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INTRODUCTION
Ok, not exactly a local
patch but somewhere I have been several times in the last few years
and so this seems a likely place to include some notes and information
on the site. El Mirador (Alojamiento Turistico) is a family-run
guest house in the jungle city of Tarapoto in northern-central Peru.
It assumes a special location, being just five minutes walk from
the town centre, yet situated at the highest point with panoramic
views, hence it's name. From the rooftop terrace, where breakfast
is served, the Cordillera Escalera dominates the horizon while a suburban
landscape with scattered trees occurs in the immediate vicinity.
Common birds of open and degraded rainforest habitats can be seen
(including the Huallaga Tanager, a Peruvian endemic) whilst enjoying
a fruit salad. For anyone with some time, more interest can
found by following a trail up the Shilcayo river which begins just
down the slope below El Mirador and runs through the Sector Achual
district of Tarapoto before heading towards the lower
slopes of the Sierra Escalera. Tarapoto is little visited by birders.
Although very popular with Peruvians, international travellers finding
their way to Tarapoto tend to be more independently-minded but it can be
a worthwhile stopover on the way to Iquitos (one hour flight) or
if travelling by road to and from the well-known sites
in the upper Mayo valley. Just 15 kilometres away near Juan Guerra,
some tropical deciduous forest species can be seen including
Haullaga Slaty-Antshrike.
 
Rooftop
Terrace of El Mirador Jr. San Pablo de la Cruz
LOCATION & ACCESS
Tarapoto (350m) is right
on the edge of the eastern slope of the Andes close to the lowlands
of the Amazon Basin. It is a one hour flight from Lima. From
Chiclayo in the northern coastal desert the 700 km by road takes
around 13 hours on a bus. El Mirador is located at the top Jr. San Pablo de la Cruz (No. 517)
which leads from the main plaza in the centre of town. The top floor
or roof terrace of El Mirador is shaded from the sun, allows
almost all round visibility of the area, and has several hammocks
for relaxing in.
Views
from El Mirador over Tarapoto and to the Sierra Escalera
HABITAT
This fast-growing jungle city is surrounded by extensive agricultural land (including
rice fields with attendant waterbirds) which
at one time would have been rainforest. The closest remaining forest
of any extent can be found along the ridge of the Escalera mountains.
A road from Tarapoto to Yurimaguas crosses the ridge through a tunnel
at around 1000 metres. The suburban landscape around El Mirador
soon gives way to small-scale farms (chakras), pasture and dry forest
in the valley of the Río Shilcayo which tumbles down from the Escalera
ridge and more humid forest.
BIRDWATCHING, TIMING & POINTS OF INTEREST
The first two hours of the day are best before it gets too hot and activity
decreases. To find the Rio Shilcayo trail, follow the following
directions.
1. Opposite
the front door of El Mirador, a track leads down a steep slope from
the end of the paved part of Jv. San Pablo de la Cruz to the sandy,
muddy
street below.
2. Turn
left at the bottom of the slope and head towards the well on the
right-hand side.
3. Soon
you will pass the Takiwasi retreat on the right.
4. Go
through the small 'village' with the 'El Pueble lo Hizo' sign.
5. The
track then slopes up to a T-junction - turn right here.
6. Carry
on through the pasture and farms.
7. After
the Urku reserve, the trail starts to follow the Rio Shilcayo more
closely. From here the better forest habitat can be found and the
more interesting species.
 
Track
from El Mirador & Start of Rio Shilcayo Trail
Well
& El Pueblo lo Hizo, Sector Achual
 
