Vilcabamba Thistletail Quest, And Birding The Calquiña Valley

Back when I was researching the Cusco leg of the trip, one bird in particular held a certain allure. The Vilcabamba Thistletail. It is one of those “birder’s birds”. It isn’t that unique of a species, looking very similar to the Puna Thistletail which is a bit more widespread in the eastern Andes of southern Peru. However, it is a species that few birders have laid eyes on – mainly because it is only known to exist in a few valleys to the west of Cusco. The range of the Vilcabamba Thisteltail is just far enough away from Cusco that most birders do not put in the effort to seek it out. 

Laura and I had budgeted enough time in the Cusco area that we made it a priority to search for the Vilcabamba Thistletail. The only problem is that I did not have any intel on the quality of the roads that access suitable habitat. The most reliable site seemed to be high up on the Kiteni Road which travels north from a small town (called Yupancca on Maps.me, and Lucma on Google Maps - I am not sure what the locals call it). Since Laura and I had rented a small car, there was a chance that we would not be able to traverse stretches of the Kiteni Road. However, it was the dry season and nearly every road that we had encountered up to this point was passable by a small car, provided that one was willing to drive slowly, methodically and creatively. After all, most of the locals who own vehicles have sedans or station wagons and they seem to get around just fine. 

August 26, 2022

After a morning birding session at the Abra Malaga pass, Laura and I spent the bulk of the afternoon heading west. The paved road turned to gravel but the quality remained acceptable and we slowly made our way to the start of the Kiteni Road. I wasn’t sure if there was available lodging anywhere. We had packed a lightweight blanket and sleeping bag with us and were prepared to put them to use. Fortunately, we found some rooms for rent a few towns south of the start of the Kiteni Road and so we paid her 40 soles (approximately $13CAD) and settled in for the night. 

August 27, 2022

We took a wrong turn which delayed us some, but eventually we found the start of the Kiteni Road (-13.050224, -72.935797). It looked a little daunting and so we inquired with a local woman walking by if the road was passable with a small car. She assured us that it was. With our spirits high, we began the drive. 

All of our worries were for naught as the Kiteni Road was clearly well-maintained. Other than a few sketchy stream crossings, the whole road was in excellent condition and we were able to access the habitats that we wanted to.  A lucky break, considering that we were going in blind!

Kiteni Road, Cusco, Peru

We made a stop near the highest point of the road since some of my eBird sleuthing had revealed that the Vilcabamba Tapaculo is regularly reported here. Several minutes later, a Vilcabamba Tapaculo was imprinted on my camera’s SD card. 

Vilcabamba Tapaculo - Kiteni Road, Cusco, Peru

In true tapaculo fashion, it scurried around like a mouse and always kept a few stems of moss or blades of grass between us and it. 

Vilcabamba Tapaculo - Kiteni Road, Cusco, Peru

This Sparkling Violetear absolutely glistened in the morning sun. 

Sparkling Violetear - Kiteni Road, Cusco, Peru

We made it to an area where birders had reported the thistletail in recent years. The drive had taken quite some time and the morning was not exactly young anymore, but we set out on foot. Thick bamboo flanked the gravel road and soon, we heard our first Vilcabamba Thistletails!

Obtaining a good look was another challenge altogether, but we eventually succeeded. The only individual that I photographed had an aberration with its plumage - a single white tail feather. 

Vilcabamba Thistletail - Kiteni Road, Cusco, Peru

Vilcabamba Thistletail - Kiteni Road, Cusco, Peru

With our main target acquired we breathed a sigh of relief and enjoyed the rest of the morning in the valley. The sun was shining, there were no other people around and bird activity remained steady. A perfect morning. 

Kiteni Road, Cusco, Peru

We heard several Johnson's Tody-Flycatchers, a scarce species that was formerly known only from the eastern Andes of northern Peru. A small population was discovered along the Kiteni Road in recent years. Potential for new discoveries is high in these little-explored valleys. 

Fountainea sp. - Kiteni Road, Cusco, Peru

We found several species new to us including Cusco Brushfinch and Parodi's Hemispingus. A Pale-footed Swallow cruised overhead at one point. A busy mixed flock provided our best views yet of Rust-and-yellow Tanager. And flycatchers were well-represented, with a few additional species that I do not see very often: Unstreaked Tit-Tyrant, Rufous-bellied Bush-Tyrant, and Smoky Bush-Tyrant. 

Rust-and-yellow Tanager - Kiteni Road, Cusco, Peru

Smoky Bush-Tyrant - Kiteni Road, Cusco, Peru

Rufous-bellied Bush-Tyrant - Kiteni Road, Cusco, Peru

It is easy to look past the common Cinnamon Flycatcher in search of rarer targets, but they really are an attractive species. It does not require much effort for a Cinnamon Flycatcher to bring joy to your life. These two babies with their parents did just that for us. 

