Birding Peru - Bird Peru and South America birdwatching tours

Bird Photography

Bird-photography is perhaps the fastest growing type of birding. With the digital technology, less expensive equipment and the possibility to easily share your results with friends and followers on Facebook, Google+ and Flickr, bird photography is booming. We arrange dedicated trips for those interested in birdphotography. Most areas we go to can also be visited by birdphotographers. We have been arranging birdphotography trips for groups from China, Japan, Czech Republic and Thailand. Below you find some ideas. Recently what has been popular among bird photographers are our new five day trips to North Peru and Manu road. These trips visit many places with bird feeders and are especially good for hummingbirds, like the Marvelous Spatuletail.
Most of our trips will be customized for bird photographers. Some bird photographers like to stay at one spot aim to get a perfect shot of one or relatively few species. Other birdphotographers are interested to get as many species as possible and follow a more traditional birding approach. Our fixed departures with birdphotography is a mixture of these approaches. If you want a more focused strategy, you should contact us at kolibriexp@gmail.com to set up a customized itinerary. Arthur Morris, Greg Lavaty, Goeff Jones, Max Waugh and Nate Chappell are among bird photographers who have made private customized set-ups with us.
We do not only do bird photography tours to Peru. In February each year, we shall organize a winter Japan birding tour to photography Steller's Eagle and Japanese Cranes.

Manu Road

No other road in the whole world covers so many different altitudinal eco-systems such as Manu road. The road pass highland lakes, Puna Grassland, deep dry scrubby gorges, semi-deciduous forest, Polylepis forest, temperate, subtropical and upper tropical cloud forest to eventually reach savanna and lowland amazon rain forest with all its riches. It is the most diverse place on earth. Over 1000 species of birds have been recorded along the road and the lowlands in the Manu National Park. Apart from gaudy birds such as Cock of the Rock found at a lek right by the road, trogons, toucans and tanagers, there are many lodges with Hummingbird feeders and a wide array of endemic birds. Trips range from 5 days on Manu road to combinations over 18 days that also include the lowlands and the macaw lick at Cocha Blanco in the ecotourism buffer zone of Manu National Park. Manu road should best not be attempted in the rainy season mid-December to mid April, as it is prone to landslides.

Manu Road Bird Photography

Here is the best bird photography itinerary for mega diverse South East Peru with Macaw licks and Cock of the Rock. A trip of a lifetime. Both mobile bird photographers who want to get many species photographed as well as those who want to shoot with tripods near feeders, will find ample possibilities here.

Central Peru

Photo-Video Safari: Macaw-lick and Red Uakari 8 days.

Close to Contamana, one of the most beautiful villages in the Amazon, there is clay/mineral lick of sulfurous waters, known as collpa, where hundreds of Red-and-Green Macaws visit. Close by are the hills of Sierras del Divisor Reserved Zone, where troops of monkeys such as the rare Red Uakari can be found. This is one of the few places where this species is protected and is in relative abundance. At the top of these hills the newly described Acre Antshrike possibly occcurs. A photography expedition to the rain forests of central Peru to photograph Macaws and Red Uakari.

Lima Area

Bird photography in Lima

A program specifically directed to bird photographers.Close ups of Inca Tern and the use hides at the Villa wetlands. Many other tours in the Lima area can be adpated to suit bird photographers. Just let us know.

Photo-Video Safari: Where the condors fly

The spectacular Andes of Santa Eulalia Canyon and Milloq bog and lagoon, near Lima, are habitats for 14 species endemic to Peru, such as Great-Inca Finch, Black-necked Woodpecker, Rufous-breasted Warbling-Finch, White-cheeked Cotinga, White-bellied Cinclodes etc, that can be photographed. These mountains provide water to Lima?s desert climate and also represent a natural refuge where the Andean Condor flies.

Safari Photo-Video: Nor-Yauyos-Cochas Reserve and the Inca Trail (Qapaq �an)

One of the most beautiful scenic areas of Peru which includes the Scenery Reserve of Nor Yauyos-Cochas, part of the ancient Inca trail (Qapaq Nan) and the sacred Pariaqaqa glacier areas. A variety of wildlife lives among the spectaculars turquoise lagoons, waterfalls and Polylepis woodlands.

Amazon Lowlands

The Peruvian Amazon for birders is separated into two main areas. Iquitos region in the North and Manu-Tambopata areas in the South-East. The SE Peruvian Amazon rain forest is perhaps one of the less known gems of South America. It is outstanding for bird and nature watching and still very pristine in spite of being close to Puerto Maldonado served with flights from Lima and Cusco. Nowhere in South America is wildlife so easily accessible at relatively inexpensive rates. Here you may see up to 10 species of monkeys in a week (of 15 possible), Tapir at nightly clay licks, Giant Otters in the oxbow lakes, sometimes jaguar on the sandbanks (May-August) and the famous colorful Macaw-licks where hundreds of colorful parrots, parakeets and macaws gather to eat clay for digesting toxic leaves and fruits. The Iquitos area is less wild, but has a number of endemic bird species in the white sand forests close to the town and many different birds if one goes north or south of the Amazon. There are also many river island specialists and of course Pink River Dolphin. Rainy season (Dec-April) birding in the SE Amazon, can actually be very good, since the rain mostly comes in showers. Right after a shower the birding is fantastic. In the Iquitos region the rain is more spread out through the year with no marked rainy season. However, the river floods from December-April, so access to river islands is difficult this time of year.

Manu Road Bird Photography

5-day trips

We have noted that people have less and less time and problems to get away for a 2-3 week holiday and in the wired day and age simply can�t disconnect for such long periods of time. To solve this problem we have ns to a completely different part of the country if you are looking to boost the species list in as short time as possible. Currently the 5 day trips include Central Highway, Abra Patricia area (with Marvelous Spatuletail), Machu Picchu&Abra Malaga, Manu road, Amigos Research Center in the Amazon, Iquitos, Chaparri and Marañon Valley, Tumbes and Arequipa-Colca-Puno. From this � (9x5 = 45 days) - you realize that no matter how you bend it, Peru is not one time destination if you are a birder.

Winter Birding and Bird Photography in Japan

A very attractive and affordable one week winter bird watching trip to Japan including the epic and photogenic birds, such as Steller's Eagle and Japanese Crane.

World Birding

Kolibri Expeditions is venturing outside of the Americas. Our first trip is to Japan in the winter, to offer a relatively inexpensive (Japan is not cheap) short trip over 7 days including Hokkaido with Steller�s Eagle, Blakiston�s Fish-Owl and Japanese Crane, Tokyo and the winter hot spring bathing macaws. Part of the idea of the inexpensive winter Japan trip is to keep the length short and to immerse with the Japanese Culture and staying at small Japanese guesthouses and hostels, which are less expensive than the hotels. Other plans for World birding on our agenda is a trip to Madagascar complete clean up and a three week safari in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. Gunnar also has lots of experience in the Mediterranean area for birding and plant watching which we plan to include in our future programs.