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| After a lengthy plane flight yesterday, I woke up early this morning to the songs of Great Thrushes and Rufous-collared Sparrows as the group met each other and ate breakfast before heading off to Yanacocha. My first experience birding the tropics came at our first high elevation stop before reaching Yanacocha. Just seconds after exiting the bus a Black-tailed Trainbearer came into view. A hummingbird with a loose dark tail longer than its body just flying around about two miles above sea level, found without any effort. We would see many of these fork-tailed flycatcher-like hummingbirds in this habitat. We also got our first taste of a few families that dont reach the United States. An Antpitta, a Spinetail, and a Brush-finch. The reserve itself is situated in the high Andes and partly serves to protect the endangered Black-breasted Puffleg. Even though none were found, many new and unusual hummingbirds were seen. The aggressive, orange Shining Sunbeam dominated most of the feeders.  Shining SunbeamThe enormous and stunning Great Sapphirewing always made its presence known at the feeders.  Great SapphirewingTwo other great looking hummingbirds were the Sword-billed Hummingbird which flies around with its large green body and an insanely lengthy bill made to reach into some of the long flowers of the tropics, and my personal favorite of the day, the Rainbow-bearded Thornbill who just looks like another normal dull hummingbird until it points its red, green, and pink throat in your direction and you see how it gets the name Rainbow-bearded. Some of the other hummingbirds included:  Mountain Velvetbreast Sapphire-vented Puffleg Buff-winged StarfrontletGlossy and Masked Flowerpiercers also caught our attention at the feeders, and a young Masked tried to poke its oddly shaped bill into one of the fake flowers on a hummingbird feeder. The lack of diversity in the tanager flocks was made up by the beautiful and common black and red Scarlet-bellied Mountain-tanager. This dull brown, but cooperative Smoky Bush-tyrant sat in the scope for several minutes allowing for our only looks at this species.  Smoky Bush-tyrantThe fascinating species found in the highlands are only a small part of the whole diversity we will get on the rest of the tour. Some of the new birds were seen in our short time birding the old Nono-Mindo road in the afternoon. Amongst the attrative Crimson-mantled Woodpeckers and Slaty-backed Chat-tyrants and the active White-capped Dippers and Torrent Ducks one bird stood out. A bird well known in the tropics, perhaps one of the symbols of birding the American tropics, the Cock-of-the-Rock. Even when viewed from a distance, the glowing red of the males as they bowed their heads, made strange calls, and occasionally attacked one another, the Cock-of-the-Rock lek will probably be one of the best experiences of the trip. In the fading light at Tandayapa Bird Lodge I saw a few life hummingbirds that I will probably be seeing for the next few days. | ||
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