We arrived in Santiago at around 09:30 after a fourteen-and-a-half-hour
flight, which was mainly overnight. Once
passing through Chilean immigration and collecting our luggage we were met by a
Princess Cruise representative and it wasn’t long before we were on a coach
heading for San Antonio where we were to board our Princess Cruise ship,
Emerald Princess. When we arrived at
registration it was quite busy, but we were soon through and after passing
through the ships security we were on board and in our cabin.
I had seen a few birds during the transit from Santiago to San Antonio
that included two Turkey Vulture, a Variable Hawk, a Black-chested
Buzzard-eagle, four Southern Lapwing, Rock Dove and four Chimango Caracara.
The ship was due to leave at 18:00 but left over two hours late due to
baggage handling problems and although we had our baggage before we departed
many passengers did not. There were
plenty of Kelp Gulls around the harbour and I also had four Brown-hooded Gulls
and two Franklin’s Gulls. There was also
a Greet Grebe and a Pied-billed Grebe in the harbour and Peruvian Pelicans were
a frequent sight, but I only saw four Peruvian Boobies. Other birds seen were a single Turkey
Vulture, seventeen Southern Lapwings and Rock Doves. I didn’t get any opportunity to do any
birding from the boat as we sailed as it was getting quite late after dinner.
Peruvian Booby
Peruvian Booby
Peruvian Booby
Franklin's Gull
I awoke before dawn on the 18th but as dawn began to break I
could see birds flying over the sea but it wasn’t light enough to identify
anything, although I could see that they were shearwaters. After breakfast I was able to get out on the
balcony and bird for a couple of hours and I did two other shorter sessions
during the day, although during the final session the number of birds seen were
far fewer. During the first two sessions
I recorded just seven species that included a single Southern Royal Albatross,
two Northern Royal Albatross, twenty-four Black-browed Albatross, a Southern
Giant Petrel, 155 Sooty Shearwater, thirty-five Pink-footed Shearwater and
twenty-seven Franklin’s Gulls. The final
session produced four Black-browed Albatross, five Sooty Shearwater,
forty-eight Pink-footed Shearwaters and eight Wilson’s Storm-petrels.
Friday the 19th we laid anchor off Puerto Montt and had booked
an excursion to Petrohue River, Frutillar and a German Settlers Museum. After and early breakfast the passengers on
tours assembled in the theatre to await their passage to the mainland via a
tender. Once through the Peru security
we were greeted by our tour guide and settled into our coach for the day. We then went to the Petrohue River to view
the rapids and falls and then went back to Puerto Varas.
After a walk around the town and some lunch we went to Frutillar, which
was a German Settlement that still shows signs of the German character today
and after a brief visit to a museum and a relaxing five minutes on the beach we
returned to the ship.
During the day I had managed to see just twenty-five species, which
included nine lifers: Black-faced Ibis; Imperial Shag; South American Tern;
Chilean Pigeon; Austral Parakeet; White-crested Elaenia; Tufted Tit-Tyrant;
Chilean Swallow and Austral Thrush.
Chimango Caracara
Tufted Tit-Tyrant
Calbuco Volcano from the ship
Osorno Volcano
Osorno Volcano from the Petrohue Falls
Petrohue Falls
Puerto Varas
Saturday the 20th saw us at sea all day, which gave me the
opportunity to carry out three observation from the balcony. The ship was heading south and entered the
Chilean Fjords briefly to avoid some severe weather. My first watch was from 06:20 to 09:30 with a
short break for breakfast. During this
period I recorded just eight species that included two Northern Royal
Albatrosses, twenty-six Black-browed Albatrosses, 850+ Sooty Shearwaters, six
Pink-footed Shearwaters, 200+ Imperial Shags, a Great Egret, three Franklin’s
Gulls and a Kelp Gull.
Chilean Fjords
Chilean Fjords
The second watch was for just an hour between 10:55 and 11:55 when I
recorded just three species: a Northern Royal Albatross, six Black-browed
Albatrosses and thirty-nine Sooty Shearwaters.
The final watch between 14:00 and 17:15 produced seven species: two
Wilson’s Petrel, a Wandering Albatross, a Light-mantled Albatross, fifty-four
Black-browed Albatrosses, three Grey-headed Albatrosses, 185 Sooty Shearwaters
and a Chilean Skua.
