June
14th,
2018
Warm,
Cloudy morning , sunny intervals in the afternoon
An
invitation from the incredible Inkaterra Hotel to stay for the night
cannot be ignored! The problem is I haven't a thing to wear and my
shoes, well I can just imagine the faces on the people who stay there
if they saw the lack of toe fronts. An hour or so after breakfast and
after saying goodbye to the lovely people at the bed & breakfast,
I have a new pair of trousers and a new pair of shoes; trainers that
I don't usually buy as I never feel that they are good for my feet.
Mind you as these are size 46, I will take them, kiss them, lick them
and love them. The right size for me, at last, I could almost kiss
the lady who has the stall that sells them! She needs some TLC too.
As I was deciding on which pair of trainers to have, a man came over
who started berating her over something and moments after he had left
she burst into tears. I give her a big hug and hold her hand as she
sobs. No idea what it was about but noticeable that no one came over
to offer help.
To
Inkaterra, I breeze past the security guards and go to the reception
desk. My name is on the list and, leaving all of my luggage, a few
clothes in a rucksack, with them to put into my room, I go around to
Inkaterra's Eco Centre to discuss birding the garden. One of the bird
guides, Joseph, offers to walk with me in the afternoon and asks that
I return there at three. Brilliant, four eyes and ears are better
than two.
I
have the day to relax and bird and that is precisely what I do,
following the paths that I went along just a couple of days before.
The same species of tanagers are at the bananas. The same species of
hummingbirds are at the feeders. As usual each place holds a
fascination with colour and movement. Mitred Parakeets arrive but are
difficult to see as they hide in the treetops. Dark Green Oropendulas
bubble and do the same. Luckily though they occupy lower branches
than do the parakeets and if one strains one's neck one can watch
them as they do their display as the call. Lower still and very still
on a branch close to me a superb blue Andean Motmot sits. Surely this
bird is the one that captures most people's attention in the garden;
that is when they spot it. Looking up I see that an adult
Black-breasted Buzzard Eagle is soaring high above. I watch it doing
so until it glides away over the mountain tops and away down the
valley.
Along
the path I meet a young man from Paris. Max is a photographer and he
tells me that he is twenty one years old and Inkaterra were so
impressed with some of his photographs that they have invited him to
do a publicity photo shoot for them. With some of the staff I watch
as Max arranges packets of Inkaterra's tea to create a scene where
the tea can be seen with the river and cloud forest backdrop.
Brilliant to see the enthusiasm and skill that Max displays and to
see him here at Inkaterra.
Moving
through the tea garden and to the place where there is a view over
the river I see Cinnamon Flycatchers and Slate-throated Redstarts. As
I watch the river a Fasciated Tiger Heron appears on the far
bank and flies along further upstream. The usual pair of Torrent
Ducks are there on the rocks as are Black Phoebe's and Torrent
Tyrannulets. A number of Blue & White Swallows hawk over the
water. Suddenly a male Cock of the Rock flies over the river and
still shows itself by sitting on an exposed branch. Wonderful how the
brilliant scarlet colour stands out amongst all the green foliage
around it.
I
go further and find Inkaterra's personal helipad. From this elevated
position one can watch the canopy and see difficult to identify
Tyrannulets and easier to identify vireos. A Capped Conebill
is easier to identify than any Tyrannulet with its almost completely
black plumage with blue on it's crown. A nearby fuschia bush has a
Green & White Hummingbird in attendance for a while and soon
after that leaves a spectacular Long-tailed Sylph arrives.
Once all features are noted I try to get a photograph of the
iridescent blue hummer to no avail. Its movements from flower to
flower are too speedy for me and it spends most of its time at the
back of the bush, just allowing fleeting glimpses. What a fabulous
bird though. The long tail's blue sparkle is astonishing. Sitting on
a convenient rock I watch as tanagers pass through and a
Smoke-coloured Peewee takes advantage of a prominent dead branch to
make sallies into the air to catch flying insects. An Ocellated
Woodpecker gives great views too. I am really enjoying the sit and
wait approach and feel that a comfortable bench positioned here would
be a boon to any visiting birders.
The
afternoon session with two bird guides is a delight. Golden-crowned
and Streak-necked Flycatchers and Streaked Xenops are soon added to
the Green Year list and the pleasure of sharing birds with two
Inkaterra staff members who obviously feel the same way as I do about
them is wonderful. We bird together for over two hours and take a
path I hadn't seen before that takes us higher up the hill. Amongst
the birds we see four more new birds are new; Blue-naped
Chlorophonia, Ashy-headed Tyrannulet, Oleaginous
Hemisphingus and Yellow-olive Tyrannulet, seen in that
order. With the light fading a return to the hummingbird feeders
brings the delight of having the incredible Collared Inca arrive. It
is soon chased off though by the Chestnut-fronted Coronets.
Profuse
thanks for a superb afternoon, I am taken to my room by a young lady
who kindly shows me all of the room's features. I am about to indulge
myself with a hot shower when there is a knock on the door. Upon
opening it I am greeted by a young man carrying a basket of
chocolates. I take a couple and thank him. No this is a service I
have never had at a hotel before! Using the various shampoos and
creams provided, I enjoy my hot shower and once dry sit on my sofa
and relax. The room has a very large kingsize bed and the view from
the sofa is beautiful, as the lights positioned outside softly light
up the trees that surround the building. I take dinner but make a
silly mistake in thinking that the small white bowl on the table
contains grated parmesan cheese. I sprinkle it over the rice of my
Lomo Saltado. It isn't cheese. It is sea salt and the rice quickly
becomes inedible!
Going
back to my room after dessert I write up the day's notes in my
notebook. Forty two species of bird with eleven of them new for the
year list. I fall asleep in this fabulously luxurious room. Thanks
Inkaterra, a truly wonderful day.
Green
Year list : 273 birds average new birds to list per day : 3.64
birds
altitude
: 6,795 feet
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