Hello ,

I hope you are coping during this pandemic. Perhaps, you have gotten your jabs and are fully vaccinated to start thinking about going on a foreign trip again. 

The world is undoubtedly opening up again, and this is specifically true for Peru. 

In this newsletter: 

• Good news - COVID numbers in Peru are lower than ever. Quarantine lifted!
• Pre-book tour in 2022-2024 update
• Condor hide has been built
• Pelagics in Peru update
• Birding Central Peru and Iquitos this summer
• 7 Wonders Birding Podcast
• 7 Wonders Birding tours
• Birding Northern Peru for Christmas
• Birding tours in 2022-2023 already with clients signed up
• Becoming a polyglot. Gunnar's tips for language learning.

Some good news 

COVID-situation in Peru is getting way better. Daily new cases have been going down for ten weeks, and the situation is better now than it was at the very start of the pandemic and between the two waves. The vaccination program has intensified the last couple of months with over 2.5 million people who have gotten their first jab. There are now over 4 million Peruvians fully vaccinated. I am one of them, as I got my second Pfizer shot on July 1.

There are also fewer restrictions in place, which has made it easier for visitors. For example, the nightly curfew in Lima now starts at midnight, rather than 9 PM, like two months ago. In addition, one does not have to wear a face shield when flying or traveling by bus.

There are no restrictions for traveling with private cars on Sundays in most of Peru

There is no need for a costly PCR test to enter Peru, but only a rapid Antigen test suffice.

Despite all the positive news from Peru and the fact that the US State Department has lowered Peru from Level 4 to Level 3, the information on the US website discourages visitors. That is a shame!

Most of the country is now open for travel. I even visited Ayacucho with Peter Kaestner a week ago, and it is very calm, according to my local contacts.

Strangely enough, Peru still does not have a green label for UK visitors. There are 50000 new cases per day in the UK, while there are only about 2000 new cases per day in Peru. The R factor is less than 1 in most of Peru.

See https://www.dge.gob.pe/portalnuevo/informacion-publica/reporte-de-numero-reproductivo-efectivo-rt/

The only ones barred entry in Peru are those who have spent time in Brazil, India, and South Africa. Therefore, if you have visited any of these countries recently, you cannot enter Peru without quarantine.

Fortunately, we still have received several clients from the US since late May, and at the end of this month, we shall also get clients from the Netherlands.

Bottom line: ALL OF PERU IS OPEN FOR BIRDING AND BIRD PHOTOGRAPHY!

• No quarantine is enforced when arriving in Peru
• You only need a negative COVID test taken less than 72 hours before the flight to Peru.
• The test can be the fast antigen test. It does not have to be PCR.
• People who have recently visited the UK are allowed entry.  
• It is straightforward to get either an antigen test or a PCR test before your flight back to your country if you should need it.

We have successfully operated Central Peru, Manu road, Vilcabamba, and Ayacucho between the end of May to July 10. Groups have been tiny, but it has still helped us get the company back on its feet, and it is great to be able to go birding again.

Book a birding tour with a discount for 2022-2024.

Thanks to everyone who has shown interest in the possibility of getting a discount when booking a tour for 2022-2024. I have updated the blog post where I explain the procedure. Alas, the free credit card deposit did not work in the end, but the offer is still very beneficial to you.

If you consider traveling with Kolibri Expeditions or 7 Wonders Birding within the next three years, you should check out this post.

Hurry up to sign-up. The offer will only be available until the end of the month.

Condor hides installed. 

Our guide Juan Julca and Joaquim Ferrando from Photologistics of Spain have finished building the photography hides near Huachupampa in the Santa Eulalia canyon. As ecotourism is slowly recovering, we hope this will become an excellent resource for serious bird photographers to photograph condors at close range. Additionally, once the feeding station becomes active, it will also allow for views of condors from the main road lower down in the valley.

Pelagics resumed.

