LOWLAND CHACO AND SAVANNAS, CLOUD FOREST AND HIGHLANDS
21 DAYS
Bolivia stretches across the widest part of the Andean mountain chain and
is one of the poorest, highest and most isolated of Latin American republics.
The country is as varied as it's people and ranges from steaming Amazonian
rainforest , high saline lakes and high steppe desert, rolling tropical savanna
to snow covered peaks and glaciers. This varied topography makes for many
habitat types and consequently one of the largest bird lists for a landlocked
country in the world. Bolivia has two endemic big Macaws and a flightless
Grebe. This trip is designed around Bolivian specialties and we will see
a broad selection of habitats and species on this trip.
YEAR 2001 DATES TO BE ARRANGED
Day 01 : Arriving in Santa
Cruz at Viru-Viru international airport, we'll go birding immediately as
most international flights arrive at dawn. Here we'll investigate open
grassland and scrub and small gallery woodlands. Possibilities here include Toco
Toucan, Chestnut-fronted and Golden-collared Macaws, Peach-fronted and
Canary-winged Parakeets, Fawn-breasted and Thrush-like Wrens. We'll investigate
some grassy wastelands for White-bellied Nothura and Red-winged Tinamou and we
should see Greater Rheas here too. Flooded fields should hold some
Chestnut-capped and Scarlet-headed Blackbirds, Long-winged Harrier and some
Ducks including Brazilian Duck. In the afternoon after lunch we'll visit the
small marshes near Santa Cruz. Here in the riparian thickets we will get
acquainted with some of the typical birdlife of the area. Amongst others
we'll be on the lookout for a variety of Seedeaters including Bicolored,
Rufous-fronted and Greater Thornbirds, and Red-crested and Red-capped Cardinals.
Night our hotel in Santa Cruz.
Day 02: Morning flight from
Santa Cruz to the bustling town of Trinidad situated in the flooded
savannas of Beni. On arrival at the airport we'll bird the
road to Loma Suarez. This area is full of birds. Concentrating on a dry
riverine gallery woodland, possibilities include Mato Grosso Antbird, Plain
Softail, Undulated Tinamou, Straight-billed and Buff-throated Woodcreepers,
White-eyed Attila, Short-tailed Pygmy-tyrant, Rufous-tailed Jacamar ,
Golden-collared Macaw, White-tailed Goldenthroat, Golden-tailed Sapphire,
Rufous Casiornis, Long-winged Harrier, Velvet-fronted Grackle and
Hooded Tanager. Night Hotel Gran Moxos.
Day 03: We'll drive to San
Miguel to-day concentrating on open flooded fields and scrubby pasture.
Possibilities include Plumbeous , Green, Buff-necked and Bare-faced Ibis, Comb
Duck, Roseate Spoonbill, Maguari Stork, Jabiru, Southern Screamer, Muscovy
Duck, Scarlet-hooded and Unicolored Blackbirds, Yellow-chinned Spinetail,
Greater Thornbird, 3 species of Monjita, Bicolored Seedeater, Toco Toucan,
Great Rufous and Narrow-billed Woodcreeper, Rusty-margined
Flycatcher, various Whistling Ducks, Little Cuckoo,
Orange-winged Parrot, Azure Gallinule, Slender-billed kite, Black-collared
Hawk , Rusty-fronted Tody-flycatcher, Chotoy , Cinerous-breasted , Plain-crowned
and Yellow-chinned Spinetails, Rufous Chachalote and Fawn-breasted Wren.
Night San Miguel Ranch.
Day 04 : Another morning to look
for the Blue-throated Macaws should we have missed them the previous afternoon
and birding around the ranch. Birding here is dynamite with Mato
Grosso Antbird, Cinereous - breasted Spinetail, Great, Rufous and
Narrow-billed Woodcreepers, Pale-crested Woodpecker, Gray-lined Hawk, Hoatzin,
and much much more. We'll return to Trinidad for the
afternoon flight to Santa Cruz. Night in Santa Cruz.
Day 05 : This will be a
full days birding with a packed lunch. An early start will see us on the road to
Lomas de Arena. Here in the grassy savannas interspersed with stands of
semi-deciduous woodland we'll be hoping to see Red-legged Seriema. Other birds
we may see here and in the nearby xerophitic scrub include : Picazuro Pigeon,
White-eared and Spot-backed Puffbird, Campo Flicker, Chotoy Spinetail, White-rumped
Monjita, Large Elaenia, Grassland Sparrow, White-banded and Chalk-browed
Mockingbirds, Arrowhead Piculet, Mato-grosso Antbird, Rufous Casiornis,
Pearly-vented Tody-flycatcher, Black-capped Warbling-finch, Plain and
Mouse-colored Tyrranulets , Plumbeous Seedeater and Wedge-tailed Grass-finch .
