For a change of scenery after a frustrating few days, we decided to head to another site in the region that we were staying, the Carpish Tunnel. This site is much lower than Bosque Unchog, with areas of intact cloud forest to bird through, whilst walking on a narrow dirt road. We had been warned prior that the site was not what it had been, but that was completely in contrast to what we found. While there were fields in between the forest, the general birding was excellent, with a wide variety of species encountered.
The main species we wanted to find at this location was
Chestnut Antpitta. This was the only site for the species on our itinerary so
we knew this would be our only shot at it. We were given great confidence when
we quickly heard a bird close to the path, but it frustratingly would not come
and the same thing happened with the second bird. While this looked like it
would be the theme of the morning, I decided to try out an open cleared area
off the road, to see what I could find in this area. After just a few bursts of
tape, I turned around to see a stunning Chestnut Antpitta sat out right in the
open behind me. It never called and it was only by pure chance we found this
bird. The others came in, and while it did not show quite as well, everyone was
able to get on the bird in the end.
In terms of other birds, the flocks were largely composed of
typical species for the altitude and region. It was good to see Plushcap once
again, although not as showy as my other observations. Bar-bellied Woodpecker
and Green-and-Black Fruiteater were the best of the rest. That was until we
were heading back to the car late morning, when I started to photograph the
swifts passing over. This was extremely lucky, because it meant my camera
settings were spot on for when a falcon came blasting through overhead with the
flock, before continuing and powering out of sight. Although there was little
that could be gauged in the field, other than it being a large falcon, the
photos showed the distinctive orange and white neck bands that made it an
Orange-breasted Falcon, a very rare species difficult to encounter, but known
to be in this area.
At 11:00, satisfied with our work, we tried another site
just down the road, the Senda Paty. Sadly many people told us this site was not
what it used to be, and so it transpired. It was quite a steep trail and from
the top we could see clearly the fragmented nature of the forest. Given the
lack of targets we had here, we decided it might not be worth our effort, and
headed back to the hotel for something to eat.
In the afternoon we once again headed up to Bosque Unchog,
but this time to the vegetation below the summit to search for a couple of
species there, that we would otherwise end up using time to look for that could
be spent in the forests at the top. That was the plan but it worked too well,
with both Black-crested Tit-Tyrant and the ‘Barons’ subspecies of Line-cheeked
Spinetail being found at our first stop on the way. Neither showed amazingly
well, but it was still good to see them. At the same time a brilliant flock of
Chestnut-collared Swifts was flying overhead, and in the evening light you
could actually see the chestnut collar clearly, which is not something I have
observed before, at least not this well.
Since we had done so well, we decided to return to the top
of Bosque Unchog and maybe encounter a few targets, but unfortunately thick for
set in and we failed to find anything at all. It was a real struggle and after
an hour we decided to cut our losses and head back down for a more relaxed
evening.
Carpish Tunnel: Chestnut-collared Swift, Amethyst-throated Sunangel, Tyrian Metaltail, Collared Inca, Violet-throated Starfrontlet, Chestnut-breasted Coronet, Golden-headed Quetzal, Bar-bellied Woodpecker, Orange-breasted Falcon, Chestnut Antpitta, Tschudi's Tapaculo, Streaked Tuftedcheek, Rufous Spinetail, Green-and-black Fruiteater, Barred Fruiteater, Barred Becard, Cinnamon Flycatcher, White-banded Tyrannulet, Smoky Bush Tyrant, Mountain Wren, Peruvian Wren, White-eared Solitaire, Great Thrush, Grey-browed Brushfinch, Rufous-collared Sparrow, Northern Mountain Cacique, Citrine Warbler, Spectacled Whitestart, White-browed Hemispingus, Superciliaried Hemispingus, Brown-flanked Tanager, Blue-capped Tanager, Grass-green Tanager, Lacrimose Mountain Tanager, Yellow-scarfed Tanager, Blue-and-black Tanager, Blue-backed Conebill, Moustached Flowerpiercer, Masked Flowerpiercer, Plushcap, Drab Hemispingus,
Bosque Unchog: Coppery Metaltail, Chestnut-collared Swift, Line-cheeked Spinetail, Black-crested Tit-Tyrant, Blue-and-white Swallow, House Wren, Red-crested Cotinga, Great Thrush, Brown-flanked Tanager, Ash-breasted Sierra Finch, Plain-coloured Seedeater,
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