Kolibri Expeditions provides birding trips to all corners of South America. We are based in Lima, Peru. General Director is Gunnar Engblom, a well known tour leader and bird guide.
General Tour Information
We prepare trips for everyone. Our most comfortable trips are listed under Marvelous Spatuletail Tours. These are trips where we don''''t rough it and most similar to those of other high-end operators. Suitable for everyone, but often with good hotels and higher priced than our rough trips. Some trips in this category, combines culture and nature. Other trips under this category are for poor walkers.
The hard core birding trips are listed under Kolibri Expeditions. On these trips we go off the beaten track to give you all possible endemics and specialties of the particular area you are in. There is often a bias on quality of unique birds rather than overall numbers. Then again, visiting areas where the endemics are, usually gives a large final overall list.
We have a separate driver, an assistant (with larger groups) and a separate bird guide. This gives flexibility. The driver is also a good mechanic, capable of sorting out almost anything en route. The team of two-three will help to prepare your meals when camping.
For some trips you need to be fairly fit as there may be walks for some exclusive endemics involved. You need also be prepared for less comfortable lodging in rural areas, or camping. We occasionaly use local schools as camp sites. This gives an interesting interaction between eco-tourists and the locals.
Our prices includes the basic accommodation available and/or sleeping pads and tents. In larger cities we use adequate hotels. Nevertheless, you may want to upgrade for some more comfort when possible. In contrast to other operators of bird tours, we feel that the amount of money that the client spends on the lodging really is up to him or her. Most other operators have expensive hotels in their itineraries so many birders simply can´t afford their prices. With us it is up to you - the fancy hotels are available for a surcharge.
Low Budget?
Not really. Real low budget is doing everything on your own with a hired car or even cheaper with public transport and using trip-reports as your guides. You need lots of time though. Kolibri Expeditions wants to introduce the midbudget alternative. Weighing pros and cons we are still cheap, but you get a guide, a vehicle with a driver, food and basic accommodation and we don´t waste time. And most of all you get all the birds. You even get the birds that the fancy bird tour company would never go to. We can go bad roads and off the beaten track.
Guides
You get guides who knows what they are doing and with the necessary experience with South American birds. They all have good skills of recognizing most bird calls heard, especially so in the tropics where this skill is essential. We take pride in training local guides during our trips. We can also provide an additional guide that will help you out and that will give that unique direct contact with the inhabitants of Peru and can explain the culture from within.
Kolibri Expedition Staff - Lot´s of people makes your birding holiday a reality. See who they are.
HISTORY
As a company Kolibri Expedition started in 1998, but General Director Gunnar Engblom has been organizing birding trips in South America since 1992. The first trips went to Venezuela, Ecuador and Peru. He has a particular interest in Peru, where he has been involved in bird conservation projects of Polylepis woodland near Cusco.
Since 1996, when a 4WD vehicle was bought, he has been doing small groups with this vehicle to Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador and Colombia.
Here is a little list of the birds seen in the Peru 1998 tour to water your mouth:
Slaty Becard, Peruvian Plantcutter, Marvelous Spatuletail, all 5 Inca-Finches, Orange-throated Tanager, Golden-backed Mountain-Tanager, Russet-bellied Spinetail, Greater Spinetail, Yellow-faced Parrotlet, White-cheeked Cotinga, Junin Grebe, Royal Cinclodes, White-browed Tit-Spinetail, Ash-breasted Tit-Tyrant, Royal Sunangel, Pardusco, Pale-winged Trumpeter, Razor-billed Curassow, Rufous-vented Ground-Cuckoo, Purple-backed Sunbeam, Diademed Sandpiper-Plover, Rufous-fronted Antthrush, Rufous-headed Woodpecker, White-bellied Cinclodes and of coarse a multitude of more common and pretty birds like Cock of the Rock, Torrent Duck, Condor, marvelous Tanagers and jewel-like Hummingbirds and many more. All these are on our extensive Peru itineraries.
Since 1999 we have employed a separate driver with good mechanical knowledge. Bad roads take tolls on the cars, but our driver can fix almost anything. He even fixes coffee and breakfast for us when we are birding.
In 2001 we added Pelagics from Lima to our itineraries. These have been very successful. Even some of the most weathered sea-birders find these pelagics among the best in the world. Lima´s position in the north Part of the Humboldt current with influx of waters from the North and the West provides conditions for Waved Albatross (from Galapagos), Westland Petrel (from New Zealand) and Chilean Skua on the same pelagic. That together with the local specialties Markham´s and Ringed Storm Petrel and Peruvian Diving Petrel makes Lima a absolute highlight on your trip to Peru. Don´t miss the Pelagic in Lima!
2008 we are celebrating our 10th anniversery. Today, we are proud to promote Central Peru with 20% discount this year as a Kolibri Expeditions special.
