Today was one of the most important days on the whole trip, as we descended the Manu Road from the borders of the Puna and the Cloud Forest all the way down to the Amazon rainforest. From our base in Paucartambo, we drove forty minutes to our first stop, as the first rays of light came over the mountains, and we passed through patches of clearness and fog.
The first stop was on the border of the Cloud Forest, right at the very top of the Manu Road. Here I had hoped to quickly find the endemic Puna Thistletail, but at the first stop there was nothing. A short drive onwards of less than 100 metres did finally produce the bird, but while they were vocal they were not especially responsive, and in the end I had to be satisfied with pretty poor views after some considerable effort. But about a kilometre later I had some absolutely phenomenal views when we casually stopped to take a photo of the landscape. The area itself was pretty lively with commoner cloud forest species, the highlights being Three-striped Hemispingus, Moustached Flowerpiercer and a small group of Golden-collared Tanager.
After this success we continued down the elevation a short way to the level of the Wayqecha Cloud Forest Biological Station. Although this station was too expensive to stay at, we were able to bird the road adjacent to it and had some excellent birding, including some very confiding Golden-collared Tanagers and Hooded Mountain Tanagers, and a very nice Bolivian Tyrannulet. My next target species was notched off here with a pair of Grey-eared Brushfinch which showed moderately well.
On the way back to the car we were passed by a man on a tuktuk, who asked if we were birdwatchers. He said that he was on his way to feed the Antpittas and asked if we wanted to join, so we absolutely agreed. Thanks to Marianno, we were able to accompany him to the Red-and-white Antpitta feeder, where two individuals performed incredibly well. We then tried a Leymabamba Antpitta feeder but the bird did not come, only another Red-and-white Antpitta which made short work of the worms. He did say he also fed Urubamba Antpitta, but that was a 06:00 and we had missed it. Thanks to him, we saved ourselves a world of pain trying to located our main target, the Red-and-white Antpitta by ourselves.
With the main Antpitta and target species of the day seen, we continued down the mountain. From here we hit a few snags, with two target flycatcher species not responding to tape at all and not showing. Next we tried to stop at a Cock-of-the-Rock lek but no birds were present, leaving us a little confused about how to see these birds.
Continuing down we then stopped at the Cock-of-the-Rock lodge garden. Here we hoped to find the Peruvian Piedtail hummingbird but it did not show in the time we were there. Fortunately there were several other interesting birds here, including a new one for me with Wire-crested Thorntail, as well as new subspecies of Golden Tanager and Orange-eared Tanager. Seeing male Yungas Manakin was new for me, and at one point I even got brief views of some birds lekking within the bushes. The lodge helpfully explained the situation with the Cock-of-the-Rock lek and we arranged to visit on our way back up the Manu Road. It wasn’t just birds on offer here, with a small group of Tufted Cappuchins feeding in the back, a Brown Agouti running across the garden and a couple of Bolivian Squirrels playing in the dining area.
It was already mid-afternoon by this point so we headed down all the way to the Amazon foothill town of Pilcopata, only stopping at a stakeout for Black-backed Tody-Tyrant, a localized species that showed well but briefly after some effort. Passing through Pilcopata, we eventually found our way to our lodging; the Mirador Pico de Hoz, a hummingbird garden with a few other goodies. Since it was already late there was little time for any birding here besides enjoying the hummingbird feeders. Even during this brief visit there were new species for me with Golden-tailed Sapphire, Gray-breasted Sabrewing and finally Gould’s Jewelfront. There were a few other individuals that were almost certainly new for me, but I couldn’t get enough to confirm them. We had our first monkey species here as well, with a group of four Dusky Titi Monkeys.
At night we went for a walk around the grounds with Jonathan, the proprietor and bird guide. We tried to search for caimans in a small wetland area but failed to find any. This was my first night using the thermal imager I purchased, and it turned out to be fantastic addition to my optics. I found a few Grey-cowled Wood-Rail, a couple of Purple Gallinule and a sleeping White-necked Jacobin. Otherwise there was also a Hoatzin that was flushed by the boat as we passed. On the mammal front it was excellent, with a pair of Night Monkeys seen right at the top of the trees, and a large Bamboo Rat fittingly in the bamboo, and a common Amazonian Opossum. The usual nighttime assortment of wildlife including frogs, toads and bats also kept us entertained during the hour we spent exploring.
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