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Peru: August 1 to 16, 2009 with Machu Picchu Extension to August 22 Harry Fuller, as Host, to a Covey of Adults and Lelis Navarrete as Bird Guide Though Lelis is the premiere guide for Ecuador, he also leads successful trips to other parts of South America.   His last several trips to Peru have found well over 500 species in two weeks and as many as 670 species in three weeks.   Harry Fuller will be the trip host.  Harry has lead trips to Greece, around the United Kingdom and in northern California.  This will be Harry's second trip with Lelis.  Together they will assure excellent communication between trip participants and assure everyone enjoys the trip thoroughly. Besides a two week itinerary with the potential for to see over 500 bird species, the trip will have a one week extension to Machu Picchu to enjoy this high mountain area and including the opportunity to extend the trip list to nearly 670 species. A full itinerary is available upon request and but can also be found on this web page below.

Brief Itinerary August 1, 2009:  Flights to Lima with Late Afternoon to Late Night Arrival August 2:  Lima Area Birding August 3:  Flight to Cusco, Birding on Way to and at Pillahuata August 4:  Birding on the way to the Cock-of-the-Rock Lodge August 5 and August 6: Manu Cloud Forest and Cock-of-the-Rock  Area August 7: Birding on way to Amazonian Lodge, including Madre de Dios river, and the road to Atalaya August 8 to August 10: Amazonia Lodge and Manu Biosphere Reserve August 11: Birding from Amazonia Lodge in morning and then from canoe to   Manu Wildlife Center August 12 to August 15: Manu Wildlife Center, including Macaw clay leek, the Camungo lake, Camungo tower and trails, the Blanco Lake, and the Cocha Nuevo bamboo trails August 16:  Manu to Cusco Monday:  August 17:  Transition Day:  Extension Begin or Return Home If returning home, flight Cusco to Lima and likely return flight home that day in many cases.  We can arrange for ealier returns if so desired. Machu Picchu Extension Group:  Birding from Cusco at Huacarpay Lake, and Ollaitaitambo Sacred Valley Extension:  Machu Picchu and More Excellent Bird Watching Monday, August 17:  Machu Picchu Extension Group:  Birding from Cusco at Huacarpay Lake, and Ollaitaitambo Sacred Valley August 18:  Aguas Calientes and Macchu Picchu August 19:  Macchu Picchu and road back to Agua Calientes August 20 and 21:  Road to Abra Malaga and Ollaitaitambo Area August 22:  Ollaitaitambo and return to Cusco, Cusco Area August 23:  Cusco to Lima and International Flights Back Home A more detailed itinerary can be starting to the left.

Nestling Tour's Covey of Adults Itinerary for Peru in 2009 Saturday, August 1:  Flights in to Lima, Most Arriving Late Night or Late Afternoon After your flight comes in the late evening or late afternoon, you will be met by a representative from Nestling Tours who will take you to your local hotel for a good night's rest in Lima.     Sunday, August 2:  Birding in Lima Area We will start after breakfast and a good nights rest for Santa Eulalia Road.  Some of the potential birds here include Ornate Tinamou, Andean Condor, Bare-faced Ground-Dove, Scarlet-fronted Parakeet, Bronze-tailed Comet, Peruvian Sheartail, Black-necked Woodpecker, Thick-billed Miner, Plain-breasted Earthcreeper, Striated Earthcreeper, Canyon Canastero, Baron's Spinetail, Stripe- headed Antpitta, White-cheeked Cotinga, Great Inca-Finch, and Rufous-breasted Warbling-Finch. We will have a number of bird watching stops along the way during this productive first day of bird watching on the trip. We will spend the night back in Lima. Monday, August 3:  Flight to Cusco, Birding on Way to and at Pillahuata After an early breakfast, we will take an early flight to Cusco (about 45 minutes).  After meeting our driver, we will start bird watching towards Pillahuata along the road to Atalaya.  