Island Girl Heads Down the Hill

After roosting high in the Andes for the last three nights, Island Girl abruptly headed northwest towards the coast, just like Linda did two years ago.

Both birds set high altitude roosting records and both then suddenly dropped down in elevation.

On Friday, she flew NW near or over the villages of Rapaz, Pachangara, Paca, Nanis and the headwaters of the Huaraz Valley. She therefore flew west of the Huascaran Mountain range, bypassing the highest peaks in Peru, just like Linda did two years ago.

She roosted on a dry desert peak about 22 km (14 miles) inland and NE of the coastal town of Chimbote. Her perch, at about 1,000 feet in elevation, overlooked a broad, braided river valley.

She had flown 290 km (180 miles) for the day.

It is likely that at some point in her flight today, she must have engaged in a long and remarkable glide downwards. She dropped about 14,000 feet in elevation over the day, approximately the height of Mt. Rainier here in the US.

I would have loved to have seen that flight.