Day 0. Night bus to San Ramon (cost of 25 US $ included in total price).
Day 1. Arrival around 6 AM. Birding the botanical garden while breakfast is being served. Bird road to Oxapampa with lunch en route. Tanager flocks, Chestnut-crested Cotinga, Lanceolated Monklet, Inca Flycatcher, Peruvian Tyrannulet, Cinnamon-faced Tyrannulet, Blackish Pewee. Birding Night at Casa Loechle-Sinty.
Day 2. Start 4 AM. Drive to Antenna road. Bird predawn first turn-off for Cloud-Forest Screech-Owl and Olive-tufted Flycatcher. Breakfast. Bird along road to Antenna. Andean Guan, Scaly-naped Parrot, Black-winged Parrot, Barred Parakeet, Sword-billed Hummingbird, Amethyst-throated Sunangel, Chestnut-breasted Coronet, Collared Inca, Pasco Antpitta, Bay Antpitta, Chestnut-crested Cotinga, Yellow-scarfed Tanager, Grass-green Tanager, Lachrymose Tanager, Peruvian Wren, Strong-billed Woodcreeper, etc. Birding all day. Camp.
Day 3. AM birding around camp trying for White-throated Screech-owl. Continue to Pozuso with Torrent Tyrannulet, Fasciated Tiger-Heron and a Cock-of-the-Rock lek on the way through Yanachaga-Chemillen National Park. Pozuso is a charming German settlement in pelasant climate at around 900m. German cuisine predominates. It is not unusual to see large flocks of Blue-headed Macaws here. Night in Pozuso.
Day 4. Pozuso-Oxapampa. We will continue birding in the excellent habitat between 1000m-1500m in Yanachaga-Chemillen N.P. which is traversed by the Oxapampa-Pozuso road. Possibilities include Black-and-Chestnut Eagle, Amazonian Umbrellabird, Paradise Tanager, Black-faced Dacnis, Purple Honeycreeper, Peruvian, Ashy-headed, Cinammon-faced and Marble-faced Tyrannulet, and other. Hummingbird-feeders placed in the park by Kolibri Expeditions attract hummingbirds like Black-throated and Rufous-webbed Brilliant, Booted Raquet-tail, Speckled Hummingbird,
Day 5. Oxapampa-Villa Rica road. Remarkably good birding along this road. Things seen here include: White-capped Tanager, Golden-headed Quetzal, Long-tailed Sylph, Olivaceous Greenlet, Bay Antpitta, Red-throated Caracara, White-winged Becard, Blue and Black Tanager. Around midday we will reach our hotel at Villa Rica that has a splendid view over Laguna Oconal. In the after noon we wil explore the lakeside which give good possibility to view Least Grebe, Blackish Rail and Wattled Jacana. Coffee plantations provides further good birding.
Day 6. Bird Cumbre at 1700m in the morning with birds like Cerulean-capped Manakin, Scissor-tailed Nightjar, Band-bellied Owl and others. Continue to drive to Izcosacin.
Day 7-9. El Paujil in lowland Yanachaga-Chemillen NP. This is the closest intact Amazonian lowlands accessible from Lima. Apart from being a bird paradise with frequent sightings of for example Razor-billed Curassow, mammals like Wholly Monkeys, White-tailed Deer and Tapir are common. Probably the only place in South America where there are almost daily sightings of Tapir.
Day 10. El Paujil-Iscozasin.
Day 11. Iscozasin-Villa Rica.
Day 12. Villa Rica-Pto Yurinaki-Satipo. A travel day with some birding in early morning and then on to Satipo. Selected stops on the way might allow us views of species like Black Caracara, Fasciated Tiger-Heron Speckled Chachalaca, Grey-breasted Sabrewing, Little Woodpecker, Plain-crowned Spinetail, Great Antshrike, White-banded Swallow, Rusty-fronted Tody-Flycatcher, Little Ground-Tyrant Epaulet Oriole, Spot-breasted Woodpecker and Black-fronted Nunbird. Hotel Majestic. It is possible to end the trip here and board a night-bus to Lima – or arrive to Satipo the following morning with night bus from Lima.
Day 13. Birding lower section of Satipo road. Targets: Blue-browed Tanager, Russet Antshrike, Lanceolated Monklet, Spotted Rail, Roufous-sided Crake, Lemon-browed Flycatcher, Umbrellabird, Fasciated Tiger-Heron. Later we will explore trails in with targets such as Chestnut-crowned Gnateater, Hairy-crested Antbird (foothill form) and Peruvian Piedtail. Owling can give Rufescent Screech-Owl, Band-bellied Owl, Pauraque and Common Potoo. Camping by village school in Mariposa.
