To be honest, after Manu we didn't really know what
we were going to do and just decided to play it by ear. We knew
we wanted to try for Andean Condor and Arequipa looked to be the
best bet as it is the easiest (only?) way to get into the Colca
Canyon. Arequipa is a pretty upmarket cosmopolitan place, it
really wouldn't be out of place in western Europe. We took an
overnight luxury bus from Cusco that got us to Arequipa just
before sunrise and then a taxi straight to the Tambo Viejo
hotel. The tiny bit of birding we did was on a visit to the Santa
Catalina monastery where we had a beautiful male Peruvian Sheartail. Two Croaking Ground-Doves regularly croaked away in
our hotel garden during breakfast. If you're into tourist crap then
make sure you see Juanita the ice girl at her very own museum.
Also, for those inclined to experience the seedier sides of
life, take a walk around the indoor market at the bottom of
Alvarez Thomas and feast your eyes on the largest collection of
pirated hardcore pornography that you could possibly imagine.
Peruvian Sheartail - 1 male in gardens of Santa Catalina
monastery
Croaking Ground-Dove - pair seen twice in the garden of
Hostal Tambo Viejo
Blue-and-white Swallow - common
Chiguanco Thrush - common
Rufous-collared Sparrow - yes indeed they were here
Reserva Aguada y Blanca & Chivay
Alpacas
rock!
As our only target was Andean Condor we decided to go
straight to the Colca Canyon by whatever means was easiest and
cheapest. In the end we decided to take a 2 day tour with a
standard tour company, but we shopped around and found the one
that offered the most time at Cruz del Condor and also stopped
at a few sites in the Reserva Aguada y Blanca on the way.
Despite the visit to a crumbling church with kids dancing around
outside and the ubiquitous trip to some hot springs (why? who
cares?), it was actually a good laugh, and our guide was
interested in birds so he stopped the mini-bus at some decent
high altitude wetlands. To get to Colca you have to ascend to
the Patapampa Pass at 4,800m - take great care not to move about
too much at that altitude. We had the afternoon to
ourselves in Chivay and took a walk over the gorge and then
immediately up the hill on the right which took us to a natural bowl
surrounded by some steep scrubby hills. Here we had a totally
unexpected Bearded Mountaineer.
The Atacama desert
and El Misti volcano (5,822m)
Andean Goose - common at the Reserva
Speckled Teal - common at the Reserva
Crested Duck - 2 at the Reserva
Puna Ibis - common at the Reserva
Variable Hawk - 1 pale morph at Chivay
Mountain Caracara - 3 at 4,000m
American Kestrel - pair in gorge at Chivay
Giant Coot - 6+ (1 ad & 5+ young) at the Reserva
Andean Gull - 1 adult at the Reserva
Spot-winged Pigeon - common in Chivay
Eared Dove - common in Chivay
Rufous-naped Ground-Tyrant - 1 at Chivay
Giant Hummingbird - 1 at Chivay
Bearded Mountaineer - 1 female at Chivay and slightly south of
its usual range? Saw it very well and eliminated Andean Hillstar
which is the only other likely Hummer to have white outer
rectrices
Dark-winged Canastero - 1+ at Chivay
Bar-winged Cinclodes - 1+ at the Reserva
Chiguanco Thrush - common
Rufous-collared Sparrow - common
Black-throated Flowerpiercer - 1 imm at Chivay. Took some
bloody working out thanks to the field guide!
White-browed Chat-Tyrant - 1 at Chivay
Evening entertainment in
Chivay
Cruz del Condor
Some big fucking mountains
by the Colca Canyon
Almost everyone seems to agree that the Cruz del Condor is
now the best place in the world, away from an aviary, to
see Andean Condors. There were over 200 people there on the
morning we went but there is more than enough space to enjoy
yourself, and the cheers from the crowd when these giants passed
just metres overhead or cruised slowly by at head height merely
added to the magic of the visit. Binoculars are totally
unnecessary. We got our guide to drop us off by the first
parking area and then walked along the path to the viewpoint
where we met up with our group. This gave us chance to do some
birding on the way and admire the Condors from a distance before
getting up close and personal. Recommended!
Colca - the world's second
deepest canyon at 3,269m (1,600m deeper than the Grand Canyon)
Andean Condor - 4 (2 adults & 2 juvs)
at times just a few metres away, woooaaahhh! Surely not many things in life
can equal such a close encounter with these beasts? No
arguments, this was definitely bird of the trip.
Black-chested Buzzard-Eagle - 2+. Dwarfed when next to the
Condors.
Variable Hawk - 3+
American Kestrel - 1+
Eared Dove - common
Black-winged Ground-Dove - common
Andean Swift - common
Giant Hummingbird - common
Andean Flicker - 2
Streaked Tit-Spinetail - 2
Dark-winged Canastero - 1
Black-billed Shrike-Tyrant - 1
Rufous-webbed Tyrant - 2
Chiguanco Thrush - common
Rufous-collared Sparrow - common
Greenish Yellow-Finch - common
Vast areas of Inca terracing
can be seen all the way to Cruz del Condor
