Three Weeks In, Three Miles Up

I feel the sand between my fingers…

I hear the sound of gulls flying overhead…

Shorebirds frolic in the nearby grasses…

I feel the warm sun against my skin as I lay in the…

Snow?!

You might have though I went to the beach again, but those were and Andean gull, Andean lapwings, and a Baird’s sandpiper (in that order). The first two stick around the Andes all year long, while the Baird’s sandpiper migrates all the way from the Arctic to the Andes, which some migrating as far as the southern tip of Argentina (Source).

One week ago today was my last sojourn into the shadow of Volcán Antisana. However, I made sure that last week wasn’t a dull week, as Vladimir (co-owner of Tambo Condor, the place I have been staying) and I climbed up to an altitude of 4700 meters (3 miles) to the base of the glaciers of Antisana.

While the area was barren at first sight, upon closer inspection there is some very cool plant and bird life at three miles up.

Rufous-bellied seedsnipe. Looks and acts like a bit like a chicken, but is more closely related to the gulls and shorebirds you saw earlier. There are only four species of seedsnipe, all found in South America.

Nototriche ecuadoriensis, a gorgeous small flower of the hibiscus family. It is only found in the highlands of Ecuador.

Senecio canescens. The hairy leaves keep water from freezing on the leaf surface and block excess sunlight. (Note: I miss ID’ed this as an Espeletia species earlier. Oops. Fixed 6/17/2015)

Wish I could tell you what this is, but I’m clueless! Update as of 6/17/15: I have been informed that this is species of violet, Viola polycephala, that is endemic to Antisana. Thank you, Charles Dawkins of Denmark!

Other points of interest last week were the field tests of our ibis models. Turns out, they don’t attract ibises very well, though we did have a pair get reasonably close.

We also finally saw some ibises mating, which was was quite good for the study, as one of our main objective was to find reproducing birds.

Unfortunately, if they were starting mate last week, that means they could be nesting starting this week, after my study is over.

In other news, I finally managed a decent photograph of one of my favorite birds, the sword-billed hummingbird! It’s the only bird with a beak longer than its body.

Taken at Tambo Condor.

Tomorrow I head back to Quito, and Monday I’m off to the cloud forest community of Yunguilla, a place which I have visited before but did not have the chance to write about.

I’m afraid this blog is coming close to its end, as I head back to the US in one week. However, expect at least one or two more posts before I ship out. Until next time!