A walk before lunch

If you have been following this blog for a while, you are well aware of my lack of posting due to working on my thesis.

In less than a week I will travel to Buenos Aires, Argentina, to defend my investigation in front of a room filled with people. I can't deny I'm a bit nervous.

And last Friday it was too much. I found out that I can't get my degree unless I do the paperwork to become a resident all over again. Even if I don't live or plan to live there anymore. The university told me that even though I had the go-ahead for defending the thesis, they couldn't register me for it.

EXCUSE ME??? I've been asking since last March about costs, papers, etc. and one week before I find out that I wasn't going to be able to defend and get my degree??? After e-mails, phone calls, conversations, arguments, etc. I had authorization to defend it on November 30 as I was told before. But I can't get my degree unless I become a resident again. Ok. No comments on that one, as I've been pretty upset due to that.

This morning I decided to just leave the bad news behind and move forward. I decided to go for some birding-healing.

Vermilion Flycatcher - Sooty Morph

Tommy and I took a walk before lunch. I have to confess I was still a bit grumpy, but my lovely hubbie did a great job cheering me up. He even let me use his camera for a few shots :)


I can't believe how good for the heart that was. It was sunny and a bit too hot, but we had a nice time and an ice cream to take care of the heat.

We found this Croaking Ground-Dove just relaxing in the sun. I'll do the same. Just close my eyes and relax in the sun.


Then it will be time to go back to work again. The thesis era is almost over, even though massive bureaucracy is ahead.


Nature is healing. I came back in a totally different mood. The brightness, the colours, the sounds. It is all good for the heart.


Tommy saw this Tropical Kingbird perched high on a tree. I managed to take a pic of it. It looks so proud! I like it! Will I be after defending the thesis?? Maybe.


It's amazing how much you can learn from birds. But you knew that already.

High

This is the highest on a tree I've seen a Vermilion Flycatcher.

I went to visit grandma and on her garden, tall trees and palm trees make it difficult for the Vermilion to catch some food. They usually perch on small bushes or trees, waiting for the moment to fly and catch a fine meal.

This bird was much higher than any other of its kind I've ever seen. The tree is around 10 meters tall, and this fellow was on top of it. It dived for flies and bugs and didn't seem to get any. I'm not sure if it managed to get some, I didn't have my binoculars with me to see.

After a while, it just stopped diving to the ground. It stood there, on top of the tree, its bright feathers shinning in the sun. It was a beautiful thing to watch, even from the distance I was. It looked so proud and beautiful!

I'm also going to stop diving for things I won't get anyway, I'll start focusing on the future and the wonders to come.

Many changes ahead, that I will share with you in the near future :)

Vermilion Flycatchers and Life changes

If you've been following this blog for a while, then you will know that I've been posting off and on for months now.

I've been working on my thesis for quite a while, and I finally finished it! I have to defend my work in front of a "jury" of professors and other students by the end of this month in Buenos Aires. This blog was born in Buenos Aires, and I hope that the trip marks a new beginning for it, with more learning and sharing, more pics and birds, birds, birds!!

I plan to reinvent myself in the following months, a change of life for the better. I want to learn new things and visit new places.

It is a bit confusing still, as everything is "under construction" right now - plans, dreams, hopes, future!

And speaking of confusion... Something that has me a bit confused too are these Vermilion Flycatchers:


The male is usually bright red with black when adult, like the one above.

Lima has a sooty morth population of these birds, the dark brown ones like the one in the next photo (I love these cute "chocolate" ones!):

But, what I don't understand, is what exactly is the bird that follows...

Tommy found it in his walks in Parque El Olivar and it is a complete mystery to me: It has the brown body like the sooty morph and a red crown like a "regular" Vermilion, although the red is not as bright. (Thanks for the pics babe!)

Do you know what could be happening?? The bird has been seen on many occasions for a few months now and no molting has been observed. Please, feel free to leave your ideas on what you think or share what you KNOW.

... I wonder if the new Mel will end up like this bird, a mixture of the old Mel but with brighter, happier, unique feathers ;)

A bird or two

Time hasn't been a friend lately.

I haven't been able to go birding, missed a pelagic and my thesis is way waaaay behind.

