Last Bird

The last bird we saw in Ecuador was the Andean Condor, a very large bird with a wingspan of over ten feet (the world's largest bird by wingspan and weight). It was bird # 480 for the trip.

That's a lot of birds.

When we first spotted it it looked like this:

High, distant, and backlit. And unmistakable. Our guide, Juan Carlos Calvachi, excitedly called it to our attention. Two caracaras joined it in flight, raven sized birds, puny in comparison.

It then landed on a cliff face, no doubt its roost for the night, and we got good looks through a scope. This iPhone image, taken through said scope, gives an idea of what we saw.

Note the bromeliads clinging to the cliff face, they were everywhere.

After taking these images we packed up the scope, got into the car, and headed to the airport for our journey home.  It really was the last bird we saw. And it really was a great trip. We are already planning to go back.