North Peru 2018

August 3 - August 24



Introduction:

We headed out to Lima from Boston on August 3, 2018 and made our way back on August 24.

Two years prior to this trip we had thoroughly enjoyed our trip to southern Peru. We spent a considerable amount of time getting familiar with what southern Peru had to offer and had some sense that most of the wonders of Peru resided in the south. In talking with some folks while in Peru they suggested we look into what the north of Peru had to offer. Upon our return we began to look into northern Peru and were pleasantly surprised. With ruins galore, natural wonders and established lodges and guides, we decided to give it a shot. As with our previous trip, a good deal of planning was involved. And as with our prevous trip, no major issues of any type arose during our travels. Upon our return we are unanimous that the trip was a fantastic adventure.

The wonderful pre-Inca ruins (Cerro Sechin, Huaca de la Luna, Chan Chan, Bosque de Pomac, Kuelap and Huaca Cao Viejo) were all worth the visit and some were unquestionably incredible; the Moche, Chimu, Chachapoyas and others left a phenomenal legacy. The treasures in the museums (Museo Tumbas Reales del Senor de Sipan in Lambayeque and the Museo Leymebamba in Leymebamba) were exceptional. This truly is the Egypt of the Americas, as they say.

The nature was, as anticipated, spectacular. The dry deserts, scrub lands, cloud forest and tropical forests were fantastic. The cultivated areas, rice fields in particular, also proved to be very interesting. Crossing the Andes in southern Peru was unforgettable, and so it was here. Saw lots of great rivers and waterfalls, particularly Gocta Falls, and some incredible rainbows as we navigated roads providing wonderful views.

Our primary focus was the birds, and we saw plenty of spectacular species, over 325 in total. Lots of other great animals were seen or heard: various species of monkies and other mammals, frogs and toads, snakes, lizards, spiders and scorpions, ants and other insects. We wouldn't have been able to see all the wildlife we did without the help of some wonderful guides. We had five in total and each did a great job.

Our lodgings ranged from fine to great as did the meals.

Bird Guides:

We booked six local guides. We actually met and birded with five. Each of these five met or exceeded our expectations. They were: Joel with Chaparri, Santos with Huembo, Roberto with The Owlet Lodge, Henry in Tarapoto and Carlos in Moyobamba. Aside from the ones associated with lodges, I was concerned about how to find others, such as Carlos and Henry. I reached out ot the owner of the perubirds.org site and he responded with contact info for these two excellent guides and others. Very grateful for this.

Areas Birded: (of course we birded while en route; only locations where we stopped for a length of time are mentioned):

Cerro Sechin (110m): Did some light birding at these interesting ruins.

Bosque de Pomac (65m): Nice birding habitat about an hour outside of Chiclayo.

Chaparri (450m): Great place to bird, a couple hours outside of Chiclayo. Lots of birds, some fine trails, good accommodations and meals, and our guide was very knowledgable and skilled.

Abra Porculla (2200m): Couple hours of relaxed birding done here.

Gotas de Agua (700m): Birded for few hours. Quite upset as multiple promises were broken by the owner of this reserve. See below for the details of how the owner screwed us over.

Huembo (2060m): Stayed overnight here and birded with the skilled resident guide Santos. We birded the San Lorenzo trail and around the grounds of the lodge.

Owlet Lodge (2340m): Smack dab in the middle of a lot of cloud forest in very good condition. Great guide. Loads of birds around the lodge and nearby. Graleria trail proved very fruitful.

Arenas Blancas (1150m): Excellently maintained piece of property in the city of the same name. Not far from the Owlet Lodge.

El Mono y La Gata restaurant (800m): Not far outside of Tarapoto on the highway to Yurimaguas; before the Tunnel and Aconabikh Reserve.

Tunnel: On the road to Yurimaguas; between El Mono y La Gata and Aconabikh.

Aconabikh (725m): Great birding. The groundskeeper is very knowledgable and joined us on our too-short of a stay.

Wakanki (1000m): Wonderful orchid garden in Moyobamba with loads of birds.

Outskirts of Moyobamba (820-950m): This includes the ponds at Indane, the rice fields, Santa Elena and the area around the base of Moro Calzada.

Gocta Falls Lodge (1790m): Birded the beautiful grounds.

Kentitambo Lodge & vicinity (2420m-2540m): Birded the lodge grounds and also a canyon just up the road, in which the owner has some property.

Balsas (850m): Was the heat of day and things were pretty quiet, but did manage to see some birds.

Encanada (3175m): Shortly before you reach the city of this name, coming from Celendin, there is a tight lefthand hairpin. In the middle of the hairpin is a creek and a dirt road you can use to access the area.

Books:
Trip Reports:

Read 7 trip reports. Though all had value, the 4 most useful I've listed below. I also found site lists online for Wakanki, Alto Nieva, Huembo, Chaparri and Gotas de Agua. Very useful information, and a good deal of it and updated as well, is at perubirds.org. Somewhat overlapping with the information at this site was a write-up by Jeremy Flanagan for CONAVE; looking back on the web, unable to locate it. Eagle-Eye Tours had some useful information also.

Flight Information:

As before booked with Expedia. Flew Copa Airlines and all went fine. Each ticket: 707 + 111.56 = $818.56. To Lima, August 3: Copa CM0312: 9:26 am Boston - 2:13 pm Panama City Copa CM0493: 3:44 pm Panama City - 7:19 pm Lima From Lima, August 24: Copa CM0436: 6:41 am Lima - 10:23 am Panama City Copa CM0311: 12:34 pm Panama City - 7:16 pm Boston

Auto Rental:

Hertz This time it was Hertz that offered the best price for a mid-sized SUV, which we booked through Expedia. We rented a Hyundai Tucson. We let the guy at the agency in the Lima airport talk us into getting more insurance than we probably needed. We also got windshield insurance; better safe than sorry. The car operated great. No complaints and I'd recommend this model. We drove it 4302 km., or 2673 miles.

Lodging:

Holiday Inn Just next to the Jorge Chavez airport (33 m) Stayed here our first night, 8/3, and our last night 8/23. The hotel served us quite well. They have a fine restaurant and made sure we were comfortable. Paid for with points.

Hotel Libertador Central Plaza in Trujillo (37 m) Stayed here on 8/4. Nice hotel, quiet rooms. Staff was friendly and breakfast very good.

Casa Andina Chiclayo (28 m) Stayed here on 8/5 and again on 8/8. Nice hotel and nice staff. Breakfast was fine.

Chaparri near Chongoyape (450m) Stayed her on 8/6 and 8/7. Great reserve. Lots of birdlife and animal life in general. Very knowledgable guides. Neat accommodations and friendly staff.