Day 14. Full day on the Mariposa-Apaya stretch.
Day 15. Drive to Andamarca. Up in the stunted elfin forest, Chestnut-bellied Mountain-Tanager, Slaty Brush-Finch and Coppery-naped Puffleg, will ensure an exciting start, while in the more humid forest we can expect such species as Blue-banded Toucanet, Marcapata Spinetail (weskei form), Streaked Tuftedcheek, Scarlet-bellied Mountain-Tanager, Band-tailed Fruiteater, White-browed (split from Black-capped) and Drab Hemispingi, Collared Inca, Sword-billed Hummingbird, Golden-headed Quetzal and Large-footed Tapaculo. Flocks of feeding tanagers will be doing the rounds and if we encounter some good flocks, a kaleidoscope of colour will be evident, including Black-goggled, Beryl-spangled, Green-and-gold and Turquoise Tanagers. In the afternoon we will continue to Andamarca where we shall be camping at a village school.
Day 16. Full day in the Andamarca area. Many good birds here, some that are not even yet described to science such as a Thryothorus wren and a Phacellodomus thornbird, as well as the recently described Black-spectacled Brush-Finch. Also Striated Earthcreeper, obscura form of Rufous Antpitta, Rusty-fronted Canastero, White-winged Black-Tyrant, Black-backed Grossbeak, White-bellied Hummingbird and many more. Near Carrizales, we may find the yet unnamed “Millpo Tapaculo” (mentioned under Andean Tapaculo in “Birds of the High Andes”), Eye-ringed Thistletail and Fire-throated Metaltail. Camp. Night camp in Apaya in conjunction to the village school.
Day 17. Bird mid section of Satipo road to Apaya village. Peruvian Tyrannulet, Cinnamon-faced Tyrannulet, Versicolored Barbet, Solitary Eagle, Black-and-Chestnut Eagle, Crested Quetazal, Torrent Duck, Deep-blue Flowerpiercer, Night in Satipo. Hotel Majestic
Day 18. Satipo-Pto Ocopa-Atalaya. Drive to Pto Ocopa and boat to Atalaya.
Day 19. In the morning we shall continue with speed boat to native community Pucani that has built lodge where we will stay in bungalows with beds and mosquito netting.
Day 20. Colpa de Guacamayos. We will visit one of the best Macaw licks in Peru. Hopefully, the hides damaged by the rains will be rebuilt and from which fabulous pictures can be taken here as we are only some 30 meters away from the Colpa. There may be limited space so that part of the group will be birding while the other part will be in the hide.
Day 21. Additional day around Pucani lodge.
Day 22. Visit marshes for Horned Screamer and Cream-colored Woodpecker. Return in PM to Atalaya visiting some river islands on the way, that has produced Lesser Hornero, Parker´s Spinetail, Castelnau´s Spinetail, River Tyrannulet on previous trips.
Day 23. Boat to Puerto Ocopa and drive to San Ramon.
Day 24. Early birding at Alto Pichita road with Stripe-chested Wren, Blue-browed Tanager and Chestnut-crested Cotinga. Birding our way back to Lima department where we shall stay in San Mateo. Highland birding will reward us with Andean Lapwing, Andean Goose, Andean Ibis, Giant Coot, Silvery Grebe, Andean Flicker, Bright-rumped Yellow-Finch and Stripe-necked Antpitta. Parada en Ticlio par aver White-bellied Cinclodes, Rufous-bellied Seedsnipe and many others. Hotel in San Mateo.
Day 25. Diademed Sandpiper-Plover will be the star bird this day. Other endemics to look out for include Olivaceous Thornbill, Black-breasted Hillstar and Dark-winged Miner. We will pass mountain lakes which hold Giant and Andean Coot, Silvery Grebe, Andean Gull, Puna Ibis, Speckled Teal, Crested Duck and Andean Ducks. Lunch is served whilst overlooking a small patch of Polylepis woodland and with some luck the rare White-cheeked Cotinga will be seen. Other specialties in this habitat include Black and Thick-billed Siskins, Black Metaltail, Giant Conebill, Dorbigny’s Chat-Tyrant, Rufous-webbed Tyrant, Black-throated Flowerpierer and many others. Condors often soar the skies above us and Torrent Duck is usually seen here. We shall arrive in Lima around 7 PM. (Note if you have to fly this day it is possible to arrange a vehicle that takes you straight to the airport after the Diademed Sandpiper-Plover).
For maximum species list this trip is best organized with a post/pre-trip pelagic, an excursion to the lower part of Santa Eulalia (pre-trip) and possibly a pre/post-trip to Lomas de Lachay.