These are just a few species we may see amongst many others. It should be a
spectacular days birding indeed. Night at hotel in Santa Cruz.
Day 06 : A full morning to pick
up species we may have missed in the savanna and chaco habitats near town.
We'll pay particular attention to any Santa Cruz specialties we may have
missed. In the afternoon and during the heat of the day we'll head north thru
Montero to the flooded fields around Okinawa where Chestnut-capped Blackbird is
common . Golden-bellied Warbler, Matto Grosso Antbird, Plain Softail and
Fawn-breasted Wren inhabit the Gallery forest patches With a picnic lunch we'll
be on the lookout for a variety of waterfowl, Ibis and Herons found here.
We should see Greater Rhea as well and Nacunda Nighthawks will be overhead
at dusk. Night at hotel in Santa Cruz.
Day 07: Early start for a full
days birding on the road to Saimaipata. In the Andean foothills bird the
dry forest and canyons. This is a good area for Parrots and we may see any
of the following - Mitred and Green-cheeked Parakeet, Scaly-naped and Red-billed
Parrot. This is also an area where we have seen the endemic
Red-bellied Macaw in the past. Other possibilities here include Plush-crested
Jay, the rare Large-tailed Dove, Blue-crowned Trogon, Ocellated Piculet,
Black-capped Antwren and Guira Tanager, White-backed fire-eye. We have seen
Slaty Gnateater here in the past and we'll make a special stop for Masked Duck.
In the afternoon we'll arrive at Saimaipata and bird the vicinity of this small
town - Glittering-bellied Emerald, White-tipped Plantcutter, Greater
Wagtail-tyrant, Masked Gnatcatcher, Red-crested Finch, Black-capped
Warbling-finch. Night at hotel in Saimaipata.
Day 08 : Morning birding around
Saimaipata in the dry canyons and remnant forest. Possibilities we will be
looking for include : Spot-backed Puffbird, White-backed Fire-eye,
Cream-backed Woodpecker, Giant Antshrike and the strange Ochre-cheeked Spinetail
as well as Sooty-fronted and Stripe-crowned Spinetails. In he afternoon we'll
drive west to Tambo and our lodgings for the next few days - an American
run mission school willing to take visitors as there are no hotels
in the area. If time permits we'll do some birding around Tambo in an area
where we have had luck with Dusky-legged Guan. Night Mission School.
Day 09 : Morning around the cultivated fields
between Tambo and Saipina. Regular birds to be seen include : the endemic
Bolivian Earthcreeper, White-bellied Hummingbird, Stripe-crowned Spinetail,
White-fronted Woodpecker, Suiriri Flycatcher, Sooty-fronted Spinetail,
Cream-backed Woodpecker, Streak-fronted Thornbird, Rufous-capped Antshrike,
White-bellied Tyrannulet, Narrow-billed Woodcreeper,Bay-winged Cowbird, Ringed
Warbling-finch, Gray-crested Finch, Rusty-browed Warbling-Finch,
and Saffron-billed Sparrow. In the afternoon we値l head to Saipina and some
agricultural areas along the Rio Misque - here Red-fronted Macaws (endemic) ,
Blue-crowned Parakeets and Turquoise-fronted Amazons raid the crops. We
should see Black and Rufous Warbling-finch here as well. Night at Mission
School.
Day 10 : Early start for the
humid temperate forest at Siberia. We'll spend all day with a picnic lunch
exxploring side roads and trails. this will be our first
introduction to cloud forest b irding with lot's more to come
further north. Birds we are likely to see here include the - Giant
Antshrike - largest of all Antbirds, Andean Guan, Violet-throated
Starfrontlet, Red-crested Cotinga, Tawny-rumped Tyrannulet, White-browed
Conebill, Pale-footed Swallow, Pale-legged Warbler, Crested Quetzal and
Blue-winged and Chestnut-bellied Mountain-tanagers. we'll look for Great Pampa-finch
and Red-tailed Comet on the way back to Tambo. We may want
to spend the afternoon in some dry semi deciduous habitat looking
for Bolivian (endemic) and Rufous-sided Warbling-finches, speckle-breasted
Thornbird and Olive-crowned Crscentchest. We also have located a roosting site
for Red-fronted Macaw if we have yet not seen it. Night Mission School .
