Andean Condor

Description:

wingspan of up to 3.2 m/10.5 ft, extremely rare in Colombia

Habitat:

paramo, 3500m

Notes:

I went to the Refugio del condor in Volcan Purace national park to try and spot the Andean Condor. This is one of the only places to see them in Colombia. They introduced 12 condors into the park and only 3 remained. There is just not that much natural carrion for them to eat. A guide and I went to the refuge to try and lure condors down for a better look. He put pieces of a dead chicken on the top of a huge boulder and we waited. After about 30 minutes, 2 condors appeared and circled for a while. We waited for over 2 hours, and they came in low but never came for the bait. They didn't have hunger, as my guide puts it. I was only able to get these shots of them flying. It was a bit of a disappoint but I was still happy to see such a rare bird. The park charges $10 for a guide to take you to the refuge with the bait but you don't have to pay anything if they don't take the bait, which I was surprised to learn. I was all ready to pay and he said I didn't have to.