CHILE DAY 12: Skimmers to Tapaculos

For our final day in Chile, we had booked a gigantic full day bird tour that would keep us out of our hotel until about 9 pm! Our guide, Edward, was extremely helpful and knew his stuff. We wouldn't have seen as many species (a total of 56) without him.
The day started by travelling to La Campana National Park. On the way there we stopped at a vineyard where burrowing owls could be seen. Scanning the poles on top of the vineyard, we quickly found a burrowing owl! Also in the vineyard were several Chilean pigeons, a calling Picui ground-dove and some Californian quail.

This burrowing owl was rather cool with our presence

The Californian quail has been introduced to countries all over the world

Picui ground-doves can be told apart from eared doves by their smaller size

This large and beautiful Chilean pigeon is yet another misnamed bird in that it isn't endemic

Continuing towards the park Chilean mockingbirds became common, and several tufted tit-tyrants were seen frolicking in a nearby bush.

It was as if this Chilean mockingbird was posing for the camera!

Tufted tit-tyrants are small and fast birds, so this was the best photo I could get

We headed into the park and stopped at an area of bush good for turcas and tapaculos. We used playback and soon the calls of white-throated tapaculos hidden in the scrub could be heard. We walked behind them to get views and photos of them and then stumbled across a moustached turca.

The moustached turca is commoner than the tapaculo and much less shy

Both this white-throated tapaculo and the turca are endemic to Chile

As we continued on we saw some common diuca-finches, grey-hooded sierra finches and thorn-tailed rayaditos in an area of forest. There were also two more Californian quail here. Then we headed for our next stop, an area of beach in the seaside town Vina del Mar.
As soon as we got to the beach birds were visible. Two dark-bellied cinclodes were perched on a faraway rock. A whimbrel was much more nearby and a black-crowned night heron was on the sand. Walking along the beach produced a Chilean seaside cinclodes and some ruddy turnstones. Out to sea, neotropic cormorants, inca terns, Peruvian boobies and red-legged cormorants were flying to and from little rocky islands.

Black-crowned night herons are found throughout the Americas

We got crippling views of this Chilean seaside cinclodes as it fed

We reached a large rock covered in guano and birds. At the bottom of the rock were a few South American sea lions. Covering the rock were inca terns, red-legged cormorants, Guanay cormorants, neotropic cormorants, Peruvian boobies, Peruvian pelicans and kelp gulls. Flying overhead were turkey vultures. We got good views of these birds from the University of Valparaiso building next to it.

A flock of red-legged cormorants, with a kelp gull flying overhead

Peruvian boobies, with two Peruvian pelicans and an Inca tern in front of them 

A group of South American sea lions

A flying turkey vulture, these birds are common on the Chilean coast

This neotropic cormorant was very close to where we were standing

A group of Guanay cormorants with an inca tern flying over them

A swimming Peruvian pelican, this photo was taken later on at a place called Fisherman's Cove

Some Inca terns perched on a rock, you can see how the rock is covered in guano

After watching birds here we headed to Fisherman's cove, where there were close by Peruvian pelicans. We then ate some empanadas for lunch and went to a park that contained 2 platforms onto the mouth of a nearby river. Here one of my favourite birds of the trip, the black skimmer, was common, feeding in the river. A single greater yellowlegs was also wading on the shore. When we got to the second hide we noticed a large flock of birds were in front of it: black skimmers, South American terns, neotropic cormorants, white-necked herons, American oystercatchers, Franklin's gulls, kelp gulls and black-necked stilts were all present. Flying above the flock and harassing it was a single grey gull.

This lone greater yellowlegs was either an early arrival, or it stayed the winter in Chile

The white-necked heron is one of Chile's largest herons

The black skimmer feeds by dipping the longer half of its bill into water and flying

This lone grey gull managed to harass the whole flock

The flock as it flies away from the grey gull

Note the large group of South American terns at the back of the flock

A lone Franklin's gull in non-breeding plumage

This group of American oystercatchers allowed good views

After this we headed to a lagoon where the birds were too far off to photograph, but we saw snowy egrets, great egrets, cinnamon teals, cattle egrets, red shovelers, neotropic cormorants and lake ducks. Finally, we headed to a resort near an island where penguins could be seen. Upon arriving at the resort we immediately saw a fire-eyed diucon perched on a pole. Walking down to the beach and then towards the island allowed us to easily see the many humboldt penguins that made their homes there, as well as a single distant blackish oystercatcher.

