2009 Tour Narrative
In Brief: From the Straits of Magellan and the austral ambiance of Tierra del Fuego to side-by-side comparisons of earthcreepers in the prepuna valleys of the Atacama Desert, Chile once again impressed us with its varied habitats, birds, and cultures. Besides its fantastic diversity, Chile challenges some of our conventional ideas of where birds should be, such as parakeets and snow, penguins and cactus, flamingos and ice, tapaculos and open roads…. Highlights this year included prolonged studies of confiding Magellanic Plover and Diademed Sandpiper-Plover; a couple of memorable Humboldt Current pelagics with majestic Royal Albatrosses circling us, fancy Inca Terns, and point-blank views of Peruvian Diving-Petrels on glassy seas; tiny male Chilean Woodstars and Peruvian Sheartails feeding on desert blooms; stunning White-sided Hillstars seeking flowers on seemingly barren Andean steppes; iconic Torrent Ducks in their rushing element; and an Andean Condor so close we almost could have stepped onto its wings and been swept away; plus pygmy-owls, canasteros, empanadas, and chocolate.
In Detail: All arrived safely to a quiet Sunday in Santiago, with time to rest a little before our introductory meeting and lunch. For the afternoon we headed up into the nearby Andes for a taste of central Chile’s birdlife as well as an eyeful of stunning scenery, albeit with a higher-than-usual snowline following a fairly dry winter. Birds included great views of Moustached Turca and Crag Chilia, the eye-burning red of Long-tailed Meadowlarks, and condors flying so close just below eye level that it seemed we could almost step out onto their vast wings and sail off on a magic carpet ride over the Andes.
We made an early start the next day for our flight south to Punta Arenas, where we arrived in sleet that turned to heavy snow and then to driving spitting rain, with clouds misting over the Straits of Magellan. But this was fine, as we simply checked in to our rooms, enjoyed a hot lunch, and then headed out for an afternoon of birding as the rain stopped, the skies brightened, and the birds came out to show themselves. Right by the hotel we were treated to great views of Dolphin Gulls, giant-petrels, fulmars, and good numbers of Black-browed Albatrosses. Fields and wetlands held numerous negritos, grounded flocks of Dark-faced Ground-Tyrants, plenty of waterfowl and shorebirds including a group of Wilson’s Phalaropes, plus a pair of Austral Canasteros. Despite sunny skies, the wind picked up, and up, and up, until it was howling at over 60 mph and rocking the van, whipping lakes into flurries of spray, and causing some birds to “swim backwards” despite trying to go forward! We nonetheless had fabulous close-up views of nesting White-tufted Grebes, plus Silvery Grebes and Coscoroba Swans.
We awoke to a glorious sunny morning. The 30-40 knot wind was from behind us, making for a comfortable yet spectacular crossing of the Straits of Magellan to Tierra del Fuego, with a good variety of birds that included albatrosses, diving-petrels, and our first penguins—really close ones! After checking in to our new accommodation, we headed out of town for a picnic lunch and an afternoon of birding. The wind dropped slowly and the light was often stunning over rolling fuegian steppes liberally dotted with Austral Negritos and handsome Guanacos. Other birds included a pair of Fuegian (Flightless) Steamer-Ducks, a great show of ground-tyrants (three species!) and negritos parading by like a field guide outside the van, a flashy Aplomado Falcon, and of course the incomparable Magellanic Plover feeding alongside migrant Baird’s and White-rumped Sandpipers from the other end of the world. A good dinner and sleep followed.
The next day we drove through a vast tiny corner of Patagonia, north from Porvenir to the short and fast ferry crossing at Bahia Azul, up to some less-grazed steppe, and back to Punta Arenas, with stops to see Tawny-throated Dotterel. As we’d come to expect, the weather was changeable, from almost calm in the early morning to gale-force winds, rain, hail, and sunshine! Our birding alternated between the comfort of the van and short walks along the road, and a good variety of species included elegant Ruddy-headed Geese, both swan species, good numbers of Darwin’s Rheas, handsome Rufous-chested Dotterel, flashy Chocolate-vented Tyrants and Canary-winged Finches, and even some flamingos. We arrived in time to relax before dinner and a good night’s sleep.
After breakfast we headed out to the Seno Otway penguin colony, with some nice Hudsonian Godwits and a low-flying Andean Condor en route. Along with great weather and wonderful views of Magellanic Penguins, we enjoyed singing Sedge Wrens, confiding Correndera Pipits and negritos, a group of Patagonian Yellow-Finches, and a surprise King Penguin being repatriated after having wandered into an oil refinery. We repacked for our afternoon flight to Puerto Montt, made a stop at the post office, and enjoyed our last views of a variety of waterfowl, grebes, and shorebirds in stunning light.
It was nice to sleep in a little and awake to sunny skies and a beautiful view over the Gulf of Ancud. After looking at the Puerto Montt waterfront, where the mix of birds included Peruvian Pelican and Magellanic Penguin, we drove north through the Lake District, with the stunning snow-capped cone of Volcan Osorno as our constant companion. Stops along the way produced great views of Slender-billed Parakeets, reclusive Ochre-flanked Tapaculos, a flashy Spectacled Tyrant, Chilean Tinamou, and Torrent Duck. Just before reaching the lodge, we found a trio of Magellanic Woodpeckers beside the road.
