June 26-July 5, 2024 with Dan Lane
Peru is a large and varied country. I would recommend everyone visit it multiple times to see the astounding scenery, experience the food, and observe the birds (of course!)… but if you have only one opportunity to visit this country, the logical place to start is at Machu Picchu, the biggest tourist destination in it! And so the folks on this trip did just that. We flew up from Lima to Cusco, birded around the Huacarpay wetlands near the city, then headed down the Sacred Valley to Ollantaytambo where we spent the night. The next day, our train rode through the Wonderful to Aguas Calientes, and more specifically the Inkaterra hotel there, our base of operations for the next two days. Our morning visit to the ruins was guided by Raziel, followed by a good meal at the hotel beside them. The next two mornings were spent birding the cloudforest of the Urubamba valley below. Finally, we rode the Wonderful back up to Ollantaytambo and thence birded the higher elevations of the Abra Malaga area nearby. First, we visited the dry side of the pass, visiting the restaurant of Maxima, who kindly gave us freshly-cooked potatoes and allowed us access to her corner to view birds. Then higher up the valley, and finally across the pass to the humid treeline. The following day, we birded farther down the humid slope, and on the last day, above the high windswept pass itself to the Polylepis patch nestled on the steep slopes. On our way back to Cusco, we visited a hummingbird garden that was new to me, called Ensifera Camp, and then Lago Piuray, before heading in to the city and our comfortable hotel there.
The tour was a montane affair the whole time, ranging from about 7500 to over 14,000 feet in elevation, but it covers enough varied terrain that we had a list of about 200 species, and many of them left indelible memories on our brains! Around Ollantaytambo, some of our highlights were Sparkling Violetear, Green-tailed Trainbearer, Bearded Mountaineer, Andean Condor (both for Jeanette), and the well-spotted River Otter as we pulled into Ollantaytambo station after returning from Aguas Calientes. At Aguas Calientes, highlights were Andean Motmot, Gould’s Inca, Andean Cock-of-the-Rock, Fasciated Tiger-Heron, Inca Wren, Torrent Duck, White-capped Dipper, Cinnamon Flycatcher. At Abra Malaga, highlights included Stripe-headed Antpitta, Yungas Pygmy-Owl, Puna Tapaculo, Red-crested Cotinga, Gastrotheca excubitor (the small frogs under the rock that Dave uncovered), Sapphire-vented Puffleg, Unstreaked Tit-Tyrant, Creamy-crested Spinetail, and Maroon-belted Chat-Tyrant. That ain’t a bad haul!
The company was great, and the food was delicious! Thanks to you all for accompanying Raziel and me on this visit to Peru’s crown jewel! I hope to see you again out there with binoculars in hand and adventure on your minds! Perhaps in some other corner of Peru?
Until then, good birding!
Non-birds encountered:
Mammals:
Bolivian Squirrel (Sciurus ignitus)
Guinea Pig (Cavia aperea)
Kalinowski's Agouti (Dasyprocta kalinowskii)
Neotropical River Otter (Lontra longicaudris): thanks for that Karen!
"Malaga Mouse"
Herps:
Abra Malaga frog (Gastrotheca excubitor)
You can see my complete trip report on eBird at this link: https://ebird.org/tripreport/262921
You can download a combined PDF of this page and the eBird report at this link: https://fieldguides.com/triplists/abm24aTRIPLIST.pdf
Dan (the Barbet)