We were heading back to the Hotel after visiting Poques Mountain when we sensed the presence of an animal near by. It was raining so it was already difficult to see or hear but a slight movement was all we needed. We began to look around when suddenly branches began to shake. It was a medium sized bird, looked like a Motmot even, but when it flew closer an Emerald Toucanet surprised us all. It was very surprising, and especially for me since I had never seen it before, I even thought toucanets lived only in the rainforest (where I came from a couple of month ago).
- Marco A. Huamán Ovalle -

It was a fresh, clear day at Inkaterra Machu Picchu. We were in the middle of a Birdwatching tour, really early in the morning, spotting a great deal of different birds: Flycatchers, oriols, tyranulets, guans, hummingbirds, egrets, all of them inside the trails at the hotel. Suddenly we were amazed but what flew right in front of us. It was white and yellow, not common in Cloud Forest areas and a surprise for all of us in the group; a Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis) flying over us with an apparently obvious destination. The sighting made us want to see more birds. Even if we did not see rare birds or any new sightings, we saw uncommon bird behaviors such as: a bird in the middle of a feeding with a big fish down its throat, a cattle egret flying around, and even some matting dances.
- Yrma Begazo -

It was another Excursion towards Mandor Valley early in the morning. One of the first birds we saw was a Dusky Green Oropendola. Few minutes later a Golden Olive Woodpecker feeding on some insects off the bark of a tree. Even though the birds caught most of our attention we also saw quite a lot of biodiversity in between beautiful orchids, fungi, and ferns.
- Yrma Begazo -

It was a cloudy and sunny day. A group of us interpreters decided to walk around the Hotel and look for birds. We were walking around the terraces when suddenly a big brown animal (definitely not a duck) was swimming around the river. Everyone, binoculars at hand, began to try to identify the animal. It was an otter (Lontra longicaudis). Some of us stayed to see its behavior, feeding on fish, scratching the scales off, licking its paws for leftovers, simply enjoying the day, while others went on the look for guest to share the sighting with. It is not every day that you see an otter, and even harder to see one as friendly and comfortable as this one.
- Yrma Begazo -

Today, at around 10 in the morning, a once in a lifetime experience occurred. A Spectacled Bear was sighted climbing up a tree feeding from the bromeliads in front of the main restaurant. For almost 1 hour, this bear was giving the interpreters and the guests a memory that will resonate for a lifetime. This was truly a unique experience for everybody there, and we hope other visitors will get to enjoy this and other kinds of bear sightings when staying at the hotel.
- Dennis Osorio M. -

A good “birding” morning at the end of the Rainy Season
This morning we were in two groups, one with Carmen Serrano in English and the other in Spanish. With the Spanish group we began by standing on a terrace behind the Mikhuna Wasi Restaurant. We saw a Social Flycatcher (Myiozetetes similes), a Streak-necked Flycatcher (Mionectes striatiocollis) and a Red-eyed Vireo (Vireo olivaceous). But the best part of the morning was yet to come, in front of the restaurant we saw a huge Highland Motmot (Momotus aequatorialis) perched, then a nice bunch of tanagers including Saffron–crowned Tanager (Tangara xantocephala lamprotis), Silver-backed Tanager (Tangara viridicollis viridicollis), Blue-necked Tanager (Tangara cyanicollis) and more, then we went to one of the paths because we received a report of Quetzals activity and we found a Golden-headed Quetzal (Pharomachrus auriceps) and an Andean Cock of the Rock (Rupicola peruviana). When we return to the hotel area we found a Golden-olive Woodpecker (Piculus rubiginosus) on his pole. In another trail Carmen found more for our check-list, like the Andean Guan (Penelope montagnii),Dusky-green Oropendola (Psarocolius atrovirens), Torrent Tyrannulet (Serpophaga cinerea) Ending our walk with those beautiful birds made for everyone, a good morning and a good day.
- Dennis Osorio M. -