Arrive in Lima and transfer to our hotel in Lima. Night at our Hotel in Lima.

Morning flight from Lima to the coastal city of Chiclayo. On arrival on the road to Batan Grande. Here we'll bird the protected Algorrobo woodland for Tumbes Swallow, Rufous Flycatcher, Necklaced Spinetail, Peruvian Plantcutter, Baird’s Flycatcher, Supercilliaried Wren, Coastal Miner, and more. At about 10:00am we’ll pass the interestring Tinajones reservoir and see if any Black-faced Ibis are in the area and then to the Chapparri Ecolodge. This ecolodge is situated in a community reserve and we’ll spend the night at these charming accommodations. Nigt Chaparri Ecolodge.

Morning to bird at Chaparri and leisurely breakfast at the lodge – Almost every morning from 06.15-07.00 several species of hummingbirds gather to bathe in the stream in front of the dining room. Watching this spectacle with a cup of coffee is a popular way to start the day. Depending on the weather an season we may see Purple-collared Woodstar, Tumbes Hummingbird and Amazilia Hummingbirds, Long-billed Starthroat, Short-tailed Woodstar Oasis Hummingbird and Peruvian Sheartail and Little Woodstar. Other specialities here include sulphur-throated and Cinereous Finch, Tumbes Tyrant, as well as such mammals as White-tailed Deer and Sechuran Fox. As the desert sun becomes too hot we'll head out for the dry deciduous forest north of Naupe. We'll bird the scrub and some of the possibilities include: Tumbes Tyrant (endemic), Tumbes Sparrow, Sulphur-throated Finch, Scarlet-backed Woodpecker, Gray-breasted Flycatcher (endemic), Gray and Gold Warbler, Sooty-capped Flycatcher, Gray and White Tyrannulet and more. We'll head to Olmos in the late afternoon and our hotel. B:L:D

Early pre-dawn start to Quebrada Frijollillo. Here we will meet our local guide who will have been scouting the side canyons for the last two days, and we should have some pretty precise information on the whereabouts of the bird we have come to see - the recently re-discovered White-Winged Guan. We'll get the up to date information as our cook team prepare coffee and breakfast, then off into the canyons. We hope to see Guans of course and we will give them priority. Other species we are likely to see in the canyons are: White-winged and White-headed Brush-finch, Elegant Crescentchest (endemic), Tumbes Hummingbird (endemic) Red-masked Parakeet, Long-billed Starthroat, Golden-olive Woodpecker, Guayaquil Woodpecker Streak-headed Woodcreeper, Baird's Flycatcher, Gray and Gold Warbler, Gray-breasted Flycatcher, One –colored Becard, Plumbeous-backed Thrush, Cinereous Finch (endemic), Short-tailed Woodstar and Henna-hooded Foliage-gleaner. Returning to the main hi-way in the afternoon we'll head for Olmos. Overnight Hotel Remanso. B:L:D

Leaving the coastal strip behind we'll set off early heading for one of the lowest passes in the Andes - Abra Porculla. Making selected stops along the way, we will pay particular attention to a side trail where we have seen Piura Chat-tyrant, a very rare and local endemic. Other birds we may see include: Black-cowled Saltator, Andean Tinamou, Elegant Crescentchest, Three-banded Warbler, White-winged and Bay crowned Brush-Finch’s Chapman’s Antshrike, Rufous-necked and Henna-hooded Foliage-Gleaners, Ecuadorian Piculet, Yellow-bellied and Black and White Seedeaters. Dropping over the east side of the pass for lunch, we'll drive straight through to our hotel. Arriving in the bustling town of Jaen on the lip of the Maranon canyon we'll transfer to our hotel. Night Hotel El Bosque in Jaen B:L:D

Pre-dawn start and breakfast in the field at first light. We'll drive to a side road where we have had spectacular success with the endemic Maranon Crescentchest. Here we will see other Maranon endemics including- Buff-bellied Tanager, Chinchipe Spinetail, Marañon Slaty Antshrike, Sooty-crowned Flycatcher, Marañon Spinetail, Marañon Thrush and Yellow-cheeked Becard. The distinct Maranon races of Speckle-breasted Wren and Black-capped Sparrows are here too as well as Tataupa Tinamou and, surprisingly, Miltary Macaw. After lunch we’ll head for Pomacochas with stop for Little Inca Finch along the way, then on to an area of rice fields to look for Spotted Rail and Paint-billed Crake. We continue up the Utcubamba river, keeping an eye out for Fasciated Tiger-heron and Torrent Duck passing through Pedro Ruiz and onto Florida Night Hotel Puerto Pumas B:L:D

Note – For private groups a 3 day extention can be addd here to look for the near endemic Orange-throated Tanager and Wavy-breasted Parakeet in Aguarauna Indian country

A flexible day. We'll give priority to Marvelous Spatulatail, Here we will be looking for this rare and spectacular Hummingbird, perhaps the classiest of all – we’ll visit a protected area where this spectacular Himmingbird is common on the hillslsopes but we may also explore the San Lorenzo trail. Patches of good cloud forest remain and some of the possibilities here that we have seen in the past include: Torrent Duck, Speckled Hummingbird, Mountain Velvetbreast, Colared Inca, Chestnut-breasted Coronet, Golden-headed Quetzal, Versicolored Barbet, Gray-breasted Mountain- toucan, Strong-billed Woodcreeper, White-tailed and White-banded Tyranulets, Inca Flycatcher (endemic), Chestnut-crested Cotinga, White-capped Tanager, White-collared Jay, Andean Solitaire, Silver-backed and Straw-backed Tanagers plus lots more. We have seen the newly described Johnsons Tody-tyrant, here in the chusquea bamboo. In the afternoon we’ll drive to Abra Patricia for birding near the pass and to the Long-whiskered Owlet Biological Station and Lodge where we’ll spend the next nights. Night Long-whiskered Owlet Lodge

