February 16, 2024
The town of Olmos isn't the most picturesque in Peru. Situated in the coastal desert, the streets are dusty, the wind is always present and the roads are potholed. It is certainly not a town that caters to tourists, and I doubt many stop here. But an advantage of a town like Olmos is that it is inexpensive, with a few adequate hotels and many hole-in-the-wall places to eat. We chose Olmos as our base for a couple of nights since it is situated just over an hour from a well-known birding site known as Quebrada El Limón.
Quebrada El Limón is popular with birders since it is a reliable location to find the endangered White-winged Guan. We had connected with this species earlier in the trip at Casupe but were happy to have another date with this rare species. We had five other target birds for this site: Tumbes Hummingbird, Pale-browed Tinamou, Tumbes Chat-Tyrant, Peruvian Screech-Owl, and Scrub Nightjar.
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| White-browed Gnatcatcher - Quebrada de Limón, Piura, Peru |
Obviously, the latter two species are more easily found during the night, and so we considered having an early start on February 16 so that we could get in a few hours of night-birding prior to sunrise. However, there were two issues with this plan. One was that we weren't exactly looking forward to a 2:30 AM wakeup. The other, more pressing issue was that I had read that the road between the highway and Quebrada El Limón was a bit sketchy and difficult to follow. I didn't want to have to navigate this road for the first time in the dark.
Our solution was that we would leave around sunrise, giving us sufficient daylight to drive the road. We would head back to the hotel at noon, then in the late afternoon return to Quebrada El Limón and stay until after dark. And our plan worked perfectly.
The road turned out to be in better condition than I had envisioned and we had no issues driving it, though there were some rough sections that might be a little tricky with a small car (but still doable). And while there were a few unmarked tracks that left the dirt road, for the most part it was easy to know which path to stay on. I pulled off the road next to an intriguing, potentially birdy ravine just before the village of Limón. This would be our breakfast spot, and it seemed like good habitat to search for the Tumbes Chat-Tyrant.
As soon as we exited the car, the sounds of singing Pale-browed Tinamous reverberated from all around us. That was easy... This species is quite common here, but they can be nearly impossible to find when they are not singing. Fortunately, the spring is when they are most vocal and the recent rains must have stimulated them. We ended up seeing one run across the road that afternoon, the only one we would observe.
A bit of pygmy-owl playback instigated quite the response. Several bird species came out of the woodwork to search for the "owl", including our first Tumbes Hummingbird. That was easy!
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| Tumbes Hummingbird - Quebrada de Limón, Piura, Peru |
The Tumbes Hummingbird may not be the world's most beautiful hummingbird, but its drab grays and greens suit it well for life in this arid environment. Like its name implies, this is one of the Tumbes endemic birds found only in northwestern Peru and barely into southwestern Ecuador.
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| Tumbes Hummingbird - Quebrada de Limón, Piura, Peru |
A tiny Short-tailed Woodstar also flew in to see what the commotion was all about.
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| Short-tailed Woodstar - Quebrada de Limón, Piura, Peru |
I think it was Laura who first spotted the Tumbes Chat-Tyrant, and soon we were having face-melting views of a pair of them. Awesome!!
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| Tumbes Chat-Tyrant - Quebrada de Limón, Piura, Peru |
Tumbes Chat-Tyrants seem to prefer drier habitats and they can be a little bit difficult to find along the main trail at Quebrada El Limón. This road west of town seems to be more reliable, based both on my experience and from what I could glean from eBird and past trip reports for this site.
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| Tumbes Chat-Tyrant - Quebrada de Limón, Piura, Peru |
We spotted quite a few other species here, including Short-tailed Field-Tyrant, Tumbes Sparrow, Tumbes Tyrannulet and a pair of amorous White-browed Gnatcatchers.
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| White-browed Gnatcatchers - Quebrada de Limón, Piura, Peru |
With three lifers in the bag, we finished up our breakfast and continued on towards the quebrada. It wasn't too difficult to spot the start of the trail so we parked the vehicle next to a pasture, loaded up our day packs and set off.
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| Quebrada de Limón, Piura, Peru |
The path follows a dry riverbed up the valley for quite a while. We only made it a few kilometres before turning around because the birding was so good, but if one continues higher up it is easier to find species like Henna-hooded Foliage-gleaner and Gray-breasted Flycatcher.
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| Guayaquil Squirrel (Sciurus stramineus) - Quebrada de Limón, Piura, Peru |
Some large black birds clambering in a distant tree were quickly identified as White-winged Guans and we watched them for a few minutes before they slipped away into the forest.
