We are moving!

Yes, we are!

We are moving to Cusco! Capital of the Inca Empire and our dream for a while. We are crazy.
We decided it last year, and of course, after I quit my job (ending on February 28) nature decided to make it extra harder and rained and rained until it flooded and thousands were left with nothing but what they were wearing.

We will go seeking for jobs in a place where devastation hit with fury. Businesses are closing and people are losing houses, crops and animals.

But we'll still go. It will be a challenge, and also an opportunity to help out some people. Our hearts waited too long for this. We want to start over from scratch - new life, new jobs, new problems but also new opportunities. We are confident that we could do good, meet new people and also enjoy the nature around the area (one of the main reasons to choose that location) and the travel possibilities from there to the South or to the jungle.

We can't say we are not worried about it. We have no house or full time job yet, and we move in a few weeks, but we are confident and excited!

It will be a pleasure to finally post about nature and new and exciting birds!!! Will you share this new adventure with us???

Will be back after I unpack!

Oh, and if you are curious about how it went... visit this. Ok, ok, that's in Spanish, but maybe you manage to understand a little bit ;)

I did it!! THANK YOU all for the great wishes and all your support during these past couple of years.


Here with the group that defended thesis on November 30th. I went first. It was a bit scary, but also exciting. Yes, that's me in green.

During the following weeks I'll post about the new birds we found in Buenos Aires and around. Few lifers!!

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 ;)

Blog Action Day 2009

Let's all fight global warming...

Unexpected Birding for Lifers!

A couple of weeks ago, Tommy and I got an invitation for a family gathering in Mala, south of Lima.

At first we didn't want to go, as I had some writing to do and Tommy needed to study for his classes.

Finally, we decided to go, and take the binoculars and the camera with us, just in case we managed to escape for a moment and explore around the area before the meal was ready.

It ended up being a great decision. We found some birds there, including a few lifers!

Now, pardon my excitement, but my favourite were by far the owls (lifers!) we found just a few metres from were we were going to have lunch! We counted five Burrowing Owls, so close to us that we couldn't believe it!


We found them by total chance. We had already found some common birds there, and were about to head back to the house when I asked Tommy to take a picture of the flowers of the peach tree in front of me.


While he was taking the pic, I felt movement to my left and decided to look around with the binoculars. I found two owls staring at me! And after a moment we could see three, four, five!!

This was the third time I spotted owls. The first and second time were Peruvian Pygmy-Owls (VERY cute lifer!) and this time a Burrowing Owl. Tommy started calling me 'Owl Spotter', lol.

I'm still hypnotized by the owl's eyes, you must forgive me, but all the bird images I took that day were of these guys.


The list for that day:

- Southern Beardless Tyrannulet
- Amazilia Hummingbird
- Croaking Ground Dove
- Hooded Siskin
- Vermilion Flycatcher
- Blue-black Grassquit
- West Peruvian Dove
- Long-tailed Mockingbird
- Blue-and-white Swallow
- Blue-grey Tanager
- House Sparrow
- Groove-billed Ani (lifer)
- Drab Seedeater (lifer)
- Chestnut-throated Seedeater (lifer)
- Collared Warbling Finch (lifer)
- Burrowing Owl (lifer!!!)
+ a couple that we haven't been able to id, and don't have great images.

I'm looking foward to another unexpected birding-lunch-date!

The Violin Player

As you know, I'm on 'thesis mode', so, no birding time for me, not even on weekends (for a few weeks at least).

Tommy, however, has some time after classes and can walk around watching beauties and taking some pictures. Here is his photo of a Blue-gray Tanager.

Here, this Blue-gray Tanager was introduced some time ago in the capital (Lima) from the Amazon. Some people brought birds as souvenirs from jungle trips or to sell in the black market and somehow a few escaped and started a colony in the city. It is very common to see them now in parks and gardens in the city, mostly in pairs.

Something that interests me a lot is the different names of birds around the world. Sometimes there are discussions about the 'correct' scientific name, the common name, the English name, etc. But, it gets even harder if you are - like in my case - living in a Spanish speaking country, and there is no agreement on how to call a bird.

