What better way to start the day than with a female Torrent Duck giving close views along the Maipo River? Also here were a few Chilean Elaenias, several Chilean Mockingbirds, Austral Thrush and Tufted Tit-Tyrant.
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| The Maipo River, home to Torrent Ducks.... |
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| Female Torrent Duck |
Our next stop along the Yeso Road was at stakeout for the endemic Crag Chilia where a pair showed well after a little wait, along with the endemic Moustached Turca that flew in and scuttled away up the hillside, and a Black-chested Buzzard-Eagle flew low over our heads.
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| The endemic Crag Chilia |
We left here and drove higher up, stopping at a bend in the road where numerous flowering bushes were attracting several stunning White-sided Hillstars and we enjoyed very nice views as they fed on nectar right in front of us. Getting a good photo proved difficult but we contented ourselves with simply watching all of the action, and as if that wasn’t enough we had superb scope views of another Moustached Turca feeding on a lizard on the slope above us.
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| White-sided Hillstar |
Another short drive higher up the road saw us scoping over 50 Andean Condors feeding on a carcass on a distant hillside. It was an unbelievable sighting and it was hard to leave here! Our next stop produced several Grey-hooded and Mourning Sierra-Finches, an extremely confiding Rufous-banded Miner and a group of distant Mountain Parakeets were scoped.
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| Grey-hooded Sierra-Finch |
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| Rufous-banded Miner |
Beyond the reservoir we searched for Diademed Sandpiper-Plover without joy, but did get a few Grey-breasted Seedsnipe, White-browed Ground-Tyrant, Plumbeous Sierra-Finch, many Greater Yellow-Finches, Dark-bellied and Buff-winged Cinclodes, Yellow-rumped Siskin, and a small group of Andean Goose.
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| Watching seedsnipe.... |
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| Grey-breasted Seedsnipe |
The next marsh gave us the Holy Grail of Diademed Sandpiper-Plover (DSP), which we watched for ages and a flyby Black-billed Shrike-Tyrant.
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There's a DSP in this photo......
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DSP habitat...
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It was around this time the final member of our group, David H, managed to catch up with us in a taxi and we revisited many of the previously seen species.
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| Mountain Parakeet |
Our final stop of the day also gave us our first Rufous-tailed Plantcutter and some exceptionally close Mountain Parakeets to round off a fine day in the Andes.
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