Lima Birding Tours: Lomas de Lachay

Located in one of the driest deserts in the world, the Lomas de Lachay Reserve has a truly unique ecosystem whose principal source of moisture is fog from the ocean. The reserve support severe drought conditions in summer (December to May) and enjoy the moisture from heavy fog in the winter (June to November). The humid conditions during the wet season allows the extraordinary growth of seasonal vegetation and even small patches of forest in the area. Four endemic birds can be found in this reserve, Coastal Miner, Thick-billed Miner, Raimondi’s Yellow-finch and Cactus Canastero.

We depart early in the morning towards Lomas de Lachay located 100 km (65 miles) north of Lima. On the way to the reserve we will scan the agricultural fields looking for Peruvian Thick-knees. After scoring this bird we enter the reserve, the landscape in this area looks pretty desertic, but this is the habitat of the endemic Coastal Miner and Least Seedsnipe.

Further on we will notice how the vegetation starts to appear on both sides along the road. Birds like the uncommon austral migrant Tawny-throated Dotterel, Yellowish Pipits, Burrowing Owls and Peruvian Meadowlarks prefer this open habitat with low vegetation. We will pay attention to the raptors here, as the Variable Hawks and Black-chested Buzzard-Eagles constantly soars above these plains. 

Once we enter the main part of the reserve the landscape changes dramatically, mountains covered with dense vegetation and trees growing along the creeks, it’s hard to imagine that the desert is only a couple of miles away. The trees in this valley are the place to look for the auricularis subspecies of Masked Yellowthroat, sometimes considered a separate species called Black-lored Yellowthroat. 

We’ll walk along a trail to a waterhole where flocks of birds gather together to drink as this is the only permanent water source in the reserve. It’s not uncommon to see Andean Tinamous crossing the trail in this area early in the morning. Along the trail to the waterhole we can observe species like Mountain Parakeets, Peruvian Sheartail, Oasis Hummingbird, Band-tailed Sierra-finch, Collared Warbling-finch and the endemic Raimondi’s Yellow-finch. 

After walking these trails we’ll drive to Quebrada Guayabito located on the dry side of the reserve. This area is home to the endemic Cactus Canastero and also Short-tailed Field Tyrant and Grayish Miner. 

• Transportation from your hotel or the airport to the localities mentioned in the tour description
  
• Professional birding guide
  
• Entrance tickets to the Lomas de Lachay National Reserve
  
• Box lunch at Lomas de Lachay

The first extensions option, for an additional fee, allows us to stop on the way back to Lima on a local conservation area called Ventanilla Marshes. We recommend to make this optional visit to the birders that haven’t visit similar habitats like the Villa Marshes in Lima or to people that have missed some of the species that lives in that area. Here we can see species like Many-colored Rush-tyrant, Wren-like Rushbird, Great Grebe, Black Skimmers, White-tufted Grebe (hard to see at Villa Marshes but common here), Plumbeous Rail, Gray-hooded Gull, and Puna Ibis. With some luck we can find a rare subspecies of Black Rail. Some migrant shorebirds favor this reserve during migration season like Stilt, Pectoral, Western, Least and Semipalmated Sandpipers. 

The second extension option makes this trip a two-day trip. Instead of returining to Lima, we will explore Lachay until sunset, and then drive north to the town of Caral, where we will sleep on a nice hotel. The following morning, we will visit the Medio Mundo Marshes, that usually produce all the birds mentioned in the Ventanilla Marshes, plus a couple of rarer species such as Chilean Flamingo and Short-eared Owl. After birding in the morning, we will go to the Caral Archeological site, the oldest civilization known in America. We will explore the ruins of this 5,000 year old city, while we see birds like Coastal Miner, Peruvian Thick-knee, Burrowing Owl and Variable Hawk.
We will then have lunch on a local restaurant, and drive back to Lima. Along the way, we can stop at a series of spots to search for any birds we might have missed. 

Click here to download the PDF file for this tour!