Peru – trip to the Northwest, Maranõn corridor, July 2009

Late in May, Chris Lotz sent out an email regarding an opportunity to scout for the Long-whiskered Owlet in Peru. I had always wanted to go to South America, Peru being right at the top of the list. Unfortunately at that time, there were no other people keen on the trip and I did not have the time to try and persuade other people to go, so sadly, I dropped the thought of going. Almost a month later, two Israeli’s had decided to embark on the trip, and obviously this now meant that some of the costs could be split, and the trip was again looking possible! A quiet word to my loving wife, and it was a go, I would meet up with Oz and Shachar in Lima on the 20^th July……

NOW, the mind starts ticking over – we are going from Lima, North to Chiclayo, and East up and over the Andes, ending up at the Abra Patricia E.C.O.A.N lodge for 3 nights, then returning. BUT, I desperately want to see the Andean Condor, not likely on this route. The 20^th is a Monday. Why waste a weekend!!! I added a trip into the St.Eulalia valley, a known Condor roosting cliff was up there, plus a good chance of some higher altitude birds and endemics.

Peru is very much divided by the Andes and affected by the cold Humboldt current of the Pacific Ocean, that flows up the West coast of South America, and turns away from the coast fairly near Chiclayo. Incidentally this current is the most productive marine ecosystem in the world. The result of this is low rainfall over the area to the West of the Andes, as well as the Western slopes of the Andes, most of the West of Peru is desert. Birds distribution ranges are therefore very much separated by the mountain range, and several species are highly sensitive to altitudinal changes, which affect temperature and to some extent the vegetation. To the East of the Andes, humid montane forests descend into the Amazon jungle.

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I left Jo'burg at 10h30 in the morning, and after a 2 hour stop in Sao Paulo, arrived in Lima at 21h00, same day, thanks to the time difference of 7 hours. I was to meet Lucho, a guide and driver recommended by our guide from the North, Eduardo. He is a large jovial Peruvian, with a sense of humour, and not afraid to speak his mind.

Lucho picked me up and we headed to an overnight stop at a small "guesthouse" which was basically a Wendyhouse in a garden, containing a bed, and a bricked on bathroom, all that was needed for a shower and much needed sleep. We chatted about the day to follow, Lucho over some chicken, me over a much needed beer, getting to bed just before midnight.

The plan was to head up the St. Eulalia valley, and look for the specials there, such as Great Inca Finch, an endemic to Peru, Canyon Canastero, Andean Condor, Torrent Duck, White capped Dipper, amongst others. We would overnight somewhere in the valley and then carry on birding for about 3 hours in the morning, before heading back into Lima to pick up Oz and Shachar at the airport.

We hit the road shortly after 05h30, and started out up the winding, and initially quite populated road up into the valley, following the Eulalia river. Houses are built on the roadside, their front door has less than a metre onto little more than a bus width road, that as it is the “highway” through to the East, is a fairly busy little road, for a rural area. Scenery like the picture on the left greeted us as we climbed up into the Andes.

Our first bird as it got light, was a Chiguanco Thrush, so similar to our Karoo Thrush, it was uncanny! This was followed by a tiny American Kestrel. These turned out to be trash birds, a little like our Black-shouldered Kites, on trees, power lines, rock faces. They are more aggressive and mob much larger birds such as the Black-chested Buzzard-Eagles. They are not actually a true Kestrel, being of the Falcon family, closely related to Hobbies.

Next to show themselves were the Rufous-collared Sparrows, a pretty and highly abundant bird throughout our trip.

The first non-SA family, an “Ovenbird”, were Thick-billed Miners, which on the stretch of road up to “the bridge” turned out to be exceedingly common. This was my first of the Peruvian endemics for the trip.

We continued up the valley, picking up species like the Croaking Ground Dove (which croaks like a frog), Bare-faced Ground Dove, then I saw a Parakeet fly past. Lucho said “No, you must be wrong…” Next thing a small flock of Mountain Parakeets landed in the bushes near the road. We saw them on several occasions and I managed a fairly good shot of one that landed on a rock near to me. The first mega of the day was a Great Inca-Finch, foraging in amongst various Seedeaters and Finches. Very skittish though, so unfortunately the only image I have is a mental one. An interesting bird was the Black-billed Shrike Tyrant, sitting smack against the sun, but even so, conclusively ID’ed from the poor quality photo I took.

