ITINERARY
July 2nd: Fly from Lima to Cusco and after arrival straight out to Huacarapay Lakes with a picnic lunch by the Lake and in the afternoon back to Cusco. Overnight at Cusco.
July 3rd: Early departure from the Hotel to Ollantaytambo to take our train to Aguas Caliente and after arrival we met our local guide Vilma and took the bus up to the ruins fro a 2 hours tour of the Machu-Picchu Inca Ruins. After lunch we did a bit of birding from above Puente Ruinas all the way back to our Hotel. Overnight at Aguas Caliente.
July 4th: Machu-Picchu back to Cusco by Poroy train station with a mornings birding to the Mandor valley from Aguas Caliente and in the afternoon our train back to Poroy. Overnight in Cusco.
SPECIES LIST
Family: ANATIDAE - DUCKS
Torrent Duck - Merganetta armata. Fantastic views along the Urubamba River on our way in and out to Machu-Picchu (counting up to 40 individuals on our way back from Machu-Picchu); how on earth does this species cope “acoustically” by living in such torrential waters?
Yellow-billed Teal – Anas flavirostris. Quite common at Huacarpay Lake.
Yellow-billed Pintail - Anas georgica. Seen at Huacarpay Lake.
Puna Teal – Anas puna. Also saw a few at Huacarpay Lake.
Cinnamon Teal – Anas cyanoptera. At Huacarpay Lake.
Ruddy (Andean) Duck – Oxyura ferruginea. A few seen at Huacarpay Lake. The SACC says “Andean populations of Ruddy Duck O. jamaicensis have often (e.g., Hellmayr & Conover 1948a, Siegfried 1976, Sibley & Ahlquist 1990, AOU 1998, Ridgely et al. 2001, Jaramillo 2003) been treated as a separate species, O. ferruginea ("Andean Duck" or "Andean Ruddy-Duck"). However, see Adams and Slavid (1984), Fjeldså (1986), and McCracken & Sorenson (2005) for rationale for treating them as conspecific, as done previously (e.g., Blake 1977, Johnsgard 1979), and then followed by Fjeldså & Krabbe (1990) and Carboneras (1992f). Siegfried (1976) and Livezey (1995) considered ferruginea to be more closely related to O. vittata than to O. jamaicensis, but McCracken & Sorenson (2005) showed that this is incorrect.” However the IOC syas “Oxyura ferruginea is split from O. jamaicensis (Ridgely & Greenfield 2001; Jaramillo 2003); H&M recognize; SACC does not.
Family: CRACIDAE - GUANS
Andean Guan – Penelope montagnil. 2 seen above Puente Ruinas on our way back to the Hotel at Aguas Caliente. In Greek mythology Penelope was daughter of Icarus and wife of Ulysses, King of Ithaca.
Family: ARDEIDAE - HERONS
Fasciated Tiger-Heron – Tigrisoma fasciatum. Very good views of one from the train in the Urubamba River near the Mandor Valley.
Black-crowned Night Heron – Nycticorax nycticorax. A female seen at Huacarpay lakes.
Little Blue Heron – Egretta caerulea. One seen at Huacarpay Lakes.
Family: THRESKIORNITHIDAE - IBIS
Puna Ibis – Plegadis ridgwayi. A few seen at Huacarpay Lakes and a few more seen from the train by the agricultural areas on our way back to Cusco from Machu-Picchu. Named for Robert Ridgeway US ornithologist and curator of Birds at the Smithsonian (1880-1829).
Family: ACCIPITRIDAE - HAWKS & EAGLES
Cinereous Harrier – Circus cinereus. 2 seen very well at Huacarpay Lakes.
Black-chested Buzzard-Eagle – Geranoaetus melanoleucus. One seen at Huacarpay Lakes and another one briefly seen during our morning birding as we were going to the Mandor valley.
Roadside Hawk - Buteo magnirostris. 2 seen through the scope across the Urubamba River on our morning walk to the Mandor valley.
Family: RALLIDAE - RAILS
Plumbeous Rail – Pardirallus sanguinolentus. 4 in total seen really well at Huacarpay Lakes – the easiest Rail to be seen!!
Common Gallinule – Gallinula galeata. Common at Huacarpay Lakes. Note that the New World form has been split from the Common Moorhen of Eurasia. Common Gallinule of Western Hemisphere is split from Common Moorhen on the basis of morphological, genetic, and vocal differences (Groenenberg et al 2008).
Slate-colored (Andean) Coot – Fulica ardesiaca. Common at Huacarpay Lakes.
