Bolivian Andes to Amazon Adventure

After arriving on an international flight from Santa Cruz we will board our internal flight to Trinidad. Located in the heart of the Llanos de Moxos ecoregion, Trinidad has been called the birdiest city in South America thanks to its proximity to some incredible hostpots and endemic-rich ecosystems. If our flight time allow for it, before we depart from Santa Cruz, we will take some time to bird the Viru Viru Airport grasslands. This is one of the most remarkable urban birding hotspots on earth: where else can you see Greater Rhea and Red-winged Tinamou while international flights come in to land overhead?!

Once again, depending on our flight schedule, this afternoon we will head out to Suarez Lagoon, just south of Trinidad, for a few hours of birding. The scrubby forests and wetlands alongside this lake are home to a special mix of species, including Mato Grosso Antbird, Scarlet-headed Blackbird, Crane Hawk, Hoatzin, White-wedged Piculet, Great Pampa Finch (a localized subspecies with potential for a future split), Rufous Cacholote, and Peach-fronted Parakeet. A big target will be the little-known local population of Gray-eyed Greenlet. With just a dozen records in Bolivia, this highly isolated population is quite probably a new species, so we will try hard to get it.

Overnight in a comfortable city hotel in Trinidad.

Today we will enjoy our first full morning of birding around Trinidad with an early drive north of the city to Puerto Ballivian on the banks of the Ibare River, where we will walk a short trail along the river in search of the local subspecies of Plain Softtail and Velvet-fronted Grackle - both are candidates for future splits and we’ll likely be seeing the future Beni Softtail and Beni Grackle! Along with these targets, we’ll have a good chance for Band-tailed Manakin, Sulphur-bellied Tyrant-Manakin, Pale-crested Woodpecker, Black-fronted Nunbird, and White-throated Piping-Guan, along with a host of lowland jungle species. Of course, we’ll also be trying for the endemic Unicolored Thrush - with fewer than a handful of eBird records, this is a very poorly known species indeed.

We’ll eat lunch in the field, and then take a short boat trip on the Ibare River in search of Bolivian River Dolphins. This endemic species was formerly considered a subspecies of the Amazonian River Dolphins but is now seen as a separate species. The pink dolphins are frequently encountered in the tributaries and oxbow lakes along the Ibare, so we have a good chance of spotting them. Regular fly-pasts of Blue-and-yellow Macaws will entertain us from the boat as well, and the rivers and oxbow lakes are good places to add terns and waterbirds to our growing species list.

The afternoon will be open: depending on the species we’ve already seen, we will either bird around the Puerto Ballivian trail or return to Laguna Suarez.

Overnight in a comfortable city hotel in Trinidad.

Today’s a long day as we head south of Trinidad in search of one of our top targets: the endemic and critically endangered Blue-throated Macaw. With an estimated global population of around 300 individuals, this stunning macaw is critically endangered, and the savannahs surrounding the tiny village of Loreto are an excellent spot to observe them. After a pre-dawn departure, we will drive the two hours to Loreto, where we will meet a local park warden, and drive a short distance to a local ranch. The owners of these ranches are working with conservation partners to help protect the macaws and establish breeding populations at artificial nest boxes. We will take advantage of the park warden’s local knowledge and visit the best locations for an ecounter with this beautiful macaw. During the course of our morning birding here we also have a good chance at spotting other specialties like Rufous-tailed Jacamar, Jabiru, Toco Toucan, Great Rufous Woodcreeper, and various species of antbird, tyrannulet, and parrots.

After a morning of birding the ranch, we will have a local lunch in Loreto. Hopefully, we will have enjoyed good views of the macaws in the morning - in that case, we will drive slowly back to Trinidad mid-afternoon, making plenty of stops along the way to bird patches of forest, wetlands, and open plains. This drive is especially good for herons, storks, and raptors.

Overnight in a comfortable city hotel in Trinidad.