Hummingbirds were high on my agenda, I really wanted to see as many species of these amazing birds as I could, as well as try and photograph some too. Our first was a male Peruvian Sheartail, unfortunately a little far off, and was to prove to be the only male of this species that I saw. We soon added the Bee-eater sized Giant Hummingbird, as well as several tiny Purple-collared Woodstars, which really are like giant bees, buzzing around your head.

A stop for breakfast saw us picking up Andean Swifts, quite a nice looking Swift with it’s white chest markings. A little further up the road, a White-capped Dipper was seen, another one on my wish list. PIC. A Pigeon flew into a tree near the road, showing distinct white in the wings, and then clear speckling once it had settled. It turned out to be a Spot-winged Pigeon, another nice one for the area. We added to the Hummigbird list with Sparkling Violet-ears, another large Hummingbird. Another while on and harsh call was heard, the culprit was soon located, the endemic Black-necked Woodpecker. PIC. I also saw a Mounring Sierra-Finch, which is probably the worst illustration in the field guide, as in the book it shows a very yellow bill, in reality this appears more pink. Another localized species was seen foraging at the side of the stream, being Bar-winged Cinclodes. We turned onto a higher road, now in the territory of the Condors, seeing more Black chested Buzzard-Eagles, and another three Hummingbirds, Black Metaltail, Oasis Hummingbird and Bronze-tailed Comet.

Lucho was getting tired and told me he would park a way down the road, I must walk and look for the rare, endemic and endangered (due to habitat destruction) Rufous-breasted Warbling-Finch. While doing so I spotted another from my wish list, the strange looking Pied-crested Tit-Tyrant. As I got near the car, I saw a Finch bustling through the bushes, I was about to write it off as yet another Rufous-bellied Brush-Finch (a Peruvian endemic, but common in the valley). For a brief second, out popped this bird, clearly showing it’s rufous underparts and brow. There it was, the Warbling-Finch. I would obviously have liked a longer and better sighting and a chance to snap a picture, but this was all I was going to get, in spite of scrambling up the hill in pursuit of it. Rusty-crowned Tit-Spinetail was added, another endemic I wasn’t going to get another chance at later in the trip, as well as the habitat specific Rufous-chested Tanager, looking almost like an English Robin. The first of many Variable Hawks was seen soaring over the mountainside.

On the single track road, we met a group with Kolibri Expeditions coming the other way, which involved some skillful reversing to get to a spot where we could pass. We were on our way down to a spot we would camp, which was reliable for the Peruvian Pygmy-Owl. Alex from Kolibri asked if we had seen the Condors, which the answer was “No”. He said he 100% guaranteed we’d see them if we followed them, as they come in to roost on one of the cliffs. Lucho asked what I wanted to do….No brainer!! We followed them, stopping again at the Warbling-Finch site, where one of the 2 Englishmen with Kolibri got a fleeting glimpse, near where I had seen it earlier.

We drove on and parked near a tall sheer cliff, soon spotting two large birds flying in the distance. We got closer to the cliff, and these magnificent birds got closer, soon we were lucky enough to have a magnificent adult male Andean Condor fly right above us. At least 8 birds were seen coming in to settle on the cliffs, banking and showing the white plumage in the upper-wings quite clearly.

After this magnificent sight, we parted ways with the Kolibri group and headed down to the valley again, to find somewhere suitable to camp. As we got to the river bridge Lucho grabbed my arm – “look, look!”. A male Torrent Duck was perched on a rock a short distance from the bridge. I managed one picture at very low shutter speed, and then attached the flash. That was it, the Duck was gone, in a flash! Lucho had earlier told me how they were very skittish and would slip off the rocks into the water and swim underneath “like a Salmon”.

Finding a suitable site next to the road, Lucho pitched a tent and then made his bed in the back of his van – “I prefer this” he told me. We had a dinner of sandwiches and some nice strong coffee, before settling down for the night. Just before it got light, the buses and trucks started coming past, so no need for an alarm clock! We hit the road at about quarter past 6. New additions came in the form of Collared Warbling-Finch and then my first of many Long-tailed Mockingbirds. A familiar bird in the form of Peregrine Falcon was seen flying over the valley, before we started coming into the outskirts of the large city of Lima. A flock of the feral population of Red-masked Parakeets flew loudly past us. A good sighting at one of the bridges over a large river were a small group of Peruvian Martins, together with flocks of Blue and White Swallows.

