May 13 Flight to Tarapoto

We take the 19:05 flight to Tarapoto. Night in Hotel Cumbaza. Dinner is not included.
(if you want to bird in Lima prior to the flight we are organizing a trip between 8 AM to 4PM for $200 including lunch. Birds include Humboldt Penguin, Inca Tern, Red-legged Cormorant, Many-colored Rush-Tyrant and perhaps Peruvian Thick-knee. Transport to airport.

May 14.  Tarapoto-Moyobamba. Birding Yurimaguas Road, Tunnel Area and Morro Calzada. Dotted Tanager and Oilbird

Travel to the tunnel area on the Yurimaguas road. Here we find a number of special upper tropical species such as Blackish Pewee, Dotted Tanager and with luck the localized Plumbeous Euphonia. We also often see Andean Cock of the Rock, Swallow-tailed Kite and Paradise Tanagers. Later we continue to ACONABIKH where there are hummingbird feeders that attract Koepcke's Hermit and Gould's Jewelfront. On rare occasions have Black-bellied Thorntail and Black-throated Brilliant been seen here. A short hike takes us to a lek with Golden-headed Manakin. There are also a number of other Amazonian forest birds here.

Around noon we continue towards Moyobamba. On the way we shall stop to look at Oilbirds at the Quiscarumi gorge. We finish the afternoon at Morro de Calzada, a strange rock formation on the Moyobamba-Rioja plateau. This area is good for Mishana Tyrannulet, Cinereous-breasted Spinetail and sometimes Spot-fronted Swift and White-chested Swifts which come to roost.  It is also a good spot for nightjars at dusk with Spot-tailed, Rufous, Blackish and Little Nightjars and often calling Common Potoo, as well as Stygian Owl.

We spend the night at Waqanki Lodge, in Moyobamba. .  
 

May 15: Birding Waqanki to Owlet Lodge

Those who are fit may want to try the ridge trail above Waqanki for Scarlet-breasted and Fiery-throated Fruiteaters, Ash-throated Antwren, Chestnut-throated Spinetail and many more. 

The hummingbird-feeders at Waqanki are fantastic. It is often possible to get over 15 species of hummingbirds in only a couple of hours. The star species is Rufous-crested Coquette and Black-throated Hermit. 

We continue over the Myobamba/Rioja plain checking out ponds and rice paddies for Pale-eyed Blackbird, Black-capped Donacobious, Least Grebe and Black-billed Seed-Finch. 

Later at the new birding resource at Aguas Verdes called Arena Blanca. Here the is a fantastic feeding station for Rufous-breasted Wood-Quail and Little and Cinereous Tinamou. Also ,Yellow-billed Sparrow comes to the grains provided from the feeding station. There is also an area set up for hummingbirds. The specialities here are Green-fronted and Blue-fronted Lancebill, as well as Wire-crested Thorntail, Little Woodstar, Rufous-crested Coquette, Many-spotted Hummingbird and many more.
 

The white-sand forest is very interesting with Northern Chestnut-tailed (Zimmer's) Antbird, Varzea Thrush, Mishana Tyrannulet and Black-bellied (Huallaga) Tanager.
 

Later we check out the feeders at Fundo Alto Nieva with the hummingbird feeders which often attract Royal Sunangel, Rufous-vented Whitetip and Greenish Puffleg and the feeding station for Ochre-fronted Antpitta.  At night we’ll make a first try for Long-whiskered Owlet at the Owlet Lodge.
Night at Abra Patricia Owlet Lodge
 

May 16. Afluentes - Abra Patricia

The trails at the Owlet Lodge are good for Chestnut Antpitta, Barred Antthrush, Wattled Guan, White-faced Nunbird, etc. The feeding flocks contain Hooded Mountain-Tanager, Scarlet-bellied Mountain-Tanager, Blue-backed Conebill, Spectacled Whitestart, Pearled Treerunner, White-throated Tyrannulet, Blue-and-Black Tanager and Metallic-green Tanager.
 

The feeders have Emerald-bellied Puffleg, Long-tailed Sylph, Sword-billed Hummingbird, Peruvian Rackettail, Bronzy Inca, Fawn-breasted Brilliant and Collared Inca. From the lookout one may often see White-capped Tanager.
 

Mid-morning we transfer to the birdy Afluentes area. The flocks in the subtropical roadside forest can be very impressive. Vermilion Tanager, Subtropical Cacique, Speckle-chested Piculet, Montane Woodcreeper, Montane Foliage-gleaner, Streaked Xenops, Parasdise, Golden, Blue-necked and Bay-headed Tanagers and the endemic Ash-throated Antwren and many other birds. Sometimes we have seen Black-billed Toucan, Red-ruffed Fruitcrow, Umbrellabird and Andean Cock of the Rock in this area.

There is a new feeding station at Llanteria-Afluentes. Here Green Hermit and Ecuadorian Piedtail are regular visitors.
 

We shall get a second chance for Long-whiskered Owlet if necessary or try for Cinnamon Screech-Owl.
 

Night at Abra Patricia Owlet Lodge.  
 

May 17: Birding at Long-whiskered Owlet Lodge.
After another morning at the Owlet Lodge, we continue mid-morning to Pomacochas where we spend some time practicing bird photography at the Hummingbird feeders at at two places nearby. At the crest above Pomacochas there is a new feeding station with Marvelous Spatuletail that we shall visit before lunch. We’ll have lunch at Huembo, which is the other feeding station, where we shall get close-up views of the Marvelous Spatuletail and other hummers such as Collared Inca, Chestnut-breasted Coronet, Sparkling Violet-ear, White-bellied Woodstar, White-bellied Hummingbird and Bronzy Inca. A rare visitor is Little Woodstar.
 

Those who are fit enough may want to go with the guide try for Pale-billed Antpitta up the trail above San Lorenzo. It is a quite steep strenuous climb for about an hour.
Other birds that may be encountered are Chestnut-crowned Cotinga, White-capped Tanager, Rusty-tinged Antpitta, schulenbergi race of Plain-tailed Wren and Russet-mantled Softtail.
 

In the late afternoon we shall be birding up the road to Gocta waterfall. This area is particularly good for Marañon Crescentchest. We will also see the famous 730m waterfall at a distance, before we head back to Huembo for an overnight stay
 

May 18: Hummingbirds at Huembo and Pomacochas and drive to Jaen. 

After some additional time at the hummingbird feeders at Huembo in the early morning we shall drive to Kuelap in the Utcubamba Valley with selected stops on the way for Peruvian Pigeon, Marañon Thrush and perhaps Buff-bellied Tanager on the way.  With some luck we may spot Curve-billed Tinamou, Black-necked Woodpecker, Rainbow Starfrontlet and Purple-throated Sunangel in the vicinity of the archeological site. 

In the afternoon we drive to Jaen with selected stops on the way. In the evening we shall look for Peruvian (Marañon ssp) Screech-Owl. Night in Jaen.
 

May 19. Jaen birding and flight to Lima.
We shall have plenty of time to look for Spot-throated Hummingbird, Little Inca-Finch, Marañon Crescentchest, Marañon (Northern) Slaty-Antshrike, Chinchipe Spinetail and with luck Marañon Spinetail before our 3:25 pm flight to Lima.