Peru 2006
Peru 2006
by Georgann Schmalz
I had traveled to Peru in 1986 and 1987, spending two weeks at Explorama and Explornapo Lodges along the Napo River followed by a quick trip to Cusco and Machu Picchu.
So this return visit, twenty years later, would be interesting. How much had the country and towns changed? What would the accommodations and food be like at the places we had never been to? What new birds would we get?
Being a birding trip, the last question was the most important for me. I had a stoic group of eight birders on this trip; all but two had been to the tropics before on my many previous trips. We had been to Costa Rica eleven times and Ecuador three times, but I didn’t expect Peru to be quite as user-friendly as those two countries. Either way, this July trip was filled with adventure and a tremendous number of fabulous birds.
Sunday, July 9: We departed Atlanta and spent a quick night in Lima at the Sonesta Lima El Olivar Hotel, as fine a place as any to spend the night.
Monday, July 10: Bright and early this morning we flew to Cusco, checked into the Novotel Cusco Hotel, met our local birding guide, Monika Huaycochea during our ritual coca tea. We hit the ground running as we took off for our first taste of Peruvian birds at Huacarpay Lake about 30 minutes away. Well almost. With our departure in Lima at sea level to our sudden arrival here at 11,000 feet, we mostly walked.
The high Andean Huacarpay Lake area is surrounded by Inca and pre-Inca ruins. The ponds are home to high Andean waterfowl including Puna, Speckled and Cinnamon Teal, Andean Duck, White-tufted Grebe and many Puna Ibis. We had a great look at a Plumbeous Rail and later, while walking the road, long looks at Giant Hummingbirds. Perhaps the best bird was the Many-colored Rush-tyrant, a small bird of yellow, black, chestnut and white. Definitely the bird of the day for most of us.
Throughout this 12 day trip, I tried to encourage my group to choose a “bird of the day”, but after two days it became impossible to sort through the daily lists of 90-100 birds and choose just one. Each favorite bird was quickly replaced by another, newer favorite bird. With a trip total of 498 species, favorite bird of the day, let alone bird of the trip, was next to impossible. I gave up.
Our stay in Cusco would not have been complete without a visit to the town itself. Cusco was the capital of the Incan empire and is still one of Peru’s busiest cities. I don’t remember Cusco in 1986 being the thriving, busy town that it is now, as it now boasts a population of 400,000 and it appeared that all of them were in the Plaza de Armas at lunch! We had timed our visit to Peru as they were preparing for their independence day celebration on July 28.
Cusco
Photo by Betsy Edmondson
It appeared as we traveled from town to town, that Peruvians celebrate that day for the entire month of July. Everyone was in great spirits and there were colorful parades and flags along most streets.
Tuesday, July 11 found us riding the bus, birding down through the humid temperate forest from treeline to the upper cloud forest also known as the elfin forest. The habitats range from arid and semi-humid scrub, to grassland and the endangered Polylepis forest. The Polylepis forest is a high altitude woodland of the Andes that varies in its composition from dense humid vegetation (i.e. lichens and mistletoes of a rich soil) to scattered shrub of barren desert soil. Polylepis forest has become restricted to small pockets, typically fringing streams and forming patches in gorges and on rocky slopes and cliff ledges. Patches usually are of only a few hectares in size, sometimes occuring close to treeline where they may mix with elfin forest (cloud forest of high elevation and stunted vegetation). Its isolation is considered to have resulted from years of human influence. Up to 25 bird species, many of which are threatened endemics, occur exclusively in Polylepis woodlands.
Our destination was the Cock of the Rock Lodge, but we wanted to bird the Pillahuata area for at least one full day for upper cloud forest species. We were rewarded with Scarlet-hooded and Versicolored Barbets, Andean Flickers, Bar-winged Cinclodes, and Rusty-fronted Canasteros.