The fire-eyed diucon is a species of tyrant flycatcher

Groups of these humboldt penguins were strewn all over the rocks of the island

It was a great trip and a fitting way to end our time in Chile.

CHILE DAY 9: To the Andes

On our ninth day we had booked a trip to an area in the Andes near Santiago. We left for our first stop, El Yeso Valley, at about 7 am. We arrived at 9, with a stop at some abandoned military buildings to see grey-hooded sierra finches. When we got to the reservoir itself, it was beautiful and I saw a single bar-winged cinclodes flying around on the reservoir edge.

This is the view from the road that runs along El Yeso Reservoir

The grey-hooded sierra finch is difficult to tell apart from its Patagonian cousin

We then headed back along the road, stopping to see a flock of white-browed ground-tyrants, a single endemic moustached turca, a Chilean mockingbird (another endemic), a common diuca-finch, an American kestrel on a wire and two long-tailed meadowlarks.

The beautiful long-tailed meadowlark is known as the 'loyca' in Spanish

American kestrels are known for their ability to hover in the air while looking for targets

The Chilean mockingbird is, as its name suggests, found only in Chile

White-browed ground-tyrants are known for surviving at extremely high altitudes

After driving to a waterfall near a snow-covered dormant volcano, we kept driving towards it, until we got near a mining settlement, in a marsh where some southern lapwings were feeding. We had lunch there, by heating chicken skewers over a fire. The wind made this hard, so we ate only a little and had some empanadas (delicious Chilean pastries) for afternoon tea.

CHILE DAY 7/8/10/11: BIRDS OF THE PARK

As we had nothing planned for our seventh day, we decided to walk out to the nearby park. There were several species of bird there, a few of which were new. The larger trees in the park were being used as nesting grounds by introduced monk parakeets. Some common diuca-finches were also nesting in the palms nearby. Throughout the park eared doves, Austral blackbirds and Austral thrushes were common. Walking onward produced a single southern lapwing. All of these birds apart from the parakeet proved to be common on our next days in Santiago. On our eighth day we did a city tour, on our eleventh day we went to Valpariso and Vina del Mar and on our tenth day we had another free day, but bird wise it was much of the same.

Eared doves are found through most of South America

The common diuca-finch is a more Chilean bird, it has been introduced to Easter Island

Monk parakeets were introduced to Chile from Argentina

CHILE DAY 6: To Santiago

On our final day, we had just enough time to do one more exploration, which was horse riding again. We stopped at a lagoon where there was a Magellanic oystercatcher with babies, many upland geese, a few Chiloe wigeons and two crested ducks. Due to the fact I didn't have a camera on me, I got no photographs. When we got back we saw 3 Andean condors flying around, as if saying goodbye!

These Andean condors provided spectacular views as they flew

Then it was time for the long drive back, but this time we were allowed more stops! Our first stop was in Puerto Natales, where the seaside is a reliable place to see black-necked swans. It did not disappoint and also provided us with kelp gulls, brown-hooded gulls, upland geese and a single feral goose. After stopping in Puerto Natales we kept driving, stopping again for a flock of 3 southern caracaras feeding on a dead fox. After eating lunch, we stopped once more for a lesser rhea, then stopped again at a large lagoon holding red shovelers, Chiloe wigeons, crested ducks, silvery grebes, white-tufted grebes and Chilean flamingoes. From this lagoon onwards those birds were fairly common in the roadside lakes. After this there were no more stops.

Black-necked swans are again much more elegant than their Australian cousins

This southern caracara and 3 of his friends were feasting on some roadkill

As we neared Punta Arenas lesser rheas became commoner

After this we flew to Santiago and arrived at 10:30 pm.

CHILE DAY 5: The mythical Torrent Duck

On our fifth day in Chile we visited the Pingo walk in the morning. This walk went into a southern beech forest and because of this Magellanic woodpecker was a possibility here. The rapids near the walk were also apparently good for torrent ducks.
The start of the walk took us through the typical scrubby forests of the park's west, alongside a river. As always Patagonian sierra-finches, Austral blackbirds and rufous-collared sparrows were common, with a single black-chested buzzard eagle soaring over our heads as well. We soon found a large flock of sierra-finches that contained 2 black-chinned siskins. Then we hit the jackpot, as the walk continued near the river we spotted a beautiful male torrent duck diving through the rapids.

