One of the most well known birding locations in this area is Papallacta Pass and the “Antennas road” a dirt road which goes from the pass up the mountain to an old communications installation. The about 4km long road is driveable for those with cars, but seeing as I don’t have one, and the entire length of the road is good for birding, I decided to walk it. I got a taxi to drop me off at the pass first thing in the morning, and started the hike up to the antennas. The entire hike is above tree line, in one of my favourite habitats anywhere, the Andean páramo.
The rain held off today, though fog blowing up the slopes at times reduced the visibility to near zero. This is the quintessential páramo birding experience however, and it was a lovely morning. As I made my way up the mountain, Chestnut-winged Cinclodes and Tawny Antpittas called everywhere. Both Andean Tit-Spinetails and Brown-bellied Swallows were nesting in the mud bank to the side of the road. Somewhat disappointingly, I only saw a single hummingbird on the entire hike, but it was a lifer Blue-mantled Thornbill. Some other highlights from the hike up included Many-striped Canastero and White-chinned Thistletail.
The fog thickened as I got higher, and bird activity slowed, but just as I was starting to wonder how long I had left until reaching the top, I saw a dark shape materialize out of the fog over a nearby hill. It glided down towards the hillside and disappeared again. Then it was follow by another! I got my bins on the second one, and my hopes were confirmed – a pair of Carunculated Caracaras! This was one of my target birds here, and it was very cool getting such good looks at them. They both moved even closer, landing on the ground not 10m away. I couldn’t see what they had behind a grass hummock, but I got to watch them eat whatever it was for a while.
I made the final push for the last km or so through heavy fog and icy wind to the antennas. Aside from a few cinclodes, there wasn’t any sign of life. I wandered around the area for over an hour, and was just getting ready to give up and start down, when I almost stepped on my target bird! The cryptically coloured Rufous-bellied Seedsnipe exploded away from me, calling loudly. I heard it circle around a couple times, and heard a second one calling, before all was quiet again. I didn’t even get the binoculars on it, much less the camera, but this was an experience I’ll never forget!