We were still at 9500 feet elevation, but moving about is getting easier. Our overnight of camping was exactly that—primitive tent camping in a field off the road in the middle of nowhere. The”hardest” part was birding the road while the crew from our land based company, InkaNatura, set up our tents, rolled out our sleeping bags and blankets, filled up our air mattresses, set up the dining tent with tables and chairs, erected their own cooking tent and cooked up a delightful meal. Primitive camping never got so good.
Tent Camping at Pillahuata
Photo by Theresa Hartz
Wednesday, July 12: Another early day, breakfast of eggs, fruit, cereal, coffee, tea, and we were off in the bus, descending slowly toward the cloud forest and the Cock of the Rock Lodge. Along the road, we stopped frequently to check out various habitats for birds. The treat for the trip was early evening stopping along the road at a forested cliff and getting great views of flying and perched Lyre-tailed Nightjars; an awesome bird related to Chuck-will’s-widows, Whip-poor-wills and Common Nighthawks but with tail streamers of up to 27 inches. You haven’t lived until you see one fly over your head, silhouetted against the darkening night sky. That undoubtedly was in the running for bird of the day…oops.
We arrived at the Cock of the Rock lodge after dark. The lodge is built within a 12,500 acre cloud forest reserve owned by the conservation group Selva Sur and is part of the Manu Biosphere Reserve, one of the most biologically diverse areas on our planet. The Lodge is named for the world`s largest known display ground of the blazing scarlet Andean Cock-of-the-Rock, Peru`s National Bird. We were not disappointed with the next morning’s visit to the blind where we waited for the birds to appear right in front of us performing their dawn mating rituals.
Cock of the Rock
Photo by Georgann Schmalz
Thursday, July 13; While eating breakfast after the trip to the Cock of the Rock blind, we fed bananas to Brown Capuchin Monkeys. The origin of the name comes from the appearance of a black skullcap. Capuce is a French word for a skullcap. The Capuchin Monkey`s hair is very similar to the cowl or capuche worn by Franciscan monks. In total we saw six species of monkeys on the trip: Woolly, Brown Capuchin, White-fronted Capuchin, Emperor Tamarin, Saddle-backed Tamarin and Squirrel. The Emperor Tamarin absolutely made your knees weak with delight with his distinctive handsome white drooping moustache. It was allegedly named for its similarity to the German emperor, Kaiser Wilhelm II and was first intended as a joke, but the name has become the official scientific nameSaguinus imperator.
Brown Capuchin
Photo by Georgann Schmalz
Birding was easy around the Lodge since we rode the bus up the mountain road, stopping frequently and walking now and then to sample the birdlife. We had great looks at Squirrel Cuckoos, fourteen species of hummingbirds, Golden-headed Quetzal, Bluish-fronted Jacamar, Blue-banded Toucanet, Buff-throated Foliage-gleaner, Cinnamon Flycatcher, Barred Fruiteater, Yungas Manakin, twenty-five species of tanagers, and the most outrageous of them all, male and female Versicolored Barbets. We climbed all over each other to see them and later did the same for Chestnut-crested Cotingas. It was a fortunate thing that we are all good friends since birding in the tropics requires tight viewing to see over the shoulders of everyone. An inch to the left or right, you miss the bird.
Cinnamon Flycatcher
Photo by Georgann Schmalz
Friday, July 14: We left San Pedro and Cock of the Rock Lodge this morning; our last ride in the bus. We entered the tropical zone, leaving the higher elevation cloud forest birds behind. Along the lower slopes of the eastern Andes to the Alto Madre de Dios, from 6000 to 1800 feet in elevation, the habitat is tropical montane and lowland evergreen forest along the way. After a short break in Atalaya, we embarked on our motorized canoe for the ten minute trip across the river to Amazonia Lodge. As we navigated comfortably down the Alto Madre de Dios River, we enjoyed Neotropic Cormorants, Red-throated Caracara, Large-billed Terns, White-collared Swifts, Fasciated Tiger-Herons, and the ubiquitous Swallow-winged Puffbirds.
