Waved Albatross

As I mentioned in my last post, Kolibri Expeditions will soon have our own boat operating from Punta Lomas just south of Nazca, where the continental shelf comes closest to shore. We hope that the boat shall be available from September, but there is still a fair amount of fundraising to be done. I explained about the fund-raising strategy and a win-win opportunity that you can take part in, in my other recent blog post.

Until September, we will occasionally go out with a fishing boat from Punta Lomas. It is not ideal. The boat is slow, and it is not exactly comfortable, but while there is not a lot of rough seas like is the case right now, it provides a good opportunity to get out to do some birding; I hope to get out this coming Saturday, if 1-2 more people join me.

Meanwhile, I thought I’d dust off an old blog post and repackage it a bit, so you know what to expect when you decide to come to Peru to do a pelagic with us soon. I am sure there shall be some surprises in store for us, but here are the top 10 birds that we can see quite regularly off the Peruvian coast.

The top 10 best pelagic birds of Peru

1. Ringed (or Hornby’s) Storm-Petrel Oceanodroma hornbyi

The Ringed Storm-Petrel, or Hornby’s Storm-Petrel as it is also known, is perhaps the most wanted of all the seabirds of Peru. It is usually difficult to see in coastal waters. One usually needs to go all the way to the continental shelf to see them. When we operated in Lima, we just barely got to some 30 nautical miles. Therefore we did not see it every time.
In Paracas, where we offered pelagics from 2018, it was even more difficult. We did not reach the deeper waters at all.

Punta Lomas, in contrast, offers a much better chance, as the continental shall is only some 10 nautical miles out. I have seen it practically every time I have organized a pelagic with fishing boats from Punta Lomas. Only on my last Puerto Lomas trip on March 7, with summer conditions of warm water and no wind, did I not see it.

This large and powerful Storm-Petrel usually gets interested in the chum but usually makes a few turns and keeps a distance.

The breeding area of the Ringed Storm-Petrel in Peru is unknown. It may well nest inland. Individuals have been found at 3800 meters in the Cordillera Blanca in the Ancash department. Between May-June, juveniles are often found lost in Lima city. I happened on one during the pandemic just outside my apartment building. It seems that light pollution makes them disoriented. The one I found was released in the late afternoon from the shore.
In Chile, a breeding colony was recently discovered in the Atacama desert.

2 Markham’s Storm-Petrel Oceanodroma markhami

Markham’s Storm-Petrel

Markham’s Storm-Petrel is the other Stormy high on the birders’ wishlist. It is also a powerful Oceanodroma. Blackish brown in color with a broad and usually quite prominent carpal bar. It often comes to the chum, but seldom as close as White-vented Storm-Petrel below.

It is also usually found in deep water quite a ways out. Again, this will be much easier to find from Punta Lomas than was the case from Paracas.

3. Peruvian Diving Petrel Pelicanoides garnotii

The Peruvian Diving-Petrel is numerous off Punta Lomas. On my last trip, I counted over a hundred. It is a strange bird looking very much like a little auklet in appearance, flight, and behavior. It takes off on the water with very rapid wingbeats – or makes a dive to get away from the boat.

4. Waved Albatross Phoebastria irrorata

Although, as you probably know, Waved Albatross principally breeds on Galapagos, you can almost always find this magnificent looking albatross in Peruvian waters. Adults often take sabbatical years from breeding, and young may stay around the rich Humboldt Current longer.

The Waved Albatross is Critically endangered, according to Birdlife International. The main threats seem to be bycatch in fishing procedures and direct hunting by fishermen at sea. According to one captain on a fishing boat in Northern Peru, they “taste good“.

5. Inca Tern Larosterna inca

The prettiest tern of the world, no doubt, the Inca Tern is easy to see well, and one can see them even at the port at close range. It is by no means uncommon, but since it is such a popular and photogenic bird, it just has to be among the top 10 – don’t you agree?

6. Swallow-tailed Gull Creagrus furcatus

Another visitor from the Galapagos can be seen almost all year round in small numbers. The pattern is like a giant Sabine’s Gull. The immature and non-breeding adult has a black goggle around the eye that gives it away. The Swallow-tailed Gull is active at night feeding on crustaceans, why we often find groups of birds sitting on the sea during the day.

7. Chatham Albatross Thalassarche eremita

There are now several records from our pelagics of the formerly Critically Endangered Chatham Albatross. Recently it was downgraded to Vulnerable, but still with a small range only breeding on The Pyramid, a large rock stack in the Chatham Islands, New Zealand, it is a darn good bird to see in Peru. We have seen both adults and young birds. The best time of year to see one in Peru is between May and August.

Sorry about the crappy photo. It is the only one I have got.

8. Northern Giant Petrel Macronectes halli

The Northern Giant Petrel was, according to older literature, hypothetical in Peru. It turns out it is actually as regular, or maybe even more regular than the Southern Giant Petrel. We see all dark immature with pink-tipped bills yearly and often relatively near the coast. Our records from 2002-2007 are summarized in this paper in the Marine Ornithology journal.

9. South Polar Skua Stercorarius maccormicki

Chilean Skua is the regular Skua we see abundantly during the winter. South Polar Skua is less common, although we have seen few individuals between April to November through the years. It is slenderer, much darker, and with a smaller bill than Chilean Skua.

10. White-vented Storm-Petrel Oceanites gracilis

White-vented Storm-Petrel is the most common Storm-Petrel off the Peruvian coast, yet it is one of my favorites. They are very fragile – a small Storm-Petrel that trips on water. They are always the first tubenoses that come to the chum. Yet, they are not easy to separate from Wilson’s Storm-Petrel – or the other way around as Wilson’s (Fuegan) Storm-Petrel is less common and seasonal. The best feature is the light butterfly-like flight with rapids wingbeats if the diagnostic white belly is not seen. Wilson’s Storm-Petrel is steadier in flight.

Tours for pelagic lovers.

Now you know what is awaiting you when you come to Peru and do pelagics with us.  And don’t just take my word for it.

The importance of Peru as a destination for seabirders is evident. See what other pelagic experts have to say about our operation in Lima when we were able to do these.

Steve N. G. Howell, author and tour leader with various book such as Birds of Mexico, Gulls of the Americas and Petrels, Albatrosses, and Storm-Petrels of North America, argues:

Lima is one of the best areas for pelagic birding in the Americas, with access to several species that can’t be seen easily anywhere else. Keeping pelagic trips going here is important both for birders and for gathering data on the seasonal distribution and abundance of numerous species, some of which are globally threatened.

Hadoram Shirihai, photographer and author of various books such as Whales, Dolphins and other Marine Mammals of the World and The complete guide to Antarctic Wildlife, says:

Lima is a unique seabird pelagic hotspot for me. The pelagic off Lima with Kolibri Expeditions is one of the best that I tested for the work towards the Handbook of the Tubenoses of the World project, and I call to anyone to support Gunnar to continue the good work he has been doing for years.

Also, Peter Harrison, groundbreaking pelagic guru, who was in Lima on August 9, 2011, for a short pelagic with us:

The continuation of pelagic voyages from Lima is critically important to further our knowledge of seabird biology and distribution along this important avian flyway. Gunnar’s reputation is well-known and he has added much to our knowledge and provided great service for passing ornithologists and birdwatchers over the years. It is perhaps significant that when the author of Seabirds of the World: An Identification Guide wanted a pelagic trip from Lima, Kolibri Expeditions and Gunnar Engblom was the outfitter he contacted.

Visit Kolibri Expeditions Pelagic webpage and book your pelagic tour with us. The page for the new three-day tour that includes a pelagic, Lomas birds, coastal marshes, Paracas Peninsula, and the possibility to fly over the Nazca lines is under construction. If you don’t find a suitable date in the calendar, please suggest a date, and we shall try to set something up for your party.

Kolibri Expeditions pioneered pelagic birding in Peru when we started offering whale-watching and pelagics from Lima in 1999. To reach deep pelagic waters and the upwelling we had to reach 34 nautical miles. That is a bit too far with the type of double engined open speed-boats we contracted. In late 2017 the port authorities in Callao clanked down on the owners of the boats, telling them they would get hefty fines should they go this far.

We tried running a few pelagics from Paracas some 270 km to the south, where there are plenty of boats that visit the nearby Ballestas islands to show sea lions and penguins to visiting tourists. The results were mixed. We never got out to deeper waters. The 1000m mark is at 45 nautical miles, and we typically only did 25-30 nautical miles.

We still saw some good birds, but the specialties Hornby’s and Markham’s Storm-Petrels were remarkably absent. On top of that, the strong winds, which start already 8.30-10 AM, often had us return to the coast ahead of time. Additionally, the price for leasing the boats was so high that we had to charge clients $300/person and we needed 7 people to run the trips.

Pelagics again in Peru

In 2018, I visited Kaikoura, New Zealand, and did a pelagic from there. I was alone on a vast ship paying a mere US$200. The shelf’s 1000m depth mark is only some seven nautical miles out here. It meant they could operate with far smaller groups in less time (my trip lasted 2 hours) and with less fuel.

The albatrosses and Cape Petrels at close range blew my socks off.

It dawned upon me that I needed a place in Peru where the continental shelf came closest to land. That place is just south of Nazca – the location of the famous Nazca Lines – and the port of Punta Lomas. Much better. Not as good as Kaikoura, but only 12 nautical miles to the 1000 meter mark.

I had already done several fishing boat pelagics from here always with very good results, and recommended the port to Jacob Drucker in order to organize an inexpensive pelagic on which they recorded the first Peruvian confirmed record of Kermadec Petrel, plus southern range extensions of Galapagos and Cook’s Petrel. Check Jacob’s trip report to get a feel for the potential of pelagic birding from this port.
Almost every time I have gone out from this port I have seen Hornby’s Storm-Petrel.

However, the problem here is that there are no suitable boats for tourism —only the very slow and very uncomfortable fishing boats which are not suitable for regular tourists.
Solution?
Our own Paracas-type open speed-boat with two outboard engines. A quite large investment. How should I pull it off?

During the COVID pandemic, without the usual birding programs occupying me 24/7, there has been more time to think and to come up with ideas.  The more I think about operating a boat at Punta Lomas, the more I believe it is a very solid project.

Kolibri Expeditions Pelagic and whale watching project – market feasibility.