Family: CHARADRIIDAE - PLOVERS
Andean Lapwing - Vanellus resplendens. 10+ in total seen around Huacarpay Lakes.
Family: LARIDAE – GULLS
Andean Gull - Chroicocephalus serranus. Quite common on the three consecutive days through the tour.
Family: COLUMBIDAE – PIGEONS AND DOVES
Spot-winged Pigeon - Patagioenas maculosa. Quite common at Huacarpay Lakes and also on our way in to Machu-Picchu.
White-tipped Dove - Leptotila verreauxi decipiens. Common along the Urubamba River below the Machu-Picchu Inca Ruins.
Eared Dove – Zenaida auriculata. Very common at Huacarpay Lakes.
Bare-faced Ground-Dove – Metriopelia ceciliae. A few seen at Huacarpay Lakes. Named for Cecile Gautrau fl 1845 daughter of French naturalist Rene Lesson.
Family: APODIDAE - SWIFTS
White-tipped Swift - Aeronautes montivagus. About 6 seen on our morning walk to the Mandor Valley.
Andean Swift – Aeronautes andecolus. 10+ seen from the train on our way in to Machu-Picchu.
Family: TROCHILIDAE - HUMMINGBIRDS
Green Hermit – Phaethornis guy. One seen briefly near Puente Ruinas on our way back from the Mandor valley.
Sparkling Violet-ear - Colibri coruscans. 2 seen at Huacarpay Lake.
Speckled Hummingbird - Adelomyia melanogenys. 2 seen along the train journey on our way in to the Mandor valley.
Bearded Mountaineer - Oreonympha nobilis. 1 seen very well at the Huambutio Bridge on the Vilcanota River – a Peruvian endemic. Oreonympha is from the Greek– oros = mountain and numphe = nymph so Mountain Nymph! ENDEMIC.
Bronzy Inca – Coeligena Coeligena. One seen briefly at the Mandor valley.
Booted Racket-tail - Ocreatus underwoodii. A female seen at Mandor valley. The “Racquet-tailed Puffleg" was unknown in life but sepciemens existed in various London cabinets, whence a drawing was sent to Lesson (1832) by Mr. Underwood on behalf of Charles Stokes a London stockbroker and collector.
Giant Hummingbird – Patagona gigas. Nice view of two around Huacarpay Lakes. The worlds largest Hummingbird.
White-bellied Woodstar – Chaetocercus mulsant. One male at the Mandor valley.
Green and White Hummingbird - Leucippus viridicauda. Seen on two consecutive days at Machu-Picchu – a common Pervian endemic in Machu-Picchu and range restricted. ENDEMIC.
Family: MOMOTIDAE - MOTMOTS
Andean Motmot - Momotus aequatorialis. Good views of 3 on our walk to Mandor valley. M. aequatorialis is one of six species in the Momotus momota complex. So there are now 6 recognized species that came out of the old Blue- crowned Motmot:
Momotus coeruliceps Blue-crowned Motmot – NE and Central Mexico;
Momotus lessoni Blue-diademed Motmot – South Mexico to Central Panama;
Momotus subrufescens Whooping Motmot - E Panama to NC Venezuela and the Magdalena Valley of Colombia; SE Ecuador and extreme NW Peru;
Momotus bahamensis Trinidad Motmot – Trindad & Tobago;
Momotus momota Amazonian Motmot - Venezuela (S of the Orinoco) and the Guianas S through the entire Amazon basin to extreme N Argentina and Paraguay;
Momotus aequatorialis Andean Motmot – The Andes from NC Colombia.
Family: PICIDAE – WOODPECKERS
Ocellated Piculet - Picumnus dorbygnianus. Very nice views of 3 in total on our walk to the Mandor valley. Range Restricted.
Golden-olive Woodpecker – Piculus rubiginosus. 2 seen on our way back from Mandor valley.
Family: FALCONIDAE - CARACARAS & FALCONS
Mountain Caracara- Phalcoboenus megalopterus. One seen from the bus on our way in to Ollantaytambo to catch our train to Machu-Picchu. There are no true Crows in South America and the Caracaras fill that ecological niche as scavengers.
American Kestrel - Falco sparverius. Common – seen on the first two days of our Machu-Pichu secction.
Family: PSITTACIDAE - PARROTS
Mitred Parakeet – Psittacara mitrata. Brief views the first day and better views on our morning walk to the Mandor valley. Fjelds & Krabbe (1990) and Sibley & Monroe (1990) suggested that the subspecies alticola of Peru might deserve species rank from Psittacara mitratus. Arndt (2006) provided further rationale for treatment of alticola as a separate species. SACC proposal to recognize alticola as a separate species did not pass. Not recognized by Schulenberg et al. (2007) or Remsen et al. (2013).