Our canoe docked and we walked the mile trail to Amazonia Lodge in Manu National Park. Of course, that takes birders at least an hour especially if we run into a foraging flock of tanagers. At the lodge, we quickly settled into our rooms and reappeared outside on the veranda where there were numerous small flowering bushes that attracted hummingbirds. We tried to remember their features to master their delightful names; Violet-fronted Brilliant, Gould’s Jewelfront, Blue-tailed Emerald, Fork-tailed Woodnymph, Golden-tailed Sapphire. We watched and photographed Masked Crimson Tanagers, Red-capped Cardinals, Blue-gray Tanagers eating rice placed out on a small flat rock. Someone asked if we put rice out in Atlanta, would we attract these Tanagers? Above us, nesting Yellow-rumped Caciques were noisily chatting back and forth. Speckled Chachalacas walked through the bushes and out in the yard were Pale-legged Horneros and Black-billed Thrushes. This was relaxed birding of there ever was any, until someone left the group and shouted “Cotinga” and we scrambled off the porch to behind the lodge to catch a Purple-throated Cotinga perched high in a tree. Chestnut-fronted and Blue-and-yellow Macaws flew overhead and the water-drop calls of the Russet-backed Oropendolas were everywhere. Blue-headed Parrots perched in the tree in front of the porch, while White-eyed and Dusky-headed Parakeets flew crazily above us.
Birders at Amazonia Lodge
Photo by Georgann Schmalz
Saturday, July 15: This place was amazing; walking the trails was just one great bird after another. We could have easily spent a week here. Amazonia Lodge is a family run converted tea hacienda that has a bird list of approximately 550 species. Situated at 1500 feet elevation, it is in a transitional zone where the low foothills of the Andes begin to flatten out into the lowland Amazon Basin. There are miles of trails here; in our two days here we barely felt the rich experience of the marshy habitat along the creek, the fields and the forests.
Sunday, July 16:
We left Amazonia Lodge early this morning, distrustfully eyeing our watery carriage that would carry us to Manu Wildlife Center in 8 hours. How comfortable would this be? Totally comfortable, it turned out. The padded seats were roomy and soft and we made a lunch break on the rocky beach. We watched for Orinoco Geese, Cocoi Herons, Capped Herons, Little Blue Herons and Snowy Egrets all foraging along the river. Plumbeous Kites perched in the trees and the numerous Roadside Hawks soon became known as Riverside Hawks. We added shorebirds to our list with Collared Plovers and Pied Lapwings. Yellow-billed Terns were everywhere; four species of macaws flew overhead from time to time. Eight hours seems like a long time in a boat, but the river was truly interesting beyond the birds. Large tree skeletons littered the water and beaches, colorful reds and yellows of trees broke the greens of the lowland rainforest, and we watched for Caimans and turtles.
Black-collared Hawk
Photo by Georgann Schmalz
Arriving at Manu Wildlife Center, we were escorted to the bar and lounge for a welcome from the manager. There were a few rules; no shoes in the bar and lounge, use the mosquito netting at night over our beds, and the usual in Peru, no toilet paper in the toilets. With that in mind we exited for our individual cabins and private baths and reappeared for dinner. Throughout this trip, we were continually amazed at the quality of food. Not only was it always tasty, but also well presented. Sauces, drizzled on the plate, garnished with flowers, whatever. Of course, our favorite was the sculptured birds and people at our first Cusco lunch.
We spent three full days at Manu. Originally, we had six days scheduled, but in my attempt to cut this trip from 23 to a doable 14 days, we had to eliminate a few days in Manu, a few at Amazonia Lodge and so on. As we expected, we could have easily spent those six days here, but I held to my theory that I’d rather have a group begging for more than begging for mercy!
Manu National Park is probably the most biologically diverse protected area in the world.
Established in 1973, the park is located on the eastern slopes of the Andes and extends down from precipitous mountains. The entire area is situated within the Amazon River basin and protects almost the entire watershed of the River Manu and most of the tributaries of the River Alto Madre de Dios. Nearly all the subtropical and ecological formations of the Amazon Jungle can be found here-the most widespread vegetation types found are tropical lowland rainforest, tropical montane rainforest and Puna vegetation (grasslands).
