2007 Tour Narrative
In Brief: As always, this tour impresses everyone with its remarkable contrasts and variety: from the windswept solitude of Tierra del Fuego to the richness of the Humboldt Current, and from rich altiplano bofedales to the utterly barren Atacama Desert. Highlights? Too many to mention, but this year included winter-wonderland snow-cloaked old-growth forests with a pair of majestic Magellanic Woodpeckers foraging at eye level, Austral Parakeets adorning a budding tree like Christmas ornaments, and a Black-throated Huet-huet perched in the open; an incredible pelagic trip with perfect conditions, swarms of albatrosses and petrels around our boat, and Sperm Whales rolling near the surface; a beautiful Andean bog surrounded by massive purple and green scree slopes reaching up to snow-capped peaks, with a family of Diademed Sandpiper-Plovers foraging close by; a remarkable diversity of plants, from spectacular Chilean Palms to towering Equisetum; Torrent Ducks at home in tumbling Andean torrents; plus condors, coots and chocolate.
A great feature of the Chilean avifauna is its manageability, so there was time to watch many of the birds and even get to know them after a while. As usual, the trip list was modest by most Neotropical standards but very respectable for Chile, and featured two rheas, two tinamous, two penguins, 15 tubenoses, two flamingoes, 22 waterfowl, 11 raptors, 32 shorebirds, 26 furnariids (or ovenbirds, that South American family that fills so many niches), seven tapaculos, 26 tyrant-flycatchers and all five Chilean siskins.
In Detail: The day of our arrival in Chile we took a short trip into the Andes outside Santiago, along the Farellones road, where highlights included prolonged scope views of foraging Moustached Turcas (an “easy” tapaculo), Andean Condors spiraling and tumbling against snow-capped peaks, a pair of Black-chested Buzzard-Eagles swooshing overhead as they plummeted after an unhappy Harris’s Hawk (!), a nice pair of Crag Chilias and some handsome California Quail. A good dinner and sleep rounded out the day.
Our earliest start of the tour meant a 4:30 a.m. departure from the hotel for our flight to Punta Arenas — but then the flight was delayed! Finally, we arrived about midday in Punta Arenas, where impressive winds whipped the Straits of Magellan into a white-capped frenzy. After a much-appreciated lunch we checked in at the hotel and did some afternoon birding in and near town, between showers. Still, there were some wonderful birds and when the sun did break through the light was beautiful. Great views of White-tufted and Patagonian Silvery grebes, Magellanic Snipe, numerous rainbows (including one that ended at the sewer outfall, with handsome Dolphin Gulls), and offshore rafts of Antarctic Fulmars with a few giant-petrels were some of the day’s notables. Back at the hotel a hot shower felt good, and dinner overlooking the Straits was very pleasant.
Heavy rain overnight and sloppy seas in the morning didn’t bode well, but once we boarded the ferry the weather improved and we enjoyed an almost “warm” crossing, watching from the lee side of the ship. Lots of Magellanic Diving-Petrels passed by, and other goodies included Black-browed Albatross and Magellanic Penguins. After check-in at the hotel we birded near town and became more familiar with the ubiquitous but handsome Upland Geese, endearing Austral Negritos, impressive Guanacos, a pair of Fuegian Steamer-Ducks and the enigmatic Magellanic Plover, as well as migrant Baird’s and White-rumped Sandpipers. The next day we traveled through a tiny yet vast-seeming corner of Patagonia, re-crossing the Straits of Magellan at Bahía Azul and ending up back in Punta Arenas. Rain first thing faded away and much of the day proved to be calm and almost mild, with some really nice birds. On Tierra del Fuego we started with Austral Canastero and Scale-throated Earthcreeper, found Ruddy-headed Goose with a little work, lucked into Patagonian Yellow-Finches and watched nest-feeding Cinnamon-bellied Ground-Tyrants. The short cool crossing produced a close Southern Giant-Petrel, lots of diving-petrels and the striking Commerson’s Dolphin, and we enjoyed a picnic lunch overlooking the Straits. Taking advantage of the calm weather we walked over some relatively ungrazed steppe to find striking male Canary-winged Finches, displaying Rufous-chested Plovers and an obliging Chocolate-vented Tyrant before heading back to Punta Arenas.
