Elizabetha near Equator at 5,000 feet in the Andes

Elizabetha continued to move slowly south yesterday, covering only 62 km (39 miles) for the day.

She roosted last night on the western slope of the Andes along a river drainage flowing west from the dormant 4,700 meter high Volcan Cotacachi in Imbabura Province. This tributary eventually joins the Esmeraldas River.

She selected a small patch of forest alongside the river and across from the main road from Otavalo. The elevation of her signal (approximately 5,000 feet) reveals that she has chosen an Andean route at this point.

She is only about 58 km (36 miles) north of Quito.

She should cross over the equator either today or tomorrow as she is just 32 km (20 miles) north of the line.


This is the first time that we have had one of our tagged falcons initiate a southbound Andean route so far to the north. She veered into the foothills back in Colombia.