Searching for White-bellied Cinclodes (Cinclodes palliatus)

(From a journal entry)

Huamanrazapampa
30 km SW of Huancavelica, Peru
4650 m
12 July 2007

We spread out over the valley floor to identify and count the handful of bird species that use high Andean peatlands. We hope to find the White-bellied Cinclodes (Cinclodes palliatus), one of the world's rarest birds, which is regularly found a mere one-hundred kilometers to the north. The grim population estimate of 200 motivated us to find additional populations, but so far, no luck. Phred, a recent college graduate enjoying his blissful new life as a bird bum, heads straight for a massive alpaca herd and probably has a chat with the shepherd about where he's come from, where he's going, and what he's doing - the usual small talk. Jano, our Peruvian team member and also a recent college graduate working technician jobs while he figures out the next life stage, scouts ahead to find a campsite. I take notes on my survey route while observing another rare peatland specialist, the Diademed Sandpiper-Plover. This regal shorebird regularly eludes the hardcore birding tourists that ascend painfully fast into the high Andes to see it.








We work our way down the valley toward the 4,800-meter pass that is our route back to Huancavelica. Asking a family for directions, we are invited to stay the night. An unusual dry-season snowstorm helps us make up our minds; we'll be guests tonight. The elderly host speaks Quechua; we speak Spanish and English. Luckily her grandson Juan Carlos, speaks Spanish and Quechua. He is a serious young man with more responsibilities than some of my friends. His family has raised alpaca and sheep in this valley for more than fifty years.

I ask the family about the glacier-fed wetlands in the valley, which provide the forage for their herd. They tell me the valley is drier since the glacier receded to a few slivers. I drift off from the conversation and wonder how this might affect the bird community associated with the wetlands during the next few decades and the millions of coastal desert-dwelling humans that depend on the glacial runoff for drinking water.

We sit in the hut low to the ground to avoid the dung-pellet smoke and sip tea made from a local herb. We eat a huge plate of potatoes of three varieties that are rich and flavorful, a welcomed change from the usual pasta dishes we prepare when backpacking. Snowfall covers the ground as sheep pass in front of the doorway on their way to the corral. As night falls, every corner of the dirt floor is covered with sheep and alpaca skins where we unfurl our sleeping bags for a toasty nights sleep. What a difference it makes to have a shelter of rocks warmed all day by the tropical sun and the kitchen fire.

The next morning, Juan Carlos shows us his short cut to Huancavelica.






Photos: Valley(Jano Nunez), White-bellied Cinclodes (Gibbons), Diademed Sandpiper-Plover(Harvey Van Diek), Group shot (Jano Nunez)