We awoke naturally with the morning light, leaving our shack and heading to a nice breakfast of eggs and rice at around 06:00. Once breakfast was done, we concentrated our days birding on the main Satipo Road from our village residence of Calabaza back up the valley to the Puente Carrizales. This was an area of extensive forest, but with varying types of habitat, ranging from presumably primary forest, to disturbed secondary forest, with an area of open Polyepis woodland near the bridge itself.
Our plan was to slowly bird up the road in the car, and see
what we managed to find. However, we routinely encountered flocks from the car,
throughout the day and this meant we were regularly stopping in order to check
through the species on offer. And there was a simply incredible selection of
different birds in the flocks. The bulk of the birds were common mountain
tanagers and Spectacled Whitestarts, but there was also new birds such as
Blue-banded Toucanet, Band-tailed Fruiteater, Maroon-belted Chat-Tyrant,
Yellow-scarfed Tanager and Chestnut-bellied Mountain-Tanager. There were also
brilliant bonus birds such as Gray-breasted Mountain-Toucan, Andean Motmot and
Golden-headed Quetzal.
While in addition to the flocks we encountered, we also
searched extensively for the Antpittas and Tapaculos that inhabit the wooded
valleys. Having heard all three Antpitta species the previous day, we were
optimistic we would find them, but getting all three in the first day would
have been exceptional. We first caught up with Bay Antpitta mid-morning, but
the bird was difficult and we were not able to get clear views. It took three
attempts to get the bird into an area of undergrowth open enough for us to see
it. Despite this, it was the most vocal of the three Antpitta species we
encountered during the day.
Next we had a brilliant Oxapampa Antpitta, a recent split
from Chestnut Antpitta. We had just stopped off to investigate a flock, when
the Antpitta in question burst into song next to us. However, this song session
did not last long and we were left to try and coax the bird out. This was not
too much of a hassle however, as an almost too convenient cutting through the
vegetation provided a perfect place to nestle a speaker. However, after some
effort, it began to look like the bird might not come out, as there was no
vocal response to our tapes. It rather caught us off guard when it suddenly
appeared in the open area, perching stoically in the near darkness, allowing
for fantastic views. We were able to watch the bird jumping around for a good
ten minutes in the end.
Our final Antpitta of the day was much further up the
valley, in the degraded habitat around the Puente Carrizales at the top of the
valley. Here the previous day we had heard distantly the Junin Antpitta, but
had not the chance to locate it. The bird had sounded distant, but since we now
had more time, we were optimistic we would be able to find it. And find it we
did! It was the showiest of the three birds we saw, perching out with the
bamboo patch that it had chosen to endure in the otherwise ravaged environment.
In the end we had walkaway views and photos.
The end of the afternoon saw the cloud and fog begin to roll in. The cooler temperatures seemed to dull activity right down, but this worked out well as we made it back to Calabaza just as darkness fell. It was an absolutely fantastic days birding, with three Antpittas in total and a boatload of other birds picked out from the flocks. Without doubt, the best day of the trip thus far.
And to cap it all off, when we got back and were having a dinner of rice, egg and fried plantain, one of the other villagers came to fetch us, in order to point out a Lyre-tailed Nightjar perched on the walls of one of the village houses. We had absolutely brilliant views of the bird, completely unperturbed by our presence.
Satipo Road: Lyre-tailed Nightjar, Amethyst-throated Sunangel, Speckled Hummingbird, Long-tailed Sylph, Fiery-throated Metaltail, Collared Inca, Violet-throated Starfrontlet, Sword-billed Hummingbird, Chestnut-breasted Coronet, Yungas Pygmy Owl, Golden-headed Quetzal, Masked Trogon, Andean Motmot, Blue-banded Toucanet, Grey-breasted Mountain Toucan, Crimson-mantled Woodpecker, Bay Antpitta, Oxapampa Antpitta, Junin Antpitta, Jalca Tapaculo, Montane Woodcreeper, Streaked Tuftedcheek, Eye-ringed Thistletail, Band-tailed Fruiteater, Barred Becard, Streak-necked Flycatcher, Cinnamon Flycatcher, White-banded Tyrannulet, White-throated Tyrannulet, Sierran Elaenia, Smoke-colored Pewee, Maroon-belted Chat-Tyrant, Rufous-breasted Chat-Tyrant, White-collared Jay, Blue-and-white Swallow, Brown-bellied Swallow, Mountain Wren, Peruvian Wren, White-capped Dipper, Andean Solitaire, Great Thrush, Common Bush Tanager, Grey-browed Brushfinch, Rufous-collared Sparrow, Tricolored Brushfinch, Slaty Brushfinch, Dusky-green Oropendola, Northern Mountain Cacique, Citrine Warbler, Spectacled Whitestart, White-browed Hemispingus, Superciliaried Hemispingus, Hooded Mountain Tanager, Blue-capped Tanager, Grass-green Tanager, Lacrimose Mountain Tanager, Scarlet-bellied Mountain Tanager, Buff-breasted Mountain Tanager, Chestnut-bellied Mountain Tanager, Yellow-scarfed Tanager, Blue-and-black Tanager, Beryl-spangled Tanager, Flame-faced Tanager, Blue-backed Conebill, Capped Conebill, Moustached Flowerpiercer, Masked Flowerpiercer, Drab Hemispingus, Grey-hooded Bush Tanager,
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