I calculate that we could run around 20 pelagic birding departures per year during the first years. The best time for pelagic birds is between April and mid-December, when water temperatures are cold and rich with nutrients resulting in high bio-production. Of course, this is not enough to make this a profitable enterprise. If we were only to do deep-sea pelagics for birders, this project would not be viable

This is where whale-watching and observation of general marine life, such as dolphins, sea-lions and fur seals, penguins, comes in. At Paracas, some 250 km north of Nazca, some 250 000 people visit Ballestas Islands for marine wildlife. Additionally, 143 000 people flew over the Nazca Lines in 2018. These numbers show there is certainly already an existing market if we were to offer a program similar to that of Paracas.

Since the continental shelf is so narrow here, it will likely be easy to spot the whales, as they usually migrate on the shelf or right at the edge. Even if there are no whales around, the marine wildlife is captivating. You are next to certain to see Waved Albatross, Humboldt Penguin, an incredible number of Guanay Cormorants, South American Sea Lion, South American Fur Seal, and various dolphin species.

Anyone having this experience would find that a trip to Paracas would be superfluous.

Let’s assume 2-5% of Nazca visitors are prone to join for whale-watching if offered. Around 3 000-7.000 people. The price for marine-life and whale-watching would be roughly $50/person initially. Thus between $150 000-350 000/year in sales only from the regular Nazca visitors. Additionally, many Peruvians would be interested in only the whale watching and not necessarily fly over Nazca lines.

Someone short of time could consider this plan using just one day for pelagic birding, whale-watching, and some general Nazca tourism. It seems like the perfect backpacker solution.

1. Take a comfortable sleeper night bus from Lima.
2. Do a pelagic/whale-watching first thing in the morning.
3. Fly over the Nazca Lines in the afternoon,
4. Get additional birds of the Nazca desert.
5. Take a sleeper night bus on to Cusco or Arequipa or back to Lima.

In comparison, the well-known whale watching company Pacifico Adventures in Los Organos in northern Peru started its operations 15 years ago with just one boat. Today they have four vessels. Their season is from mid-July to September. Only two and a half months, while our primary season would be five months, also corresponding with school summer holidays in most of Peru. They likely do two trips or more per day, moving 100-150 people daily in their boats during their peak season. There seems to be great potential for growth in the short term if we were to undertake this project.

How to raise the money?

A new boat and engines would set us back with at least US$70 000. There could well be good second-hand options available for purchase in Paracas, as a consequence of the tourism crises in the wake of the pandemic, perhaps just $45-50 000 would have us operating. 

Compared with the annual calculated sales per year, it seems like this is a no-brainer that the idea should work and that it would become very successful and profitable very fast.

There is only one problem.

You guessed it!

I don’t have that money!

We need partners, and we need to do a lot of fundraising.

Partners

The idea is to form an entirely new company of which Kolibri Expeditions would be the major shareholder. The new company would be anchored with people connected to Marcona and Punta Lomas as shareholders.

• I have connected with the former head of the Punta San Juan reserve at Marcona, which protects Peru’s largest Humboldt Penguin colony and also oversees the harvesting of guano from the huge Guanay Cormorant colony.
• I am also online friends for many years with several cetacean experts in Peru who could be potential partners to carry out continuous research. They have shown interest in investing in the project.
• Recently, I talked with the former head of both Port Authorities in Marcona and Punta Lomas. He gave me a lot of ideas and is also interested in being part of the project.
• Additionally, I know a few local fishermen who have taken us out in the past, who would be, if not investors, staff to take care of and operate the boat(s).
• Another option is to liaise with an existing tour operator in the area.

Fundraising – Win-Win

The money part we would have to come up with from Kolibri Expeditions remains. How can we get $35-40.000 to get started?

Apart from the nowadays ubiquitous Kickstarter and GoFundMe which I shall be setting up in the coming week or so, I am also turning to our clients on our mailing lists. If you are considering a trip with Kolibri Expeditions or 7 Wonders Birding in the coming three years there is a special offer for you in my previous blog post. Check it out!

If you are considering visiting Peru soon, you could help directly. It would be of great help if you would pre-book a 3-4h pelagic tour with chumming for $185/person, which we would run with a minimum of three passengers. We are taking pelagic reservations from September 2021 onwards. We can naturally also set you up for birding elsewhere in Peru, even independently renting-a-car-with-a-driver solutions. Shoot me an email to kolibriexp@gmail.com if you have questions about our pelagic/whale watching operations or birding/bird photography in Peru. 

The other day I sent out a loooooooong newsletter, and I can’t blame you if you did not have time to read it. I thought I’d split it up into more digestible chunks.

It contained in three parts. The first part was about our current alternative projects for birding infrastructure that can also be enjoyed non-birders. Within this topic is the Satipo road project and the Condor watching project. The second part was about an idea and feasibility to create a pelagic and whale watching operation near Nazca.  The third part about the fundraising for these projects was focused on the benefits for you in the short term, in case you are already considering taking a bird watching tour within the period of 2022-2024, when supposedly the COVID pandemic is over.  This blogpost deals with this last part of the newsletter. THE SPECIAL OFFER!

Where will you go birding in 2022-2024?

I am asking you where you will go birding in the coming years because, I have a unique offer for you to take a tour with us within the next three years.
Anywhere in the world!
It does not have to be Peru.
It does not have to be 2022.
If you wait until 2023 or 2024, the value of the offer will be worth even more!

You probably know by now that Kolibri Expeditions and 7 Wonders Birding provide focused tours to bucket list places and key birds worldwide, so there are many tours to choose from.

Make your bird tour deposit grow!

If you have money in the bank, how much interest do you get?
1%?
Less???

The interest rates in the developed countries are close to being negative when taking into account fees. On the other hand it is quite inexpensive to get a loan from the bank.

Kolibri Expeditions needs an injection of capital to ride out the negative effects of the pandemic and to invest in our infrastructure projects. If I were to ask the bank here in Peru to lend me the money needed, they would likely refuse, when considering the uncertain times we live in, and when looking at our recent sales. If they, by a miracle, agreed, I would probably have to pay a staggering 12-15% interest rate.

So instead, I have been pondering on an idea for some time that could be an option that combines both the low interest on capital in the developed world, and the difficult and expensive access to capital for investments in Peru.

The original idea was quite simple. I could ask the people who receive my newsletter, to lend me $1000 for three years, and in turn, I would give a guaranteed yearly interest rate of, say, 5%.

That could work, but looking at it more closely, it shows that it likely will become too awkward with the bank fees when sending the money back and forth. Although better than a bank loan, it seemed just too complicated.

I have come up with a much better variant.

The Special Offer

Coming back to the title of this email.

• Decide when and where you want to go birding with Kolibri Expeditions or 7 Wonders Birding between 2022 and 2024,
• Pay a deposit now of around US$1000 (or the equivalent in your currency if it is EUR, GBP, AUD, CAD, or ZAR).

Sounds reasonable, right?

Let’s make that even better:

On your down payment of $1000, money which currently gives you no interest in your bank, I offer you:

• 10% yearly interest compounded daily.
• A trip that would run three and a half years from now would earn you over US$400. Check this online calculator of compound interest if you don’t believe me!
• Guaranteed price. You’d be guaranteed your total price fixed at today’s value rather than the likely increased price in a year or two.

All tours listed on the Kolibri Expeditions or 7 Wonders Birding webpages are eligible. Just let me know your approximate dates and destination.

If your target destination is not on our websites yet, it may well be in production. Let me know, and we shall get the itinerary up on the page ASAP. Remember, we shall soon offer Madagascar, Papua New Guinea, West Papua, Namibia, Galapagos, Mongolia, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, South Africa, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Patagonia, Easter Island, New Caledonia, and many more.

If you can’t decide exactly where and when you want to go, that is fine. You can still participate. Deposit $1000 now, and just let me know a minimum of a year ahead when and where you want to go.

Suppose we can get 35 to 50 people taking this offer. It would give us the funding necessary for pelagic & whale-watching project. It would also secure several future tour departure dates that other people can join. Meanwhile, you get the best price, and you get to choose the dates for something you planned to do anyway.

Our list prices are from 5 people minimum, but we would run the tour with only two people with a surcharge. Having three years to get a minimum of 5 people for the best price seems very feasible.

There is only one offer per departure available (or two if you are traveling together with your spouse). It would give us the necessary profit margins when other people sign up for your tours. As the early bird, you will get the best price.

You could naturally sign up for three (or more) trips at once—one in 2022, one in 2023, and one in 2024 to maximize your savings.

The cheapest way to participate is to make a direct ACH bank transfer free of charge from your bank account via our current payment platform. This option is only applicable to those living in countries that use USD, EUR, GBP, AUD, CAD, or ZAR currencies.

Should you want to use this option, I will calculate the amount corresponding to $1000 in your currency. There’d be a 1.9% transfer charge on top, so the total to deposit would be equivalent to $1019.

If you live in countries with other currencies you should use the US$ option and pay $1019 with credit card.  There would be a credit card fee charge on top at check out (depending on country but around $30

It is best for you to make this deposit as soon as possible, since a $19-40 fee is negligible compared to the gains if you decide for a trip in 2023 or 2024.

The five quick steps for you to do now.

1. Send me an email at kolibriexp@gmail.com telling me you are in on a $1000 deposit for a trip
2. Decide destination.
3. Decide date.
4. I will send you a certified safe internet link for payment with a credit card
5. Enter your information on the encrypted credit card payment site.

I am looking forward to go birding with you!

————————————————————————————————————-

Gunnar Engblom is a birder from Sweden living in Peru since 1998 running the birdwatching tour operator Kolibri Expeditions.

In October 2018 Gunnar lead a trip in Peru recording 1006 species in a Big Month.

In spite of being a compulsive lister himself, he has long been convinced that birding of the future is more about esthetics than about a long life list and that there are too few services directed to this increasingly large segment of birders. He thus started an offshoot from the mainline of the business called 7 Wonders Birding Tours and coined the term Bucket List Birding.
In 2021 the Bucket List Birding podcast will be launched.

Gunnar is also a dedicated 3:04 marathon runner, still hoping for a sub 3h marathon in spite of having turned 60 in 2020.  Berlin Marathon September, 2021 may be when it happens.

