Andes to the Amazon, Peru 2005
2-16
July 2005
by
Henry Detwiler
Suzanne, Gaby, Adriana, Becky and I enjoyed two weeks in Peru with our
friend Jim Rorabaugh, starting in the Inca Valley, moving on to the Amazon
Basin, and ending up at Paracas National Park. It was a fantastic
experience!
231
species -- bird list may be viewed by clicking > BIRD LIST
Click on
thumbnail pictures for full-sized photos. 
We spent the first night in Lima, and then left the
next morning via air for Cusco. Then a van trip took us to Pisac, our
first real destination. Here we explored our first Inca ruins, had
a blast bargaining at the indigenous market, spotted a Pygmy Owl, and saw
lots of Sparkling Violetears.
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Sparkling Violetear |
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Plaza de Armas - Cusco
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In Cusco, the "bellybutton" of the Inca
civilization, we wandered past ancient Inca walls, along colonial
cobblestone streets, marveled at massive Spanish cathedrals, shopped in
quaint stores and the flea market, and ate typical Peruvian
cuisine. |
| Jim and I spent one morning at Huarcapay Lakes, where
we saw many fine birds, including this Black-throated Flowerpiercer,
Plumbeous Rail, Silvery & White-tufted Grebes, Andean Duck,
Cinereous Harrier, and Andean
Lapwing. And we were happy to add two fine hummingbirds, the
Giant Hummingbird and the Bearded Mountaineer. |
Black-throated Flowerpiercer
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Ollantytambo Ruins
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Our next destination was Ollantytambo, another Inca
town along the Urubamba River. This heavily fortified city was
the only one that allowed the Incas to repel the Spanish
conquistadors. The giant blocks that make up the walls were so
finely fitted together that you can't even fit a blade of grass
between the stones.
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Machu Picchu
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The next morning we took the train from Ollantytambo to Aguas
Calientes, the jumping-off point to Machu Picchu. That
afternoon we walked the tracks through the cloud forest and saw
almost a dozen beautiful tanagers, like the Blue-gray Tanager
pictured below. An early-morning bus trip took us to the
fabled city of Machu Picchu. As the fog and rain swept over
the ruins, we marveled at the awesome sight. One special
bird we found here was the endemic Inca Wren.
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Blue-gray Tanager |
Parrot Snake
Adriana found this parrot snake along our hike to a small
waterfall several miles west of Aguas Calientes. It was to
be the only snake we saw over the entire two weeks.
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Hummingbirds and tanagers symbolized
the beautiful birds in the cloud forest surrounding Machu Picchu.
At the feeders of the Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel, we were treated to
magnificent views of these amazing creatures. In addition to
these most common coronets and racquet-tails, we were happy to see
Gould's Incas, Green and White Hummingbirds, woodstars, and
Long-tailed Sylph. And then, a flash of red turned out to be
the state bird, a magnificent Cock-of-the Rock! |
Chestnut-breasted Coronet
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Booted Racquettail |
This tanager was one of many that we saw, along
with Silver-beaked Tanager, Saffron-crowned Tanager, and
Blue-and-Black Tanager.
Golden-naped Tanager
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