Photo Gallery
Rich Hoyer
Our tour starts with our checking lakes and marshes for waterbirds and the dry, brushy slopes near Cusco for regional specialties.
One of our main targets in these drier valleys is the very local endemic Rusty-fronted Canastero. Photo by participant Andy Fix.
We then take a scenic, short side trip by train down the Urubamba River to the village of Machu Picchu.
If not seen from the train, White-capped Dipper is usually found along the river between the village and the ruins.
Our morning spent at Machu Picchu will be unforgettable.
There will be pauses in our local guide’s explanation of Machu Picchu for special birds, such as Inca Wren.
Masked Fruiteater is one of many cloud forest species we may see after our visit to the ruins as we return to town.
After Machu Picchu we ascend the drier slope of the Andes, making stops for such birds as the Tufted Tit-Tyrant in brushy draws.
Our next lodging is Wayqecha Biological Station and Birding Lodge in the midst of gorgeous cloud forest at 9500 feet elevation.
Birding from the roadside in this cloud forest is most productive, though we may have time to visit the hanging bridges.
The minute Mountain Wren can be found in trees whose trunks are thickly clad in moss.
Closer to treeline, the endemic Puna Thistletail can either be furtive and hard to see or bold and sitting out in the open. Photo by participant Andy Fix.
We bird our way down the humid slope with many stops at different elevations.
The taller forest just downslope from Wayqecha is home to the stunning Barred Fruiteater.
And this is where we have the best chances for the amazing Gray-breasted Mountain-Toucan. Photo by participant Andy Fix.
As we work our way downslope into even taller forest, Golden-headed Quetzal becomes a likely roadside discovery.
Abundant flowers lilke this Fuchsia can attract hummingbirds, and if you’re lucky a Long-tailed Sylph may come in while you’re watching. Photo by participant Andy Fix.
The Striped Treehunter is usually very hard to see well, but this one paused to see if the coast was clear before continuing to its nest. Photo by participant Andy Fix.
Our next home is the mid-elevation Cock of the Rock Lodge, one of the best-situated lodges in the country.
A short drive away is a lek of the bizarre Andean Cock-of-the-rock, this head-bowing posture somehow irresistible to the females..
Our lodge does have hummingbird feeders, but the unusual Geoffroy’s Daggerbill prefers the flowers.
We finally reach the lowest elevation at the incredibly birdy Villa Carmen Biological Station and Birding Lodge, with this view of the gardens from the dining hall.
Our rooms here are the best on the tour – elegant, breezy, and comfortable.
Don’t be too surprised to find a Common Snouted Treefrog in your room.
Some of the most beautiful birds here are common, such as the Blue-crowned Trogon. Photo by participant Andy Fix.
Even Bluish-fronted Jacamar, reminding one of a huge, sparkling hummingbird, is a regular sight at Villa Carmen. Photo by participant Andy Fix.
A family of Hoatzins, one of the biggest taxonomic enigmas in ornithology (the only ruminant among birds and with no close relatives), is usually visible from the dining hall or even our rooms.
It will take more effort to locate a stunning Plum-throated Cotinga as they perch up in distant trees for only a short time in the morning. Photo by participant Andy Fix.
We’ll hope to have an opportunity to visit some nearby hummingbird feeding stations where Gould’s Jewelfront is a good possibility. Photo by participant Andy Fix.
There’s often a stake-out potoo, here a nestling Common Potoo right above the trail.
On Rich Hoyer’s tours, we stop to admire all forms of wildlife, and the variety encountered along the trails seems to have no end, here a pleasing fungus beetle in the genus Gibbifer.
The moth diversity is mind boggling, some species extremely attractive, if little known. This one has been dubbed the Amazon Silky White.
The Kosñipata Valley, merely 45 miles of road from Wayqecha to Villa Carmen, hosts more species of butterfly than any other similarly sized area in the world. This is the Sylphina Angel.
We won’t be able to ignore such beautiful gems as this Superb Leafwing.