatching on standby basis – this also applies if we arrange pelagic away from Lima. Value $175 each time.
Perpetually 10% discount on all our tours – discounting the airfares and train tickets. It will not only apply on Peru tours, but also on our international tours. On a two week tour this discount amounts to between $200-300
We mostly do birdwatching tours, but we are also arranging standard nature tours and cultural tours. Our activity is expanding also outside of Peru.
Perpetually free Lima day trips as long as there are 2 other paying clients. Value around $150 per trip.

Read more about the background of this offer on this previous blogpost. It also relates to our environmental, conservation and social commitment. The Special offer is ~~valid until July 15~~. Extended to December 31, 2011.
Write me to sign up for the program or to ask questions how this can benefit you.

Our Whale-watching commitment

In the tropics in countries where regulations don’t exist, there are few operators of whalewatching who apply ethical standards to their operations. We are the difference to the rule.

We don’t harrass the animals. Always keep a distance and let the cetaceans come to us if they like.
We don’t do “swim with the sealions” or “swim with the dolphins” set-ups. Such practices are not allowed in for example the US. Why should we offer it here? We don’t care if the competitor does it and if there is no particular legislation against it. Furthermore, we find it utterly pointless to let our passengers bob around in lifejackets in the freezing Humboldt current.
we avoid to break up fish schools where dolphins feed.
we don’t seek out to get the dolphins bow-riding. If they come to us – fine – then we slow down to avoid accidents.
If the sea allows it, we will shut the engines when near the cetaceans
We collect observations and will share them with researchers from IMARPE (The Peruvian Sea Institute) and CEPEC (Centro Peruano de Estudios Cetológicos – Peruvian NGO directed by Koen Van Waerebeck, international specialist on Cetaceans often contracted by IWC). We will also publish the species lists and numbers of all outings.

Literature used for this article.

One can’t own too many books about Cetaceans. Here are some (affiliate) links to Amazon for the books that I have used to collect information for this article.

Whales and Dolphins of the North American Pacific: Including Seals and Other Marine Mammals Graeme Cresswell, Dylan Thomas and Todd Pusser
Whales, Dolphins, and Other Marine Mammals of the World (Princeton Field Guides) Hadoram Shirihai
The Complete Guide to Antarctic Wildlife: Birds and Marine Mammals of the Antarctic Continent and the Southern Ocean (Second Edition) Hadoram Shirihai
Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises Mark Carwardine
National Audubon Society Guide to Marine Mammals of the World (National Audubon Society Field Guide)

Addionally, an excellent book by Julio Reyes to learn about Peruvian Cetaceans in Spanish can be found for free pdf download here.

Photos used in this article with permission or Creative Commons license: Humpback whale breaching – Image ID: sanc0605, NOAA’s Sanctuaries Collection, Dusky Dolphin (Lima, Peru) – Gunnar Engblom, Dusky Dolphin (Peru) – Ignacio Garcia-Godos, Bottle-nosed Dolphin (W Australia) – Marj Kibby, Short-beaked Common Dolphin (North Peru) – Ignacio Garcia-Godos, Long–beaked Common Dolphin (Lima, Peru) – Gunnar Engblom,Burmeister’s purpoise – whales.org, Probable Bryde’s Whale (Lima, Peru) – Gunnar Engblom, Bryde’s Whale (Lima, Peru) – Ignacio Garcia-Godos, possible Sei Whale – Gunnar Engblom, Blue Whale (California, US) – Dave Slater, BLue Whale (pygmy?) – Ignacio Garcia-Godos, Mystery Pygmy Blue Whale from Peru (Lima) – Mike Danzenbaker, Pygmy Fin Whale (possibly undescribed taxa, Lima, Peru) x 2- Gunnar Engblom, Humpbacck Whale x 2 (Lima, Peru) – Gunnar Engblom, Sperm Whale x2 (Lima, Peru) – Alejandro Tabini, Killer Whale (BC, Canada) – Miles Ritter, Peruvian Beaked whale illustration from Whales, Dolphin’s and Porpoises By Mark Carwardine.

by Gunnar Engblom September 29, 2010 2

Star-spangled Pelagic

Hornby's Strom Petrel. Photo Gunnar Engblom

Hornby's or Ringed Storm Petrel. Photo Gunnar Engblom

It is not often I find a reason to write a blog post about a pelagic trip, before it actually happens. But on this trip, there is a reason. Some of the participants on this shine more than the birds we will be seeing. There are several participants who have seen more than 8000 species in the world. There are experienced Peru birders. There is a former Vice minister of Tourism. Some renowned bird illustrators and one famous author and photographer. Are you intrigued?

