A Little Adventure around Lima – 2-7 September 2002
By David Chantler, with input from Peter Bono and Hugh Buck
Our small group consisted of the intrepid Peter Bono
(USA), who organized this whole affair; Dave Chantler (USA), who provided bad
humor; and the near great Hugh Buck (Cyprus by way of Scotland—or is it the
other way around?). Our leader was none
other than the redoubtable Barry Walker, who is probably the best birder in
Peru, and who, on the side, owns Manu Expeditions, providing all sorts of
birding and nature tours. His website can be found at the end of this tome.
At our quaint little Hotel Castellana in the heart
of Miraflores, we were met on the morning of September 2 by Barry and our
driver. We proceeded south along the
Pan Am highway, stopping at the Villa Marshes near Pucusana for whatever we
could scrape up. This included
White-tufted, Pied-billed, and Great Grebes; Peruvian Booby; Neotropic
Cormorant; Andean Duck; White-cheeked Pintail; Cinnamon Teal; the usual group
of Herons; Puna Ibis; the omnipresent Black and Turkey Vultures; Osprey;
Kestrel; Cinereous Harrier; Harris’ (Bay-winged) and Variable (Red-backed) Hawks;
Plumbeous Rail; the rather recently noted (for this area) Andean or Slate-colored
Coot; plus Common Moorhen, of course, and several standard peeps. Peruvian Thick-knees were in evidence and
several gull species—including Black-tailed (Belcher’s), Gray, Kelp,
Gray-headed and Franklin’s—were in the area. Lastly, in the marshes we saw many Wren-like
Rushbirds and the striking Many-colored Rush-Tyrant. Along the beach area we sighted several
Vermilion Flycatchers of the melanistic race—quite a change from the usual
stoplight birds we are used to seeing elsewhere. These birds seem to inhabit
this local region only. Also in the
area were Yellow-hooded Blackbirds (introduced), Peruvian Meadowlarks,
and Shiny Cowbirds.
Pacific Doves, Croaking and Plain-breasted Ground
Doves were seen at various points, including the Caneta Valley side road as we
traveled south towards Pisco and our hotel at Paracas. Many Lesser Nighthawks inhabited the dry
washes along the roadside. The only
hummer of the day was Amazilia. Coastal
Miners were seen at several sites.
Other birds of the dry coastal bushes that were seen well included Pied-crested
Tit-Tyrant, Bran-colored Flycatcher of the ‘rufescens’ race, Short-tailed
Field-Tyrant, Long-tailed Mockingbird, Blue-and-White and Chestnut-collared
Swallows, Rufous-collared Sparrow, Cinereous Conebill, Collared
Warbling-Finch, Grassland Yellow-Finch, Blue-black Grassquit, and Drab
and Chestnut-throated Seedeaters.
Our star of the day was to be the Slender-billed
Finch, whose range reaches its northern-most point along this coast. Nearly all of the usual haunts of this bird
have been destroyed with clearing, and we were feeling a little down on our
luck until Barry suggested, at the last moment just as we were nearing Pisco,
to check out one of the islands of dense brush—which is the preferred
habitat—in a field alongside the gravel road. Voilà! We h it the jackpot, and we subsequently found more than
one individual in several of the nearby dense-bush-islands as well, surrounded
by a sea of sand.
When we finally arrived at the hotel, we walked out
onto the boat dock and surveyed the harbor.
Peruvian Boobies, Peruvian Pelicans, and Peruvian Terns
were diving and feeding all around us.
Also present was one of the world’s most beautiful birds—the fabulous Inca
Tern. This is elegance
personified. This writer never tires of
seeing them.
These late afternoon successes gave us more than enough energy to down more than our share of “Grande” Pisco Sours at the luxurious Hotel Paracas. Good food and good wine finished our first day.
We hired a fast boat and the best “captain”—Julian. This man knows the sea birds very well, and we have much to thank him for his ability not only to steer us on a good course, but also to see birds in the distance that our combined eyes were incapable of sighting. He is to be sought out if you plan on going to this area; ask at the Hotel Paracas front desk. The extra cost of the private boat trip more than paid off, because we not only saw several lifers, including two for our guide, Barry.
Our boat ventured well
south, then back to St. Gallen Island, and then to the Islas Ballestas, where
we got our lifer Humboldt Penguins and Guanay Cormorants
(thousands). On the way out of the
harbor, we saw a number of dainty Peruvian Terns and Inca Terns flew
over our boat. While in the Humboldt Current, we added such gems as one long
distance Waved Albatross, one Southern (Antarctic) Giant Petrel,
numerous beautiful Cape Petrels, Sooty Shearwaters, and at least 8 Peruvian
Diving Petrels—these latter birds are really special because their numbers
have declined so dramatically in recent years.