Ok, there is still some time to go, but we have made four visits to Punta Lomas for pelagics in a fishing boat since the start of the year. Fishing boats are slow and uncomfortable, but the birding has been second to none. Practically, all of the unique birds of the Humboldt current have been seen so far, except Markham's Storm-Petrel. I think the lack of Markham's Storm-Petrel is because we do not have a speed boat able to get up to the chum's head as frequently as we would like after having drifted with engines off. Further exploration here will likely give records.

Our pelagic project at Punta Lomas will surely help to pinpoint all the unique Humboldt Current birds. Right now, the plan is to have a speed boat ready to operate by the end of August. Read about the pelagic project on my blog. Please consider supporting it in any way you can, by booking a pelagic or a tour for 2022-2024, as mentioned above.

Check out the Best Pelagic Birds of Peru blog post.

I shall publish another blog post this week with a gallery of photos from the pelagics we have done so far in 2021. Meanwhile, you can check out Peter Kaestner's post on Facebook with pictures from the latest pelagic. We had no less than four species of Albatrosses on that trip.

Bucket List Birding Podcast

I mentioned my intention to start a podcast in the 7 Wonders Birding newsletter, so perhaps you have already seen this. I have some great guests lined up and have made the first recordings. I plan to launch three episodes at once to increase the impact. 

I shall cover these three topics.

• Bucket list destinations
• Bucket list birds
• Spark birds of the world. The birds, which inspire people to start birding in different parts of the world. 

The episodes will also contain interviews with birders who have stories about the birds or the highlighted sites.

Meanwhile, the logo for the podcast is almost entirely ready. Can you name the species? Are they on your bucket list as well?

I need one more bird on the logo.

Which one of the below species do you think is the best bird to add?

✅ Resplendent Quetzal
✅ Marvelous Spatuletail
✅ Spoon-billed Sandpiper
✅ Andean Cock of the Rock
✅ Gurney's Pitta
✅ Wilson's BoP
✅ Southern Cassowary

You may send me a reply just by answering this email. Or engage in conversion on Facebook (my profile, the 7 Wonders Birding FB page, or the Kolibri Expeditions FB Page), Twitter, or Instagram. Comment and share on your favorite social media platform as well, please. Your participation is greatly appreciated. 

17-year-old birder Zafeer A. Shaikh from Pakistan has done a great job with the design.

Birding Central Peru and Iquitos this summer

Last year's tour was postponed to this year, and there are two-three spots available to join this small group of Dutch and US birders. They are doing Central Peru for 17 days with a start on July 25 (it is possible to join up in Huanuco if you want a shorter trip. Later they are doing the Iquitos area for ten days starting on August 11 and includes a visit to Muyuna Lodge. You could join for a shorter period if you are short of time.

Birding Manu road in September. 
There are new bookings for a Complete Manu road birding trip on September 22. Join a small group for some of the best birding in the world.

Upcoming 7 Wonders Birding Tours.
It is, of course, very difficult to know how COVID will affect things. Still, within a couple of months, much of the world will likely open up for travel, especially for those vaccinated.

Here is a sample of 7WB tours I think could well run in the coming year or so, which has already attracted some interest.

I am particularly keen to guide the Spain trip in October as it fits right after my marathon in Berlin. This part of Spain is where I originally started my guiding career in 1987. As I will be in Europe anyway, there would be no surcharge even if the group size is minimal.

• Oct 3-8. Southern Spain with Alhambra and Iberian Lynx. CONFIRMED. A pre-tour with birding the remarkable raptor migration at Tarifa will also be offered.
• Oct 12-16. Birding Cambodia and Angkor Wat. COVID restrictions need to be lifted.
• Dec 13-17. Machu Picchu Deluxe. CONFIRMED.
• Dec 18-23. Bhutan- extension until December 25. Pre- or post-tour to India -Taj Mahal and Tiger. Friends in Bhutan indicate that COVID restrictions are likely lifted later this year.
• Feb 27-Mar 2, 2022. Winter Japan. My favorite 7WB tour.
• May 2-6, 2022. Rome. It is possible to add Tuscany or Comacchio for more birding or culture.
• Aug 28-Sep 3, 2022. Uganda Gorillas and Shoebill 
• Nov 27-Dec 3, 2022. All bird families of Madagascar, lemurs and chameleons. CONFIRMED. (Under production). Also, pre and post-tours are available to complete three weeks. 