The bird species found in Manu represent 25% of all the birds known in South America and 10% of all the species in the world and it is thought that there may be as many 1,000 bird species in total. In addition to birdlife, 200 species of mammals (there are more than 100 species of bats), and 120 species of fishes and reptiles are found within the Park. There are two main objectives for the park, to preserve the environment and species diversity, and to provide an area for recreation and education of the general public.
One of the highlights of this entire trip was here at Manu; the clay lick. Well known enough for an exhibit at the Milwaukee Natural History Museum, I have always wanted to see the parrots and macaws at the clay lick. In fact, when I first thought of organizing a trip to Peru, my first image was …clay lick.
In 1984 biologists discovered hundreds of parrots and macaws congregating on a specific bank of the Manu river within the Manu National Park and eating the cliff-side clay. The diet of the Amazonian macaw is made up primarily of fruits which they tear open and dig out the hard seed at the center. Their diet is quite varied, from the seeds of the mahogany to those of the rubber tree. However, some of the deadliest poisons in the world are manufactured by these fruits.
Research suggests that many of the seeds macaws eat are in fact toxic, particularly in the dry season, (August through September). After years of macaw behavior studies in the Amazon, it was noticed that the birds spent at least two to three hours per day at a clay and mineral lick along a riverbed. At first, thought was that the birds were just using the clay lick to obtain minerals that their diet might not otherwise provide. But the discovery of the toxic elements in the seeds brought new light to the macaw`s desire to eat clay.
Researchers postulate that these birds counter the tannin and alkaloid loaded seeds they eat by ingesting clay. This strategy helps to detoxify the seeds’ compounds and aid in their elimination from the bird’s digestive tract.
By 1994, 18 major clay licks were discovered on the Madre de Dios River near Manu Wildlife Center and 120 miles down the river in the Tambopata region of Peru. Only two of these clay licks are available for public viewing; the others are secluded and carefully guarded from human visitors.
Monday, July 17: We arrived at the clay lick at 6:30 AM. The blind is perhaps 400 yards from the cliff itself and we could hear the raucous parrots and parakeets perched in the towering trees above. Yellow-crowned Parrots were on the lick, but Blue-headed and Mealy Parrots were just arriving to the trees. No macaws were in sight—late comers we were told. The Yellow-crowned Parrots left and for some time, no one was at the lick. We entertained ourselves with breakfast (pancakes, fruit and juice) and a Great Black-Hawk that casually walked 50 feet in front of us. He either didn’t care about us or didn’t see us (after all, we were in a blind)!
Blue-headed Parrots at Clay Lick
Photo by Georgann Schmalz
it about 8:30 AM, the Blue-headed Parrots began to descend onto the cliff. Hundreds of them. The cliff was crawling with bright blue and green. Here and there, Tui and Cobalt Parakeets darted, but never landed on the cliff. This was Blue-headed Parrot time. Slowly the bigger Mealy Parrots joined them. But it wasn’t until 9:30 AM that the Scarlet Macaws, who had been accumulating in the trees, moved onto the cliff and began eating. To our right we had 50 Red and Green Macaws, in front of us 400 Blue-headed Parrots and 100 Mealy Parrots and this crazy Great Black-Hawk stalking for whatever in the grass just in front of us. It was everything I had hoped for.
Great Black Hawk
Photo by Betsy Edmondson
In addition to the parrots and macaws, we had Sand-colored Nighthawks along the river in the early morning light, Cuvier’s Toucan sitting off in a tree, Dark-billed Cuckoo and Crimson-crested Woodpecker near the cliff, and next to the blind a surprise Orange-headed Tanager. Viewing the Red and Green Macaws through the scope, I spotted a large black and white bird on the cliff. It was our first, but not last, look at a Blue-throated Piping-guan.