For our final morning in Trinidad, we will choose our birding location based on our missing targets, before enjoying a local lunch and heading to the airport for our afternoon flight back to Santa Cruz. If there’s time upon arrival, we will bird the airport grasslands again or some complementary place for more targets birds.

The rest of the day can be used, in the company of your guide, to rest and learn more about the historical and cultural aspects of this region of Bolivia.

Overnight in a comfortable city hotel in Santa Cruz.

Today we will enjoy a full day of birding around Santa Cruz, which despite being Bolivia’s largest city, is surrounded by some excellent regional parks and gardens, home to a plethora of unique and interesting bird species. In the morning we’ll head to the southern edge of the city to spend the morning birding Lomas de Arena Municipal Park, a small protected area home to a rich array of ecosystems including wetlands, savannah, and dry forest. We will spend the morning slowly birding the entrance road to the sand dunes, hoping for specialties including Red-legged Seriema, White-eared Puffbird, White-bellied Nothura, Red-winged Tinamou, White Woodpecker, Chotoy Spinetail, Toco Toucan, and Chalk-browed Mockingbird.

After lunch back around our hotel, this afternoon we will head out to the Santa Cruz Botanical Gardens. This impressive site is far from an ornamental garden: it’s a 186-hectare slice of native Chiquitano Dry Forest, home to an impressive array of birds and mammals. This afternoon we’ll be hoping to get our first endemic species, the Bolivian Slaty-Antshrike, relatively common in the gardens. Other targets include Fawn-breasted Wren, Plush-crested and Purplish Jays, Buff-bellied Hermit, and Green-cheeked Parakeet. We will also be able to observe wild sloths and monkeys, including the near-endemic White-eared Titi Monkey. After spending the afternoon birding the dry forest trails of the Botanical Gardens, we will return to the hotel for a well-earned rest.

Overnight in a comfortable city hotel in Santa Cruz.

This morning we will make a quick early morning stop at either Viru Viru Airport or Lomas de Arena for any remaining targets, before heading off mid-morning up into the Andes to our home for the next two nights: the spectacular Refugio Los Volcanes, a wonderful lodge nestled in the mountainous fringes of Amboro National Park. Los Volcanes is an oasis of nature and tranquility, and the perfect base from which to explore this interesting confluence of Andean and Amazonian ecosystems. Surrounded by imposing sandstone monoliths and endless jungle, the backdrop of the lodge is as beautiful as anywhere you’ll stay in South America, while the homegrown coffee and delicious meals will make us feel right at home and fuel us up for some world-class birding. With a bird list of nearly 500 species, Los Volcanes is one of the top hotspots in Bolivia.

After lunch in the field, we will get off the bus at the viewpoint above the Refugio, and slowly bird our way down to the lodge in the afternoon, hoping to add some of the key targets here to our list right away.

Overnight at Refugio Los Volcanes.

Today we will spend the entire birding enjoying the stunning forest trails and viewpoints of Refugio Los Volcanes, while we target some excellent birds including the reclusive Bolivian Recurvebill, the delightful Slaty Gnateater, and the skulking Bolivian Tapaculo. Mixed flocks should produce good numbers of tanagers, flycatchers, and other forest birds, while we’ll keep one eye on the skies for Military Macaws, Green-cheeked Parakeets, and large groups of jays and oropendolas. The river below the Refugio should get us Riverbank Warbler, Sunbittern, and Black Phoebe.

We’ll spend a second night at Refugio Los Volcanes, hoping for clear skies so we can try out some night photography; the backdrop of the sandstone monoliths makes for some excellent star shots.

Overnight at Refugio Los Volcanes.

