All things Pacific and Peruvian

It's been another long day, but on nature-watching holidays long days are apt to be good days. It began in the dark on a beach, with black skimmers yik-yak-ing out to sea and rufous-collared sparrows singing in the garden of our hotel. A chilean flamingo flew past in the still-not-light and as day came we saw dozens more flamingos feeding in the shallows of the bay.

The rest of our day was spent around Ica and in the Reserva Natural Paracas. Ica is the jump-off point for overflights of the Nazca lines (though on our tour no clients opted for the flight) and is also a spot for several of West Peru's special dry-country birds. Peruvian pygmy-owl (scowlingly adorable), Peruvian sheartail (splendid) and lots of amazilia hummingbirds were found here, as were more of Peru's feral birds. I don't think I've ever been anywhere in South America, except perhaps Buenos Aires, where there are so many out-of-place birds. In Lima the scarlet-fronted and white-winged parakeets, plus the bananaquits, are feral. Yesterday we saw feral yellow-hooded blackbirds. Today we saw feral saffron yellow-finches and a single female Pacific parrotlet. What's with the moving birds around all over the place Peru?

In the afternoon we entered Paracas reserve on land (tomorrow we'll explore it by boat). The same dramatic company of seabirds was to be seen as yesterday in Pucusana plus - a highlight for me - tiny Peruvian terns fast-flapping their little wings in the vastness of this drama-laden landscape.

I'm tired and I still have much to do so I'll leave you with white-headed Peruvian boobies hurling themselves into the navy waves of the ocean of my mind. Be sure to tune in for more Pacific marshtittery tomorrow.

	Birds
529	Chilean flamingo	Phoenicopterus chilensis
530	hudsonian whimbrel	Numenius hudsonicus
531	coastal miner	Geositta peruviana
532	Pacific parrotlet	Forpus coelestis
533	saffron yellow-finch	Sicalis flaveola
534	shiny cowbird	Molothrus bonariensis
535	Peruvian pygmy-owl	Glaucidium peruanum
536	Peruvian sheartail	Thaumastura cora
537	cinereous conebill	Conirostrum cinereum
538	semipalmated plover	Charadrius semipalmatus
539	Peruvian tern	Sternula lorata

2012 Totals

Mammals: 62

Birds: 539

Reptiles: 14

Amphibians: 6

Fish: 6