Locals from all over Latin America give them different names, which can be quite annoying if you are in another country trying to ask a non-birder about a particular bird and have no image refference to show.

Let's take this Blue-gray Tanager (Thraupis episcopus) as an example. The most literal translation to Spanish should be 'Tángara Azuleja'. In Colombia it is called 'Azulejo' (azul means blue), in Costa Rica it is 'Viuda' (name given to a female widow), and in Peru it becomes a 'Violinista' (violin player), this last one explained due to the song of the bird. I bet there are many more names for it all over the world, given by local non-birder residents or ancient cultures.

Do you have problems like these with the English names?? I know that there are some discrepancies, but most of the times it is a unique name, isn't it? Please, tell me about it!

Oh, did you know that in Trinidad and Tobago this bird is called Blue Jean?? Cool!

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?

Bird fun

I'm back :)

As you know, Tommy and I got married last weekend.

It was a beautiful sunny day, and some family and close friends joined us for the brief ceremony.

Among those friends there were two special ones. One in flesh, one in thought.

Celeste and Leslie

We met Celeste and Leslie some time ago, when we got in contact with the Wildlife Brigade. I've writen about Celeste in the past, when I told you about Zöövenirs-Peru.

Celeste and Leslie thought about us and decided to give us a wonderful gift. Celeste couldn't make it, but Leslie showed up with a small basket. She approached us after the ceremony, once we were outside the building with that little basket.

She said: "Butterflies can't speak, but they can carry your wishes for the future in their wings".

She asked us to whisper a couple of wishes to the butterflies she had in the basket, before we set them free. We did. Then we opened the basket. The butterflies stayed there.

We offered them our hands, and they gently climbed on them. They listened to our wishes again, stayed for a couple of pictures and after a couple of minutes, they were on their way.

I had never had a butterfly in my hand before. It was an amazing experience, an awesome surprise on a very special day.

Thank you, Celeste and Leslie, for making our very simple wedding, something extraordinary and unforgettable!

Mel and Tommy

BRB

I've been busy for the past couple of weeks... but I wanted to share something with you...


Lots of things to do... just a couple of weeks left!!

Will be back in June :)

(Thanks to cousin Malú for her awesome drawing!)

Some time at the Zoo

It's been a couple of weeks since my last post. I had a week off work after Easter and after that it has been a bit harder to catch up.

On my first day of 'vacations', Tommy and I met some friends to go to the Parque Zoológico Huachipa, a small zoo about 45 minutes from home. Tommy already wrote about it and posted some cool pics here.

It was a hot day but a bit cloudy. We got there early, and it seemed that some residents were not completely awake yet...


We don't like to see animals in cages or in spaces were they can't leave, but this was an opportunity to at least SEE animals and to learn about them.

Festive Parrot

We found a zone with a few parrots and macaws. The Blue-and-yellow Macaw of the next picture was enjoying the scratching very much. When I took the picture it reminded me of one of those 'oh yes, he got me the biggest rock he could find, isn't my ring gorgeous??' comments...

Blue-and-yellow Macaw

After that we saw a few residents that came a long way...


... one of them gave us the 'I'm-watching-you-you-better-be-careful' look...


And then we got in what became my favourite spot of the whole place: El Bosque de Aves (The forest of birds). There were some really nice but hard to get in camera birds. I've never seen them before, and I won't be able to see them in the wild anytime soon, so, I'm glad we had the chance. Tommy got some pretty good shots, and I just managed to get these...

Speckled Chachalaca

... And this HUGE Jabiru, which I swear was taller than me! It was awesome to see it soo close, and to be able to walk around a place where new-to-us birds could fly around us. Too bad that there were not good signs to actually help you id the species.

Jabiru

When we got out of the forest of birds, we found a small pond where the residents had to share the food with some visitors...

