THE Biking Birder - Green and Carbon Birding Adventures Over the Years

Saturday, 5 May 2018

20th of April. Ebirding at Barba Blanco.

Hello again! That is hello if you have been here before. If you are new to my blog then please take your time to read and hopefully enjoy it. Please follow me using the box to the right.

I do so hope that you will enjoy following my adventures. You can do so via this blog and also by my Biking Birder Facebook page and Twitter feed. Also if you want to see all of the photographs I have taken then please go to the Facebook pages linked below.

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I am trying to raise money for two charities and obviously I would love you to donate to them.

Please!

Birdlife International

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/bikingbirderperu2018

Chaskawasi-Manu Children's Project

http://www.chaskawasi-manu.org/en/donation-for-chaskawasi-manu-project/

April 20^th, 2018

Hot, hazy and sunny day

Up at 5:30 a.m. In order to spend a few hours exploring and counting all birds seen to put a report onto eBirds later. A Golden-bellied Grosbeak is a bright starting bird for the day and with a resplendent male Vermilion Flycatcher one can only appreciate the vibrant colours of many Peruvian birds. Two Black-necked Woodpeckers are in the tall Eucalyptus trees in the hotel gardens but despite hearing them with their chattering call, I cannot get good views of them in the trees and I watch both leave with undulating flights away onto the adjacent orchards.

I take the dusty road towards the Hydro-electric power station a kilometre or so to the north. A new bird for both me and therefore for the Green Birding list is a White-tipped Dove.

Just one is sitting on the branch and I listen as it gives a two note, deep coo. It's throat extends, emphasising the grey-blue head of this rather large dove.

Through a security gate with Holas to the guards and past the station, I take the steep road up through the village. Passing over the river where a dam has surging water, two Peruvian Sheartails are hovering and chasing each other over the water. The road splits at the top of the only street in the village; to the left the road goes to Callahuanca and to the right to some ruins called Caskashoko. I turn right.

A little way along the road the force of a flash flood here is demonstrated by the side of a house having disappeared revealing a now unused bathroom. Through a small village of around twenty shack house with a few dogs I walk steadily in the strong and hot sunshine and photograph five different butterfly species before reaching the ruins. Interesting to note that most butterflies here have equivalent species and families in Europe, be they skippers, whites, or blues.

The ruins are contained over a small area at the end of the road and consist of walls and a couple of small ruined houses. A few birds are here, mostly Band-tailed Sierra Finches and Collared Warbling Finches. There are also a few Cinereous Conebills and an entertaining Purple-collared Woodstar that keeps returning to the top twig of a near by dead bush.

A couple of attractive lizards are sunbathing and watch me carefully as I pass. They don't seem too bothered by me though.

After returning to the hotel for a snack and a quick shower, I walk along the road and then back along the edge of the river plain. New birds seen include seven White-crested Eleanias, Drab Seedeaters, a couple of Chiguanca Thrushes and a single Blue & Yellow Tanager.

The evening meal at the hotel is delicious; a pasta concoction that I am not too sure of the contents. The staff here are delightful and my waitress, Jessica, laughs as I clear the table on my conclusion.

Green Year list : 104 birds average new birds to list per day : 5.20 birds

Distance walked : 5.61 miles elevation up and down : 1468 feet altitude : 4445 feet

19th April 2018 Uphill to Babra Blanco

I am sorry to have been out of internet range for so long. Who would have guessed that being thousands of feet up in the High Andes would be so remote?

I intend now that I am back in Wifi country to post all of the days details I typed whilst in my tent or in a small room found for me by villagers.

Things have been very tough but so very wonderful.

OK let's go back a couple of weeks . . . .

Hello again! That is hello if you have been here before. If you are new to my blog then please take your time to read and hopefully enjoy it. Please follow me using the box to the right.

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or via my personal Facebook page :

https://www.facebook.com/gary.prescott.92

I am trying to raise money for two charities and obviously I would love you to donate to them.

Please!