Black-browed Albatross
Sooty Shearwaters
Sooty Shearwater
Sooty Shearwater
Light-mantled Albatross
Sooty Shearwater
Black-browed Albatross
Black-browed Albatross
On Sunday the 21st the ship entered the Chilean Fjords and headed for the Amalia Glacier via the canals Andres and Pitt. We spent around an hour observing the glacier before continuing towards Punta Arenas.
During the day I spent several short spells observing the sea and
recorded twelve species: three Wilson’s Petrel, two Wandering Albatrosses, one
Southern Royal Albatross, twenty-eight Black-browed Albatrosses, ten Southern
Giant Petrels, a Northern Giant Petrel, 1635 Sooty Seawaters, an Imperial Shag,
a Pomarine Skua, three Kelp Gull and three South American Terns.
Amalia Glacier
Northern Giant Petrel
Southern Giant Petrel
Southern Giant Petrel
We arrived at Punta Arenas during the early hours of the 22nd
where we remained for most of the day.
We hadn’t booked an excursion here and went for a walk around the town
and then along the sea front and then repeated the exercise before re-boarding
the ship
Bird wise there wasn’t too much in the town, just Feral Pigeons, three
Austral Thrushes, a few House Sparrows and at least twelve Rufous-collared
Sparrows. There were more birds along
the sea front that included two Flying Steamer Ducks, several hundred Imperial
Shags, a Chimango Caracara, eight Magellanic Oystercatchers, at least six
Chilean Skuas, a Brown-hooded Gull, seventeen Dolphin Gulls, 200+ Kelp Gulls
and a few South American Terns..
The Emerald Princess moored off Punta Arenas
Juvenile Imperial Shag
Juvenile Imperial Shag
Imperial Shags on the beach
Imperial Shag
Brown-hooded Gull
Juvenile Dolphin Gull
Adult Dolphin Gull
Punta Arenas
Punta Arenas
I brief sea watch as we sailed away from Punta Arenas produced twenty
Magellanic Penguins, 107 Black-browed Albatross, three Southern Giant Petrels,
a Northern Giant Petrel and more South American Terns.
When I awoke on Tuesday the 23rd we were heading for Ushuaia in Argentina and were cruising along the Beagle Channel. I did some birding as we moved through the Beagle Channel and recorded eight species: a single Magellanic Penguin, seventeen Black-browed Albatross, two Southern Giant Petrel, a White-chinned Petrel, 300+ Imperial Shags, nine Chilean Skuas, two Kelp Gull and 120 South American Terns.
When I awoke on Tuesday the 23rd we were heading for Ushuaia in Argentina and were cruising along the Beagle Channel. I did some birding as we moved through the Beagle Channel and recorded eight species: a single Magellanic Penguin, seventeen Black-browed Albatross, two Southern Giant Petrel, a White-chinned Petrel, 300+ Imperial Shags, nine Chilean Skuas, two Kelp Gull and 120 South American Terns.
Looking south into Chile from the Beagle Channel
Looking south into Chile from the Beagle Channel
We approached Ushuaia late morning and had berthed by around 12:30 and cleared to disembark by 13:00. I had booked a trip on a scenic wildlife cruise into the Beagle Channel, which appeared to be very poplar but thankful there were several boats involved in the cruise and I was able to get on deck in anticipation of getting a few photos.
Approaching Ushuaia
Argebtina from the Beagle Channel
The cruise lasted over two hours and we got close to several of the
islands where there was plenty of wildlife to observe. I only recorded nine species during the trip,
but the numbers and the photo opportunities made it worthwhile. Bird wise I had a single Fuegian Steamer
Duck, two Kelp Goose, two Magellanic Penguins, fifty plus Southern Giant
Petrels, thirty plus Rock Shags, 500+ Imperial Shags, twenty plus Chilean
Skuas, a Brown-hooded Gull, circa thirty Dolphin Gulls, 100+ Kelp Gulls and
100+ South American Terns.
Imperial Shags
South American Sea Lion
Southern Giant Petrel
Imperial Shag
Rock Shag
Chilean Skua
Chilean Skua
Chilean Skua
Rock Shags
South American Terns
South American Tern
South American Tern
South American Tern
Les Eclaireurs Lighthouse
South American Sea Lions
South American Sea Lions
Kelp Goose
We left Ushuaia early evening and set sail for Cape Horn and arrived at
07:15 on Wednesday the 24th when we when the wind gusted up to 65
knots. We spent around two hours
cruising around the area before heading east to The Falkland Islands. The whole day was spent at sea when I spent
some time on the balcony looking for seabirds and recorded eleven species:
Seven Wilson’s Petrels, six Wandering Albatrosses, one Southern Royal
Albatross, one Northern Albatross, 895 Black-browed Albatrosses, thirty-nine
Southern Giant Petrels, one Northern Giant Petrel, twenty-five Antarctic
Prions, 165 Sooty Shearwaters, twenty Imperial Shags and three Chilean Skuas.
