Ecuador's High Country

The high elevation Paramo grassland is like nothing I have ever seen.  Vast expanses of cold humid grasslands with sporadic shrubs growing at an altitude over 14,000 ft.  We drove up a mountain road to  Antisana Ecological Reserve located on the oriental slope in the Andes Mountain range.  The Andes mountains are spectacular even on a cloudy day.  Each range seems to go on forever.  We saw wonderful birds,  Carunculated Caracaras,  Southern Lapwing,  Silvery Grebes on Mica Lake, Chestnut-winged Cinclodes, and many more.  The most exciting was seeing the Andean Condor soaring over a valley.  After a hike, and more birds, we headed down the road and stopped at an observation platform.  The Andean Condor was across the valley sitting on a cliff ledge.  Two spectacular hummingbirds were flitting in the brush, Sparkling Violetear, and Black-tailed Trainbearer.

Above, a Carunculated Caracara waits in the grass. They were fun to watch.

To the right, the Antisana Volcano comes out of the clouds for a few minutes.

The other high elevation area we visited was the Papallacta Towers, the site of an array of tall antennas in the Pacque Nacional Cayambe - Coca. This ecological reserve has very high biodiversity and includes the Cayambe volcano at nearly 19, 000 ft.  This area is amazing. Tundra plants are not like anything I have ever seen.  Pointed leaf rosettes arranged in dense round mats so thick I could sit on one, and it did not compress under my weight.  We saw Sierra Finches, Stout

 billed Cinclodes, and a small rufous bird that may have been an Andean Tit Spinetail.
     We walked down a steep hillside looking for Seedsnipe.  At the elevation was near 14,000 ft. I had to stop several times to catch my breath walking back up the hill to the road.   I marveled at small flowers and these unusual high altitude adapted plants.
 Photo below.

The views were spectacular despite the oncoming rainstorm.

One of my few good bird photos, a Chestnut winged Cinclodes, a relative of the Ovenbird.