Peru 2009 Summary
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2009 Trips   Peru Photos   Diana's Tale  

If one mentions Peru typically first thoughts center around Machu Picchu, the Andes Mountains and the Amazon River, but Northern Peru is home to some of the most remarkable species of birds found anywhere in the world. Among them the Marvelous  Spatuletail, White-winged Guan and Long-whiskered Owlet. 

In November of 2009 we set out for a 3 week excursion from Lima that included a Pelagic Tour in Talara, a stop at El Limon for the White-winged Guan, the Maranon Valley endemics, the area around Pomacochas for the Marvelous-Spatuletail, the deciduous forest near Mayobamba, the humid east slope of the Andes in Abra Patricia (7400 ft), the waterways of the Tingana Reserve, the temperate forest birding near Leimebamba, and the Sangal Valley.

On a trip such as this, with the diverse and spectacular scenery; along with the abundance of birding opportunities it's difficult to distinguish what will be the lasting memories:  our fishing boat pelagic, the adventurous road travel, the unique dining experiences; in time that all fades. 

What will stand out in my mind will be the experiences at Abra Patricia:  the abundance of hummingbirds that frequents the feeders and the opportunity to search the grounds for the Long-whiskered Owlet - a species that wasn't discovered until 1976.  It's actually OK that we didn't get to see the Owlet despite staying up until 11:00 PM nightly and going back out at 3:30 AM for 4 consecutive days.  The Journey is what makes the experience and creates the memories and this section of our trip will stay with me for many years.  

So what were our top 10 birds for this trip, Ooh a tough question to answer but here we go in no particular order ....  Marvelous Spatuletail, Inca Tern, Scarlet-breasted Fruiteater, Buckley's Forest Falcon, Andean Cock of the Rock, Versicoloured Barbet, Chestnut-crested Cotinga, Capped Heron, Gray-breasted Mountain Toucan, and the White-winged Guan. Apologies to all the amazing birds we left off the list as we could create an equally impressive list of 10 that didn't make the cut.

Diana and I totaled 553 species of birds of which 327 were life birds; among them 37 life hummingbirds of the 45 species seen. Beyond the amazing numbers of birds other wild life we also saw included Saddleback Tamarin, Coati, Common Dolphin, Bottlenose Dolphin, Hump-backed Whales, Sea Lion, and Sechura Fox.

As we travel to these wonderful locations we can't help but think of Tourism as the proverbial double-edged sword; it certainly offers the incentive to preserve the habitat, wild life and support the local communities.  The sharper edge of the sword is that every step we take in such fragile environment contributes to the destruction of this pristine habitat and the modernization of the infrastructure that comes with tourism amplifies the impact ......

2009 Trips   Peru Photos   Diana's Tale