Today was our first full day at the Bosque Unchog. We set off from our hotel at 05:30 and arrived at the site at the very reasonable 07:00, just in time for the first rays of sunlight to start peeking over the mountains. After a breakfast of energy drink and cheese sandwiches, we set off up the valley to hopefully catch up on the many species we missed the previous day.
It has to be said, writing now at the end of the day, that
we were a little disappointed in the birding at Bosque Unchog. We had been told
that there would be many mixed flocks, and that it would be incredibly lively
but the reality was quite the opposite, as we only encountered a handful of
mixed flocks throughout the day and many of the birds on territory were
reluctant to come out and seemed to always go quiet when we approached. The
aforementioned flocks did have a few new birds for me, in Ochraceous-breasted
Flycatcher and Three-striped Hemispingus, but were generally composed of
commoner upland species.
Still, despite the effort required, especially at the high
altitude, we kept plugging away and by the end we had managed a respectable
list of the sites target species. The first was a Tschudis Tapaculo, that
responded to our tape and finally came in, in complete contrast to all the
others we had heard the previous day. On the walk down there were also a pair
of superbly confiding and stunning Golden-collared Tanagers, although the light
was a little too much for good photos.
The most success I had was by crawling into the forest and
sitting quietly in areas of open Polyepis. Doing this, I managed to have
excellent views of the rare Rufous-browed Hemispingus on three separate
occasions. There was also a brilliant Chachapoyo Antpitta which came in nice
and close for some photos. Frustratingly though, there were other targets that
sung close but continued to elude us despite our best efforts.
We still have another full day at the site, at least, so
hopefully we will be able to catch up with all our outstanding birds in the
next few days. But our next stop will be to take a break from the dirt roads and high altitude
of the Bosque Unchog, and bird some of the lowland sites in the nearby
vicinity.
Bsoque Unchog: Coppery Metaltail, Violet-throated Starfrontlet, Andean Lapwing, Puna Snipe, Variable Hawk, Chachapoyas Antpitta, Tschudi's Tapaculo, Pearled Treerunner, Many-striped Canastero, White-chinned Thistletail, Barred Fruiteater, Bay-vented Cotinga, Red-crested Cotinga, Ochraceous-breasted Flycatcher, White-throated Tyrannulet, Tufted Tit-Tyrant, Kalinowski's Chat-Tyrant, Rufous-breasted Chat-Tyrant, Brown-backed Chat-Tyrant, Brown-bellied Swallow, Great Thrush, Paramo Pipit, Slaty Brushfinch, Three-striped Hemispingus, Pardusco, Scarlet-bellied Mountain Tanager, Golden-collared Tanager, Blue-backed Conebill, Moustached Flowerpiercer, Masked Flowerpiercer, Drab Hemispingus, Rufous-browed Hemispingus,
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