Cinnamon Flycatchers - Kiteni Road, Cusco, Peru

Cinnamon Flycatchers - Kiteni Road, Cusco, Peru

Laura and I headed back down the mountain as we still had a few hours of driving ahead of us. We made a few brief stops along the way and picked up some additional bird species. One of these, the Red-crested Finch, was a new species for both of us. 

Chestnut-collared Swift - Huayurani area, Cusco, Peru

Red-crested Finch - Santa Maria area, Cusco, Peru

We found a room in the town of Santa Maria, enjoyed a hearty meal of trucha frita and called it a night. It had been a good day. 

August 27, 2022

Laura and I ventured to the nearby Valle Calquiña the next morning for several hours of birding. All of our time in Cusco to this point had been spent in the higher elevations and we were keen to explore some lower areas where bird diversity was higher. I could not find much information about the Valle Calquiña, but it was an eBird hotspot boosting a solid list despite relatively few total checklists. Residing there were several species that would be new for us, including Stripe-faced Wood-Quail, Hooded Tinamou, Sclater's Tyrannulet, Unadorned Flycatcher, Olive Flycatcher and Variable Antshrike. 

We drove the quiet gravel road up the valley and parked at an intersection (-12.98421, -72.55310). Immediately after exiting the car, our ears caught the vocalizations of some interesting species: White-throated Quail-Dove, Masked Fruiteater, White-rumped Hawk, Scaled Antpitta. Not a bad start!!

We tracked the White-rumped Hawk down and obtained incredible looks at this uncommon raptor. It was a new species for Laura, while I had only seen White-rumped Hawk on a few other occasions, always as a fly-over. 

White-rumped Hawk - Valle Calquiña, Cusco, Peru

White-rumped Hawk - Valle Calquiña, Cusco, Peru

We began walking up the gravel track signed as Morro Mirador. This was a good choice. Traffic was nonexistent and the birding was incredible during the first stretch of this road.

Valle Calquiña, Cusco, Peru

A couple of large mixed flocks kept us entertained and we quickly found our first Variable Antshrike and Sclater's Tyrannulet. We also found a Creamy-bellied Antwren which is a localized species found only in a small portion of the eastern Peruvian Andes.

Variable Antshrike - Valle Calquiña, Cusco, Peru

Sclater's Tyrannulet - Valle Calquiña, Cusco, Peru

Sclater's Tyrannulet - Valle Calquiña, Cusco, Peru

Mitred Parakeets are evidently quite common in this area. Many flocks were in the area and scarcely a minute did not pass without hearing the squawks of this species. 

Mitred Parakeet - Valle Calquiña, Cusco, Peru

We turned left at the fork and continued up this way for a while. The first part of the walk had been through a mix of secondary forest and coffee plantation and while these habitats can be birdy, a different suite of species reside in high quality forest. 

Rufous-booted Racket-tail - Valle Calquiña, Cusco, Peru

Once we entered the "good" forest the species composition changed. We heard a Hooded Tinamou, a couple of Stripe-faced Wood-Quails, several Andean Cock-of-the-Rocks and more. I photographed a Pale-legged Warbler for the first time, found a locally scarce Buff-fronted Foliage-gleaner and encountered a Collared Inca of the inca subspecies, the one with the orange throat. As I write this post a few months later, these have been split off as a new species, the Gould's Inca.

Russet-backed Oropendola - Valle Calquiña, Cusco, Peru

Pale-legged Warbler - Valle Calquiña, Cusco, Peru

We concluded with around 85 species of birds. While the Unadorned Flycatcher and Olive Flycatcher had eluded us, we were pretty thrilled with how the morning went. It was just us, the birds, and a beautiful forest.  

Valle Calquiña, Cusco, Peru

Prior to continuing back to Abra Malaga and the town of Ollantaytambo, Laura and I made one more stop at the Ipal Ecolodge. We had seen on eBird that this is a reliable location for the Swallow-tailed Hummingbird. This spectacular species is commonly found in parts of Brazil and Bolivia, but in Peru it is much more localized. 

We arrived at the property unannounced but the gracious owner, Paco Flórez Lucana was happy to let us in, chat birds with us, and stakeout the hummingbird feeders frequented by the Swallow-tailed. We did not have to wait long until our target flew in and perched above the feeders!

Swallow-tailed Hummingbird - Ipal Ecolodge, Cusco, Peru

Swallow-tailed Hummingbird - Ipal Ecolodge, Cusco, Peru

There are a number of private cabins on the property which are surrounded by fruiting trees and a ton of birds. We checked out one of the cabins and it looks comfortable, complete with private bath and hot water. If we are in the area again we would definitely stay here. You can reach Paco on his Facebook page: IPAL Inka Jungle ECOLODGE. 

Speckled Chachalaca - Ipal Ecolodge, Cusco, Peru