Blue-throated Piping-Guan
Photo by Betsy Edmondson
We had more new birds on the walk back to the boat; Blue-crowned Trogon, Spotted-breasted Woodpecker, Black-fronted Nunbird and Vermillion Flycatcher.
After lunch, we visited one of the towers on a trail from the Manu Wildlife Center lodge. Screaming Pihas were calling loudly the entire time, but we weren’t stopping for them. I was getting anxious. Golden-collared Toucanet, Spix’s Guan, Casqued Oropendula and Black-faced Antbird were seen and heard. And the Screaming Piha.
Tuesday, July 18: Early morning another boat ride to another canopy tower. There was slight fog on the river, making it a stunning departure from Manu Lodge. At the tower, we got eye-level looks at birds we usually saw belly only. Probably the best bird was the White-browed Purpletuft. How can you miss with that name? Not to be outdone, were the Turquoise Tanagers in the distance, Pied Puffbird fifteen feet above us, fly-by Painted Parakeets and both Linneated and Yellow-tufted Woodpeckers. Screaming Pihas accompanied us back to the boat.
Canopy Tower Steps at Manu
Photo by Georgann Schmalz
After lunch we had a relaxing catamaran boat ride on the lake with a fleeting glimpse of a Sunbittern, Lesser Kiskadees, and better looks at Hoatzins crawling around the tree limbs and a distant soaring Ornate Hawk-Eagle. The animal of the day was the endangered Giant Otter, swimming lazily alongside the boat.
We walked the Creekside Trail later for more species; Paradise Tanager, Green-and-gold Tanager, Purple-throated Fruitcrow, Broad-billed Motmot and Rusty-bellied Tapaculo. We learned that you can see through the roots of walking palms, but not through the belly palms. That information could come in handy some day.
Birders at Manu
Photo by Georgann Schmalz
We were offered the opportunity to visit the Tapir Lick that afternoon instead of the Creekside Trail walk. This adventure involved a two hour walk in the late afternoon, dinner at the lick and then waiting in sleeping bags for the tapirs to show up. Back to the lodge and bed by midnight.
No one was interested! Thank goodness because what we were not told was that there was good chance of a “pet” orphaned tapir showing up at the dining room for breakfast.
Wednesday, July 19 Sure enough, the tapir was at the dining room this morning. So much for the tapir lick. We got to pet this one.
Priscilla the Tapir at Manu Wildlife Center
Photo by Jim Buckley
After breakfast, we went to the Bamboo Island for bamboo specialists; Bamboo Antshrike, Warbling Antbird, Flammulated Bamboo-Tyrant, White-browed Antbird, Manu Antbird, Great Antshrike, Moustached Wren, Gould’s Antbird, Lemon-throated Barbet, White-flanked Antbird and the amazing Scythebill. We heard but missed seeing a Rufous-breasted Piculet. Screaming Pihas were all over. We didn’t stop for them. I was getting worried.
Immediately after lunch, Percy and Monika announced that now was the time for seeing Screaming Pihas. Oh boy. We hurriedly walked (unusual for birders unless we are after something…and we were) to the intersection of Trail X and B in the Grid trail system. Pihas calling…three of them. We stopped one time for Saddle-back Tamarins and a splendid mammal of the trip, Emperor Tamarin. And then, next to the Rufous Motmot sitting quietly was a screaming Screaming Piha in full view. Not much to look at, but sure has a voice to remember.
Lake Blanco was our late afternoon adventure. The sun was lower in the sky and the temperature was much cooler than our first catamaran lake trip a few days ago. Epaulet Orioles and Hoatzins were in the trees, a Black-collared Hawk sat on a tree stump and huge Horned Screamers walked in the marsh before us. The best bird was a Azure Gallinule stalking in the grass, but it was hard to ignore the macaws, toucans, parrots, kingfishers, and kiskadees flying all around.
All together, during our four days at Manu Wildlife Center we had 215 species of birds. Plenty left for the next trip there.
