The Adventures of Kerri & Matt

This morning we went to Colca Canyon.

To look for condors.

We saw lots of other birds while waiting.

 

And heard even more.

There were big hummingbirds. Apparently they can grow up to 20cm here!

They drink the nectar from these purple flowers.

These are their nests.

The cactuses they nest in are think and brambled.

But their flowers are very pretty.

There were also funky bugs.

About 9:15 AM clouds started to form in the canyon.

Then it started rising upward.

It is these updrafts that the condors ride. They nest high in the cliffs, then glide slowly in circles as the drafts take them upward. This saves energy because they don’t have to flap their giant wings.

Condors are the world’s second largest bird by wingspan, averaging about 3m.

At this viewpoint, you could barely see anything through the crowd. But then two large condors flew right past us. We did not have the camera out.

The white patches on the wings don’t appear until they are adults. This one is probably a male because they are very prominent.

You can also tell he is a male because he has a comb on the back of his head.

The heads are bald and quite ugly looking, so it’s OK we didn’t get a picture up close.

They are very popular as a symbol, and are on the coat of arms of Ecuador, Chile, Columbia, Bolivia and Peru.

This is because they look very majestic flying (and not flapping) and because they mate for life.