A relatively leisurely start was followed by a visit to the Seno Otway Magellanic Penguin colony, with numerous stops en route. It’s always great to see penguins up close, and other birds of note included flocks (!) of Andean Condors wheeling over the bus, fast-moving Darwin’s Rheas, singing Sedge Wrens, very tame Common Miners, Correndera Pipits, Chilean Swallows, Austral Negritos and an Austral Canastero. Our afternoon flight to Puerto Montt was on time, and we arrived in time for a good night’s sleep before our adventure into the shadow world of tapaculos.
After breakfast we checked the Puerto Montt waterfront in heavy rain before heading north through farmland and clearing skies, along the edge of Lago Llanquihue (pronounced as it sounds!), and birding our way to Puyehue by the afternoon. A stop for the endemic Slender-billed Parakeet also produced Ochre-flanked Tapaculo, and a pair of Chilean Flickers was notable as well. On the climb through old-growth Nothofagus forest (and rain) up to Antillanca, a stop for feeding flocks of Austral Parakeets in the snow seemed rather surreal. After check-in we took a walk in the “winter wonderland” forests where there was still a lot of snow on the ground, the highlights being a pair of eye-level White-throated Treerunners and a Black-throated Huet-huet lumbering across the snow between bamboo patches as parakeets flew overhead. The next day dawned cool, with sun glinting off the soft snowy volcano domes around the hotel as parakeets bounded through the trees. After breakfast we came upon a pair of majestic Magellanic Woodpeckers (the female cooler than the male!), an icon of the austral temperate forests where there were numerous flowering plants, including the enigmatic Drimys winteri. Much of the rest of the day was spent working for tapaculos, huet-huet, Chucao, the mouse-like Magellanic as well as Des Murs’s Wiretail, some stunning and well-named Green-backed Firecrowns and some very tame Patagonian Sierra-Finches. Stops at a nearby river produced a superb low-flying White-throated Hawk, a handsome Ringed Kingfisher and wary Torrent Ducks. The undoubted highlight of our travel day from the cold temperate forests back to central Chile was a very obliging Black-throated Huet-huet, which perched up high in a tree (!) and then flew to a nearby stump, in the open. The warmth and sunshine of Santiago were a pleasant change, and we arrived in good time to have a restful afternoon.
On our first full day in central Chile, we started at the Lampa Marshes with many new birds including Andean Geese and Cocoi Heron, but sadly the water levels were wrong for painted snipe. At El Tabo we visited a valley of relict matorral being strangled by non-native eucalyptus, where birds included Austral Pygmy-Owls (one being chased by a Giant Hummingbird!), White-throated and Dusky Tapaculos (seen well!) and Rufous-tailed Plantcutters. At Laguna El Peral we found Black-necked Swans and beautiful little Many-colored Rush-Tyrants, and watched a Wrenlike Rushbird nest-building. And at Laguna Cartagena the delightful and enthusiastic wardens Marcela and Johanna showed us Coscoroba Swans, Black-headed Ducks, Spot-flanked Gallinules and two vagrant Andean Avocets. Then it was north to Quintero, via a stop amid the spectacular Chilean Palms, and time for a relaxing evening.
An early breakfast next morning was followed by an absolutely fabulous pelagic out in the Humboldt Current, with a light breeze, low seas, good light and incredible birds — but where did those pelicans come from? Swarms of birds around the boat included numerous Black-browed and Salvin’s Albatrosses, a few (Southern) Buller’s Albatrosses, squadrons of aptly named Pintado Petrels, an elegant Inca Tern and numerous other species including good numbers of De Filippi’s Petrels. Red Phalaropes were numerous, and regular sightings of Sperm Whales were a bonus. After a refreshing lunch and siesta, we visited a nearby lake and appreciated the luminous afternoon light on a variety of waterbirds, including handsome Great Grebes and a male Black-headed Duck. The next day we birded along the coast southward. Some handsome Guanay Cormorants were spotted and our stop to view them produced the even-snazzier Red-legged Shag and our first Chilean Seaside Cinclodes. Other birds included Black Skimmers, lots of Inca Terns and some nice Surfbirds. A sunny valley of native wildflowers and song featured a very obliging Great Shrike-Tyrant, Striped Woodpeckers and Dusky-tailed Canasteros, and after lunch we visited Cachagua and the island colony of Humboldt Penguins, where Marine Otters were a bonus. An ice-cream stop en route back to Santiago attested to the warm spring weather.