Let me make a small presentation of the birding stars that shine brighter than the birds on this pelagic.

Hadoram Shirihai. With books such as The Complete Guide to Antarctic Wildlife and Whales, Dolphins, and Other Marine Mammals of the World Hadoram has earned a place as an authority among seabirders. Additionally, he is now in Peru to do a photographic expedition with Kolibri Expedition in his quest to photograph 7000 species of birds for the book in production with Hans Jörnvall “The photographic guide to the birds of the world”. I interviewed Hadoram in this blogpost regarding the re-discovery of Fiji Petrel.
David Beadle is a British Bird Illustrator living in Canada for many years and has illustrated work such as Birds of Chile and Warblers of the Americas. Currently he is finishing a book on Moths of NE North America and illustrating Birds of Brazil.
Eustace Barnes another British bird illustrator who made major contribution to Field Guide to the Birds of Peru and Pigeons and Doves: A Guide to the Pigeons and Doves of the World will also be onboard
Barry Walker – owner of Manu Expeditions and the person who has seen most bird species in Peru – close to 1700 species.
Hugh Buck -Currently number 3 in the world with a world list of 8523 species. My guess is that Hugh is after Markham’s Storm-Petrel or Ringed Storm-Petrel.
Phil Rostron another Brit in the 8000 club number 4 in the world with 8430 species.
Pablo Lopez de Romaña – former Vice Minister of Tourism in Peru

And then there are other well known world birders that you may have met in the field or heard about. Brian Beers, Neal Clarke, Pearl Jordan, JOhn Pennhallurik., Mark Eaton, Lieven de Temmerman and many more.

Oh yes, guess who is guiding? ME! (HELLLLLLPPPP!!!!). Not at all intimidating. I will find some corner to creap into and hide!

We have room for yet a few birders if there is someone keen on joining on Oct 2. We shall do an early start at 5 AM to have some additional time at our chumming spot. Next Pelagic is planned on Oct 4 (full) and on November 13 and November 26. Hope to see you.

Last Pelagic

To wet your appetite what we will see below follows the result from the last pelagic on Sep 25. Here are some of the highlights. I did not fill in the names yet. See if you can ID them?

: Hornby’s (Ringed) Storm Petrel. Photo Gunnar Engblom

by Gunnar Engblom June 15, 2010 1

Budget Tambopata vs Budget Manu

Sunbittern Eurypyga helias - Tambopata Alex Durand

Sunbittern is one of the birds that is easily seen at the new Lodge that is being built near Puerto Maldonado. Photo: Alex Durand

Sometimes one has to make a change of plan. A great idea needs to be modified because the external conditions have changed. The initial conditions two years ago was that the communities of Amarakaeri reserve had four lodges spread out along the eco-touristy fluvial route down the Alto Madre de Dios river to the Blanquillo area and the spectacular Macaw-clay lick, Giant Otter lake , the Tapir clay-lick and 12 species of monkeys. This is the heart of the wild Manu at the edge of Manu National Park and the richest, most bio-diverse place on earth. Finally, the indigenous communities had the means of getting their piece of the cake of the lucrative eco-tourism industry. Had they really?

I was invited to fam trip (“fam” is tour operator lingo for familiarizing trip) by the community company Wanamei two years ago and it became very clear already on that tour that the communities would not be very prepared to run the lodges with all the logistics involved. They needed a commercial partner. Kolibri Expeditions had sustained talks with Wanamei about starting to market the route to birders. Many birders are prepared to take some logistical deficiencies, as long as the birding yield is great. This way the communities would slowly get into the operation and do it well.

To market the product I organized a big give-away of one free trip per departure to prominent bird bloggers as well as Twitter and Facebook users, who would help spreading the word on Social Media platforms. We also offered a pretrip to young birders at a much reduced price – with the idea that young birders would be even more resilient to logistical problems as long as they saw the birds.

So far, in theory, this looked interesting and feasible as well as a novel marketing approach. We just finished the first two trips in May. One Young Birder trip on May 17 and the first regular departure for bloggers with Bill Lynch as host on May 23. The coming hosts and takers of these trips are of course curious to know how it went and what was seen, why I will deal with this below.|

I shall principally deal with the logistics here. The birding result from the trip shall be seen on the Facebooks, blogs and Flickr accounts of the participants.