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| White-winged Guan - Quebrada de Limón, Piura, Peru |
The pressure was already off due to our success from the breakfast stop. We experienced a leisurely morning, noting over 50 species of birds on our walk including many of the Tumbesian endemics that we had enjoyed previously. The cloud cover was very welcome as it limited the sun's intensity and contributed to the abundant bird song for the entire walk.
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| Quebrada de Limón, Piura, Peru |
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| Scarlet-backed Woodpecker - Quebrada de Limón, Piura, Peru |
At one point we saw a motmot across the path. We found the Whooping Motmot resting deep in a thicket, its hefty beak keeping a tight grip on a recently-caught cicada. This was a new species for our Peru lists, and our first motmot of the trip. The motmots are Laura's favourite bird family and so this was a joyous moment.
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| Whooping Motmot - Quebrada de Limón, Piura, Peru |
The trail passed through a few wooded sections, alternating with more open areas along the dry wash.
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| Quebrada de Limón, Piura, Peru |
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| Quebrada de Limón, Piura, Peru |
I periodically played tapes for Black-and-white Tanager, a species that was becoming a nemesis for us. This rare tanager breeds in the Tumbes region immediately after periods of heavy rain, but we may have been a week or two too early since we struck out. Still, we found lots of other birds to keep us interested including Black-lored Yellowthroat, Pacific Elaenia, Scarlet-backed Woodpecker, Plumbeous-backed Thrush, Elegant Crescentchest and Ecuadorian Trogon, as well as several lizards and butterflies.
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| Microlophus sp. - Quebrada de Limón, Piura, Peru |
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| Red-masked Parakeet - Quebrada de Limón, Piura, Peru |
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| Frost's Lava Lizard (Microlophus koepckeorum) - Quebrada de Limón, Piura, Peru |
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| Peruvian Meadowlark - Quebrada de Limón, Piura, Peru |
Near the end of our walk as we neared our vehicle, I heard the distinctive "boop" calls of a Blue Ground-Dove somewhere off the trail. This is a rarity here (there are no previous eBird records from Quebrada El Limón) and so I called the dove in to properly document it with photos. There are just a couple of previous records from the Tumbes of northwestern Peru.
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| Blue Ground-Dove - Quebrada de Limón, Piura, Peru |
Our drive back to Olmos was uneventful (other than a quick stop to ogle at some Peruvian Thick-knees) and we made it back to town for an early lunch in one of the hole-in-the-wall restaurants. Then it was off to the hotel for a siesta that was very much-needed for some of us!
We weren't exactly eager to leave the air-conditioned hotel room later that afternoon, but we still had a date with Peruvian Screech-Owls and Scrub Nightjars. The long, bumpy drive to Quebrada El Limón seemed a little bit shorter this time as it was now familiar to us.
We set out about an hour before sunset. We were briefly delayed to watch the antics of this Fasciated Wren having a dust bath in the middle of the path.
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| Fasciated Wren - Quebrada de Limón, Piura, Peru |
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| Fasciated Wren - Quebrada de Limón, Piura, Peru |
Around this time, we had the strangest bird encounter of our time in the northwest. We heard the distinctive squawking of a macaw (!), and I spotted a Blue-and-yellow Macaw flying up the valley! Blue-and-yellow Macaws are not found on the west side of the Andes in northern Peru, and it is not really a species that comes to mind as a vagrant. Was this someone's escaped pet? But why was it free-flying up a canyon? Who knows...
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| Fasciated Wren - Quebrada de Limón, Piura, Peru |
As sunset approached, the chattering of the Baird's Flycatchers increased in intensity, while the chorus of Pale-browed Tinamous had several new members lend their voices.
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| Baird's Flycatcher - Quebrada de Limón, Piura, Peru |
As dusk fell, we waited at an area overlooking the dry riverbed where steep forested cliffs rose high above us. This looked perfect for screech-owls. The sky became dark, several toads began to call, and the Baird's Flycatchers eventually went quiet, well after sunset.
We didn't have to wait long; soon, there were at least four Peruvian Screech-Owls singing! It hardly took any effort to lure one into view. Owls are always exciting lifers, even if it is "just" a screech-owl that looks identical to a bunch of other screech-owl species that we have seen before. Still, this was a bird I had been waiting to find for quite some time, since we missed it in Ecuador in 2019, and Quebrada El Limón would likely be our final opportunity during this trip.
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| Peruvian Screech-Owl - Quebrada de Limón, Piura, Peru |
With the screech-owl in the bag, we focused our energy on the final target, the Scrub Nightjar. It took a little bit more effort, but as we backtracked along the trail, I heard one singing in the distance. Luckily, it was in the dry wash close to where the path crossed it. Since it was the breeding season, the nightjar was extremely territorial, giving us incredible views. Photos were a bit trickier but I managed some record shots.
