Morning with a Black-collared Hawk

The night we spent in the cabin on stilts on the shore of Lago El Dorado was surprisingly all right. We all expected to toss and turn from the heat, humidity, and insects, but about 10 pm a big thunderstorm passed through and dumped a cooling rain on us until just before dawn. The sound of the rain hitting the thatched roof, dripping off the leaves outside the window was wonderfully soothing.

The following morning we took another short excursion along the lake shore in one of the large skiffs. The light was good for photography and the birds were cooperative. One bird was particularly cooperative, a black-collared hawk.

I love the setting this bird chose for his morning fishing perch.

We got very close, drifting up with the engine off.

Wish we had more hawks with this much cinnamon in the plumage.

One last peek over his shoulder as he flew a bit farther off.

But he remained curious enough to pass overhead a few times. These birds probably see only a few dozen people a year.

In my next post I'll tell about our hike back to Manco Capac and what simple pleasures awaited us once we got there.