Here are the names of the participants of each group and their Facebook and Flickr accounts. For Facebook you will need to be friends with them to see the photos and walls.

Young birders:

Alex Harper Facebook

Ross Gallardy Facebook

Josh Wentz Facebook

Briana Adams Facebook

Blogging trip.

Josh Shramo Facebook

Bill Lynch Facebook Flickr

Dana Patterson Facebook

Logistics.

Maybe I have not been all that clear but running a rain forest lodge is a logistical nightmare, especially in the Manu area. Supplies can only be brought in by truck/air and boat. It is expensive. Contact with outer world (Cusco) is via short-wave radio with a minor obstacle in between – the Andes! Reception is often very poor and it may be days before a message can actually come across. Furthermore, everyone else (the competion and the rivals) will hear about your logistic deficiencies (more common than organization). Some of the more renowned lodges have put in Satellite Telephone/Internet services which of course is the solution to connectivity problems. But in order to afford the service there is a need of a continuous stream of visitors. It’s a Catch-22.

When you put indigenous community into the equation there is yet another factor. Community in the Amazon doosn’t exist. The communities we see today are families lumped together by the church or the geo-political “progress”. We need your oil, Indian!

In reality, the natives in the amazon are grouped by their kin. Their family or the clan is what is important. This is a major factor why community projects imposed from the outside rarely are successful.

Budget Manu Lodges.

Shintuya.

End of the Manu road. Worked well. This lodge has been in used almost continuously for two years and the community now has some experience of managing it. The birding is very good along the roadside and at the lodge itself. We only stayed one night here, but may opt to two nights in the future.

Centro Medicina Tradicional.

Situated on the other side of a river island. The river arm next to the lodge has been cut off, so it was hard to get there. Time was wasted on the first Young birder trip and the second trip did not even try. A nearby budget lodge called Yanayacu was used instead. They were a bit unprepared for our arrival but did provide showers and beds with mosquito netting.

The toilet had a huge Tarrantula nesting, which maybe is not the kind of jungle experience the clients want.

Charro.

I am sad to learn that this lodge could not be used at all. I was very impressed by the birding here two years ago and our guide Alex Durand praised the place with great birds that included Elusive Antpitta.
The trail was overgrown now and hard work. The young birders did see some good birds here, but the boat staff headed on the lodge area to see it was totally deserted without beds. The first group decided to head on to Blanco Lodge and the second group did not bother to even try.

Blanco Lodge.

This is the key lodge in the system of lodges as it is very close to macaw clay lick and the Giant Otter lake of Cocha Blanco. Furthermore there is a tower nearby overlooking the small Cocha Nueva lake. We knew in before hand that the water supply to the lodge was not working, as all the tubing was broken. When the lodge was build all the PVC tubes were not laid in deep trenches but too close to the ground, why people later have trod on them resulting in smashed tubes.

The cabins and the main dining-hall/kitchen building were infested by termites. While the young birders found that quite fascinating, it was not at all appreciated by Bill Lynch’s group. The mosquito nets were not present with the first group, while some mosquito nets were arranged by the boatmen of the second group.

After hearing of some of the problems of the first group, I made arrangements to let second group to come back via Amazonia Lodge at the bottom of Manu road. While this was appreciated and added many good observations it also lead to more travel time. Furthermore, Bill Lynch’s group had bad luck with the weather. A Patagonian cold front known as friaje was present during most of their trio, which lowered the general birding activity. The Young birder group were lucky with a massive Army Antswarm at Blanco which positively added to their experience. Both groups saw Giant Otter and visited the Macaw Lick. The macaws at the macaw lick never came to the mud wall to digest the clay, but kept flying around perching on nearby brances.

Operating problems

All this show that there are severe problems operating this trip, and frankly I don’t think it is worth our while, if the lodges are not accessible and improved. We thought we were going to be able to arrive some agreement with community company Wanamei, who managed the set-up, however some of the individual communities are no longer interested in having Wanamei as operator and prefer to make a deal directly with individual companies. This makes our participation as lodge operators more difficult as we wanted to operate a network of lodges. It is no problem of buy the services of another operator though once they get strarted, but to me it seems likely that CMT and Charro are decaying even more as they are less attractive for non-birders. Blanco can possibly be turned around because of its strategic position, but it will take some while before it is offered to the public and as good or better than other nearby more basic options.