Cape Horn
Black-browed Albatross
Black-browed Albatross
The Emerald Princess sailed around the southern edge of The Falklands and
entered the entrance to Stanley harbour from the east. After dropping anchor and securing the vessel
there was a twenty-minute tender ride to reach Stanley. We had booked a trip to Buff Cove for
penguins and initially were driven by minibus before disembarking and then
completing the journey in four-wheel drive vehicles to the cove.
When we arrived, we were given a briefing by the head warden explaining
where we could go and shouldn’t go.
There probably wasn’t as many penguins as I thought but there were good
numbers of Gentoo and about fifteen King Penguins at the nesting colony. Having spent some time observing and
photographing the penguins and some Upland Geese that were grazing nearby we
made our way towards the Sea Cabbage Café and museum and gift shop.
King Penguins
King Penguins
King Penguin
Gentoo Penguin
Gentoo Penguin
Gentoo Penguin
Dolphin Gull
Dolphin Gull
Dolphin Gull
Female Upland Goose
Male Upland Goose
Female Upland Geese
Sandra went into the gift shop whilst I went onto the beach to look for
Magellanic Penguins and found three along with more Gentoo Penguins. There was also several Brown Skuas and a
single Megallanic Oystercatcher around the beach and a pair of Falkland Steam
Ducks on the sea.
Falkland Steamer Ducks
Magellanic Penguin
Magellanic Penguin
Magellanic & Gentoo Penguins
Magellanic Oystercatcher
Brown Skua
Brown Skua
Brown Skua
Having taken pictures of the birds on the beach I re-joined Sandra and we
went into the cafe for our complementary drink and cream scone.
After about an hour at Buff Cove we made the return trip to Stanley and
spent a while exploring the main street and museum. The Falklands Islands are a wonderful place
and were without doubt our favourite location during the cruise and the people
were so warm and friendly. Whilst in
Stanley there were quite a few Southern Giant Petrels and Falkland Steam Ducks
near the harbour and I also saw my only Blackish Oystercatcher of the trip.
Falkland Steamer Duck
Southern Giant Petrel
Turkey Vulture
When we got back to the ship I scanned the shoreline and found a couple
of Kelp Geese and quite a few Megallanic Penguins and there were quite a few
birds as we sailed away west back towards Argentina. During the day I had recorded twenty species:
sixteen Falkland Steamer Ducks, fifty Upland Geese, two Kelp Geese, fifteen
King Penguin, 100+ Gentoo Penguin, sixty Magellanic Penguin, 147 Black-browed
Albatrosses, fifty-four Southern Giant Petrels, twenty-two Antarctic Prions,
156 Sooty Shearwaters, 200 Imperial Shags, eight Turkey Vultures, a Magellanic
Oystercatcher, a Blackish Oystercatcher, six Brown Skua, four Brown-hooded Gulls,
twelve Dolphin Gulls, 100+ Kelp Gulls, thirty-five South American Terns and
House Sparrow.
Stanley from the ship
Stanley from the ship
Falkland Islands
Friday the 26th was another day at sea and several watches
from the balcony produced nine species: three Wandering Albatrosses, four
Southern Royal Albatrosses, three Northern Royal Albatrosses, 551 Black-browed
Albatrosses, 100 Southern Giant Petrels, eleven Great Shearwater, a Sooty
Shearwater, sixty Manx Shearwaters and a Brown Skua.
Saturday the 27th we were at Puerto Madryn in the Gulf of
Nueva and we were able to disembark after breakfast. We hadn’t get anything arrange today and just
went ashore and walked some distance to the south along the promenade.
There weren't many birds along the sea front, which was manly a sandy
beach and there wasn’t an awful lot to do in the town, although a couple
dancing the Argentine Tango provided some excellent entertainment in a shopping
mall.
There were thirty-one Great Grebes near the shore and when I was back on
the ship I found three Black-necked Swans, with another twelve seen as we left
in the evening. Another good bird was a
Southern Martin that flew over as we walked back along the pier to the boat.