Two days at Abra Patricia area. Staying at the new lodge will give us access to an extensive trail system enabling us to better look for Antpittas etc. This famous collecting site is home of some of the least known Peruvian birds. We’ll base ourselves at the comfortable Owlet Lodge which has White-throated Screech Owl and Rufous-banded Owl in the garden. We may bump into mixed flocks with Blue-browed, Metallic-green and other Tanagers. Exploring side trails we may see the new Lulu’s Tody-tyrant, Tyrranine Woodcreeper, Spotted and Rusty-winged Barbtails. During the three full days we have here, we'll bird varous altitudinal zones between 1000 and 2200 meters. We have recently located Ash-throated Antwren here. Target birds - some very rare -we hope to see include; Cinnamon-breasted Tody-Tyrant, Bar-winged Wood-wren (endemic), Royal Sunangel (endemic), Equatorial Graytail, White-capped and Scaly-naped Parrots, Straw-backed, Metallic-green and Blue-browed Tanagers, White-capped Tanager, Wedge-billed Hummingbird, Crimson- mantled Woodpecker, Montane Woodcreeper. We may hear or see if we are lucky Ochre-fronted (endemic) or Rusty-tinged Antpittas (endemic). Long-tailed Antbird, Large-footed Tapaculo, Golden-faced Tyranulet, Sulphur-bellied Tyrannulet, Ecuadorian Tyrannulet, Fiery-throated and Scaled Fruiteaters, Cock of the Rock, Lanceolated Monklet., Fine-barred Piculet (endemic), Barred Becard , Sharpe’s Wren, Black-crested Warbler, Bicolored Antvireo.Night birding should be good here with Rufous-banded Owl, Lyre-tailed Nightjar, Rufous-bellied Nighthawk, Cinnamon Screech Owl. This is also the type locality for Long-whiskered Owlet and we will certainly be trying for this at least on evening. Nights Owlet Lodge B:L:D

Early morning birding at Abra Patricia and then onto Puente Aguas Verdes Further downslope from Abra Patricia, near the tiny settlement of Afluente, the road passes through beautiful lower upper tropical forests where another set of new and exciting birds will await us in excellent roadside habitat. The most noteworthy specialities are the tiny Speckle-chested Piculet and the canopy-dwelling Ash-throated Antwren. Until recently the latter was only known from the outlying mountain ridge above Jesus del Monte (further east), but in the course of 1999 this highly localized species was also found here by us at at Afluente. We have excellent chances of seeing the flame-coloured Andean Cock-of-the-Rock shooting across the road or indulging its taste for fruit, and of seeing the Ecuadorian Piedtail, a lek-forming hummingbird here reaching the southernmost limit of its range. The endemic Huallaga (Tanager is fairly common here and the rather modestly-adorned Yellow-throated and Ashy-throated Bush-Tanagers make their rounds in noisy family parties. We shall carefully scrutinize mixed parties for the beautiful Versicoloured Barbet, the noisy Yellow-breasted Antwren, the restless Grey-mantled Wren and the easily overlooked Equatorial Greytail, a Warbler-like member of the Furnariidae here at the southern extremity of its range. Other birds we may find in this ‘purple patch’ include Ruddy and Plumbeous Pigeons, White-eyed Parakeet, Red-billed Parrot, Black-mandibled Toucan, Golden-olive, Smoky-brown Woodpecker, Olivaceous and Olive-backed Woodcreepers, Ash-browed Spinetail, Montane and Buff-fronted Foliage-gleaners, Streaked Xenops, Lined Antshrike, Plain Antvireo, Rufous rumped Antwren, Blackish Antbird, ‘Northern’ White-crowned Tapaculo (though the taxonomic position of the form concerned remains to be determined), Golden-winged Manakin, Slaty -capped, Ornate and Olive-chested Flycatchers, Marble-faced Bristle-Tyrant, Plumbeous- crowned and Ecuadorian Tyrannulets. Later we shall continue on our journey, and a few stops in cleared areas may well produce open country and second growth species. Night in Tarapoto. B:L:D

This morning we shall visit an area of semi-deciduous woodland and xerophytic scrub south of Tarapoto, home to the isolated huallagae race of Northern Slaty Antshrike. This area also holds the gaudy Bluish-fronted Jacamar and the flycatcher-like Sulphur-bellied Tyrant-Manakin, while other interesting birds we may find here include Speckled Chachalaca, Blue Ground-Dove, Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl, Blue-crowned Trogon, Blue-crowned Motmot, Black-fronted Nunbird, Planalto Hermit, Chestnut-eared and Lettered Aracaris, Lafresnaye’s Piculet, Plain –crowned and Chestnut-throated Spinetail’s, Stripe-chested Antwren, White-browed Antbird, White-bellied Pygmy-Tyrant, Pearly-vented Tody-Tyrant, Olive-faced (split from Yellowbreasted), Boat-billed and Piratic Flycatchers, Buff-breasted Wren, Hauxwell’s Thrush, Ashy- headed Greenlet, Tropical Gnatcatcher and Red-eyed Vireo. In the afternoon we’ll explore the Shapaja road where our lodge is located and see what we can find – we have seen Undulated Antshrike here. After a wash and brush up at the lodge we’ll transfer to the airport for the evening flight to Lima Night at the airport hotel in Lima B:L:D

International flights home. B

IMPORANT NOTES:

Hotels in Lima, Chiclayo, Pomacochas and Tarapoto are very comfortable. In Jaen they are the best available and adequate.