In 2016, Gunnar re-launched his rock’n’roll singer career with his band Guran Guran, and in 2019 they released a new video – Feels Like Some Summer – also available on Spotify and other digital outlets.

Many of you have probably seen Jules Eden’s recent trip report to Central Peru on Surfbirds and Cloudbirders. There are some typos and misspelled site names, so with Jules’s permission, these are corrected below.

BREAKOUT BIRDING 2 – NOVEMBER 2020

Mandatory pictures of a Junin Grebe and Golden-backed Mountain-tanager that MUST start every trip report from Central Peru!

CENTRAL PERU

Tapaculos, Canasteros and Sp.Novos

By Jules Eden.

With
Kolibri Expeditions
www.kolibriexpeditions.com
Guide – Gunnar Engblom. Driver – Manuel, aka Fat Tony

Why and When and How

Another lockdown coming. I don’t think I can do this one. The last was like a prison sentence. 100 days ticked off in the cell of my house, with nothing open bar walking a dog on Clapham Common and Asda for more panic bought loo roll.
Boris has promised that it’s only a month, but I reckon they will extend to fit whatever is dictated by the epidemiologists that run our lives now.

We had an exit plan. My wife’s sister can put us up in Stockholm so we took the first flight there.
A week, and in that time I had sorted flights to Lima, Peru. But you can only enter that country from 5 airports in South America.

2 days in Quito were enough to sort negative PCR certs to get entry to the Land of Llamas.
And I was there. At last. 48 hours travel and Gunnar from Kolibri Expeditions was near the airport to get me birding.

DAY 1 – Line Taxis
There’s already someone on the tour – he came out a week before me and so Gunnar has peeled back off from this trip to get me from the airport to Hacienda Armorique to hook up with Pete from NY, USA.
In a country with no trains and slow buses, the only way to get there in any sort of haste is to get a succession of taxis from town to town so after our gig they have another one to get back home.

We lucked in – we were heading for La Merced via the Central Highway, and at a weekend – our driver actually lived there and wanted to see his family.
The only problem was that a Lima-plated taxi could not cross a state line without a good reason.

That explained why we pulled over and Gunnar switched seats with the driver and drove. We were pulled up, the Feds had never seen a Swedish driving licence before and let us through to join the Andean traffic slowly moving over the range to the Eastern side.

It took 8 hours in the end, but that is normal for the Andes – but we did stop at a freezing lay-by to walk across some peaty area to get a WHITE-BELLIED CINCLODES and WHITE-FRONTED GROUND-TYRANT.
The former is uber rare, the latter dead common.

That’s the same amount of newbies as my whole trip to the Azores a few months ago, and in 100 metres, but admittedly with an altitudinal exhaustion of the 4800m we were at. Gunnar springs from tuft to tuft of the peaty bog. He does marathons in his spare time. I wheeze after him.
We arrive to the Hacienda at night. Reminiscent of a French farmhouse with barns, side rooms and dusty old tractors, I turn down the offer of a coffee from their own plantation and crash in a room still bedecked with a calendar from 2005. Sleep is quick with thoughts of all the UK birders who did not get out and are at home watching graph-deaths on TV whilst being fined 200 quid for trying to fly to the Canaries. Ridiculous.

DAY 2 – Owl quandary
We are up and attem at 4 a.m. Hacienda has a home-boy birder who has a spot for the rare owl. We bounce through the bad track to get into position.
Juan and Pete, whom we have met bleary-eyed earlier and have been birding before I came are first on the reply. And first on the bird. It’s so close Gunnar has to move back a bit to get it in focus. CLOUD-FOREST SCREECH OWL. Touching distance. Gunnar fills a memory card and we hear another call.

OCELLATED POORWILL comes out to playback. Wowzers, this is one of those birds I thought I would never see, ever. And there it is, on a horizontal log, all spotty and very small. That might actually complete my “ocellated” needs. Tapaculo, crake…anything else? Wait for the Big Book back home for that one.

Back to the van for my first of the “Kolibri Expeditions Famous Field Breakfasts” “KEFFB – Copyrite Gunnar” and Gunnar goes through his owl photos, whilst poor Fat Tony has to replace a flat tyre.
Turns out the Cloud-forest could be a Rufescent from the photos. But on review, it seems the Bolivian version is all spotted up the neck, but the Peruvian is not. It’s a cloud-forest but jeez, if it goes on like this we will need more DNA testing than an airport Covid lab has – to get the results we need.

Because of earlier birding relationships, Pete goes with the Juanista, I am with Gunnar.
It works thanks to Pete’s empathy. They get and call me in for BROWN TINAMOU and CREAMY-BELLIED ANTWREN.

Caerulean-capped Manakin

CAERULEAN-CAPPED MANAKIN soon follows but despite several fly-bys I cannot get onto the new sicklebill hummer for me. Blame the jet-lag and Covid, I say.

Check-out from the Hacienda, and off to Satipo via a couple of roadside crakes* and seed-finches that Pete needs.
*[Birding Rule # 34 – if you have seen a rallid before – you will always get it easily the next time. The trick is to look where you think it is not, it will appear like an old girlfriend at your next first date]

We arrive at Peru’s new Mindo to find the rooms we have booked are occupied by sewage workers. A 2 hour drive back and promises of accommodation for the next day lead us to a hotel in the town of Satipo.

DAY 3 – El Gordo
This day was the biggest hitter for me on the whole trip.
A 4 am roll out from Satipo got us to Calabaza at 6am, with the new shocks installed by Tony and an overnight welder in place.
Bags dropped at the new accommodation and off round the corner for a Bay Antpitta. Except it wasn’t.
Even I could tell this was different from the book. 1 note short on the call. A huge bare blue eye-ring. Not a Bay Antpitta. A new species. It was first noticed by an Israeli photographer getting all the shots of the world’s antpittas for a coffee-table book. He mentioned it to Gunnar and said “keep it for me”, but since then has never returned.

It’s new. I shall call it a “Calabaza Antpitta” but as we all know- avian taxonomy moves slower than evolution itself, so it will stay Bay for years to come.

Up the hill and round the corner are EYE-RINGED THISTLETAIL and FIERY- THROATED METALTAIL, soon followed by one of those Rufous splits, the “Junin Antpitta”. I am a bit lost with all this, especially as the “obscura” has gone 3 ways depending on which Andean valley you are in.
“Whatever” as they say in South London.

From this leafy area, we go uphill for an hour to a rocky Polyepsis zone where G- man has seen rare cotingas in the past. A Slaty Brush-finch of the Tackanowskis variety shows. This should be a good species as all Slaties north and south were split – but apparently due to lack of sample size – this one wasn’t. Gunnar had actually contacted the scientists directly with his queries – I admire his persistence here. Amethyst-throated Sunangel and Brown-backed Chat-Tyrant are the appetiser for a LINE-FRONTED CANASTERO and a couple of CREAMY- CRESTED SPINETAILS.
Gunnar shouts – he is way over some huge boulders and has flushed an Andean Snipe – he sees where it landed and we volunteer him to try to flush it again, whilst we stand perched on “A Boulder with a View”.
Success – it comes right past us.
Higher up the mountain now to an area of charming Andean villages, llamas and trilby-hatted women. Pete gets on a showy STRIPE-HEADED ANTPITTA and we walk an area of reedy grassland to flush a PUNA SNIPE.

A field lunch of Tuna Bolognese is interrupted by shouts of “Pisctaco!” from all the local kids as they go by. Now I have been called a lot of things by locals when travelling – you know the usual insults – Farang, Mazungo – but this one is a whole new insult.
Gunnar tells the tale. Steeped in history as far back as the Conquistadors, but re- embellished by the Shining Path – poorly educated Peruvians genuinely believe that the White Man has come to steal “Human Oil” from them and especially their children. A recent report in the Peruvian version of the National Enquirer stated that we steal this Oil for eternal beauty and even to power the Space Shuttle.

How ridiculous! How can they be that brain-washed? Next, they will think there are dinosaurs living in their Andean lakes. But the insults keep coming, so we move back down the mountain where the increased oxygen feeds the brain better.
God-help the Covid vaccinators when they arrive with syringes and needles in this part of the world.
Apaya village is half an hour above Calabaza and has a slightly different species spectrum – JUNIN TAPACULO [it used to be Large-footed], the Weskeii version of MARACAPATA SPINETAIL and Gunnar’s new wren – the “Mantaro Wren” – still waiting for a biologist to make themselves famous by identifying it properly.
We rolled back to Calabaza with double-figure newbies and the nice surprise of fairly decent accommodation.

DAY 4 – Into the Valley
Up and over from Calabaza to Pucacocha to hunt down an ultra-rare Brush- finch. We don’t get so much as a peep from where it normally is, so stake out a good view point whilst breakfast is prepared. Gunnar has wandered off to check out some new ssp of an Azara’s Spinetail. And just as the omelettes are served, a young girl comes down from a track and says in Spanish that “the bald man wants us to come quickly up the track to see a bird”.
Eggs abandoned and we rush up the steep track. Well – we rush for about 50 metres as the track gets steeper – the air thinner and the sum total of our fitness is less than that of a small goat. We find Gunnar 500 metres up the track – the Brush-finches have flown. As we walk back to our now cold breakfast Gunnar remarks that he had walked a bloody long way.
Pucacocha comes after a terrifying hour of Andean hill driving – just don’t look down. The new ssp of Koepke’s Screech-owl is in its usual spot. And the sp nov – MANTARO THORNBIRD is responsive in a wooded gully. A Crested Becard also shows.

Back up the way we came but we need to stop to refill water from a waterfall as the van’s radiator now has a leak. Whilst waiting for the boys to fill the huge drum we have – Gunnar finds a good bit of brush-finch habitat.
It’s a football pitch actually but he diligently walks the perimeter and actually gets one – BLACK-SPECTACLED BRUSH-FINCH. Way to go G-man – his patience and persistence have paid off.
All is forgiven for the morning’s idiocy – we feast on newly harvested Human Oil.

A surprise on arrival back in Calabaza – there seems to be a shop in my room. Here’s why:

DAY 5 – Oxapampa – Eine kleine Deutschland
A poor night’s sleep in the shop-room but not as bad as what waited for me in the toilet facilities. I won’t say what here – but the image is now cortically- burned and will take a lot to remove it.