In Lima proper, Black Vultures started to become a regular sight, as were Rock Pigeons (Rock Doves or Feral Pigeons as known elsewhere.) and Kelp Gulls. We collected the Israeli’s and headed straight off South, to Pucusana, Lucho taking us the scenic and quicker drive along the beachfront, so that we could get silly birds, like Neotropic Cormorant, Grey and Belcher’s Gulls, Peruvian Pelican, and our first Inca Terns. Peruvian Thick-Knee was then seen from the highway. At Pucusana, Inca Terns were flying everywhere, we saw a Surf Cinclodes, another endemic, which lives on a diet of crabs. Red-legged Cormorants graced us with their presence, and a flock of Guanay Cormorants flew past over the ocean, followed by a flock of Peruvian Boobies, very similar in habits and looks to our Cape Gannets. A small group of Humboldt Penguins swam fairly close to the shore – they are very similar sized and in plumage to our African Penguin. We went around the corner and saw a pair of Inca Terns perched fairly close to us, and soon saw that they had a nest containing a hungry chick.

That night we flew North to Chiclayo, a bustling noisy town, where we slept at a reasonable hotel, where all the staff I'm sure are relatives of Fawlty Towers' Manuel. We headed out early to Bosque de Pomac, to look for West Peruvian Screech Owl amongst others. We found one en-route, and then another on an early morning walk. We also saw Scrub Nightjars wheeling around us and disappearing into the, yes, Scrub! We managed to find them again and get decent sightings.

We then carried on into the forest, one of the few preserved areas of tropical desert forest left in the area. The endemic Peruvian Plantcutter was soon heard, it’s monkey like call giving it’s presence away. Another target bird of mine, the Bananaquit, turned out to be quite common, quickly renamed by me to the Bananasplit. Necklaced Spinetail was another special of the area. The Scarlet-backed Woodpecker was one of the prettier birds we saw, common there as well. We saw several Tyrannulets, the local race of the Mouse-coloured, called Tumbesian, seen here. An endemic, Tumbes Tyrant, flitting around, with a little work, was seen by all of us. A Peruvian Pygmy Owl was found being mobbed by an Amazilia Hummingbird. Just before we pushed on in the van, we successfully searched for the only Woodcreeper of the area, Streak-headed.

Other endemics picked up in the area included Rufous Flycatcher and Cinereous Finch. Several Seedeaters were seen, Parrotbilled and Drab, plus Sulphur throated, these three having huge bills. Our first good close up views of the endemic Coastal Miner were had as we got out into the more arid part of the reserve, where more Thick-knees were seen as well. We were on the look out for white rumped Swallows in amongst the Blue and White Swallows, which would be the Tumbes Swallow – we were fortunate to see two of these. White-edged Orioles and our first Pacific Parrotlets were also seen while “bashing through the bundu”.

On arriving back at the van, where Raul had just spent ages cleaning the dust and dirt we had managed to drag back in, we headed back to the starting point in the “bosque” to try and draw out the Woodpecker on steroids, Lineated Woodpecker. We walked a bit and had no luck. Raul then informed us he had just heard it, whilst we were walking around. A little bit more trying for it, and suddenly it called out, raising heartbeats and getting us on the move. The bird flew about a bit, called a bit, and was probably laughing at having us running around in circles, through fences, over trees…. So he decided to cackle and drum a tad, just above our heads, and put us out of our misery. WOW – what a huge Woodpecker! Over 30 centimetres in size and bearing the classic red Woody Woodpecker crest. On our drive out of the “Bosque” we heard Jays calling, and saw a party of them scampering around in the trees right next to the entrance, much larger than I had imagined! We signed the visitors book and hit the long road to Jaen.

We headed up the passes through the Andes and were rewarded with good views of a Zone-tailed Hawk, circling amongst the Vultures, much as the field guide said they usually did. A rarer bird we had not expected to tick on the trip!

Lunch, or perhaps it should be called early dinner, was had at a restaurant along one of the Maranõn tributaries. A few Peruvian Pigeons were seen up the hillside just before the meal was served. A first in the area for Eduardo, and a good bird to add to the list. Our first Tropical Kingbird and Saffron Finch were seen. We then tucked into a good traditional Peruvian dish of spicy beef, rice and fried vegetables, washed down with a decent Lager. A great stop this was!