Hotel Urqu Jaen (705m) Stayed here on 8/9. Reasonable hotel.

Huembo (2060m) Stayed here on 8/10. Great place in the cloud forest to spend the night and they have some super guides you can make arrangements to bird with. Lodging facilities more in line with research work rather than tourism.

Owlet Lodge (2340m): Stayed here 8/11 and 8/12. Great place to stay. Lodging facilities very nice. Booked through same means that we booked Huembo. They said we needed two doubles, as we had at Huembo. But while the two doubles at Huembo were needed as they were genuine doubles, the doubles at Owlet Lodge were very big and we wound up only using one. They gave us a small discount as a result, around $50.

Pumarinri Amazon Lodge near Tarapoto (227m) Stayed here 8/13 and 8/14. Great place to stay. Outside the city and on the Huallaga River. We were disappointed that they promised box-breakfasts on our fist morning but did not deliver. Though they made up for it with a free dinner, we were quite hungry that morning.

Hotel Puerto Mirador in Moyobamba (865m) Stayed here 8/15 and 8/16. We enjoyed this place. It's got a reasonable restaurant, nice pool and a spacious layout of the rooms. It's on the edge of town.

Gocta Falls Lodge near Gocta Falls(1790m) Stayed here 8/17. Fantastic place! Great views of the falls, beautiful grounds and a nice dinner and breakfast were enjoyed. We also took advantage of the pool. We had reached out to the hotel well before our trip and they had indicated the availability of a room for one night. When we finally decided our actual dates and got back they said you need to book for two nights. I imagine the first date we had given them was such that a room was available that was only free for one night, but when we got back to them with the actual date the rooms were not so booked up and they were asking a two night minimum. My wife was under the impression that the larger rooms, as we stayed in, required two night stays.

Kentitambo Lodge (2420m) Stayed here 8/18 and 8/19. Neat layout. Active feeders. Right across the street from the Leymebamba museum.

Villa Madrid (2650m) Stayed here on 8/20. One of a few basic hotels to choose from in Celendin. Clean and spacious. Dining choices in the city also limited to very basic.

Fundo San Antonio (2700m) Stayed here on 8/21. In Banos del Inca, just west of Cajamarca. Spacious rooms, very nice grounds and good meals to be had.

Moche Sanctuary Lodge in Trujillo (33m) Stayed here on 8/22, our last night before entering back into Lima. The lodge is right next to the ruins and so we knew how to find it, which helped. Very nice setting, the rooms were comfortable and the food fine.

Ruins & Museums Visited:

Cerro Sechin (110m): Visited en route to Trujillo from Lima, on our first day of driving. Very interesting ruins with large stones with engraved figures on them. Reminded me of the figures found in stones at Monte Alban in Oaxaca, Mexico.

Huaco del Sol y la Luna (33m): Planned to spend some time at these ruins which seem spectacular in photos and descriptions. As is often the case, the actual ruins were more than I expected. The morning we went was a day in which Peruvians can visit ruins for free and there were loads of people in the entrance area. It turned out that people who are paying get in quicker and do not have to wait with those who are getting for free; lucky for us. The guide for our group was an archeologist and did well. The ruins were a highlight of the trip.

Chan Chan (32m): Another fabulous ruin. We visited this in the afternoon and got a guide, which made a difference as there is not much descriptions about the ruins as you walk. Another highlight for our trip.

Royal Tombs of Sipan Museum (18m): Amazing museum, chock full of treasures and wonderfully displayed! Glad we had this on our itinerary!

Leymebamba Museum (2420m): Fascinating museum. About the Chachapoyas peoples. Some eye-opening mummies.

Kuelap (3005m): Spectacular ruins of the Chachapoyas people. Take a gondola over two deep canyons and then walk up to the ruins. Incredible experience.

Ventanillas de Otuzco (2755m): Close to Banos del Inca, just outside Cajamarca and in the city of Otuzco, these ruins consist of openings, or windows, into the side of a hill where persons were buried. Not much apparently known about this place.

Huaca Cao Viejo (20m): North of Trujillo, not too far. Nice ruins just next to the ocean. Some of the artwork resembles that to be seen at Huaca la Luna. Museum is very nice, telling the story of the lady who was the ruler of this complex. Store also had a lot of nice items.

Medical Precautions:

We have active yellow fever shots and we took along some malaria medicine. The medicine is: IC Atovaquone-Proguanil 250-100 (common brand name Malarone). We were to take one a day, starting 2 days prior until 7 days after, which would be 30 tablets each. We wound up stopping them before we headed back.


Day by Day Account:

August 3:

After a smooth flight from Panama to Lima, went through immigration and picked up the rental car. Drove across the street to the Holiday Inn, where we had a good dinner and went to bed.

August 4:

Woke up, had a nice breakfast and headed out on our drive to Trujillo. This is a long drive and we planned a stop at Cerro Sechin, some interesting ruins about half way between Lima and Trujillo, just off the Panamerican Highway. In Lima we saw: west peruvian dove, american kestrel and rock dove. Along the highway we saw: black vulture, neotropical cormorant and cattle egret. May have had peruvian pelican in the distance but too far away to be sure.

At the ruins, we went through the small museum and then birded the museum grounds and the ruins. We saw: long-tailed mockingbird, west peruvian dove, croaking ground dove, saffron finch, cinereous conebill, vermillion flycatcher, amazilia hummingbird, baird's flycatcher, fasciated wren and pacific parrotlet. The wrens and parrotlets were very accommodating.

After the ruins we had a nice lunch in the neighboring town and made our way to Trujillo and our hotel on the central plaza, where we had a nice rest.

(15 species, 3 lifers)

August 5:

Had a nice breakfast and headed out to the Huaca del Sol y la Luna ruins and afterwards to the Chan Chan ruins. After seeing these fantastic ruins we made our way to Chiclayo.

Around the Trujillo area we saw: house sparrow, turkey vulture, black vulture, cattle egret, groove-billed ani.

At the Huaca del Sol y la Luna we saw: coastal miner, hooded siskin.

(7 species, 0 lifers), total (20 species, 3 lifers)

August 6:

We had breakfast and headed out to Bosque de Pomac. We got there shortly after they opened, registered, paid the fee, took a look at the displays and headed into the reserve. We parked near the millennium tree and walked the trail that begins across the road. We then took a drive further into the reserve to where some ruins lie across a river bed, which was dry during our visit.