This location is just below the pass at the gateway of the Manu Biosphere reserve. Some of the target species during this second day of birding will be a number of endemic species, including Rusty-fronted Canastero, Bearded Mountaineer, Creamy-crested Spinetail, Chestnut- breasted Mountain-Finch, Cusco Brush-Finch, Dark-faced Brush- Finch.  We will also try for Andean Ibis, Trilling Tapaculo, Bolivian Tapaculo, and Ochraceous-breasted Flycatcher along with a number of  other species particularly restricted to these high elevation habitats. We will arrive at the camping site at Pillahuata with plenty time to get organized with the tents and luggage long before it gets dark.  We will also want to assure we have the most productive and last two hours of the afternoon for bird watching. Note:  This is the only camping in tents during the trip, but it is necessary to assure access to this excellent and endemic rich birding location. Tuesday, August 4:  Birding on the way to the Cock-of-the-Rock Lodge After an early morning breakfast, we will start our descent to the Cock-of-the-Rock Lodge, stopping along the road as many times as possible to look for a number of endemic and new trip species. Endemic species for the day could include Buff-thighed Puffleg, Red-and-white Antpitta, Inca Flycatcher, Fulvous Wren, Cusco Brush-Finch, Dark-faced Brush-Finch.  Lelis will likely get the participants a look at a yet to be described Tanager species -- a bird with good potential to add to your life list at some point in the future.   Other good birds may include Sickle-winged Guan, Golden-plumed Parakeet, Lyre-tailed Nightjar, Sword-billed Hummingbird, Rufous- capped Thornbill, Great Sapphirewing, Hooded Mountain-Toucan, Greater Scythebill, Ochre-breasted Antpitta, Trilling Tapaculo, Rufous-bellied Bush-Tyrant, Band-tailed Fruiteater, Barred Fruiteater, Plumbeous-crowned Tyrannulet, Pale-footed Swallow, White-eared Solitaire, Slaty Tanager, Slaty Finch, Black-goggled Tanager, Chestnut-bellied Mountain-Tanager and many others. Wednesday, August 5 and Thursday August 6: Manu Cloud Forest and Cock-of-the-Rock Lodge Area We will spend two and a half days in the San Pedro area at the superb Cock-of-the-Rock Lodge, enjoying access to a number of excellent bird watching locations in the area and the lodge’s excellent hummingbird and fruit feeders.  Birding at and near the lodge is excellent. The lodge’s location will allow us reasonably quick access or birds to higher and lower elevations, with a broad gamma of species.   Endemics include Peruvian Piedtail, Rufous-webbed Brilliant, Buff- thighed Puffleg, Cerulean-capped Manakin, Cinnamon-faced Tyrannulet, and Fulvous Wren. We will also have a chance to see the spectacular Paradise Tanager, and other difficult to find species such as the Brown Tinamou, Fasciated Tiger-Heron, Stripe-faced Wood-Quail, Rufescent Screech-Owl, Subtropical Pygmy-Owl, Rufous-bellied Nighthawk, and Lyre-tailed Nightjar. Great hummingbirds can be found such as Wire-crested Thorntail, Violet-fronted Brilliant, Gould's Inca, and Violet-throated Starfrontlet. Other beautiful birds in the area include Highland Motmot, Versicolored Barbet, and Blue-banded Toucanet.  Other species include Ash-browed Spinetail, Rusty-winged Barbtail, Tyrannine Woodcreeper, Chestnut-backed Antshrike, Upland Antshrike, and Foothill Antwren. One real rarity in the area is Yellow-rumped Antwren, and we should see Rufous-breasted Antthrush, Slaty Gnateater, Scaled Fruiteater, Andean Cock-of-the-rock, Yungas Manakin, Blue-rumped Manakin, Bolivian Tyrannulet, Fulvous-breasted Flatbill, Olive-tufted Flycatcher, Lemon-browed Flycatcher, Chestnut-breasted Wren, Olivaceous Siskin, Oleaginous Hemispingus, Slaty Tanager, Blue- naped Chlorophonia, Spotted Tanager, Golden-collared Honeycreeper and Plush-capped Finch and many more. Nestlings Itinerary for Peru in 2009 Continued below.

