Manu Cloud Forest
11th July – 18th July 2011 Price $1599
22th August – 29th August 2011 Price $1599
5th October – 12th October 2011 Price $1599
The most incredible birding destination in Peru!
Day 1: Cusco, Huacarpay, Cusco
Some travelers will arrive from the Machu Picchu and Abra Malaga trip while others will join us from a morning flight from Lima to Cusco. We will then board a private bus to the Huacarpay lagoon where we can see a variety of Andean waterfowl. The pace of this first day will be a relaxed in order to get used to the altitude of the area (11,000 feet). Some of the birds we can expect to see include Cinnamon, Speckled and Puna Teal, Andean Duck, Puna Ibis, Andean Lapwing, Andean Gull, Andean Flickr, Rufous-fronted Canastero, Wren-like Rushbird, Spot-billed and Rufous-naped Ground-Tyrants, Whitebrowed Chat-Tyrant, Yellow-billed Tit-Tyrant, Chiguanco Thrush, Yellow-winged Blackbird, Greenish Yellow-Finch and the endemic Bearded Mountaineer. We will take a bus back to the city of Cusco where we will spend the night.
Day 2: Cusco, Cock-of-the-Rock Lodge
We will depart very early in the morning for Acjanaco making a short stop in the beautiful Andean town of Paucartambo. Along the way we will observe the change of vegetation from the arid interior valleys to the cloud forests of the eastern slopes of the Andes. Within the arid valleys we will make some brief stops to observe birds such as the Puna Ibis, American Kestrel, Cinereous Harrier, Andean Lapwing, Spot-winged Pigeon, Black-tailed Trainbearer, Andean Flicker, Chiguanco Thrush, Black- throated Flowerpiercer, Blue-and-yellow Tanager, Golden-billed Saltator, Band-tailed and Plain-colored Seedeaters, Peruvian and Ash-breasted Sierra-Finches, Hooded Siskin and the endemic Chestnut-breasted Mountain-Finch.
From Paucartambo the route climbs to a pass over the Andes before descending into the elfin forests of Manu National Park where we enter the Manu Road, one of the best birding routes in the world. In this area we will start to see the first patches of cloud forest and we will stop to see the Scarlet-bellied Mountain-Tanager, Yellow-collared Tanager, Grass-green Tanager, White-browed Conebill, Black-throated and Moustached Flowerpiercers, Line-fronted Spinetail, Rufous-breasted Chat-Tyrant, Barred Fruiteater, Red-crested and Chestnut-breasted Cotingas, Southern Mountain-Cacique, Rufous-capped Thornbill, Chestnut-breasted Coronet and Tyrian Metaltail. We will overnight in the Cock-of-the-Rock Lodge.
Days 3 and 4: Cock-of-the-Rock Lodge
We will then have two full days to explore the incredible diversity of birds at different altitudes in this area. The first day we will observe a beautiful spectacle of a lek of Cock-of-the-Rocks. The males of this species dance to attract the attention of females and our binoculars. We will look forward to the passage of mixed flocks of birds, trying to identify the many species of colorful tanagers that inhabit these cloud forests like Orange-eared, Saffron-headed, Golden-naped, Beryl-spangled, Bluecapped, Silver- beaked Tanager and Yellow-throated Bush-Tanager. Other species that we observe in areas close to our lodge will include Solitary Eagle, Highland Motmot, Versicolor Barbet, Golden-headed and Crested Quetzals, Azara’s Spinetail, Montane Foliage-Gleaner, Rufous-rumped Antwren, Yellow-breasted Antwren, Cinnamon- faced Tyrannulet, Ashy-headed and Bolivian Tyrannulets, Yungas Manakin, White-eared and Andean Solitaires, White-capped Dipper, and the Inca Jay. Also, with a little luck, we may see some Lyre-tailed Nightjar. We will overnight at Cock-of-the-Rock Lodge.
Days 5, 6 and 7: Hacienda Amazonia
In the morning we will begin our descent from the cloud forests to the Hacienda Amazonia located in the foothills of the Andes. Along the road we will look for a new tanager known as "San Pedro Tanager" that has yet to be described. The diversity of birds we may see are too numerous to mention here, but could include Red-billed and Scaly-naped Parrots, Red-bellied Macaw, Emerald Toucanet, Versicolored Barbet, Bamboo Antshrike, Yellow-breasted Antwren, Ornate Flycatcher, Cinnamon Flycatcher, Andean Slaty-Thrush, Sparkling Violetear, Blue-tailed Emerald, Many-spotted Hummingbird, Wire-crested Thorntail, Golden-collared Honeycreeper, Bronze-green and Orange-bellied Euphonia, some colorful tanagers like Orange-eared, Saffron-crowned, Golden, Golden-eared, Yellow-bellied Spotted, Beryl-spangled, Paradise, Black-goggled, Blue-necked, Yellow-throated, and Slaty Tanagers, White-backed Fire-eye, Cerulean-capped Manakin, Bolivian Tyrannulet, Yungas Manakin, Gray-mantled Wren, Deep-blue Flowerpiercer and Blue-naped Chlorophonia.
Hacienda Amazonia is an incredible place for birdwatching. They have a list of over 500 species in the area. In great part this diversity is due to the variation of habitats in the area and the fact that the hacienda is located in a transition zone between the Andean foothills and Amazon lowlands. Some of the species that we will find near our lodge include: Undulated Tinamou, Variable Chachalaca, Razor-billed Curassow, Blackish Rail, Uniform Crake, Hoatzin, Blue-headed, Military, Scarlet, and Red-and-green Macaws, Koepcke’s Hermit, Wire-crested Thorntail, Black-banded Owl, Long-tailed Poto, Bluish-fronted Jacamar, Chestnut-capped Puffbird, Rufous-capped Nunlet, Aracari Chestnut-eared, Golden-collared Toucanet, Plain-crowned and Speckled Spinetails, Plain Softtail, Ornate and Dot-winged Antwrens, White-lined, Chestnuttailed, Goeldi’s, Sooty, Spot-backed, and Warbling Antbirds, Amazonian Antpitta, Rusty-belted Tapaculo, Band-tailed and Round-tailed Manakins, Black-capped Donacobius, Violaceous Jay, Magpie Tanager, Masked Crimson, Silver-beaked, Turquoise, Olive and Blue-necked Tanagers, Black-faced Dacnis and Golden-bellied Warbler.
Day 8: Manu Lowlands or Cusco
The last day some passengers will continue with the second part of the journey to the Manu Lowlands while others will return to the city of Cusco.