In April 2025, we led a trip to birding in Peru with good friends who are birdwatchers and photographers, between the Andes near the city of Lima and northeastern Peru (in the regions of San Martín and Amazonas), where we managed to record almost 600 species in fifteen days.
The first part of this birding trip in Peru is in Santa Eulalia.
Birding in Peru – Santa Eulalia, the andes of Lima
The birding trip began with Anne and Steve in Lima, from where we headed east toward the Andes.
Our specific destination was the Santa Eulalia Valley, where we aimed to ascend nearly 5,000 meters over three days to find the region’s unique avian species.
This journey proved fascinating for everyone, largely because the recent seasonal transition had left the valley lush and green, thus providing the perfect conditions to spot a wide variety of birds.
For instance, on the first day alone, our most notable sightings included the Great Inca-Finch, Peruvian Sheartail, and Black-necked Woodpecker.
On the second day, we continued to the upper part of the valley focused on birdwatching in a queñua forest.
So, we were able to observe more special species including Andean Condor, White-cheeked Cotinga, Black Metaltail, Black-breasted Hillstar, and Rusty-crowned Tit-Spinetail.
That same afternoon, we reached the highest point of our journey at 4,800 meters. Even though an ice storm blocked our visibility but we remain optimistic since we have one additional day to complete our bird list.
Despite the weather conditions, we were able to observe these important species: Puna Tinamou, Grey-breasted Seedsnipe and Dark-winged Miner.
The third day was truly magical. Following the storm, we were greeted by the calm of the Andes with beautifully blanketed in snow and bathed in bright sunlight.
Beyond the stunning scenery, we reached our goal of seeing all target species, aided by light and snow conditions that were simply extraordinary.
The key birds observed were Diademed Sandpiper-Plover, White-bellied Cinclodes, Junin Canastero, and Black-breasted Hillstar.
Birding in Peru – Coastal birds (Callao)
That morning we left the Andes and returned to the coast, but before catching our flight we went birding on the coast of Lima at sea level and ate a classic pejerrey chalaco sandwich.
The most interesting species we observed were Franklin’s gull, Amazilia Hummingbird, Peruvian Booby, Great-tailed Grackle, Harri´s Hawk, among others.
List of birds recorded
If you would like to take this trip, please click here for more info:
If you would like to read the next chapters of this birding trip, please click here:
Birding in Peru – Scarlet-banded Barbet Expeditions (Part 2)
Birding in Peru – Marvelous Spatuletail and Long-whiskered Owlet (Part 3)