We saw 23 species: great egret, crested cara cara, west peruvian pigeon, groove-billed anni, west peruvian pygmy owl, amazilia hummingbird, scarlet-backed woodpecker, golden-olive woodpecker, streak-headed woodcreeper, pale-legged hornero, collared antshrike, white-crested elaenia, southern beardless tyrannulet, vermillion flycatcher, rufous flycatcher, bananaquit, white-tailed jay, cattle egret, fasciated wren, long-tailed mockingbird, tropical gnatcatcher, blue-and-gray tanager, golden bellied grosbeak, streaked saltator, shiny cowbird. We also had nice looks at squirrel (probably guayaquil squirrel) and fox (likely sechura fox). Sechura Fox

We then went back to the edge of Chiclayo and headed out to Chaparri. Arriving a little early, our guide was also a little early so we headed into the wonderful Chaparri reserve at about 4:30. Peruvian Pygmy Owl

On the ride in and around the lodge we saw 21 species: white-winged guan, harris hawk, croaking ground-dove, amazilia hummingbird, scarlet-backed woodpecker, golden-olive woodpecker, pale-legged hornero, collared antshrike, baird's flycatcher, tumbes tyrant, pacific parrotlet, bananaquit, white-tailed jay, blue and white swallow, fasciated wren, long-tailed mockingbird, tropical gnatcatcher, saffron finch, parrot-billed seedeater, white-headed brushfinch, white-edged oriole.

(36 species, 14 lifers), total (45 species, 17 lifers)

August 7:

We went to Casupe early in the morning with our box-breakfasts. It turned out that almost all species that can be seen in the higher-up Casupe area can be seen at Chaparri. The trip was quite long, but we did manage to get back and do some birding back at the lodge.

We saw 27 species: scrub nightjar, white-winged brushfinch, collared antshrike, black-capped sparrow, fasciated wren, variable hawk, elegant crescentchest, three-banded warbler, scarlet-backed woodpecker, white-tipped dove, white-tailed jay, pacific eleania, tropical parula, collared warbling finch, short-tailed field-tyrant, tumbees peewee, parrot-billed seedeater, baird's flycatcher, vermillion flycatcher, superciliated wren, white-edged oriole, tumbes sparrow, croaking ground-dove, gray-and-white tyrannulet, tawny crowned pygmy-tyrant, red-masked parrot, necklaced spinetail. White Tailed Jay

Towards the end of the day we saw a very large iguana as well as a smaller one, visited the spectacled bears in their enclosures, saw the peccary in their enclosure and saw some squirrels. We took a night walk with the guide where we saw scorpions, a tarantula and busy leaf-cutter ants.

(27 species, 15 lifers), total (63 species, 32 lifers)

August 8:

Spent the morning near the little waterfall in the creek which the hummingbirds like to visit. The feeders are also nearby.

We saw: tumbes hummingbird, short-tailed woodstar, purple-collared woodstar, amazilia hummingbird, green kingfisher, southern beardless tyrannulet, grey and white tyrannulet, cinereous conebill, golden bellied grosbeak. Oddly enough, I thought that the guide at one point had called one bird a plumbeous vireo, but must have heard wrong. We also saw an immature condor while birding near the gate of the reserve. We had over fifteen minutes to observe this magnificent bird circle increasingly higher as the morning heated up! For mammals we added white-tailed dear. Andean Condor

On the way back towards Chiclayo we stopped at puente tulipe. We had stopped here on the way up to try for chestnut-collared swallow but did not see it then. This time we did!

(11 species, 4 lifers), total (69 species, 36 lifers)

Very happy with these dry habitat birds we had seen, with over 50% lifers!

We headed back to Chiclayo and then to Lambeyeque to the Royal Tombs of Sipan Museum. Wow! These is the most impressive archeological museum I have seen. The findings in this tomb are numerous and amazing. We spent the afternoon enthralled!

Back to Chiclayo to the hotel we had stayed in three nights earlier.

August 9:

Headed out in the morning to begin our ascent into the Andes, going to Jaen with a birding stop at Abra Porculla. We arrived at Abra Porculla and parked near the cemetery and birded for a couple of hours.

We had 15 species: blue-and-white swallow, tropical parula, pale-legged hornero, fasciated wren, three-banded warbler, white-tiped swift, streak-throated bush-tyrant, black-cowled saltator, amazilia hummingbird, a very obliging pair of peruvian sheartails, rusty flowerpiercer, variable hawk, black-chested buzzard-eagle and black-capped sparrow. While driving up to the cemetery we saw a very plain gray bird on the ground, looking finch like. Possibly slaty finch. We also had peruvian pygmy owl en route: he was sitting on a wire.

Headed out to Jaen where we spent the night at one of the newer hotels in town.

(15 species, 3 lifers), total (75 species, 39 lifers)

August 10:

This day turned out to be much different than planned. We have been fortunate to date with our travels, and though not a terrible day it was the worst day we have had in our travels. We had been e-mailing with the owner of Gotas de Agua. He indicated he could provide a guide. Moreover, he said he would have someone pick us up at the hotel at 5:45am and take us to Gotas de Aguas. A guide would certainly help us locate the desired specialties of the area by noon, so we were informed.

We awoke early, skipping the free breakfast and eating some food we had purchased the night before. By 6:30 we had tried the 3 phone numbers the owner has with no response. We then headed out to Gotas de Agua with our car, arriving at about 7:20 am. A groundskeeper informed us we first had to register. We signed the register and he stated that there are a lot of birds there as we can hear. Just at that moment the area became silent. We then asked again to the groundskeeper about the guide. He sent for the guide, who was sleeping. The guide woke herself up and we started off down a trail. She indicated she was new and really knew nothing about the birds as she was just starting. She did know of a couple of locations where one could supposedly find a couple of the specialties.

By this time I was quite upset. We had not studied the specialty birds nor record any of their songs or calls, as we had it on record that a guide would ensure we could meet our goal. I was upset enough to impact my ability to effectively bird.

Though we missed most of the specialities, we did get four new lifers. We then headed back to the hotel to get in some swimming. Not that the weather was exceptionally hot, but I did need to cool down.

We saw 15 species: green jay, pale-legged hornero, groove-billed anni, fasciated wren, shiny cowbird, squirrel cuckoo, streaked saltator, tropical gnatcatcher (maior subspecies), rufous-fronted thornbird, collared antshrike (unclear if was shumbae subspecies), necklaced spinetail (chinchipensis subspecies), brown-crested flycatcher, and another flycatcher which I do not recall. We also saw ecuadorian ground-dove, croaking ground-dove and plain-breasted ground-dove. The latter was on a wire just beside a croaking ground-dove, allowing for a useful comparison, particularly in size.

Treating gnatcatcher subspecies and necklaced spinetail subspecies as a lifer species.

(15 species, 4 lifers), total (83 species, 43 lifers)

Headed out to Huembo, passing through Pedro Ruiz en route. The highway began getting much more scenic as we approached Pedro Ruiz, and the vegetation more tropical as we entered into the cloud forest. Arrived in time to take our luggage down to the rooms before night fell.

