The Andamarca Valley is located a short drive from the Satipo Road. In stark contrast to the green environs along the Satipo Road, the Andamarca Valley is located in a rain shadow, meaning that the prevailing westerly winds dump their rain as they travel up over the eastern slope of the Andes, leaving little precipitation to fall in the Andamarca Valley. Some of the species that inhabit this valley are "stuck" here, since the conditions in their valley are quite different than the surrounding areas, with towering mountain ridges discouraging their movements and containing them inside of the valley.
One particularly bird, the Black-spectacled Brushfinch, is only known from the slopes of the Andamarca Valley. In recent years/decades, intrepid ornithologists and birders have noticed that some of the other bird species here seem a little different than expected. These include forms of Azara's Spinetail, Plain-tailed Wren, and Streak-fronted Thornbird, all of which will likely be described as new species when someone gets around to it. These forms are informally referred to as the Mantaro Spinetail, Mantaro Wren, and Mantaro Thornbird for now.
Laura and I hired Juan to join us for a day of exploration in the Andamarca Valley. He had traveled all the way to Calabaza to open the building for us and so we felt that it was the least that we could do to hire him for a day. Besides, he knew all the spots for the target species which was a nice luxury for us! eBird data in Peru is, in my experience, less high quality than in other countries that we have birded recently (Colombia, Mexico, Panama, etc), and it is difficult to find accurate locale information. Having a top-notch guide to show us around for a day would be great!
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| Andamarca Valley, Junín, Peru |
We figured that we would have to backtrack up the Satipo Road for a few hours, to enter the Andamarca Valley via the town of Runatullo. But Juan had other plans, having us simply drive south along the dirt road from Calabaza (this road is not shown on Google Maps, by the way). That way, we could bird the Andamarca Valley for the morning, and during our return, stop on the humid slope on the way back to Calabaza to search for a few more of our targets. He insisted that the road was passable with our small car, and despite a few hairy sections, it was.
July 21, 2022
We left before dawn and our first stop was around half an hour out of Calabaza when we spotted a male Lyre-tailed Nightjar on the road. His tail streamers were pretty impressive when he flew up off the road, but despite a thorough search, we were unable to relocate him. The night's darkness was just beginning to give way to light, barely illuminating the mountain landscape as Andean Solitaires provided the first voices of the pre-dawn chorus.
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| Above Calabaza, Junín, Peru |
We continued up the switchbacking dirt road, passing small communities high up in the mountains. We crossed the mountain pass into the Andamarca Valley at a touch below 4000 m in elevation.
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| Top of Andamarca Valley, Junín, Peru |
Here, we exited the car for a brief moment and found some typical high-elevation species, including Striated Earthcreepers, Andean Lapwings and an inquisitive Many-striped Canastero. A well-named bird, the Andamarca Valley is the southern terminus of this species' range.
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| Many-striped Canastero - Andamarca Valley, Junín, Peru |
We only had a short drive remaining to our next destination. Some of us were more excited for the potential endemic species that inhabited this site, while the anticipation of breakfast was perhaps the more appealing thought for others! Luckily, we could enjoy both, as the ringing songs of Mantaro Wrens provided the soundtrack while we tucked into our sandwiches.
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| Mantaro Wren - Andamarca Valley, Junín, Peru |
The trio of Mantaro Wrens were enjoyable to watch as they skulked around the shrubbery. A great start!
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| Mantaro Wren - Andamarca Valley, Junín, Peru |
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| Mantaro Wren - Andamarca Valley, Junín, Peru |
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| Mantaro Wren - Andamarca Valley, Junín, Peru |
After finishing our breakfast we hiked up a trail cut through the shrubbery along the hillside, holding out hope for the Black-spectacled Brushfinch. They were playing a bit hard to get, but there were many other birds to look for in the meantime. These included our first Highland Elaenia and Creamy-crested Spinetails, along with a Shining Sunbeam, Rufous-breasted Chat-Tyrant and flyby Andean Ibises.
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| Creamy-crested Spinetail - Andamarca Valley, Junín, Peru |
Several Junin Antpittas were vocalizing and so we tried a bit of playback to lure them in. Laura and I had heard this localized species during the previous day, but we obviously much prefer to actually see the birds! Juan's playback worked like a charm and we experienced good views of two individuals. The Junin Antpitta was one of the new species "created" when the Rufous Antpitta was split several years ago.
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| Junin Antpitta - Andamarca Valley, Junín, Peru |
Eventually, we struck gold with the Black-spectacled Brushfinches as we heard a pair of them chattering up the hillside. It still took another twenty minutes until we observed them, and during the fleeting experience I went for my binoculars instead of my camera. A good choice, even though it meant that I never managed a photo of this endangered species. At least we had a decent, albeit brief, view of them.
