In our journey from Mexico to Rio, we have made it as far as Arequipa. This meant we had the option for a two day side trip to visit the Colca Canyon and hopefully see Andean Condors. This is a bird I have always wanted to see since it is widely recognised as the largest bird of prey in the world.
Day 1 – Patapampa Pass
After leaving the city we climbed constantly until we were over 4,000m. At this point we started to see numerous Vicuñas, a wild relative of the Llama and Alpaca.
They seemed very at home in this wild habitat with Volcanos, Mountains and long plains providing the setting.
We stopped a couple of times to take photos.
A bit further on we stopped by some wetlands where I was pleased to see the Andean Negrito for the first time. Some grazing Alpacas were here too.
Interestingly we could see the active Volcano Sabancaya erupting regularly throughout our journey.
After peaking at a breathless 4,900m we headed down into the town of Chivay for the night.
Day 2 – Colca Canyon
We were up early the next morning and driving through the ancient terraces of the Colca Valley.
Before long we arrived at Colca Canyon and the particular viewpoint Cruz del Condor.
The first Condor we saw was a juvenile (brown plumage).
Before long we saw numerous full adults too which were spectacular with the white collars and black and white wings. I was definitely in my happy place firing off hundreds of shots as these magnificent birds flew along the canyon wall sometimes just below, level or just above my viewpoint.
At one point a juvenile seemed to be testing an adult and they sparred for a while.
We walked back towards the van and looked in the nearby shrubs for hummingbirds or other small birds. I added two new species fairly quickly Oasis Hummingbird (regional endemic) and the Andean Hillstar. I took a photo of a very distant perched hummingbird which turned out to be a Giant Hummingbird too.
This was really a stunning place with the combination of the canyon, habitat and birds enhancing each other to create a wonderful birding experience.
Whilst birding hasn’t been our focus for much of our time in Peru (there is so much culture and trekking to enjoy too!) we have now seen 96 species of which 61 have been lifers and 40 have been photo lifers. The trip total is 1,046 of which 41 are heard only.
WildScot Photography 
Wow, those condors must have been such a thrilling sight. Hard to breathe at that high altitude, I imagine!
LikeLike