Grand Bolivia: Part II - September 2025
Dates: September 21 - October 3, 2025
Leaders: Andrew Whittaker & Local Leader
E-bird
Total Species: 290 birds
Click Here to view list.
Overall Summary
Bolivia outdid itself once again as we explored the spectacular Andes, where the many pristine habitats produced countless cool endemics, near-endemics, and lifers. From the breathtaking cloud forest and puna to magnificent Lake Titicaca with its flightless grebe, the highlands never let us down. This scenic region is a botanist’s paradise, too, with marvelous orchids, fascinating passion flowers, and wild fuchsia adding a blaze of color. Our explorations rewarded us with a fabulous total of 290 bird species, making an incredible grand total of nearly 600 on Parts I and II of this exciting tour!
We began in bustling Cochabamba, where we met Jeannie at our hotel in the late afternoon. Our first full day got us off to a flying start, birding a lovely secluded ridge in the spectacular cloud forest above the city, where ancient trees were dripping with exotic bromeliads, orchids, and mosses. Among the many avian gems here were Blue-banded Toucanet, Tyrian and Scaled metaltails, Gould’s Inca, Violet-throated Starfrontlet, Pearled Treerunner, Light-crowned Spinetail, Barred Fruiteater, Rufous-breasted Chat-Tyrant, Citrine Warbler, Spectacled Redstart, the endemic Gray-bellied Flowerpiercer, and Grass-green, Chestnut-bellied, and Scarlet-bellied mountain tanagers. After a superb lunch of fresh trout, we birded the nearby lake, which produced Variable Hawk, Mountain Caracara, Yellow-billed Pintail, Yellow-billed Teal, Puna and Andean ibis, Andean Lapwing, Andean Gull, Andean Swallow, and Band-tailed and Plain-colored seedeaters.
The next day’s visit to some mid-elevation forest provided more superb birding, with a stunning lineup of Chestnut-tipped Toucanet, Yungas Guan, Burrowing Owl, Masked Trogon, Versicolored Barbet, Scaly-naped Amazon, Yungas Manakin, and Yungas and Riverbank warblers. Tanagers provided a kaleidoscope of colors with Magpie, Fawn-breasted, Orange-eared, Blue-necked, Green-throated, Blue-capped, Golden, and Saffron-crowned species. We found the sought-after Yungas Tody-Tyrant, while a Pavonine Cuckoo and an early Olive-sided Flycatcher were big surprises. We returned to our hotel in the mid-afternoon.
Our trip to Cerro Tunari was dominated by magnificent scenery as we enjoyed yet another superb day in agricultural valleys, highland Polylepis forest, and scenic puna. On a gorgeous, calm, and sunny day, we found the hillsides teeming with our most wanted birds, especially hummingbirds. The dazzling colors of Red-tailed Comets, Wedge-tailed Hillstars, and Giant Hummingbirds were spellbinding. Other noteworthy encounters included the cool-looking and near-endemic Rufous-bellied Mountain Tanager (Saltator) and the Sierran form of Olive-crowned Crescentchest.
This rich area also produced Gray-hooded Parakeet, Yellow-billed Tit-Tyrant, Gray-bellied Flowerpiercer, Streak-fronted Thornbird, Brown-capped and Tawny tit-spinetails, Rock Earthcreeper, and Rufous-sided, Ringed, and Bolivian warbling finches. The breathtaking scenery of the dry puna was dotted with scarlet cactus; here we enjoyed magical looks at Mountain Caracara before moving up to lovely meadows inhabited by herds of alpaca and llama. Soon we encountered our first ground-tyrants, with close looks at Taczanowski’s, Ochre-naped, and White-browed. Farther up, we ran into grazing Andean Geese, Andean Swifts, d’Orbigny’s Chat-Tyrant, Glacier Finch, Bright-rumped Yellow-Finch, and both Ash-breasted and Plumbeous Sierra Finch.
Crested Ducks and Andean Flickers graced our picnic spot. A stop at the city lake in Cochabamba turned up Silvery Grebe (the Andean form—a good candidate for a split), Andean Duck, Rosy-billed Pochard, Cinnamon Teal, White-cheeked Pintail, and Black-necked Stilt.
The next morning, we took the short flight to La Paz. We met Marco at the airport, then made our way through the city to our lovely hotel on the banks of famous Lake Titicaca. After a fabulous lunch, we had an instructive visit to the hotel’s fascinating museum of the indigenous Utama people, where we photographed the famous reed boats. It’s amazing to think that crafts like these allowed people from South America to settle the tiny atolls of Polynesia, 4,300 miles away across the Pacific Ocean!