Other birds seen during the day were: a Southern Giant Petrel, a Rock
Shag, an Imperial Shag, fifteen Brown-hooded Gulls, five Kelp Gulls, thirty
South American Terns, two Chalk-browed Mockingbirds, House Sparrow and a Shiny
Cowbird.
Puerto Madryn
The Emerald Princess moored at Puerto Madryn
The beach at Puerto Madryn
The day at sea on the Sunday the 28th was the quietest with
just five species observed: twenty Black-browed Albatrosses, a Southern Giant
petrel, five Sooty Shearwaters, eighty Manx Shearwaters and thirty Common
Terns.
On Monday the 29th we were berthed at Montevideo, Uruguay
early morning and were off the ship after breakfast. Again, we hadn’t booked any of the ships
excursions and walked south through the streets to reach Rambla Gran Bretana
and then walked east to reach a park at the eastern end. Another birder, Roy, walked with us and we
saw a few birds before reaching the park that included Neotropic Cormorant,
Snowy Egret, Southern Lapwing, Brown Hooded Gull, Kelp Gull, Rufous Hornero,
Great Kiskadee, Tropical Kingbird, Southern Martin, Chalk-browed Mockingbird,
Starling and House Sparrow.
The view from the ship in Montevideo
Rufous Hornero
Chalk-browed Mockingbird
After a coffee in McDonald’s we went into the park and found several
Eared Dove, Monk Parakeets, Rufous Hornero, Great Kiskadee, Grey-breasted
Martin, House Wren, Rufous-bellied Thrush, Rufous-collared Sparrow and a
Saffron Finch.
Safron Finch
Eared Dove
The walk back to the ship
through the streets turned out to be quite a walk and on reaching the ship we realized
with had walked over eight miles.
Rambla Gran Bretana
Montevideo
Montevideo
Montevideo
Montevideo
We left Montevideo early evening and headed for our final destination,
which was Buenos Aires. The cruise
finished in Buenos Aires but after docking on Tuesday the 30th we had
a full day in Buenos Aires with a further night stay on the ship before leaving
for London on the 31st.
I had arranged a day’s birding with a local leader, Horacio Maetarasso,
who is the owner of Buenos dias Birding.
I had arranged to meet him at around 08:30 and we were then going to an
area around Ceibas, which is about a two-hour drive to the northwest of Buenos
Aires. After I came out of immigration I
had some problems finding him as I had come out of a gate that he was unaware
of. However, once we met we were soon on
our way travelling north out of the city with another guide also joining us.
We didn’t see a great deal on route, a Giant Wood Rail at the side of the
road being the best, as it was mainly on busy main roads. The area was quite dry as there had been
little rain recently and subsequently the areas of wetland was much reduced,
which probably helped concentrate the birds.
We turned off on a minor road and stopped to view an area of scrub where
there was a Guira Cuckoo and two Greyish Baywing. We moved slowly along the road stopping
several times before reaching an area of wetland, which proved quite
productive. There were forty-plus
Black-bellied Whistling Ducks, which was a surprise to Horacio as they usually
only occur in much small numbers. There
were several Brazilian Teal, two Ringed Teal, a Yellow-billed Teal, several
White-faced Ibis, a Great Egret, a Snowy Egret and a Lesser Yellowlegs, along
with quite a few Common Gallinules and Wattled Jacanas. There was a Giant Wood Rail showing very well
in a nearby ditch with a little more skulking Plumbeous Rail. A Ringed Kingfisher then flew over and
Horacio found a Green Kingfisher and a White-naped Xenopsaris and a Masked
Gnatcatcher caused some excitement.
Giant Wood rail
Driving further along the road we turned off onto a dirt road, which was
a little drier initially and we had good views of a fly over Bar-faced Ibis, a
White Monjita and a Fork-tailed Flycatcher.
White Monjita
Fork-tailed Flycatcher
As e drove further along the road there were quite a few Brown-chested
Martins and an occasional White-rumped Swallow.
We eventually stopped alongside another strip of wetland that again
contained numerous White-faced Ibis and my first Coscoroba Swans. Coming back along the track there was a
skulking Yellow-chinned Spinetail, which showed well on occasions.