After a gentle morning’s birding around the trails near the lodge, we will head out of Refugio Los Volcanes to Samaipata. This pretty little town is known in Bolivia for its temperate climate, good local wine, and famous Inca ruins, and we will be making the most of all three! After arriving and checking into our hotel, we will drive east of town to the Fuerte de Samaipata ruins, where we will walk the trails for a few hours, birding and learning more about the ancient Inca inhabitants of this valley. The forests around the ruins are home to some good species, including Purplish Jay, Cliff Flycatcher, Black-goggled Tanager, Mottle-cheeked Tyrannulet, and Black-capped Antwren. Later in the afternoon, we will pass by a nearby hummingbird garden, where a local birder has planted hundreds of local flowers to attract these glittering jewels to his home. Species vary throughout the year, but we have a good chance at White-vented Violetear, Slender-tailed Woodstar, Fork-tailed Woodnymph, White-bellied Hummingbird, Glittering-bellied Emerald, and Rufous-booted Racket-tail.

We’ll enjoy dinner at a local restaurant on the main square of Samaipata (maybe even with a bottle of that local wine!), before retiring to our hotel for the night.

Overnight in a comfortable rural hotel in Samaipata.

Another early start today as we drive from Samaipata to Quirusillas to target the range-restricted Tucuman Parrot, which is only found in these unique moist forests of southern Bolivia and northern Argentina. There is a strong local population of these parrots in the forests above Quirusillas, so hopefully we’ll enjoy good looks at this rare species, along with other specialties like White-throated Antpitta, Green-backed Tanager, and Golden-winged Cacique. After lunch in the field, we will drive west to our lodge for the next two nights, the Red-fronted Macaw Reserve. En route, we’ll stop at a good point on the road for the endemic Bolivian Earthcreeper.

The Red-fronted Macaw Reserve is the best place on earth to observe these critically endangered and endemic macaws. With a population of just over 1000 individuals, confined to the dry Inter-Andean valleys of Bolivia, this is one of the rarest species we will observe during the trip. The reserve is run by the Armonia Association and protects 50 hectares of dry forest habitat, including important nesting cliffs for the macaws. After arriving in the afternoon, we will bird the area in front of the cliff faces hoping for close-up views of the macaws.

Overnight at the Red-fronted Macaw Reserve.

Today we will enjoy a full day of birding at the Red-fronted Macaw Reserve. As well as the iconic macaws, we should be able to observe localized species like Gray-crested Finch, Ringed Warbling-Finch, Red-tailed Comet, and endemics like Bolivian Blackbird and Cliff Parakeet. Andean Condors often soar in the thermals above the imposing cliffs at mid-morning, and we can observe at least seven parrot species with luck. There are feeders located right in front of our rooms, which attract most of these small passerines, as well as groups of gregarious White-fronted Woodpeckers, so we’ll have some fun with our cameras as well.

Overnight at the Red-fronted Macaw Reserve.

This morning we depart before dawn to bird the Siberia Road for higher-altitude endemics and specialties. After a roughly two-hour drive, we’ll spend the day birding the stunning cloud forest along the road, which includes some excellent Yungas forest habitat and a good number of endemic and range-restricted species. Our target birds for Siberia include Black-hooded Sunbeam, Rufous-faced Antpitta, Light-crowned Spinetail, Black-throated Thistletail, Bolivian Brushfinch, Blue-capped Pufflef, Green-throated Tanager, and Gray-bellied Flowerpiercer. We’ll enjoy lunch in the field and make the most of this exceptionally bird-diverse road for the entire day, before driving back to Samaipata in the late afternoon.

Overnight in a comfortable rural hotel in Samaipata.

We’ll enjoy a gentle morning of birding around Samaipata this morning, with the option of returning to the hummingbird garden for more view and photography. After lunch in a local restaurant, we can visit a local winery for a tour and tasting. Around mid-afternoon, we will depart for Santa Cruz for our last night.

Overnight in a comfortable city hotel in Santa Cruz.

Depending on international flight time, this morning we will have the option for more birding around the city, before our airport transfers and the end of our Bolivia Andes and Amazon odyssey.