Peru 09, Post 10 The Lost Files

I left Peru with about 2500 photo's from the Amazon to the Andes to the waters offshore near Lima. I have posted some of them in the first 9 Posts, but alas they are gone. Let this be a lesson to all using the very inexpensive usb drives to back up their photos. I have 4 of these very high capacity drives, but one went gunny sack, and it turns out to be completely unrecoverable. I still can't believe it, and am in serious mourning, but I have learned a valuable lesson. DON'T TRUST A MECHANICAL DRIVE!

My friend Terry has graciously allowed me to use his photo's to finish my post's regarding the Peru trip we took this summer. This is the 10th in that series.

At the base of the mountain on which is Macchu Picchu is Aguas Caliente. It is accessible only by train, and sits along a river. On our last morning there, the 16th of June, we visited a private garden located on the grounds of an exclusive hotel and saw many different species of Tanagers. These colorful birds feed on nuts, bugs and interestingly, bananas!


You have the Blue_Gray Tanager, about 7 inches.


Then there is the Golden-Naped Tanager at a mere 5 inches.


And in this picture the Golden-Naped is joined by the Blue-Necked, and on the far right, the Saffron-Crowned Tanager's, both also about 5 inches.


Other really colorful birds here included the Blue-Naped Chlorophonia, and the Orange-Crowned Euphonia. Both of these are little 4 inch birds really stand out in the understory.


A really loud addition to the mix was the Dusky Green Oropendola, a large blackbird like species that flock together and build giant pendulum like nests. About 17 inches.



By far the craziest and most interesting bird of them all however is the Cock of the Rock (yeah that is the real name. Found only along the eastern slope of the Andes, up fairly high, this is the Peruvian National Bird.


The male is really striking, and likes to do a mating dance that is quiet remarkable. At about 13 inches, they aren't all that big, but look huge when you see them among the green in the jungle.


From Aguas Caliente we travelled by train about 2 hours to Ollyantambo. The scenery was incredible.


Even the train had it's own entertainment in the form of a guy wringing the neck of some poor stuffed llama to try and sell us clothing. This guy was a real gem.


It wasn't all that impressive however, or maybe I was just tired?