We head back to the rocky area as it should be the best bet for what we missed 2 days before – and in seconds – JALCA TAPACULO – the rock-dwelling, used to be a Milpo tapper, comes out really well. We breakfast lower down the mountain and get quickly on to an OXAPAMPA ANTPITTA – this used to be a Chestnut Antpitta – so confusing – especially at altitude.

A couple of mixed flocks come through including Hemispingi of varieties not seen in the book. The black-capped should be a white-browed, the Superciliared is completely gray – “Split ‘em – that’s what I say” has become Gunnar’s comedy saying.

OLIVACEOUS SISKIN is our goodbye bird from this fascinating area. The new Mindo? Maybe one day, it has the birds at least – maybe not the loos.

A short drive [ 3 hours here] gets us to Oxapampa. A town created 200 years ago by German emigres is built completely in that wooden Tyrolean architecture. Our hotel is already done up for Christmas and is a magnet for any Deutschophilic Peruvian. The Germanness goes right to the very core here – everything works and is clean. Just a pity we only have one night.

Peru are playing Argentina tonight in a World Cup qualifier – we get a table by the TV in a Chinese restaurant – the boys are gearing up for some footy history – but Messi shuts them up in minutes. Peru – bottom equal with Venezuela in the table. It looks like Qatar Airlines can take Lima off its manifest in 2022.

DAY 6 – Madam Sho’llet
Bosque Sho’llet is a legendary bird spot in this part of Peru. Named after a beautiful Quechua princess who spurned all the attentions of admirers – including one that saved her from a snakebite death. He was killed later during a tribal incursion and after his death she cried forever realising she loved him. Her tears created a lake nearby that feeds the forests with its outflow. These woods are racked with fruiteaters, sicklebills, rare manakins and parrots. But today her tears prove too much and blow us out completely.

We did cop a RUFOUS-BELLIED NIGHTHAWK before the floods but fell back to Plan B and a return to the Hacienda Armorique. Gunnar had called the owner and basically it wasn’t raining there. Sho’llet’s lacrimal influence only goes so far in these mountains.

There’s not a lot of light by the time we get there – but enough to see ROUND- TAILED MANAKIN and a Rufous-capped Nunlet. We hear a Masked Fruiteater but can’t see it. A koenigium White-browed Antbird is a poor substitute.

Round-tailed Manakin

and Greedy Aracari

DAY 7 – Warm forest to bitterly cold mountain lakes
Needing no owls or nightjars – we have a lie in until 4 am. Then up from the Hacienda to pick up misses from a few days ago.
I fail to see the sicklebill yet again – but am the only one to see the TATUAPA TINAMOU cross the road. The birding was good – but nothing else new to me. Black-streaked Puffbird, Pale-Eyed Thrush, and greedy Chestnut-eared Aracari eating eggs were the pick of the bunch – before the longish drive to Lago Junin.
We arrive in time to bird the edges of the lake and pull out DARK-WINGED MINER and a full-on, iridescent in the sunlight – BLACK-BREASTED HILLSTAR.
We tried for the rail here but had not got torches or anything warm as the temperature was plummeting.
At least there is a nice warm hotel to go to. Dinner is delayed as Gunnar has locked himself in his room.
Hotel Junin must have inspired Disney’s “Frozen”. I have never been so cold anywhere in South America before. Fortunately, there’s a delivery of hot water bottles. I spend the night wrapped around mine like a mother with a newborn.

DAY 8 – Lago Junin

Andean Avocet

This is one of the 3 major spots on a Central Peru tour [ Bosque Unchog and St Eulalia being the other 2].
It did not disappoint. Last night’s reed beds finally served up its JUNIN RAIL and we drove to the “dock” to meet Cesar. “Senor Grebe” as he is better known here. It’s still brass monkeys though and I am in a new record of 6 layers of thermal clothing for the boatride. We missed it yesterday and had given up hope but ANDEAN AVOCETS were present soon after we set off. A total joy, and the last of the avocets for me, but the greater prize awaits. And in these situations, we see Silvery Grebe after grebe until Senor Grebe sees a courting couple – JUNIN GREBE. A special bird.

Courting Junin Grebes

It’s goodbye to Pete after this – he and Juan are off to Lima via Line Taxis – I get the rear of the van to myself now.
We are heading to a city called Huanuco as our base for the Unchog. Gunnar pulls in a RUFOUS-BACKED INCA-FINCH at a new spot on the way there.

DAY 9 – Trials and trails of Unchog
What you never seem to read about the Unchog from all the other reports is just how tough the walk back is.
The first clue is the walk down. And down, and down. But the usual birdy distractions keep your mind off it. Getting on to the flocks is the key here – they are lead by Citrine Warblers and contain all the smaller targets. THREE-STRIPED HEMISPINGUS and a few PARDUSCOs set us up, then at the bottom of the near vertical path we hear a cotinga. I luckily get on to it and G-meister scopes it – BAY-VENTED COTINGA.
The main target is playing hard to get so we split up for a bit to double the chances – no luck but OCHRACEOUS-BREASTED FLYCATCHER and a rubbish view of a GRAVE’S ANTPITTA keep the day ticking over. However no luck with 2 of the Big 3 here – so we will have to come back tomorrow. This is decided before the Hell-walk back up, so I can’t back out. A TSCHUDI’S TAPACULO and a NEBLINA TAPACULO can be heard above the sound of my breathless panting. We get them both.
Back at the van eventually – we drive to a nearby spot and get the BROWN- FLANKED TANAGER. A good day, but not good enough. Gotta do it all again tomorrow.

Smile now – you won’t be later

DAY 10 – Take Two
Elections are coming to Peru fairly soon. There were riots in Lima soon after my arrival to oust yet another President – but then there were some more riots to reinstate him. It seems there are more houses painted on the route to Unchog with political slogans than anywhere else. The reason is that due to a particularly high level of illiteracy in certain areas, the people vote by recognising a logo rather than reading a manifesto. But beware all those who enter Peruvian Politics. In the last 30 years – EVERY elected President is now either in prison, under house arrest, has committed suicide, or escaped to other countries to avoid facing charges. An incredible record and it makes our Western politics look vanilla by comparison.

We get the GOLDEN-BACKED MOUNTAIN-TANGER mainly through luck – and more luck. No Rufous-browed Hemispingus though. It will only be seen if I come back and do that bloody trail again. Fat chance!

DAY 11 – A long travel day
Another Bosque – another Antpitta. O’NEILL’S ANTPITTA, and yes another carve-out from the obscura Rufous department. Oddly named after the ex-Aston Villa and Ireland football manager, Martin O’Neill. This opens up a whole world of Footballers with Bird Names or vice versa, at your local Pub Quiz.
Clarke’s Weaver anyone – surely named after Alan “Sniffer” Clarke – Leeds and England 70’s star striker.
We get to our town near the Huascaran National Park late – but not so late that there’s not a Chifa open. I honestly think I have eaten more Chinese food in Peru, than any trip to China. At least it’s not that disgusting “cuy” – it seems to have been banned.

DAY 12 – Climb every Mountain
The trick here is to drive over the highest mountain pass, to get to the East face and some high trees just as the sun hits them – that’s when the cotinga should pop up and perch. We were in time and on time. But the cotinga wasn’t. There are other spots in St Eulalia in a few days. A real shame as I have never missed a cotinga – only the fruiteaters.
Gunnar tapes in an ANCASH TAPACULO that comes right to our feet, and I get the RUFOUS-EARED BRUSH-FINCH and D’ORBIGNY’S CHAT-TYRANT [Huddersfield FC 1953-56] Enough footy birds for now -Ed

But it is time to move back over the pass and down the mountain for other species. We find a nice patch and explore whilst Tony knocks up some more Italian based fine dining.

I see it first – and thanks to honing my bird skills these last 12 days, recognise the shape, and flight. It’s our cotinga. Gunnar fumbles through the calls and eventually plays the right one. And it comes in to 10 feet away. WHITE-CHEEKED COTINGA. Awesome, I keep my 100% record.

A short walk later down a so-called 1km trail – which was nearer 4 km and rocky and wet and dangerous produces PLAIN-TAILED WARBLING-FINCH and a letter of complaint to the Parks Authority for clear misrepresentation. I await my day in a Lima court.
Our final spot is for the well-known Sp Nov Canastero near a town called Pueblo Libre in Ancash. But there’s a sad tale here – its habitat has been totally decimated. Just a tiny patch left. The offender? Peruvian Blueberries – they are big and juicy and the worlds’ need is going to kill this poor bird before it even has a name. Right now it’s a pale-tailed, but that has been sucked into creamy- breasted, but it’s a good species. It just won’t be around for too much longer to be correctly taxonomised.

Canastero Killers

DAY 13 – Closing out the Comets
Today is our last day on the Eastern slope of the Andes. We are heading down the west side and to the coast. Tonight we shall stay by the ocean. So – last chance for all the altitudinal birds. The first site is a special Gunnar spot he explored a while ago, a right turn off the road to Patavilca, signposted Aisha.
Tony slams on the brakes as he has seen something – but just a mix of Mourning and Ash-breasted Sierra-finches – however on the other side of the road there’s a busy looking hummer in a stand of bushes. Glory be! It turns out to be the BRONZE-TAILED COMET – my last one needed. There are not that many of them in reality so celebrations are muted. I will go crazy if we get the other hummer here.

A breakfast view of the Eastern Andes

Another canastero calls and it comes up to tape – STREAK-BACKED CANASTERO – a good find as it also means I will never have to go up Papallacta Pass in Ecuador ever again, as it is a good spot for them too. 2 newbies before breakfast – and late in the tour. It should be a good day.

It is – a STREAKED TIT-SPINETAIL soon follows, but sadly all the flowers that the hummer likes are dry and wilting. Time is running short as we are descending now – but a last Hail Mary by a thicket of the correct plant – but 2 months too late does get us GREEN-HEADED HILLSTAR.
The last of this genus too for me [and that includes the new one in Ecuador]. The setting is right [lightly gravelled flat road], the scene is right [awesome backdrop]. Cue New Bird Celebratory Dance.

We push on to Conoconcha, lower down the West side – Tony has remembered the spot where Pete and Juan got it before I came – and right on cue – CORDILLERAN CANASTERO. All cocky-tailed and low rock perching. Perfecto. That is a fair number of canasteros so far – I hadn’t realised how many there are out there.

