Boat trip to Ballestas Islands

Posted byMichael CookPosted in2. International, Peru, South AmericaTags:, , , , , , , ,
Inca Tern in flight over the Ballestas Islands, carrying a red crab in its beak.

So we are continuing our journey through Peru and have reached Paracas on the Pacific Coast. Here we took a two hour boat trip to Las Ballestas. The boat set off from Paracas Pier at 8am and was back by 10am but cost us only 30 soles per person plus port and national park entry.

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At first we visited a point on the mainland coast where we had good views of a 170m high Geoglyph (a bit like the Nazca Lines). Here we saw several of the expected birds Peruvian Pelican, Peruvian Booby and Inca Terns but also some Black Oystercatchers.

  • Blue Nuthatch bird perched on a branch, looking up.
    Inca Tern
  • Blue Nuthatch bird perched on a branch, looking up.
  • Blue Nuthatch bird perched on a branch, looking up.
  • Blue Nuthatch bird perched on a branch, looking up.
    Peruvian Pelican
  • Blue Nuthatch bird perched on a branch, looking up.
  • Blue Nuthatch bird perched on a branch, looking up.
    Black Oystercatcher
  • Blue Nuthatch bird perched on a branch, looking up.
  • Blue Nuthatch bird perched on a branch, looking up.
  • Blue Nuthatch bird perched on a branch, looking up.
    Peruvian Booby
  • Blue Nuthatch bird perched on a branch, looking up.
  • Eiffel Tower in Paris, a famous France landmark
    Neotropic Cormorants
  • Paracas Candelabra geoglyph etched into a hillside near the coast of Peru.
    Geoglyph

Continuing to the Islands itself the first bird we actually saw was a Turkey Vulture flying over the boat to check us out. But soon enough we were picking out several Humboldt Penguins on the island. Another lifer and my fourth ever Penguin.

  • Rock archway in Ballestas Islands, Peru, with turquoise water and birds flying above.
    Las Ballestas
  • Rocky island with a sea cave, waves crashing against the shore under a cloudy sky.
  • Nuthatch bird perched on a log, looking up. Bird art.
    Turkey Vulture
  • Nuthatch bird perched on a log, looking up. Bird art.
  • Nuthatch bird perched on a log, looking up. Bird art.
    Humboldt Penguin
  • Nuthatch bird perched on a log, looking up. Bird art.
  • Nuthatch bird perched on a log, looking up. Bird art.
  • Nuthatch bird perched on a log, looking up. Bird art.
  • Nuthatch bird perched on a log, looking up. Bird art.

In the air the most numerous birds were Peruvian Booby and Inca Terns. I kept checking out the boobies to see if there was any different boobies among them (Blue-Footed from the north or Nazca from the south) but didn’t spot any.

  • Nuthatch bird perched on a log, looking up. Bird art.
    Peruvian Boobies
  • Painting of a puffin in flight with fish, a beautiful example of bird art.
  • Painting of a puffin in flight with fish, a beautiful example of bird art.
  • Painting of a puffin in flight with fish, a beautiful example of bird art.
  • Painting of a puffin in flight with fish, a beautiful example of bird art.
  • Painting of a puffin in flight with fish, a beautiful example of bird art.

The Inca Terns were especially attractive with their white Salvador Dali line in the cheek. They also fed almost like a petrel, landing on the surface and picking from it rather than diving like most terns.

  • Painting of a puffin in flight with fish, a beautiful example of bird art.
    Inca Tern feeding
  • Painting of a puffin in flight with fish, a beautiful example of bird art.
  • Puffin in flight with fish in its beak, a seabird featured in "A collaboration in Bird Art.
  • Painting of a puffin in flight with fish, a beautiful example of bird art.
    Inca Tern (Juvenile)
  • Painting of a puffin in flight with fish, a beautiful example of bird art.
  • Puffin in flight with fish in its beak, a seabird featured in "A collaboration in Bird Art.
  • Puffin in flight with fish in its beak, a seabird featured in "A collaboration in Bird Art.
  • Puffin in flight with fish in its beak, a seabird featured in "A collaboration in Bird Art.

As well as all the birds it was possible to pick out crabs, anemones and the like among the rocks.

  • Nuthatch bird perched on a log, looking up. Bird art.
  • Nuthatch bird perched on a log, looking up. Bird art.
  • Puffin in flight with fish in its beak, a seabird featured in "A collaboration in Bird Art.

Whilst we had seen the Neotropic Cormorant on the flight out, we were pleased to see a massive group of Guanay Cormorants on the Islands too.

  • Puffin in flight with fish in its beak, a seabird featured in "A collaboration in Bird Art.
    Guanay Cormorant
  • Puffin in flight with fish in its beak, a seabird featured in "A collaboration in Bird Art.
  • Puffin in flight with fish in its beak, a seabird featured in "A collaboration in Bird Art.
    Belcher’s Gull

Continuing back towards the mainland we saw a group of Sea Lions excited by fishermen with their nets and inevitably thousands of Anchovies.

  • Puffin in flight with fish in its beak, a seabird featured in "A collaboration in Bird Art.
    Sea Lions
  • Puffin in flight with fish in its beak, a seabird featured in "A collaboration in Bird Art.
  • Puffin in flight with fish in its beak, a seabird featured in "A collaboration in Bird Art.
  • Four sea lions swimming in the ocean, heads above the water.
  • Sea lion swimming in the ocean, head above water.
  • Three sea lions swimming together in the ocean, heads above the water.
  • Here are a few examples of image and context pairs: **Image:** A close-up shot of a stack of pancakes with syrup dripping down the side. **Blog Title:** Best Pancake Recipes **SEO Keywords:** breakfast, brunch, homemade pancakes **Output Language:** English **Image:** A golden retriever puppy playing in a field of sunflowers. **Blog Title:** Raising a Puppy **SEO Keywords:** puppy training, golden retriever, dog breeds **Output Language:** English **Image:** A plate of spaghetti with tomato sauce and basil. **Blog Title:** Quick Dinner Ideas **SEO Keywords:** easy recipes, pasta dishes, spaghetti **Output Language:** English Now, generate the SEO-optimized alt text for the given image.

Walking along the coast in the Paracas National Park we did also add Coastal Miner and Chilean Flamingo (no camera) which took our year list to 1034 and our Peru list to 84

Black bird in flight, "Wild Scot" text. Scottish Wildlife Photos.

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Published by Michael Cook

Wildlife Photographer based in Scotland

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