We had asked for two doubles at Huembo and a couple days before were told we would be getting two singles and a double. This appeared to be the result of the four Chinese men occupying the remaining doubles. This was our first interaction with Chinese off the beaten path. During the early part of the evening they had been smoking, talking and playing music loudly. In the morning they were spitting, covering one nostril at a time and blowing mucus out the other nostril and smoking again. They were mainly into photography and you could tell where they had been as they left Chinese cigarette butts and candy wrappers on the ground. They were also present at our next destination.

August 11:

The night before, our guide mentioned he may not be able to guide us on the San Lorenzo trail. There was a group of four Chinese men staying at Huembo and he may have to help them with their luggage in the morning. He checked and it seemed they could get some help from another man who works at Huembo, so we were on for the San Lorenzo trail.

We left early and spent the morning birding the San Lorenzo trail. We saw 27 species and heard 4 more: cinnamon flycatcher, great thrush, speckle-faced parrot, white-sided flowerpiercer, rufous-collared sparrow, spectacled redstart, rufous spinetail (h), black-and-green fruiteater, black-and-blue tanager, lacrimose mountain tanager, blue-capped tanager, white-tipped dove, sierra elaenia, grass green tanager, tyrian metaltail, roufous-breasted chat-tyrant, azara's spinetail (h), blue-backed conebill, citrine warbler, pale-billed antpitta (h), trilling tapaculo (h), russet-mantled softtail, superciliared hemispingus, drab hemispingus, violet-throated starfrontlet, beryl-spangled tanager, pearled treerunner, barred fruiteater, turkey vulture, yellow-billed cacique, yellow-breasted brush-finch.

(27 species, 6 lifers), total (108 species, 49 lifers), (4 species heard, 2 lifers heard)

After a hearty lunch we birded the grounds around the lodge, focusing on the banana feeders and hummingbird feeders. We had 11 species and 1 heard: silver-backed tanager, hepatic tanager, yellow-bellied seedeater, sparkling violetear, green violetear, bronzy inca, white-bellied hummingbird, chestnut-breasted coronet, andean emerald, marvelous spatuletail, squirrel cuckoo, speckle-breasted wren (h).

(11 species, 2 lifers), total (118 species, 51 lifers), 14 species of hummingbird so far (1 species heard, 1 lifer heard), total (5 species heard, 3 lifers heard)

Headed out to Owlet Lodge. Though not far, they apparently had a big downpour while we were driving there, but we only had a small amount of rain. Passed by Pomacochas Lake but did not really bird the lake. Had a good meal at Owlet Lodge and planned the next day with our guide.

August 12:

Woke up had breakfast and birded the area around the lodge. Our guide then fed two species of antpittas to our delight. We then walked the graleria trail. After lunch we walked a trail on the other side of the street which was very quiet.

We saw 46 species and heard an additional 4: black-and-green fruiteater, rufous-collared sparrow, collared inca, bronzy inca, bluish flowerpiercer, sulphur-bellied tyrannulet, pale-edged flycatcher, emerald bellied puffleg, lulu's tody-tyrant, grass-green tanager, yellow-scarfed tanager, flame-faced tanager, lacrimose mountain tanager, house wren (h), azara's spinetail (now seen), golden-faced tyrannulet, green-fronted lancebill, speckled hummingbird, barred parakeet (h), rufous-headed pygmy-tyrant, rusty-breasted antpitta (h), black-and-blue tanager, rufous-vented tapaculo, gray-breasted wood-wren, black-throated tody-tyrant, variable antshrike, long-tailed sylph, mountain wren, great thrush, yellow-breasted brush-finch, spectacled redstart; sword-billed hummingbird, rusty-tinged antpitta, chestnut antpitta, white-bellied woodstar, saffron-crowned tanager, red-hooded tanager, yellow-billed cacique, white-headed tanager, rufous spinetail (now seen), streak-headed antbird, russet-crowned warbler, smoky-brown woodpecker, chestnut-breasted wren (h), booted racket-tail, chesnut-breasted chlorophonia, streak-necked flycatcher, beryl-spangled tanager, capped conebill, fawn-breasted brilliant.

(46 species, 14 lifers), total (153 species, 65 lifers) (4 species heard, 3 lifers heard), total (7 species heard, 5 lifers heard)

We had planned to take the hike to the closer location and try for the owlet, but as we started down the trail it began to rain and it looked like we would have to call it off. But we held off for about 1/2 hour and headed down the trail as the rain tapered off and ended. With the guide's help we saw the owlet and were very pleased! Celebrated and hit the sack.

On the walk down and at the owlet site had 3 species and heard 2: chesnut-capped brush-finch, roadside hawk, rufous-bellied nighthawk (h), long-whiskered owlet, rufous-banded owl (h).

(3 species, 2 lifers), total (156 species, 67 lifers) (2 species heard, 1 lifers heard), total (9 species heard, 6 lifers heard)

August 13:

Woke up had breakfast and headed down towards Arenas Blancas. We birded the highway, starting with a spot for the nightjar, where we also heard the potoo. Then we parked in Arenas Blancas, walking to the reserve. Our guide didn't know the path to the reserve was in good enough condition to drive to the entrance, but that was good as the birding between where we parked and the entrance was quite good.

Before arriving at the reserve was had 15 species, 1 heard: lyre-tailed nightjar, common potoo (h), sickle-wiged guan, great kiskadee, bananaquit, chestnut-bellied seedeater, blue-and-black tanager, bronze-green euphonia, house wren (now seen), black-faced tanager, white-winged becard, black-billed thrush, buff-throated saltator, blue-grey tanager, white-throated swift, tropical kingbird.

Arrived at Arenas Blancas and watched with relish the two tinamou species and the wood-quail eating at the feeding station. The hummingbird feeders were quiet at first but did pick up after some time. The banana feeders and surrounding trees provided a nice mix of species, including the brilliant paradise tanager and gilded barbet. We saw 20 species, 1 heard: little tinamou, cinereous tinamou, rufous-breasted wood-quail, fork-tailed woodnymph, golden-tailed sapphire, brown violetear, yellow-rumped cacique, blue-fronted lancebill, orange-bellied euphonia, zimmer's antbird (h), gray-breasted sabrewing, reddish hermit, thorntail, black-throated brilliant, white-lined tanager, greenish hermit, palm tanager, bronze-green euphonia, buff-throated saltator, paradise tanager, gilded barbet.