We had been so lucky in all of our sightings for the day, and had spent some quality time with some quality birds, so we were now officially running late. Eduardo phoned Luciano, who owns and proudly guards his land, where he is conserving some of the last remnants of natural habitat, which are home to, amongst others, Little Inca Finch, Maranõn race of West-Peruvian Screech Owl, Maranõn Crescentchest and Spot-throated Hummingbird. He includes in his admission fee accommodation, which although rustic, is pleasant enough, and he bends over backwards to make sure we are as comfortable as possible. Bedding included new mattresses, comfortable pillows and (much needed) mosquito nets. Eduardo had warned the accommodation was very basic, so I think we were all pleasantly surprised. Luciano even scrounged up a beer for us to share, after we all had a very satisfying time finding and photographing the Screech Owl.

The following morning, we were up early with the Pygmy Owl trying to outdo the rooster, with his squawking high pitched call. We walked off through Luciano’s land, with secretive Tinamous calling loudly, but not blessing us with a rare sighting. Little Inca Finch also tormented us, calling from the thick undergrowth. We saw several Tanagers, Kingbirds, the endemic Spot throated Hummingbird, some Euphonias (looking like Forest Weavers at first!), Tanagers, our first Pearl Kite, Peruvian Ground Doves and quite a few more. Luciano enthusiastically strolled alongside, holding an animated conversation with me, all in Spanish, of which all I understood was “Si!”. He is so passionate about conserving this last piece of land near Jaen, which houses so many localized species, it was sad that I could not understand all of what he was telling me about the land, the birds, the area. It made me determined to learn a little more Spanish before I visit South America again.

Message was sent that breakfast was ready, however the first Pearl Kite was spotted behind the houses, so we tried to get a closer look. This was how we got the Crescentchest, who obliged by hopping out into the open, below the lookout point. (We nearly turned around a few hundred metres before the lookout as well!) Back down we went for breakfast, Luciano’s family had prepared an awesome meal, better than we would have elsewhere on the trip. Being typical birders, binoculars and cameras were not too far away from the table, and Rufous-browed Peppershrike was amongst the birds seen and photographed from the breakfast table. A brisk walk afterwards saw us picking up our first Striped Cuckoo, a skulking Squirrel Cuckoo (a massive Cuckoo!), some Thornbirds, Yellow tailed Oriole, and a few repeats.

We then set off for our next overnight stop at Pomacochas, a short distance before we arrived there we would stop at the Huembo Hummingbird centre, the main target there being the Marvellous Spatuletail. I had read a few reports of amazing sightings, and thought we would be lucky to see it. We were! The centre is in an area of conserved forest, where some feeders are placed in the trees to promote awareness of the Hummingbirds that the area holds, providing people with fairly close-up views of the birds, and leaving them relatively undisturbed. We added several of the 25 Hummingbird species we were to see on this trip at the centre, including the Spatuletail, which is absolutely Marvellous!

At the centre we saw the following Hummingbirds: Chestnut breasted Coronet, Little Woodstar, White-bellied Woodstar, Bronzy Inca, White-bellied Hummingbird, Sparkling Violet-ear, Green Violet-ear, Andean Emerald, Marvellous Spatuletail, Purple-collared Woodstar and Purple-throated Sunangel. We also added Green Toucanet and Azara’s Spinetail to our list.

We then went to Pomacochas, where the budget hotel we planned to stay was completely booked out by some miners who were working nearby. We therefore had to stay at the "expensive" hotel (Under R400 with dinner, in a hotel that wouldn't be out of place in Sandton!) Another group of Manuel's cousins were employed there!

Off to the birding mecca, in the Abra Patricia pass, where the Owlet lives. The accomodation is a classy lodge situated in a large area of natural forest, bought by E.C.O.A.N to preserve it and the wildlife it holds. It was labelled as expensive, but with accomodation, dinner and breakfast, R650 per night was reasonable in my view. We heard the Owlet on one occasion, it rained every evening an morning, which did not help the Owling.