Family: THAMNOPHILIDAE - ANTBIRDS
Variable Antshrike - Thamnophilus caerulescens. 3 in total – males and female seen near Puente Ruinas and from the train in the Mandor valley.
Family: FURNARIIDAE - OVENBIRDS
Streaked Xenops – Xenops rutilans. Seen on two consecutive days near Puente Ruinas and along the train-line and on our way to the Mandor valley.
Wren-like Rushbird – Phleocryptes melanops. After a lot of effort we finally saw one individual very well that responded to play-back at Huacarpay Lakes.
Streak-fronted Thornbird – Phacellodomus striaticeps. Brief views at Huacarpay Lakes. Range Restricted.
Rusty-fronted Canastero - Asthenes ottonis. We encounterd two that did need play-back, that behaved really well that we all got great views at Huacarlpay Lakes. ENDEMIC.
Family: TYRANNIDAE – TYRANT & FLYCATCHERS
Sclater’s Tyrannulet - Phyllomyias sclateri. Quite common around Machu Picchu – seen on two consecutive days. Named for Phillip Ludley Sclater, English ornithologist and collector. Range Restricted.
Ashy-headed Tyrannulet - Phyllomyias cinereiceps. One seen nicely on our walk to Mandor valley.
White-crested Elaenia – Elaenia albiceps. Quite common at Huacarpay lakes – several of them seen.
Torrent Tyrannulet - Serpophaga cinerea. Seen on two consecutive days along the Urubamba River around Aguas Caliente – 9 in total.
Mottle-cheeked Tyrannulet - Phylloscartes ventralis. Quite common around Mandor valley at Machu-Picchu – 8 in total.
Many-colored Rush-Tyrant – Tachuris rubigastra. Several great views at Huacarpay lakes of this colorful flycatcher. Another reedbeed specialist.
Smoke-colored Pewee – Contopus fumigatus. Very good views of 3 on our way to Mandor valley.
Black Phoebe -Sayornis nigricans latirostris. Common along the Urubamba River, seen around Aguas Caliente; this is the southern subspecies latirostris. The change from the darker-winged nominate nigricans to the white-winged latirostris is a north-south cline, with larger amounts of white gradually appearing further south.
Spot-billed Ground-Tyrant - Muscisaxicola maculirostris. Good views of one individual at Huacarpay lakes.
White-browed Chat-Tyrant - Ochthoeca leucophrys. One or two seen well at Huacarpay lakes.
Golden-crowned Flycatcher – Myiodynastes chrysocephalus. Common along the Urubamba River - seen on two consecutive days.
Tropical Kingbird - Tyrannus melancholicus. Common around Aguas Caliente and Mandor valley.
Family: COTINGIDAE - COTINGAS
Masked Fruiteater - Pipreola pulchra. Great views of males and females above Puente Ruinas and also at Mandor valley – 4 in total. A Peruvian endemic. ENDEMIC.
Andean Cock-of-the-rock - Rupicola peruviana. One female seen near the Mandor valley. The Peruvian national bird.
Family: TITYRIDAE – TITYRAS & BECARDS
Barred Becard - Pachyramphus versicolor. 2 males seen on our way to the Mandor valley.
Family: VIREONIDAE - VIREOS
Red-eyed (Chivi) Vireo - Vireo olivaceus chivi. Quite common at Machu-Picchu; some classifications have considered the South American chivi group as a separate species ("Chivi Vireo") from V. olivaceus, or as conspecific with V. flavoviridis (Hamilton 1962). Ridgely & Greenfield (2001) suggested, however, that more than one species may be involved within the South American chivi group itself.
Brown-capped Vireo - Vireo leucophrys. Good views at Machu-Picchu.
Family: HIRUNDINIDAE – SWALLOWS
Blue-and-white Swallow - Notiochelidon cyanoleuca. Common at Machu-Picchu.
Brown-bellied Swallow - Notiochelidon murina. A few seen from the train on our way to Machu-Picchu.
Family: TROGLODYTIDAE - WRENS
House Wren - Troglodytes aedon. Common.
Inca Wren - Thryothorus eisenmanni. Wonderful views of 3 individuals on our way back from Mandor valley in the chusquea bamboo forest. A Peruvian endemic. Named for Eugene Eisenmann US/Panamanian ornithologist (1906- 1981). ENDEMIC.
