The most popular birding site at Parque Nacional Huascarán is the road that leads to two lakes (Lagunas Llanganuco and Orconcocha). Prior to reaching the lakes, the scrubby habitats are home to Plain-tailed Warbling Finches, Line-cheeked Spinetails and Black-crested Tit-Tyrants. The lakes themselves are productive not just for waterbirds but for canasteros, Stripe-headed Antpittas and much more. Beyond the lakes, several excellent stands of Polylepis hold other avian gems. And if one is really ambitious, they can follow the narrow gravel road up and over the mountain pass. Additional Polylepis groves are suitable for the scarce White-cheeked Cotinga.
August 6, 2022
Laura and I cooked a hearty breakfast at the hotel and then hit the road, planning to be gone for the day. We paid the obscenely expensive foreigner's entrance fee and entered the park (locals only pay 5-10 soles, while foreigners are charged 30). These particular lakes are rather scenic and popular with hikers and trekkers so the park can charge pretty much whatever they like.
We made a few stops before reaching the lakes and easily found a few of our targets, including a pair of Plain-tailed Warbling Finches. This scarce tanager is endemic to high elevation scrub in northwestern Peru.
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| Plain-tailed Warbling-Finch - Parque Nacional Huascarán, Ancash, Peru |
An Ancash Tapaculo vocalized a little further up the road. With a bit of encouragement, it showed its face. Though, in typical tapaculo fashion, I never managed a completely unobscured photo.
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| Ancash Tapaculo - Parque Nacional Huascarán, Ancash, Peru |
Like most tapaculos, the Ancash Tapaculo has a rather limited range. It is only found in a narrow elevation band in northwestern Peru.
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| Ancash Tapaculo - Parque Nacional Huascarán, Ancash, Peru |
The clouds were hanging low in the sky, obscuring the distant mountain peaks that were undoubtedly snow-capped. Still, it was a beautiful scene when we reached the lakes.
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| Parque Nacional Huascarán, Ancash, Peru |
The birding remained steady and we watched a few Stripe-headed Antpittas chasing each other around. We had heard the odd, frog-like songs of this species on a few previous occasions but this was the first observation for us.
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| Stripe-headed Antpitta - Parque Nacional Huascarán, Ancash, Peru |
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| Stripe-headed Antpitta - Parque Nacional Huascarán, Ancash, Peru |
A Striated Earthcreeper was creeping over earth next to the lake.
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| Striated Earthcreeper - Parque Nacional Huascarán, Ancash, Peru |
We left the productive environs of the lakes behind and began the long and arduous journey up over the mountain pass, aiming for a particular patch of Polylepis forest found on the other side. Though the White-cheeked Cotinga is occasionally found near the lakes, the Polylepis patch on the far side of the pass is much more reliable for the species. After missing this species along the Santa Eulalia Road, I did not want to let it out of my grasp once again!
I had heard that birders visit this site regularly and so I figured that it would be a relatively short and painless drive. But I was wrong.
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| Parque Nacional Huascarán, Ancash, Peru |
The journey started out well, as we found a few neat birds in the lower sections before the road conditions deteriorated. These included several Tit-like Dacnis and Blue-mantled Thornbills.
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| Tit-like Dacnis - Parque Nacional Huascarán, Ancash, Peru |
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| Blue-mantled Thornbill - Parque Nacional Huascarán, Ancash, Peru |
I put the Toyota Corolla through its paces as we slowly navigated over the mountain. The road is best traversed with a high-clearance vehicle, but with some patience and creativity I managed. After an eternity we finally reached the pass at nearly 4900m of elevation. We were met with heavy fog and I worried that this adventure would be in vain. How would we spot White-cheeked Cotingas in this weather?
The driving became marginally easier on the other side of the pass. At least I now had gravity on my side. Though, one peek over the steep precipice that was a constant companion beside the slippery road made me question whether I truly wanted gravity on my side! Finally, after two hours, we reached the beginning of the Polylepis forest.