We awoke to look out on a light coating of fresh-fallen snow, which continued to fall through breakfast. The early morning walkers were rewarded with a great little Austral Pygmy-Owl being mobbed by swallows before we all headed down to the elevation of rain and elusive tapaculos. By the end of the day the rain had stopped and all tapaculo species had been seen. Other highlights included a fabulous showing of Torrent Ducks during lunch, some handsome Chilean Pigeons, and good views of the rare and little-known Rufous-tailed Hawk. Our second day at Antillanca dawned dry but cold, with beautiful snow-capped volcano domes against clear skies, frozen puddles in the parking lot and, with some work, a very obliging Black-throated Huet-huet before breakfast. We had plenty of time for birding this day and, given the great weather, decided to try the Isla Chiloe ferry crossing. It was a beautiful and easy crossing with numerous birds, including four species of cormorants, Peruvian Boobies, Magellanic Penguins, lots of terns, Sooty and Pink-footed Shearwaters, and even a migrant negrito working his way south. After repacking and enjoying the “sunny seaside,” we headed back to Puerto Montt for our afternoon flight to Santiago and home base again.
A full day was spent exploring the diverse habitats in the lowlands of central Chile, from lakes and marshes to matorral. In spite of the atypical wet fog, we found a great variety of species, including Black-necked Swans with cygnets, Wrenlike Rushbirds nest-building, brilliantly blue-billed Lake Ducks, the elusive White-throated Tapaculo, aptly named Many-colored Rush-Tyrants, a handsome Plumbeous Rail, and neon-billed Spot-flanked Gallinules. A stunning gold sunset and wine-dark sea left us wondering what the weather would be like tomorrow…
Our pelagic out into the Humbodt Current rewarded us with majestic Northern Royal Albatrosses wheeling around the boat, plus the smaller Black-browed and Salvin’s Albatrosses and a good variety of petrels and terns that allowed repeated close views—a rare treat. After a siesta we birded some nearby lakes where a male Black-headed Duck eventually woke up to show his bright bill pattern. From beautiful rocky and sandy coasts to matorral woodland, we birded the next day in sunny spring weather amid carpets of wildflowers and symphonies of bird song before making our way back to Santiago. Birds right at the hotel included some surprise West Peruvian Doves (expanding their range south), handsome Black-chinned Siskins, and a male Rufous-tailed Plantcutter. Other species included Chilean Seaside Cinclodes, Surfbirds, Striped Woodpecker, Giant Humingbirds, Great Shrike-Tyrant, and Humboldt Penguins rolling in the surf.
On the first of our two days in Chile’s central Andes, we climbed to 9,000 feet and into mind-blowing scenery near the Argentine border at Portillo, where we started with great views of Black-fronted, Cinereous, and Ochre-naped Ground-Tyrants and continued with Yellow-rumped and Thick-billed Siskins and a flashy male White-sided Hillstar. Bar-winged and Oustalet’s (Gray-flanked) Cinclodes side by side were nice, plus an in-the-open Magellanic Tapaculo. It was a wonderful day along the Farellones road, where amid majestic scenery we found Gray-breasted Seedsnipe, Chilean Tinamou, a perched Black-chested Buzzard-Eagle, foxes in the snow, another (!) Great Shrike-Tyrant, and “as expected” more condors and comical roadside turcas.
Tapaculos in lands Magellanic
Are skulking and even satanic
Then enter the Turca
Sun-loving, not lurker
Road-running he looks almost manic
The airline schedule meant a very early flight north to Arica, where, amid the stark contrasts between oasis valley and totally barren desert, we were soon enjoying Andean Swifts sweeping overhead and tiny male Chilean Woodstars buzzing around. A lunch of fresh empanadas at the river mouth, with a refreshing ocean breeze, also produced great views of a variety of new species including handsome White-cheeked Pintails and bathing Turkey Vultures. Moving inland, the new birds came thick and fast, including the bizarre Peruvian Thick-knee and an all-too-brief Peruvian Pygmy-Owl. We ascended through “über-desert” into the prepuna and alfalfa terraces of Putre, settling into our home for the next three nights and enjoying an atmospheric dinner.
Our first day was spent acclimating in and around Putre, where the suite of new birds included side-by-side visual and vocal comparisons of Plain-breasted and White-throated Earthcreepers, Giant Hummingbirds, Blue-and-yellow Tanagers, and various canasteros, cinclodes, and sierra-finches. After lunch we moved to higher elevation and took a fabulous bog walk amid stunning scenery, met a friendly shepherd and his dogs, and were rewarded by wonderful views of the incomparable little Diademed Sandpiper-Plover.
Our day in Lauca National Park was a literal and metaphorical high point of the tour, with constant breath-taking vistas of altiplano bogs, plains, and lakes under towering snow-capped volcanoes. Some of the day’s many highlights included pink swaths of flamingos (three species!), flashy Black Siskins, the aptly named Giant Coot, cuddly-looking Vizcachas grazing on the bofedales, a unique comparison of White-tailed and Black-billed Shrike-Tyrants side by side, shopping for a variety of alpaca garments, and, on our way home, a group of Huemel (or Andean Deer) crossing the road. A good dinner and sleep rounded out this memorable day.
On our last full day, a pre-breakfast walk produced a Golden-billed Saltator, and then we loaded for the drive back down to Arica. Birding en route produced an Ornate Tinamou flushed by a Variable Hawk, brilliant-green Mountain Parakeets, an appreciation for the habitat of Grayish Miner, and a good variety of coastal species. We settled in for a relaxing late afternoon serenaded by the sound of surf and Gray Gulls in oxygen-rich air. Our flight schedules gave us time for an unscheduled short pelagic on glassy calm seas. Birds included the ever-popular penguins (of the Humboldt persuasion), superb views of Peruvian Diving-Petrels, both giant-petrels, Elliot’s Storm-Petrel, fancy Inca Terns and Red-legged Shags, a surprise marine Otter, and an even more surprising Yellow-crowned Night-Heron in the harbor. Our last empanada lunch was followed by a superb male Peruvian Sheartail, a spectacular last bird for the trip. Thanks to all for making this such a fun and bird-filled adventure!
- Steve Howell
Updated: March 2010