Black-crowned Night-heron

We stayed close to see the Humboldt Penguins in detail. They were all swimming together, all but one. One of them was very close to where we were, and was trying to get something. When we got closer, we found out that this guy was trying to get a plastic bottle cap! He dived many times to get it, splashing around... I think I got it when he just grabbed it :)

Humboldt Penguin

So, what do you think the caption should be for the next one? 'I think I'm adopted' comes to mind...


We spent a few hours in that zoo, saw some really beautiful creatures, but we left with a bitter sweet smile, knowing that those beauties were staying there...

A big small surprise on the way home

A few days ago, Tommy and I were walking back home after a very long day and decided to stop by the park a few blocks from the house because the chorus of birds was amazing.

It was 5:44pm and was getting dark when we walked into the park to find what at first looked like an extra chunk of wood on one of the exercise logs on the 'gym' part of the park.

I was about 20 metres from it, with poor light, but still decided to try a pic of it (mostly to see what it was) I took one photo and tried to get closer. The thing sitting there flew!

It was a bird!! We rushed to the house as it was very hard to see the dark screen with such poor light. When we downloaded the camera's memory, we found this (click to enlarge)


It was a Peruvian Pygmy Owl, also known as Pacific Pygmy Owl (Glaucidium peruanum)

Do I REALLY have to tell you how excited we were?? A LIFER! By total chance, after a very long exhausting day... What a surprise!!

This Pygmy Owl is between 16.5 and 18 centimeters (6.5 to 7 inches) Apparently it is fairly common in dry woods, riparian forest, scrub and gardens. If you ask me, I've NEVER seen it before! It is also similar to the Andean Pygmy Owl, but found on drier woods. It is typically a grayer shade of brown and has white spots on scapulars and barring on remiges.

The songs on the Pacific slope are (according to the marvellous Birds of Peru guide) rapid rising hoots: "poop'poop'poop'poop..." To be honest, we didn't hear the song :(

The next day we were close to the park at about the same time, hoping to find it again, but we had no luck. Now that we know that this bird is a visitor on the route to the house, we don't hate the hill on the way home as much!

The Comeback

Photo: Saffron Finches by Melissa Gold

The past couple of weeks I've been a bit busy. Boss is on vacation and work has been crazy. I've been sick, my mom has been hospitalized for a few days too (she's doing better now) and one of my best friends is [hopefully] recovering from a serious health issue.

But, in between such bad events there was one that helped to keep on smiling... my love and nature/birding sidekick Tommy is back!!! After six months away he's back in town :)

Photo: Saffron Finch by Tommy Pérez

We haven't been able to go birding yet due to the events I wrote before, but still managed to squeeze in a walk around the house, where we found a few Saffron Finches.

Photo: Saffron Finch by Tommy Pérez

I hope to be able to post soon with better news and nice bird stories, now that my birding partner is here once more. To the ones following Tommy's blog (Unnaturally Natural), please note that he changed the blog address. You can now find it here. I recommend a visit, as he will have some birding time on his own while I'm at work, and therefore more experiences and birds to share with you :)

Photo: Saffron Finch by Tommy Pérez

Unexpected pelagic birding!

Photo: Belcher's Gull (Band-tailed Gull) by Melissa Gold

A friend from school invited me on an excursion with some of her family and other friends last Sunday. The excursion was around some islands on the coasts of Callao. Are you kidding me??? I was first on the line! I thought I would turn that friend's invitation into a pelagic birding adventure.

Photo: Milagros watching "birdies" by Melissa Gold

I managed to convince the two five year old on board to see the "pajaritos" (birdies). Bins were the coolest "toy" ever and I'm pretty sure I got them curious about birds..."that bird has something yellow on its face!", "the water looks close as if it was on my knees", "I like birds better than boats"... YES!! thank you girls!

Photo: Turkey Vulture waiting for sea lion snack by Melissa Gold

We were around a few islands, like "El Camotal", once part of the old port-city of El Callao, currently covered by the waters of the Pacific Ocean, as a result of the 1746 Earthquake. On low-tide days people say you can see some remains of the old city.