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| Scrub Nightjar - Quebrada de Limón, Piura, Peru |
We kept an eye out for herps as we walked, but other than a few frogs, it was not to be. There were several moths flying around including this impressive silkmoth that was checking out our headlamps. This is Citheronia guayaquila which is, you guessed it, endemic to the Tumbes region.
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| Citheronia guayaquila - Quebrada de Limón, Piura, Peru |
We spotted another Peruvian Screech-Owl on the walk back to the car, while we also heard several Peruvian Pygmy-Owls and saw one. The drive back in the dark was long and bumpy, but we made it to the highway without acquiring any punctures in any of the tires, so it was a success. Just as we turned back onto the highway Laura spotted our third owl species of the evening; a Burrowing Owl on a road sign. It had been an excellent day!
February 17, 2024
Despite spending two nights in Olmos, we were ahead of schedule and still had an extra night remaining until we needed to return the rental vehicle to Chiclayo. There was only one potential new bird for us in this part of the world, the Tumbes Swallow, and I knew just the place for it: a protected area called Bosque de Pómac, located just north of Chiclayo.
We enjoyed a well-earned sleep-in this morning, packed up and headed south. It was already 11 AM when we reached the entrance gates to Bosque de Pómac, and the temperatures had already soared well above 30 degrees Celsius. We drove towards Mirador de Salinas, as my eBird sleuthing had revealed a lot of records of the swallow from this part of the reserve. Moments after stepping out of the car and facing a blast of heat, a couple of Tumbes Swallows flew over us, calling. Soon, we had a few individuals teed up on a dead branch, giving us walk-away views of this scarce species.
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| Tumbes Swallows - Sanctuario Historico Bosque de Pómac, Lambayeque, Peru |
The Tumbes Swallow is one of the few bird species that actually seems to prefer the desolate, arid desert habitats of northwestern Peru. Most of the other Tumbes endemics prefer more vegetated habitats like river valleys and mountain slopes.
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| Tumbes Swallow - Sanctuario Historico Bosque de Pómac, Lambayeque, Peru |
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| Tumbes Swallows - Sanctuario Historico Bosque de Pómac, Lambayeque, Peru |
We spent a couple of additional hours exploring Bosque de Pómac. A particularly birdy area was by the eBird hotspot "Ruta de la Cortarrama". Despite the hot temperatures, birds were very active in the tall trees lining the roadside.
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| Lineated Woodpecker - Sanctuario Historico Bosque de Pómac, Lambayeque, Peru |
A mixed flock produced Scarlet-backed Woodpecker, Collared Antshrike, Necklaced Spinetail and Common Tody-Flycatcher. Some pygmy-owl playback worked like a charm; not only did it attract a bunch of songbirds, woodpeckers and hummingbirds, but it enticed two real pygmy-owls to join the fray.
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| Peruvian Pygmy-Owl - Sanctuario Historico Bosque de Pómac, Lambayeque, Peru |
We heard a Peruvian Screech-Owl singing from a dense stand of trees; not exactly what we were expecting in the middle of the day. Another Tumbes Swallow flew over, and we spotted a couple of Snowy-throated Kingbirds as well.
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| Snowy-throated Kingbird - Sanctuario Historico Bosque de Pómac, Lambayeque, Peru |
We walked down a trail heading south from the main road, hoping to find some Peruvian Plantcutters. We had seen this species very well on our first day in Peru, but another view of this very rare species would be appreciated. It was not to be, unfortunately, but we found a pair of Rufous Flycatchers, only our second encounter with this species.
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| Harris's Hawk - Sanctuario Historico Bosque de Pómac, Lambayeque, Peru |
Lizards were rather numerous and we identified four species.
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| Green Iguana (Iguana iguana) - Sanctuario Historico Bosque de Pómac, Lambayeque, Peru |
My favourite lizard of the day was this False Monitor (
Callopistes flavipunctatus) which was crossing the road. This is actually a species of dwarf tegu and it is limited to the Tumbes region.
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| False Monitor (Callopistes flavipunctatus) - Sanctuario Historico Bosque de Pómac, Lambayeque, Peru |
Insects were somewhat scarce, the exception being a couple species of dragonflies.
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| Great Pondhawk (Erythemis vesiculosa) - Sanctuario Historico Bosque de Pómac, Lambayeque, Peru |
The next dragonfly is a familiar one, as we can find them back home in Ontario. The Spot-winged Glider is an excellent flier that can be found throughout much of the Americas.
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| Spot-winged Glider (Pantala hymenaea) - Sanctuario Historico Bosque de Pómac, Lambayeque, Peru |
We found a bunch of Guayaquil Squirrels too, including this individual that was waiting out the heat of the day.
