Introduction

Birding Patagonia & Tierra del Fuego - Trip Code PAT02

Trip Highlights

• The magnificent Condor soaring in the Southern Andes.

• Stunning waders including Magellanic Plover, Two-banded Plover, Rufous-chested Dotterel, Tawny-throated Dotterel and seedsnipes!.

• Remarkable forest-dwelling birds such the Magellanic Woodpecker, Austral Parakeet and Chilean Hawk.

• Commerson's and Peale's dolphins in the Straits of Magellan.

• Visit to a Magellanic Penguin colony and associated seabirds.

• Striking flora, including three species of Nothofagus beech, the southernmost forests in the world.

This program is operated as a scheduled departure, leaving on a set date.

A custom trip (flexible option which runs on a date you choose giving you more privacy) is available upon request for individuals or small private groups.

The Difference of Traveling with Fantástico Sur Expeditions:

• Great accommodation, superb dinning cuisine and memorable picnic lunches.

• Spacious vehicles that ensure a window seat to each trip participant.

• Each of our trips have a maximum of 8 participants.

• Each vehicle and driver we use has been authorized by the Chilean Transportation Authority.

• The service and expertise of a professional local naturalist birding guide, who will look after every logistical aspect of “your” holiday.

• The use of top-class spotting scopes for our guests for a better observation, identification and study of the birds and other wildlife.

• You will receive a free, signed copy of one of our great birding books for Patagonia.

• …plus an useful pre-departure information package, including maps, checklist and more.

Birding Patagonia & Tierra del Fuego can be combined with one of the following optional extensions:

• Tierra del Fuego & Cape Horn Expedition Cruise (4 days | 3 nights ; 5 days | 4 nights);

• The Falkland Islands (8 days / 7 nights), penguin encounters in the South Atlantic.

Map & Itinerary

Birding Patagonia & Tierra del Fuego - Trip Code PAT02

Day 1 • Saturday | Arrival to Punta Arenas – Otway Sound and Rio Verde

After meeting your guide at the airport (before 11am), upon your arrival from Santiago, you will be transferred in a private vehicle to Otway Sound to visit an small breeding colony of Magellanic Penguin colony. We will be able to see our first Lesser Rhea along the road. Later we will visit the inland sound of Skyring and Fitz Roy Channel. Here we expect to see some dolphins (Peale's and hopefully the endemic Chilean Dolphin) and we will be scanning the surrounding cliffs, which hold an Andean Condor roost.

Hotel Diego de Almagro or similar, Punta Arenas (4*). (L,D)(G).

Day 2 • Sunday | Ferry to Tierra del Fuego – Laguna de los Cisnes area

During our 2-hour ferry crossing to Porvenir, Tierra del Fuego, we will enjoy the company of tubenoses such as Black-browed Albatrosses, Southern Giant Petrels, Cape and White-chinned Petrels, and Magellanic Diving-Petrels. Among our target species in Tierra del Fuego will be interesting shorebirds including Two-banded and Magellanic Plovers and Rufous-chested Dotterel. Then we will explore the shrubby slopes and moorlands of the Baquedano Hills, as we search for specialties such as Magellanic Horned Owl, Austral Canastero and the stunning Black-throated Finch.

Hostería Yendegaia, Porvenir (2*). (B,L,D)(G).

Day 3 • Monday | Birding Tierra del Fuego – Useless Bay

Today we will explore the huge embayment of Bahía Inútil – Useless Bay – where it is likely to find a wealth of seabirds and other aquatic birds. We will concentrate in finding Flightless and Flying Steamer-Ducks, Kelp Goose as well as King, Imperial and Rock Shags. We might find large numbers of gulls such as Kelp, Brown-hooded, and Dolphin Gulls and South American Tern. Along the bay we will have a slight chance of finding King Penguin as well.

Hostería Yendegaia, Porvenir (2*). (B,L,D)(G).

Day 4 • Tuesday | Ferry to mainland – Pali Aike road – Drive to Puerto Natales

Today we will cross the windswept steppes of Tierra del Fuego and mainland Patagonia in search of its specialties including Ruddy-headed Goose, Least Seedsnipe, Tawny-throated Dotterel, Short-billed Miner, Band-tailed Earthcreeper and Chocolate-vented Tyrant. A short ferry ride will allow us to be on mainland once again and if we are lucky to see the striking Commerson’s Dolphin following the wake. Chilean Flamingos, Upland Goose, Coscoroba Swans, Silver Teal, Black-headed Duck, and Rosy-billed Pochard will be possible to see. Thousands of waders such as Wilson’s Phalarope, Baird’s and White-rumped Sandpipers will be common at the roadside wetlands while we explore and enjoy of the beauty of this “big sky” open country.

