We birded the railway line back towards Cusco. There was plenty of bird activity to keep us busy as we encountered several feeding flocks. The railway was already busy with trains, hikers and porters carrying enormous packs but this didn’t seem to worry the birds much. A pair of Speckle-faced Parrots flew across the river and landed just overhead giving great views. Two new species of tanager quickly followed: Russet-and-yellow Tanager feeding low down alongside the river, while high in the canopy above, Silver-backed Tanagers flitted through the branches. We were also pleased to catch up with the locally-distributed Sclater’s Tyrannulet, not much to look at but a good addition to the list. Rather more exciting was a male Andean Cock-of-the-Rock which flew across the valley, and a male Torrent Duck which headed up the river. A Rusty Flowerpiercer popped up in the small trees alongside us and showed off. Turning back towards Aguas Calientes, a huge raptor appeared above the ridge. No mistaking this giant bird, an adult Andean Condor! As we watched spellbound, a second Andean Condor, this time an immature bird, soared with the adult against the crisp blue sky in the morning sunshine. These giant birds were buzzed by Andean Swifts looking like mosquitoes.
The second half of the day was spent visiting the ruins at Machu Picchu, where there were plenty of visitors but very few birds. But with one of the world’s wonders on the doorstep we had to pay a visit and it didn’t disappoint. No matter how many times you may have seen THAT photo of Machu Picchu, the real thing quite takes your breath away. To try and describe it here would be to resort to a series of clichés. And it was nice to add White-winged Black-Tyrant on the way back down to Aguas Calientes after having had our fill of culture.
Bird species list: 2829
Posted 27th July, Aguas Calientes, Peru