The rest of the drop to sea level brings only a poor view of a RUSSET-BELLIED SPINETAIL and Collared Warbling-Finch before we see the sea at Paraiso Lagoon and as many as 2000 flamingos and all the ducks a man could want. About 50 Great Grebes are offshore, one trying to eat an eel as long as its own neck. Sadly the Peruvian Terns are not in town.

We eat a fish-themed beachside lunch looking a bit odd as we are in full birding rig – whilst the locals are in bikinis that struggle to keep their excess flesh under wraps.
Time to head down the coast to a little port town for the night – but thanks to Covid, all the decent restaurants are shut – except the reliable Chifas. Special Fried Rice once again – it’s lucky I love it.

DAY 14 – Dry Lomas – the home of Pikachu
Lomas de Lanchay is a well known bird spot. It’s a desert but fed by the moisture from the fog that rolls off the Pacific. Unique habitat that is slowly being taken over by humungous chicken-farm warehouses. Gunnar had scoped the back-entrance last night as there had been some construction in the area. We had found the way in for today. You work this reserve by going up the back of it first for a couple of birds – then the main entrance later for some easier species and the chance of toilets and the café. But…despite yesterday’s check out – we had failed to see a huge culvert with running water that prevented any vehicle from accessing the rear. I looked at Gunnar – “So what do we do?” I asked. “We have to walk – about 4 k. Then we have to walk up the sides of the valley.” Bummer – it just used to be a 15-minute drive.

The topography reminded me of the Sinai in Egypt. There were cactuses everywhere and that beautiful desert silence, so rarely found now. It took us 4 hours in the end – but we got OASIS HUMMINGBIRD, CACTUS CANASTERO, and the GRAY MINER. But there was an odd mammal there too. A Viscacha. Pointy ears, rabbit-like and a Z-shaped fluffy tail. I am not too old to not see the resemblance. The web backed it up later. A Pikachu in shape – but not in colour. At least my kids will like the story.
Cactus Man cometh

We would be a bit late for the front end now. Nothing showed, we missed the other miner – Thick-billed. Park entry, bizarrely, was accompanied by an actual blue ink thumbprint. A first for me at a national park – a second in life after an arrest in Kensington as a student. With my dabs on file here in Peru, that also ends any criminal enterprise I could have thought up between now and departure.

We lunched at Gunnar’s special place – a little seafood house by a gas station. The best ceviche a birder could ever eat.

Proper Ceviche – odd shaped corn though.
I was put up for the next 3 nights in the coolest part of Lima – Barranco – at a boutique hotel run by charming Italo-Peruvians with a penchant for antique furniture. This would be the springboard for 2 days up the St Eulalia Canyon.

DAY 15 – A slow crawl
It was a 3.30 a.m departure. The night porter woke with a scream when I shook him to open the barred front gate. The team was on time – and so to the Central Highway again going east – I had come full circle.
All was good for half the journey until we hit a traffic wall moving at 3 kph. This was going to put us hours behind schedule. We found the cause after 2 hours of infuriating slowness. They were moving two 22 wheeled trucks with what looked like a space shuttle on each one. They had been trundling up this darn road all morning and were the complete cause of the 10 kilometre tail back. It was almost lunchtime by the time we got to the Marcapomacocha Road and the DSP spot.

DSPs here – but for how long?
There’s not much of the bog left now where these birds inhabit – swathes of peat have been cut out and stolen for the bloody blueberry farms. Still, we looked and Gunnar’s good eyes got me onto one of those legendary birds we all have to see – DIADEMED SANDPIPER-PLOVER. The pair had been here for many years – and when the peat theft continues – it will have to be Chile for this species.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAjzUKpC3xk

A long loop of the highland road gets us another canastero – JUNIN CANASTERO easily to playback and a PLAIN-BREASTED EARTCHCREEPER amongst the ruins of an Andean farmhouse. After a field lunch of “sardinas con salsa tomate y pan” – we move to the final finch spot – but get a BLACK METALTAIL thanks to Tony’s 20/20 vision. Finchy proves a bit tricky but eventually, it shows with a group of Sierra-finches – GREAT-INCA FINCH. It was quite small actually – I thought it would be bigger with that name.
We headed back to Lima, but most birders stay up high to sort their acclimatization. By the way – if you need acetazolamide – it’s over the counter in all pharmacies in this area.

A typical Peruvian pharmacy – serving most birders needs

DAY 16 – The Last Day
Another 3.30 am’er and the night porter is up and ready this time. The run up to St Eulalia is much faster this morning – Peru’s space programme must have finished set-up.
We are at the spot for the last few specials and RUSTY-BELLIED BRUSH-FINCH is quite common. There’s one more canastero and it proved to be a toughie – it flew in to call but remained hidden for the next few hours – but my view of its fly-in was good enough – CANYON CANASTERO – there can’t be any more left of this species – surely.
A quick PIED-CRESTED TIT-TYRANT was the finale here so back to Lima to try a spot south for a Raimondi’s and a Thick-billed Miner.
It never happened – the politicians had decided tomorrow was a no-drive day “because of Covid”* – so everyone with a car was “panic-driving” today. The roads south were jammed – we gave up and hit some local ssp’s.
*2020’s most said 3 words

Gunnar offered an early morning city-search for a Tschudi’s nighjar at 4 am but all we saw was a guy trying to steal a car.
I flew back later that morning to Quito and had checked in for the flight to Sweden when KLM cancelled my whole return journey.
Thanks to Iberia I am at home now.
A great trip – a lot of new birds and way better than sitting in London Lockdown.
Thanks to Gunnar and the team – I shall be back with Kolibri Expeditions in January for “More Birds”!
Jules Eden, London. Dec 2020

Raison d’etre

The author awaits the flight to Lima

Every birding trip canceled between mid-March to September, and perhaps beyond.

If this COVID 19 pandemic has taught me one thing it is to not take anything for granted. This is certainly a time when it is necessary to be proactive. My situation is such that I need to stay very focused in order to provide streams of income. Not only for myself and my family, but also make a plan on how we can get the business going again, and how to pay the staff who are out of work.
In this blog post, I ‘ll go through some ways I have come up with to create small streams of income. Some perhaps only give a couple of dollars, others potentially more. Maybe these tips could also be ideas other birding guides and bird tour operators can take advantage of.

Vlogging on Facebook.

If you are on Facebook and you follow me you could hardly have escaped that I am vlogging – video blogging – almost daily sometimes two times per day. I think that even if there are no tours that run right now, and that sales will not happen on Facebook, it is important to keep potential clients in the loop. Additionally, I can’t do any paid marketing content at the moment since my credit card details were compromised and my credit card has been blocked for international and web use.

Live Video is the format that gives the best organic return with the Facebook algorithms. When I start broadcasting there will be a little popup saying so on your screen if you are connected and therefore one reaches more people than just posting a video.

I try to fill the broadcast with interesting stuff coming my way and update the prognosis when Peru will open. If I don’t have anything to say, I’d rather not broadcast.

Can this give any money? Nah, not really, but occasionally I will mention books I read, videos I watch, the gadgets I use. I have collected all these on an Amazon Shop page, and if you or anyone would purchase the products I mention through this page, I get a very, very small (3-6%) commission.  So do check out my Amazon page and the vlogs where I talk about recommended products. I assure you that I am only mentioning products I use myself and that I like.

I have organized the Facebook vlogs chronologically on a YouTube and InstagramTV playlist, so you can follow these there too.

Blogging

I haven’t blogged as much as I could have. I will try to do more in the coming weeks. For this blog and others, I have activated Google Ads. I know this is a bit obtrusive, but when you click on any of these ads in generates a small income for me. Hopefully, Google’s algorithm has it figured out so the ads are relevant to you.
I can also out Amazon affiliate links to any product that I mention. Again, it is not a big stream of income, but it also does keep people in the loop of what we are doing here in Peru.

The blogs where I mostly write are these:

• Kolibri Expeditions blog. This blog and mostly about birding.
• GunnarEngblom.com. This is where I blog about books I read, films and series, my marathon training, life hacks, etc
• BirdingBlogs. This used to be a multi-author blog, but activity has ceased. I occasionally post things here about birding if I don’t want it to have the Kolibri Expeditions brand all over it.
• Birding 101. This is a blog/book project I started many years ago to incentivize new birders in the digital age. The blog has been dormant, but I plan to reactivate it.

I am also commencing a new blog on 7WondersBirding. There shall be two themes. One will be about the birding opportunities at the world heritage sites. The other about the 1000 best birds in the world which would be a reasonable lifetime birding bucket list. I hope to deliver one bird per day here, starting tomorrow.

Webinars

I did a series of live webinars on Facebook early on during the COVID crises, about the future of birding, and also explaining the ideas I have for new types of birding tours. You can check out the first four webinars on YouTube. I intend to do another three webinars, but looking to increase my internet speed as well as looking for a platform to stream to Facebook.

Guran Guran music and videos.

As many of you know, I have a band called Guran Guran, and I did a song called Birdparty and Feels like some Summer in English, plus a number of songs in Swedish.

Live videos, Blogs, Webinars, and Rock’n’Roll will give very little income directly, but if one provides valuable content, one can add links to platforms where the fans can support a content creator with donations.
The classic way it via Paypal. If you like my content, you click the link and make a one-time donation. The other way is via the Patreon platform where you can make a recurring monthly donation to support the creative process. Click on either link if you want to support in any way.

Save up for a birding trip in the future. 

The Patreon page is set up so that you can, if you wish, make a monthly deposit of $100 and save up for a birding trip in the future, and at the same time help Kolibri Expeditions with cash flow. You don’t have to decide now which trip you want to take, only that you are saving up for a trip in 1-3 years. There are of course plenty of trips to choose from the Kolibri Expeditions’s and 7 Wonders Birding’s Websites, that will be up and running and taking into account the regulations of social distancing in each place.

Book a trip now. Postpone if you need to.

This is the absolute best way to help us. You sign up for and pay a deposit for a tentative trip within the next year. If you can’t make the trip or the trip does not run for whatever reason, your deposit is valid for three years, and can either be changed to another trip or the same trip at a different date.
The deposits keep us afloat and the confirming dates give incentives to others to book the same dates.

