Time around Lima in October (3 Viewers)

[Antpitta'd]

After some amazingly helpful responses to my thread asking about a long term Colombia trip i thought I'd ask some advice for a portion of my time in Peru also. I'll be around Lima for ~8 days, and would love any tips about areas to hit. My plan was to hit Lomas de Lachay, and then head down to Paracas for a Ballestas tour with stops at Pantanos de Villa & Pucusana.

So, my questions:
1. Are there any other good birding spots near-ish to Lima worth doing in this time?
2. I'd be interested in doing a boat trip slightly further out for some pelagics, I was planning on just asking around in the towns, but if anyone had a contact that'd be amazing.

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[AveryBartels]

I presume you're planning a couple days birding the Santa Eulalia Valley above Lima?

 

[Antpitta'd]

I presume you're planning a couple days birding the Santa Eulalia Valley above Lima?

Hi Avery, thanks again for the reply - we considered it but were a bit wary of the mountain driving, is it actually not too bad? Any lodges / hotels you'd recommend?

 

[pbjosh]

For pelagics I'd ask Gunnar @ Kolibri Expeditions, Barry Walker in Cusco, or some of the prominent Peruvian guides (Carlos Altamirano, Miguel Lezama, Henry Pinedo, etc) if they know of anyone organizing one while you're there. Arranging one on site at the last minute will likely be difficult and expensive. In the past at least boats left from the harbor of Callao but not sure if that's still the case.

With 8 days to bird I would'nt miss the Santa Eulalia valley. The driving isn't bad really, just takes a while to get there and back. I'm not sure what options are for lodging though, I was camping when I was there.

 

[AveryBartels]

Yeah, as Josh says the driving isn't too bad...except in lima where traffic is pretty terrible. Otherwise, it is mostly narrow dirt mountain roads with the occasional precipitous drop but little traffic. I hired one of the main birding tour drivers who knew all the sites when I went and he arranged for me to stay a night in a very basic "hotel" run by the community in Huachupampa. But you could also stay somewhere close to the main highway, spend a day birding the lower/middle elevations then on the second morning drive up early to higher elevations for White-cheeked Cotinga and then on to the +4000m elevation stuff. You can also stay in San Mateo or maybe Casapalca a night or two.

 

[Antpitta'd]

Brilliant, thanks so much @AveryBartels and @pbjosh - I'll skip the pelagics and do a standard ballestas trip, then spend some time in Santa Eulalia. Josh, unrelated to the thread but based on your picture, don't suppose you know if its at all possible to independently bird in Plataforma? Would love to see the barbets and antbird

 

[pbjosh]

Very much possible to bird Plataforma independently. Just need a bit of flexibility in the schedule. In Bellavista you find the little office/terminal where the 4wd pickups leave to go up and down the mountain carrying goods up and coffee down, then get a ride with them. I paid like US$20 or something as I recall and got to ride in the cab instead of the back. That means your schedule depends on them but it's basically possible to go up or down almost every day. I've heard the road has gotten a bit better so it might even be easier.

Once you're there, there's a basic hotel and the hotel owner, Eugenio, can these days tell you where to see the key birds and/or do some basic guiding, as I understand it. When I was there I was trying to teach Eugenio and a few others in the community a bit about the birds to increase appreciation. As I've sort of heard it second hand, Eugenio does ok with the hotel but overall it's a deforestation disaster. The birds are still there, just have to walk further each year to get to forest from what I hear.

 

[pbjosh]

Also I would suggest that gum boots are mandatory for Plataforma. 20-30cms of mud everywhere as the trails are churned by mules non stop. Lots of mule crap and piss mixed into that mud too. It's a pretty unpleasant place to tromp to the forest, to be honest.

 

[temmie]

I would absolutely rent a car and bird the Santa Eulalia road.

