SANTA EULALIA ROAD – VILLA MARSHES & PUCUSANA FISHING PORT – SEPTEMBER 2024

03 FULL DAYS – SEPTEMBER 2024

PARTICIPANTS:  TAD OWEN, TANYA & WILL.milo.owen@outlook.com

BIRDING SPOTS:  SANTA EULALIA – VILLA MARSHES – PUCUSANA

TOUR GUIDE:  JESUS CIEZA

TOUR DETAILS

 We started early in the morning from the busy Lima downtown to drive for at least more than an hour and reach our first birding spot along this birdy road.

At the begginin we started birding the lower part which was over 1000m. with all the birds that move around dry scrub forest like the tiny purple collared woodstar, then some good views from Oasis hummingbird and Peruvian sheartail. We also had our nice private car next to us, this way we could bird and do long walks while enjoying this bumpy but very cool road with incredible views from the canyon and avocado plantations. Our first birding day along this famous road We got birds on the way like the nice and tiny Southern beardless tyrannulet, Harri’s hawk, the nice looking Peruvian pygmy owl and a very cool flock of Mountain parakeets. Along this road we could also get the famous Andean condor, 02 of them soaring by the canyon, then some more cool birds like the nice looking Pied crested tit tyrant a bird that has very special color patterns that makes it beautiful and a bird you need in your Peru list. Then some others like the endemics Great inca finch, Black metaltail, Rusty crowned tit spinetail, Black necked woodpecker and the little Bronze tailed comet. We managed to reach the polylepis forest where we could get some more cool and resticted birds like Giant conebill, D’Orbygnis chat tyrant and the endemic Striated earthcreeper.

After nice day birding half way of this famous road then we spent our nihgt at Huachupampa town, small little town with a basic but efficient local hotel located at 2900m. where we have dinner in a local restaurant having local cheese and meal. The following day we had another early start to reach the upper part plus the main targets, this time we could get some more good birds like the endemic Junin Canastero along this large paramo patches on the way. Some other very good birds like Black siskin, Stripe headed antpitta, Plain colored seedeater with a mixture of water birds like Giant coot, crested duck, Andean duck, Yellow billed tail and silvery grebe. This time we also had the chance to spot 02 Aplomado falcons chasing a variable hawk at the same time we heard Puna tinamous calling around. Some small flock of greenish yellow-finch flying around along with Glacier finch by the road, then the clasic Plumbeous and Ash breasted sierra finches with some White fronted ground tyrant, our biggest ground tyrant in Peru. Others like Puna ground tyrant, Taczanowski’s ground tyrant, some austral visitor like Ochre fronted and Cinereous ground tyrant. Very good views of the endemic and highly critical specie White bellied cinclodes, a bird that it took us a little while to find it since much of the area was dry, the extra bird and endemic Dark winged miner before a good lunch facing the nice snowy peak Rajuntay. After a good lunch and getting the special White bellied cinclodes, we then headed to our next target, this time the restricted and uncommon Diademed sandpiper plover, nice walk involved to find this little guy but unique. Along this we could also have the chance to get another good bird, Gray breasted seedsnipe along with the endemic Black breasted hillstar, right after this we drive back along the busy central highway taking around 02 hours to reach our hotel in Lima.

The following day we had another early start to clean up the coastal birds and try a bit of sea birds. This time we visited Villa marshes which is located at 30 minutes from the main Miraflores distrit, this place is so far the best bird spot around Lima city to have a good introduction to birds of peru. Around this protected hábitat for resident and migrants birds, we  got cool birds like Grassland yellowfinch, Plumbeous rail moving around the reeds, Chesnut thoated seedeater, the colorful White cheecked pintail, Yellow hooded blackbird, Southern bearless tyrannulet, the uncommon Peruvian thick-knee plus some boreal migrants starting their early arrival like Sanderling, Semipalmated plover, Semipalmated sandpiper, Willet, Peregrine falcon scaring away some birds plus the endemic Peruvian pipit. All this number of birds along with some sea birds like Peruvian pelicans, Gray gull, Gray hooded gull, Peruvian booby, Kelp gull and some more right next to this nice magical protected area. Then we also visited another great place where we took a local fishing boat to spot the nice looking bird Inca tern, bird restricted to the humbolt current. Some more birds like Humbolt penguin with a baby and the colorful Red legged and Guanay cormorant, the special Blackish oystercatcher, then by going a little deeper we could get the special and only diving petrel, Peruvian diving petrel and a nice flock of boreal migrants Red necked phalarope. Along this nice boat ride we could also get some Dusky dolphins playing with the boat and a small group of humbolt penguins chilling around. All this along the heavy southamerican sea lions and some more boreal migrants like Surfbird and the endemic Surf cinclodes. By the end of the day we shared a nice fresh meal facing the local fishing activity in from of the pacific ocean.