It is likely that Peru will open its borders by Oct 1. It has been announced that there shall be no quarantine for visitors arriving, but there are obviously regulations at the airports and by the airlines that will have to be fulfilled before arriving. There may also be a quarantine imposed by your own country once returning.

if you are in a risk group it makes a lot of sense to postpone until there is a vaccine, but I know there are also many who want to start traveling when it is regarded as safe.  Having this flexibility of choosing dates and destinations, hopefully, will get you to book a birding trip with us.

Supplying birding services for new birders in Lima. 

Local Birding in the parks pre-COVID19 – Photo: Mariano Mavila

This has been my lifeline for the last couple of weeks. Something, which perhaps can grow. In mid-June, when we got a bit more freedom to do recreation for an hour within the radius of 3km from home, I set up a Birding Facebook group in Spanish for the neighboring Lima districts of Miraflores, San Isidro, Barranco, San Borja, Surco and Surquillo, and started offering free guiding for one hour in nearby parks where people lived. This way, the initial obstacles of getting out of the comfort zone to pursue a new hobby were eliminated. No cost. Not far away. Not time-consuming.

Now a small group has formed of newbie birders, that have joined me for longer weekend outings. It does not give a big income, but perhaps it can grow. The group has been shared with other Facebook groups in these districts, to Expat groups, and to the Aves de Lima Facebook group.

We are planning longer trips for Peruvians outside of Lima for the national holiday week (Fiestas Patrias July 28-29) coming up in two weeks, which would also involve our guides Juan Julca in Chiclayo and Alex Durand in Cusco. Hopefully, we can get groups together for some income, but it is far from certain. Even though the domestic flights are available from July 15, there are still few lodges open and roads are closed by local communities in fear of getting contaminated.

Our conservation project on the Satipo road.

We had hoped that we would be able to commence the Satipo road project with a trip to the area during the Fiestas Patrias week, but Junin Department is still under total lockdown. We would commence in August instead.
Read more about the project here.
You can still donate to this project using this Paypal button.

This project both give us work, as well as helping the community for a sustainable eco-tourism project.

I hope this list of streams of income has motivated you to click on the links and to help in any way you can, and if you are a bird guide or birdwatching tour operator has perhaps given some ideas on how to adapt to the situation.
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Gunnar Engblom is a Swedish birder who lives in Peru since 1998, where he operates birdwatching and nature tours for Kolibri Expeditions. In October 2018 Gunnar lead a trip in Peru recording 1006 species in a Big Month. Gunnar is also a dedicated 3:04 marathon runner, still hoping for a sub 3h marathon in spite of turning 60 in 2020, perhaps in Berlin September, 2021.

In 2016, Gunnar re-launched his rock’n’roll singer career with his band Guran Guran, and in 2019 they released a new video – Feels Like Some Summer – also available on Spotify and other digital outlets.

What is wrong with most birding tours?

Birding tours for the 99%.

What are the main problems with many birding tours today?

There are some fixed issues that birding tour companies face, especially when it comes to the US market.

• Americans don’t like to travel as much as i.e Europeans. Or rather, they first travel domestically. There is a sense, or belief, that the rest of the world is a dangerous place.
• No passport. If they don’t have any desire to travel abroad they don’t have any incentive to get a passport.
• It is expensive. A very real thing. Birding tours, in general, are more expensive compared to traditional tourism because of personalized service and small group sizes.
• DIY with Local operators and Local guides. Many birders have of course found that they can connect with local guides and local operators through the internet, without having a middle man getting a cut. 

1. Traditional birding tours are too long.

• Not enough holiday. People in the US, unless they are retired don’t have much holiday in the first place.

• Too busy. This day and age is fast-paced and people have a short attention span and a hard time focusing. (I.e are you just skimming through this post or reading it in detail?).

  Many people need to be connected almost all the time – both for their work and privately. They can’t take a holiday and disconnect for more than a week at the time, even if they get four-five weeks of holiday per year. If they go longer, they will either have that pile of work when they get back, or someone else sits at their desk. Regardless, during the whole trip, they will probably need internet connectivity almost daily.

• Too Expensive. The price for long trips become too expensive, as they are all-inclusive and stay at expensive lodges and employing private guides.

Solution:

• • Make shorter trips that can be fitted between two weekends so the birder only have to take five days off from work.
  • Always chose hotels with a good internet connection if possible
  • Shorter trips cost less. Time is money in more than one way.
  • Longer trips can be made less expensive by tiered pricing. I will come back to this in a forthcoming webinar.

2. Traditional birding tours are too hardcore

This is the other reason why the 99% don’t take birding tours. Apart from being too long, they are also too tough.

Some bird tour companies have offered activities the non-birding spouses can do while the birder is out birding. That may be fine for some couples, but I imagine, that it is not a very satisfying holiday to have together, as the couples really are not together except during transports and the meals.

Here are the main things that make these tours too intense.

• Every single endemic needs to be seen.
  The long tours aim to see every single special bird on the itinerary and sometimes make detours for a local endemic which looks almost exactly the same as another species. The spectacular birds often do not get enough room, time, and focus.
• Focus is on seeing, rather than getting a photo.
• Birding 24/7. Nothing but birds. Even birds for dinner, as the bird list needs to be done and after that it is owling. There is no time to just be social. There is rarely time for a good restaurant or seeing a world heritage site.
• Hardcore birders can be intimidating.
  Imagine you being a birder who has just started and being in a group that aims to see every single species on the tour. They may know a lot, but you feel ignorant in their company. You shall have to endure two to three weeks with them.

Solution – Bucket list birding.

Rather, with short tours, the birding can be experienced together during a short burst. Most people even non-birding spouses can handle intensive birding if it is just a few days, but not for two-three weeks.
Additionally, the solution that we practice with the 7 Wonders Birding trips is to fill our 5-day tours jam-packed with experiences that define the destination, and that is not to try to see every single bird, but rather the best and most spectacular birds, as well as other non-birding highlights of the area you visit. These 5-day trips can be intense if you want to maximize the time in the field, or you can skip pre-breakfast birding, have a midday siesta or skip the owling at night if you want to take it easier. I’ll give specify the solutions we have put in place and examples from the 7WB catalog below.

• Focus on the spectacular birds. The ones that give a good photo. On a short tour, you will not be able to see all the endemics anyway.  Compile a bucket list of the top 5-10 birds of a region, focus on them to build your trip around. All else you see is icing on the cake.

  Or like my friend Trevor Hardaker, #1 lister of South Africa with a similar approach on his travel abroad, says: “Everything else is bycatch.” So even the world’s most prominent birders have a bucket list and priorities.

  It is not about seeing every little brown job that you will not remember in a year, but about quality. For example, our tour to Japan for five days in the winter focuses on seeing and photographing the majestic Steller’s Eagle, Red-crowned Crane, Blakiston’s Fish-Owl, and Snow monkeys. Similarly, there is a 5-day tour to Guatemala featuring Horned Guan and Pink-headed Warbler.

• World Heritage sites. There is more in life than just birds. Include World Heritage sites and make them central to the itinerary. All The New 7 Wonders are covered on the 7WB webpage, as well as Tikal on the Guatemala trip, Angkor Wat in Cambodia, and Alhambra on the Southern Spain tour.
• Give many photo opportunities. Include the best places for bird photography even if the tour is traditional birding trying to see many species. This gives the option to take it easier while the more hardcore birders look for more endemics for the list. The Kolibri Expeditions 5 day tours to Manu road and North Peru are such tours.
• More Social. Nightly checklist meetings are so “last century”. You don’t need to keep a daily log, when the leader simply shares the daily eBird lists each day and everyone’s photos after the trip. Many of the new birders don’t keep a list of what they see anyway. So the evenings are for relaxation and socializing (apart from the owling, of course).
• Iconic Mammals. Make iconic mammals central to the birding itinerary. This strategy works extremely well for Tiger in India, Platypus, Koala, Kangaroo, and Tasmanian Devil in Australia, Orangutan, and Proboscis Monkey in Borneo, Iberian Lynx in Spain, Jaguar in the Pantanal in Brazil; and Chimps and Gorilla (and Shoebill) in Uganda.
• Threatened species. It is always good to include threatened species in the regular itineraries if they are accessible. For instance, the 7 Wonders Birding to China include Crested Ibis and the main trip in Cambodia includes Giant Ibis, White-shouldered Ibis, and White-winged Duck.
• Extensions. If some Critically Endangered and Endangered birds or endemics can’t be fitted into the core itinerary, offer extensions for traditional birders who have more time and want longer lists with specialties.  For example, the Japan trip offers an extension to Okinawa for Okinawa Rail and other birds.  One can also offer short extensions featuring endemic birds, which may include some more demanding birding or expeditions, such as the search for the remaining Cambodian Endemics hiking up Mt Aural Mountain in the Cardamom mountains.
• Focus on Bird Families. Many traditional birders who have realized they will not see all the birds in the world have started focusing on the Bird Families of the World instead. The new goal is to see or photograph at least one species from each family. There are 248 bird families so it is far more manageable. Oz Horine of the Bird families of the world webpage puts it nicely. “There are 10700 bird species in the world. Here is the abstract”. On his website, you can add your own list of bird families seen, and find out where you need to go for the ones you are missing.With 7 Wonders Birding, we are planning 5 to 7-day trips to clean up on unique bird families in New Zealand, Australia, Madagascar, New Guinea, Caribbean, New Caledonia, Patagonia, and Ghana. These will be introduced during 2021 and 2022.

Applying the same strategy in Peru

Previously in this blog, I wrote about the Birding Peru Anytime tours. They are three destinations – Manu road, North Peru and Machu Picchu,  that contain these same strategies and while they are particularly good for bird photography – especially hummingbirds, they are also extremely rich in general birdlife for a long lists of species and thus suitable for both experienced birders as well as for bird photographers or people new to birding.
One particular feature is that these tours can be run anytime. Ideally, when they get better known, and the pandemic is over, they will run with a departure every week, making it very easy to plan a trip whenever is it suitable for you.

The third webinar in the Birding Revolution series dealt with the background and ideas surrounding these tours. Check it out.

The video transmission, when I live-streamed this, was not great. I am considering pre-recording the webinars instead, for better images and voice from now on. Still, it should be interesting to you if you are thinking about Peru. The three 5-day tours really give the best Peru offers in very little time.