On the first afternoon we headed down the lower trail, and picked up new species such as Pearled Tree-runner, Spotted Barbtail, our first Swordbilled Hummingbird, and a whole host of Tanagers. The Swordbill feeds vertically, therefore is not likely to be seen around the area of the feeders. This was one of two sightings we had of it. The Wrens were incredibly difficult to see as the flitted through the dense undergrowth. Chesnut-breasted Wren was seen on the first walk, but I was to wait a few more days before I got a decent enough view to tick it.

The next morning we headed down to the appropriately named Sunangel Trail. This is one of the most reliable spots for the Royal Sunangel, Booted Racket-tail is also often seen in the area. We arrived there are picked up a pair of Cliff Flycatchers which were nesting over the road from the trail’s entrance. (Some bright spark birders had forgotten to return the key to the gate, so we had a little climb to get into the trail.) We saw a Racket-tail foraging near the Cliff Flycatchers nest, they were good enough to chase it off, so we got good but fairly brief views. We had just started up the trail when we saw the Royal Sunangel. The drizzle was quite persistent and he was sitting quite miserably in a bush not to far off the trail. We continued on our way and a short while later a bird flushed from the Scrub, giving us fantastic views, a male Swallow-tailed Nightjar! This trail was steep, through mossy undergrowth, with rotting trees making up parts of the trail in places, you weren’t quite sure if it was going to hold your weight! The rain continued to get progressively harder, I was about to find out that my raincoat was in fact just a windbreaker and not in the least waterproof! Eduardo had asked if we wanted to do the trail, as it is pretty tough and quite a long walk. Cinnamon-breasted Tody-Tyrant was the ultimate target, and would even be a lifer for him. We heard it calling, and tried to call it out. It kept two steps ahead of us, and made us work for a view. I got the first look, fleeting, but conclusive enough to ID it. Eventually all of us got to see the bird, described as rare to uncommon, and known from few sites. We headed back up the trail, once again seeing the large White-capped Tanagers, another fairly uncommon bird. An Emerald Toucanet flew up into a tree, perching and allowing us to see it far better than our previous sighting at Huembo. Back at the van, we were treated to a bird party, a flock of mixed Tanagers, adding Metallic-Green and Blue-winged Mountain-Tanager, Deep-blue Flowerpiercer and Thick-billed Euphonia.

Damp but satisfied, we headed back to the lodge to have dinner, which we had rescheduled to have as a midday meal to allow more time for Owling. All three of us had earlier in the trip expressed to Eduardo that we would like to see the Andean Cock-of-the-rock, however he had said it was unlikely, as it was a bird of lower altitudes. Lucho had told us we would find it if we went to the “filling station” at Afluente. Raul needed fuel, so he and Eduardo had changed the plans a little, and as this filling station was only an hour down the road, we were heading there, to look for the Cock-of-the-rock, as well as have a chance to add more Tanagers to our tally, which otherwise would not have been possible. During the meal, we scanned the book and saw what birds were possible. We were to be highly successful on this trip and get a lot of the targets. The first was the White-collared Jay as we started down the pass from the lodge. We made a few stops as we got closer to Afluente, and below I will list the birds in order they were seen, which came in such quick succession I was battling to keep up with noting them down:

- Golden Tanager

- Blue-necked Tanager

- Yellow-browed Sparrow

- Orange-bellied Euphonia

- Peruvian Tyrannulet

- Three-striped Warbler

- Yellow-rumped Cacique

- Andean Cock-of-the-rock

- White-winged Tanager

- Spotted Tanager

- Slaty-capped Flycatcher

- Russet-backed Oropendola

- Scarlet-rumped Cacique

- Red-ruffed Fruitcrow

- Ecuadorian Piedtail

- Speckled Chachalaca

- Green-and-gold Tanager

- White-lined Tanager

- Paradise Tanager

- Band-tailed Pigeon

- Red-billed Parrot

- Olivaceous Woodcreeper

- Streaked Xenops

- Magpie Tanager

We headed back up the pass, to stop at the Sunangel trail again, where we would try to find the Cinnamon Screech Owl. Another climb over the fence, and the rain came down yet again. We heard the Owl, but in spite of walking a fair distance down the trail, and use of some bright spotlights, we could not locate it. At one stage it sounded like it was right above us!

That night we went for a light supper at “the restaurant”, basically a shed on the side of the road, food was reasonable though and filled a space in our stomachs! We tried once again to do some more Owling back at the lodge, hearing White throated Screech Owl as well as the Long-whiskered Owlet. It poured with rain, and we decided to head for bed and try at 3 AM. It rained…..