Thursday, July 20: We had to leave. By now, I’m starting to count new birds for our list. Not that we are listers, but we wanted to have a decent list before coming home. Four hundred was becoming the magic number. Surely we would get that many since we still had Machu Picchu and Lima to bird.
We took an early morning flight leaving Boca Manu Airport and arriving in Cusco in about forty minutes. What a difference seeing the rainforest, cloud and elfin forest, and Madre de Dios River from the air. Flying was certainly quicker than the bus and boat ride from Cusco to Manu, but we were all glad that we had that time at the lodges and on the river.
Boca Manu Airport
Photo by Georgann Schmalz
We spent our free afternoon shopping in Cusco.
Friday, July 21: We were on the early train to Agua Caliente and Machu Picchu. A beautiful sunrise greeted us on the train as we zigged-zagged on the switch-backs on the first part of the train ride. So far we had traveled by van, bus, boat, plane and, now, rail. I started eyeing the horses carefully!
The train follows the Urubamba River for 44 miles through some of the most beautiful scenery anywhere in the world. The steep green mountains surrounding the river and the rail were awesome. The thought of a civilization actually building a town up in these mountain sides kept running through my mind as we approached the Inca ruins. But we had a task at hand—find Torrent Ducks on the River. That turned out to be no problem at all—we had at least 16 of them. In fact, the first ones were shared by the entire train car as we all shouted, “torrent ducks below”. Birders!
Urubamba River
Photo by Georgann Schmalz
Upon arriving at the Puente Ruinas station, we grabbed what we needed for the next three hours and caught a bus to the top of the mountain and the Inca Ruins of Machu Picchu.
The road switches back and forth continuously up the hill until arriving at a small restaurant and hotel just outside the ruins. Monika briefed us on the history of Machu Picchu.
Machu Picchu Ruins
Photo by Georgann Schmalz
Yale archeologist Hiram Bingham III found the pre-Columbian ruins of Machu Picchu (meaning “old peak” in the Quechua language) in 1911, led there by locals who frequented the hidden site. Bingham made several more trips and conducted excavations on the site through 1915.
The site is five square miles of nearly 150 stone structures from the early 1400’s. There are palaces, baths, temples, storage rooms, a jail and houses carved from the gray granite of the mountain top. More than 100 flights of stone steps, often completely carved in a single block of granite, and many water fountains interconnected by channels and water drainages perforated in the rock, designed for the original irrigation system.
Machu Picchu construction uses the classic Inca architectural style of polished dry-stone walls of regular shape. This technique, called ashlar, uses blocks of stone which are cut to fit together tightly without mortar. Many junctions are so perfect that not even a knife blade fits between the stones. The Incas never used the wheel in construction. It is a mystery how they moved and placed enormous blocks of stones, probably using manpower to push the stones up inclined planes.
Surrounded by agricultural terraces sufficient to feed the population and watered by natural springs, Machu Picchu was perhaps a secret ceremonial city.
Undoubtedly, one of Machu Picchu’s primary functions was that of astronomical observation. The Intihuatana stone (hitching post of the sun) has been shown to be a precise indicator of the date of the two equinoxes (March 21 and September 21) and other significant celestial periods. There is also an alignment with the December solstice. The Intihuatana stones were the supremely sacred objects of the Inca people.
Most theories maintain that Machu Picchu was an Incan “llacta”, a settlement built to control the economy of the conquered regions. It would have been built with the specific purpose of protecting the most select of the Incan aristocracy in the event of an attack.
Machu Picchu fell into disuse around 1573 after the Spanish took Cusco. Supply lines linking many Inca social centers were disrupted and the great empire that stretched from Cusco to Chile came to an end.
