Kolibri Expeditions Birding Tours - More Birds

Where do I start? There are too many trips to choose from!

Which trip is best for you to choose? We have the largest amount of different trips for birders to Peru. It is hard to choose. The following short summary will help you.

• BIG DAY. Break 300 in 24 hours - no promise but quite possible at Amigos Research Center.
• Long list. High biodiversity: GRAND CENTRAL PERU, Manu road, North Peru with its extensions, North Peru and Southen Ecuador
• For the beginner. Slow pace, birds easy to find, alternatives for the non-birding spouse. Southern Circuit.
• Endemics. Central Peru, Carpish, North Peru 2, North Peru 4, Tumbes. Not necessarily the longest lists but many restricted range species.
• New species to science and undescribed species. Iquitos, Central Peru (Satipo road).
• Pelagic birds. Pelagics and Southern Circuit.
• Wildlife. Manu Jaguar Safari,Amigos research Station
• Archeology and birding. MST archeology and birding, Southern Circuit.
• Hummingbirds. Hummingbird programs on MST (North and Machu Picchu and Manu)
• Comfort. Marvelous Spatuletail Tours: Southern Circuit, MST archeology and birding, Amigos Research Station, Tambopata, Short North 9 day and Machu Picchu and Manu Hummingbird trip.
• Limited time. Short North 9 day, North Peru 2, Carpish, Concise Manu road Light, Amigos research Station in SE Peru.
• North Peru. NEW PROGRAMS. With the new lodge at Abra Patricia and Kolibri Expeditions''''''''s committment to support local communities to become part of the itineraries when their vicinity harbour very rare birds, our North Peru programs called for re-writing. Most birders should realize that there are simply too many birds in North Peru to see them all. Therefore we have produced a circuit that starts in Tumbes and ends in Lima. If you do the whole circuit it takes 43 days. Nobody has all this time, but since this shall be our core itinerary for years to come, you may always come back and do another stretch at a later date.
  There are basically 2 core trips. One is Piura to Tarapoto, with a 4 day Tumbes section offered as a pre-trip that includes a pelagic, Tumbes forest and mangroves, featuring White-winged Guan, Abra Patricia Lodge and Marvellous Spatuletail and the other core trip is Tarapoto to Cajamarca, working more trails looking for endemic primates such as YellowYellow-tailed Woolly Monkey and Alto Mayo Titi Monkey, as well as Antpitttas and Long-whiskered Owlet and featuring Abra Patricia Lodge, Marvelous Spatuletail, Leimebamba, Gray-winged Inca-Finch and Gray-bellied Comet with the possibility to add Purple-backed Sunbeam and Russet-bellied Spintetail (the last bit offered as an extension). The first core trip is offered in two versions, a 7 day trip (no camping) or a 15 day trip with camping and supporting local awaruna indean communities when searching for Orange-throated Tanager. The second core trip gives the option to make a 6 day hike for Yellow-browed Toucanet, Pale-billed Antpitta and Carpish endemics.
  
  There is also the Comfort MST style, short North Peru program for 9 days that starts in Chiclayo and ends in Tarapoto, featuring Chaparri and Abra Patricia Lodge. 
  Also one may combine Northern Peru and Southern Ecuador to get specialities on both sides of the boarder. 
• Inexpensive. Gran Central Peru and Cerros de Sira - both for only 99 US/day when group size is six or more.
• Expedition birding points. Iquitos,, Abra Malaga and Machu Picchu, Scarlet-banded Barbet (strenuous), White-masked Antbird, Cerros de Sira.
• Photography. Southern Circuit, Machu Picchu and Manu (Hummingbirds), Amigos Research Station.
• First time in South America. Peru is overwhelming. You cannot do it all on one trip. Chose a trip that gives you the flavour of Peru triggering the desire to come back. Don''''''''t kill yourself with a Megalist the first time in South America. Southern Circuit, Abra Malaga and Machu Picchu, Lima days (see below), Cordillera Blanca and Cordillera Negra. Carpish is also good but very endemic concentrated. Tambopata is probably the best lowland alternative, but the lowlands are really too species rich and it is difficult to see the birds well. It would not be my first choice for someone that never spent any time in South America and is not familiar with the families.
• Rainy Season. January-April. This is the time of year when it is most difficult to visit i.e. Manu road (but it is not impossible) due to East slope rains. These rains are usually most severe in the south. In the North during the same period there is also considerable amount of rain on the west slope, but rarely too much to spoil your birding –after all they are xerophytic areas. During Niño years there is more rain in the north and central Peru and probably less so in the SE. Now for the recommendations. During normal conditions we recommend North Peru, Tumbes (January and beginning of February), Iquitos, Southern Circuit (you can do this any time), and surprisingly also Tambopata and especially Amigos research station. Puerto Maldonado  is served by jet-planes and there are many good lodges nearby, but add a few days to compensate for possible rain.
• Time to kill in Lima. Quite a few people come on very short trips to Lima for business or passing through on a more extensive trip and may have a spare day.
  Along the coast there are Pucusana and Puerto Viejo to the south and Lomas de Lachay and Paraiso to the north. If you have more time in Lima any of the above can be made more extensively. More time allows you to trips into the Andes. A day trip to Santa Eulalia Canyon offers many pacific slope endemics including Rufous-breasted Warbling-Finch and Great Inca-Finch, as well as good possibilities to see condors, but you do need to make a very early start from Lima. Ticlio and Marcapomacocha road at extreme altitude above 4000m gives an almost 100% hit-rate for Diademed Sandpiper Plover and White-bellied Cinclodes. Santa Eulalia and Marcapomacocha road can be combined in a two or three day trip to also allow time to look for White-cheeked Cotinga
• Cruises. If you are on a cruise, by the time you get off the boat, the most important part of the morning may have been lost. I would recommend a program consisting of Pantanos de Villa and Pucusana in combination. Some goodies that may be seen are Peruvian Thickknee, Humboldt Penguin and Peruvian Seaside Cinclodes.
  If you are very keen on endemics one could make a go for Cactus Canastero at Lomas de Lachay 100km north of Lima - but it can sometimes be difficult to find the Canastero it if its very hot. July-September, during the mist season, it should be easier however. Also in this area are Grayish, Thick-billed and Coastal Miner. Most of these species you will not get in Arica, Chile if you plan also to go birdwatching there later on your cruise.
  Many cruise ships also dock in Salaverry near Trujillo in the North. We have sites for Peruvian Plantcutter that may be reachable in the time you have available.
  We can also arrange guides and transport in Arica and Valparaiso (see Batuco-Lampa for high diversity and pre-cordillera for endemics in Chile and in Guayaquil in Ecuador if you want to go birding here.