Huembo Lodge and Jaen

05 February 2019 – 07 February 2019

Juanita Olano Marín and Antonio García Bravo

After a visit to Chachapoyas, the amazing archeological site Kuelap, and the Gocta waterfall, Juanita wanted to do some birdwatching on the way back to Jaen. This area offers the great opportunity to see some north Peru endemics and specialities of the dry forests of the Marañon river. Luckily it was low season and Antonio, manager of VIPAC Amazonas and knowledgeable bird and nature guide of north Peru, kindly took the time to show Juanita around.

Visited Sites

General Travelling Information

We traveled mostly by public transport, which always worked but required lots of time, patience and the local knowledge of Antonio, especially in remote places or outside the main roads. For some areas, private transport was required. Although main roads are in very good shape and constantly under maintenance, landslides are quite common during the rainy season (October to April).

Recommended Literature

Where to watch birds in Peru. Thomas Valqui. 2004. Although outdated, this guide contains lots of useful information about interesting birdwatching sites. There will be a new edition soon.

Leaflets of the northern Peru birding route. CONAVE. Not so easy to find, these leaftlets offer a fantastic overview of all sites of interest for birdwatching in the north of Peru.

Reserva Huembo

This is THE place to see the Marvelous Spatuletail, which can be easily found in the hummingbird feeders.

Target species

  • Marvelous Spatuletail Loddigesia mirabilis

How to get there

It is possible, but not very easy, to reach the reserve by public transport from Pedro Ruiz. For the way back it is recommended to call the transport company (and be very patient) to send a car to pick you up.

Facilities & accommodation

The reserve has accommodation and restaurant service but, unfortunately, these do not seem to be very well managed by the ECOAN team. Although Juanita confirmed a reservation for one night in the lodge, the local staff was not informed about it and could not/did not want to arrange the logistics at her arrival, allowing us to stay only for a couple of hours (which, luckily, were enough to see the Marvelous Spatuletail). The reserve has nice trails through old coffee plantations and several hummingbird feeders.

Fundo Nerea

This is a private organic coffee farm above Jaen, where several specialities of the dry forest of the Marañon River have been found lately. This place is not open to the public, but Antonio can arrange a visit.

Amoju River (Jaen–Bellavista)

This river area surrounded by extensive rice fields is great to look for several species of wetland birds

Jaen Airport area

We did some early morning birding around Jaen airport and towards the Yanahuanca forest to look for endemic species and subspecies of the Marañon valley dry forest.

Target species

  • Peruvian Pigeon Patagioenas oenops

  • Ecuadorian Ground Dove Columbina buckleyi

  • Spot-throated Hummingbird Thaumasius taczanowskii

  • Collared Antshrike Thamnophilus bernardi

  • Marañon Crescentchest Melanopareia maranonica

  • Marañon Spinetail Synallaxis maranonica

  • Sooty-crowned Flycatcher Myiarchus phaeocephalus

  • Tropical Gnatcatcher Polioptila plumbea

  • Speckle-breasted Wren Pheugopedius sclateri

  • Marañon Thrush Turdus maranonicus

  • Black-capped Sparrow Arremon abeillei

  • Little Inca-Finch Incaspiza watkinsi

  • Buff-bellied Tanager Thlypopsis inornata

  • Chinchipe Spinetail Synallaxis chinchipensis

Species List

Order: systematic | alphabetic | highlights first
Published: 12 March 2019
Last updated: 12 March 2019
Huembo Lodge and Jaen - Orniverse