Disqus - Latest Comments for BirdingPeru

Re: Day 365: So Long, and Thanks For All The Birds

Gunnar Engblom — Fri, 01 Jan 2016 03:48:30 -0000

Congratulations Noah! I'm stunned! I knew you could make it! But even more impressed that you are going birding on January 1 rather than have one or two bottles of champagne!
I checked some of your stats. On the blog it shows that Peru gave you more year birds than anywhere else! Peru is #1 with 488 year species. Ebird reveals also that Peru was the country where you had more birds than anywhere else with 788 species in 21 days.
I'll have some champagne for that, while you are birding on New Year's day. We are just celebrating the New Year here as it is just past midnight in Peru.
Happy New Year! More Birds!
That is my motto...but hard for you in 2016. :-)

Re: Day 363: 6,000 Birds!

Gunnar Engblom — Wed, 30 Dec 2015 23:40:20 -0000

Yeah, that was a tough decision what to do the next day. We could not afford another cancellation and needed to make the connection with the flight in Lima to Chiclayo. So we drove all the way and had hoped to do some birding on the way. This was the first and last time I intended to do both birding and try to arrive in Lima for an evening flight from Huanuco in one go. The traffic on the Central Highway was horrendous.

It would be great to bird with you here in Peru Carlos. Hopefully sooner than later!

Just looked through the numbers of year species per country and Peru is #1 with 488 year species. Ebird reveals also that Peru was the country where Noah had more birds than anywhere else with 788 species in 21 days.

Re: Day 363: 6,000 Birds!

Gunnar Engblom — Wed, 30 Dec 2015 20:42:06 -0000

You missed Tarapoto to Lima, Carlos...

We had flown to Chiclayo and travelled overland to Tarapoto - also known as the Northern Peru Birding Route.

It was on this route the LSU team had a Big Day of 354 species in 2014.

Re: Day 363: 6,000 Birds!

Gunnar Engblom — Wed, 30 Dec 2015 14:05:22 -0000

Fantastic Noah! You certainly set the bar high now for anyone to attempt a world big year. For me and others who have helped with field logistics and guiding it is an honor to have been part of every birder's ultimate dream - a big year of birding - but with time constraints, work and day-to-day-life seldom can be fitted in. You have taken us and your blog-followers on a fantastic birding adventure. Can't wait to see the book.

Now prepare a trip to see the birds you missed! And if you want less logistical problems in SE and Central Peru, perhaps best not to do it in the rainy season. :-)
Having said that, we did very well under the circumstances even in Central Peru. The photo shows everyone very happy after getting Golden-backed Mountain-Tanager at Bosque Unchog.

Re: Day 360: Boxing Day

Gunnar Engblom — Mon, 28 Dec 2015 15:47:13 -0000

Of course! I was in the mindset that he'd come back to Peru where he for instance missed lots of birds around Cusco because of a local strike, or elsewhere in the Americas for that matter, but some islands in the Pacific would make a lot of sense.

Re: The Species List

Gunnar Engblom — Mon, 28 Dec 2015 14:52:19 -0000

He'd get an extra day of birding if crossing the date line, since a flight i.e from Tokyo will land in LA before it took off, so if he can find a flight more or less directly to i.e. Cuba from East Asia... many new birds are to be had.
If he'd find a flight more or less direct to Lima; Peru (unlikely) I could still take him back to Cusco and Abra Malaga for the species he stills need. We could add 10 species quite easily in day, since we never did this part due to local strikes and blocked roads.

But the more likely revisit in the Americas which would work, would perhaps be Mexico for species near Mexico City and flight to Yucatan for a restricted range species including Cozumel or Panama where he could visit Darien.

Having said that there must be a bunch of Asian islands that would also do the trick without the time-travel!

Re: Day 159: Grounded and Zeroed

Gunnar Engblom — Thu, 11 Jun 2015 15:07:03 -0000

Something like that would never happen in Peru, Noah :-)
So how many species did that cost you in North America? Not too many I hope. Good start on Iceland I see.

Re: Day 64: Adios Amazonas

Gunnar Engblom — Sun, 15 Mar 2015 23:12:35 -0000

Yeah, a really sour end for me of the trip. All my photos lost, except my Rufous-headed Woodpecker from the previous post.
If anyone wants to help, the campaign still runs another 5 days.
https://life.indiegogo.com/...

Re: Day 59: Making the Best of Car Trouble

Gunnar Engblom — Thu, 05 Mar 2015 17:47:17 -0000

There is an interesting background to throwing in a short Manu road trip like this. Originally, Noah had sent me a suggestion to do Manu road more properly, but I was worried about landslides and suggested we instead should bird the new road to Puerto Maldonado, which does have some good forest along the way, but is far less explored by birders.
In the end when throwing around the days, and the proposed road trip was almost at the end of the time in Peru, I suggested to re-instate the Manu road for only two days if road conditions were OK. I was told the road was OK until some 12 hours before start, when I suddenly learnt there had been a major landslide. It was a gamble, but in terms of the birds gotten, it played well.
Outsourcing the transport was less succesful. I am still amazed that we were given a vehicle with tyres in such poor state.