Day 11 : Very early start with a
picnic breakfast. Today we head for the pleasant city of Cochabamba. We'll stop
for some early morning birding at Siberia looking for species we may have
missed. Continuing on we pass some remnant scrub Polylepis woodland - here
possibilities include Giant Conebill, Gray-hooded Parakeet, Rock Earthcreeper,
Andean Swift, Gray-bellied Flowerpiercer (endemic), Rufous-bellied Saltator,
Wedge-tailed Hillstar,Rufous-sided and Rufous-browed Warbling-finches. We may
see the very pretty Olive-crowned Crescentchest here. We,ll stop on the
high grasslands for Puna Canastero and a variety of Miners. Continuing on
we'll spend the afternoon birding a cultivated stream area where we hope to see
Citron-headed Yellow-finch (endemic), Red-tailed Comet, Giant Hummingbird,
Golden-breasted Flicker, Brown-capped Tit-spinetail, Black-hooded Sierra-finch
Fulvous-headed Brush-finch, Rufous-bellied Saltator, Rusty-vented Canastero
Finally we descend into the fertile Cochabamba valley. Night at hotel in
Cochabamba.
Day 12 : Early start for
the temperate forest of the yungas (cloud forest) of Chapare. We'll start at
treeline and hope to see some of the following : Undulated Antpitta, Andean
Tapaculo, Great Sapphirewing, Cochabamba Thistletail (endemic), Black-eared and
Black-crowned Parrot, Hooded-mountain Toucan, Chestnut-crested Cotinga,
Light-crowned Spinetail and Crowned Chat-tyrant. We'll carry on to Villa Tunari
rather than return to Cochabamba and if time permits stop in the
upper tropical zone for low altitude Amazonian species if time permits.
Night at Hotel El Puente.
Day 13 : Early start
for the middle elevations of the old road to Cochabamba road. We'll
take a picnic breakfast and lunch. Possibilities include Bolivian, Sclater's and
Buff-banded Tyrannulets, Yungas tody-tyrant (endemic) , Yellow-rumped Antwren,
Hazel-fronted Pygmy-tyrant, Southern White-crowned Tapaculo, Hooded Tinamou,
Collared Inca, Booted Raquetail, Golden-headed and Crested Quetzals, Masked
Trogon, Ochre-faced Tody-flycatcher, Saffron-crowned and Spotted Tanagers
and much, much more. We'll return to El Puente in Villa Tunari for the night.
Day 14 : We'll slowly work our
way back to Cochabamba to-day stopping at various sites along the way picking up
cloud forest species we may have missed. We'll be on the lookout
for Amazonian Umbrellabird, Cock-of- the- Rock, Black and Chestnut Eagle and
lots more. We'll arrive in Cochabamba in the early evening. Night in hotel
in Cochabamba.
Day 15 : As a complete contrast
to the previous day we'll visit a dry Andean valley above Quillacocha where
stands of mature Polylepis woodland still exist. This should be an exciting days
birding. Endemics are the order of the day here and we will pay special
attention to Cochabamba Mountain-finch (endemic), Wedge-tailed Hillstar
(endemic), Bolivian Blackbird (endemic) and Bolivian Warbling-finch (endemic),
Rufous-bellied Saltator, other possibilities include :
Black-winged Ground-dove, Andean Hillstar, White-winged Black-tyrant, Tufted
Tit-tyrant, Tawny-Tit-tyrant, Andean Swallow, Cinereous and Giant Conebills.
We'll head up to the high puna grasslands for the local Short-tailed Finch,
Streak-throated Canastero, White-winged Diuca-finch and a variety of
Ground-tyrants and Sierra-finches. We'll return to Cochabamba for the night.
Hotel in Cochabamba.
Day 16 : To-day we'll drive to
the high windswept town of Oruro. We'll take all day birding the route.
our first stop will be for Bolivian Blackbird in the arid canyons west of
Cochabmaba should we have missed it up until now. Brown-backed
Mockingbird is here too. The rest of the days journey is through high puna
grasslands and we'll bird particular areas for high altitude species such as
Puna Hawk, Andean Flicker, Bright-rumped Yellow-Finch Cordilleran Canastero,
Iquico Canastero, Puna Canastero, Slender-billed and Rufous-banded Miner,
Mountain Parakeet and Plain-mantled Tit-Spinetail. We may be lucky and see
an Ornate Tinamou. Night at Hotel International Park in Oruro.
Day 17 : All morning birding at
Lake Uru-uru. Much depends on the water level of the lake but we should
see large numbers of three species of Flamingo - Puna, Andean and Chilean. Other
specialties include Andean Avocet, Puna Plover, Puna Ibis, White-tufted
Grebe, and a variety of high Andean Waterfowl. Reed beds should hold
Many-colored Rush-tyrant and Wren-like Rushbird. We'll spend the
whole morning here and look for Plan-mantled Tit-spinetail in the desert
scrub. In the afternoon on our way to La Paz we値l spend
some time on the grassy plains and around a small lake for Tinamous,
Tawny-throated Dotterel, Golden- spotted Ground-dove, Puna and Common Miner
Andean Negrito, Seedsnipe , Short-billed and Hellmayer痴 Pipits and more. Well
arrive in La Paz in the late afternoon and we should arrive as the last rays of
the sun are illuminating the Cordillera Real and Mount Illimani which dominates
La Paz. Night at hotel in La Paz.
