Field Guides Birding Tours

PERU'S MARVELOUS
ABRA PATRICIA & THE SPATULETAIL

A 12-day sampling of northern Peru's east-slope Andes, designed for birders with little vacation time and hence unable to take our longer, more diverse NORTHERN PERU tour.
2008
July 23-August 3
with John Rowlett 		2009
July 15-26
with John Rowlett & Mitch Lysinger
$3775 (2008 fee). 12 days
From Lima. Limit: 9 (2008); 14 (2009)
Two sites; no camping. Our staff travel agents can book your air travel for this tour. Contact us at (800) 728-4953 for more information. May be combined with MACHU PICCHU & ABRA MALAGA, PERU.

See our triplist for 2007 or 2006.

Marvelous Abra Patricia is located in one of the loveliest areas of Peru’s northern Andes.  When we first visited this region, one of several included on our comprehensive NORTHERN PERU tour, we were determined to return.  We are doing so this year—and with a group of enthusiastic birders who had but little time to get to this superb area on a longer, three-week trip.  On our short tour we are able to experience the beauty and excitement of an astonishing array of fabulous birds—surely the most marvelous of which (among the likely ones) is—well, the Marvelous Spatuletail, the most outlandishly ornamented of hummers!  Frequenting the semi-humid montane scrub on the west side of the east slope, an adult male mirabilis is truly a wonder!

The ridge lines along the northern Cordillera Oriental and part of the Cordillera de Colán are not as elevated as those around Abra Malaga in southeastern Peru, the massif noticeably less precipitous and rugged—less sublime, if you will.  Yet the rolling beauty of these mountains, much of them unmolested as they fall away to the east, is captivating.  The temperature is often perfect, and at this time of year we should experience the best the dry season has to offer in terms of pleasant birding and passable trails.  After a night in Lima, we will divide our birding time between just two sites, thereby taking advantage of our relative proximity to these remote birding areas without having to camp.  Birds are plentiful here, an impressive variety of which are endemic, endangered, or threatened, a preponderance of which are scarce or lovely—or both.  That of course makes the area thrilling.  Species we’ll target during our week-long sample include such legendary ones as Royal Sunangel, Bar-winged Wood-Wren, Yellow-scarfed Tanager, Ash-throated Antwren, Lulu’s Tody-Tyrant, Chestnut-crested Cotinga, and Cinnamon Screech-Owl.  We even have a very remote chance of seeing the bizarre Long-whiskered Owlet!  Although we are highly likely to miss it, missing rarities on this tour will not distract us, for there are many more widespread species to enchant us, gaudy birds such as Torrent Duck, Golden-headed Quetzal, Scarlet-breasted Fruiteater, Andean Cock-of-the-rock, and Red-hooded, White-capped, and Grass-green tanagers.  And with Loddiges’ luck, you working-stiffs who thought the Spatuletail was consigned to your retirement will owe us big time.

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