31 December. Lauca National Park.
High altitude day, most of our time between 4500 m and 4700 m. Hard going physically with fatigue and headaches from almost moment one as we stopped at a marsh known to hold Diameded Sandpiper-Plover. Though I had seen them at El Yeso, this felt like it had been eons before, so I would have been quite happy to encounter more. Moreover however, this was also the lands of Viscacha, an animal I much desired to see, a weird rabbit-like beastie with big floppy ears and a long tail. And easy they proved to be, a whole colony of them residing on a rocky outcrop above the marsh. In temperatures a degree or two below freezing, these great little animals were all slumbering across the boulders catching the first rays of the morning sun, not in the least bit concerned by sudden human intrusion and quite tame indeed. Seeing these, little one found a good burst of energy and was soon climbing all over the rocks to find more.
I left her to it and went to explore the marsh. Didn't find Diameded Sandpiper-Plover, but excellent it was – two Rufous-bellied Seedsnipe amongst the highlights, plus several of the smaller Grey-breasted Seedsnipe, along with Puna Snipe, no shortage of both White-fronted Ground-Tyrant and Puna Tyrant, lots of Cream-winged Cinclodes, my first and only White-winged Cinclodes and several Andean Negrito. Back at the rock outcrop, photographed the Viscacha and a pair of White-winged Duica-Fiches, seeing also pair of White-throated Duica-Finches. Vicuma, the northern relative of the Guanico seen in Patagonia, roamed the opposite slopes, a little rodent scurried across which appeared to be a Bolivian Pericote.
Onward and upward, inducing more fatigue, next stop was at a set of wetlands adjacent to a police checkpoint. Flocks of flamingoes dotted distant pools, congregations of wildfowl there too. My little companion was definitely the worse for wear and opted to sleep in the car while I set off for the pools. Wasn't a big effort walking across the flat plain, but the slightest elevation certainly was. Passed the first small pools, Giant Coots and Puna Teals on the still waters, Andean Avocet and Andean Gulls the latest additions. Scanning across, could see hundreds of Andean Geese, many flying to snow-capped backdrops. Almost surely, Puna Plover would be out there somewhere, not to mention the three flamingo species, but my energy levels were decidedly low ...I opted for the lazy approach and returned to explore further by car. Most flamingoes stuck to the pools far away, but one particularly cooperative group had thoughtfully decided to settle upon a roadside pool ...and there, at least 100 Chilean Flamingoes, 60 Andean Flamingoes and 30 James's Flamingoes,the full set on one pool, nice! Hundreds of Speckled Teal and Puna Teal, dozens of Giant Coots, flights of Puna Ibis, four Andean Lapwings, the list of birds went on and on. Our health went down. Took a poor condition road to Laguna Cotacotani, hoped to see Puna Plover here, but didn't see much at all, bar more Viscacha. Returned and stopped in Parinacota village – didn't expect anything here, but was pleasantly surprised ...in addition to a bunch of armed troops suddenly materializing, I encountered not only my only Golden-spotted Ground-Doves of the trip, but my only Andean Flicker too, a superb individual hopping about on a wall in the village centre!
The troops departed, we departed, climbing further again to Lake Changara, a vast shallow pool right on the Bolivian border. Amazing queue of trucks waiting to cross the border, many kilometres of them, all stationary with drivers out and sitting on rocks, chatting, etc. Glad I wasn't in that queue, the few cars that venture up here allowed to zip by without waiting. As for Lake Changara, the fringes were full of birds – hundreds upon hundreds of Giant Coots and Andean Coots, many dozens of Silvery Coots, a good mix of Crested Ducks, Puna Teal and undoubtedly other species too. Andean Gulls flocked to grab titbits from the bored truck drivers tossing morsels their way. This site honestly deserved a much better visit than I gave it, but my younger companion seemed to be fading rather fast, now without the basic energy to even sit up. Not wishing to transport a dead person back down the mountain, I thought it prudent to respect the perils of altitude sickness and begin a descent. Added Black Siskins on the way down, a flock of six and a single, plus three Puna Miners and another flock of Spot-winged Pigeons, but otherwise made few spots.
In my haste, I passed a small ground-tyrant on a fence and paused only long enough to take a photograph and think 'hmm, that is a odd one'. Looking at the picture, it still looks odd ...closest match seems Spot-billed Ground-Tyrant, but it doesn't appear to have to pale spot on the bill!
Decided on a full descent, driving all the way back to the coast. Amazing road, not least for the number of trucks and cars that don't make it – with near non-stop hairpins, drops to gorges below and a near complete lack of safety barriers, wreckage of vehicles that had gone over was a pretty common site, little rock piles dotting the roadside often every few hundred metres, standing as memorials to lost lives. As we descended and oxygen levels returned to normal, headaches vanished, energy levels soared.
Returned to our hotel just as the sun was setting, popped into town to celebrate New Year's Eve, McDonald's again I have to admit. Chileans were beginning to crowd onto the streets, we opted to skip the revelry (or rather I did, she wanted to be on the streets to mark the New Year in). Was fast asleep by the midnight hour.