June
15th,
2018
Cool
first thing then very sunny and very warm, no cloud
Breakfast
starts early at Inkaterra in order that those guests who want to
ascend to Machu Picchu for sunrise may do so. Hence I am eating
bread, olives and a simple omelette by six.
I sit at a corner table
so that I can look out of the large windows in two directions. A male
Booted Racket-tail comes to a flowering bush nearby and I point this
out to two Canadian ladies sitting at the table next to mine. The
food available is displayed on a very large table, It includes a
variety of fruits, cereals, olives, hams, cheeses and yogurts. Teas,
fruit juices and coffee are also to be had and there is a menu that
is quite extensive. I have a long walk back to Ollantaytambo today
and I eat sparingly.
I
pass the bananas put out for birds as I go to the office to hand in
two books that I had borrowed from the Eco Centre and check out. A
Dark Green Oropendula is feeding voraciously on one of them. And I am
off. Thank you Inkaterra. A perfect stay at a wonderful hotel.
The
contrast in the weather over the day I walked here and today is
striking. Last Sunday's heavy rain is now replaced by a beautifully
sunny day. This is going to be a wonderful walk. A male Cock of the
Rock is the last bird I see as I leave the Inkaterra complex.
Torrent
Ducks and Andean Motmots are active in the semi-light of the deep
valley. A colourful insect has me staring closely to try and decide
whether it really is a butterfly or a moth as it's colours look moth-like. Feathered antennae and wing shape, it's a moth and a beauty too. The
Roadside Hawk is on it's usual telegraph pole.
Walking
along the path steadily I am extremely lucky when as my foot is
coming down I notice a long, dark snake beneath it. Missing it and
stepping back I look at it carefully as it slowly moves. It is
obviously a viper of some sort but about to slough, lose it's skin,
from the look of it's cloudy eyes. I am just grateful that I didn't
tread on it. (I later find out that it is a species of Pit Viper,
called a Leatherhead. Extremely venomous, I probably wouldn't be here
now to type this if I had been bitten by it!)
A
flock comes through the canopy by me and for the next fifteen minutes
or so I panic to try and see all of the birds. Slate-throated
Redstarts dominate, with Streaked Xenops, Blue & Gray Tanagers, a
couple of Tyranullets and even a House Wren. A little further along,
just after a Cinnamon Flycatcher has been seen, a very tame
Brown-backed Chat Tyrant goes from one nearby rock to a dried
plant stem and on along the path in front of me. Fabulous to see, I
have seen nearly all of the family of Chat-tyrants now.
After
maybe ten miles or so I meet a young Peruvian woman, Stephani, who
states as we walk together that she is a forestry worker and is
originally from Huancayo. She has a keen passion for nature and
conservation which is thrilling for an old Biking Birder. Her company
makes the next ten miles go quickly as she asks the occasional
question. Just before we reach the village where she lives, she stops
and tells me that she had been sitting at that spot feeling rather
sad because of work and life in general and that meeting me had
really cheered her up! Carpe deum.
I
reach the road and march as quickly as I can along it. Ollantaytambo,
I am back and Wilma has my room ready. Showering I notice that my
legs are badly bitten. I hadn't noticed any insects of the biting
variety during the walk but they had noticed me. Bites went all the
way up to my knees on both legs and I put antiseptic cream on them
and drape a wet towel over my legs as I sit and write up my notes in
the evening.
Green
Year list : 274 birds
average new birds to list per day : 3.64
birds
altitude
: 9,321 feet
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