We retraced our steps back to the main road and travelled further north
as far as Ceibas before turning off onto another dusty track and after passing
through the town and reached and area of dry scrub. In this area we had a nice view of a Roadside
Hawk and then a White-fronted Woodpecker and a Short-billed Canastero. A little further along at a small damp area
we had two Maguari Stork, a Bare-faced Ibis and two Southern Crested Caracaras.
Roadside Hawk
Maguari Storks
Maguari Stork
Southern Crested Caracara
Bare-faced Ibis
We eventually turned right along another dirt road and stopped by an area
of dense reeds in the hope of finding a Many-colored Rush-tyrant but Horacio
hadn’t seen them here and had only heard of them being seen. He played a recording of them but there was
no response and he was about to give up when I noticed a small bird at the edge
of the reeds I initially thought was a yellowthroat of some kind but when
Horacio got on it he identified it as a juvenile Many-colored Rush-tyrant.
Many-colored Rush-tyrant
A little further along the track we reached a large area of wetland where
there was an excellent array of species.
One on side of the road there was mainly Wattled Jacana but on the other
side there was a greater variety. There
were several Southern Screamers, not the first of the day, but the best views
as most of the other took to flight as soon as they saw us. There were also several more Coscoroba Swans,
Brazilian Teal, a Wood Stork, a Maguari Stork, several White-faced Ibis, a
Roseate Spoonbill, five Black-crowned Night–herons, a Western Cattel Egret,
Snowy Egrets, Common Gallinules, several Limpkin, White-backed Stilts, Southern
Lapwing, a Pectoral Sandpiper and a Lesser Yellowlegs. An Anhinga flew over and two Hooded Siskin
flew over and I picked up a Yellow-winged Blackbird in flight.
Coscoroba Swan
Southern Screamers
Southern Screamer
Maguari Stork
Maguari Stork
Wattled Jacana
Having exhausted the wetland area, we started to make our way back to
Ceibas and just after turning towards the town we had superb views of a Savanna
Hawk on the ground and then in flight. A
little further along I picked up a bird flying alongside the car, which turned
out to be a Green-barred Woodpecker. On
reaching the village we turned back onto the main road and headed south.
Savannah Hawk
Savannah Hawk
We stopped at Parrilla y Comedor, a roadside café, for lunch before
continuing back south and then turning onto another track where there was a
chance of finding Rheas, although Horacio wasn’t very optimistic. We drove quite some distance along the track
stopping frequently to look for Rheas, which we didn’t see, but there were
plenty of other birds. A small pool at
the side of the track held a couple of South American Snipes and a Baird’s
Sandpiper and three Chotoy Spinetails were seen in an area of scrub. We also saw a couple of Suiriri Flycatcher
and several Vermilion Flycatchers.
South American Snipe
South American Snipe
We eventually turned back to the main road and as two birds flew across
the road Horacio got very excited shouting get on these birds, get them
photographed. They turned out to be a
pair of Yellow Cardinals, which are a very rare bird and one he had not seen in
this area before and he was immediately on his phone texting out the sighting.
Yellow Cardinal
Yellow Cardinal
As we drove back we added quite a few species to the day list that
included; Yellow-browed Tyrant, Cattle Tyrant, Grassland Sparrow, Black-capped
Warbling-finch, Grassland Yellow Finch, Pampa Finch and a Double-collared
Seedeater and a White-browed Blackbird provided an excellent photo opportunity.
White-browed Blackbird
White-browed Blackbird
White-browed Blackbird
Unfortunately, we had to start to make our way back to Buenos Aires and
turned south once back on the main highway.
Horacio had promised to get me back for around 18:00 and we arrived back
at the port within a minute or two and I was back on board the ship by 18:15.
It had been an excellent days birding and Horacio had been the perfect
host. We had seen seventy-eight species
thirty-two of which were world lifers.
If anyone is thinking of going to Argentina I can highly recommend
Buenos dias Birding as I am certain Horacio and his team will provide excellent
service and plenty of birds. His email
is Horacio@buenosdiasbirding.com and web page at www.buenosdiasbirding.com.
I saw a few birds the following day as we were driven by coach to the
airport but nothing new.]
We left Buenos Aires on British Airways flight BA2044 just after 14:30 on
the 31st and arrived back at Heathrow around 06:30 on February 1st. A short wait for the coach back to Leicester
and after being picked up by my daughter we were back home around 12:30. It had been an excellent holiday during which
I had recorded 140 species, of which seventy-six were lifers.
Fantastic blog thank you Rod
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