We had a good time birding back from Arenas Blancas to the Owlet Lodge. We saw 11 species and heard 1: golden-faced tyrannulet, magpie tanager, swallow-tailed kite, tropical kingbird, piratic flycatcher, squirrel cuckoo, black-faced dacnis, turquoise tanager, bay-headed tanager, golden-collared honeycreeper, blue-necked tanager, ruddy pigeon (h).

Back at the Owlet Lodge we had 3 species and 1 heard: barred becard, yellow-throated tanager, streak-necked flycatcher, yellow-browed sparrow (h).

We said goodbye to the Owlet Lodge and headed out to Tarapoto, getting to our lodgings in the dark as the drive through the city of Tarapoto was quite congested. En route we saw: palm tanager, oil bird, russet-backed oropendola. Had a nice dinner at our lodgings and scheduled to have a box-breakfast the next morning.

(48 species, 18 lifers), total (199 species, 85 lifers) - 32 hummers so far (4 species heard, 2 lifers heard), total (12 species heard, 8 lifers heard)

August 14:

Woke up early and were unable to locate the box-breakfasts and so headed out with no breakfast. Met our guide at 5:30am and had a piece of cake and coffee but didn't eat anything substantial until 2:30. Real bummer about not getting our box-breakfasts.

During the night we heard at the hotel: tropical screech-owl (h), band-bellied owl (h)

Headed out on the highway to Yurimaguas. First birding spot was the restaurant El Mono y La Gata restaurant. Hung around here for a while and saw some great birds. We had 27 species, 1 heard: speckled chachalaca (h), gilded barbet, black-faced dacnis, slaty-capped flycatcher, tropical kingbird, house wren, masked tanager, red-eyed vireo, buff-throated saltator, green-backed trogon, golden-headed manakin, silver-beaked tanager, cobalt-winged parakeet, paradise tanager, bay-headed tanager, green honeycreeper, turkey vulture, white-banded swallow, rufous-tailed tyrant, ochre-bellied flycatcher, blue dacnis, white-lored tyrannulet, olive tanager, southern rough-winged swallow, scaly-breasted wren, streaked flycatcher, dotted tanager, yellow-browed tody flycatcher, yellow-bellied tanager, white-collared swift.

We then headed up to the Tunnel, birding first the near side and then the far side. There was road construction and we had to wait a bit before we could drive on. This happened more than once this day. We saw 17 species: white-throated woodpecker, golden-tailed sapphire, pale-eyed thrush, koepcke's hermit, slate-throated redstart, fork-tailed woodnymph, orange-bellied euphonia, lanceolated monklet, cliff flycatcher, golden-faced tyrannulet, blue-and-white swallow, yellow-breasted flycatcher, purple honeycreeper, gray-breasted sabrewing, gray-capped flycatcher, cock-of-the-rock, swallow-tailed kite.

Headed over to the Aconabikh Reserve. Saw some great birds and would have liked to have stayed longer, but we started to get very hungry. We had 12 species and 1 heard: golden-tailed sapphire, white-necked jacobin, gould's jewelfront, gray-breasted sabrewing, koepcke's hermit, musician wren, yellow bellied tanager, grayish mourner, blue-crowned manakin, yellow-billed jacamar, white-flanked antwren, pale-tailed barbthroat, plumbeous pigeon (h).

We also heard two tinamou's which I believe were little and cinereous, that we had seen earlier in our trip. We went to El Mono y La Gata, having to wait quite some time in a line of cars while road construction was done and being very hungry. We ate lunch and then stopped by a lake just outside of Tarapoto near our meeting point with our guide. We had 2 species: smooth-billed ani, comb duck.

(56 species, 22 lifers), total (239 species, 107 lifers) - 36 hummers so far (4 species heard, 1 lifer heard), total (16 species heard, 9 lifers heard)

August 15:

Woke up early again and this time we got the box-breakfasts, while the kids stayed behind at the lodge. We were going to be birding dry forests and it was going to be perhaps the hottest day birding. Also, we had to move on to Moyobambo, so we were cutting it short at noon or a little later.

We headed out towards Quebrada Upaquihua, stopping at two other sites for a little bit of birding at each. At the first site we saw some san martin titi monkies and for birds had 13 species seen and 3 heard: white-browed antbird, white-eyed parakeet, white-lined tanager, northern slaty-antshrike (huallagae subspecies), green jay, straight-billed woodcreeper, pearly-venty tody-tyrant, rusty-backed antwren, stripe-chested antwren, russet-crowned crake (h), coraya wren (h), dull-colored grassquit (h), ruddy ground-dove, blue-crowned trogon, green-backed trogon, black-throated hermit.

At the second place we stopped we had 3 species: purple-throated euphonia, common tody-flycatcher, mouse-colored flycatcher.

And finally, the quebrada itself. As mentioned, we had a time limit and certainly would have benefitted from a longer stay. We saw 10 species and heard 2 species: red-eyed vireo, northern slaty-antshrike (huallagae subspecies), plain-crowned spinetail (h), mishana tyrannulet (h), brown-crested flycatcher, sulphur-bellied tyrant-manakin, brown casiornis, barred antshrike, yellow-breasted flycatcher, band-tailed manakin, variegated flycatcher, ashy-headed greenlet.

Headed out to Moyobamba. Got to our lodgings, unpacked, unwound and reached out to our guide for the area. He had asked to do so and he swung by the hotel with a friend and we discussed what we'd be doing the next couple days, in particular given that it was very likely it would rain the next morning.

(26 species, 13 lifers), total (258 species, 120 lifers) (5 species heard, 4 lifers heard), total (21 species heard, 13 lifers heard)

August 16:

Heard a ferruginous pygmy-owl during the night. Awoke and got our box breakfasts. Met up with the guide and we headed just a few minutes away to a very nice Mirador which overlooked the Rio Mayo and a nice collection of trees - a small jungle one might say. We spent a couple of hours here while the rain kept on and eventually fizzled out. It was surprisingly productive and we saw 26 species (10 new for the trip): purple-throated euphonia, barred antshrike, tropical kingbird, cattle egret, black-bellied tanager, house wren, social flycatcher, yellow-bellied eleania, short-crested flycatcher, black-billed thrush, blue-grey tanager, yellow-rumped cacique, white-winged becard, blue-headed parrot, bananaquit, blue-necked tanager, palm tanager, white-lined tanager, yellow-crowned tyrannulet, turquoise tanager, rufous-fronted thornbird, chestnut-eared aracari, olivaceous woodcreeper, grayish saltator, boat-billed flycatcher, black vulture.

The guide also got on a point-tailed palm-creeper. We saw it flying away and hoped to get better looks at one later but did not.

