The first five people that answer correctly will get $600 off on the Complete Central Peru trip or $300 off when joining our two Central Peru trips - Unchog & Junin Lake and Satipo Road running back to back.
It is a trick question since one of the birds has Junin within the scientific name, and another is still considered a subspecies in some taxonomies.
Here are the dates of the upcoming Central Peru programs.
May 28-June 1. Unchog and Junin Lake 5 days
June 2-6. Satipo road 5 days.
June 17-July 2. Complete Central Peru 16
days.
If you prefer other dates for these itineraries later in the year, please let me know, and we'd try to get a group together.
Junin is one of Peru's 24 departments in the center of Peru. The habitat is exceptionally diverse.
Recently, my friend Charley Hesse of Tropical Birding and the Naturally Adventurous podcast interviewed young birder Ben Lucking, who made a self-drive trip to Central Peru with other young birder friends.
Have a
listen anywhere where you get your podcasts or on Ken Behrens's page.
Quite an adventure....
Fortunately, if you want less hassle and do not drive yourself, we have all the logistics sorted.
Central Peru is the most endemic-rich part of Peru with treasures such as White-cheeked Cotinga, Golden-backed Mountain-Tanager, Junin Grebe, White-bellied Cinclodes, Eye-ringed Thistletail, and no less than seven endemic
hummingbirds, seven endemic Tapaculos and six endemic Antpittas.
Manu road.
There was a complete drought of birding tours in Peru for the first part of the year, due to all the negative press during and in the wake of the social unrest in December and January. Despite
being calm for several months, we still did not get many bookings and had a few cancellations up until now.
Fortunately, it is picking up for the
second half, although the confirmed groups have few participants. Therefore, it is an excellent opportunity to join a small group that will not feel crowded. There are, for example, several departures for Manu Road. Manu road is the most species rich area in the world. Over 1000 species of birds have been recorded along this road and the nearby Manu lowlands within the Amazon rainforest.
Here are the dates for the different confirmed Manu tours you could join.
Aug 16-Sep 2. Complete Manu Birding Tour of 18 days (also on Sep 24, 2024).
Sep 21 - 25. 5-day Manu Road Birding and Photography. There is a 5-day tour to Machu Picchu and its surroundings before this departure on Sep 16-20, and a three-day tour to lowland Amazon on Sep 26-28 including the amazing macaw lick in Tambopata.
Northern Peru
While we are at it, let me mention a confirmed 16 day trip to Northern Peru. It runs Nov 18-Dec 3. This trip aims to practically clean up on the region's endemics, and contains many hummingbird species. Getting around 60 species of hummingbirds on this trip is not impossible. There are many great birds, including Peruvian Plantcutter, White-winged Guan, Pale-billed Antpitta, Marvelous Spatuletail, Long-whiskered Owlet,
Rufous-crested Coquette, and Long-whiskered Owlet. There are still a few spots available.
Additionally, if you don't have a lot of time, there are the short 5-day Marvelous Spatuletail tour focused on the
Abra Patricia area, as well as the four day tour of the highly sought after Scarlet-banded Barbet. These tours we run at any time. Just drop us a line.
Uganda postponed to 2024
Despite the successful trip to Uganda in 2022, we needed more clients for 2023, so we postponed this trip. However, for 2024 we
already have people signed up. Start-date is June 29.
Look at the outline of this new, exciting short Uganda program suitable for anyone interested in birds and wildlife regardless of birding experience. In addition, we offer an extension for the more hardcore birders and listers with five more days of birding. Prices and a detailed itinerary should be ready by the end of June this year.
Andalucia, Spain 2024.
We shall run our Andalucia tour in search of the Iberian Lynx, raptors and culture for the third year in a row, with the start date of April 22, 2024. It is a lovely spring getaway with much Spanish culture, nature, food, and wine.
This year it worked very well with starting in Madrid and ending in Malaga, so we shall do the same this time. I still need to update the new itinerary on the website, but meanwhile I have left an outline on the website.
Summer in Europe, anyone?
With the Uganda trip canceled this year, I have time to make a short trip in Europe a week before or after the Global Birdfair (July 14-16) in the UK. It is not the best time of year for birds since the nesting season has begun, and many birds stop calling. Yet larger birds, such as raptors, are easy to see. It is, on the other hand, perfect for
butterflies and wildflowers. It is also a pleasant time to go hiking in the mountains while looking at all sorts of natural things.
Where do you
want to go? I have experience throughout Spain, including Pyrenees, Mallorca, and Gran Canaria. I have also guided Madeira, Sardinia, Tuscany, Crete, and Cyprus. Or perhaps you would like me to show you some of my native Sweden.
Just reply to this email if
you are interested.
Kilimanjaro and Birding in
Tanzania postponed.
After sending out inquiries to those that had voiced interest in our unique Kilimanjaro birding trip and/or the pre-week in the Usambara Mountains and the post-tour to Serengeti, it was clear that we did not get enough
people interested for 2023, but that interest remains high for 2024.
I have just uploaded the new dates for the Kilimanjaro trek. Itineraries for Usambaras and Serengeti follow shortly.
Let me know if I should add you to the list of people interested in any of these trips in 2024?
Madagascar November 2023 or 2024? Or both?
We are still determining whether we have enough people for Madagascar this year. So I need to know very soon if you are interested in this year's trip. In any case, some people have told me they want to go in 2024, so I just inserted a new Madagascar departure on the website. Again, send me an email if you are interested in this year or
2024.
Japan.
For the fifth season, I visited Japan with a small group at the end of February and beginning of March. As usual, it was absolutely amazing, this time also including Kyushu and Kyoto. There are already requests for next year.
The scheduled Winter Japan tour starts on February 27. I am considering staying in Japan for a month, so there is room for additional departures and extensions if people are interested. I am also
considering setting up a spring tour next year. Let me know if that is something you would be interested in.
Mongolia
The destination is very high on many people's bucket lists, and because it is also one of the best places in the world to see Snow Leopard, it
is really about time to include it in the 7 Wonders Birding's catalog.
I have had this plan for quite a few years now, and it would work
time-wise for me in early August 2024. Therefore, I shall be working on the itinerary in the coming months. The idea is to provide a week-long itinerary focusing on seeing snow leopard at the onset and letting the birds and other animals depend on our luck early on. August is a very good time of year because the cats are monitored all summer, and there is an excellent knowledge of their whereabouts when they usually have a pod of young to care for. In addition, they move a lot and are,
therefore, easier to spot.
We shall offer extensions with more target birds for those who wish for a more extended and birdier
tour.
Reply to this email to announce your interest in coming along on the pioneering trip.
Here is a video of the Mongolian Hardrock band The Hu to get you into the right mindset.