THE PARACAS PENINSULAR AND THE HIGH ANDES  OF PERU INCLUDING THE COLCA CANYON 

SEABIRDS, SALT LAKES, POLYLEPIS FOREST AND WEST  SLOPE SPECIALITIES

16 DAYS 

Day 01 :  Arrive in Lima and transfer to our hotel in Miraflores. If time permits an optional excursion to the nearby Villa Marshes can be arranged.  Night at Hotel in Lima. 

Day 02 : Full day excursion to the north of  Lima to the Lomas de Lachay nature reserve. In a cactus clad canyon we will look for the endemic Cactus Canastero. we should also find Grayish Miner here (endemic).  Later we will explore the greener areas of the reserve, sustained by fog vegetation created by the cold Humboldt  Current just offshore . We will be looking for Thick-billed Miner and Raimondi's Yellow-finch in particular ( both  endemics). Also here are Amazillia Hummingbird, Least Seedsnipe , Coastal Miner, Collared  Warbling -finch and Peruvian Thicknee. We return to Hotel la Castellana in Miraflores for the night. 

Day 03 : To-day we drive south of Lima towards Paracas and we will make selected stops along the way in agricultural areas particularly for Peruvian Thicknee and Slender-billed Finch. Other possibilities include a variety of Seedeaters including Drab (endemic), Parrot-billed and Chestnut-throated as well as Short-tailed Field-tyrant. Night at a hotel at Paracas. 

Day 04 : This morning we will spend on a pelagic trip to the Ballestas Islands. On the way out we will be on the lookout for inshore and pelagic species. depending on the time of year and weather we could see any of the following - Giant Petrel, Markham's Storm-petrel, Wilson's Petrel, White-rumped Storm-petrel, Wedge-rumped Storm Petrel, Cape Petrel,  Peruvian Diving-petrel, Swallow-tailed Gull, Waved Albatross .  Continuing on to the Ballestas Islands, the spactacle of these guano islands covered with tens of thousands of nesting Cormorants and Boobies is a stunning sight, not to mention the large colonies of South-American Sea-lion and Southern Fur-seals .  Our targets here are the lovely Inca Tern, Peruvian Seaside Cinclodes and Humboldt Penguin.  We'll return for an early lunch and on to the Paracas Bay in search of Great Grebe and shorebirds on the mudflats. We have seen Snowy-crowned Tern and Rufous-chested Dottrel here in the past.  In the evening we will look for Peruvian Thicknees in the irrigated desert scrub. Night at our hotel at Paracas. 

Day 05 : This morning we'll spend at the Pisco marshes sorting  thru mixed flocks of  Gulls, Terns and Shorebirds.  We will surely see a variety of  Herons and Waterfowl. Setting off for Lima we'll make selected stops in the arid littoral for selected species. Night at  Hotel  La Castellana in Miraflores, Lima. 

Day 06 : Very early start for the drive to Huaraz in the breathtaking Cordillera Blanca. We'll break the  journey with selected stops for Great Inca Finch, Piura Chay-Tyrant, Peruvian Sheartail, Bay-crowned Brush-Finch. In the late afternoon we'll stop at  lake Conococha for typical Andean waterfowl including Andean Goose, Giant Coot, Silvery Grebe and White-tufted Grebe. We'll arrive in the early evening  at our  comfortable Hostal Andino in Huaraz, frequented more often by mountain climbers than birders!     

Day 07 :  Full day trip with a picnic lunch to Lake Llanganuco. A more astounding setting cannot  be imagined. Towering above the lake is the magnificent peak of Huascaran, the highest mountain in Peru.  We'll be looking for Canasteros and Ground tyrants and in the mature Polylepis woodland, we'll be on the lookout for Giant Conebill, Tit-like Dacnis ( which abounds) and the shy Jelski's Chat-tyrant (endemic)  Other possibilities include Rusty-crowned Tit-spinetail (endemic), Southern Line-ckeeked Spinetail (endemic), Rufous-eared  Brush-finch (endemic), Black-crested Tit-tyrant, Black Metaltail (endemic).   Selected stops include a search for the Rufous-backed Inca-finch (endemic) and Pale-tailed Canastero (endemic) which we have seen with regularity before. Night Hostal Andino in Huaraz. 

Day 08 : Retracing  our steps  of the previous day we drive past lake  Llanganuco and up into the higher patches of Polylepis forest. Our two target birds to-day are  the rare mistletoe specialist - White-cheeked Cotinga (endemic) and Plain-tailed Warbling Finch( endemic).   We'll also hope to see Tawny Tit-spinetail, Ancash Tapaculo and Ash-breasted Tit-tyrant (endemic). In the afternoon we'll bird slowly back to Huaraz looking for Andean Condors along the way. Night at Hostal Andino in Huaraz. 