With the rain cleared up we headed over to the much-anticipated Wakanki. Had a great time. Near the feeder area we had 26 species (9 new for the trip): black-billed thrush, black-faced dacnis, squirrel cuckoo, guira tanager, yellow-crested tanager, rufous-crested coquette, white-necked jacobin, long-billed starthroat, great-billed hermit, fork-tailed woodnymph, black-throated mango, grey-breasted sabrewing, golden-tailed sapphire, paradise tanager, brown violetear, sparkling violetear, palm tanager, white-chinned sapphire, sapphire-spangled emerald, tourqoise tanager, blue-gray tanager, black-bellied tanager, blue-naped chlorophina, purple-throated euphonia, blue dacnis, purple honeycreeper. White Necked Jacobin

We then took a walk up a well known trail. We did not walk up that high, but did see some great birds. We saw 19 species and heard 2 (9 new for the trip and 2 heard new for the trip): common tody-flycatcher, rufous-rumped foliage gleaner, ochre-bellied flycatcher, rufous motmot, gilded barbet, white-necked thrush, lafresnaye's piculet, streaked flycatcher, russet-backed oropendola, blue ground dove (h), yellow-browed tody flycatcher, hauxwell's thrush, small-billed eleania, golden-headed manakin, tataupa tinamou (h), blue-crowned trogon, rufous-crested coquette, golden-bellied euphonia, smooth-billed anni, mishana tyrannulet (now seen), little woodpecker. Gilded Barbet

Had lunch at a nice restaurant on the edge of town, with an area of large palms where we stood a chance to get better looks at point-tailed palm-creeper. We saw 4 species (2 new for the trip): striated heron, great egret, fork-tailed-swift, white-eyed parakeet.

Made a quick stop at some ponds in Indane and saw 8 species (6 new for the trip): masked duck, common moorhen, black-capped donacobius, black-faced tanager, rufous-fronted thornbird, blue-black grassquit, coraya wren (now seen), russet-crowned crake (now seen).

We then headed to Moro Calzada. There was a good deal of road work being done around the entrances so some access roads were undriveable. The only one that we could take was covered with a deep and sticky mud, from the recent rain. We decided to put this off until tomorrow and go to some rice fields, which we would have been doing tomorrow. At the rice fields we had 14 species (9 new for the trip): limpkin, little woodpecker, orange-backed troupial, black-capped daconobis, striated heron, snail kite, rufous-sided crake, wattled jacana, pale-eyed blackbird, common gallinule, purple gallinule, black caracara, chestnut-bellied seedeater, black-billed seed-finch.

Quite a day. We saw 85 birds and heard 3. There were 45 that were new for the trip and 3 heard new for the trip. 20 lifers seen and 2 lifers heard. 120 lifers now 140. Total of 258 now at 303. Total of 43 hummingbird species.

(85 species, 20 lifers), total (303 species, 140 lifers) (3 species heard, 2 lifers heard), total (21 species heard, 12 lifers heard)

August 17:

Headed out with our guide for a boat trip in Santa Elena. Took the shorter option as we had a long drive later in the day. We had 13 species seens and 1 heard. 6 seen were new for the trip, 1 heard was new. 3 were lifers. band-tailed antbird, pale-legged hornero, channel-billed toucan (h), black-fronted nunbird, striated heron, green-backed trogon, green kingfisher, palm tanager, green-and-rufous kingfisher, rufescent tiger-heron, black-capped donacobius, ringed kingfisher, lineated woodpecker, snail kite.

We also saw coati, a fresh-water crab, three-toed sloth and squirrel monkey, while howler monkey was only heard.

Passed back by Moro Calzada and the mud was still too deep. We birded a couple of places nearby. At the first we saw 2 new species for the trip seen: yellow-browed sparrow (now seen), yellow-tufted woodpecker.

At the second place we had 3 species seen with one new for the trip, and 1 heard: roadside hawk, chestnut-eared aracari, scaly-breasted wren (h), bluish-fronted jacamar.

We also had two monkey species: common squirrel monkey and san martin titi monkey.

Headed out for our trip to our next destination near Gocta Falls. Stopped to gas up in Pedro Ruiz at the same station we used when passing through in the opposite direction. Had a nice dinner and hit the sack. 9 new species for the trip, 1 new species heard.

(18 species, 3 lifers), total (312 species, 143 lifers) (2 species heard, 0 lifers heard), total (21 species heard, 12 lifers heard)

August 18:

The view of the falls and the valley/canyon between the hotel and the falls is spectacular, especially in the morning. We had a nice breakfast, taken outside, and spent time relaxing, doing some swimming, and watching the sun and shadows work their way across the mountains down which the falls cascade.

Birded the grounds and saw some nice species, though nothing new, including some up close hummingbird antics at the feeders. There were some parrots flying around in the distance but could not get a good look at them. We also heard a nightjar/nighthawk at night. Not sure what it was, could be pauraque. We saw 8 species: sparkling violetar, andean emerald, rufous-crowned sparrow, yellow-bellied seedeater, great thrush, tropical kingbird, house wren, southern beardless tyrannulet.

Made our way out to the highway and had to wait until 1pm, rather than noon as was advertised, at the intersection with the highway to Chachapoyas, before we could head on through the road work to Leymebamba.

Got to Leymebamba and our lodgings and walked across the street to the Leymebamba museum. Fantastic things to see in this museum. Then went back to our lodgings for a nice dinner, after spending some time at the hummingbird feeders. The screech-owl came very near our room later the next evening.

The birds we saw while birding the grounds of Kentitambo during our time there included 12 species, 3 new to the trip and 2 of these lifers: chestnut-breasted coronet, sparkling violetear, green violetear, white-bellied hummingbird, purple-throated sunangel, white-bellied woodstar, house wren, bluish flowerpiercer, palm tanager, rufous-collared sparrow, chiguanco thrush, koepcke's screech-owl.

total (315 species, 145 lifers) total (21 species heard, 12 lifers heard)

August 19:

Headed out to Kuelap to see these wonderful ruins, legacy of the Chachapoyas people. It's a bit of a drive there. We then took the gondolas up and over two very deep canyons to the ruins. Hiked around the spectacular ruins, had lunch and headed back down. Stopped at the Hacienda Estancia Chido for tea and made it back to our digs in Leymebamba.

At Kuelap we didn't see much in the way of birds, just 1 species: great thrush.

While in bed we heard the owl. We went outside and saw him very close to our room two times. Great looks and had a good sleep. Also heard a nightjar/nighthawk during the night.

August 20:

Today we were to head over Abra Barra Negra, through Balsas and on to Celendin. We didn't do much birding during the drive over these spectacular mountains, but did do some birding before and after.