Another complaint was that was that the transport sections were too long. The lodges lying between Shintuya and Blanco was too log without CMT and Charro as stepping stone. Too much time is lost in a program as short as only 8 days if the lodges are too far in between. In any case, I shall have to make it clear in the programs that there is a lot of travel.

Alternative program – Budget Tambopata

We still have many booked trips for the community programs, why I must find alternatives for these. The costs of the Manu program with alternative lodges will simply become too expensive, especially if the group size is less than 7 people. What further make it difficult to operate within the budget I originally set for the trips, is the fact that the flight prices for foreigners with LAN have increased since last year, and the alternative airline to Puerto Maldonado – Star Peru – does not give return prices for open jaw routes.

Suddenly the perfect alternative emerged from nowhere, solving many issues of the deficient community program. The brothers of Kolibri Expeditions’s top guide Alex Durand are building a lodge in vicinity of the Infierno community near Puerto Maldonado. This is just a stone’s throw away from the more famous Posada Amazonas, with access to Giant Otter lake and macaw lick by 30 minutes of boat on the Tambopatata . Right now it is more of a camp than a lodge, although cabins are being built. Having said this, they have a dining room and kitchen, toilets and showers, and a platform with beds and mosquito netting. The Young birders spent two nights here and the report the trail system was excellent. Alex Duran made a 3 day recce to check what birds are there and compiled a birdlist of 370 species. Birdwise there is no difference to Manu. There is good bamboo at the lodge with all the specialist birds. The main advantage with Manu is Tapir and the large number of monkeys. You will see monkeys in Tambopata as well, but there will be fewer species.

Purus Jacamar - Galbalcyrhynchus purusianus. Tambopata. Photo: Alex Durand

Purus Jacamar is an uncommon Jacamar of flooded forest, which is difficult to get in Manu but easier in near Puerto Maldonado.

Overall, we solve several issues with the community program this way. Let’s list the advantages.

less travelling and more birding efficient.
beds with good mosquito netting
working toilets
running water
a great trail system
Access to Harpy Eagle nest with NO surcharge.
return flight tickets Lima-Cusco allowing birdng at all different altitudes along the new Transoceanic highway between Cusco and Puerto Maldonado. It also gives almost a full day of birding in Lima.
Overall the number of species in 8 days will be much higher with this alternative program with more different types of habitat and more time in field and less time lost on transport.

Here is the new 9 day program that we shall run in August replacing the community program while the condtions are not great. It has one extra day added to sample the cloud forest more amply. For other programs we shall run the same program over just 8 days. Young birders up to 25 years old have a special price of $699 for 8 days trip (airfare and Lima day not included) and $609 for 7 days (later programs) .

Links to previous posts with background about the Amarakaeri Manu community lodges:

by Gunnar Engblom May 23, 2010 4

A new Peruvian Birder – age 16

Isn’t it lovely to see new birders form. Well, here is a Peruvian kid – Alfredo Fernandez who has been birding for two year. As many new birders he birds with the camera. I was amazed by his great photos shown in this piece, so I thought it would be nice to share these with the readers of this blog and also let you know Alfredo

Who is Alfredo?
My name is Alfredo Fernández G and I am 16 years old.

How long have you been birding?

Since I came back from a trip to Tambopata in July 2008. In December 2008 I went birding with you at Pantanos de Villa.

Why do you watch birds?

Watching animals have always been a passion for me. I spent hours in the park as a small boy or watching Animal Planer etc.

Why birdwatching?
Watching birds and animals in generala, give me an sensation that can’t be described and which I can0t feel with other hobbies.

Which species gave such an impact on you that you felt you had to keep on birding?
I was amazed by a Harris’s Hawk. Such a large magnifiscent bird in the middle of the city, largely unknown to people in general in Lima. I could not believe such a bird could exist in this urban environment.

What is your birding equipment?

I bird with my camera a Nikon D200 with a 70-300 VR zoom hoping to replace it with a 300mm F4)

y un flash sb600, and with this equipment I have made 90% of my shots. Before I hada a point and shoot with a good zoom.

What are the five best birds you have seen?
Difficult question, but probably the best top five would be

5. Amazon Kingfisher

4. Bald Eagle

3. Osprey

2. Harpy Eagle

1. Peruvian Sheartail

What are the five most wanted birds for you?

5. Swallow-tailed Kite

4. Green Kingfisher

3. King Vulture

2. Paradise Tanager

1. Marvelous Spatuletail

How many species have you seen?

I have not seen that many species yet, but I love Raptors and Hummingbirds.

