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CHILE:
ATACAMA TO
TIERRA DEL
FUEGO
Forthcoming Departures:
5 - 18
November 2010
14 days from Santiago
Price not yet available
Extension:
19
- 22 November 2010
4 days from Santiago
Price not yet available
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CALL
TOLL FREE FROM THE US AND CANADA:
1-800-348-5941
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 While
it’s birdlist may be smaller than that of its tropical
neighbors, Chile’s diverse habitats, spectacular birds, and
breathtaking scenery more than make up for it. If scouring high Andean
bogs for Diademed Sandpiper-Plovers, stalking huet-huets in
lichen-draped forest, or sifting through vast flocks of seabirds in the
Humboldt Current sounds like fun, check out this fascinating tour.
Day
1: Santiago to the Pacific Coast.
After meeting in Santiago airport at 09.30am, we’ll head
westwards towards the ocean, stopping at a large lagoon for the
uniquely parasitic Black-headed Duck. On the coast we’ll
search for our first endemic, Chilean Seaside Cinclodes, and check
offshore for Humboldt Penguins riding the waves and flocks of Inca
Terns hanging in the wind. We’ll spend two nights in one of
the coastal towns.
Day
2: Humboldt Pelagic. This
seabird spectacular is often described as the best in South America.
The nutrient rich Antarctic waters of the Humboldt Current come loaded
with seabirds. Giant ocean wanderers like Salvin’s and
Buller’s Albatrosses will vie for our attention with large
rafts of Pink-footed Shearwaters, Cape Petrels, Peruvian Boobies, and
Guanay and Red-legged Cormorants. Other possibilities include Peruvian
Diving-Petrel, and Wandering and Northern Royal Albatross.
Day
3: La Campana NP. The mixed
heath and oak woodland in this park is the best site for the tricky
endemic White-throated Tapaculo. If you have looked for dowdy black
tapaculos in the Andes, think again, as many Chilean species are huge
and attractively patterned. While searching we may also find the
endemic Dusky-tailed Canastero on the scrubby hillsides. In the
afternoon, we head back to Santiago for a two-night stay, stopping at a
marsh to look for Many-colored Rush-tyrant and Wren-like Rushbird en
route.
 Day
4: Embalse El Yeso. Today
we’ll head into the high Andes for the first time, the realm
of the unique Diademed Sandpiper-Plover. The scenic mountain road
leading up to the reservoir provides some outstanding Andean birding -
we’ll check the rocky boulders for bold Moustached Turcas
using them as calling posts, and for the endemic Crag Chilia.
Day
5: Santiago to Talca. We
have a fairly long drive south to the town of Talca for the night. In
the afternoon we’ll visit a Nothofagus (beech) forest reserve
that holds some of Chile’s most wanted birds: the giant
Chestnut-throated Huet-huet, the impressive Magellanic Woodpecker, and
the nuthatch-impressionist White-throated Treerunner.
Day 6: Reserva Lircay to Angol.
After another morning in Lircay, we’ll visit the banks of a
large river where the lovely Burrowing Parrot can often be found. In
the afternoon we head to Angol.
Day 7: Nahuelbuta NP to Osorno.
An early morning departure will see us overlooking some hillside fields
at dawn, scanning for the shy Chilean Tinamou. Once in the park we
enter one of the most distinctive and atmospheric forests in the
Americas, with an interesting mix of beech and Araucaria trees.
We’ll check out thick stands of bamboo for the strange Des
Murs’s Wiretail, and two more impressive Chilean tapaculos:
Chucao Tapaculo and the giant Black-throated Huet-huet. Once the
activity dies down, we’ll continue south to Osorno.
Day 8: Puyehue NP to Puerto Montt.
Fields near Puyehue often have large feeding flocks of the endemic
Slender-billed Parakeet, while the forest inside can be good for shy
species we may still need, such as Ochre-flanked Tapaculo. In the
afternoon we’ll take a short ferry ride over to Chiloe Island
where we’ll have a good chance at Magellanic Diving-Petrel,
Magellanic Penguin, and Rock and Imperial Cormorants.
Day 9: Puerto Montt to Patagonia.
A short morning flight will take us into the heart of Patagonia. After
arrival we’ll begin our journey eastwards to Punta Delgada,
passing through open Patagonian grasslands dotted with ponds. Upland
Geese are common here, as are Lesser Rheas, and Guanacos.
 Day
10: Pali Aike NP to Porvenir. The moorland in the park
plays host to two impressive shorebirds, Rufous-chested and
Tawny-throated Dotterels, in addition to Least Seedsnipe and
Chocolate-vented Tyrant, a remarkable ground-dwelling flycatcher. In
the afternoon we cross over to the fabled Tierra del Fuego. Once on the
‘land of fire’ we’ll make our way to a
series of large saline lagoons where we’ll search for the
monotypic Magellanic Plover, while Chilean Skuas haunt the skies above.
