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It is fitting that perhaps the best place to see Inca Wren is around the most famous Incan ruins in the world at Machu Picchu! Participant Ken Havard got this photo of a bird beside one of the tracks through the stonework.

The Sacred Valley of Cusco, Peru, is special for many reasons: it is the birthplace of one of the most important pre-colonial civilizations in the Americas, and is still a source of some cultural innovation, it is one of the most important breadbaskets of Peru, and it also holds a remarkable amount of biodiversity. We enjoyed the results of all of these features during our visit with visits to important pre-hispanic ruins such as the world-class Machu Picchu (=MP below in the list accounts), enjoyed some of the great food of the region, and saw some fantastic birds!

And some wonderful birds there were! Peru has one of the highest rates of endemism in the world, thanks to the many isolated mountain ranges and the valleys in between, among other factors. We encountered 15 endemics, many of which are actually endemics of Cusco department! These are: Bearded Mountaineer, White-tufted Sunbeam, Green-and-white Hummingbird, White-browed Tit-Spinetail, Junin Canastero, Rusty-fronted Canastero, Marcapata Spinetail, Creamy-crested Spinetail, Unstreaked Tit-Tyrant, Inca Flycatcher, Masked Fruiteater, Inca Wren, Cuzco Brushfinch, Parodi’s Hemispingus and Chestnut-breasted Mountain-Finch. A sixteenth will likely be countable in the near future after the massive splitting event that will be happening to Rufous Antpitta!

In addition to those wonderful gems, we also encountered some other great birds such as the charismatic Torrent Ducks and other species of rushing rivers such as Fasciated Tiger-Heron, Torrent Tyrannulet, and White-capped Dipper (all of which we enjoyed counting on the train rides to and from Aguas Calientes), the tanagers and hummingbirds that frequented the feeders at the MP Pueblo Hotel. The MP ruins, of course, are a character in their own right, and the moody, foggy conditions in which we saw them was quite awe-inspiring. While there, the Inca Wren experience was a memorable one, as were the low-flying White-tipped Swifts and migrant swallows—not to mention the view of an ambivalent Kalinowski’s Agouti as we waited in line to get on the bus to return to Aguas Calientes! The walk down the Urubamba to Mandor Valley also netted us a few nice species including Blue-banded Toucanet, Green Jay, Gray-mantled Wren, Short-billed Chlorospingus, and a rare, outstanding view of Scaled Antpitta singing overhead in a dense small tree!

From Ollantaytambo and Abra Malaga, in addition to the endemics mentioned above, we encountered such greats as Stripe-headed Antpitta, and a host of finch-tanagers (such as seedeaters and sierra-finches), Puna Tapaculo, Andean Flicker, Black Siskin, and others. The far side of the Malaga pass provided several nice mixed flocks, including one that was dominated by Tit-like Dacnis, Plushcaps, several nice hummers (Scaled Metaltail, Violet-throated Starfrontlet, and Swordbill featuring heavily), among others.

Finally, as we returned to Cusco city, some stops at a couple of lakes in the plateau west of Cusco resulted in some waterbirds including a nice smattering of ducks, Silvery and White-tufted grebes, and migrant shorebirds such as American Golden-Plover, Baird’s, Spotted, Solitary sandpipers, Wilson’s Phalaropes, and Lesser Yellowlegs. Also here was a pair of Burrowing Owls, and a flock of Grassland Yellowfinches.

In all, it was a lovely visit to this most captivating corner of the country, and I want to thank you all for joining me here. I hope we cross paths again, and until then: keep your binoculars close at hand and your eyes open for the next feathered waif!

Good birding! Dan

KEYS FOR THIS LIST
One of the following keys may be shown in brackets for individual species as appropriate: * = heard only, I = introduced, E = endemic, N = nesting, a = austral migrant, b = boreal migrant

Our luck at seeing Bearded Mountaineer can depend on the season. Apparently, October is the right season to see it at Ollantaytambo! Photo by guide Dan Lane.

Our visit to the impressive ruins of Machu Picchu came on a cloudy day, which allowed for some atmospheric images, such as this photo by participant Bill Benner.

This Blue-banded Toucanet was one of a pair that we found near Aguas Calientes. Photo by guide Dan Lane.

Our final morning coincided with a snowfall at the highest elevations of Abra Malaga. We walked into a magical woodland of snow-covered Polylepis, a view that stole our breaths (or maybe it was the 14000 foot elevation?)! Participant Bill Benner captured the moment well here.

Due to its bill structure, the Moustached Flowerpiercer always wears a smile, which matches its cheery song well! Photo by participant Ken Havard.

Recently split from the familiar Red-eyed Vireo of North America, the resident Chivi Vireo gives away this close relationship nevertheless. Here is one that was tending to a nest along the Urubamba River. Photo by guide Dan Lane.

To reach the town of Aguas Calientes, our base as we visit the ruins of Machu Picchu, we take a train through the windy canyon of the Urubamba River. The town is just where the humid cloudforest starts to get thick, as one can see here in this evocative image captured by participant Annette Mathes.

Here, the group is searching for some of the specialties amid the majestic canyon of Peñas, with the higher bends of the road to Abra Malaga visible in the back. Photo by participant Ken Havard.

The candy-colored Blue-naped Chlorophonia can be a challenging species at many sites, but here at Aguas Calientes, it comes in to the fruit feeder nice as you please! Photo by guide Dan Lane.

Canasteros can be very tempermental, and surprising! This Junin Canastero first responded from an Ichu tussock well up a steep slope, and then disappeared. Next thing we knew, it was sitting at eye level on a rock, nearly at arm's reach, giving us this eye-to-eye view! Photo by guide Dan Lane.

Participant Bill Benner took this shot of the Urubamba valley below the Machu Picchu ruins. We walked that track to the right of the river the next day.

Participant Ken Havard captured a typical view of a Torrent Duck (here, a lovely female displaying her rich chestnut underparts!), standing static against the endlessly moving river. We like to tally how many we see on the train trip to Aguas Calientes. This year, we had more than 45!

Even in the slush and snow, the high-elevation flora shows its resilience, and we often stop to notice. This is a small gentian photographed by participant Bill Benner.

We tallied at least 6 White-capped Dippers on our train ride down the mountain to Aguas Calientes, and saw a few more at other locations. Photo by participant Ken Havard.

We found the lovely Collared Inca at the MP Pueblo Hotel feeders. Photo by guide Dan Lane.

We visited the Huacarpay Lake area and found some great birds, including the Giant Hummingbird and Andean Negrito. Photo by participant Annette Mathes.

A non-avian endemic that we enjoyed was this Kalinowski's Agouti; this, like the Inca Wren, is a local endemic of the Machu Picchu region. Photo by guide Dan Lane.

This group photo was taken near Aguas Calientes, where we were joined by some local canines. Photo by participant Bill Benner.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

Totals for the tour: 220 bird taxa and 1 mammal taxa