Chestnut-breasted Coronet at
Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel
Photo by Jim Buckley
After the tour of the ruins and a very tasty lunch at the top of the mountain, we took the bus back down the windy road and checked into our hotel, Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel. The rooms were complete with robes, slippers and, hooray, electricity, something we had not had in awhile. But we didn’t spend much time inside since there were dozens of hummingbird feeders with hundreds of birds zapping around them: Green Violetear, Sparkling Violetear, Green-and-white Hummingbird, Speckled Hummingbird, Chestnut-breasted Coronet, Gould’s Inca, Booted Racket-tail (the Peruvian race with bronzy boots), Long-tailed Sylph, and White-bellied Woodstar. In other locations, bananas were set out to attract frugivorous species, especially tanagers: Hepatic, Silver-beaked, the ever-present Blue-gray, Blue-and-yellow, Saffron-crowned, Golden-naped, Blue-necked, Beryl-spangled, Blue-and-black, Silver-backed and Thick-billed Euphonia.
Saturday, July 22: We walked the Pueblo Hotel grounds this morning with a local bird guide, Dennis Osorio. This was our last day of birding before returning to Lima, so we rather unabashedly gave him a list of birds we “needed”. We were well over 400 species by now and actually approaching 500. He knew where to take us for Ocellated Piculet, Sclater’s Tyrannulet, Brown-capped Vireo, Chesnut-capped Brush-finch, Oleaginous Hemispingus, Pale-legged Warbler, Azare’s Spinetail, and even a Cock of the Rock. One fruiting tree had Fawn-breasted, Beryl-spangled, Golden-naped, Blue-necked, Saffron-headed and Silver-beaked Tanagers in it. Mitred Parakeets flew all around.
Interestingly, the vegetation around the Hotel property is a combination of fruit trees, native trees, coffee and tea plants. The coffee and tea are grown under the shade of the other fruit and native tree species. It wasn’t perfectly shade-grown coffee, but close to it and I had never seen shade-grown tea before. In addition, there were two small cages with rescued Spectacled Bears being rehabbed for future release back into the wild.
Morning Glories
Photo by Georgann Schmalz
Our afternoon was spent shopping at the Bazaar in Agua Caliente, a short walk from the hotel. This wasn’t here in 1986 and had to be a boost to the economy of the local people. There were dozens of vendors selling everything from t-shirts and silver to crafts and woolen scarves, hats and sweaters.
We caught the last train back to Cusco and were conveniently picked up at the last train station before the time-consuming switchbacks. This shortened our return to the Novotel Hotel by 30 minutes. We had an early flight back to Lima the next morning, so 30 minutes for packing and sleeping was greatly appreciated by all.
Sunday, July 23: An hour flight back to Lima, back to crowded streets, hustle bustle, overcast skies. But we had more birds to see, even across the street from the Sonesta El Olivar. Walking around the little park, we watched Amazilia Hummingbirds in the flowered hedges, and Croaking Ground-doves and Pacific Doves foraging in the grass. But the bird of the day was the Inca Tern. Many of them perched under the restaurant we lunched at. What a handsome bird. Definitely in the running for the non-existent “bird of the trip event”. For me, however, the King Vulture on the beach was a favorite, probably because it was such a surprise.
Inca Tern
Photo by Betsy Edmondson
King Vulture
Photo by Georgann Schmalz
After lunch, we had our driver take us to Los Pantanos de Villa, a marshy park about 30 minutes from Lima and replete with Great Grebes, Band-tailed Gulls, Kelp Gulls and beautiful Gray-headed Gulls. Just down from the marsh were small ponds and finally the beach. A Merlin perched on a wire, Killdeer called loudly, and Black-necked Stilts delicately foraged in the shallow water ponds.
The beach was awesome. Peruvian Pelicans and Peruvian Boobies flew low over the water. We picked up some good familiar shorebirds; Whimbrel, American Oystercatcher and Ruddy Turnstone.
After our farewell dinner that night, we said good-bye to the folks who were leaving on the midnight, non-stop Delta flight back to Atlanta. We had opted for the American Airlines flight at 6:30AM the next morning.
The final total count for the trip was 498. Not that we were counting, but I think that allows for another 500 species to see in Peru. Next time Tambopata. I’m ready.