Birds of Prey

Doesn't it seem like the posts from the Buettner's visit are going on and on?!!  Ok, I just have a couple more posts of pictures to share....so just bear with me!

We went to a Birds of Prey park near Otovalo. We had heard about it from a friend and were so glad that we went.  It turned out to be a fantastic zoo of all types of birds (of prey of course).  Most of the visit was spent seeing the birds in cages, but towards the end we came upon an enclosed area with about 8-10 birds tethered on perches.  That's when we first saw the bald eagle named "Gringo".  He was magnificent and we couldn't believe we could almost walk right up to him.  After a few minutes of picture taking we found out it was time for the show we had been waiting for.   We all gathered to watch a handler fly several falcons.  They flew right over our heads as they circled back to the handler.  It was really fun to watch.  There was even a TV crew filming the show.  After a couple birds had flown they brought out "Gringo".  We couldn't believe they were going to fly him.  It was really something special to see a bald eagle fly right over us and then circle out over the beautiful valley.  The funny thing is, during the show someone asked what happens if the bird doesn't come back.  The handler joked about it, but assured us that they all come back.  That was before Gringo decided he liked flying high over the valley more than some pieces of chicken the handler was feeding him.  After about 45 minutes the eagle still hadn't returned.  At that point it started to rain and we decided to leave while Gringo still circled.  We hope he made it back!  As we were leaving the TV crew asked to interview us about the show.  It was kind of funny because they wanted us to answer in English.  Weird. 

An endangered Ecuadorian Condor

Gringo the Bald Eagle-Our favorite of course

The kids getting interviewed on TV