Let me know what you think about these ideas? Would a core birding tour of just 5 days to which you may, or may not add extensions, be an attractive strategy to you? Either comment in the comment section below or send me an email.
Which tour is next on your Bucket List? Which is your favorite destination?  Which of the three Peru itineraries is most attractive to you, if you would only choose one?
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Gunnar Engblom is a Swedish birder who lives in Peru since 1998, where he operates birdwatching and nature tours for Kolibri Expeditions. In October 2018 Gunnar lead a trip in Peru recording 1006 species in a Big Month. Gunnar is also a dedicated 3:04 marathon runner, still hoping for a sub 3h marathon in spite of turning 60 in 2020, perhaps in Berlin September, 2021.

In 2016, Gunnar re-launched his rock’n’roll singer career with his band Guran Guran, and in 2019 they released a new video – Feels Like Some Summer – also available on Spotify and other digital outlets.

Johnny feeds the birds in the winter, but is getting more and more obsessed as the year evolves and soon sees himself chasing birds all over the world.

The song from the Swedish band Guran Guran, lead by birder and bird tour operator Gunnar Engblom from Kolibri Expeditions, tells the hilarious story of a birder named Johnny. (It seems almost every other famous birder is named John, Jonathan or Jon). There is a big surprise in the end. If you saw the film The Big Year with Steve Martin, Jack Black, and Owen Wilson you will know what extremes birding can result in… (rent with Amazon Prime for $3.99 or buy the book which is a great read by Mark Obmascik).

Birdwatching is a fantastic hobby that brings you closer to nature. It gives you tranquility and peace of mind, and during these difficult times during the COVID 19 pandemic that is like balm to the soul. However, there is a certain risk that one can become obsessed with birding. The Life List becomes more important than social interaction with non-birders.

See for yourself in this video. Does it remind you of anyone you know?

Do you know any birdwatchers like this? Share it with them!

The video also shows some of the most sought after birds in the world. You can travel to them when this pandemic is over. They are birds you don’t have to be a birdwatcher to enjoy. And you don’t need to become obsessed.

7 Wonders Birding Tours makes short 5 day tours around the world to the best birds, the world heritage sites, and the most iconic mammals. The tours are suitable for complete newbies to birdwatching and bird photography, as well as more experienced birders who have little time.

Kolibri Expeditions has many birdwatching tours to PERU at different paces for different levels of birding skills. Even a tour where birdwatching, culture, history, and gourmet food are combined giving the very best Peru that has to offer in two weeks.

With A Little Help From Our Friends.

Thanks to all birding friends who helped with video clips and stills for the BirdParty video.  The video has now been released on YouTube (and Facebook), as well as an audio-version on all the digital platforms for listening, such as Spotify, Amazona, iTunes, Google Music Play, etc. Add it to your favorites and playlists. You can also download it for about 1US$.

Peru is now #10 in the world with the number of  COVID -19 cases. And seemingly the top is still not reached in spite of the quarantine since March 15. It means it will be many more months before any tours will run in Peru or elsewhere. If you liked the video, please share it with everyone you know and please consider downloading it, as it will give us a small contribution during these difficult times with zero income.

Another thing you can do is to make a Paypal donation to support both the continued birding services by Kolibri Expeditions and 7 Wonders Birding, as well as the creative process of Guran Guran.

In fact, any Paypal amount could be seen as a down payment for a future trip with us. 100% of the amount, I receive will be valid for three years as a deposit for any of our birding tours. You secure a birding tour of your choice and we secure a client. Win-Win!

Credits

Here is the full list of credits. Most people have given their written consent for the use, but in a few cases, I have not been able to get hold of the photographer/videographer. Still, it is fair use with very short snippets, and fully credited, so I hope there will not be future lawsuits against me for breaching copyright.

In order of appearance:

Birdcalls at intro and outro:

Images and Video.

So I finally got going with the webinar that I had planned for such a long time. I was a bit nervous about all the things that could go wrong, and it is is a bit slow to start with, but I feel that I soon got into it, and in the end I felt very engaged and this can probably be felt by the delivery.
I am honing my skills in front of the camera with daily live sessions on my Facebook, principally for making videos to my band’s YouTube Channel, but also short updates on what is going on here in Lima. Here is the full webinar that I have edited somewhat. Below follows the main points I raise. It is not a transcript, but a summary which is better for the overview.

Novel ideas for birdwatching tours

The birding revolution webinar summary.

• It is Easier.
• It is more about Esthetics
• It is more Independent

It is Easier

• Mentorship – either that of a birder taking me under his wing or a birding club.
• Field guide – to identify birds myself and to study up.
• Binoculars
• And a notebook. I had to look for the field marks and write down what I saw.

• Binoculars – you have a camera in your pocket on your phone – some even come with 10x optical magnification. If you have a point and shoot camera they come with a mega-zoom of up to 70x optical magnification to take close up shops of birds far away.
• You don’t need a field guide. There are apps that help you ID your photos such as Merlin, Birdseye, and iNaturalist.
• You don’t need a mentor or a birding club. You can simply post your photo in groups on Facebook and the world’s birding experts will happily give you pointers on how to identify the bird on your photo
• You don’t need a notebook, because you take photos and you may upload your sightings to eBird or other online databases.

The Birding Paradigm Shift

• Listing
• Twitching
• Systematics
• Conservation
• The art of field identification – looking at the details.

• The beauty of birds
• The art of taking a good picture
• Colors
• Fascination of a living thing.
• Spiritual – Zen-like Nature experience.

Independent Birders.

• Binoculars
• Field Guides
• Bird watching clubs – membership organizations
• Slide presentations and club meetings
• Bird watching tour companies

Making Birding Clubs Great Again.

Strategies for birding clubs to get more participation

• Local Facebook groups
  Be present in your area. Every birding club should have not only a birding page, but a birding group on Facebook. A lot of people are spending a lot of time on Social Media anyway, so rather than just having a website where you post news, you can have a Facebook group where people can interact. The smaller the geographical area you cover the less intimidating it will be to the new users.In the local group people will feel more comfortable posting questions and it will be easier to recruit people to join once they get to know you through the anonymity of social media. Through Facebook you can announce local events. Ask all the club members to invite friends to these events.
• Birding in the comfort zone
  Talking about events. Make local events that are easy to get to and where people are anyway. Get your members to become excursion leaders of birdwatching before work within 1-3 km (1/2 mile-2 miles) of their home. Maybe there is a local small park or maybe someone has a good feeder or garden. Then every member will put out flyers in public spaces announcing the excursion, as well as post it as a Facebook event ahead of time. You may also arrange lunchtime birding close to your workplaces and post at the workplace message boards as well as in coffee shops nearby. It is not the number of birds that you may see that is important, but that it is accessible for people to participate without taking them off their normal routines too much.
• Bird photography classes
  Make your field trips more about learning how to take bird pictures with the cameras that people already have. Think of what birds are possible to photograph with your phone in the vicinity. Bring a scope so people can take phone scoping shots. Teach the beginners about how they can take better pictures. Make more bird photography-related excursions and workshops during birding festivals that you organize.
• Bird Marathon
  One idea we came up with in Lima for a birding festival that you may want to copy is having a bird photo competition – a bird race!  Rather than having people doing a big day trying to see or photograph as many birds in a period of time, do a race where they have to photograph 42 of the most common specific birds in the shortest possible time. (A marathon is 42 km – 26 miles. They don’t have to run it, but photograph that many birds). The participants submit an SD card with only 42 shots on it – one of each species – or upload via wifi function on their cameras to their phones and then share a folder stored in the cloud with 42 birds. The photographer getting all the 42 birds in the least time wins the big prize. You need to know your area and your birds to photograph 42 species in the near area, so we also organized a half marathon where people were guided and shown some 30-35 species. Then the participants could submit a card with 21 species they have taken themselves. We had some prices that were raffled, so anyone that participated could win.
• Combos.
  Birding and culture. Birding and Running/walk. Get into people’s comfort zone. Think of any events where people will be anyway in their own comfort zone. It could be introducing birding for runners, bikers, dog walkers, cultural events, art shows etc.  There could be a synergistic effect by organizing a “run for birds” event with a local running club for instance.

The untapped market for birding tours.

Satipo road – Colibri Cloud Forest

One of the best areas of birding in Peru is along the old Satipo road connecting Satipo with Concepción. The area has been close to my heart for a long time. I started exploring this area in 1999 for the first time and made the first sound recordings from the area of newly described Junin Tapaculo (Scytalopus gentryi) and Jalca Tapaculo (Scytalopus frankeae).

In spite that the Satipo road is often referred to as the poor man’s Manu road when it comes to birding, very few birders and bird photographers have made the effort to visit the area. Manu road, near Cusco, is of course being the most species-rich stretch of road in the world cutting through a number of altitudinal ecosystems and hosting over 1000 species. Satipo road is very similar in species composition with Torrent Duck, Crested and Golden-headed Quetzal, Cock of the Rock, Solitary Eagle, Black-and-Chestnut Eagle, Andean Motmot, and a bunch of beautiful tanagers and hummingbirds. It also hosts a number of unique species such as Bay Antpitta, Marcapata Spinetail, Eye-ringed Thiseltail, Unstreaked Tit-Tyrant, and Fire-throated Metaltail. Nearby are Black-spectacled Brush-Finch and an undescribed Wren and an undescribed Thornbird.
Update July 23: Junin Antpitta (Grallaria obscura) has just been elevated to species. Best place to see it is on the Satipo road.

A decade of conservation projects.

Over the years I have made a number of campaigns in favor of the area. In 2008 I did a fundraiser to enable a trip to Mindo bringing 6 campesinos from Satipo road and Carpish area to Mindo in Ecuador for a week so they could see how a cloud forest village in Ecuador has become an eco-tourism Mekka in only some 10-15 years.

On Satipo road, my seed of a community project was passed over to the US-based NGO Rainforest Partnership. One of the participants of the Mindo trip became RP:s coordinator in the Satipo road area. A vast area was declared a reserve, community hostels were set up for eco-tourists.  A trend of habitat destruction was broken.

In 2009, I run my first marathon after a long hiatus, and turned it into a fundraiser for Rainforest Partnership and the Satipo road project (called Colibri Cloudforest by RP, as it would be weird among non-birders to donate to the conservation of a road. Sic!).