Birdlife International

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/bikingbirderperu2018

Chaskawasi-Manu Children's Project

http://www.chaskawasi-manu.org/en/donation-for-chaskawasi-manu-project/

April 19^th, 2018

Hot, hazy and sunny day

Time to move on from Chaclacayo, the road is busy and the way is a constant uphill climb, though not quite enough on the most part to require a push. Going through a few grimy villages, the tarmac has frequent potholes and cracks; the concrete pathways have steps and slopes and are busy with people.

A divide in the road with my chosen route leaving the busy main road, heading north. At last, although much steeper, this road is quite and as it climbs the scenery changes to one of lush, orchard-filled valleys. I won't be missing the traffic! House Sparrows are beside the road but I won't be counting these introduced birds on the Green Birding list.

A Peregrine Falcon dashes past!

Mostly now I am pushing my heavy bike uphill and with the weather so hot I am in need of a lot of liquid to drink. This is mostly cartoned fruit juice, peach being my favourite. Does this count as my 'five a day?' I know that as usual I have checked that the cartons contain juice that has vitamins, in this case A, C and D. I am always amazed, and always put a carton back on the shelf, when such juice doesn't contain vitamins. Pulped, concentrated and worthless as a food item in my eyes. Anyway I stop at a small shop to buy a couple of my favourite one litre juice cartons and chat with the lady behind the counter. Her name is Rose and she gets every item customers want despite the fact that she finds walking very difficult due to arthritis.

I give her a large cuddly toy of Nemo to give to her Granddaughter, though I feel that Rose might hold onto it for herself for a while!

A small ground dove lands on the road in front of me and starts to forage amongst the grass beside the road, a Bare-faced Ground Dove, a lifer as well as a new bird for the Green list. Another dove lands next to it, a Croaking Ground Dove making a nice pair to compare differences. Both are about the same size but the markings on the Bare-faced make for darker looking bird when watched without optics. As they take off on my drag uphill another difference is the whirling rattle of wings sound as the Bare-Faced Ground Dove takes off.

The road continues through this beautiful valley, villages are passed and one surprise is the number of large hotel with camping recreation places with exclusive looking restaurants I pass. At some time of year this area must be a popular destination for Peruvian tourists, a place for Limans to escape the city. Most are closed with refurbishment going on. On reaching Barba Blanco and having seen an advert for one particular establishment every kilometre along the way, I decide to ask for a bed for the night at Hotel Rustica. Despite the expensive price of one hundred Soles, around £50 a night, I take it and find myself on a room with a long balcony and an immense king-size bed, en suite of course. Luxury it may be but considering that I will be camping more often than not as I proceed to climb higher and higher, I will take two nights of this for now.

Mid afternoon, showered and fed, I go out for a walk to explore and bird. The hotel is built upon the flood plain of a river and the area is an expanse of stony plateau with adjacent agricultural orchards, corn or cactus crops with a couple of closed down camping spots. Birds are few yet there are enough to keep one alert. An Oasis Hummingbird is new and is feeding on some flowers that are beneath the lowest branches of some tall eucalyptus trees and is in shadow. Monarch butterflies are flying around in small numbers. I wonder of these ones are migrating north?

Over the hill tops to east a white phase Variable Hawk flies over quite high. The hills on all sides are magnificent and rise a few thousand feet higher than the river terrain. A small flock of birds feeding on plants near a smashed household, a sign of the power of the river at some time of the year, includes Rufous-collared Sparrows, Hooded Siskins and Band-tailed Seedeaters. Strangely enough this is only flock of small birds of these species I see.

After being chased off one particular derelict camping area by two fiercely barking dogs, the riverside has some twelve foot tall reeds and willow-like trees.

As usual Vermilion Flycatchers are within the trees and two Dusky-headed Flycatchers. Pishing, the silly sounds one makes that seem to make some birds show themselves with curiosity, works here by bringing a number of Southern Beardless Tyrannulets close to me.