Secondary
Forest, Scrub & Grazed Slopes
SPECIES RECORDED
El Mirador: Snowy
Egret, Cattle Egret, Swallow-tailed Kite, American Black Vulture,
Turkey Vulture, Crane Hawk, Cobalt-winged Parakeet, Canary-winged
Parakeet, White-tipped Dove, Eared Dove, Feral Pigeon, Ruddy Ground-Dove,
Gray-fronted Dove, Smooth-billed Ani, Blue-and-White Swallow, Southern
Rough-winged Swallow, White-banded Swallow, Gray-breasted Martin,
Fork-tailed Palm-Swift, Pale-rumped Swift, Short-tailed Swift, Gilded
Barbet, Spot-breasted Woodpecker, Great Kiskadee, Boat-billed Flycatcher,
Social Flycatcher, Tropical Kingbird, Huallaga Tanager, Silver-beaked
Tanager, Blue-gray Tanager, Palm Tanager, Black-billed Thrush, Purple-throated
Euphonia, Orange-bellied Euphonia, Grayish Saltator, Dull-coloured
Grassquit, Southern House Wren, Common Tody-Flycatcher, Saffron
Finch, Yellow-rumped Cacique, Mottle-backed Elaenia, Blue-tailed
Emerald, Tawny-bellied Hermit and various other hummingbirds.
Rio Shilcayo
& Sector Achual: Chestnut-crowned Foliage Gleaner, Yellow-crested
Tanager, Lemon-throated Barbet, Purple Honeycreeper, White-flanked
Antwren, Blue-fronted Lancebill, Violet-fronted Brilliant, Sunbittern,
Black Phoebe, Buff-rumped Warber, Green Kingfisher, Crested Oropendola,
Blue-crowned Motmot, Gray-breasted Sabrewing, White-necked Thrush,
Chestnut-bellied Seed-Finch, Yellow-tufted Woodpecker, Blue-black Grassquit, Little Woodpecker, Huallaga
Slaty-Antshrike, Eared Dove,
Turkey Vulture, Ruddy Ground-Dove, Orange-bellied Euphonia,
Fork-tailed Palm-Swift, Silver-beaked Tanager, Blue-gray Tanager,
Huallaga Tanager, Yellow-rumped Cacique, Pale-legged Hornero, Great
Kiskadee, Southern House Wren, Tropical Kingbird, American Black
Vulture, Golden-rumped Euphonia, Cattle Egret, Black-billed Thrush,
Grayish Saltator, Troupial, Social Flycatcher, Smooth-billed Ani,
Rufous-collared Sparrow, Magpie Tanager, Common Tody-Flycatcher,
Piratic Flycatcher, Giant Cowbird, Russet-backed Oropendola, Coraya
Wren, Yellow-bellied Elaenia, Dusky-capped Greenlet, Streaked Flycatcher,
White-necked Jackobin, Blue-tailed Emerald, Southern Rough-winged
Swallow, White-eyed Parakeet, Needle-billed Hermit, Purple-throated
Euphonia, Little Cuckoo, Moriche Oriole, White-eyed Tody-Tyrant,
Variegated Flycatcher, Blue-crowned Manakin, Yellow-breasted Flycatcher,
Blue Dacnis, Forest Elaenia, Spot-winged Antshrike, Buff-breasted
Wren, Glittering-throated Emerald, Violet-headed Hummingbird, Amazon
Scrub-Flycatcher, Squirrel Cuckoo, Tui Parakeet, Green Violetear,
Masked Tityra, Swallow-tailed Kite, Short-tailed Swift, Pale-rumped
Swift, Gray-rumped Swift, White-banded Swallow, Canary-winged Parakeet,
Cobalt-winged Parakeet, Palm Tanager, Yellow-browed Tody-Flycatcher, Red-eyed Vireo, Moustached Wren, Southern Beardless-Tyrannulet,
Shiny Cowbird, Short-crested Flycatcher, Yellow-headed Caracara,
Reddish Hermit, Turquoise Tanager, Spot-winged Antbird,
Green-and-Gold Tanager, Fasciated Tiger-Heron, Band-bellied Owl,
Yellow-billed Cacique, Plumbeous Kite, Ringed Kingfisher,
Blue-winged Parrotlet.
 
Secondary
Forest
2007
During August and September 2007 I shared some rented accommodation with work
colleagues. This was just five minutes walk from El
Mirador near Point 5 in the guide. Species noted in
and from the garden (below) included Turqouise
Tanager, Guilded Barbet, Grayish Saltator, Blue-crowned
Motmot, Pale-vented Pigeon, Common Tody-Flycatcher,
Purple-throated Euphonia, Canary-winged Parakeet,
Yellow-rumped Cacique, Smooth-billed Ani, Great Kiskadee,
Black-billed Thrush, Phaethornis spp., Pale-legged
Hornero, Southern Beardless-Tyrannulet, Tropical Kingbird,
American Black Vulture, Turkey Vulture, Swallow-tailed
Kite, Yellow-headed Caracara, Blue-gray Tanager, Palm
Tanager, Eared Dove, Southern House Wren, Fork-tailed
Palm-Swift, Short-tailed Swift, Southern Rough-winged
Swallow, White-banded Swallow, Silver-beaked Tanager,
Rufous-collared Sparrow and Violet-fronted Brilliant.
'Field
Station' in Sector Achual,
Tarapoto
Visit
the El mirador website > Alojamiento Turistico
El Mirador
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