For our first full day, we headed up the magnificent ravine from our nights stay in the lower portion of the Santa Eulalia valley. As we gained altitude we slowly transitioned through dry lowland forest into high Andean deserts.
Although we spent very little time in the lower habitats there were still a few bits that we picked up. Black-throated Woodpecker and West Peruvian Dove were both new for me, although the dove was the most abundant bird I had not seen in Peru, according to eBird. We also had great luck with a singing Peruvian Pygmy Owl right by the side of the road, allowing us to get some excellent views.
The morning quickly warmed up, and it was already bright sunshine by the time we reached the higher habitat, where we hoped to find our main target species. We quickly managed to connect with Great Inca Finch, one of the main specialties here, and this was supported by an excellent cast with Peruvian Sheartail and Purple-collared Woodstar both being new for me, as well as a handful of other commoner Andean species.
Things worked out quite nicely, as this meant we arrived in the town of San Pedro de Casta at around lunchtime. We could check-in to the town's only hotel, grab some scran at a local restaurant and then head out for the afternoon. We birded the road above the town as we had promising gen that this was an area to find the local Rufous-browed Warbling Finch. While we failed to find the finch, we were able to clean up on other targets there; Rusty-breasted Brushfinch, Canyon Canastero and Bronze-tailed Comet all being range-restricted species we could only find here.
On the non-target front, we had ample Giant Hummingbirds, and a few Andean Tinamous, including a pair we watched chasing each other during the early evening, although very distantly. A fabulous Mountain Viscacha also made an appearance, although not quite as fabulous as the ones in Argentina. And a few Andean Condors soared overhead as well. Although the overall diversity of the site was limited, we got a full day birding beneath our belt, including many targets and a very enjoyable start to our trip.
Valle de Santa Eulalia: Andean Tinamou, Bare-faced Ground Dove, Black-winged Ground Dove, White-tipped Dove, West Peruvian Dove, Eared Dove, Groove-billed Ani, Andean Swift, Sparkling Violetear, Bronze-tailed Comet, Giant Hummingbird, Peruvian Sheartail, Purple-collared Woodstar, Andean Condor, Variable Hawk, Black-chested Buzzard-Eagle, Pacific Pygmy Owl, Black-necked Woodpecker, American Kestrel, Rusty-crowned Tit-Spinetail, Streak-backed Tit-Spinetail, Canyon Canastero, Pied-crested Tit-Tyrant, Yellow-billed Tit-Tyrant, Spot-billed Ground Tyrant, White-browed Chat-Tyrant, Tropical Kingbird, Brown-bellied Swallow, House Wren, Chiguanco Thrush, Hooded Siskin, Rufous-collared Sparrow, Rusty-bellied Brushfinch, Scrub Blackbird, Golden Grosbeak, Blue-and-yellow Tanager, Cinereous Conebill, Ash-breasted Sierra Finch, Great Inca Finch, Mourning Sierra Finch, Greenish Yellow Finch, Band-tailed Seedeater,
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