I still think doing Manu road in the rainy season (mid December to Mid April) mostly is a bad idea. Furthermore, the best place for Hummingbirds, Amazonia Lodge, is closed.

Re: Day 55: 24 Hours of Birding

Gunnar Engblom — Sat, 28 Feb 2015 02:32:43 -0000

Birding is a drug and I am a pusher! :-)

Re: Day 55: 24 Hours of Birding

Gunnar Engblom — Fri, 27 Feb 2015 15:07:03 -0000

It was fun, Noah! Maybe after your Big Year we could do a Big Day properly in Peru. Another book project perhaps? Why not a series of Big Days with proper scouting. One in North Peru on the route we just did, one in Central Peru on the Satipo road and one in the South on Manu road. Which one would rack up 400 species?

Re: Day 54: What Marvelous Whiskers You Have

Gunnar Engblom — Fri, 27 Feb 2015 14:38:45 -0000

Watch a video of the owlet! http://youtu.be/0Lknchq6Mps

Re: Day 48: Finding the Golden-backed Mountain-Tanager (and Some Trouble)

Gunnar Engblom — Thu, 26 Feb 2015 23:27:42 -0000

I had to drive our 2010 blue Van up to Bosque Unchog, as Julio drove our brand new Van to Chclayo, and we simply could not find another driver willing to replace Julio on short notice. Manuel could not get more time off his regular job.
This morning I drove it a bit too far and got stuck, and the invisable potholes I had hit during the drive on the poor Junin-Huanuco stretch on the Central Highway had bended the rims so the air seeped out from the tires. Manuel later came to the rescue and got the Van down to Huanuco to get fixed the same afternoon-evening.
In the end, all well with Golden-backed Mountain-tanager in the bag, cancelled flight, and free hotel and a meal in Huanuco.

John O'Neill says in "A Parrrot without a name":
"In Peru it is best to count on things not going as you hope and be happy when they do".

The Gods know I have learnt that lesson after years in Peru. I never get worked up, or get dispair in these situations. Eventually things work out with some patience. Stay flexible and re-assess the situation.

Re: Day 51: Pushing the Limits

Gunnar Engblom — Thu, 26 Feb 2015 23:00:32 -0000

I'm Swedish, but over 50, and the only time I have ever heard the term is when referring to hitting the wall in a marathon...

Re: The Species List

Gunnar Engblom — Thu, 19 Feb 2015 08:30:43 -0000

Well spotted. Yes of course it was Crimson-mantled we saw. Thanks. I'll see to that Noah will change it.

Re: Day 43: Hitting the Bird Ceiling

Gunnar Engblom — Sat, 14 Feb 2015 09:10:39 -0000

Welcome to Peru Noah!

Re: The Species List

Gunnar Engblom — Tue, 10 Feb 2015 22:10:12 -0000

Interview with Noah on BirdingBlogs. Enjoy! Want to ask Noah something about the continuation of the quest?
http://birdingblogs.com/201...

Re: The Species List

Gunnar Engblom — Sun, 08 Feb 2015 02:28:47 -0000

Still another 1200 species missing though in Peru, so there will be a lot of additions.

Re: The Species List

Gunnar Engblom — Fri, 06 Feb 2015 23:03:49 -0000

Looks like Noah will hit 1000 birds very soon and before he arrives in Peru. We shall be needing to adjust the itinerary somewhat and perhaps add additional sites while we cut off some rainforest days.

Some about the birding strategy that we shall employ in Peru you can find here.

http://www.kolibriexpeditio...

Re: Day 35: Birding in the Amazon

Gunnar Engblom — Thu, 05 Feb 2015 21:52:11 -0000

hmm.

You are getting a lot of Amazonian birds Noah. I am beginning to wonder whether Amigos will actually produce a whole lot that you could not get elsewhere - and whether we should cut the Peruvian Amazon short and perhaps enter a few Central Peru days and/or a day in Iquitos for White sand forest.

Re: Semi-finals World Bird Destination Cup 2013

Gunnar Engblom — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 17:24:55 -0000

Trator!
Just kidding, Alex! Australia is far behind right now with only 8 hours to go!

Re: Semi-finals World Bird Destination Cup 2013

Gunnar Engblom — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 14:35:32 -0000

Thanks for the input Paul.

Re: Semi-finals World Bird Destination Cup 2013

Gunnar Engblom — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 14:33:40 -0000

The other info is from the somewhat dated Where to Watch birds in Africa by Nigel Wheatley,

Re: Semi-finals World Bird Destination Cup 2013

Gunnar Engblom — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 13:29:06 -0000

I checked a tour company saying one can see around 20 species of Lemurs on a tour. I have changed the phrasing.
I am Swedish, so my English is probably better than your Swedish, but far from perfect... but I look forward to your corrections. :-)

Re: Dawns bloggy blog: F#@% the Tufted Duck!

Gunnar Engblom — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 19:55:15 -0000

I totally agree with you dawn. Birding in cold weather sucks.