Jake Mohlmann on the conclusion of his tour to Southern Argentina

We covered thousands of miles fueled by stunning and varied scenery, excellent food, and sensational birding. The expansive grasslands of the Pampas held several great finds including glowing Scarlet-headed Blackbirds, the range-restricted Olrog’s Gull, and plentiful Greater Rhea. Brown-and-Yellow Marshbirds joined Yellow-winged Blackbirds in the marshes as hundreds of Snail Kites soared overheard and Long-winged Harriers coursed slowly over the wetlands. A major highlight came when the group found at least six South American Painted Snipe while slogging through one of these wet spots.

Happy group in Tierra del Fuego

The shrubby arid lands surrounding the Valdez Peninsula provided several regional specialties including two endemics, the Rusty-backed Monjita and White-throated Cachalote. The elegant Burrowing Parakeet was seen at its nesting site and we eventually got good views of Darwin’s Nothura, a very cryptic species of this dry area.

 
White-throated Cachalote

The verdant coastline in this region is home to thousands of breeding sea mammals and seabirds that we had a very nice sampling of. We could almost touch gigantic Southern Elephant Seals as they basked in the waning sunlight while endemic White-headed Steamer-Ducks stared in amazement at our bravado. The most entertaining bird around these colonies is the odd Snowy Sheathbill, of which we saw 25 on the tour.

 
Snowy Sheathbill awaits whatever the colonies provide

Southern Patagonia, with its windswept plains and short shrubs, was absolutely wonderful this year and gave us views of Chocolate-vented Tyrants, Patagonian Tinamous, and both Tawny-throated and Rufous-chested Dotterels.

In Ushuaia we nailed all of our targets like male and female Magellanic Woodpecker, White-throated Treerunner, Thorn-tailed Rayadito, and a family of entertaining Austral Pygmy-Owls. Our boat trip was blissful down the Beagle Channel with super close views of hundreds of both Southern Giants Petrels and Black-browed Albatross. Ultimately we saw our most wanted specimens when Magellanic, Gentoo, and mighty King Penguins were all in attendance at an island breeding colony nearby.

 
Austral Pygmy-Owl stands guard by her fledglings

There were even some complete surprises along the way, including no less than five Blackish Cinclodes, one of which landed on our boat. This recently established breeder was unexpected and will hopefully stick around for years to come!

Blackish Cinclodes onboard our boat