Red-backed Hawk. Photo: Alfredo Fernandez

Peruvian Sheartail - Thaumastura cora. Photo: Alfredo Fernandez

Peruvian Sheartail feeding - Thaumastura cora. Photo: Alfredo Fernandez

Someone, get this guy a pair of binoculares soon!

by Gunnar Engblom April 25, 2010 1

In 2010 I will go birding in…..

….a lot of places …and I like you to come with me.

This past year immersing myself into social media, has been amazing getting to know so many birders on line. I would like to meet all of you. Although my year is not completely staked out, I’d like to give you an outline the birding trips and events I have lined up for myself. Maybe our paths shall cross somewhere. Or maybe you want to come along joining me on some of these adventures. I shall write more detailed blogposts presenting each of them. Let me know which you would like to hear more about in the comment section below and I will prioritize.

I have already knocked off a North Peru trip and two Tumbes itineraries with Pelagics in January. In February I was in Colombia with the family and managed to see a couple of nice new birds. (Blog post is practically ready, but need some photos – maybe someone can please lend me photos of Golden-ringed and Black and Gold Tanager?). I am planning to get a Colombia tour together for Januay 2011 if anyone is interested. Here is an old draft of a Colombia Tour, but I certainly will change some as there are now new exciting reserves that can be visited.

Marathon. May 2 and July 18

First on my agenda is Lima Marathon. One may ask what that has to do with birding, but it does. Last year I ran it for the first time and turned it into a fund-raiser for the community on Satipo road. A marathon for conservation. This activity made Rain Forest Partnership interested in starting a small project here. My training has not gone the way I wanted this year, but I am still running the Marathon. I shall be happy if I make it all the way around. So here is a pledge – the same as last year. I will run the Lima Marathon 42.195km on May 2 after sporadic training the last 10 weeks (interrupted by 2 weeks sickness and an injured knee) at 4h13min or less. 4 hours and 13 minutes makes an average speed of 6:00 min per kilometer, which is more or less the speed that I have managed on the long runs I have done so far.

Sign-up in the comment section. And if you have not made the donation from the pledge last year available yet to Rain Forest Partnership, let me know.

My personal goal is to qualify to Boston Marathon. It will not happen at this race, but I have already a new Marathon in my mind where I shall much better trained. Rio de Janeiro Marathon on July 18. That is one week before I turn 50. I have to run in 3:35. I have 14 more weeks to find my top form.

Pelagics

I guess it is the viking in me that always take me to the sea. Contrary to our Peruvian guides, I never get seasick – so I guide practically all of Kolibri Expeditions’ pelagics. Pelagics from Lima are very good with up to 5-6 species of Storm-Petrels seen regularly including the localized Markham’s and Ringed (Hornby’s) Storm-Petrel. The Critically Endangered Waved Albatross is seen on practically every trip. So far the following pelagic tours have clients booked and will thus surely run: May 6, July 19 and 26, Sep 9 and 25, Oct 2, Nov 13 and 26. There are a couple of more dates in the tour calendar but without bookings. Most of these dates have been put there because they are at the beginning or the end of a scheduled trip. Since all trips in Peru begin or end in Lima it is easy to add a pelagic tour – providing we get enough people to run it.

May 17-24 Young Birders Manu community Tour

This is an idea that struck to me recently. Why not offer some tours that needs more assessment to people who would not normally come on birding tours, but are highly motivated birders. When testing new things, there may be things that will not work 100%. Therefore a pre-trip to the community lodges in the Manu area that are promoted this year with the help of bloggers ,will get a jumpstart by young birders on a promotrip.

The gain is on several levels.

Young birders get some guiding in the most difficult habitat to bird. The Amazon rainforest and at a reasonable price.
Our company keeps staff busy and paid, and while the revenue for the company is not great, there will be lots of important pieces of information of what works and what doesn’t on this pilot trip – to be implemented on the coming trips.
The communities get some revenue and the chance to set all right for more comfort demanding clients.

And it will be fun to bird with intense young birders up to 25 years old. I bet we shall make a monster list of birds seen – and that there will be very little sleep! There are 4 vacancies on the trip. Max age 25 years old.
If you don’t qualify age wise, check out all the fixed departures that supports the communities in the Manu area. Still very good value for money and a good cause.

Meet-up / Tweet-up in Lima May 29

@Burdr tweeted a few days ago that it would be wonderful to meet every birder that one has been connected with via Twitter, Facebook or the blog and I could not agree less. When I said so in my tweet-reply, @Burdr said: Let’s all meet in Peru. It clicked as an idea. Dawn Fine has arranged meeting with birders all over the US arranging meet-ups for birders that blog, tweet or chirp. We could do something similar in Lima.