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| Andean Firebush (Oreocallis grandiflora) - Andamarca Valley, Junín, Peru |
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| Juan birding the Andamarca Valley, Junín, Peru |
We walked back down the slope to the car, blasting the heat to warm us up from the 4 degree temperatures outside. Our next stop was a little further down the mountain and a few degrees warmer, at a site inhabited by the Mantaro Spinetail. Like the brushfinch, it was also playing hard to get and we didn't have the patience this time. Laura and I had to be satisfied with hearing it vocalize, and seeing a dark shape skulk in the bushes. At this site we also noted our first Golden-billed Saltator for the trip, a lifer for Laura.
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| Golden-billed Saltator - Andamarca Valley, Junín, Peru |
We continued our descent into the bottom of the valley, eventually passing through the town of Andamarca. Juan instructed me to pull over near a stand of introduced Eucalytus trees as this was a site where a Koepcke's Screech-Owl could sometimes be found roosting. Juan was good - within seconds he had spotted the owl! This was our first owl of the trip, and worth getting the scope out for. While watching the owl, we ran into the leader of the community of Andamarca and he welcomed us.
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| Koepcke's Screech-Owl - Andamarca Valley, Junín, Peru |
Most of our Andamarca target birds were acquired, though one was missing: the Mantaro Thornbird. Juan knew of a site where a pair were nesting and he took us there. Once again, we were successful in short order! We enjoyed watching the pair, though they kept a wary eye on us and did not venture too far into the open.
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| Mantaro Thornbirds - Andamarca Valley, Junín, Peru |
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| Mantaro Thornbird - Andamarca Valley, Junín, Peru |
As is typical for thornbirds, the nest consisted of a large, hanging mass of sticks and twigs. There were two hanging from the same tree.
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| Mantaro Thornbird nests - Andamarca Valley, Junín, Peru |
Thanks to Juan's expertise, we had found all of the birds on our wish list before 10:30 AM! This whole "birding with a guide" thing was almost too easy!
We backtracked the way we came, and though I considered another stop to try again for better views/photos of the Black-spectacled Brushfinch, we pressed on. Laura and I still had a long drive to Satipo later that afternoon.
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| Top of Andamarca Valley, Junín, Peru |
We stopped for a lunch break at the pass near the top of the Andamarca Valley, which also doubled as a pit stop to seek out Eye-ringed Thistletails and Jalca Tapaculos. We were successful on both fronts!
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| Top of Andamarca Valley, Junín, Peru |
We descended back onto the humid side, entering elfin forest and then montane forest as our elevation dropped. Our strategy was to drive slowly and listen for mixed flocks.
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| Above Calabaza, Junín, Peru |
This worked out beautifully and we experienced a few solid flocks. One in particular was unforgettable, with around 20 species including some really interesting ones.
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| Violet-fronted Starfrontlet - above Calabaza, Junín, Peru |
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| Marcapata Spinetail - above Calabaza, Junín, Peru |
Highlights were many - our lifer Chestnut-bellied Mountain-Tanagers, Rust-and-yellow Tanagers and Marcapata Spinetails (the weskei subspecies with the pale crown), a distant tooting Yungas Pygmy-Owl, and a flyover White-throated Hawk among others.
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| Chestnut-bellied Mountain-Tanager - above Calabaza, Junín, Peru |
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| Drab Hemispingus - above Calabaza, Junín, Peru |
The White-throated Hawk is a bit of a lookalike to the more familiar (to us) immature Broad-winged Hawk, but the dark armpits give it away. This species breeds further south but winters in the Andes. Keep in mind that July is the middle of winter for austral-breeding species.
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| White-throated Hawk - above Calabaza, Junín, Peru |
But nothing could top the incredible views we had of Unstreaked Tit-Tyrants. This is a scarce species that is endemic to a narrow elevation band in the eastern Andes of Peru. Three of them popped up in the bamboo in front of us and chattered away at us. Eventually, we had to walk away with them still scolding us!
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| Unstreaked Tit-Tyrant - above Calabaza, Junín, Peru |
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| Unstreaked Tit-Tyrant - above Calabaza, Junín, Peru |
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| Unstreaked Tit-Tyrant - above Calabaza, Junín, Peru |
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| Unstreaked Tit-Tyrant - above Calabaza, Junín, Peru |
With the clock ticking, we finished the rest of the drive to Calabaza. We made one more stop for Junin Tapaculo, but struck out. Can't get them all! Juan was interested in getting a ride to Satipo with us, so after packing up, we jumped back in the car and completed the drive into the lowlands. We didn't stop too often for birds since we were eager to make good time, but a female Andean Cock-of-the-Rock (our first in Peru) provided a good excuse to stop for a moment.
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| Satipo Road, Junín, Peru |
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| Andean Cock-of-the-Rock - Satipo Road, Junín, Peru |
Laura and I dropped Juan off at the bus station and then found a hotel which would be our base for three nights. We still had unfinished business along Satipo Road...
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