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| Guayaquil Squirrel (Sciurus stramineus) - Sanctuario Historico Bosque de Pómac, Lambayeque, Peru |
And with that, we left Bosque de Pómac and headed south to Chiclayo. We arrived in the mid-afternoon, found a hotel that had a pool, and spent the rest of the day relaxing, swimming, and then finding a (surprisingly tasty) pizza shop for dinner.
February 18, 2024
Our flight did not depart until the afternoon, giving us a full morning of exploration around Chiclayo. We had completely cleaned out all of the potential new species of birds, so we decided to look for shorebirds, gulls and seabirds along the coast.
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| Birding at Santa Rosa Beach, Lambayeque, Peru |
We started at Playa Santa Rosa, parking at the end of the road where it meets the beach. This area was full of gulls and terns, and many thousands of them were roosting on the beach south/east of here. Quite a few were flying along the beach, giving us amazing views of them with the sun at our backs. Franklin’s Gull was the most common species, with moderate numbers of Elegant Tern, Royal Tern, Sandwich Tern and Common Tern, and small numbers of Laughing Gull, Gray-hooded Gull, Gray Gull and Belcher’s Gull. There were a few shorebirds on the beach including Snowy Plover, Black-bellied Plover, Ruddy Turnstone, Sanderling and others.
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| Franklin's Gulls - Santa Rosa Beach, Lambayeque, Peru |
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| Black Skimmer - Santa Rosa Beach, Lambayeque, Peru |
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| Sandwich Tern - Santa Rosa Beach, Lambayeque, Peru |
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| Elegant Tern - Santa Rosa Beach, Lambayeque, Peru |
I took advantage of the photographic opportunities which were seemingly unlimited. The sun was at my back, the birds were well-lit, and there was a steady stream of birds flying along the water's edge.
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| Franklin's Gull - Santa Rosa Beach, Lambayeque, Peru |
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| Laughing Gull - Santa Rosa Beach, Lambayeque, Peru |
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| Franklin's Gulls and an Elegant Tern - Santa Rosa Beach, Lambayeque, Peru |
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| American Oystercatcher - Santa Rosa Beach, Lambayeque, Peru |
There were a few birds on the beach as well, and they were all fairly tolerant of our approach for photos.
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| Snowy Egret - Santa Rosa Beach, Lambayeque, Peru |
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| Snowy Plover - Santa Rosa Beach, Lambayeque, Peru |
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| Laughing Gull - Santa Rosa Beach, Lambayeque, Peru |
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| Sanderling - Santa Rosa Beach, Lambayeque, Peru |
Several lizards scampered around the dunes including this handsome pair of Peru Pacific Iguanas (
Microlophus peruvianus).
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Peru Pacific Iguana (Microlophus peruvianus) - Santa Rosa Beach, Lambayeque, Peru
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| Peru Pacific Iguana (Microlophus peruvianus) - Santa Rosa Beach, Lambayeque, Peru |
The most common crab on the beach were Painted Ghost Crabs (Oxypode gaudichaudii), a species which ranges along the Pacific coast from Central America to northern Chile.
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| Painted Ghost Crab (Oxypode gaudichaudii) - Santa Rosa Beach, Lambayeque, Peru |
Of greatest interest to me were the large numbers of birds offshore. Seabirds seem to pass unusually close to the beach here, and today seemed to have good fishing conditions for the birds. Peruvian Boobies were very common with a few Blue-footed Boobies mixed in. Jaegers were regular offshore, including both Pomarine and Parasitic Jaegers. We spotted a single Brown Pelican with a flock of Peruvian Pelicans. But the “best” birds offshore were several hundred Sooty Shearwaters, a bunch of Inca Terns, a single Elliot’s Storm-Petrel and at least one (possibly two) Waved Albatross. Any day with albatrosses visible from shore is a good day!
With still a couple of hours to kill, we birded a few other hotspots, picking up some new trip birds and a few that were new for our Peru bird lists.
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| Bank Swallow - Humedal de Eten, Lambayeque, Peru |
We made a quick detour to rustle up a few Many-colored Rush-Tyrants. Because, why wouldn't you? I like the Spanish name for this bird - Siete Colores de la Totora, a reference to its many colours and its preferred habitat, a type of bulrush (totora in Spanish).
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| Many-colored Rush Tyrant - Santa Rosa Beach area, Lambayeque, Peru |
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| Many-colored Rush Tyrant - Santa Rosa Beach area, Lambayeque, Peru |
And with that, it was time to return to the city so that we could get the rental car cleaned and returned, and then board our flight to Iquitos. Next up - the Amazon!
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