Nestling Tour's Itinerary for Peru in 2009 Continued Friday, August 7: Birding on way to Amazonian Lodge, including Madre de Dios river, and the road to Atalaya After an early morning breakfast and birding in the Cock-of-the-Rock Lodge area, we will start our descent towards the Madre de Dios river.  By bringing a box lunch along, we will have the opportunity to take our time and spend most of the day birding along the road before getting to Atalaya. On the way from Cock-of-the-Rock Lodge to Amazonia, we will be looking for the endemics like White-browed Hermit, Peruvian Piedtail, Fine-barred Piculet, and Black-backed Tody-Flycatcher.   Other species we have seen along this route include Fasciated Tiger-Heron, Torrent Duck, Plain-breasted Hawk, the rare and local Blue-headed Macaw, Many-spotted Hummingbird, Lanceolated Monklet, Bluish-fronted Jacamar, Scarlet-hooded Barbet, Bamboo Antshrike, Chestnut-backed Antshrike, Stripe-chested Antwren, Scaly-breasted Wren, and Deep-blue Flowerpiercer.  A few rarities which we may find include Red-billed Tyrannulet and Blue-headed Macaw. At Atalaya, we will meet an Amazonia Lodge representative who will transfer us across the river to the nearby Amazonia lodge. Saturday, August 8 to Monday, August 10: Amazonia Lodge and Manu Biosphere Reserve We will spend three more days visiting the famous Amazonia Lodge in the Peruvian Amazonian Rain Forest.  This lodge has one of the richest bird lists of any given site within the Amazon region and is home to a number of sought after species.  Almost 600 species   have been recorded in this one place. The endemics here include Koepcke's Hermit, Scarlet-hooded Barbet, White-lined Antbird,  Black-capped Tinamou, Black-and- white Hawk-Eagle, Orange-breasted Falcon, Blackish Rail, Blue- headed Macaw, Pavonine Cuckoo, Buff-tailed Sicklebill, Gould's Jewelfront, Brown-mandibled Aracari, Bar-breasted Piculet, Cabanis’ Spinetail, Bamboo Antshrike, Goeldi's Antbird, McConnell's Flycatcher, Johannes' Tody-Tyrant, Golden-bellied Warbler, and Olive (Carmiol’s) Tanager. One of these days, we will head back across the Madre de Dios river in search of several birds of special interest, including endemics like White-browed Hermit, Peruvian Piedtail, Fine-barred Piculet, and Black-backed Tody-Flycatcher.  Other interesting species at this location include Bamboo Antshrike, Scarlet-hooded Barbet, and Blue-headed Macaw. These and other locations at and near the lodge will make this some of the most productive birding on the trip. Nestlings Itinerary for Peru in 2009 continued to the right and at the top of the page below the Chestnut- breasted Mountain-Finch.

Nestling Tour's Itinerary for Peru in 2009 Continued Tuesday, August 11: Birding from Amazonia Lodge in morning and then from canoe to Manu Wildlife Center After an early morning bird watching at the Amazonia lodge, we will take our dugout canoe ride to the Manu Wildlife Center some 4 hours downstream.   This will be our best chance at a number of birds more likely to be found in riparian areas. Wednesday, August 12 to Saturday, August 15: Manu Wildlife Center The Manu Wildlife Center will provide a comfortable lodge as a base while we visit different habitats around the area.  We will have access to a number of good locations just outside the Manu Biosphere Reserve, and most of these areas bordering the reserve are very pristine.  Some of the sites we will be visiting are the spectacular Macaw clay lick, the Camungo Lake, Camungo Tower and its grid of trails, the Blanco Lake and the Cocha Nuevo Bamboo trails.  These and other sites will allow the group an often once in a lifetime opportunity to find rare, local, hard-to-find endemics and other beautiful birds that inhabit these forested areas. Some of the birds worth looking for here include Orinoco Goose, White-browed Hawk, Slaty-backed Forest-Falcon, Starred Wood-Quail, Pheasant Cuckoo, Amazonian Pygmy-Owl, Crested Owl, Sand-colored Nighthawk, Ocellated Poorwill, Silky-tailed Nightjar, Pavonine Quetzal, Purus Jacamar, White-throated Jacamar, Paradise Jacamar, Semicollared Puffbird, Brown-mandibled Araçari, Curl-crested Araçari, Ringed Woodpecker, Bar-bellied Woodcreeper, Cinnamon- rumped Foliage-gleaner, Bluish-slate Antshrike, Sclater's Antwren, Banded Antbird, Band-tailed Antbird, White-lined Antbird, the endemic Rufous-fronted Antthrush, Amazonian Antpitta, Fiery-capped Manakin, Musician Wren, Red-billed Pied Tanager, Yellow-backed Tanager, White-winged Shrike-Tanager and Yellow-crested Tanager. We will visit the clay lick which can be filled with hundreds of Macaws, Parakeets and Parrots.  Our visit might (and likely will) produce good looks at Red-and- green Macaw, White-eyed Parakeet, Tui Parakeet, White-bellied Parrot, Orange- cheeked Parrot, Blue-headed Parrot, Yellow-crowned Parrot, and Mealy Parrot. One day we will dedicate most of our time and effort to look for some of the Bamboo specialists.  We will look for Rufous-breasted Piculet, Rufous-headed Woodpecker, Peruvian Recurvebill, Brown-rumped Foliage-gleaner, Red-billed Scythebill, Ihering's Antwren, Striated Antbird, Manu Antbird, Sepia-capped Flycatcher, and Slate-colored Seedeater.  The handsome endemic, White- cheeked Tody-Tyrant, would be a fine highlight for the day. Sunday, August 16:  Manu to Cusco After breakfast, we will start our way back to Cusco with boat ride to Boca Manu airstrip.  From here, we catch our flight to Cusco.  We will have an afternoon to visit some of the handicrafts markets and other shops and enjoy the unique colonial air of the city.   If any participant is in a rush to return home, there may be an opportunity to return to Lima and start a flight back to the United States. Monday, August 17:  Transition Day:  Extension Begin or Return Home If returning home, you can take a morning flight from Cusco to Lima and likely a return flight home that day. Machu Picchu Extension Group:  Birding from Cusco at Huacarpay Lake, and Ollaitaitambo Sacred Valley (see details below). See Extension Trip Itinerary below.