Now having not seen any other hummingbird species at Chalacayo other than Amazilias, I will be honest and say that I was getting worried over not seeing Peruvian Sheartails. I needn't have worried as they are common here. They include males with two beautiful, long tail plumes of white, tipped with black. Such tiny birds but constantly on the move. Another common hummingbird here is the Sparkling Violetear. Much larger than the diminutive sheartail, the spectacular green hummer with brilliant blue belly and ear coverts, is found here amongst some tall plants with orange flowers, sharing the nectar with a number of Amazilia Hummingbirds. I stand amongst an area strewn with the popular flowers and have Amazilias and Violetears come to within a few feet of me.

Doves are everywhere with good numbers of Croaking and Bare-faced Ground Doves, Eared Doves and Western Peruvian. In fact doves of these species make up the majority of the birds seen. With eight new birds for the Green bird list, things are going tremendously well in every way.

Green Year list : 94 birds average new birds to list per day : 4.95 birds

Distance cycled : 15.19 elevation up : 2671 feet, down 397 feet altitude : 4445 feet

Thursday, 19 April 2018

A Day Birding in Chaclacayo. Day 18 Biking Birder IV - Peru 2018

Hello again! That is hello if you have been here before. If you are new to my blog then please take your time to read and hopefully enjoy it. Please follow me using the box to the right.

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or via my personal Facebook page :

https://www.facebook.com/gary.prescott.92

I am trying to raise money for two charities and obviously I would love you to donate to them.

Please!

Birdlife International

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/bikingbirderperu2018

Chaskwasi-Manu Children's Project

http://www.chaskawasi-manu.org/en/donation-for-chaskawasi-manu-project/

April 18^th, 2018

Chaclacayo

Out early to try and get birding before the heat of the day, I am soon down by the river and heading downstream. Form atop the hill yesterday I noticed a well appointed housing estate for the well to do with a pond in the middle and so my aim is to search around there.

That plan is scuppered by security guards who say Privado and so I walk along the river's edge on the north side.

Croaking Ground Doves are very common here and five Great Egrets fly to the other side of the river. Scarlet red Vermilion Flycatchers and Bananaquits are in the trees, as is a Parrot-billed Seedeater, new for the Green Bird list and a male Collared Warbling Finch. Good looking birds the latter but difficult to photograph in the foliage.

Birds are few and far between in the shrubby vegetation and tall reeds of the riverside, other than Tropical Kingbirds, Vermilion Flycatchers and the 'seem to be everywhere' Croaking Ground Doves. The latter are such charming tiny doves and are becoming a favourite of mine.

A stop for a drink and snack allows a new bird to go onto the list as a family party of four Hooded Siskins land nearby.

At the western end of where I can access the riverside there are banana plantations, the trees looking so small compared to the size of the same in the Manu buffer zone. With a lack of birds I content myself with watching and photographing butterflies.

Back along the river to the initial bridge, I watch as workers load a lorry with boulders. Then it is back to the hostel and with the time being 2:00 p.m. It is time for an afternoon siesta.

On The Road Again . . .

Hello again! That is hello if you have been here before. If you are new to my blog then please take your time to read and hopefully enjoy it. Please follow me using the box to the right.

Thank you to Maria Hill for making a donation to Birdlife International.

https://www.facebook.com/bikingbirder2015/

or via my personal Facebook page :

https://www.facebook.com/gary.prescott.92

I am trying to raise money for two charities and obviously I would love you to donate to them.

Please!

Birdlife International

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/bikingbirderperu2018

Chaskwasi-Manu Children's Project

http://www.chaskawasi-manu.org/en/donation-for-chaskawasi-manu-project/

April 16^th, 2018

On the road at last

Hot, 28 Celsius, sunny with very little wind, if any

So the time has come to leave Lima, to leave my friends and start the lonely trek. The bike is packed. I would say it is packed. It has seventeen cuddly toys, The Lads & Lasses on it! Everything I think I will need is packed into the four panniers and the back rack holder. On top of this latter item there is a sleeping bag, a tent and an inflatable mattress. The front box mounted on the handlebars has tools and talcum powder for my poor feet.

