Peru's Spectacular Desert Coast; Paracas and the Ballestas Isles

For most of us, there is something truly remarkable about a desert running right to a coastline. It happens on the west coasts of all three southern vegetated continents, but perhaps nowhere as dramatically as in northern Chile and southern Peru, where a thousand kilometres of sea-coast meets the mighty Atacama Desert, the driest unfrozen desert on earth. Except for the occasional river valley, there is no plant life here. A relatively easy way to be introduced to it is around the Paracas Peninsula and small resort town of the same name, just 240km by highway south of Lima. This is about the northern limit of the recognised Atacama, though the very arid coast continues way to the north. (A more 'purist' definition would limit the Atacama to northern Chile.)

Paracas from the air, huddled along the shore with the harsh desert stretching out of sight beyond.
(The tinted windows - of the small plane which took us over the Nazca Lines - have robbed the scene of
its characteristic rusty red.)

The reason the desert is here is the presence of the cold Humboldt Current along the coast. This cold water dramatically (and in some Chilean areas totally) suppresses evaporation. It wells up from the deep and brings with it nutrient-rich waters which support hugely rich marine life (and supports the world's richest human fishery).

For the naturalist there are three main reasons for coming here. Best-known is the wonderful and enigmatic Nazca Lines, the vast geoglyphs, some of which are hundreds of metres across, scattered across some 80km of desert. Many depict recognisable animals, created by laboriously moving red desert pebbles to reveal the pale soil beneath. For more on this marvel of the earth, see here. The other two sites are featured today, both part of the Paracas National Reserve, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Part of the mainland section of the reserve is readily accessible on the coast just out of the town, though most of it is out of reach in the desert expanses. The teeming Ballestas Islands are, obviously, only attainable by boat. 

The National Reserve protects more than 330,000ha of desert, ocean and islands. It was declared in 1975, making it Peru's oldest marine reserve, and has since been expanded significantly. 

Looking across the bay to Paracas with a dense flock of Black Skimmers Rynchops niger and a few
Chilean Flamingos Phoenicopterus chilensis. (And I can't help it if these were in Peru!)

Just because there's no such thing as too many flamingos!
(For more on the South American flamingos see here.)

 A drive along this coastline gives a good introduction to other seabirds too. 

Baird's Sandpiper Calidris bairdii, a tiny wader, breeds in the Arctic and winters in South America.

Elegant Terns Thalasseus elegans also breed in North America (though not as far north as the sandpiper) and escape
the cold in South America. Grey-headed Gulls Chroicocephalus cirrocephalus stay in South America all year round.
(They are also widespread on southern African coasts.)

They really are very handsome gulls; these were hanging out by the hotel pool.

Ruddy Turnstones Arenaria interpres are also migrants, found on most of the world's beaches.

The huge numbers of Peruvian Pelicans Pelecanus thagus give a good idea of the richness of the waters.

At a well-known local site we can walk, which gives a feel of the desert landscape, and see 36 million year old fossil shells by the track.

Turritella woodsi.

The desert flowing into the sea.

A massive salt flat towards the end of the walk.

Snowy Plover Charadrius nivosus, which breeds locally and stays here year-round.

Coastal Miner Geositta peruviana is a much sought-after bird, being found only in coastal Peru.

But an even more memorable part of our stay was the boat trip, about an hour's ride to the three islands of the Islas Ballestas. In terms of sheer numbers of seabirds it was truly remarkable.

Approaching the Islas Ballestas.

The first part of the trip, along the coast, gave another view of the stark desert coastline.

It is hard to come to terms with the fact that this land is too dry for any plants at all to establish themselves.

It also provided a view of the mysterious Paracas Candelabra, a huge 180 metre high geoglyph cut 60cm into the surface of the peninsula and edged with stones, dating back apparently 2200 years to the time of the Paracas culture.

Any speculation as to its original purpose must remain just speculation.
It is a dramatic spectacle however.