Post-Trip Extension to Machu Picchu and More Bird Watching Monday, August 17:  Cusco, Huacarpay Lake, and Ollaitaitambo Sacred Valley After breakfast with our departing friends, the extension group will drive to the Huacarpay Lake for birding there and in the surrounding dry scrubby habitat.  The surrounding habitat is good to find the endemic Rusty-fronted Canastero and Bearded Mountaineer.  Other target species amid a number of others species include Speckled Teal, Yellow-billed Pintail, Puna Teal, Andean Duck, Puna Ibis, Cinereous Harrier, Plumbeous Rail, Andean Lapwing, Andean Gull, Wren-like Rushbird, Rufous-naped Ground-Tyrant, Many-colored Rush-Tyrant and Andean   Negrito. After lunch, we take a pleasant drive to the Ollaitaitambo Sacred Valley where we will check in at the peaceful hotel.  By late afternoon, we will have the opportunity to bird some dry habitat nearby the hotel. Tuesday, August 18:  Aguas Calientes and Macchu Picchu In the morning, we leave to the Ollaitaitambo train station.  Shortly after we begin the beautiful journey by train towards Macchu Picchu.  The ride will be very relaxing and enjoyable with awesome landscape.  We should get some looks at the handsome and daring Torrent Duck and an occasional White-capped Dipper.   Upon arrival, we will check into the Pueblo Nuevo Hotel and take an immediate bus ride to the Macchu Picchu ruins. Wednesday, August 19:  Macchu Picchu and back to Ollaitaitambo After an early breakfast, we will have a 6:00 AM bus ride back up to the entrance gate of the Machu Picchu ruins.  We will again visit the ruins; however, our return plans will include much more bird watching, as we will start walking down the road towards Aguas Calientes. After visiting the ruins, we will spend the rest of this morning leisurely walking down this road while birding and looking for four main target species and endemics:   Green-and-white Hummingbird, Inca Flycatcher, Masked Fruiteater and  Inca Wren.   Other terrific species we have found include Torrent Duck, White-tipped Swift, Chestnut-breasted Coronet, Variable Antshrike, Mottle-cheeked Tyrannulet, Sclater's Tyrannulet, Highland Elaenia, White-eared Solitaire, Capped Conebill, Rust-and- yellow Tanager, Silver-backed Tanager and Tricolored Brush-Finch and many others. After getting back to Aguas Calientes, we will have lunch and get organized to take our train back to the Ollaitaitambo Valley. Thursday, August 20 to Saturday, August 22:  Road to Abra Malaga For one day and the two following mornings, we will be visiting a number of birding stops along the road to Abra Malaga.  This really high elevation pass includes a number of habitats, including highland grassland, polylepis forest, elfin forest, temperate forest, and cloud forest on the eastern flank of the Andes.  We should also find some good birds in the dry scrubby habitat close to Ollaitaitambo. Some of the endemics here include White-tufted Sunbeam, Buff-thighed Puffleg, White-browed Tit-Spinetail, Marcapata Spinetail, Red-and-white Antpitta, Inca Flycatcher, Unstreaked Tit-Tyrant, Peruvian Chat-Tyrant, Inca Wren, Parodi's Hemispingus, Cusco Brush-Finch, and Dark-faced Brush-Finch aswell as Andean Guan, Imperial Snipe, Violet-fronted Brilliant, Purple-backed Thornbill, the extremely rare and local Royal Cinclodes, Streak-throated Canastero, Line-fronted Canastero, Stripe-headed Antpitta, the very rare and localized Ash-breasted Tit-Tyrant, Ochraceous-breasted Flycatcher, Maroon-chested Chat-Tyrant, White-eared Solitaire, White-collared Jay, Orange-browed Hemispingus, Drab Hemispingus, Three-striped Hemispingus, Golden-collared Tanager and Thick-billed Siskin to mention a few. Sunday, August 23:  Cusco to Lima and International Flights Back Home After a morning walk and a little more bird watching likely close to Ollaitaitambo, we well have lunch before starting back to Cusco. We might have some spare time to enjoy the city and to visit the artisan markets. We will allow enough time for you to organize your bags and pack for the return trip home before our flight to Lima.