Exploring the reed-edged lake and hotel grounds revealed a delightful pair of Aplomado Falcons, Spot-winged Pigeon, Peruvian Sierra Finch, Black Siskin, Black-throated Flowerpiercer, and Cinereous Conebill. The lakeside offered the colorful Many-colored Rush Tyrant, Wren-like Rush Bird, Slate-colored Coot, male Andean Ducks displaying to females, Puna Teal, White-tufted Grebe, and Plumbeous Rail. And, of course, we had exceptional studies of the magnificent flightless Titicaca Grebe.
The next morning found us driving past the spectacular snow-capped Illampu Mountain, its peak at 20,892 feet, on our way to bird the slopes and farmland near Sorata. This secluded valley gave us magical views of the rare and often hard-to-see endemic Berlepsch’s Canastero. Among the delightful hummingbirds here were Red-tailed Comet, Green-tailed Trainbearer, and—WOW—the mind-blowing endemic Black-hooded Sunbeam in all its beauty, which gave us mega views as it fed and sang. Hard to exaggerate the beauty of this spectacular hummer!
The highlands rewarded us with Hellmayr’s Pipit and Black-billed Shrike-Tyrant; Huayaco Tinamou and Darwin’s Nothura were heard. On an isolated lake, we were happy to find the extremely localized Giant Coot displaying its enormous red-lobed feet and tricolored bill. Additionally, migrant Baird’s Sandpipers and a very confiding Common Miner put on a show; the miner is likely to be split in the future.
A boat trip took us to the famous floating homes of the Uros people, perched on artificial islands of totora reeds. Along the dirt roads through the reedbeds, we were able to enjoy a hunting female Cinereous Harrier, Yellow-winged Blackbirds, and a tame Andean Lapwing.
Early the next morning, we descended into the crazy traffic of La Paz before ascending the other side to the spectacular La Cumbre mountain pass. Up in this moon-like landscape, Indio managed to locate a pair of cool-looking Rufous-bellied Seedsnipe, and we were happy to encounter a couple of new high-altitude species: the Streak-throated Canastero and Puna Ground-Tyrant.
We continued our descent into this breathtaking valley to enjoy a lunch of fresh trout fillet, after which we drove through mile after mile of spectacular cloud forest and through deep tunnels before arriving at the top of the famous Death Road. A brief walk here was highlighted by a veritable feast of hummingbirds, with Amethyst-throated Sunangel, Gould’s Inca, Blue-capped Puffleg, and White-bellied Woodstar. Arriving mid-afternoon at our lovely Coroico hotel, we enjoyed a delightful afternoon stroll through the hotel’s rich yungas forest, where we marveled at great studies of spectacular Versicolored Barbet, Amazonian Motmot, Ocellated Piculet, Rufous Casiornis, Upland and Chestnut-backed antshrikes, Yellow-bellied Siskin, Chestnut-bellied Seed-Finch, and a very well-behaved Southern Emerald (Black-throated) Toucanet.
We dedicated the next three days to the truly magnificent cloud forests of Death Road, which, in my opinion, are at least as good as the more famous Manu Road. The beautiful ridgetops here are cloaked in stunted cloud forest and drenched in the vibrant purple of Sobralia orchids, flowering bromeliads, and dense bamboo thickets with a wealth of passion flowers.
With no motorized traffic and only a few crazy bikers, Death Road is ideal for birding. Winding through glorious yungas and cloud forest as far as the eye can see, we were blessed with exciting mixed flocks of brightly colored tanagers: Scarlet-bellied Mountain, Grass-green, Golden-naped, Swallow, Beryl-spangled, and Blue-and-black tanagers, as well as Superciliated, Three-striped, and Black-eared hemispingus. Mega views of several Hooded Mountain-Toucans and colorful Barred and Band-tailed fruiteaters would earn them a place among the top birds of the entire trip. Carl was the only one to briefly see the elusive Bolivian Antpitta, which he somehow managed to photograph terrifically well.
Rufous-faced Antpitta and Diademed Tapaculo were only heard, but a friendly Streak-throated Bush-Tyrant landed on the road during our snack stop. We had exceptional studies of the extremely rare Scimitar-winged Piha and a singing White-eared Solitaire.
At mid-elevation, we got exceptional studies of White-throated Quail-Doves on the road, while White-tipped Swifts zoomed over our heads. Amazingly, a hunting Orange-breasted Falcon passed a few feet overhead, the loud whooshing causing most of us to duck! After much searching of the treetops, I managed to locate a stunning Chestnut-crested Cotinga. Other noteworthy observations included Hooded Tinamou, rare White-throated Hawk, Black-banded and Strong-billed woodcreepers, Long-tailed Sylph, Rufous-booted Racket-tail, Violet-fronted Brilliant, Cinnamon Flycatcher, Maroon-chested Chat-Tyrant, Streak-necked Flycatcher, Pale-legged Warbler, Purple Honeycreeper, Blue-naped Chlorophonia, Rufous-bellied Euphonia, and Masked Flowerpiercer. But the real stars here were the exquisite male and female Andean Cocks-of-the-rock.
