Parque Condor

The highlight of our trip to Otavalo was seeing the Parque Condor. It was in a lovely setting and they obviously take excellent care of the site. The trees and flowers are beautiful.


I loved the red buds that open to reveal delicate purple flowers.
There are trees near our apartment that have large clusters of these dainty white flowers.

But we came to see the birds and we were not disappointed.


And there he goes....
Then they brought out the eagles. Huge, magnificent birds.


They would drop over the cliff out of sight and then soar upwards. They did very little flapping of their wings. They must have been riding thermals coming up the side of the mountain. You can see the leather thongs hanging from her feet as she flies.

When they flew they went a long ways. They told us that this bird with the man in the blue shirt stayed away for four days one time but she came back. They enjoy being fed and it is not safe for them to stay away after they have been in captivity because they do not fear people and people often kill them. These eagles will kill chickens but they told us it is worth loosing a few chickens to have the rats and mice eaten by the birds.

The last event was when they brought out the smaller birds and let the children hold the birds. It was very sweet and most of the children loved it. A few of the littlest ones were a bit frightened but most looked proud.


They did not bring out the Condors. I don't think anyone could hold one on their arm even if they wanted to. Below is the female. The male has a crest on his head.

I'm not sure either sex of this species got the beautiful plumage. What do you think?

They may not be beautiful but they certainly have presence. They are BIG (the largest birds that can fly) and I watched the male tear apart a carcass. He was very efficient. Thier wing span can be 9 feet or more and they live for 80 years. It takes 8 years for a bird to reach maturity.



There was a whole section of owls
This one was my favorite. He made me laugh out loud. He looked like a cartoon and kept blinking his eyes like he was sleepy. His little ears, sticking stright up and close together made me laugh.
These four barn owls were sleeping:
Isn't the Snowy Owl beautiful?
This is a Harpy Eagle.
This sign says:
Hello, I am Olafa. I am a female Harpy Eagle born in 1989 in Eastern Ecuador. When I was a chick I had the bad luck to be in a nest in a tree cut down by a woodcutter. My right wing was broken. Some people cared for me and I was sent to Panama to be part of a project to raise birds in captivity. I was the most productive of all. I am the mother of 16 baby chicks. I am also a grandmother several times. All of my family are living in the wild, flying over the forests of Latin America. Now I am again in Ecuador, retired and resting from my motherly duties. Even though I am a grandmother my crest is still very beautiful and my claws are very strong.



Fierce, beautiful birds and lovely plants on a perfect day. It was great.