The stitches from the nasty tooth extraction have been removed this morning and there is no excuse to delay other than procrastination. It is incredibly hot and the thought of Lima's traffic and unknown roads does tend to have one searching for any excuse not to start pedalling.

Staff from Mani and Katia's office come out to take photographs of the Mad Englishman, about to set off in the midday sun. Smiles, handshakes and the opening hatch, as of Avatar's craft arrival or Saving Private Ryan's landing craft opening, and I am on the bike cycling along quiet, tree-lined roads.

Five miles later, after crossing major highways by pulling the too heavily laden bike up stairways to access bridges, the dual carriageway that is the planned route stops being just that and the next three miles has me negotiating packed streets and road works. Mamma Abuela, Manuel's wonderful Mother, had told me to be careful in this area of Lima. “Cycle through it and don't stop”, she had had said looking extremely worried. Now here I was with no road to cycle along, just a long slog of crowded streets.

I give the first cuddly toy away to a small boy who looks bemused but whose Mother gives such a delighted face at the gift that I understand exactly why I love to do such things. Goodbye Sam the dog, a rucksack, now with a better owner than someone who would have him suffering the heat from on front of a bicycle.

The road, once it becomes free of the extensive roadworks, is straight and very busy. Almost constant car horns blast as cars, buses and large lorries all head the same way as me. The road is constantly but steadily uphill, a slight incline means that my calves receive the exercise they have lacked recently.

I stop at a hostel late afternoon, Sunset Hostel, which has a poster saying rooms are 20, 25 or 30 Soles; about £7.50 for the most expensive room. I take one after the bike is stowed away in the family owner's kitchen and find a basic room with en-suite shower and seat-less toilet. A large double bed is overlooked by a large flatscreen TV, a fan that works and a large mirror. Something tells me that the clientele of this particular establishment have things other than sleep on their minds!

An advert for sex TV channels attached to the Wifi code for the hostel seems to confirm suspicions.

12.72 miles 1,055 feet ascent 39 feet descent Actual elevation 1,351 feet

17^th April, 2018

Very hot, cloudless and windless

Up and out early, the cycle to the next town, the first place where I will be stopping to bird the area, Chaclacayo, seems to pass by extremely quickly.

A stop at a service station for coffee helps break up the nine mile uphill trek in the early morning heat. How come sweat pours out of one once inside a air-conditioned environment. Rose, the lady behind the counter, is amused at the bike's occupants and makes a superb creamy cup of coffee and presents it in a large paper cup and all for less than an English pound. No plastic tops to waste here. Horrific to see Starbucks in the news for having two black men arrested for doing nothing in Philadelphia, USA.

I find a hostel in Chaclacayo, one that is twice as expensive than last night's salacious abode coming in at sixty five Soles. I book for two nights and wheel the bike into my beautiful double room. Same arrangement as last night's room but better quality and there is a toilet seat. This has a banner on it saying 'disinfected.' It'll doo!

Still earlyish, mid-morning in fact, I head off to explore the hills to the north. I notice that a zig-zag road ascends the dry, dusty, stony hills and decide that that is where I will go. I don't know why but whenever I see hills I have the urge to climb them. I cross a large, noisy river and find some waste ground beside the road that has a few butterflies on scrubby flowers and a family of six Groove-billed Anis. Two dogs make me feel unwelcome and dust kicked in their direction tells them that bare teeth aren't welcome either.

Through a steep-sided village and along the dirt track road, I ascend the hill and see exactly no birds other than the occasional feral pigeon and Black Vulture. A couple of small lizards are on the rocks and the road has no vegetation, no grass, no flowers just stunted and dry pine trees and ubiquitous Eucalyptus.

The views of the valley are long and smoggy and the road eventually is barred by a large barb-wire topped gate with Privado signs. Beyond is a pipeline leading into a hydro electric power station far below.

I walk down again after sitting and contemplating and stop at a dirty water tank which has some flowers and vegetation. Butterflies, dragonflies and a couple Southern Beardless Tyrannulets are here and a small lizard hunting along a bushes twigs. A bird new for the Green year list, a Collared Warbling Finch is in a small tree.