Saturday, February 14, 2015

Ite wetlands, Tacna III - Flamencos

Chilean Flamenco now breeds in Ite. It is the only costal Lagoon where this species breed. All three species of Flamencos are observed in the lagoons, something that makes Ite quite special. In Mejia there are also observations of all three species of Flamencos, but the last years Ite have more observations of Puna and Andean Flamenco than any other costal Lagoon.

 Chilean Flamenco
Chilean Flamenco

 Chilean and Puna Flamenco
 Chilean (right) and Puna (left) Flamenco
 Puna Flamenco

Puna Flamenco

Ite wetlands, Tacna II

 The largest Lagoon teemed with Ducks, Coots, Cormorants, Herons and Grebes
Neotropic Cormorant
Puna Ibis                 
 Grey-hooded Gull (abowe and below)

 Black Skimmer
 Great Grebe, was not common 10 years ago. Now quite common.
Tricolored Heron, not common in Southern-Peru, but I have observed this species in Ite since 1996.

Saturday, February 7, 2015

Ite wetlands, Tacna

Ite has some of the qualities of Mejia. I had my first trip to this wetland back in 1997. Also back in 1997 and 1998, during my first trips, I observed a lot of Ducks and Shorebirds in the area. But during this short visit (27.06.13) I was surprised to find really high numbers of Coots, Ducks, Flamencos and Grebes in the area. Then next entrance I will dedicate to Ite wetlands. This first entry contains birds seen in the Southern part of the Lagoons.
 Black-faced Ibis, a scarce breeder i  Southern-Peru.

 Blcak-chested Buzzard-Eagle
 Greater Yellowlegs
 Greater Yellowleg and White-backed Stilt (above), and Peruvian Martin, one of the specialities (below).

In Peru once again. Tacna our first stop.

In 2013 we had the possibility to visit Peru three weeks. One of the main targets was to meet our friends, but also to see the places we lived. We also managed to visit some of the places were I used to look at birds, and also some places I have never done any birding before. To families traveled together, and with to birdwatchers in the group, we stopped frequently. The whole trip started in Tacna where we lived almost five years (1996-2000). In the city we saw some common bird species. The first day with some specialities we had during a short trip to Calientes above the town.
 Groove-billed Ani, Calientes.
 I would appreciate any help with this Butterflies, all of them from Tacna.