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Where to Watch Birding Peru

San Pedro: Cock-of-the-Rock Lodge

Cock-of-the-Rock Lodge lies in a 5060-hectare cloud forest reserve owned by Peru Verde and is 3 km downhill from the Manu Cloud Forest Lodge. Only 5 minutes away is the largest known Cock-of-the-Rock lek in the world, where you can watch the incredible display from a strategically-placed platform hide les than 8 m away. The lodge setting is open and birding from the porch is very good – the fruit and hummingbird feeders are especially good and attract a lot of activity. Above the lodge, Lyre-tailed Nightjar is reliably seen at the mirador and a trail from here leads down through bamboo-rich forest. This trail and the trails at the lodge are good for the more secretive understory birds.
Cock-of-the-Rock lodge is about 160 km from Cusco, an 8-hour drive. The lodge is next to a biological station and offers a variety of accommodations, from private bungalows with bathroom (and hot showers) to the cheaper option of camping on a nice platform. Contacts are Peru Verde, Tapir Tours, and InkaNatura Travel. You could hook up with a regular tour for transport here. Recently more lodges have been built in the area, so try your luck with these if Cock-of-the –Rock is already full. It can also be booked through any licensed Manu tour operator. One other comfortable lodge is Paradise Lodge which provides comfortable accommodation – book through Caiman Tours in Cusco. There are several camping platforms with basic facilities in the area.

The avifauna is similar to Manu Cloud Forest Lodge but birding facilities and conditions are better. As a guest, you have access to the Cock-of-the-Rock lek, but anyone can visit for a small fee if it is not too busy. As at the Cloud Forest Lodge, the best birding is from the road. At Cock-of-the-Rock Lodge, however, many canopy species, including the amazing Versicolored Barbet and Violet-fronted Brilliant, are at the feeders, and can be seen at close range from the porch, maybe while enjoying a late breakfast after an early morning on the road. Rufescent Screech-owl and recently-described Cinnamon-faced Tyrannulet occur in the lodge garden. One good trail with a nice bamboo thicket starts from the lodge and goes down to the river to a small cable car (oroya) and up to a clearing – Rufous-breasted Antthrush, Slat Gnateater, Yungas Manakin, and Olive Finch have been reported here. This bamboo patch might also be good for an undescribed Piranga-like species of large Tanager that is being described from the area. Cerculean-capped Manakin likes the dense bamboo just below the clearing. A new trail goes over the river to a larger bamboo patch. Lyre-tailed Nightjar is often seen from the road at the lodge, and is reliably seen at dusk at the mirador at 1800 m elevation about 20 minutes drive up the road. The mirador is also a good place to scan for Black-and-Chestnut Eagle and Solitary Eagle.

MANU LOWLANDS – MIDDLE RIO MADRE DE DIOS
Manu Wildlife Center

With a macaw clay lick, an extensive trail systems specially designed for bird-watchers, an impressively high diversity of habitats (including four oxbow lakes and plenty of bamboo), two 40-meter platforms in huge Ceiba trees, and plans to construct mobile towers at fruiting blooming trees. Manu Wildlife Center has to be the best destination for birdwatching in the Peruvian lowlands. The MWC is located at 400 m elevation on the rio Madre de Dios just outside Manu N.P. Over 560 species of birds have been recorded here, and other attractions include world’s largest tapir clay lick and 12 species of monkey. A bonus is its accessibility – possible in only 3 hours from Cusco, Manu Wildlife Center is owned and run by Peru Verde and Manu Expeditions.

Lago Sandoval

Lago Sandoval is an amazing lake in pristine condition considering its proximity to a big city. For some, this huge oxbow lake (about 5 km long by 1 km wide) is the most beautiful in the southern Amazon. Lago Sandoval is in the Reserva Nacional Tambopata. The Sandoval lake Lodge is among the more comfortable jungle lodges in Peru. Home to a family of Giant Otters and extensive Mauritia palm swamps, Lago Sandoval is well worth the trip. In all of the tropical lowlands of Peru, this us probably the least strenuous, most comfortable, and easily accessible site even though it involves a 1-2 hour walk. The bird community is relatively healthy and recovering a result of its protection by Park rangers and tourism activity. Some of the major game birds like guans, chachalacas, curassows, and wood-quail are coming back but are still not common. This might be the best place to see the rare Black-faced Cotinga.