Gray-breasted Wood-Wren - Henicorhina leucophrys. Heard only.
Family: CINCLIDAE - DIPPERS
White-capped Dipper - Cinclus leucocephalus. Very nice view on the Urubamba River on two consecutive days – 2 on the way in and 6 on our way back, counting the ones we saw on our morning walk to Mador valley.
Family: TURDIDAE – THRUSHES & SOLITAIRES
Andean Solitaire - Myadestes ralloides. Heard only.
Chiguanco Thrush - Turdus chiguanco chiguanco. Common.
Glossy-black Thrush - Turdus serranus. Heard only.
Family: THRAUPIDAE – TANAGERS & ALLIES
Oleaginous Hemispingus - Hemispingus frontalis. Great looks along the train line on our morning walk to Mandor valley.
Black-eared Hemispingus – Hemispingus melanotis berlepschi. A male seen just by James on our way to Mandor valley.
Silver-beaked Tanager – Ramphocelus carbo. Quite common at Mandor valley.
Fawn-breasted Tanager - Pipraeidea melanonota. Two seen on our morning walk to Mandor valley.
Blue-and-yellow Tanager - Thraupis bonariensis. Seen at Huacarpay lakes and also at Machu-Picchu. The southernmost ranging Tanager named for the Aregentine capital Buenos Aires.
Blue-Gray Tanager - Thraupis episcopus. Common around Machu-Picchu – seen on two consecutive days.
Palm Tanager – Thraupis palmarum. One seen on our morning walk to Mandor valley.
Saffron-crowned Tanager - Tangara xanthocephala. 4 in total on our morning walk to Mandor valley. The subspecies here has an orange crown.
Golden-naped Tanager - Tangara ruficervix. Three seen on our morning walk to Mandor valley.
Blue-necked Tanager - Tangara cyanicollis. Common, but beautiful – seen on two consecutive days.
Silver-backed Tanager - Tangara viridicollis. Great views on our way to Mandor valley – males and females.
Blue Dacnis – Dacnis cayana. Male and female seen on our way to Mandor valley.
Capped Conebill – Conirostrum albifrons. 3 seen above Puente ruinas.
Rusty Flower-piercer - Diglossa sittoides. 3 in total seen on two consecutive days – above Puente ruinas and on our way to Mandor valley.
Mourning Sierra-Finch – Phrygilus fruticeti. One male and a few females seen at Huacarpay Lakes.
Ash-breasted Sierra-Finch – Phrygilus plebejus. A few seen at Huacarpay Lakes.
Greenish Yellow-Finch – Sicalis olivascens. Also a few seen at Huacarpay lakes.
Black-and-white Seedeater - Sporophila luctuosa. Brief views at Machu-Picchu.
Band-tailed Seedeater - Catamenia analis. Common around Huacarpay Lakes.
Dull-colored Grassquit - Tiaris obscura. Good views on our way back from Mandor valley.
Family: EMBEZERIDAE – NEW WORLD SPARROWS
Rufous-collared Sparrow - Zonatrichia capensis. Common.
Chestnut-capped Brush-finch - Arremon brunneinucha. Very nice view of one individual on our way in to Mandor valley.
Family: CARDINALIDAE – CARDINAL GROSBEAKS
Black-backed Grosbeak - Pheucticus aureoventris. Seen on two consecutive days – above Puente ruinas and on our way to Mandor valley.
Family: PARULIDAE – NEW WORLD WARBLER
Tropical Parula - Setophaga pitiayumi. Quite common around Machu-Picchu – seen on two consecutive days.
Slate-throated (Whitestart) Redstart - Myioborus miniatus. Common.
Spectacled Whitestart (Redstart) - Myioborus melanocephalus. 2 seen on our way to Mandor valley.
Family: ICTERIDAE – ORIOLES & BLACKBIRDS
Dusky-green Oropendola - Psarocolius atrovirens. 8 in total seen at Machu-Picchu – the only Oropendola species at Machu-Picchu. Range Restricted.
Yellow-winged Blackbird – Agelasticus thilius. Males and females seen at Huacarpay Lakes.
Family: FRINGILLIDAE - FINCHES
Hooded Siskin - Spinus magellanica. A few seen at Huacarpay Lakes.
Olivaceous Siskin - Spinus olivacea. A few seen at Machu-Picchu.
Thick-billed Euphonia - Euphonia laniirostris. Quite common around Machu-Picchu; the genus names means “fine-voiced”.
Orange-bellied Euphonia – Euphonia xanthogaster. Seen on two consecutive days around Machu-Picchu.