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TARAPOTO TUNNEL AREA

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Altitude (m):900
# Species:337
# Excl Vagrants:337
# Endemics:2
# Near Endemics:2
Habitat: Roadside forest patches, fruiting trees

ABOUT THE BIRDING

The tunnel area along the Tarapoto-Yurimaguas Road is a regular birding site outside Tarapoto. The tunnel is located at the summit of La Escalera in the Cordillera Escalera. Birding is on either side of the 100m long tunnel. Before the tunnel there is a small valley with a stream coming down. Beyond the tunnel are a few protected patches of lowland forest. The road can have considerable traffic and construction delays have occurred in the past. Nevertheless, it's an important site, offering a mix of lowland and foothill species. The primary target bird is the Dotted Tanager, a very localized species of the lowlands. The tanager is most likely to be found by checking fruiting trees within a few kilometers of the tunnel. Another target bird is the endemic Koepcke's Hermit, frequently hard to find but in recent years more reliable at the feeders at Aconabikh Centre.

LOCATION OF SITE

The Tarapoto tunnel area is located along Hwy 29 towards Yuimaguas some 20km from Tarapoto in the lowlands of the northern Peruvian Andes on the east slope.