Birds of the Wetlands

The Peruvian coast possesses eleven areas of wetlands that form a great biological corridor from Tumbes to Tacna - a rosary of oases in the arid desert which for centuries have been the sanctuaries of thousands of birds, many of them now endangered as climate change and the encroachment of modernity threaten their fragile existence. 

Text: Iván Reyna Ramos
Photos: Alejandro Tello Guevara

In the far north of Peru we find the mangroves of Tumbes, a state-protected area of coastal forest which is one of the most productive ecosystems on the planet and home to crab and shellfish fishermen and an infinite number of birds that fill the air and the treetops. 

In Piura, San Pedro is the southernmost mangrove forest on the continent, and here the local authorities, with the support of environmental groups, are developing conservation measures for this important ecosystem. Piura is also home to other important areas of wetlands: the Virrilá Estuary, where the sea uses an old tributary of the Piura River to reach more than 30 kilometres inland, creating a home for the most important flock of Chilean flamingos (Phoenicopterus chilensis) on the Peruvian coast; and the Ramón and Ñapique lakes, in the heart of the Sechura desert.

Influx of Birds 
For the team from the Project for the Conservation and Sustainable Management of the Central Coast Wetlands (PROCOMHCC) of the NGO Terra Nuova, preserving the wetlands from Huacho to Cañete (Medio Mundo, Paraíso, Pantanos de Villa and Puerto Viejo) is a priority task and to that end they are coordinating with local councils, universities and artisans to protect the nature and culture of these areas with the participation of the inhabitants themselves. 

The Medio Mundo Lagoon (Huacho), with its important biodiversity, is in danger of sliding into ecological imbalance because of the growing number of poultry farms that surround it. Juan Espinoza, president of the local River Forests Management Committee, warns that locals are "worried about the pollution, garbage and population growth". 

Lake Paraíso, just a stone's throw from Huacho, is (in biological terms) the most important wetland on the central coast. It is home to more than 125 species of birds, of which ten species are endemic to the region. More than 20,000 migratory birds delight birdwatchers. Great flocks of Chilean flamingos can be seen and last year the Desert Refuges project counted 7,000 migratory gulls in just one season. 

Villa
At El Paraíso attention is focused on the Peruvian tern (Sterna lorata), which was described recently by Birdlife International as in danger of extinction. Alejandro Tello, a nature photographer and the head of the Desert Refuges project, says that the tern "is a bird which merits special attention because it is the only species that reproduces in the coastal deserts, on sand. Groups of terns can still be spotted in Paracas and at Paraíso, including chicks and juveniles and we must work to protect their habitat from the impact of humans". 

The Ventanilla wetands in Callao, which cover an area of 366 hectares, are fed principally by the Chillón River and comprise 12 lakes that are home to 62 species of birds. 

Pantanos de Villa, in the Lima district of Chorrillos, covers 396 hectares where more than 150 bird species can be observed, of which 70 are migratory. Pantanos de Villa has been recognised as a priority site by the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. As part of the Rimac River watershed, it has a stable water table, but in the opinion of Omar Ubillús, the Pantanos de Villa Reserved Zone's director, the site "requires the formal categorisation of Wildlife Refuge in order to better control its use". And he went on to say, "Thirty years ago, the Pantanos covered a thousand hectares, from Morro Solar to Lomo de Corvina, but they disappeared because of pollution and urbanisation". Also, the recent fire (arson, according to some sections of the press) altered the habitat by destroying reed beds and burning nesting sites. 

Continuing south, in Puerto Viejo we bumped into twelve year-old José Paico, a student at the Alejandro Camacho primary school in San Antonio, who told us: "I have been studying and visiting this place for three years with my teachers. I like to draw from nature and I dream of being a biologist to protect the wetlands in my country". The wetlands of Puerto Viejo, recently declared a Lima Region Reserved Zone, have suffered under the impact of urban development and abandonment by the state. 

Southern Refuges
The Paracas National Reserve is also a Ramsar site, and it is home to 335,000 hectares of important ecosystems and wetlands with aquatic species and migratory birds. Paracas has a large area of tidal wetlands in its bay and within the Paracas National Reserve itself are the San Andrés wetlands in Pisco. 

The next stop for migratory birds is the vital Mejía Lakes National Sanctuary in Arequipa, also a Ramsar site. This area receives visitors from the south as well as from the Galapagos Islands. The Ite lakes, in Tacna, are the southernmost wetlands of the Peruvian coast's biological corridor. From here birds must fly another 1,500 km before finding another refuge. Thankfully, they know nothing of international borders.

Birds Without Frontiers
The circuit followed by most migratory birds runs from north to south, from the tundra of the northern United States and Canada as far as Tierra del Fuego. They pass along Peru's coasts in November and return in April. One case in point is the Arctic black-bellied plover (Pluvialis squatarola), which flies some 20,000 kilometres each year from the sub-Arctic wastes of North America to Patagonia and then back again, making it a record-breaker among migratory species. 

Some birds migrate from south to north, such as the grey gull (Larus modestus). Some species also migrate from the Andes to the coast, like the puna ibis (Plegadis ridgwayi), the Chilean flamingo and the puna teal (Anas puna).

The following species are just some of the migratory species that visit us from November to April: osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Franklin's gull (Larus pipixcan), Royal tern (Sterna elegans), black skimmer (Rynchops niger), spotted sandpiper (Actitis macularia), whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus), Wilson's Phalarope (Phalaropus tricolor).

Central Coast Wetlands Report: 

• In 2004 at Paraíso wetlands groups of Peruvian terns (Sterna lorata) were spotted with young. Reports are regular in the area. (A. Tello, G. Engblom / 6th National Ornithological Congress, 2005).

• The Regional Government of Lima has ordered that ecosystems such as the Puerto Viejo wetlands and Paraíso be protected. 

• Unusual species have been recorded recently, including the yellow-crowned night heron (Nyctanassa violacea) at Pantanos de Villa and the wood stork (Mycteria americana) at Puerto Viejo.

• Usually seen in the summer months, the laughing gull (Larus atricilla) has been seen nesting at Pantanos de Villa. 

• In the most recent evaluation at Paraiso in June, the unusual presence of migratory species from North America was recorded. Species spotted included: Marbled godwit, Hudsonian godwit, Whimbrels, Turnstones, Surfbirds and even Arctic terns on their marathon journey.

Source: Yanavico / Desert Refuges. 

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