Our alarm went off at 6 AM but it was still quite dark and gloomy, so after a quick peak at the conditions we re-set the alarm for 6:20 AM. Might as well save our "getting up early" bullets for when it really counts!
The previous evening we had had a nice chat with our host at the property we were staying at in Pucusana, a fishing town on the Peruvian coast. Calle is originally from Denmark but he has been living in Peru for the last number of years. I must say, it was nice to speak English for a change! Calle even called a friend of his, Javier, to arrange a boat trip for us. Humboldt Penguins, Peruvian Bobbies, Red-legged Cormorants and many other species nest on the large rocky headland forming part of the harbour and the only way to access the breeding seabirds is by boat. Javier was due to pick us up at the docks at 8 AM, giving us some time to explore the waterfront beforehand.
My main priority was to catch up with the endemic Surf Cinclodes, a type of furnariid (related to spinetails, canasteros and the like) which is never found more than a few meters from the sea. Without any success at the two different beaches, we checked one final location before meeting Javier at the docks. This last site consisted of a narrow passageway in the rocks where waves roll through before crashing in a little cove at the edge of town. It was a pretty neat little area.
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| Pucusana, Lima, Peru |
We lucked out with a single Surf Cinclodes acting exactly as they should, walking along at the edge of the rocks. Our first Peruvian endemic bird species.
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| Surf Cinclodes - Pucusana, Lima, Peru |
We had seen several hundred Inca Terns yesterday, but were still craving excellent views (and photos). Luckily, a few pairs were nesting in the rocks here, giving us the best views we could ever want. The adults were performing courtship displays, and a fluffy gray baby was peeking out from within a crevice in the rocks.
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| Inca Terns - Pucusana, Lima, Peru |
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| Inca Terns - Pucusana, Lima, Peru |
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| Inca Tern - Pucusana, Lima, Peru |
We met Javier right on time and puttered slowly through the harbour, stopping to view some South American Sea Lions along the way.
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| Pucusana, Lima, Peru |
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| South American Sea Lion - Pucusana, Lima, Peru |
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| South American Sea Lion - Pucusana, Lima, Peru |
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| Pucusana, Lima, Peru |
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| Belcher's Gull - Pucusana, Lima, Peru |
We spent about an hour with Javier, slowly cruising along the rocky headland towards the seabird colonies. Early on we spotted several Blue-footed Boobies, a species which is scarce here at this time of year. Javier mentioned that they arrive en masse in August or September, joining the throngs of Peruvian Boobies.
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| Blue-footed Booby - Pucusana, Lima, Peru |
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| Peruvian Boobies - Pucusana, Lima, Peru |
Our main objective was to find the small group of Humboldt Penguins that can be found in this region, as these would be Laura's first wild penguins.
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| Pucusana, Lima, Peru |
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| Pucusana, Lima, Peru |
But before we reached that area there were many other species to marvel at, including Red-legged and Guanay Cormorants, Peruvian Boobies and Pelicans, Inca Terns and Blackish Oystercatchers.
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| Blackish Oystercatcher - Pucusana, Lima, Peru |
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| Belcher's Gull and Inca Tern - Pucusana, Lima, Peru |
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| Peruvian Boobies - Pucusana, Lima, Peru |
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| Red-legged Cormorant - Pucusana, Lima, Peru |
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| Peruvian Boobies - Pucusana, Lima, Peru |
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| Guanay Cormorant - Pucusana, Lima, Peru |
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| Blackish Oystercatcher - Pucusana, Lima, Peru |
There was quite a bit of chop on the water, making photography difficult and making us thankful that we did not have full stomachs at that point! The topsy-turvy conditions were worth it, though, when the first Humboldt Penguin came into view.
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| Humboldt Penguin and Red-legged Cormorant - Pucusana, Lima, Peru |
We later found a larger group of them and enjoyed watching their antics.
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| Humboldt Penguins - Pucusana, Lima, Peru |
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| Humboldt Penguins - Pucusana, Lima, Peru |
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| Humboldt Penguin - Pucusana, Lima, Peru |
Well over a hundred South American Sea Lions were loafing on a flat rock here as well. Sea lions remind me more of dogs than lions, and I much prefer the Spanish name for them - lobos del mar (wolves of the sea).
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| South American Sea Lions - Pucusana, Lima, Peru |
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| Sally Lightfoot Crab - Pucusana, Lima, Peru |
It had been a very successful pre-breakfast excursion, thanks to the efforts of Calle and Javier.
We returned to our room and enjoyed a delicious breakfast consisting of freshly baked buns, cheese, jam, avocados, eggs, lots of fresh fruit and coffee/tea. Delicious! For anyone considering a visit to Pucusana, we can't recommend Calle's place enough. It is called Cruz del Sur and can be found on Booking.com. The room was comfortable, the food was delicious and the shower had amazing hot water. The price was very reasonable as well.
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| View from the terrace - Pucusana, Lima, Peru |
There were several coastal species that we were hoping to see and so we left Pucusana behind and drove south for a short while towards Puerto Viejo. We turned off the highway at -12.56648, -76.70127 and parked just before the gate at -12.57133, -76.70643.