But soon the main performance began, and kept going while we were on the water. Unimaginable numbers of seabirds - primarily cormorants and boobies - flew past us constantly, heading for the rich fishing grounds and the safety of the rocky breeding and roosting sites on the Ballesta s. The photos give some concept of the spectacle, but not of the sense of awe as the procession went on and on - we must have watched tens of thousands of birds, especially the handsome Guanay Cormorants, flying past us.

Guanay Cormorants Leucocarbo bougainvillii are big birds, found only on the west coast of
South America. Their breeding colonies supported the vast fertiliser industry, based on guano collecting,
which underpinned Peru's economy for decades in the 19th century.

Unbelievably, over 20 million tons were exported from Peru to Europe and North America from 1848–1875! Sadly they continued extracting all year round, even during breeding, so colonies collapsed. Long before them the Incas had extracted and distributed guano for agriculture; unlike their 19th century counterparts the Inca emperors strictly controlled the harvest and forbade disturbance of the colonies on pain of death. In 1909, Peru set up the State Guano Company to protect the industry and placed guards on colonies to protect them. They walled the colonies and built platforms to increase the breeding area. This enabled continuing extraction, but at a lower level. It is now collected only once a year or so, outside the breeding season. The industry was responsible for the first railway in Peru, and for the large numbers of Chinese Peruvians, whose ancestors came to work at the extraction after convicts, then Indian slaves, were no longer available to be exploited. 

One of the walls built to manage the colonies for guano extraction.

Infrastructure for the guano industry, appreciated by the birds.

Park headquarters on the islands - a lonely posting I'd imagine, but a fascinating one.
It's an imposing lump of a building too!

The crowds of birds on the islands, some nesting, plus the resultant noise and aroma, were breathtaking.

We slowly circumnavigated the islands, admiring the rugged rockscape setting, as well as the stars of the stage.

And finally here are some of the inhabitants from closer up.

Guanay Cormorants and Peruvian Boobies Sula variegata.

After the Guanay Cormorants, the Peruvian Boobies are the most significant guano producers.

They are a big bird, up to 75cm long. Like the Guanay Cormorant they are restricted to the Humboldt Current waters.

Peruvian Pelican Pelecanus thagus. Another South American west coaster and the third most prolific
guano producer, it is closely related to the Brown Pelican from further north in the Americas,
but can be twice its weight.

Blackish Oystercatcher Haematopus ater. Unlike the previous species, this shore-dweller
is found on both coasts of South America.

Belcher's (or Band-tailed) Gulls Larus belcheri, yet another Humboldt's Current specialist.

Humboldt's Penguins Spheniscus humboldti occur from central Chile to northern Peru where they
(along with the Galápagos Penguin) are the world's only tropical penguins.
This is only made possible by the cold Humboldt Current waters.

Inca Terns Larosterna inca, yet another Humboldt Current endemic. I think can it lay
valid claim to being the world's most beautiful tern. They are certainly the most striking.

Likewise I think that Red-legged Cormorants Phalacrocorax gaimardi, here nesting on the Ballestas Islands,
are the loveliest of their family. They are found coastally from the Peruvian tropics to the icy waters of Patagonia.

Sally Lightfoot Crabs Grapsus grapsus are found along the tropical Pacific coasts of the Americas.

South American Sea Lions Otaria flavescens lounge on the islands and haunt the fishing boats in the mainland harbours.

When we can finally travel again, please do seriously consider South America, and Peru should be one of your top priorities. We probably think mostly of the Andes (Machu Picchu, Lake Titicaca) and the Amazon, and with good reason, but there is even more to it than that. Paracas is within easy access of Lima, and along with the Nazca Lines, the Paracas National Reserve and the Ballestas Islands are well worthy of a day or two of your time. I hope this post has helped convince you.

I hope too that you're staying safe and healthy in mind and body in these difficult times.
Thanks for reading.

NEXT POSTING THURSDAY 9 JULY.
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