This writer remembers seeing them easily from the beach south of Lima in
1986. No more: one is lucky to see them
at all and only off-shore. A single
Wilson’s Storm Petrel and good numbers of White-vented Storm Petrels
were sighted, but no Wedge-rumped on this day.
Peruvian Booby were common, and both Brown and Peruvian Pelicans were
seen well.
A few Red-legged
Cormorants were in close on the rocks and the courting and nesting Inca
Terns were everywhere—two great looking seabirds that are right up there on the
glamour scale. Red (Gray) Phalaropes
were in evidence throughout, and we saw both American and Blackish
Oystercatchers on the rocks. Three South Polar Skuas were a special
treat and a lifer for a couple of us, including Barry. We also got good looks at Southern Sea Lion
and Southern Fur Seal colonies.
One of the highlight birds of the day had to be the Peruvian
Seaside Cinclodes, a very handsome creature for sure, which we saw
exploring the vegetation at the tidal line on one of the offshore islands.
After a morning at sea, we imbibed at bit at the
dockside while having a leisurely lunch—all of which helped cure the lingering
effects of the sea voyage. In the PM,
we drove south to the other side of the Paracas Peninsula, checking out various
habitats, including a beach area with over 100 Chilean Flamingos. We encountered more of the same Gulls and
one South American Tern, which was a lifer for all along with a single
Sandwich Tern. There were also a pair
of Peruvian Seaside Cinclodes, which gave a closer view than the individual we
saw in the morning. A Chilean Skua,
with its rusty plumage and jaunty black cap, flew past giving a fleeting view
before it disappeared up the coast. The
beautifully rugged desert seacoast of Paracas is stunning and well worth the
drive alone. We saw a couple more
Seaside Cinclodes and at the end of the day, we ventured out along the cliffs
to a Southern Fur-Seal colony in search of possible Andean Condors, that at
times visit these coastal areas. None
were seen on our walk this day, however.
We took a drive up a paved road, whose destination
would have been Ayacucho, but we found little to justify further time spent,
and we returned along the Pan Am highway toward Lima with stops along the way.
The only birds of note that had not been seen
previously were an Andean Swift and Chiguanco Thrush about 60kms
up the valley and a Black-necked Stilt at the Villa Marshes. In Lima, we stayed in a different Hotel, the
Manhattan, near the airport and on the north side of the city—a departure point
more convenient for our next day’s adventure.
We got an early morning start to drive north to the
Lomas de Lachay Preserve (about 1 ½ hours along the coastal highway). Our principal purpose was to check the dry
canyons inland from the Preserve. We
left the main highway and proceeded a few kilometers inland and walked into the
canyons at several spots—our primary target was Cactus Canastero. Despite spending several hours tromping up
and down the sandy hills, the bird unfortunately eluded us. It did not respond to tape and it was not singing.
It was the only time that Barry could remember not seeing this bird, and it was
most frustrating since its range is quite small. Barry speculated that the fact that it was greener than normal in
the area might have contributed to its moving to a different habitat—but this
is an untested hypothesis. Anyway, in
spite of this one disappointment, we did saw several more Peruvian Thick-knees,
two Grayish Miner, four Coastal Miner of the deserticolor
race—plus an unusual sighting of a Band-winged Nightjar of the decussatus
race—both races are possible splits.
Having exhausted the dry canyons—or perhaps it was
that they exhausted us—we traveled a little farther northward towards the coast
and entered the Lomas de Lachay reserve—above the coastal plain. It is amazing to see the transformation from
bone-dry desert to lush, fog-enshrouded hills with so many different habitats
and different birds. Many Least
Seedsnipes were seen along the road—along with Chiguanco Thrush and Yellowish
Pipit, Band-tailed Sierra-Finch, Peruvian Meadowlarks, and our
special prize after a little hike along a wet and steep trail—the Thick-billed
Miner sighted in a fog so dense that we thought we would never see the
bird. However, it obliged by coming
nearly to our feet for us to enjoy.
Yip, yip!
We then headed back down the highway toward Lima and
skirted the east side, driving up into the hills on the Central Highway,
turning off at Chosica, and staying at the pleasant Santa Eulalia Gardens, a
pleasant small hotel in the town of Santa Eulalia. Good food and a little wine, and we forgot the long day.
It was a good thing we left before dawn to venture
up the Santa Eulalia road, so we didn’t have to look down—because it is one of
the airiest roads anywhere—not for the faint of heart. Steep chasms, narrow tracks, and no guard
rails! Eventually, we crossed the river
and proceeded up towards the community of Casta (between 2300-3000m). At least twice, we all saw Andean Tinamou. One Peruvian Pygmy Owl was
responsive. Plenty of Andean Swifts were
in evidence here in the high mountains.
