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.