Part 01/11 of Glenn Bartley’s 3-month trip around Peru – On the first of September I traveled from my home in Victoria, BC to Lima Peru for a 3 month bird photography expedition. My plan was to travel around the country in search of as many of the most beautiful and endemic birds that I could find.
Why Peru? The answer is simple. Peruis a country that is perhaps unsurpassed in terms of “quality” birds. While Columbia boasts a higher total number of species it is tough to beatPeru’s endemic birds like the Marvelous Spatuletail, Long-whiskered Owlet, Royal Sunangel and about 120 other birds that are found nowhere else on Earth except within the border ofPeru.
My search for these birds took me from sea level to 4850m above sea level (ASL). From deserts, to lowland rainforests. From cloud forests to high elevation grasslands. And down many a bumpy road… I slept in towns where I swear no tourists had ever been. I slept in the back of my truck for two of the coldestwettestnights I can remember. I slept wherever I had to in order to be able to have a reasonable chance at photographing these birds. To me…it was all worth it… This is truly what I live for…
Cusco and ManuNational Park
After a quick stopover in Lima I took an internal flight to the lovely city of Cusco. Cusco is a city full of culture and history and it makes a great base to visit several local ruins and cultural sites. Nearby there is a high elevation lake called Lago Huacarpay. It was here where I would begin my search for endemic birds.
Those of you that know me know that I love hummingbirds. One of the really special ones in Peru is called the Bearded Mountaineer. It is endemic to Peru and found only in a small area in the southeast. Huacarpay is definitely the best place to see it and it was a great start to the trip to find this beauty feeding on some Nicotina flowers near the lake. In addition to the Mountaineer, Lago Huacarpay produced a beautiful White-tufted Grebe and the strange looking Plumbeous Rail.
If you think that a bird photography adventure to Peru might interest you make sure to e-mail me to sign up for the wish list for my workshops that will begin in the fall of 2013.
Article written and images fully copyrighted by Glenn Bartley.
Glenn Bartley
Glenn Bartley is a professional nature photographer who specializes in photographing birds in their natural habitat. He currently resides in Victoria, British Columbia on Canada’s West Coast. Glen runs instructional photo workshops throughout the year to exciting destinations around the world. Upcoming trips include Vancouver Island, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Churchill Manitoba and Peru. He focuses on birds because there are so many species, they can be found almost anywhere, they are challenging to photograph and beautiful to watch.
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