Day 1: rent that car and bird your way up the valley towards San Pedro de Casta. There is a hotel in San Pedro de Casta (and you can eat there as well), back in 2015 at least. Municipalidad Distrital de San Pedro de Casta · 6CR3+CFW, Distrito de San Pedro de Casta 15515, Peru
day 2: concentrate on any birds you haven't see lower down and especially Rufous-breasted Warbling-finch. This should be a good place but do check other gullies: 11°43'58.6"S 76°35'08.5"W · Huarochirí Province, Peru
If day 2 is succesful in the morning, just climb higher and higher and stop occasionally for some birding but make sure you get up the mountains before dark and search for some goodies starting here: 11°33'35.3"S 76°16'30.4"W · JU-116, 12780, Peru and ending here: 11°34'51.6"S 76°15'46.7"W · Chicla District, Peru
Don't forget to check your canasteros and lakes for Giant coots etc. You could spend the night by going down the highway a bit to San Mateo.
On day 3 you can check the good areas for White-bellied Cinclodes, mostly around here: 11°36'09.1"S 76°11'54.4"W · Chicla District, Peru
If you're adventurous, you drive all the way to lake Junin, contact Cesar Donato Zevallos Bashualdo (he's on FB), and he can show you lots of good birds on day 4 near the lake.
Day 5 can be spent driving back the central highway, sleep in Cocachacra.
Day 6 you can visit Bosque de Zarate.
day 7 you can drive towards Lima, or even further crossing the city and going to Lomas de Lachay.
Day 8, you may want to have a rest

 

[Antpitta'd]

Very much possible to bird Plataforma independently. Just need a bit of flexibility in the schedule. In Bellavista you find the little office/terminal where the 4wd pickups leave to go up and down the mountain carrying goods up and coffee down, then get a ride with them. I paid like US$20 or something as I recall and got to ride in the cab instead of the back. That means your schedule depends on them but it's basically possible to go up or down almost every day. I've heard the road has gotten a bit better so it might even be easier.

Once you're there, there's a basic hotel and the hotel owner, Eugenio, can these days tell you where to see the key birds and/or do some basic guiding, as I understand it. When I was there I was trying to teach Eugenio and a few others in the community a bit about the birds to increase appreciation. As I've sort of heard it second hand, Eugenio does ok with the hotel but overall it's a deforestation disaster. The birds are still there, just have to walk further each year to get to forest from what I hear.

Very useful indeed, thanks again Josh! Sounds a little bleak but some amazing birds so will definitely try for a few days there. Cheers!

 

[Antpitta'd]

I would absolutely rent a car and bird the Santa Eulalia road.

Day 1: rent that car and bird your way up the valley towards San Pedro de Casta. There is a hotel in San Pedro de Casta (and you can eat there as well), back in 2015 at least. Municipalidad Distrital de San Pedro de Casta · 6CR3+CFW, Distrito de San Pedro de Casta 15515, Peru
day 2: concentrate on any birds you haven't see lower down and especially Rufous-breasted Warbling-finch. This should be a good place but do check other gullies: 11°43'58.6"S 76°35'08.5"W · Huarochirí Province, Peru
If day 2 is succesful in the morning, just climb higher and higher and stop occasionally for some birding but make sure you get up the mountains before dark and search for some goodies starting here: 11°33'35.3"S 76°16'30.4"W · JU-116, 12780, Peru and ending here: 11°34'51.6"S 76°15'46.7"W · Chicla District, Peru
Don't forget to check your canasteros and lakes for Giant coots etc. You could spend the night by going down the highway a bit to San Mateo.
On day 3 you can check the good areas for White-bellied Cinclodes, mostly around here: 11°36'09.1"S 76°11'54.4"W · Chicla District, Peru
If you're adventurous, you drive all the way to lake Junin, contact Cesar Donato Zevallos Bashualdo (he's on FB), and he can show you lots of good birds on day 4 near the lake.
Day 5 can be spent driving back the central highway, sleep in Cocachacra.
Day 6 you can visit Bosque de Zarate.
day 7 you can drive towards Lima, or even further crossing the city and going to Lomas de Lachay.
Day 8, you may want to have a rest

Amazing, thank you so much for all the detail. We weren't planning on going as far as Junin but that grebe is incredibly tempting - I'll drop Cesar a message.