Peru!

And we are off on our next adventure! My latest blog posts have been about our time in Colombia from January to early March but since that trip, Laura and I have been pretty busy. I just haven't had the time to blog about all those travels, but maybe one day I will. After leaving Colombia behind, we ventured to Costa Rica where we traveled together for five weeks. Laura remained in Costa Rica for another month or so to volunteer at a wildlife rehab, while I flew to southern California and spent a couple of weeks visiting my brother, which included a road trip up to central California and another to Arizona and just over the border to New Mexico. Laura and I returned to Canada for the remainder of the spring and early summer. Our priorities during this time were mainly to see family, catch up with friends, and work (to fund the next leg of the trip!). 

Yesterday was spent in transit as we navigated airports in Toronto, Cancun and Lima. Finally, after a long day(which included a missed connection, adding several hours to our scheduled arrival time), we crashed at our hotel in a sketchy part of the city, happy to finally be in Peru for the first time. 

Cinnamon Teals - Los Pantanos de Villa, Lima, Peru

Peru is a massive country, chock-full of unique habitats and a stunning array of biodiversity. Obviously we can only see so much on a short trip but I am sure that this will not be our last visit to Peru. We have budgeted for ten weeks this time and we will focus on the central and southern parts of the country. For the first four weeks we have a rental car and will be doing a big loop into the mountains east and north of Lima.

Vermilion Flycatcher - Los Pantanos de Villa, Lima, Peru

Before venturing into the mountains, Laura and I had planned to spend today along the coast just south of Lima. Of course, most of the day was tied up with various errands - picking up the rental car, finding ATMs, spending an inordinate amount of time inside a Claro store to obtain local SIM cards (the process is far more complicated than it needs to be in Peru!), and picking up groceries. Finally, we left the busy urban environs of Lima behind and followed the coastline south for a short distance. By early afternoon we had arrived at our destination: Los Pantanos de Villa. 

Belcher's Gull - Los Pantanos de Villa, Lima, Peru

This protected marshland provides a stark contrast to the vegetation-free desert that surrounds Lima. It is an oasis for birdlife with around 90 resident species and another 80+ migratory species. 

 Los Pantanos de Villa, Lima, Peru

We expected to be able to just pay an entrance fee and explore the reserve but were informed that we had to be accompanied by a guide. The total cost per person was 30 soles, around 10 Canadian dollars.  Rosaria, our guide, was knowledgable and friendly and she was patient with us as we reacquainted ourselves with the Spanish language. While birds were not her specialty, she knew all of the regular species and was helpful in providing additional details about the wetland and the various plant and animal species that can be found here. 

An early highlight for us was spending some time along the coast. Peruvian Boobies and Peruvian Pelicans cruised by offshore, five species of gulls loafed on the sand, and a whirling flock of Inca Terns circled an inland pond. 

Gray-hooded Gull - Los Pantanos de Villa, Lima, Peru

Inca Terns - Los Pantanos de Villa, Lima, Peru

Andean Gulls - Los Pantanos de Villa, Lima, Peru

The Inca Terns provided lots of excitement for Laura and I - a lifer for her, and a species that I had only ever seen once before (and poorly at that). While we did not experience the point-blank looks we desired, they were spectacular to watch from a moderate distance. 

Inca Tern - Los Pantanos de Villa, Lima, Peru

My Bird-of-the-Day was the Belcher's Gull, one of just two lifers I managed during our afternoon visit (the other being Puna Ibis). It was fun to study the array of interesting plumages shown by this species. 

Belcher's Gull - Los Pantanos de Villa, Lima, Peru

As it is July, shorebirds were a little scarcer than during migration season in the spring and autumn months, but we still found a number of species. I was surprised to see Whimbrels here since they should still be on the breeding grounds in North America, but according to eBird, a sizeable population will spend the year down here. We also noted Killdeers, Willets, Black-necked Stilts and American Oystercatchers. Unfortunately, the Peruvian Thick-knees remained out of sight. They will be a priority later in the trip, perhaps as soon as tomorrow.

Whimbrel - Los Pantanos de Villa, Lima, Peru

A pair of American Oystercatchers were tending to a nest, while some others were rather photogenic. 

American Oystercatcher - Los Pantanos de Villa, Lima, Peru

American Oystercatcher - Los Pantanos de Villa, Lima, Peru

Landbirds were rather scarce, as expected at this location (the time of day did not help either). While I could not find any hoped-for Peruvian Pipits, we contented ourselves with the Long-tailed Mockingbirds, Vermilion Flycatchers (including one of the sooty morph) and a few others. 

Vermilion Flycatcher - Los Pantanos de Villa, Lima, Peru

Laura, Rosaria and I spent the last hour of our visit by walking along a trail that cut through the marsh and led to an observation tower. With some scanning we came up with some Slate-coloured Coots, Yellow-hooded Blackbirds and Laura's first ever Great Grebes, among other species. 

Slate-colored Coot - Los Pantanos de Villa, Lima, Peru

Great Grebe - Los Pantanos de Villa, Lima, Peru

A Wren-like Rushbird was ticking away from across the pond, but our main target here had not shown itself yet. Finally, Laura came through and spotted her first Many-coloured Rush-Tyrant!

Many-colored Rush-Tyrant - Los Pantanos de Villa, Lima, Peru

The first is always the hardest to find and this was no exception. We quickly found several more of the beautiful, cattail-sneaking flycatchers, a fitting species for Laura's Bird-of-the-Day. 

Many-colored Rush-Tyrant - Los Pantanos de Villa, Lima, Peru

It was a short but sweet visit, and a good way to scratch the birding itch after a day in transit. Tonight we find ourselves in the picturesque fishing village of Pucusana, where our AirBnB overlooks the harbour. Tomorrow, Surf Cinclodes and Humboldt Penguins are on the agenda...

Pucusana, Lima, Peru