Peru day 17: Tarapoto > Río Shilcayo

Looking for female Oleria along the Río Shilcayo today. Good views of a pair of White-flanked Antwrens low in some dark, shady understorey. Back in the garden in Tarapoto I added Purple-throated Euphonia, Violet-fronted Brilliant, and Southern Beardless-Tyrannulet to the list. Half-a-dozen noisy Canary-winged Parakeets dropped in an hour before the six-o-clock Cicada was to deafen all other life and add to the edge of town ambience of dogs, chickens and mototaxis.

Peru day 15: Tarapoto > Río Shilcayo

Hiked up the Río Shilcayo today for numata and ithomiines. After a few days of heavy rain, conditions were slightly more comfortable with a cool breeze at times. From Achual in Tarapoto, soaring higher than the vultures was a pair of Swallow-tailed Kites and in the gardens, three or four Huallage Tanagers – a Peruvian endemic. Several species of stunning blue Morpho butterflies were bombing along their territories on the river and Boca Toma is a good advantage point to observe them passing at close range. I may try and photograph them in flight here later in the week. The Black Phoebe, a fairly terrestrial Tyrannid flycatcher which sallies from rocks and lower branches, is fairly common amongst the boulders in the fast flowing areas here. One pair has a nest in an undercliff area at Boca Toma constructed from mud pellets in much the same was as a Barn Swallow though involving considerably more effort - the cyclindrical assembly is about 20 cm high! A large Band-bellied Owl was flushed from a quebrada in thick forest and it disappeared quickly, with no difficulty in navigating through the dense tree cover. Higher up, Mathieu disturbed a “bittern-like” bird from a pool. On catching up I was pleased the bird had retreated to a nearby visible tree and turned out to an immature Fasciated Tiger-Heron. Buff-rumped Warblers, a terrestrial Parulid, were fairly common and a Green Kingfisher was also seen briefly.

Peru days 12-13: Tarapoto

Had continuous rain for most of today. Yesterday I added more species to my garden list including Grayish Saltator, Yellow-headed Cararca, Common Tody-Tyrant, Pale-legged Hornero, and Gilded Barbet.

Peru day 11: Tarapoto > Boca Toma del Río Shilcayo

Walked up the Río Shilcayo from El Achual to Boca Toma and recorded about 50 species before breakfast. This was before even reaching any decent forest, by which point it was time to head back. Many more unidentified hummers were zipping past all the time. The following were noted in various chakras, scrub, secondary forest, and pasture:

Black-billed Thrush
Great Kiskadee
Southern House Wren
Fork-tailed Palm Swift
Blue-gray Tanager
Tropical Kingbird
Shiny Cowbird
Cattle Egret
Palm Tanager
Saffron Finch
Yellow-rumped Cacique
Canary-winged Parakeet
Cobalt-winged Parakeet
Blue-crowned Motmot
American Black Vulture
Smooth-billed Ani
Ruddy Ground Dove
Blue-black Grassquit
Gilded Barbet
Green Violetear
Piratic Flycatcher
Eared Dove
Tui Parakeet
Trogon sp. (calling)
Turkey Vulture
Silver-beaked Tanager
Short-tailed Swift
Chestnut-bellied Seed-Finch
Gray-rumped Swift
Buff-breasted Wren
Needle-billed Hermit
Social Flycatcher
Buff-rumped Warbler
Streaked Flycatcher
Black Phoebe
Spot-winged Antbird
Violet-fronted Brilliant
Squirrel Cuckoo
Pale-legged Hornero
White-banded Swallow
Green-and-gold Tanager
Common Tody-Flycatcher
Red-eyed Vireo
Magpie Tanager
Black-throated Mango
Yellow-tufted Woodpecker
Blue-and-white Swallow

Peru days 9-10: Tarapoto > Pongo de Caynarachi >Yurimaguas

Best birds noted on this two day numata-chasing trip were Fulvous-crested Tanager, Cuvier’s Toucan, Brown-mandibled Aracari, Variable Antshrike, Purple Honeycreeper, Paradise Tanager, Buff-throated Foliage Gleaner, Elegant Woodcreeper, Wedge-billed Woodcreeper, White-beared Hermit and American Purple Gallinule. Also lots of Saddle-backed Tamarins and Amazon Red Squirrel.

Peru days 7-8: Tarapoto

Here are some photographs from the garden and rented house we are living in. I added a new species to my Peru list without leaving the garden this morning – a pair of Turquoise Tanangers! Also noted were Great Kiskadee, Palm Tanager, Yellow-rumped Cacique, Eared Dove, Silver-beaked Tanager, Smooth-billed Ani, several Phaethornis hummingbirds, a Motmot singing nearby and the usual dozens of Black and Turkey Vultures soaring overhead. The small garden could easily have a butterfly species list of more than 100.