Birding Lima's Pantanos de Villa {& bonus wildlife findings}

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.

Staying on the Malecón

Half way thru our stay, we moved to an Airbnb, a 3 bedroom apartment, just across the street from the Malecón and the historic lighthouse. The Malecón is a six-mile walkway along the city's cliffs, overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The Malecón runs thru numerous parks and even along the coolest mall that exists. 

Though it looks distant because of the cliffs, you can see a bit of the Pacific Ocean. It's really only a few minutes walk to look over the edge and see the full, unobstructed ocean view.

This lighthouse was built in 1900 by Gustave Eiffel, yes of the Eiffel Tower fame. It sits in a park named after the lighthouse, Parque el Faro. It's still in operation. 

This park has workout equipment in different areas throughout. The kids enjoyed learning some new tricks. Asher was able to jump from the curb to the first bar, then jump both hands to the second bar at the same time without touching the ground. 

The streets in Miraflores are generally very clean. Just watch out for the occasional dog poo on the sidewalk. Lots of dogs here, and a majority of them are wearing clothes, booties or both. I've never heard, "Aww, look at that dog!" so many times before in my life! They were all leashed and most of them were a recognizable breed. Lots of schnauzers which reminded us of Aunt Janie. There were no street dogs to be seen within Miraflores. Outside of Miraflores is a different story. 

Another park just a little further down the Malecon, Parque del Amor features a giant, famous sculpture of a couple kissing. And hey, you can even paraglide from here, if you dare!

Beach access was even closer from the Airbnb.

Walking thru the neighborhood. We were still close enough to our Spanish school and all the restaurants we enjoyed and even found a few new ones on this side of town.

We had salchipapas (a pile of fries with cut up hotdogs on top) here a couple times. We enjoyed the 2nd floor street view while we ate.

Found this fancy place, Pitahaya Lounge, between our place and the main strip. We loved the glowing tree and tables.

And of course, got our boba cravings filled at Te' Burbuja. Just look for the ridiculously long line!

Our Spanish school, Peru Wayna, hosts four weekly events for students. We attended salsa lessons one night. Asher sat this one out, but the rest of us had fun!

We walked to the Indian Market on our last day in Lima. It was a Sunday, so about half of the vendors were closed, but it was still fun to walk thru and Journey picked out a pair of hummingbird earrings. I love that they have a ring of chairs for men to wait while their ladies shop!

When I was researching Lima, I read advice from prior travelers encouraging others to skip Lima. I am so glad we didn't listen! I initially had concerns, primarily for safety, which is why we picked Miraflores, and we never felt in danger. The community does a lot to keep the area safe with extra police and security officers seemingly on every corner. My other concern was regarding dengue fever, but we haven't had any insect issues at all and actually keep our patio doors open while we're home. We aren't even fans of cities, but the combination of scenic coast, Malecón, parks, Spanish class and restaurants kept us busy and entertained. I do recommend spending some time in the Miraflores area if you're flying into Lima. 

I am going to miss this city and the beautiful ocean! Now we're off to Arequipa.