An early breakfast got us out of the city in good time, up into the high Central Andes northeast of Santiago. Menacing clouds dispersed and the day was downright warm, although with a moderate breeze in the afternoon. The sheer rock faces and snow-capped peaks offered “too much” stunning scenery, and birds included great Torrent Ducks, five species of ground-tyrants, the poorly known Thick-billed Siskin and two “sun-loving” tapaculos — Magellanic and Turca. The next day we headed up the El Yeso Valley, south of Santiago, and into more amazing scenery — huge moraines and scree slopes below snow-capped peaks hidden in the clouds — as well as a remarkable drive. On a not-too-wet bog we found a pair of Diademed Sandpiper-Plovers with chicks, as well as hooting Gray-breasted Seedsnipe, Oustalet’s and Bar-winged Cinclodes and, finally, a Cinereous Ground-Tyrant. After lunch, lower down we found Turcas and the spectacular Blue Puya.
On arrival in Arica we headed to the Lluta River mouth for a great empanada lunch. From swarms of Franklin’s Gulls at the coast we passed Peruvian Thick-knees, Peruvian Meadowlarks and an obliging Rufescent [Bran-colored] Flycatcher before climbing into mind-numbingly stark and barren Atacama Desert. Above the narrow zone of Candelabro cacti we entered the prepuna, with slopes covered in scrubby bushes and cacti, before dropping into Putre, set amid green alfalfa terraces — a day of remarkable life-zone changes. We took a day to acclimate to higher elevations (topping 14,000 feet at Las Cuevas) and experience a strikingly different avifauna from that of central Chile. New birds came thick and fast, including Canyon Canastero and Black-throated Flowerpiercer before breakfast, then White-throated Earthcreeper, emerald-throated male Andean Hillstars, an Aplomado Falcon diving at a young Variable Hawk, and a couple of Andean Red Foxes. Higher up we found a female Torrent Duck with duckling, Puna Rhea and the flashy Black Siskin, while lower down were Mountain Parakeets and D’Orbigny’s Chat-Tyrant. Oh, and the scenery and herds of Vicuña…
At the literal high point of the tour, and all-in-all a remarkable day, we headed up to Lauca National Park and Lake Chungará, at around 15,000 feet elevation. The day started with Ornate Tinamous in the road, cute Vizcachas and serendipitous Golden-spotted Ground-Doves. The Chucuyo-Parinacota bofedal was very birdy, with flocks of flamingoes and a good diversity of species including Puna Plovers, Big-eared Mouse and handsome Bright-rumped Yellow-Finches. Lake Chungará was liberally dotted with Giant Coots and Andean Silvery Grebes, and after lunch we made a memorable “bog walk” to fully appreciate this unique habitat. Heading back down to Putre we found a trio of Puna Tinamous and enjoyed a walk in the “rich” air of 12,000 feet! Retracing our steps to the coast we stopped to appreciate the Candelabro cacti and the remarkable giant horsetails (Equisetum), a much-anticipated highlight, before seeking hummingbirds in the Azapa Valley. We spotted our first hummer, an Oasis Hummingbird, and then followed some superb male Chilean Woodstars. We arrived at the hotel in time to settle in and relax, either with a beer on the porch or a walk among the hordes of Gray Gulls and Surfbirds on the beach, before a relaxing last night’s dinner.
LAN Chile’s changing flight schedules meant little time for morning birding, so we had a relaxing morning. Some slept in and others enjoyed a beach walk at the hotel, with lines of passing Peruvian Pelicans, boobies and gulls, plus a Peruvian Diving-Petrel sitting close inshore. Then to the airport via excellent views of Belcher’s Gulls, and on to Santiago in good time for our homeward connections. Was it only 18 days? Any trip with five internal flights, two ferry crossings, a pelagic and forays to 15,000 feet has got to be tiring, but what a trip!
- Steve Howell
Updated: January 2008