Before heading out on our drive we went just up the road and left on a dirt road through a canyon to a nice property the owner of our lodge has. We went with an employee of the lodge, John, who was familiar with the property and had a very keen eye. We hoped to see the toucan and we did as well as some other great birds. We also saw in the bushes a smaller blackish bird we couldn't identify. We had 7 species, 4 new for the trip and 2 lifers: gray-breasted mountain-toucan, masked trogon, blue-capped tanager, black-and-white becard, rainbow starfrontlet, pearled treerunner, spectacled redstart.

Popped back by the lodge, packed up and started heading towards Balsas. The drive was breaktaking, both for the beauty and the consequences of driving off the road! Made it down to the bottom of the valley, bought some mangos and stopped in Balsas for lunch. We did some birding around Balsa, the bridge over the Maranon and up the western side towards Celendin, or Hacienda Limon. It was midday and things were very quiet. We did get some nice birds, including 12 species with 1 lifer: peruvian pigeon, purple-collared woodstar, purple-throated euphonia, southern beardless tyrannulet, long-tailed mockingbird, gnatcatcher (maior subspecies), fasciated wren, groove-billed ani, tropical kingbird, golden-bellied grosbeak, rufous-collared sparrow, croaking ground dove.

Made our way in to Celendin, had dinner, did a little shopping and hit the sack.

total (315 species, 145 lifers) -> total (320 species, 148 lifers) total (21 species heard, 12 lifers heard) -> total (21 species heard, 12 lifers heard) 45 hummers

August 21:

We wanted to get to Cajamarca at a reasonably early time in order to enjoy some time outdoors there, particularly at the Ventanillas de Otuzco, and up the canyon there where the comet resides.

We did make a stop just short of the city of Encanada. The area was quite birdy, but the birds were very will hidden in the bushes and moving very rapidly. There was one bird in particular that was showing very interesting colors, but would not hold still. The only positive ids I had were on 2 new species for the trip: white-winged cinclodes, black-eared hemispingus.

Checked in at our lodgings for the night, had a nice lunch at the lodge and then went to the Ventanillas de Otuzco where we enjoyed these interesting ruins. We drove up the canyon a little further and added 2 new species to our trip: torrent tyrannulet, peruvian sierra-finch.

Went in to downtown Cajamarca for dinner and some time in the central square. Hit the sack.

total (4 species, 0 lifers) -> total (324 species, 148 lifers)

August 22:

Had a hearty and tasty breakfast and headed out to Trujillo. We had wanted to stop at some ruins just outside Cajamarca, but skipped them as we were concerned about the time. When we finally made it out of the Andes and near the sea, we got some delicious ceviche.

As we were nearing Trujillo, there was still a reasonable amount of daylight and we knew where our hotel was, so we decided to stop at some ruins that we planned to see earlier but had no hopes of seeing. These was Huaca Cao Viejo, or El Brujo. Just near the ocean, a very nice ruins to visit. Sort of like a smaller version of Huaca la Luna, but different enough. The ruler was a lady, and the museum tells about her and many other fascinating facts.

We headed to our lodgings in Trujillo, which were right next to the Huaca la Luna, getting there at dusk. Got our rooms, had a nice dinner and dozed off.

We had three species today, all new for the trip: mountain caracara flying just as we were leaving Cajamarca, inca tern (juvenile at the ruins), and a pair of burrowing owls on the grounds at our lodging in Trujillo. total (3 species, 0 lifers) -> total (327 species, 148 lifers)

August 23:

August 23: Not looking forward to driving back into Lima and finishing our wonderful stay in Peru. Nevertheless, we had breakfast, saw our last amazilia hummingbird and shiny cowbird, packed the rental car and drove off towards Lima, back to the same hotel we stayed our first night in Peru and then up early to head home.

Miscellaneous

There were a few birds that we did not list as we could not get an id on them. This includes two terns that we saw, one in Moyobamba and one in Tarapota. Also, appeared to be an andean gull over Pomacochas lake but very distant. Also, it would be nice to call the hepatic tanager tooth-billed tanager, but for now just a subspecies or race.

Bird List and Methodology

The primary list contains only birds that are clearly seen. The birds we clearly heard but did not see are in the heard only list. We saw 327 birds, the identical number we saw on our previous Peru trip. 148 were new. Lifers are in red, new to Peru are in blue, and endemic are bold.