Both locals and visitors and even clients – can meet up for some birding one morning every month. I am considering Saturday mornings when my wife works. That means that my two daughters (and our maid) would be joining us. Join Gunnar, Luciana and Anahi for the first birding meet-up on May 29. I hope to be able to do a meet up once every month or other month.

The training of a new Peruvian guide.

June 15-23 there is scheduled a trip to North Peru and the land of Marvelous Spatuletail. Santos Montenegro is a local campesino who has become interested in birds and in particular the Marvelous Spatuletail. He was the guy who found the displaying Spatultetail that was recently filmed by the BBC on land that was purchased by Santos with funds acquired by Kolibri Expeditions. I recently interview Santos to feature a blog about him and how he got interested in birds. Through help from our clients we have provided Santos with birdbook, binoculars and birdcalls so that he has learnt all the birds in the area so well that local conservation organization ECOAN employed him full time. In June he has holiday and time to join us on a full tour and in July he has to decide whether or not renew the contract with ECOAN or opt to become a bird guide. June 15-23 will be crucial. If you want to be part of forming a new local guide now you know.

British Bird Fair

August 20-22 it is time for the British Birdwatching Fair. Kolibri Expeditions have participated here every year since 2002 together with PromPeru, so we are sad to learn that PromPeru will not be putting up the stand this year. There may be stand for us anyway. I am waiting in anticipation for the decision by the organizers. In any case, I think I will go. It is a unique chance to meet up with clients and business partners. Especially after the Social Media boom, this event has the potential to become a giant meet-up, where you put person to a Facebook profile. Are you going to be at the BirdFair? Shall we meet up?

The biggest day!

September 1-13 . When I write this it is spring in the northern hemisphere and teams are forming to do Birdathons and big days all over for grand causes of bird conservation. Lots of fun, lots of coffee, adrenalin and speed birding.
How about transforming the idea to a business model in the bird richest area of the world? Is it at all possible? The Biggest Day tour!
Ted Parker and Scott Robinson set the world record of 331 species from Manu in 1982 – without motorized vehicle. The idea is to try to beat it or at least get very close to it at Amigos research Center between Manu and Tambopata. The trip will work as birding workshop where the participants will learn to seperate the Amazonian birds by sight and especially call the first 8 days. Day 9 is dress rehearsal, we form teams with the leaders who include guides Antonio Coral, Alex Durand and myself. All the teams should get over 300 species . The results are collected and analyzed before the gran finale on day 12. An attempt on the world record. Now the guides form a team together with one of the participants (a raffle will be made to select the person), while the rest form one or two teams to compete against the guides. Day 13 will be dedicated for the highlights once again and to see some of the elusive vocal species. Day 14 it is back to Puerto Maldonado and flight on to Lima or Cusco. Sound like fun?

Birding in Manu with Rick Wright

Rick Wright former editor of Winging-It and director and guide for Wings, hosts the Community Manu program in September 17-24 – together with me. Rick blogs at Aimophila Adventure. This shall be a fantastic trip with the possibility to add a pelagic in Lima on September 25 and Satipo road/Carpish Community on Sep 26-Oct 3 hosted by Chris West.

Photographic project with Hadoram Shirihai.

All through October to November Hadoram Shirihai and David Beadle will travel in Peru with us on a private photographic expedition. I shall be guiding the first part in Puno, while Alex Durand does all the Manu area. At the end of the period, I shall be guiding again in Central Peru (Carpish and Satipo road).

Scarlet-banded Barbet in Sira Mountains

I have a request for a Scarlet-banded Barbet expedtion from David Matson and Dave Sargeant around Oct 22. There is a new Barbet from southern Sira mountains yet to be described – whether species or subspecies status remains to be seen. Our expedition goes from Puerto Inca further North, where there is access to the highest peaks and from where Kolibri Expeditions already has a good set-up with local contacts. Obviously we don’t know that there will be a Barbet here but since it is the same mountain range as the southern population and our site is right between that and the original site of Scarlet-banded Barbet, there is a very good chance. We get a good gradient of habitats as we reach the highest peaks of over 2000m. Other species that can be seen on this trip include the endemic Sira Tanager, (Peruvian) Horned Curassow (good species based on voice and genetic isolation soon to be split), Sharpbill, Rufous-brown Solitaire, Rufous-webbed Briliant, Creamy-bellied Antwren, White-plumed Antbird, Blue-headed Macaw, Curl-crested Aracari, Chestnut-crowned Gnateater, Wing-banded Wren and many more.

