Today was supposed to be a relaxed day, collecting the hire car mid-morning, then driving three hours into the Andes to spend the afternoon birding and scoping out the site we would then visit the following day. It all sounds so easy. Alas, that is not how it transpired, as arranging the hire car eventually took two hours, since the company wanted a $3000 deposit and the credit cards simply would not work. Eventually we had to phone the bank using my UK SIM card, only to then discover that the problem was not even with the bank on the UK side, but instead it was an issue with Europcar, the hire car company. It was nothing short of an absolute farce, and to top it all off, we then ended up with a smaller car than expected, leaving us grateful we were only a three and not a four.
The drive was uneventful, I slept for most of it, although
Bolivians apparently love speed-bumps. We eventually made it to our planned
birding site above the town of Samaipata at around 16:30, but the sky was dull
and we saw very little. There was one glowing highlight from the afternoon, we
had a Bolivian Tapaculo singing right next to us on the path, and with playback
we managed to get glimpses of a small grey body moving through the vegetation, meaning
I did now have my Tapaculo number 41, but will try again in the morning. A few
Purplish Jays were also flying around, and this was another new species for me.
The highlight of the day was when we drove out from the
airport once we had finally arranged our hire car, to see a group of seven
Greater Rheas feeding on the mown grass right by the side of the road. Of all
the places to see these wild animals, I was expecting it right there at an international
airport, absolutely brilliant.
Santa Cruz: Greater Rhea, Cattle Tyrant, House Sparrow,
Samaipata: Variable Hawk, Bolivian Tapaculo, Purplish Jay, Common Chlorospingus,
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