For my penultimate day in Peru, and last full day, we concentrated our efforts in the vegeatated hills of Lomas de Asia, the same reserve we visited the previous afternoon. However the reserve does not open until 08:00, or so said google, so we had chance to look through some of the scrub and agricultural habitats nearby first. This yielded a few new birds for the trip list, such as Pacific Parrotlet and Chestnut-throated Seedeater, but did not produce the day-roosting Tschudis Nightjar that we had hoped. After an hour or so searching we continued on our way to the reserve.
When we arrived at the Lomas de Asia, the gate still appeared closed, but fortunately it was staffed (not what we had expected) and we were able to drive in and park up in the reserve itself. We then headed off up the trail to the top of the mountain to try and find the Raimondis Yellow Finch, one of the last target birds we wanted to find on our itinerary. Sadly it did not come to pass, as despite spending a good few hours exploring the various montane valleys, we failed to find any.
That is not to say the day was a write-off. While the effort put in should have yielded more rewards, the birding was not bad. I managed two new species; Collared Warbling Finch and Dusky-faced Ground-Tyrant, which were both uncommon around the site. Mountain Parakeet was an unexpected bonus, and it was nice to see displaying Vermillion Flycatchers in the areas with more trees.
The non-Avian wildlife was also good, with multiple Mountain Vischatchas jumping around the rockier areas, and early morning a Culpeo fox was warming itself up on the rocky cliffs. By mid-afternoon however we were exhausted from the day wandering around the site, and decided to head back to the hotel for a rest, a wash and to pack. Tomorrow I will leave Peru in the evening, giving us a morning for one final chance to find some new birds for the trip list.
Lomas de Asia: Feral Pigeon, Croaking Ground Dove, West Peruvian Dove, Eared Dove, Groove-billed Ani, Purple-collared Woodstar, Amazilia Hummingbird, Peruvian Thick-knee, Turkey Vulture, Variable Hawk, Black-chested Buzzard-Eagle, Burrowing Owl, American Kestrel, Aplomado Falcon, Mountain Parakeet, Pacific Parrotlet, Thick-billed Miner, Vermilion Flycatcher, Spot-billed Ground Tyrant, Dark-faced Ground Tyrant, Blue-and-white Swallow, House Wren, Long-tailed Mockingbird, House Sparrow, Peruvian Pipit, Hooded Siskin, Rufous-collared Sparrow, Peruvian Meadowlark, Scrub Blackbird, Cinereous Conebill, Band-tailed Sierra Finch, Collared Warbling Finch, Grassland Yellow Finch, Blue-black Grassquit, Chestnut-throated Seedeater,
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