At least I've managed to take a couple of walks with Tommy around the house or while visiting family over the weekend.


I miss birds!! I miss watching them feed or groom, picking little twigs or materials for their nests or fighting for the best spot in the tree or the bush. I miss finding common birds with not so common features and just staring at them for ages. I miss finding them staring at me!


I want TIME, can anyone help me with that?

More urban nature

Last week I found this 10cm... moth(?) leaning on the outside of the backyard's door.

Can anyone help id, please??


I had a pretty hard week. Work, health, family, friends. Lot's of not great news, but I'm fighting them all, each problem at a time ;)

I decided to 'cure' my sadness and frustration by going back to the pics either Tommy or I took last year. I found some pics that I never published before, and, as I haven't been able to go out this week, I decided to post them today. They are not great, but are a reminder of great moments, so, to me they are precious.


A female Vermilion Flycatcher a few metres from the house...


... And another one getting closer to a male Vermilion Flycatcher on the neighbour's fence. Fun Fact: Local name is "Turtupilín", trying to copy the sound of the song of this beauty.


A Blue-grey Tanager very high on a tree. Fun fact: In Peru, the local name is "Violinista", which means "violin player", because of the bird's song too.


It is curious how we try to name what we don't know. Both the "Turtupilín" and the "Violinista" after their songs or the sound of them. And other creatures, especially birds, after how they look, the colours they have, the masks, the hoods, the size of legs or tails...

The next bird I couldn't id. First I thought it could be a juvenile Safron Finch, but this one was bigger, and both maxilla and mandible are the same color, plus the whole bill looks bigger, a bit more like a Grassland Yellow-Finch, but I'm not sure. PLEASE, I know that some of you have the awesome "Birds of Peru" guide, so, HELP!!


That's all for now, I'll try to go out tomorrow morning and hopefully find some pretty bugs, flowers or birds to share with you during the next week.

Family Vermilion Day

I finally got some time to post. Last Sunday a friend asked for our help. She needed to take some pictures, so we took her to the lagoon.

While she was busy taking her pictures I saw an adult male Vermilion Flycatcher, flying low to get a moth and going back to its post to start all over again.

After a while a juvenile appeared, and since then they wouldn't separate.

Adult male was feeding the juvenile, who kept calling for dad. I tried to take a picture of the feeding, but had no luck... at least I got one of both together!

Handsome fellows

As I've been working from about 8 to 8, I haven't been able to post anything.
I had no trips or daylight to enjoy. But my love, Tommy, did.
He decided it was about time for him to start a blog (I think he did it because he's been taking most of the pictures I've post since I started working full time, hehe)
I love his post on Vermilion Flycatchers!!! I know some of you like those cute guys ;)
I want to invite you to visit his super brand new blog and enjoy some pictures of a handsome guy (Tommy's cute too, hehe) here.

Something 'fishy' going on

A couple of days ago we woke up to a funny smell in the air... something a bit 'fishy'.
It was strange until we saw the news: They found almost 2 Tons of dead fish. Where??? The lagoon Tommy and I have been visiting!!! If you are a regular reader, it is the one on the post about a Sunday afternoon and also the one with ducks 'reading' the signs.

I was running late for work, but Tommy found some time during the day to pay a visit. The fish (Tilappia) was already removed, only a few small guys were still there, washed on the shore.


Tommy says the smell was still horrible, and he was surprised to find the remaining 'living' fish trying to 'breath air', at least that is what it looked like.

Note from Tommy: The side of the lagoon accessible to the public is around 70 metres of the perimeter (I guess the whole lagoon is a little over 500 metres). The pictures you see are from all around this stretch, and it was all the same scene - literally THOUSANDS of fish appearing to gasp for air around the shoreline. A sad sight, just seemed so 'unnatural'.


No authority explained what happened: Pollution? Failure on airing the water? (It is not a natural lagoon, needs some maintainance on the human side), Someone dumped something bad in the water? Algae took over?


I wasn't there to see what Tommy experienced, but looking at the pictures I do feel frustrated and impotent. I want to know and nobody is talking!! It's so annoying!!