Birding Northern Peru for Christmas
Several people have asked me about birding in Peru around Christmas and New Year. So there is now a 10-day departure up on the website calendar with a start on December 23. You can also turn this into a shorter 5-day trip focusing on the hummingbirds and tanagers of the eastern slope. It would start in Jaen and end in Tarapoto. You may add the Plataforma for the Scarlet-banded Barbet extension if you have more time.

South America Birding Trips in 2022 and 2023 with bookings.
Here are some scheduled trips which already have bookings. Plan ahead!

There is also a request for our Triunfo, Chiapas trip for Horned Guan and many others in March 2022. Dates will be announced shortly.

2022

March 26-April 23. Complete Bolivia
October 6-23. Complete Manu road.

2023

November 18-Dec 3. Complete Northern Peru.

Become a birding Polyglot.
Learning languages is important for international birders. You come a long way if you can communicate with the people. Right now I have four major language challenges - German, French, Japanese and Chinese. 
Usually, I start off a language to learn with Pimsleur audio courses that I can listen to when I am on the run. They are readily available from Audible but you can find bargains buying the CD-sets sometimes.  

German.   
As I am going to Germany for the Berlin Marathon in the end of September, I thought it be good to brush up my German skills. I have never really be conversational in German, apart for being able to express simple desires. German is my main focus right now. 
The best way towards fluency is to talk as much as possible. I am, looking for conversations partners to practice with, and will exchange time/practice to anyone wanting to practice Spanish or Swedish. Hopefully, some German speakers of this newsletter will take up the suggestion. 

Apart from this strategy, I just found an excellent podcast in German called Coffee Break German. It is a brilliant format following a Scotsman, Mark, as he is learning German. In 70 days I shall cover most of the published podcast episodes from season 2 onwards by doing at least one episode per day while I am running. 
I am also enjoying news in slow German and in slow French in the Linguistica app. 

New vocabulary that I want to remember, I enter in the cue card Anki app. This app is extremely smart, as the cards you have studied will be repeated in intervals of minutes, hours or days depending on how you classify the words you have just looked at. 
The Anki app is available for desktop and mobile.  

I also regularly do Duolingo in German to learn more vocabulary. The goal is to be more or less fluent in German in 10 weeks. I have school German to build upon, so much of the grammatical structure is there, but somewhat rusty. 

French. 
I will be needing to be fluent in French before the trip to Madagascar scheduled for November 2022. I had one semester of French when I was in school, so the bulk of the French I have learnt been on the run listening to the entire Pimsleur French course. It is also the language I have studied most on Duolingo. 

Right now I am maintaining by listening to the excellent Duolingo French Podcast.  Wonderful stories in intermediate French with an English speaking host who chimes in for context. Duolingo also have a popular podcast in Spanish.
I also enjoy the Stories in French on the Duolingo app. 

Japanese. 
I regularly guide in Japan, and I feel I must learn to speak Japanese. I know a large number of greetings and polite phrases, but I am far from being able to have a conversation.
I have finally managed to master hiragana and katakana phonetic script - at least reading level. Duolingo has been good for this, as I have concentrated on just Checkpoint 1 and 2 for a long time. 
I will later in the year try to learn more conversation with Pimsleur. 
Afterall, the next Japan trip will not be until late February, so there is still some time to become more proficient. 

Mandarin

I have not done a lot Mandarin lately, as the other languages having preference, but it is a language I do want learn. I have found a great app called Hello Chinese which is similar to Duolingo. One advantage is that one can do it without bothering about learning to read Chinese writing, and completely focus on Pinyin and talking. 
The Pimsleur Chinese course is also useful in this context. 
I also started listening to the beginning episodes of the Coffeebreak Chinese Podcast.

That is all for this time. Stay safe!

Saludos

Gunnar