Day 09 : Drive from  Huaraz to  Lima to connect with the afternoon flight to Arequipa and transfer to our hotel in the city.

Day 10 :  Full day birding the salt lake of Laguna Salinas and the surrounding puna grasslands. We'll take a picnic lunch and take it very slowly at the altitude of over 4000 meters.  Priority will be given to the salt flats where we hope to see three species of Flamingo - Andean, Puna and Chilean. These Flamingoes present a dramatic picture flying against a backdrop of snow-covered peaks. Here also we will see Puna Plover and Andean Avocet.   On the surrounding grasslands we will be looking for a host of high alltitude Furnarids,  Ground-tyrants  and Sierra-finches, but in particular for Ornate and Puna Tinamou, Rufous-bellied and Gray-breasted Seedsnipes, White-throated Sierra-Finch, Andean Condor and Golden-spotted Ground-dove. We'll return to Arequipa for the night. Night in hotel in Arequipa. 

Day 11 : We’ll drive to the Colca Canyon this morning. Making various stops at lakes, grasslands and bogs, we’ll be looking for Andean Avocet, Golden-spotted Ground Dove and a wide variety of Canasteros, Sierra-finches, Waterfowl and Ground-Tyrants. In the afternoon we’ll plan to arrive early at the Colca Lodge which boasts its own private hot springs. Night at Colca Lodge  

Day 12 : To Cruz del Condor for Andean Condor. The Colca Canyon is the deepest canyon in the world, surpassing the Grand Canyon in the USA. As the air warms and thermals develop, Andean Condors lazily drift up from their roosting sites in the canyon and circle over your head. They come so close you can feel the rush of wind as they pass.  Anyone can photograph Condors here. Other Birds of Prey take advantage of the thermals as well including : Puna Hawk, Aplomado and Peregrine Falcons and mountain Caracaras. Canyon Canastero is in the brush. After a leisurely lunch we’ll head back to Arequipa for the night, stopping for any interesting birds along the way. 

Day 13 : To-day  we'll visit the Scrub/Polylepis  zone above Chiguata.  Specialities here include  : White-throated and Straight-billed Eartcreepers, Black-hooded Sierra-finch, Dark-winged Canastero (endemic), Canyon Canastero (endemic), Giant Conebill and the rare Tamarugo Conebill.  Working back down to Arequipa in the afternoon after a picnic lunch we'll bird the scrub - possibilities include  Peruvian Sheartail, Black Metaltail, Aplomado Falcon, Slender-billed Miner.  We plan to get the evening flight from Arequipa to Lima and drive to our hotel in Santa Eulalia. Night at Hotel in Santa Eulalia. 

Day 14 :  Full day birding the road from Santa Eulalia to Casta.  To-day we will investigate arid cactus associations for Great Inca -finch (endemic) and watch for mixed flocks working across the valley sides. Specialities here include Black-necked Woodpecker (endemic) ,  Striated Earthcreeper (endemic), Pied-crested Tit-tyrant, Rusty-bellied Brush-finch (endemic), Rusty-crowned Tit-spinetail (endemic), Canyon Canastero (endemic), Scrub Blackbird. We have seen the very rare Rufous-breasted Warbling-finch (endemic) here in the past. To-night we will return to the hotel in Santa Eulalia.

Day 15 :  Full day excursion to Marcapomacocha. We are birding at extreme altitude here at over 4500 meters, but  it's worth the effort as some very special birds can be found here. We will walk slowly over boggy river bottoms in search of one of the 3 pairs of the almost mythical Diademed Sandpiper-plover we know are here, picking up along the way birds such as Olivaceous Thornbill, Puna Snipe, Correndera Pipit, Andean Goose, Crested Duck, White-winged Diuca-finch, White-fronted Ground-tyrant and Bright-rumped Yellow-finch.  Working the boulder strewn grassy areas we will look for perhaps the classiest of all Cinclodes, the White-bellied.( endemic)  Here too we will find the endemic Dark-winged Miner (endemic) alongside the Common Miner.  If time permits we'll visit a nearby lake where Giant Coot  and other high Andean waterfowl occur, and Black-breasted Hillstar (endemic) feed on the hillsides.    After this fantastic days birding amidst wonderful scenery, we return to  our hotel in Lima.  

Day 16 :  Transfer to the Lima airport to connect with international flights.