15 Antpittas – and hopefully Banded Ground Cuckoo.

In December I have set up a program that runs from Tarapoto in Peru to Quito in Ecuador and is aiming to pick up 15 species of Antpitta on the way (actually there are 17 species, of Antpittas possible I don’t want to press my luck). We already have three bookings on this trip, which include well known bird book author Klaus Malling Olsen. This will be an epic trip, with lots of endemics. It is especially suitable for those that birded Ecuador in the 90s and want to fill in the gaps as more and more sites for then elusive species have emerged. It is a completely different Ecuador for birding today. Many places have Antpittas feeders – following the success of Angel Paz and his by now world famous Giant Antpitta Maria. The tour runs Nov 28 to Dec 17, with the option to add an eastern Amazonian lowland program of 3-4 days.

That is it. Well not really… because I am also spending a week in May with the family at the beach in Piura as well as a likely holiday somewhere abroad with the family in July or August to be determined.

If you can’t join me, but still want to be birding in Peru during 2010, I suggest you take a look at our tour Calendar, where there are loads of different bird tours scheduled that you can choose from.

by Gunnar Engblom April 13, 2010 0

OMG there is a Puma in the boat

Antonio Coral and Puma

This is almost an urban legend in the rainforest. Almost every visitor to Tambopata, Peru will hear the story. The boatman spots something swimming in the river. He calls out: PUMA!!!! -and directs the canoe towards the wet cat. At a moment of intuition – What if I can get it into the boat? – and then steers up alongside. Incredibly, the Puma does not turn down a free ride, but climbs up and stand on the railing. The tourists are stunned, but one of them eventually gets the camera out.

Puma in the canoe in Tambopata river with Antonio Coral

Since this occassion a couple of years back, the boatman Antonio Coral, has become an expert bird guide, who guides exclusively for Kolibri Expeditions. Antonio is now living in Toronto and volunteers at the Royal Ontario Museum. From June 23 through November 2010 shall he be guiding many of our birding groups in Peru. Join him! And who knows maybe he spots a Puma for you?

by Gunnar Engblom March 17, 2010 1

Birding Peru over Easter with a 20% discount.

Easter birding.

A holiday is coming up. That means birding time. We usually get many trips around the major holidays but not this time. It is quite amazing. Not a single tour over Easter week (March 29-April 4) has any bookings. We have 3 cars, 3 drivers and 5 guides all ready to go. One of the cars is brand new! What a waste of resources, don’t you think?

Well, to overcome this, we offer 20% discount on the tour part of all of our tours (this means we would subtract the cost of flights, train and entrance fees and then apply the discount). How about it? See anything you fancy on our web page?

Or maybe you would just want to hire a car and an experienced driver and do some birding on your own.

Here is sample what you could do. All trips can be combined with day-trips in Lima at either end.

North Peru 5 days featuring Marvelous Spatuletail and Abra Patricia.
A pioneering trip to the community lodges in the Manu area that Kolibri is supporting.
Amigos research Center. The most diverse place in SE Peru. Simply mindblowing number of species.
Manu road 7 days. The large landslide has been cleared and Amazonia Lodge has re-opened.
Machu Picchu and Abra Malaga. Yes, the train is working again from below Ollantaytambo.
Carpish featuring Golden-backed Mountain-Tanager and Diademed Sandpiper-Plover.

And if you can’t come yourself, be sure to send this link on to your friends. Use the share buttons to share on Facebook, Twitter and Buzz. I would appreciate it, my co-workers would appreciate it and the local communities with incipient eco-tourism initiatives will appreciate it. And I am sure your friends will appreciate seeing this unique offer, which would give over 300 species of birds at a very reasonable price. When most businesses increase their prices over the holidays we do the other way around.

If you want to do a longer holiday and not be caught by high air fares for the holiday there is a Satipo road and Carpish tour for 8 days starting on March 21 and a Satipo road trip for 7 days starting on April 5. Both trips are confirmed. Air fare to Lima is as low as 450 dollars from Miami.

