The Marvelous Spatuletail (Loddigesia mirabilis) is an endemic bird of Peru, with a very restricted habitat in Amazonas region, at both sides of the Utcubamba Valley. This hummingbird inhabits between 2000 and 2900 m.a.s.l. and it’s easily seen in the Florida district close to the town of San Lucas de Pomacochas, reported from the 90s along the El Chido Valley.
Huembo Lodge and Marvelous Spatuletail
The easement of Huembo was created in 2005 and located 10 minutes from San Lucas de Pomacochas town and it is a 53-hectare reserve that protects the habitat of some endemic birds, mainly the Marvelous Spatuletail. The lodge has a good reputation of being the best place to see those important species for birding tours at the North of Peru and is managed by the NGO Association Ecosistemas Andinos (ECOAN).
Since 2018, many tourists have been taking the Northern Peru Birding Route with Ikam Expeditions, having Huembo Lodge as one of the highlights of this magnificent trip.
Everytime when we have been there we had the opportunity to see this hummingbird. Last March, we spent 2 weeks at the reserve with Dustin Chen, an international pro photographer who had as a priority on taking some great shots of the Marvelous Spatuletail in different angles. We tried many different ways of hiding ourselves with the help of ECOAN’s staff to get to see the hummingbird for a longer time and get the chance to take the best photos. We are pretty sure that our client got amazing shots of this species and he went back home so happy.
Additionally, while we were there we identified three main spots for this hummingbird in the reserve, we visited at least one of them all the 15 days during the mornings and afternoons, among other birding activities.
Monitoring results
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- We saw at least 3 individuals per day during the 15 days. The best day we saw up to 11 individuals between two sites.
- In one site we reached up to 8 individuals (4 male adults, 3 juveniles and 1 female adult).
- We identified 04 attracting flowers for Marvelous Spatuletail: limoncillo, mosgal, cuchush morado and baqueoto.
- It is safe to say that if during this rainy season you manage to hide properly, there is a 90% probability to see and get high quality pictures of this species.
Marvelous Spatuletail Pics (March 2020): Click here
This bird is considered by many expert’s birders as the most beautiful hummingbird of the world.