The next day was a bit dryer, so we headed out along the Monkey trail, which harboured some different species, with a chance of two species of Antpitta – these were both heard calling, but could not be enticed out into the open. We added Variable Antshrike, the very aptly named Rufous Spinetail, Mountain and Sharpe’s Wren, we heard Barred Antthrush and saw a shape flitting around, but no conclusive view. I spotted a Yellow-billed Cacique, but it moved on before the others managed to get onto it. Arriving back at the lodge, we saw a pair of Speckle faced Parrots, sitting nicely in the open – my camera was on manual settings and I overexposed the shots terribly. We added Red-hooded Tanager and Glossy-black Thrush that afternoon, hunted for the Ochre-fronted Antpitta, but had no luck. Looking forward to a hot shower we headed back up to the lodge, to find that the water supply had been cut off due to burst pipes down the road!

The next day we had a long drive ahead of us. LAN airline had cancelled our evening flight the next day and put us onto the morning flight, so instead of splitting our return journey to Chiclayo in two, we had to get there by the evening in order to get onto the flight. A bit of a nuisance, but as it turned out, giving us an extra day birding North of Lima, it would give us quite a few more species on our trip list.

We left early and were soon heading through the Maranõn valley, picking up the odd new bird on the way, such as Mitred Parakeets and Silver-beaked Tanager, as well as my first view of a Torrent Tyrannulet (I missed the one on the way to Abra Patricia!) We saw a Tern flying over the river and stopped to have a better look. This was a Yellow-billed Tern, which was unusual for the area, normally found in the Amazon lowlands. We saw another two birds from that region, Pied Lapwing and White-winged Swallow. Blue Ground-Doves were also seen in the trees on an island. Another stop or two later we found a Little Inca Finch, but were not able to get close enough for photos. A stop at Porcuya Pass got us Elegant Crescentchest, an uncooperative Chapman’s Antshrike squawked at us but would not show itself. Ash-breasted Sierra-finch and Peruvian Sheartail were seen, another Zone tailed Hawk, as well as good views of Black-chested Buzzard Eagles. Our last two birds before arriving in Chiclayo were Lesser Nighthawk and Burrowing Owl. As we arrived in the town, we got three blocks from our hotel and the van decided to die on us. This could have happened in far more remote places, so I guess we were “lucky”!

The next morning we headed off to the airport early for our flight to Lima. Lucho was meeting us there, and we would spend a day birding North of Lima at Lomas de Lachay, and El Paraiso. A short flight later we met up with Lucho, jovial as ever and ready to keep us entertained on the drive North with various tales of his previous exploits.

Our first stop on the South Eastern part of Lachay found us plenty more Burrowing Owls, and in much better habitat than our sighting from the night before. We also picked up Greyish Miner, Cactus Canastero, as well as Black-chested Buzzard Eagles. We then headed off to the entrance road to the Lachay reserve, seeing our only Plumbeous Rail of the trip on the way. We were looking for Tawny-throated Dotterels and Least Seedsnipes, and were successful on both counts.

I was dead keen to head on to El Paraiso, as this is one of the few reliable spots to find Peruvian Terns. Eduardo had warned us to be careful, as it is quite a remote place and there was a risk of getting robbed. Oz and Shachar were quite concerned, Lucho however reassured us that it would be OK, so we set off for the lagoon and beach. It turned out to be a great decision to go there, we found several new birds to add to the trip list. Some great birds included Little Blue Heron, Chilean Flamingo, Greater Yellowlegs, Willet, American Oystercatcher, Peruvian, South American and Royal Terns, a lone Laughing Gull inbetween the numerous Belcher’s, Grey and Kelp Gulls. Two Black Skimmers put on a fly-by for us, as we started needing to head back to Lima for Oz and Shachar to catch their flight to Sao-Paulo.

En-route we stopped at Lachay again, where we saw Thick-billed Miner, and much closer views than had previously of the brightly coloured Peruvian Meadowlarks. After saying our farewells, Lucho took me on to my hotel. I was flying to Sao-Paulo and on home to Johannesburg the next day, what a trip it had been. A total of 300 bird species were seen, in a relatively small area of the country.

Here is a list of the birds seen.