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| Parque Nacional Huascarán, Ancash, Peru |
And was it ever worth it! Within 10 minutes of our arrival, a White-cheeked Cotinga responded to my tape. Laura and I quickly turned and spotted the culprit, perched on a foggy branch. Luckily, the visibility was just good enough to make out its features, but the views were far from satisfying as the photos indicate.
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| White-cheeked Cotinga - Parque Nacional Huascarán, Ancash, Peru |
The forest was absolutely gorgeous. Polylepis is not nearly as common as it once was. Trees are in short supply at these elevations and most of the accessible Polylepis groves have been cut down for firewood. This was one of the most impressive stands that I had ever seen up close.
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| Polylepis forest - Parque Nacional Huascarán, Ancash, Peru |
We slowly ambled down the road, finding birds like Line-cheeked Spinetail, Rufous-webbed Bush-Tyrant, Plain-tailed Warbling Finch and our first Rufous-eared Brushfinches.
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| Line-cheeked Spinetail - Parque Nacional Huascarán, Ancash, Peru |
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| Rufous-eared Brushfinch - Parque Nacional Huascarán, Ancash, Peru |
A pair of Giant Conebills were working over the flaky bark of the Polylepis. This species is never found away from Polylepis and as such, it can be a difficult species to come across. I had seen one Giant Conebill previously in Ecuador, but it was a new bird for Laura.
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| Giant Conebill - Parque Nacional Huascarán, Ancash, Peru |
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| Giant Conebill - Parque Nacional Huascarán, Ancash, Peru |
The fog rolled in and out but visibility remained pretty decent. We spotted a second White-cheeked Cotinga a little further down the road and this one stayed put for a little while, allowing better views. It was too far for good photos; it was even pushing it for "record shots".
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| White-cheeked Cotinga - Parque Nacional Huascarán, Ancash, Peru |
This young Tit-like Dacnis was a little curious and flew in to check us out.
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| Tit-like Dacnis - Parque Nacional Huascarán, Ancash, Peru |
Several White-browed and Taczanowski's Ground-Tyrants were popping along, in the open grassy areas near the forest.
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| White-browed Ground-Tyrant - Parque Nacional Huascarán, Ancash, Peru |
Hummingbirds were common in this area and included Shining Sunbeam and Blue-mantled Thornbill. The latter were by far the most common and I tried to improve my photos of this species.
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| Blue-mantled Thornbill - Parque Nacional Huascarán, Ancash, Peru |
With a long drive still ahead of us, Laura and I left the Polylepis behind and continued back up the road, towards the pass and eventually the lakes. We made one quick stop along the way - a small forest patch that had recent reports of Tawny Tit-Spinetails, another range-restricted species that Laura and I had never seen before. This was a very successful pit stop and we enjoyed face-melting views of one individual, mere minutes after arriving.
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| Tawny Tit-Spinetail - Parque Nacional Huascarán, Ancash, Peru |
Tit-spinetails are ridiculously cute - just a tiny ball of fluff with a long spiky tail.
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| Tawny Tit-Spinetail - Parque Nacional Huascarán, Ancash, Peru |
Luckily, we made it back up and over the pass without any mechanical issues or flat tires. Needless to say, I would highly recommend that any birders attempting this route take a high-clearance vehicle, but it can be done in a car if you are a little crazy.
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| Parque Nacional Huascarán, Ancash, Peru |
We stopped for a few minutes between the two lakes for some last-ditch birding before departing. There were still a few species that we were missing from this part of the park with the most likely being the Black-crested Tit-Tyrant. Again, luck was on our side and we found several in short order.
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| Black-crested Tit-Tyrant - Parque Nacional Huascarán, Ancash, Peru |
Speaking of ridiculously cute, tit-tyrants fit the bill. Basically, any bird with the word "tit" in its name does.
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| Black-crested Tit-Tyrant - Parque Nacional Huascarán, Ancash, Peru |
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| Black-crested Tit-Tyrant - Parque Nacional Huascarán, Ancash, Peru |
And with that, we called it a day and headed back to our hotel. It had been an adventure!
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