There was an unusual smell on the air all over Lima yesterday, I felt it outside the office (one and a half hours from home), and I can't help wondering if some other ponds or lagoons had suffered the same fate... Or maybe it was just a coincidence...


Nobody knows, not even this Egret. The only one seen at the lagoon while Tommy was there... I try to figure out what's going on in its mind... Does it know? Will it have a problem later on?
I bet it is puzzled too.

Egretta Thula (White egret)

I'll try to keep you posted on this, if I manage to find some information.

To finish up with a happier note (I do need it!!), I leave you with this Vermilion Flycatcher Tommy found close to the site.

Pyrocephalus rubinus (Vermilion Flycatcher)

Birds and flowers

You already know that last Sunday I went to 'La Laguna', where the smart ducks and geese can 'read' signs ;)


Over there we saw this 'Garcita blanca' (White Egret / Egretta thula) walking around, looking for a snack.


This seems to be a juvenile, because the legs were still yellow (going black in the front)


It was nice to just stay there and watch. It is amazing how much beauty you can find when you decide to look with 'nature eyes'.


A Vermilion Flycatcher followed us for a few blocks, our camera is so simple and zoom-less that in over a dozen pictures this is the best :(

Pyrocephalus rubinus (Vermilion Flycatcher)

After the lagoon we went to visit Grandma and her flowers.



And I got my VERY FIRST picture of a hummingbird flying!!! Sorry for the quality, click to enlarge.

Amazilia amazilia (Amazilia Hummingbird)

It was a sunny happy Sunday.

Weekend of joy

I recently got together with a good friend from school (was going to say 'old' but I don't think she'll apreciate that! hehe), we met again after almost 10 years! She invited us (Tommy and Mel) to her family land south of Lima, 131 km from the city, for the weekend.
Since the moment we arrived there, we were treated as family, memories from over a decade came back!

We spent time with her family while making a 'Patasca', a traditional Andes soup made with corn and a sheep's head... I know, not exactly the best picture in your head. We don't eat Patasca, but we stayed there by the fire and the clay pot outside, sitting around, laughing and talking most of the night, watching a clear sky filled with stars.

Making 'Patasca'

As we were so many, we decided to book rooms in a near by hostel, very nice and with some surprises, like this guy having fun in the sun...


... or this rare-place-to-be super shy guy!


The next morning we walked around the land looking for grapes, apples, bananas, figs and 'lúcumas', which ended in a HUGE bags that arrived home with us, and will be shared with family and friends, as they are so many!


We tried 'cabrito al palo' (the body of the sheep used for Patasca on a stick and cooked slowly with fire), it was delicious!

'Cabrito al palo'

It was an extraordinary experience, different and new, like going back to the basic living, before electric power and gourmet food, away from microwaves and supermarkets, eating fruit directly from the trees and sharing old traditions that are slowly disappearing in favour of 'fast life' convinience.

Over there we saw beautiful birds, butterflies, strange (to us) insects (possible future post), as well as farm animals and cute and tasty 'cuys' that we don't get to see in the city.

Vermilion Flycatcher

It was a great weekend with simple and warm people, with big smiles and hearts, in love with their land and their traditions, and I'm grateful we had the oportunity to spend time with them.

I'll wish for more great weekends, spent with friends and family, with nature and love around! I'll try to escape from the big city every now and then... Anyone said 'chicken run'? ;)

Regular visitor

This guy is visiting us several times a day. I looked for it in my guide and couldn't find it, the head is greyish/brownish, white around the eyes and throat going down in the chest until it meets yellow around the belly and all the way to the tail. In the chest and belly some brownish spots, dark legs and beak. I'll just keep on googling trying to find out the name of this guy.


Pictures are not great, as we have just a regular camera with simple zoom and this guy is fast! But Tommy managed to take a couple :)

Every time it visits, picks between the palm tree on the corner, the top of the brick wall or the patio furniture. It stays there until something catches its eye, usually a moth, and flies trying to get it. We've seen it a couple of times actually capturing something while flying and it was amazing!


Some other days it just sits on the patio furniture, goes down to the grass, picks something and flies back to where it was to eat or look again.
We are planning on naming this fellow as it is the most frecuent visitor these days, any suggestions?