There are many sites in Torres Del Paine for this rare torrent duck

The walk took us through a drier, grassy area where dark-faced ground tyrants and house wrens were seen, as well as another black-chested buzzard eagle overhead. As we entered the Southern Beech forest thorn-tailed rayaditos started to pop up.

Thorn-tailed rayaditos are a common sight in Torres Del Paine's beech forests

We then stopped to see a spectacular waterfall, before heading back to the Explora. On the way back I spotted a single dark-bellied cinclodes.

This waterfall was very beautiful in the thick southern beech forest

The dark-bellied cinclodes belongs to a massive family of birds known as the Ovenbirds

After this we ate lunch, spotting 3 more Andean condors from the restaurant. We then headed to Nordenskjöld Lagoon, where there was a lookout that provided great views of the Paine massif and the Salto Chica waterfall. Nothing of note was seen here, apart from another cinerous harrier.

The rocks below Salto Chica are another site for torrent duck

This glacier is fed by snow and ice from a hanging glacier above it

For its shape, this mountain is known as 'the Bull's Horns'

Apart from that not much else was seen.

CHILE DAY 4: A trip to the ranch

On our fourth day in Chile we travelled out to a ranch for a barbecue, on an exploration known as the Photo Safari. The safari proved extremely good for birds. Before the safari left I noticed and photographed two flying steamer-ducks in the lake next to the hotel, and did a short walk around the hotel grounds (seeing a white-crested elaenia).

It was entertaining to watch these flying steamer-ducks diving from the restaurant

The white-crested elaenia is one of the easiest members of its genus to identify

We started out heading towards the ranch. We stopped at a waterfall (Salto Chica) to check for torrent ducks, but none were seen. We then stopped at a small lagoon where white-tufted grebes, upland geese, flying steamer-ducks and spectacled ducks were all present, but nothing new. Another nearby lagoon provided similar birds, but a flock of 7 silvery grebes was new.

The silvery grebe is one of only three grebes that inhabit Torres Del Paine

Our next stop was at a much larger lagoon, where there was an enormous flock of Chilean flamingos very close to the shore. We walked up to them, then walked around the lagoon to see two southern wigeons, several crested ducks, three red-gartered coots and a pair of Austral negritos on the ground.

This Chilean flamingo was very accommodating and allowed lots of photos

Southern wigeons really put their Eurasian cousins to shame

In contrast, these crested ducks are much drabber, but also less widespread

As we were leaving the flamingo lagoon we also saw another Patagonian fox.

In the right light, the legs of the Patagonian fox appear a beautiful reddish-orange

Our next stop was the Aonikenk walk. The walk extends towards cave paintings, but we were only exploring the start of it: an area with many lagoons. The lagoons were filled with birds, including our first yellow-billed pintails, red shovelers and lake ducks. A cinerous harrier was also flying overhead. On the way back there were several guanacos close to the trail.

The lake duck is actually related to Australia's blue-billed duck

Yellow-billed pintails are common through much of South America

This cinerous harrier stayed around long enough for me to get this photo

Spot the bird edition 2: red shoveler

These guanacos didn't seem bothered by humans at all

We continued forward. From that point guanacos were fairly common. A few lesser rheas were also present, but too far away to photograph. We stopped at another waterfall, Cascada Paine, to look for torrent ducks, but again they weren't there. We stopped again to watch a flock of 6 Andean condors flying around, most likely they had scented some corpse for them to feed on. Two chimango caracaras were also in the area. Soon we arrived at the ranch.

The rapids near Cascada Paine are apparently good for torrent ducks, though we didn't see any

The ranch itself wasn't too birdy, apart from many Chilean swallows that were flying around and a few house wrens in the trees.

Both Chilean swallows (like this one) and blue-and-white swallows inhabit Patagonia

After that we walked to a nearby wetland. On the shores of the wetland were nesting red-gartered coots and silvery grebes, as well as a few Magellanic oystercatchers. In the water was a small flock of southern wigeons, a few crested ducks and 3 yellow-billed pintails. Trees near the wetland held nothing but a single Austral thrush. We stopped during our walk to see some upland goose eggs that had been abandoned.

This crested duck was near the trail and allowed some good photos

A Magellanic oystercatcher next to the nest of a red-gartered coot

You can just make out the silvery grebe sitting on its nest

These Upland goose eggs were on a beach next to the trail

This southern lapwing attempted to lure us away from its nest by pretending its wing was broken

Again, the drive back was fairly uneventful.