As you know, I live in Lima (Peru).
Lima is the capital of the country, with over 8 million inhabitants and growing without control. People from all over the country come to this city looking for better oportunities and the need of housing makes it difficult to keep the green spaces.
I am trying to find flora and fauna on weekends. I am opening wider eyes.
I found this snail outside my house. Sloooow but hopefully getting somewhere (Reminds me of the past couple of years of my life!!)
These Rock Doves (Columba livia) were not afraid of me. I found them in a small garden in Miraflores and were BIG! I had just a bit of time to duck as they flew over my head... "These humans are so annoying..."
While walking around the Cemetery in Huachipa a few weeks ago, I felt some movement on a tree to my right. As I got closer I saw a bright bill...
It was a Croaking Ground-Dove (Columbina cruziana) nesting! This beauty stood still while I got closer. Didn't make a sound, didn't move, didn't even blink! It looked like a doll, perfectly still... "Hey, I'm part of the tree, nothing to see here!! Keep walking!!"
The next bird, a beautiful lifer! I found on a light lamp in La Molina last week, it is a male Pacific Parrotlet (Forpus coelestis). This one bird was VERY loud! The species is a permanent resident to the northwest of the country, but a feral population is now in Lima so, I had the chance to see it here!! The size is of about 12 to 13 cm (4-5 in)
Too bad that my camera is not great, click to enlarge. 
The last one was taken today, in a hospital's garden in Surco (I was visiting my grandma)
I like how the Amazilia Hummingbird (Amazilia Amazilia) looks perched on that branch. 
I'm opening wider eyes on weekends, and there is nothing but nice surprises!
2009/01/24
Weekend Birding in the grey city
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18 comments:
Nice photos, thanks for sharing!
Hey Dr. Monkey!
Thanks for visiting ;)
Wonderful pictures, Mel! Keep up your good work searching for nature's beauty around you.
I found your blog via IATB #91, and I enjoy it very much. Nothing better than having a naturalist blogger in a different part of the world to expand my horizon of knowledge. Thank you.
Such an incredible diversity of birds, even right within the city! And yes, overpopulation is a major problem (worldwide), sadly but true.
Beautiful post, Mel! And great photos! You certainly are opening your eyes wider and capturing lots of lovely sights.
Mel,
Lovely photos.
Great photos. I love your comments!
You seem to enjoy your life and to be able to reflect on it. Please stop by Psyche Connections for a visit. I enjoy exchanging blog following links and would like to do so with you if there is an interest
Linda
Mel,
The most you can do is to keep those beautiful eyes open! All the time! That's how you found your lifer.
Bravo!
Mary
¡Hola a todos! Gracias por su visita :)
Ivars, sometimes is not easy to find nature in a city like this, but I'll keep giving it a try!
PSYL, welcome!! I just checked your blog, I'll read it later (almost 2am now...), looks like fun, will visit soon :)
Meggie, I'm trying! I look like one of the Simpsons now... lol
Mike & Lizette, thank you!
Linda, thanks for your vist.
Mary, that lifer was totally unexpected!! found it because it was loud, but was so small and so high, that it took me a while to find a place between the cars parked there to take the pic. I just wanted a good enough photo to id. It is a beautiful little bird!
Dear Mel,
You are a natualist! Thank you for carrying your camera and for sharing the different birds in your city. Asphalt jungles are evrywhere...
I too look in my city and backyard...the side of the roads and parks...Opening my eyes wider and always talking about the birds and the bugs and the plant world. I hope others will also open their eyes and their hearts to all of life. I am on a bug awareness campaign right now...bugs are so good!
Bird songs and butterfly wings,
Sherry
Howdee...
so cool you are going out there and discovering...and finding lifers to boot!
keep doing it!
Hola chicas :)
Sherry, you are so right about asphalt jungles... The trees I was happy to see from my 'new' window at the office were cut. The nesting doves are gone, and I really don't want to think about what happened with them... I have a plan, that I will share with my blog friends later on ;)
Dawn, yes!! It was so great to find a lifer without even looking for it!! It was unexpected and I was lucky to have my camera with me!
:) nice surprises.
Wow Mel, that's so cool you saw all those neat birds right in the city.
I'm such a country bumpkin, I couldn't imagine living in a city that size--I'm not sure there are even 8 million people in the entire state of Minnesota!
Beautiful! You've got a good eye with the camera. I love your city - even on gray days. I saw a lot of vultures downtown - hovering and circling in masses. And at the same time - George Bush was giving a speech downtown. It was kind of ominous - the clouds blowing in and the vultures circling while he was speaking. I avoided all thoughts of a metaphor, well kind of.
Hi Mel, beautiful photos! Birds I will probably never see. I love the composition of the hummingbird photo.
¡Hola a todos!
Sekhar, nice surprises for sure!
Ruthie, I don't like big cities, imagine my 'pain'!!
Tim, thank you! (also for letting post on planeta...)
Lima can be ok, but I do need more green around me ;)
I think I know what the Vultures were thinking... lol
BirdingMaine, you get to see pretty birds that I don't! so, I guess we are even... lol
I love that hummingbird perched there too, with the flowers and the branches, the colors and the shadows...
Very nice blog. Goodbye from Italy
Nicola
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