Day 6: Amazonia Lodge to the Cock of the Rock Lodge

This was the day in my itinerary that I was always very nervous about. There were several bird species I had really wanted to see in the Cloud Forest. However, since I had seen cloud forest birds in Ecuador I thought I should focus this trip mainly on the lowlands. Therefore I really only had one day to try for these species and with the high chance of rain in the cloud forest, my chances of failure were high. There are several spectacular Cloud Forest species that I didn't see in Ecuador or I wasn't able to photograph because I didn't have the correct equipment. It turned out that the day turned out perfectly and I managed to see every single one of my target species thanks to good weather and Virgilio's expertise. We started back up the Manu road, this time at a slower pace since we were going to break the journey half way at the famous Cock of the Rock lodge (named after the national bird of Peru). Here is a last look at he Madres de los Dios and the Amazon basin.

We passed several mixed tanager flocks. Most were too far away to get good pictures. We did see this beautiful Silver-beaked Tanager who is one of the most common in Amazonia. However, you have to see him in good light to appreciate his beauty. He usually just looks black.

Virgilio said that we should make our way to the Cock of the Rock lodge as soon as possible since he was there the previous week and saw there were some fruiting trees attracting mixed flocks. Glenn Bartley also mentioned that he had just been there and saw the amazing Wire-crested Thorntail Hummingbird at the lodge. The weather was holding up so we made our way. We did make a few stops. One where we saw this Ornate Flycatcher.

The Violaceous Jay could be seen a lot closer than at the lodge. This is another great advantage of the Manu road. Since one is often changing elevation, one travels along road cuts that allow you to see the tree tops where many species can be found. In a way the road acts as a canopy tower through the rain forest.

We also got nice looks of the beautiful Yellow-tufted Woodpecker which were always far away at the lodge.

We made our way to the Cock of the Rock lodge and got there around 2 pm. We immediately made our way to their amazing garden set in the middle of cloud forest. The spectacular Wire-Crested Thorntail Hummingbird was feeding at verbena flowers right where Glenn Bartley saw him a few days prior. Virgilio was surprised since he was here a week prior and spent three days looking for this fellow to no avail. The thorntail is really over the top. He has a wispy crest, super long tail and iridescence!

I even managed to get a shot of him feeding.

Soon after, the other hummingbird I was really hoping to see arrived. The booted-rackettail seemed to show up every time the thorntail arrived. They even fought with one another on occasion which I was hoping to get a shot of but couldn't. However, I think this shot came out really well with the head in focus and the bluish rackets nicely fading out of focus. I couldn't believe it, in just 1 hour, I managed to see the two hummingbirds I was after in the cloud forest.

While I was focusing on the hummingbirds, Virgilio was staking out the fruiting tree. Our driver was staking out yet another fruiting tree. After some time, the tanager I was really hoping to see had arrived. The Paradise Tanager is what people think of when one thinks gaudy tropical bird. He is actually common but likes to stay high. Thanks to this fruiting tree I could get shots at point black range as he chomped on ripe berries!

If these colors weren't enough, when he opens his wings, you get bright red!

Other beautiful tanagers came by as well like the Blue-necked Tanager and Spotted Tanager.

The multi-colored Versicolored Barbet also was part of the mixed flock!

I couldn't believe that so many of the birds I was hoping to see were seen in a few hours! Then I became worried since rain moved in and the garden went silent. Still ahead was one of the main things I hoped to accomplish during this trip: photographing the Andean Cock of the Rock. We saw this amazing bird in Ecuador but it was so dark and I didn't have the high Iso camera. Actually missing out on that chance was one reason we upgraded our camera equipment. I couldn't get a single decent shot despite getting a great looks in Ecuador. It was still one of the most amazing spectacles I've ever seen. Seeing the males display at a lek is an unforgettable experience. Virgilio said the best chance for photographing these fellows is in the afternoon when the light is better but now it had started to rain. We made our way towards the lek hoping things would let up. The rain suddenly stopped and the sun began to shine! Then another lucky break, before we even got to the lek, which is under the canopy, two males were out in the open in a tree right next to the road. Here is a closeup shot of this bird that is arguably one of the prettiest in the world!

After getting many great shots we made our way to the lek. Here I got to see a total of 14 birds at the lek and several females that I had never seen before. Here is a shot of a male displaying to the female. She is very pretty as well.

When one sees the entire lek at once it is a spectacular site. I could never get just one wide angle shot with many birds in view so this is a composite shot to give one an idea.

After an incredibly successful day, Virgilio was very confident that we could see the spectacular Lyre-tailed Nightjar as night set in. We had some time before the nightjar would become active so we scanned the tree tops from the Manu Road. We saw this beautiful Black-faced Brush Finch.

Then at dusk we made our way to the area where the Lyre-tailed Nightjar hunts. There he was with a tail that can be three times his body length!

We also saw him on another perch as it grew dark and a flash light was needed to see him.

We returned to the Cock of the Rock lodge and Virgilio heard this large Band-bellied Owl calling. Even the manager at the lodge came out to see it since he had never seen this fairly rare find. It was a great way to end this amazing day.

The lodge itself has no electricity and it was pretty spooky going back to my room in the dark. The room was lit by candles and I could see a few large bugs scampering away as I entered the room. This freaked me out since the room was so dark that it was difficult to tell what was wandering around the room. I thought of Gowri and how she really hates bugs and thought this place probably isn't for her! I think I let my imagination get the best of me and didn't get a good nights sleep. The expedia commercial that shows a tropical room covered in bugs didn't help! In the morning I found out there weren't any bugs in sight in the room itself. However, the shower had a few that I needed to relocate before showering. Really not a big deal compared to many other places I've stayed even in the middle of a city. It was just the lack of light that made it creepy. I felt like I had pretty much seen everything that I had hoped for and was ready to return to Cuzco/civilization. I could then skype with Gowri and Aditya and would soon be on a plane back home!