Thursday 27 June 2013

Seabirds at Pucusana

We visited Pucusana in order to see Blackish Oystercatcher for Wader Quest which we were fortunate enough to do, but by far and away the most common bird at the small fishing port was Inca Tern. This is simply an astounding looking bird and one that we really were looking forward to seeing. We had no idea they were so common and easy to see!

The incredible Inca Tern, Pucusana, Lima, Peru 2013.
Here is the Blackish Oystercatcher.

Blackish Oystercatcher, Pucusana, Lima, Peru 2013.
Two interesting and attractive cormorants were seen at this spot too, the Guanay Cormorant,

Guanay Cormorant and Blue-footed Booby, Pucusana, Lima, Peru 2013.
and the Red-legged Cormorant, this one was a real cracker.

Red-legged Cormorant, Pucusana, Lima, Peru 2013.
There were loads of Peruvian Boobies about, but among them were a number of juvenile Blue-footed Boobies.

Juvenile Blue-footed Booby, Pucusana, Lima, Peru 2013.
There were of course plenty of Peruvian Pelecans too. These birds, like Brown Pelican the closely related species further north, are really quite tame and approachable, sitting on docks or floating past your boat as this one did.

Peruvian Pelecan, Pucusana, Lima 2013.
The real icing on the cake came when we left the port and went up the hill behind to overlook the sea below. It was here that we saw several Humboldt Penguins.

Humboldt Penguins, Pucusana, Lima, Peru 2013.

Humboldt Penguins, Pucusana, Lima, Peru 2013.
While we were waiting for the penguins to appear we were treated to stunning views of a real speciality of the region, a passerine that in endemic to Peru and is restricted to rocky coastal habitat, the Surf Cinclodes..

Surf Cinclodes, Pucusana, Lima, Peru 2013.

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