Bearded Mountaineer. Huacarpay lake, Cuzco. Photo Alex Durand

The lekking males can be seen December to April at our private reserve. Marvelous Spatuletail. Photo: Alejandro Tello

Diademed Sandpiper Plover. Photo: Alex Durand

Golden-backed Tanager - one of the star birds possible during Kolibri Epxeditions Give-Away of 15 birding tours during 2010. Photo: Gunnar Engblom

by Gunnar Engblom January 17, 2010 0

Born Again Birdwatcher – Peruvian Friday

John E. Riutta. Natural Born Blogger

There is something about John Riutta’s blogging style that makes his writing very pleasant. It is easy flowing and somewhat liquid. What is more, his topics are always well researched and interesting. It is an honor to have John as host for the July 9 departure of the Manu community lodges program this summer

As preperations for his Peru adventure he is sharing his reading and discoveries in a new weekly blogging series on his blog Born Again Birdwatcher. Every Friday is Peruvian Friday. What a great idea! Two posts have been presented so far.

This shall be great to follow!

by Gunnar Engblom January 13, 2010 10

Young birder trips to Peru 8 days $699

Young birders - Photo: Chris West of https://swallowtailedkite.blogspot.com/.

Here is a spinn-off from our recent Peru-trip give away, in which many young birders participated, although most did not make it all the way to win a free trip. I did reserve several slots for young birders, but I had also to see what possibility the participants would have to be able to raise interest among fully paying participants. Although the social media skills were great, I felt many would have difficulty in getting friends to pay full price. I felt very sorry, considering all the hard work they put in.

Since, then I have been balling a few ideas with Young birders Chris West and Kai Reed. Maybe it would be possible to cater a trip for young birders during our low season at a special discounted price, where some of the costly private transport or expensive hotels are scaled off.
From them I understood that during spring term there would be little chance of going away if the trips were not centered around some holiday. I also understood that price was more important than comfort. This is what I have come up with. The first reactions are very positive among the young birders I have been in contact with, so it is likely that the trips will take off, in spite of the short notice.

We shall offer a birding Carpish/Satipo road program for Young birders SUB25 Feb 14-21 $699 (President’s birthday holiday) and birdwatching in Manu National Park and Amarakaeri communal reserve ~~Feb 25-March 4~~ May 17-24 $699, with possibility to do Manu road or Abra Malaga/Machu Picchu self-guided prior to start of that section. The idea is to provide affordable trips for young birders – and also prepare the communities for when more comfort demanding clients will arrive.

UPDATE: ~~We shall not fill either trip, why we offer both trips also for those birders young at heart, but older than 25 years old. Price is $120/day. An 8 day trip would therefore be only $960. Unbeatable!~~ Satipo road trip set off slightly modified with 3 people on Feb 15. The Manu trip is postponed to May 17. There are still a few vacancies.

Carpish/Satipo would be much less expensive in total than the Manu trip because no internal flight are involved.

What is the catch?

It is rainy season, which traditionally has kept birders away from Peru. However, that should not keep a birder away. The birding is still fantastic – and it beats shoveling snow any day, right!
Some of the Manu lodges are at this point abandoned, but bringing in a large group will allow for the communities to send people there to clear the clearings, which will be a bit overgrown, and making maintenance. It is likely, that not all maintenance shall be ready, but we shall also bring camping equipment to be able to stay wherever we want en route.
No extras are included. That means the flight to Cuzco is not included (we can help with purchase for best price available). Alternatively, a bus can be take to Cuzco (21 hours) from Lima, with the possibility to stop and bird in Abancay. Bus cost is about 50$. The transport to Atalaya from where the Manu trip begins is also not included. This allows for participants to either go down the Manu road with the local bus (Mo, We, Fri) and make stops or travel straight there. The bus is around 20-30 dollars.
One may travel overland back to Cuzco from Maldonado (cost 20-30 dollars) or fly to Lima or Cuzco (we can help for best price). The overland option gives some opportunity to bird around Quincemil and Marcapata.
There are no extras on the Central Peru option.

And what do you get?

Apart from the limitations above, everything else is included. You get an expert English speaking bird guide that knows all calls of the birds to separate antbirds and flycatchers. You have a cook that makes sure you get great food and drinks through-out the trip. A private boat in Manu and private car in Carpish with professional boatmen and driver.

And you should get minimum 300 species of birds with up to over 400 possible.Carpish/Satipo road is potentially more species rich as you pass through many different habitats.

Here are the links again, if you want to read more about the trips.

There will be limited space on the tours. So don’t wait too long to book. Please spread the word through your network of young birders.

Great thanks to Chris West for getting me the excellent picture for this blogpost. Check out Chris West’s blog here.

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