June
20th,
2018
Sunny,
strong cold breeze in afternoon
Leaving
Chinchero in the sunny morning cold air, I cycle to the lakeside of
Laguna Puray and find the entrance to the wonderful Piuray Outdoor
Centre. I have been invited to stay here for the night and it is
wonderful to meet the staff and guests as I go to the lagoon edge to
birdwatch. Lots of birds to see and although there might not be any
new birds, there are birds for which I only have very poor
photographs at the moment and there are one or two species for which
an improved photograph would be a big bonus. Silvery Grebe comes into
that category and there is one that keeps diving not far offshore.
It
is amongst a number of White-tufted Grebes and Andean Coots. On a
ploughed field nearby there is a single Spot-billed Ground Tyrant,
another bird I have seen before but not as well as this.
The
centre has spectacular views for not only is it positioned right on a
small promentary sticking out into the vast lake but there are
massive snow-capped mountains to be seen in many directions.
Three
people, originally from Chenai in India but now living in the US,
come in from their paddle board activity on the lake and chat for a
while as they head off to the changing rooms to get out of their wet
suits. They describe how much they enjoyed the activity with Alvaro,
the co-owner of the centre, way out on the calm water. Another group
arrive and their enthusiastic chatter and laughter fills the air.
I
head off as they start to gather for lunch and go along the dirt
track road that skirts the lake side. Sparkling Violetears and
Rufous-collared Sparrows are common but generally there is a lack of
birds due to the extremely dry conditions of mid-winter.
Back
to the centre, Alvaro shouts my name. This tall man, who obviously
regularly works out, tells me that there is a meal for me down by the
shore. So I go down and join the lovely Peruvian staff and eat a meal
of potatoes, corn and cheese beautifully prepared and delicious.
After
some more birding along the shore I go to my upstairs room and relax.
It feels wonderful to be in this lovely quiet spot and I fall asleep.
On waking I find that darkness has fallen and with no light pollution
anywhere nearby, the sky is a mass of stars.
Potatoes drying beside the lake.
Green
Year list : 274 birds
average new birds to list per day : 3.43
birds
Distance
cycled : 3.03 miles
elevation
: up 106 feet, down 180 feet
altitude
: 12,141 feet
http://www.piuray.com/
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