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| Zona Reservada Humedales Puerto Viejo |
A scrubby area at the edge of the wetland seemed enticing for birds and it was productive birding. We found our first Coastal Miners here. They may not look like much but they were not very shy and easy to photograph.
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| Coastal Miner - Zona Reservada Humedales Puerto Viejo, Lima, Peru |
Coastal Miners are endemic to Peru and, as their name implies, are only found in coastal desert areas.
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| Coastal Miner - Zona Reservada Humedales Puerto Viejo, Lima, Peru |
We also found Amazilia Hummingbird, Wren-like Rushbird, Many-colored Rush-Tyrant and Peruvian Meadowlark in this area, along with a few other species.
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| Wren-like Rushbird - Zona Reservada Humedales Puerto Viejo, Lima, Peru |
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| Long-tailed Mockingbird - Zona Reservada Humedales Puerto Viejo, Lima, Peru |
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| Peruvian Meadowlark - Zona Reservada Humedales Puerto Viejo, Lima, Peru |
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| Blue-black Grassquit - Zona Reservada Humedales Puerto Viejo, Lima, Peru |
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| Long-tailed Mockingbirds - Zona Reservada Humedales Puerto Viejo, Lima, Peru |
Peruvian Thick-knees were becoming a little annoying. Laura and I had previously dipped on them in southwestern Ecuador, and now we had visited several known sites over the past 24 hours without success. I decided to try an area on the south side of the Puerto Viejo wetlands where a bumpy sandy road reaches the coast. After the uninspiring scenery in this part of Peru, the coastline appeared absolutely gorgeous!
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| Puerto Viejo Beach, Lima, Peru |
This area seemed a little bit like a deserted ghost town, with abandoned buildings and parking lots. Perhaps this is a summer vacation destination that is left empty now that it is winter? It was strange - all along the highway there were signs advertising beachfront condo developments, yet every one we passed seemed abandoned, or only partially built.
We strolled on the beach for a while, watching the oystercatchers and searching for sea stars and other life.
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| South American Multiradiate Sun Star (Heliaster helianthus) - Puerto Viejo Beach, Lima, Peru |
I ventured a little further down the coast and found an abandoned lot. As I lifted my bins and scanned a grassy patch, I locked onto my very first Peruvian Thick-knee! I called Laura over and we counted 16 of them. Success!
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| Peruvian Thick-knees - Puerto Viejo Beach, Lima, Peru |
We spent a good fifteen minutes with these shorebirds and I came away with some photos I was happy with.
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| Peruvian Thick-knee - Puerto Viejo Beach, Lima, Peru |
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| Peruvian Thick-knee - Puerto Viejo Beach, Lima, Peru |
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| Peruvian Thick-knee - Puerto Viejo Beach, Lima, Peru |
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| Peruvian Thick-knee - Puerto Viejo Beach, Lima, Peru |
On our way out of Puerto Viejo, we stopped along the south side of the wetland to investigate another promising looking area with an abandoned viewing tower and precarious walkway across a wetland that we traversed very carefully. Why was everything in this area abandoned? At least it meant that there were no other people here - just how I like it.
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| Zona Reservada Humedales Puerto Viejo, Lima, Peru |
We were in for one more surprise. Some flight calls caught our attention - Peruvian Pipits! They disappeared before we could appreciate them, but I later found a single individual popping around on the ground. This was another species that we had missed earlier at Los Pantanos de Villa.
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| Peruvian Pipit - Zona Reservada Humedales Puerto Viejo, Lima, Peru |
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| Croaking Ground-Dove - Zona Reservada Humedales Puerto Viejo, Lima, Peru |
Our plan for the rest of the day was to begin the long drive to the start of the Santa Eulalia Valley east of Lima but we still had a bit of time to kill. A quick search on eBird led us to a quiet side-road in the nearby town of Azpitia.
This stop proved quite productive, and in a few minutes we had discovered a bunch of new trip birds including Parrot-billed, Drab and Chestnut-throated Seedeaters, Collared Warbling-Finches, Cinereous Conebills and a flighty Short-tailed Field-Tyrant that eventually cooperated for photos.
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| Collared Warbling-Finch - Azpitia, Lima, Peru |
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| Cinereous Conebill - Azpitia, Lima, Peru |
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| Short-tailed Field Tyrant - Azpitia, Lima, Peru |
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| Parrot-billed Seedeater - Azpitia, Lima, Peru |
We then braved Lima traffic for the afternoon, only stopping once to find an ATM. My driving skills had atrophied due to three months of living and driving in Canada but two days of navigating the Lima area had brought those skills back into sharp focus. We find ourselves in the town of Santa Eulalia tonight. Tomorrow we have plans to bird the famous Santa Eulalia Valley, home to many incredible bird species including Great Inca-Finch, Rufous-breasted Warbling-Finch, Peruvian Pygmy-Owl, Giant Hummingbird, Andean Condor and more.
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