Day 18 : We'll bird the road to Coroico to-day.
This road is spectacular and good for birds. We'll concentrate on
the upper temperate forest in the morning. exploring trails and side roads
we expect to see some of the folowing species : Golden-collared
Tanager , Citrine Warbler, Three-striped Hemispingus, Ochraceous-breasted
Flycatcher, Black-throated Thistletail (endemic), Yungas Manakin, Black-hooded
Sunbeam , Moustached Flowerpiercer, Three-striped and Supercilliaried
Hemispingus Plush-cap, Orange-browed Hemispingus, Hooded and Scarlet-bellied
Mopuntain Tanagers Rufous-faced Antpitta, Sword-billed Hummingbird and a wide
variety of Mountain-tanagers. We'll get some late afternoon birding on the
higher part of the road on the way back to La Paz. Night at Hotel in La
Paz.
Day 19 : From La Paz
we'll bird the lower part of the forested parts of the Coroico road
between Chuspipata and Coroico. at these lower elevations birds we will be
on the lookout for include - Chestnut-crested Cotinga, Andean Guan, Andean ad
White-eared Solitaires, Grass-green Tanager, Barred Becard, Plum-crowned and
Black-eared Parrots. We'll bird La Cumbre area on the way back to La Paz and
should see some high altitude species such as Short-tailed Finch, Andean
Tapaculo and Scribble-tailed Canastero. Night at Hotel in La Paz.
Day 20: Early start for the
Sorata area. We'll take a picnic breakfast and with the towering snow peak of
Illampu at our backs, scan a small andean lake for Giant Coot, Andean
Coot, a variety of waterfowl and Puna Ibis. As we approach the dry
Sorata valley we will begin to see the large stick nests of the Berschlep's
Canastero an endemic restricted to this valley only, one of our target birds
to-day. We'll also search the gardens of a small village for the
spectacular Black-hooded Sunbeam (endemic). Other possibilities include
Peruvian Sierra -finch, Green-tailed Trainbearer, Puna Hawk,
Black-throated Flowerpiercer. Returning to the shores of Lake Titicaca
we'll make the near endemic flightless Short-winged Grebe our priority and
look for Plumbeous Rail, Wren-like Rushbird and Many-colored Rush-tyrant in the
reedbeds. We plan to arrive in La Paz early this afternoon for shopping
or relaxing. Night hotel in La Paz.
Day 21 To El Alto airport and
connect with international flights.
RIBERALTA EXTENTION
The town of Riberalta in
the far north of Bolivia lies at the confluence of the rivers Beni and Madre de
Dios, at the boundary on Pando and Beni, some 80km from the border with Brazil.
It is easily reached by air from La Paz although flights are not daily.
The rare Rufous-sided Pygmy-Tyrant and Spotted Antpitta Hylopezus macularius
occur here. It has been discovered that the latter sings differently from the
better known population, warranting specific status as H. auricularis, which he
named Masked Antpitta.
Day 01 : Flight from La Paz to
Riberalta. After checking into our air conditioned hotel, we値l head for the
nearby site of Hamburgo. This low-lying area of patchy riverine forest and scrub
between the town and the Rio Beni, past the brick-making plants on the western
edge of town. As well as the Antpitta, it holds Slender-footed Tyrannulet,
Johannis' and Spotted Tody-Tyrants, Ashy-headed Greenlet and Chestnut (Purus)
Jacamar. Possibilities are many here and we値l devote the rest of the day to
the locality.
Day 02 : Pre-dawn start
and early birding on the road to Santa Rosa. Possibilities include :. Four pairs
of Rufous-sided Pygmy-Tyrants were present on previous trips, White-rumped
Tanagers, White-bellied Parrots and Horned Sungem, Cock-tailed
Tyrant , a variety of Ibis, Herons, macaws and Parrots . As the day heats up
we値l return to our hotel for a break. In the afternoon we値l go to the
nearby locality of Antafogasta which is wetter Amazonian lowland rainforest.
Possibilities include White-browed Hawk, Leaden and Streaked
Antwrens, Rufous-tailed Flatbill, Sulphur-bellied Tyrant-Manakin and
Black-billed Seed-Finch, Amazonian Royal Flycatcher.
Day 03 : Morning birding at
Antafogasta and afternoon birding on the road from Riberalta to Santa Rosa.
Night in Riberalta.
Day 04 : Flight from Riberalta to La Paz for
international flights or overnight
Editor's Note: Sherri LaBar wrote an excellent report on the 1996 trip
with Bird Bonanzas. It's very detailed and worth getting- be sure to
reimburse GMF for printing & postage.
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