2009/04/10

Sunday at La Arenilla

Last Sunday I went to La Arenilla (Callao, Peru) I've been there once before a few months ago. I posted about that here.

This time I went with my sidekick Tommy and another friend hoping to find some nice seashore birds and at least find a lifer to add to our very poor list.

I tried some 'digibinning', as we were about 30 to 50 metres from the birds.


If you click on the next pic to enlarge it, you'll see a couple of Blackish Oystercatchers (lifer!) on top of the rocks. These birds were the furthest from where we were, and they were spotted by a couple of US birders that were there too. They were kind enough to share the finding with us.

Blackish Oystercatchers

We found a lot of Gulls, but not as many as we expected. The migrating season's peak passed some time ago, however, it was great to find lots of birds on reproductive plumage.

Franklin's Gulls and a very relaxed Kelp Gull

A couple of Kelp Gull's were sitting peacefully while a bunch of much smaller Franklin's Gulls were VERY loud.

A bit later, further down, we spotted a few Whimbrels and beautiful Terns. The Whimbrels were standing on one leg, head almost hidden, while the Terns stared at them.

Whimbrels and Terns

A few Peruvian Pelicans (HUGE - wingspan 228cm/90in!!!) came to visit too. I find the next picture a bit funny, as they all have different poses before landing on the water to join the ones already there.

Peruvian Pelicans

Some movement closer to us caught our eye... a few Semipalmated Plovers were walking around. They are so small and fast!

Semipalmated Plover

And just before we left, another lifer! A Spotted Sandpiper wobbling the tail up and down. Can you see the spots of its alternate plumage?

Spotted Sandpiper

It was a fine day after all. The birds seen:

- Peruvian Pelican (Pelecanus thagus)
- Neotropic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax brasilianus)
- Snowy Egret (Egretta thula)
- Blackish Oystercatcher - LIFER (Haematopus ater)
- Black-bellied Plover - LIFER (Pluvialis squatarola)
- Semipalmated Plover (Charadrius semipalmatus)
- Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus)
- Spotted Sandpiper - LIFER (Actitis macularius)
- Kelp Gull (Larus dominicanus)
- Belcher's Gull/Band-tailed Gull (Larus belcheri)
- Franklin's Gull (Larus pipixcan)
- Gray-hooded Gull (Larus cirrocephalus)
- Elegant Tern (Thalasseus elegans)
- Sandwich Tern - LIFER (Thalasseus sandvicensis)
- Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)

If you want to see a few more pictures of this birding morning, visit Tommy.

16 comments:

Lynne at Hasty Brook said...

Congratulations on all the lifers!!!

I think you did an amazing job on the digi-binning!! I hope you had a good time.

John B. said...

Oystercatchers (the American kind) are among my favorite shorebirds.

Congrats on the lifers!

Mel said...

Hola Lynne,
It's always exciting to find a lifer! My list is tiny but hopefully growing soon :)
We had an amazing time, shame we were so far and we had no cool scope to help us out.
Besos,
Mel

Mel said...

Hola John,
I haven't seen the American one (YET!), I think that one has a white belly right?
Thanks for stopping by ;)
Mel

Coy Hill said...

You had an amazing day! The digibinning worked out quite well!

Gunnar Engblom said...

Hey Mel

Good you went birding without me! My booked clients bailed out on me - and I had a hard time to get away. Great birds and 3 lifers is not bad at all.
As for American Oystercatcher. If you go to Pantanos de Villa, not the reserve, but to the beach, the American Oystercatchers are easy to find on the beach right between the lagoon and the waterfront. Write me if you need better directions.

Mel said...

Hola Salty,
Yes, it was a great day. We spent a few hours there, it is not a big place and there were not many birds at the begining, but later on they started to come.
Fun to be out!
Mel

Mel said...

Hola Gunnar!
I wanted to show Tommy La Arenilla, and try to see if I could find some birds myself, and especially id them. Some gulls were hard because they were very far, so I just stood there for quite a while trying to see tails and wings in flight :)
Thanks for the info on the American Oystercatchers. It's not easy for us to go to Pantanos or elsewhere as we don't have a car and depend on public transport mostly, but we do have to go sometime.
Take care,
Mel

ivars krafts said...

Great photos & good to have you posting! Have a Happy Easter!

Bob Kaufman said...

Way to go, Mel! Congratulations on all those lifers!

Stuart Price said...

Nice pics, the waders will be passing through this corner of the Pacific in a few weeks too

Laurent said...

Nice pics Mel. Congrats for the lifers!

Sekhar said...

:) Nice of you Mel.

dguzman said...

Holy moly, I haven't visited your blog in a while, and I come back to find you've become a professional photographer or something! Beautiful pics, and what a great trip!

besos,
dg

Mel said...

Hola a todos :)


Ivars,
I hope you had a great Easter too.


Dear Kaufmans,
THANKS! You also got a few lifers on your Florida trip, CONGRATULATIONS!


Hola Stuart,
Your pics are far better. Hope you get nice birds soon over there :)


Laurent,
Thanks for encouraging me to try the 'digibinning'. It has been so much fun!


Sekhar,
Nice to have you visiting again, I'll stop by your blog soon.


Hola Delia,
LOL, your comment made me laugh, THANKS! It was a nice trip, a few hours of fun in the sun with your love and some birds, just needed a piƱa colada to end it perfect!

Dawn Fine said...

Mel,
nice birdie day you had! alot of those birds would be lifers for me to..
Congrats.