9 OCTOBER 1997. PERU: SEABIRDS

I was at Punta San Juan three weeks ago and it was raining for five consecutive days. Can you imagine that? About 75% of Humboldt penguins breed on surface nests inside the reserve and all were lost due to flooding. The last week they were occupying the same nests again and now they are ready to breed again. Covered nests had a better luck. Food supply around Punta San Juan does not appear to be slow as Inca terns are nesting and Humboldt penguins fledglings weight is similar to other years, whereas Guanay Cormorants are arriving. I will check a Peruvian Tern colony the next week as they beginning to nest by this time.--Carlos B. Zavalaga czav@telematic.edu.pe

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