On our last morning, we concentrated on high-elevation elfin forest. A spectacular flock of colorful Hooded Mountain Tanagers and a Crimson-mantled Woodpecker kept us busy, while a pair of Undulated Antpittas simply refused to show themselves. Higher up the road, we enjoyed mega studies of Rust-and-yellow Tanager, Tawny-rumped and White-banded tyrannulets, Bolivian Brushfinch, Blue-backed Conebill, and Scarlet-bellied Mountain Tanager.
Finally, our exploration of the high puna grasslands turned up very cute Southern Mountain Viscachas sunning on rocks. We also enjoyed great looks at Scribble-tailed Canastero, and Paramo Pipit and Puna Tapaculo appeared before we descended to La Paz and our plush hotel. We enjoyed a scrumptious Chinese lunch before relaxing and repacking at the Ritz. In the evening, we gathered for our farewell dinner at a great Japanese restaurant, where we toasted yet another fantastic Bolivia trip while marveling over our top seven trip birds.
Thank you all for joining me on this magical Bolivia trip and being such a fun group to share this fabulous country with. I just love Bolivia and its mega avifauna, still one of the best-kept South American birding secrets! Writing this, I am already looking forward to my return next autumn to this exceptional and friendly country that touched all our hearts. I hope you enjoy reading this report and it brings back some wonderful memories—and that we cross paths again on one of my exciting VENT tours worldwide.
Happy birding to you on our simply amazing planet!
Abrazos,
Andy
Seven Favorite Birds
BLACK-HOODED SUNBEAM (ENDEMIC)
HOODED MOUNTAIN-TOUCAN (NEAR-ENDEMIC)
ANDEAN COCK-OF-THE-ROCK
GOULD’S INCA
TITICACA GREBE
CRIMSON-MANTLED WOODPECKER
SCIMITAR-WINGED PIHA
Day-by-Day Summary
September 21 – Arrival in bustling Cochabamba in the late afternoon, where Jeannie met the group at the hotel and the tour began.
September 22 – A spectacular ridge in the cloud forest above the city produced an exciting start, with mixed flocks of toucanets, mountain tanagers, and hummingbirds among moss-draped trees, followed by productive birding at a nearby lake.
September 23 – Mid-elevation forests delivered a rich mix of species, including dazzling tanagers, toucans, guans, and memorable surprises such as Pavonine Cuckoo and Olive-sided Flycatcher.
September 24 – A full day across agricultural valleys and high puna revealed dramatic scenery and a strong selection of high-altitude specialties, including striking hummingbirds, Andean geese, and puna-adapted birds.
September 25 – A productive morning at the city lake preceded a transition into the dry inter-Andean valleys, culminating in unforgettable views of Red-fronted Macaws along cliff faces.
September 26 – Outstanding encounters with large groups of Red-fronted Macaws provided close, behavioral views at a conservation site, alongside parrots, martins, and cliff-nesting species.
September 27 – Travel to Samaipata introduced a new suite of habitats, with birding across forest edges, lakes, and Chiquitania woodland producing a fresh wave of species.
September 28 – Lush cloud forest birding brought raptors, trogons, tanagers, and a strong selection of Andean specialties in vibrant mixed-species flocks.
September 29 – Tucumano forest and surrounding woodland yielded woodpeckers, antshrikes, and colorful tanagers, along with several localized and sought-after species.
September 30 – A final morning in cloud forest produced toucanets, manakins, and hummingbirds before the return to Santa Cruz for a restful afternoon.
October 1 – Grasslands near the airport added open-country species such as rhea and burrowing owl before the flight north to Trinidad, gateway to the Pantanal.
October 2 – A private ranch visit delivered exceptional encounters with endangered Blue-throated Macaws, followed by wetland birding rich in storks, macaws, seedeaters, and rarities.
October 3 – Gallery forest and reserve birding added forest specialties, and a boat trip revealed dolphins, caimans, and extensive wetland birdlife before the return journey concluded the tour.
Wildlife Seen:
MAMMALS:
Southern Viscacha (Lagidium viscacia) – So so cute!
Southern Mountain Cavy (Microcavia australis)
Llama (Lama lama) - domestic
Alpaca (Lama pacos) - domestic