Andean Condor Thermal — Colca Canyon Uplift
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An Andean condor riding a thermal above Colca Canyon, Peru — the world’s largest flying bird with a 3.2-metre wingspan photographed from above the canyon rim as the bird ascends past the camera on the morning thermal.
Description
Colca Canyon in southern Peru is one of the world’s most reliable locations for observing Andean condors at close range — the canyon’s extreme depth creates reliable morning thermals as the canyon floor warms ahead of the rim, and the condors are habituated to the presence of observers at the canyon-side viewing areas. This image was made from the Cruz del Condor viewing area when a condor ascending the morning thermal passed within 10 metres of the canyon rim — the equivalent of a condor at eye level with the photographer. Shot from above as the condor ascended past the camera position, the image shows the dorsal surface of the wings from a perspective unavailable from ground-level photography — the full wingspan spread, the primary feathers’ individual shape, the white wing patches on the secondary coverts, and the bare reddish head of the adult bird visible at the wing’s forward edge.