Day 11: Porvenir to Punta Arenas.
We’ll spend much of the morning on Tierra del Fuego searching
for the rare Ruddy-headed Goose. In the afternoon we’ll take
another ferry and search for seabirds such as Southern Fulmar and
Black-browed Albatross as we cross the Straits of Magellan. The ferry
docks at Punta Arenas where we’ll overnight.
Day 12: Punta Arenas to Torres
del Paine NP. After checking the shoreline south of town
for Kelp Goose and Dolphin Gull, we’ll venture north to
Torres del Paine NP with its dramatic mountain scenery. A large
reed-fringed lake in the park holds the rare and seldom seen Austral
Rail, in addition to Silvery Grebe and waterfowl.
Day 13: Torres del Paine to
Puerto Natales. We’ll explore some snow-dusted
valleys outside the park that hold the scarce White-throated Caracara,
and if we are lucky we may also find a flock of the rare Yellow-bridled
Finch feeding in an alpine meadow. Good numbers of regal Andean Condors
are also expected.
Day 14: Punta Arenas to Santiago.
We’ll fly back to Santiago this morning. Those not joining
the extension can connect with homebound international flights in
Santiago and extension participants will connect with a flight to Arica.
Atacama
and Lauca Extension (4 days)
 Day 15: Chaca Valley and Azapa
Valleys to Putre. We will
begin the day in an “oasis” valley in the dry
parched Atacama Desert. These islands of greenery are vital for some
localized birds that have tiny populations in Chile. Slender-billed
Finches are regular in this area, although our main quarry will be the
dapper Tamarugo Conebill, a small population of which still
exists in the area. We will also visit a hummingbird reserve
in the Azapa Valley, where Peruvian Sheartails and Oasis Hummingbirds
fight around the abundant blooms in this specially designed hummer
garden. Occasionally the now very rare Chilean Woodstar also puts in an
appearance. After a
morning in this completely new habitat we will ascend into the high
Andes once more. As we climb higher up the Lluta Valley, passing
through some of the most barren habitat in Chile where little plant
life is evident, we eventually emerge into the pre-puna zone, where low
scrub covers the hillsides. We will spend the afternoon in a dry gorge
close to the town of Putre, checking these scrubby areas for a whole
new suite of birds, like the very local White-throated Earthcreeper,
Black-throated Flowerpiercer, exquisite Andean Hillstars, and both
Canyon and Dark-winged Canasteros. We will then spend the
next two nights in a resort in this tiny Andean town.
Day 16: Lauca NP. This day
will see us ascend further to one of the most scenic spots of the whole
tour – Lauca NP. Driving from Putre we will emerge out of the
scrubby zone below into the puna plains of the altiplano, a distinctive
high Andean landscape. Open undulating plains are dotted with large
lagoons and bright green bofedal bogs, that are home to some of the
coolest birds and animals in the Andes. Andean Geese are common up
here, as are a whole range of ground-tyrants – including the
largest of them all –  White-fronted Ground-Tyrant. A pink
haze of flamingos can be found amongst the larger ponds, that in some
years include three species, including Puna and Andean. While we search
through the flamingo horde for the rarer species we are also likely to
encounter Andean Avocets on the same large lagoons, and the muddy edges
play host to small numbers of Puna Plovers. Lauca is a stronghold for
the local Giant Coot, which can appear to be in almost plague-like
numbers in some years. These scenic grasslands have the dramatic
backdrop of the snow-topped Parinacota Volcano, while in the foreground
herds of wild camels roam the puna, including the delicately built
Vicuna, and more robust Guanacos. There are optional hikes around the
high bogs up at Lauca to search for Diademed Sandpiper-Plover,
Rufous-bellied and Gray-breasted Seedsnipes, and the local
White-throated Sierra-finch.
Day 17: Putre to Arica.
We will
have another full day to explore this varied and visually spectacular
area. Depending on what we need we can return to the high Altiplano, or
spend further time in the pre-puna zone around Putre to search for
birds like Golden-billed Saltator or Andean Swift. We will also ensure
we visit a remnant patch of polylepis woodland, a severely threatened
high Andean habitat, little of which now remains in Chile. There we
will search for polylepis specialists such as
D’Orbigny’s Chat-Tyrant, Thick-billed Siskin and if
we are lucky, Giant Conebill. In the afternoon we’ll return
to Arica for another night.
Day 18: Arica to
Santiago/departure. We will
take a morning flight back to Santiago to connect with international
departures.
TOUR INFO:
CLIMATE: Warm and sunny
with some rain in Central Chile, cold and windy in Patagonia.
DIFFICULTY:
Easy in most places, but the high elevation on a couple of the days
makes even level walking physically challenging. We’ll reach
14,000 ft
(4300 m) on the extension. Since the key birds are spread widely over
this long country, we stay in host hotels for only one night for most
of the tour.
ACCOMMODATION:
Good to very good throughout.
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