Three years ago I made an additional small fundraiser to improve the capacity of beds at the new community hostel at Calabaza-Apaya at 2300m on the Satipo road. Yet, the lodging is still VERY BASIC, and to the date, no one has taken the reigns to do the necessary work to make this lodge attractive enough to attract foreign visitors in larger numbers.

Colibri Cloudforest Lodge 2020

By powering up the existing resources, we hope birders and bird photographers shall follow suit. The key will be to start reporting from the area through social media with lots of photos of birds and wildlife, and for this, a full-time birder/caretaker is needed here.

Right now Peru has been locked down to fight the spread of the coronavirus, so it is a good time for us here at Kolibri Expeditions to put our focus on something else than birding tours for a while.

We want to improve the comfort and the resources at the community lodge of Calabaza-Apalla.

The new building needs room separations, a kitchen area, and improve its water supply to the shower, toilet, and kitchen.

Resources for bird photography will be set up with feeders for hummingbirds and tanagers, a hide for tinamous and wood-quails, and try to habituate Antpittas to come to food.

Our guide Juan Julca will be leading the fieldwork in the first months. It will also be open for volunteers to help out with the project, once foreign flights resume to Peru.

By securing a viable ecotourism project in the area it will give income to the community, and locals will be given work. Our project here will spread to other communities where there are other key species to see.

Fundraiser – Win-Win!

We need to raise about US$5000-$7000 to make everything top notch and keep the project running for two months, but a more detailed budget will be established once we have done an inventory. Regardless, we shall get started with much less than this as soon as possible.

The cool thing about this project is that you don’t have to donate, as the full amount (or part of it, if you wish) of what you put down to the project can be used as a deposit for your future Satipo road birding trip. Win-Win for everyone. You can’t lose.

The timeline is the following:

1. Raise awareness through blogs, social media, and newsletters
2. Raise funds for the project attracting donations and deposits for future trips.
3. Contact the key players in the area from the community, the municipality, and Rainforest Partnership, who has a full-time anthropologist in the area
4. Initial recce trip once the travel ban within Peru has been lifted. This is hopefully by mid-October. Local birdwatchers from Lima can join for a reduced cost. Gunnar will meet with all the key players and stakeholders.
5. Guide from Kolibri Expeditions Juan Julca stays on to start building feeders and set up hides. Produce bird photos to share on social media and to the initial backers of the project.
6. Additional weekend visit when the community holds their monthly “asamblea” (community meeting) – usually on the third Sunday of the month.
7. After all this, and with the bona vista from the municipality, Kolibri Expeditions and the community Calabaza-Apaya comes to an agreement and create a partnership.
8. By the end of  November, we shall have a better picture of when birders can expect full service at Colibri Cloud-forest Hostel.

Become a volunteer

Once the coronavirus pandemic has blown over we are ready to receive birders to volunteer to help run the lodge on a daily basis and do regular updates with photos of birds, plants, butterflies, etc to the Social Media channels to promote the area. Volunteers will also help to teach English to locals and Kolibri Expeditions staff.

We shall open two volunteer spaces on a three-week basis. Volunteers may also be contracted in the future as bird guides for Kolibri Expeditions and 7 Wonders Birding. It is really a dream position. The birder gets some of the best birding in Peru and has a chance also to become a guide.

How to contribute?

Smaller amounts can be donations, and larger amounts can be deposits for your future Satipo road trip. It is not as easy as I had thought to set up ways to receive funding swiftly and without larger fees.  But here are the ways I have come up with so far.

• 1. Deposit to our bank in Peru. This shall be the fastest way to get money to us.
  If you plan to do the Satipo road trip with us, you can prepay the trip deposit directly via the Peru bank. You can of course also prepay deposits of your other trips with us, and since timing is everything, the fact to have funds available will allow us to do the pilot trip when the Junin department opens up.
  There are bank fees of course, why very small amounts make little sense to send this way.
• 2. Paypal.
  I have created a Paypal link where you can donate any amount you like in your own currency without any extra charges. There are considerable fees to get the money to Peru to take into account, up to 10% for very small amounts, but this is true also for VAKI.  Having said that, it is a convenient way to get us funding fast so we can act straight away when we again are allowed to travel within Peru, and also if you want to donate a larger amount than $10.
  You may have funds on your Paypal account already, and of course, then the platform could be ideal for you.
  You may use this button.
  

The Satipo road birding itineraries

Finally, there is a new itinerary for the 5-day Satipo road program as well as the longer 16-day Complete Central Peru trip. Central Peru has more endemic birds than any other part of Peru.

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Gunnar Engblom is a Swedish birder who lives in Peru since 1998, where he operates birdwatching and nature tours for Kolibri Expeditions. In October 2018 Gunnar lead a trip in Peru recording 1006 species in a Big Month. Gunnar is also a dedicated 3:04 marathon runner, still hoping for a sub 3h marathon in spite of turning 60 in 2020, perhaps in Berlin in September 2021.

In 2016, Gunnar re-launched his rock’n’roll singer career with his band Guran Guran, and in 2019 they released a new video – Feels Like Some Summer – also available on Spotify and other digital outlets.

Question: When is the best time to visit Peru for birding? Answer: Anytime – Any week!

So you are thinking about Peru? Machu Picchu, the Inca Culture, all the iconic birds, the amazing food, and perhaps a Pisco Sour? Maybe you could make a dash to Peru for a week? Your time is limited and your time frame to be away is very narrow. You start looking around on the webpages of your favorite birding companies. Invariably, the trips are too long and the wrong time of year for you. Why are there not short birding tours to Peru every week? You are about to give up, and then a friend tells you about Kolibri Expeditions in Peru! 

Did you know that Kolibri Expeditions runs 5 day modules to various parts of Peru and that they will run these anytime you want, as long as there is a minimum of two people?

That is exactly what you have been looking for. There is even a tour that takes you to the most important archeological sites while you are birding.

Machu Picchu most popular even for birders!

So which are the most popular areas to visit in Peru? Machu Picchu is #1 by all categories of course. You know, it is like Egypt. You cannot visit Egypt without seeing the pyramids, right? The same with Peru. You have to include Machu Picchu.

Can you include Machu Picchu and also do birding? Of course you can. Many people don’t realize this. At the birding festivals I have attended recently, I have met countless people telling me that they have already been in Peru and seen Machu Picchu. Then they add…..”, eh….but it was not a birding trip”. What? That seems so strange to me! Why not combine? Birding and Culture!

The crux of the matter is of course who you travel with. If you travel with a hardcore birder, you will be birding at sunrise, not looking at ruins. The ruins will still be there in the afternoon or in the middle of the day and can be visited then.

If you are a photographer, you probably want to stay at the comfortable, but somewhat expensive lodges which are the best for bird photography.

Finally, if your partner or friends are not birders and you also would like the maximum cultural experience, you would need a program that contains more cultural elements and which puts the whole Inca experience into perspective.

Guess what? We offer three different Machu Picchu programs. All three of them also contain Abra Malaga and Apurimac valley. Just differences in where you stay and how long time allocated to each place. Check them out.

• Machu Picchu for serious hardcore birders – all the endemics!
• Machu Picchu – birds and culture. Archeology and Birding
• Machu Picchu for bird photographers. Deluxe accommodation, feeders, and great photography opportunities.

Machu Picchu can be visited at any time of year. It rains more between December-March. That will not destroy you experience, but rather enhance it. There are fewer people and the shift of light as the clouds move through, makes it even more magic.

Apart from Machu Picchu there are two other areas that are visited a lot by birders in Peru. North Peru and Manu road.

Manu road – the most species-rich area in the world.

Manu road is the most species-rich road in the world that cuts through the east Andean slope from the inter-Andean valleys and highland plain with wetlands, scrub and grass habitat of the temperate zone, down through the temperate forest and subtropical cloud forest, to reach the upper tropical zone of terra firme rainforest with bamboo grooves that contain many restricted-range species. Finally, the road reaches Alto Madre de Dios river with floodplain lowland rainforest and isolated oxbow lakes with palm swamps.  Over 1000 species of birds have been recorded along this road. Obviously in 5 days we will not see all of these, but the lodges have hummingbird feeders and fruit feeders for the tanagers. One is bound to see some mixed-species flocks and many iconic birds such as Cock of the Rock, Torrent Duck, Hoatzin, Sunbittern, and Horned Screamer. There are also some hides for Amazonian Antpitta and Tinamous such as Black-capped Tinamou.

Perhaps best avoided between mid-December to mid-March, as the frequent rains make the road prone to landslides.

Check out the Birding Peru Anytime 5 day Manu road program.

North Peru – home of Marvelous Spatuletail.

I’m sure you have seen pictures of the amazing Marvelous Spatuletail. I can truly say it is the best hummingbird of them all. The problem is that most tours to see it are too long. The big companies do trips of three-week trips to Northern Peru (Kolibri Expeditions offers that too of course), and naturally, if you want to clean up on all the endemic birds in this area, that is what you need.
But if you content yourself with just Marvelous Spatuletail, Royal Sunangel, Rufous-crested Coquette, Hoatzin. Lulu’s Tody-Tyrant, Long-whiskered Owlet, Pale-billed Antpitta, Ochre-fronted Antpitta, Rusty-tinged Antpitta, Chestnut Antpitta, Oilbird, Golden-headed Manakin, and over 40 additional hummingbird, you can fit in all those in just 5 days. Amazing!

Northern Peru can be visited any time of year, but note that males of Marvelous Spatuletail mostly lack rackets in August.
Check out our Birding Peru Anytime 5 day North Peru trip.

Now, do your friends a favor and send this blog post to them. They will thank you!

Photos: Cock of the Rock by Carlos Altamirano. Inca Tern by Kevin Bartlett. Marvelous Spatuletail by Dustin Chen. Machu Picchu by Gunnar Engblom

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Gunnar Engblom is a Swedish birder who lives in Peru since 1998, where he operates birdwatching and nature tours for Kolibri Expeditions. In October 2018 Gunnar lead a trip in Peru recording 1006 species in a Big Month. Gunnar is also a dedicated 3:04 marathon runner, and just starting training for Lima Marathon in May 2020 and Berlin Marathon in September 2020.  In 2016, Gunnar re-launched his rock’n’roll singer career with his band Guran Guran, and in 2019 they released a new video – Feels Like Some Summer – also available on Spotify and other digitial outlets.