The easiest BIG hotspot to get to in Lima is Refugio de Vida Silvestre Los Pantanos de Villa. This wetland area is along the coast, so it provides opportunities for birds that are found both inland and coastal. It's required to have a guide to explore, and fortunately the cost is included in the entrance fee. The guide rode in our car from the entrance through a gated access point to the beach five minutes away where we began our birding day.
Sadly, the first bird we saw, was dead. and then we saw another, and yet another. Avian flu is hitting hard along the coast of Peru. By the end of our marsh walk, my children had stopped counting at 100 dead birds. The guide said this started about a month ago. Hopefully the situation improves soon, as I recently read reports of not only birds but sea lions and a dolphin. We even found a porpoise on the beach in Miraflores, and now I wonder if avian flu is the cause.
Enough bad news, now for the good. I was delighted to spot a group of Puna Ibis in the marsh.
This is a life bird for me and I was able to see them well.
Another bird that caught my attention in the list of possibilities, was the Gray-hooded Gull. It's even more striking in person! Peru has some really interesting gulls.
Here's another, the Gray Gull, which is pretty easy to find on any beach in central Peru.
The Baird's Sandpiper makes an occasional appearance in Florida, but I've not been fortunate enough to find one. Finally here in Peru, I had my chance! I wasn't even sure what I was looking at, and didn't realize until later when I was reviewing my photos.
Birds have names in English and Spanish. I particularly like this one's Spanish name. The Many-Colored Rush Tyrant or the Siete Colores de la Totora (Seven colors of the cattail). My photo of this quick-moving bird isn't great, however shows some of its colors- turquoise on the head and a spot of orange just under the tail. Look it up to see how incredible this is!
The backside of the marsh borders private property where horses are grazing.
Back at the main entrance, we took a short walk to the lake where we hopped in a boat for a tour.
Right away I saw two Great Grebes- lifer!
Lots of Night-herons, both Black-crowned and Yellow-crowned adults and juveniles were spotted along the edges of the lake. Slate-colored Coot (above)
I also spotted a Harris' Hawk, this was a lifer a week earlier.
They said about twice a week Chilean Flamingos can be found in the wetlands, however not today. After three hours at this hotspot, I ended up with 37 species, 10 lifers!
While the wildlife refuge is trying to maintain the property and does a really good job trying to educate the public, some don't seem to appreciate the gem that they have here. Trash and horse scat litter the beach. The refuge holds many public events, even a camping weekend for families, so hopefully they'll be able to pass along the desire to protect this important natural resource.
Here are a few photos showing the various views while traveling between Miraflores and Pantanos de Villa.
Here I thought I'd share some other random birds and wildlife I found while in Lima. Asher and Journey spotted these Red-masked Parakeets perched high on a tree in Central Park while we were enjoying an outdoor art festival/sale. Please excuse the photo quality as this was taken with my phone held to my binoculars.
On the way home from the beach one afternoon, Asher stopped us to check out a tiny snake he found. This little one is called a Tschudi's Blind Snake. Really cool pattern!
While at the beach overlook, a number of people seemed to be concerned about something flying around them. I realized it was a scarab beetle, nothing to fear. When it landed and I was able to get a photo and iNaturalist helped me identify it as Gymnetis merops.
Here are two birds I photographed from our Airbnb balcony. Top (Scrub Blackbird) and bottom (House Wren). The Scrub Blackbird has to be the most commonly seen and heard bird in Lima. It woke me up every morning with loud calls.
Ello Sphinx moth (top) Melanis leucophlegma (bottom)
I found some really cool spiders! The first is called Frigga crocuta while the other was only identified as a type of Spinybacked Orbweaver.
I found this fancy moth (Cyanopepla alonzo), briefly caught in a web on the balcony of our Airbnb. I was able to grab a few photos before it freed itself. So pretty!
These turtles were being sold in a pet store for 25 soles ($6.25). I've never seen so many at once!
And finally, the Burmeister's Porpoise we found on the beach one morning. So sad. It was pretty interesting to see up close though. It was about 5ft long. The skin is like a shiny, black rubber and the teeth are rounded. Poor thing had horrible rash from being washed up on shore.
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