"San Lorenzo Island", is 8 km long by 2,5 km wide. It had many uses in time: religious centers in pre-Columbian times, cemetery for pirates and corsairs during the Colony, research place for men of science (including Charles Darwin!!) and it is currently a military zone.

"El Fronton Island" was an old Penitentiary, like Alcatraz...

"Cavinzas Islands" are a group of islands and islets with plenty of natural caves and caverns; it is the last guano harvesting site. The next pic shows the "facilities" where the "guardian" of the island lives. If you click to enlarge, you maybe able to see him on the window to the left.

Photo: Cavinzas Island by Melissa Gold

"Palomino Islands" have turned into a refugee for sea lions. There are 3 main islets with defined areas: the family area, the maternity and the hospital (as the captain explains to us), family area is where the strong male live with their 13 or so female party; maternity, where the male with no females live (some of them castrated on fights for power) and then the hospital, where they retire to die (if you saw the pic of the Turkey Vulture few paragraphs up here, by now you should know where it was taken...)

Photo: Palomino Cathedral by Melissa Gold

The rocky formations are stunning, too bad that my camera's zoom is not good enough to show you all the beauty. Here you can see Peruvian Pelicans, Guanay Cormorants, Inca Terns, and some Gulls that were too far for me to id properly.

Photo: Sea birds by Melissa Gold

It was fun to be close to the sea lions, most of the group jumped into the ocean to swim with them. No, I didn't, I'm waiting for my sidekick to go together ;)

Photo: Sea lions by Melissa Gold

It was fun both on the Pacific Ocean and on shore. I found lots of beautiful birds that made me forget about the weeks of not being able to do some birding.

A few days ago, Birdfreak posted about a product sold by Birdorable, they have some fun t-shits, and the next pic made me think of one for my lovely non Peruvian fiancee to wear in honour of her Peruvian girl... Is the phrase "I love Peruvian Boobies" too much to wear at a family meeting?? LOL

Photo: Peruvian Booby on the flight by Melissa Gold

Also a few days ago, I got a comment by Laurent, who suggested trying some "digi-binning". Well, I did, couldn't try more because the rest of the group were not birders or birder wanna-bes like me, and they were busy walking away!

Anyway, here's my try: first one, regular shot with no zoom...

Photo: Platform with Cormorants, Inca Terns, Gulls, etc by Melissa Gold

And the second one thru bins, as you can see with the shadow to the right. To be my first try ever, I think it came up pretty good. I will practice, it wasn't easy to get an image with my shaky pulse!

Photo: Same platform thru bins by Melissa Gold

This Franklin's gull was waiting for us when we arrived. It was great to get a shot where I could see the tail.

Photo: Franklin's Gull by Melissa Gold

And the Inca Terns were all lined up to say hello. I like the way they look, so elegant and proud.

Photo: Inca Terns by Melissa Gold

I like these two, I wonder what they are chatting about... ("these humans never get tired of us... ah, well, beauties we are...")

Photo: Inca Terns by Melissa Gold

The last birds I'm not sure about. I have no idea if this is some sort of Turnstone or Sandpiper. Can anyone help id?? My bird guide shows WAY too many possibilities.

Photo by Melissa Gold

It was a fun and different morning, and I hope to be able to do it again soon!

UPDATE 03/03/09
Thanks to Patrick and Gunnar for making a definite id for the last birds: Ruddy Turnstone... LIFER!! yippiiiiee!!

Calandria de cola larga

Nothing much happening these days. Lots of work and little time to enjoy nature and beautiful birds.

I was checking old files and found a couple of pics of a Long-tailed Mockingbird (Mimus longicaudatus) that visited a park not far from home.


I like its very long tail and the way it moves it up and down when singing. Before we (Tommy and I) knew the 'real' name of this bird, we called it 'fan tail'.

It is very hard to follow for a photo, it is a FAST running bird! And of course it has fooled us a couple of times with the song, faking sounds and other bird songs too.


I hope I can go out again. I miss daylight!!