cinereous tinamou
little tinamou
.
comb duck
masked duck
.
rufous-breasted wood-quail
white-winged guan en
sickle-winged guan
.
neotropic cormorant
.
rufescent tiger-heron
cattle egret
great egret
limpkin
striated heron
.
black vulture
turkey vulture
andean condor
swallow-tailed kite
snail kite
roadside hawk
variable hawk
black-chested buzzard-eagle
harris's hawk
.
black caracara
mountain caracara
crested cara cara
american kestrel
.
rufous-sided crake
russet-crowned crake
purple gallinule
common moorhen
wattled jacana
.
inca tern
.
peruvian pigeon
west peruvian dove
rock dove
ecuadorian ground-dove
ruddy ground-dove
plain-breasted ground-dove
croaking ground-dove
white-tipped dove
.
white-eyed parakeet
red-masked parrot
pacific parrotlet
cobalt-winged parakeet
blue-headed parrot
speckle-faced parrot
.
squirrel cuckoo
smooth-billed ani
groove-billed ani
.
koepcke's screech-owl en
long-whiskered owlet en
burrowing owl
peruvian pygmy owl
.
oil bird
.
lyre-tailed nightjar
scrub nightjar
.
white-collared swift
white-tipped swift
fork-tailed palm-swift
.
sword-billed hummingbird
pale-tailed barbthroat
green hermit
reddish hermit
black-throated hermit
great-billed hermit
koepcke's hermit en
gray-breasted sabrewing
white-necked jacobin
black-throated mango
fork-tailed woodnymph
gould's jewelfront
brown violetear
sparkling violetear
green violetear
wire-crested thorntail
rufous-crested coquette
sapphire-spangled emerald
golden-tailed sapphire
white-chinned sapphire
white-bellied hummingbird
andean emerald
tumbes hummingbird
blue-fronted lancebill
green-fronted lancebill
marvelous spatuletail
speckled hummingbird
black-throated brilliant
fawn-breasted brilliant
chestnut-breasted coronet
bronzy inca
rainbow starfrontlet
collared inca
violet-throated starfrontlet
long-tailed sylph
purple-throated sunangel
emerald-bellied puffleg
booted racket-tail
tyrian metaltail
long-billed starthroat
white-bellied woodstar
amazilia hummingbird
short-tailed woodstar
purple-collared woodstar
peruvian sheartail
.
masked trogon
green-backed trogon
blue-crowned trogon
.
rufous motmot
.
ringed kingfisher
green kingfisher
green-and-rufous kingfisher
.
yellow-billed jacamar
bluish-fronted jacamar
.
lanceolated monklet
black-fronted nunbird
.
gilded barbet
.
chestnut-eared aracari
gray-breasted mountain-toucan
.
lafresnaye's piculet
scarlet-backed woodpecker
smoky-brown woodpecker
yellow-tufted woodpecker
little woodpecker
golden-olive woodpecker
white-throated woodpecker
lineated woodpecker
.
straight-billed woodcreeper
olivaceous woodcreeper
streak-headed woodcreeper
.
coastal miner en
white-winged cinclodes
necklaced spinetail (maculata and chinchipensis subspecies)
azara's spinetail
rufous spinetail
russet-mantled softtail en
rufous-fronted thornbird
pearled treerunner
rufous-rumped foliage-gleaner
point-tailed palmcreeper
pale-legged hornero
.
barred antshrike
collared antshrike
variable antshrike
stripe-chested antwren
rusty-backed antwren
white-flanked antwren
streak-headed antbird
white-browed antbird
northern slaty-antshrike (huallagae subspecies)
band-tailed antbird
.
chestnut antpitta en
rusty-tinged antpitta en
.
elegant crescentchest
rufous-vented tapaculo
.
slaty-capped flycatcher
golden-faced tyrannulet
mishana tyrannulet en
pacific eleania
yellow-bellied eleania
sierran elaenia
small-billed eleania
white-crested elaenia
torrent tyrannulet
southern beardless tyrannulet
gray-and-white tyrannulet
mouse-colored flycatcher
white-lored tyrannulet
yellow-crowned tyrannulet
sulphur-bellied tyrannulet
rufous-headed pygmy-tyrant
streak-necked flycatcher
ochre-bellied flycatcher
cinnamon flycatcher
pearly-venty tody-tyrant
black-throated tody-tyrant
lulu's tody-tyrant en
tawny crowned pygmy-tyrant
yellow-browed tody flycatcher
common tody-flycatcher
yellow-breasted flycatcher
tumbees peewee
vermillion flycatcher
rufous-tailed tyrant
short-tailed field-tyrant
streak-throated bush-tyrant
cliff flycatcher
tumbes tyrant en
rufous-breasted chat-tyrant
variegated flycatcher
piratic flycatcher
streaked flycatcher
baird's flycatcher
gray-capped flycatcher
boat-billed flycatcher
great kiskadee
social flycatcher
tropical kingbird
brown-crested flycatcher
short-crested flycatcher
pale-edged flycatcher
rufous casiornis
rufous flycatcher en
.
black-and-white becard
white-winged becard
barred becard
grayish mourner
barred fruiteater
green-and-black fruiteater
cock-of-the-rock
.
sulphur-bellied tyrant-manakin
band-tailed manakin
golden-headed manakin
blue-crowned manakin
.
red-eyed vireo
ashy-headed greenlet
.
white-tailed jay
green jay
.
blue-and-white swallow
white-banded swallow
southern rough-winged swallow
chestnut-collared swallow
.
fasciated wren
gray-breasted wood-wren
musician wren
scaly-breasted wren
coraya wren
superciliated wren
mountain wren
house wren
.
long-tailed mockingbird
.
black-capped donacobius
.
tropical gnatcatcher (bilineata and maior subspecies)
.
chiguanco thrush
great thrush
pale-eyed thrush
white-necked thrush
black-billed thrush
hauxwell's thrush
.
black-bellied tanager en
silver-beaked tanager
black-faced tanager
magpie tanager
drab hemispingus
black-eared hemispingus
superciliared hemispingus
guira tanager
yellow-crested tanager
white-lined tanager
olive tanager
blue-capped tanager
palm tanager
paradise tanager
blue-grey tanager
grass-green tanager
lacrimose mountain tanager
yellow-throated tanager
yellow-scarfed tanager en
silver-backed tanager
flame-faced tanager
blue-and-black tanager
beryl-spangled tanager
saffron-crowned tanager
blue-necked tanager
masked tanager
bay-headed tanager
yellow-bellied tanager
dotted tanager
turquoise tanager
white-capped tanager
green honeycreeper
golden-collared honeycreeper
cinereous conebill
black-faced dacnis
blue dacnis
purple honeycreeper
blue-backed conebill
capped conebill
hepatic tanager (tooth-billed)
red-hooded tanager
bluish flowerpiercer
rusty flowerpiercer
white-sided flowerpiercer
bananaquit
.
yellow-browed sparrow
tumbes sparrow
peruvian sierra-finch
collared warbling-finch
saffron finch
blue-black grassquit
parrot-billed seedeater
yellow-bellied seedeater
chestnut-bellied seedeater
black-billed seed-finch
black-capped sparrow
chesnut-capped brush-finch
yellow-breasted brush-finch
white-winged brush-finch
white-headed brush-finch
rufous-collared sparrow
.
golden bellied grosbeak
grayish saltator
buff-throated saltator
black-cowled saltator
streaked saltator
.
tropical parula
slate-throated redstart
spectacled redstart
citrine warbler
three-banded warbler
russet-crowned warbler
.
russet-backed oropendola
yellow-rumped cacique
yellow-billed cacique
shiny cowbird
white-edged oriole
orange-backed troupial
pale-eyed blackbird
.
hooded siskin
blue-naped chlorophina
chesnut-breasted chlorophonia
orange-bellied euphonia
purple-throated euphonia
golden-bellied euphonia
bronze-green euphonia
.
house sparrow


Heard Only

tataupa tinamou
.
speckled chachalaca
.
plumbeous pigeon
ruddy pigeon
blue ground-dove
.
barred parakeet
.
tropical screech-owl
band-bellied owl
rufous-banded owl
ferruginous pygmy-owl
.
common potoo
.
rufous-bellied nighthawk
.
channel-billed toucan
.
plain-crowned spinetail
.
zimmer's antbird
.
pale-billed antpitta en
rusty-breasted antpitta
.
trilling tapaculo
.
chestnut-breasted wren
.
dull-colored grassquit


Mammal

Coati
Sechura Fox
White-Tailed Deer
Guayaquil Squirrel
Three-Toed Sloth
Andean Saddle-Back Tamarin
San Martin Titi Monkey (plecturcebus oenanthe)
Common Squirrel Money (saimiri sciureus)
Red Howler Monkey (heard only)
Spectacled Bear (in enclosure)
Collared Pecary (in enclosure)


Amphibian, Reptile, etc.

Frogs - 2 'poison dart' species and one large frog species
Iguanas
Snakes (2 or 3 species)
Fresh-Water Crab
Scorpions (at least two species)
Tarantulas
Leaf-Cutter Ants