Bolivia Day 16; Apollo

  Having spent so much effort to get to the area, we only had one day planned to bird here and only two target species we needed to find; the Green-capped Tanager and the Palkachupa Cotinga. We drove an hour early morning to arrive just after sunrise, but sunrise never came. There was a thick layer of fog that appeared as soon as we entered the valley where we wanted to bird, and it did not budge all day, only easing off for a few hours late morning. It was devastating, especially when we left mid-afternoon, to find that it was only the area we had been birding that had been under the cloud.

  Still, we had to make the most of it, so we tried our hardest. Strangely, the target we thought would be the hardest fell within the first half an hour, when a nice mixed species flock had a Green-capped Tanager in it, along with a few trip ticks such as Guira Tanager. There was also another new Tanager for me in the flock, with a pair of Yellow-crested Tanager that showed on and off. In flowering bushes nearby there was a nice White-bellied Woodstar and a few other good birds in this first area including White-eared Puffbird and Round-tailed Manakin.

  With the cotinga still missing, we continued a bit further down the road and continued birding here. This was the period when the fog lifted a little, and we were able to have a few more birds added to our list. Yellow-tufted Woodpecker was a smart bird to see, although never close, and there were two more Green-capped Tanagers which showed much better in this new area. Still, we failed to find any sign of the cotingas, and so we decided to continue to a new area.

  Sadly it was at this point that the fog really set in. Now it was a struggle to see anything more than a few metres away. A Brown-winged Schiffornis was nice, as were a few Wedge-tailed Grassfinches, but they were all that could be mustered. In the end, we decided it was a bad job and headed back mid-afternoon. Since we have gained days on our schedule, we have the option to try again tomorrow, so fingers crossed for better weather. 

Species List:
Atén: Red-winged Tinamou, Pale-vented Pigeon, Plumbeous Pigeon, Ruddy Ground Dove, White-tipped Dove, White-collared Swift, White-bellied Woodstar, Fork-tailed Woodnymph, Black Vulture, White-eared Puffbird, Yellow-tufted Woodpecker, American Kestrel, Blue-headed Parrot, Olivaceous Woodcreeper, Ocellated Woodcreeper, Cinereous-breasted Spinetail, Pale-breasted Spinetail, Round-tailed Manakin, Black-tailed Tityra, Brown-winged Schiffornis, Sepia-capped Flycatcher, Yellow-bellied Elaenia, White-crested Elaenia, Dusky-capped Flycatcher, Tropical Kingbird, Rufous-browed Peppershrike, Chivi Vireo, Purplish Jay, House Wren, Pale-breasted Thrush, Bronze-green Euphonia, Rufous-collared Sparrow, Russet-backed Oropendola, Crested Oropendola, Tropical Parula, Black-faced Tanager, Yellow-crested Tanager, Silver-beaked Tanager, Sayaca Tanager, Yellow-bellied Tanager, Green-capped Tanager, Blue-necked Tanager, Paradise Tanager, Swallow Tanager, Guira Tanager, Wedge-tailed Grass Finch, Blue-black Grassquit, Bananaquit, Buff-throated Saltator,