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ABRA MALAGA, near OLLANTAYTAMBO |
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Written by Charles Hesse
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Aug 24, 2006 at 12:00 AM |
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ABRA MALAGA, near OLLANTAYTAMBO
PERU
CUZCO (Compass)
Lat:00o00´S/00o00´W ha topography msl
Protected/registered status
Best Time for visit (April, 2006)
Birding Site Guide
Abra Malaga is about 45km past Ollantaytambo on the way to Quillabamba. It can be done in a day trip from Ollantaytambo (or even Cuzco!) using public transport but you arrive late and the bus back is a bit of a worry. The only buses up there are from Cuzco and several arrive in Ollantaytambo at about 10am. The is paved and in good condition most of the way but there were road works at svereal points. It took an hour and a half to get to the Abra which is at about 4200m altitude. Following directions in Valqui, walk back down the road towards Ollantaytambo and after a few hundred metres start walking up the hill to the right. There peaks very high up with a few trees visable. Aim to a lower part of the ridge to the right. It isn't too far but you should take it very slower with the altitude. On this side of the ridge I saw Mountain Caracara and White-collared Swift. Once at the top of the ridge look for a trail leading down diagonally to the right into the valley. It was misty when I was there but on a clear day, you should be able to see Polylepis down in the valley. This trail winds down into the valley and finally passes through scattered Polylepis. Walk through this area and look for areas with moss. A good place to see Royal Cinclodes is apparently by a natural, verticle wall. Although there are supposedly 3 pairs of Royal Cinclodes in this area, they are difficult to see and I failed to see the species. In this area I saw Brown-backed Chat-Tyrant and Red-rumped Bush-Tyrant.
Continue down to the right and at the bottom of the valley beneath a big cliff is a very birdy polylepis patch. This had Ash-breasted Tit-Tyrant, Puna Thistletail and Puna Tapaculo. White-browed Tit-Spinetail was common in any area with Polylepis. From here you can walk down the valley along the river. This area had Ash-breasted & Plumbeus sierra-finches and Plain-capped Ground-Tyrant. The valley has a few houses and the trail spits back out onto the main road 15km further down than the Abra. The final section of the trail has some good scrub where I saw Tufted Tit-Tyrant and Andean Parakeet.
A bus back to Ollantaytambo and Cuzco supposedly passes here at 5pm but didn't come until after 6 when it was starting to get dark and we were starting to get very worried. A safer bet might be to get a taxi to come and pick you up.
I saw 24 species including 2 lifers
Species seen
Speckled Teal Anas flavirostris
Puna Hawk Buteo poecilochrous
Mountain Caracara Phalcoboenus megalopterus
Band-tailed Pigeon Patagioenas fasciata Seen on way Abra Malaga
Andean Parakeet Bolborhynchus orbygnesius
White-collared Swift Streptoprocne zonaris
Blue-mantled Thornbill Chalcostigma stanleyi
Bar-winged Cinclodes Cinclodes fuscus
White-winged Cinclodes Cinclodes atacamensis
White-browed Tit-Spinetail Leptasthenura xenothorax Endemic Endangered
Puna Thistletail Schizoeaca helleri Endemic Possibly seen
Puna Tapaculo Scytalopus simonsi
Ash-breasted Tit-Tyrant Anairetes alpinus Endangered
Brown-backed Chat-Tyrant Ochthoeca fumicolor
Red-rumped Bush-Tyrant Cnemarchus erythropygius
Plain-capped Ground-Tyrant Muscisaxicola alpinus
Brown-bellied Swallow Notiochelidon murina
House Wren Troglodytes aedon
Great Thrush Turdus fuscater
Peruvian Sierra-Finch Phrygilus punensis
Plumbeous Sierra-Finch Phrygilus unicolor
Ash-breasted Sierra-Finch Phrygilus plebejus
Black-throated Flowerpiercer Diglossa brunneiventris
Rufous-collared Sparrow Zonotrichia capensis
Other Fauna
A total of -- species of mammals.
There are -- recorded species of amphibians and reptiles.
Flora
Author: Charles Hesse
www.birdingsiteguide.com |
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Last Updated ( Jul 20, 2008 at 03:11 PM )
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