The hummer department was well represented by Sparkling Violet-ear,
Oasis, Giant, and a couple of really dazzlers—the Bronze-tailed Comet
and Peruvian Sheartail, along with Purple-collared Woodstar. A pair of Black-necked Woodpeckers
showed themselves well. We encountered
other good birds such as Rusty-crowned Tit-Spinetail, Canyon
Canastero, Southern Beardless Tyrannulet, Pied-crested and Yellow-billed
Tit-Tyrants, White-browed Chat-Tyrant and Streak-throated Bush
Tyrant and the rather plain looking Spot-billed Ground Tyrant. A
lone Brown-bellied Swallow showed up briefly, and there were quite a
number of Hooded Siskins. The tanager department was represented by
Blue-and-Yellow only, but the finch family was well filled by Mourning and
Band-tailed Sierra-Finches, a rare and local Rufous-breasted Warbling
Finch, and a superb Great Inca-Finch. A dozen Bare-faced Ground-Doves joined small groups of Black-winged
Ground-Dove at the Inca-Finch bridge site.
Band-tailed Seedeaters and Black-throated Flower-piercers were
present along with Golden-bellied Grosbeaks and a Golden-billed Saltator. A few Peruvian Meadowlarks and some Scrub
Blackbirds rounded out the assemblage.
We returned to our hotel in Santa Eulalia in the late afternoon very
satisfied with our day.
After another very early start, we were interrupted by numerous lengthy stops due to paving on the main highway. This aggravation finally over, we reached the high country and turned off toward Marcopomacocha—arriving at 4800 meters or 16,000 feet—it sounds much higher when using the English system! This area of cushion bogs is home to some of the rarest and most sought after birds in South America, but, unfortunately, it is also being devastated by those who are harvesting the cushion plants for home nurseries. At the top, we were greeted by a few herds of llamas and magnificent High Andes scenery.
“Well,” says Barry, “we get to walk DOWN from where we parked the
van to the nearest boggy area.” This
seems easy until one tries to walk ANYWHERE at all (up or down!) at 16,000
feet. However, the task at hand was too
important to complain about, even though the writer was suffering mightily from
intestinal distress. Nevertheless, we
fanned out in search of the fabled Diademed Sandpiper-Plover and the
mythical White-bellied Cinclodes (the population of this bird is
infinitesimally small). We saw both
well—only one pair of the plovers, out of the known four pair in the area, and
six individuals of the cinclodes. Peter also got a brief but good look at D’Orbigny’s
Chat-Tyrant, while the others were watching the cinclodes.
The other treats for us were Mountain Caracara,
a big flock of Rufous-bellied Seedsnipe (50 at least), Olivaceous
Thornbill, and high altitude furnarids galore, including Plain-breasted
Earthcreeper, Bar-winged Cinclodes, Common, Dark-winged and
Slender-billed Miners, and Cordilleran and Streak-throated
Canasteros. In the tyrant department were Puna, Plain-capped, Cinereous,
White-fronted and Ochre-naped Ground Tyrants. A Black Siskin was spotted by Peter and Hugh and Peter got
a glimpse of a Junin Canastero, which then refused to reveal itself for the
others. Finches were well represented
by the handsome Peruvian Sierra Finch, Plumbeous Sierra-Finch, White-winged
Diuca-Finch, and Bright-rumped Yellow-Finch. There were Andean Flickers and Andean
Goose in the area as well.
After an exhausting hike back up the hill to the
vehicle, we encountered our last great bird of the high country, on the
hillsides near the junction with the main road—the fabulous Black-breasted
Hillstar. A few last notables
include Andean Lapwing and Gray-breasted Seedsnipe, the latter bringing
the total to three of this marvelous family we saw in a week—not bad, because
the remaining fourth member of the family is found thousands of miles away—in
Tierra del Fuego. Later and further
down near Santa Eulalia, we had a fly-by of about 40 Scarlet-fronted
Parakeets.
Returning to Lima, we stayed again at the Hotel
Manhattan near the airport and awaited the arrival of others with whom we were
to spend the next three weeks in the North of Peru on a Field Guides tour—and
more great birds to be sure. Our 6-day
pre-trip turned out better than any of us had expected—we certainly saw more
birds than we had planned for and much of it was due to the exceptional
leadership of Barry Walker. This little
adventure is highly recommended, even for veterans of South American and Peru
travel, because it offers the opportunity to see a number of birds that are
overlooked on longer tours or that are awkward to fit into those longer tours.
Peter’s Complete Trip List: http://www.prba.com/cperu02.htm.
Manu Expeditions website: http://www.manuexpeditions.com/