Weskar Lodge or similar, Puerto Natales (3*). (B,L,D)(G).

Day 5 • Wednesday | Sierra Baguales – Torres del Paine National Park

During the morning we will explore the Baguales Range, located north-east of Torres del Paine. Along the road, in the scrubby gullies, we will look for interesting passerines such as Patagonian Mockingbird and Gray-bellied Shrike-Tyrant. As we continue exploring this montane habitat we might find the local White-throated Caracara, Grey-breasted Seedsnipe, Cinnamon-bellied and Ochre-naped Ground-Tyrants, Patagonian and Greater Yellow-Finches and the stunning Yellow-bridled Finch.

Hostería Las Torres or similar, Torres del Paine (4*). (B,L,D)(G).

Day 6 • Thursday | Torres del Paine National Park

During our journey to the park, we will observe how the strong southerly winds have sculpted the vegetation of the Patagonian steppes. We will try to find southern grey foxes and Patagonian skunks while enjoying our first contact with southern beech (Nothofagus) forests. We will scan the fast-flowing rivers hoping to find the remarkable Torrent Duck. In the eastern side of the park, we will delight in seeing groups of the most southern representative of the camelid family, the charismatic Guanaco. The reed-fringed lagoons can be very interesting; we hope to find Andean Duck, Silvery and White-tufted Grebes and with luck the elusive and recently re-discovered Austral Rail. We will visit Lake Grey to enjoy the dramatic sight of its southern shore dominated by stunning blue icebergs. Our visits to the surrounding sub-Antarctic forests will provide ample opportunity to observe Thorn-tailed Rayadito, White-throated Treerunner, Austral Parakeet, Austral Blackbird and the striking Magellanic Woodpecker.

Hostería Las Torres or similar, Torres del Paine (4*). (B,L,D)(G).

Day 7 • Friday | Torres del Paine National Park - Drive to Punta Arenas

This morning we will explore the lagoons of the eastern side of the park in search of a wealth of waterbirds including Great Grebe, Spectacled Duck, Chiloe Wigeon, Speckled Teal, Yellow-billed Pintail, among others. We also expect to see Cinereous Harrier and Black-chested Buzzard-Eagle hovering in these places in search of its prey. Chilean Flicker, Striped Woodpecker and Austral Pygmy Owl will be our tagets around a patch of secondary woodland. Later we will be transferred to Punta Arenas for overnight.

Hotel Diego de Almagro or similar, Punta Arenas (4*). (B,L,D)(G).

Day 8 • Saturday | Punta Arenas

Transfer to the airport after breakfast. End of the trip. (B).

Codes: B=Breakfast; L=Lunch/Box-lunch; D=Dinner; G=Guide; *=Hotel Category

Departures & Rates

Birding Patagonia & Tierra del Fuego - Trip Code PAT02

Dates and Rates for scheduled departures:

 
Rates for custom departures (you choose the date):

NOTE: The above prices are per person in US Dollars ($), based on double occupancy. All payments are in US Dollars. Rates in GBP (£) and Euros (€) are only for reference.

Do you want us to arrange your flights from Santiago to Punta Arenas?

Domestic flights Santiago – Punta Arenas – Santiago (from $250 per person).

Duration of the flight: 3 hours (direct) | 4 hours (with a stop-over in Puerto Montt).

What the trip includes/excludes

The trip price includes: All accommodations, meals and guide services as stated in the itinerary, private ground transportation during the tour, ferry fares, and park entrance fees.

The trip price excludes: Domestic flights (Santiago – Punta Arenas – Santiago), tipping, travel insurance, entrance tax to Chile, excess baggage charges, private excursions, à la carte dishes, snacks, drinks, laundry, telephone calls and anything else of a purely personal nature.

Tour Registration: To register for this tour, complete the Fantástico Sur Expeditions registration form and return it (by fax or email) with a deposit of $350 per person. Full payment of the tour fee is due 90 days prior to tour departure.

Cancellation Policy: Notice of cancellation can only be accepted IN WRITING from the person who signed the booking form and takes effect on the day such noticed is received by us.

Refunds are made according to the following schedule:

If cancellation is made 120 days or more before departure date, the deposit less $200 is refundable.

If cancellation is made between 120 and 60 days before departure, the deposit is not refundable, but any payments covering the balance of the fee will be refunded.

If cancellation is made fewer than 60 days before departure date, no refund is available.

This policy and fee schedule also applies to pre-trip and post trip extensions, as well as any transfers from one tour to another. We strongly recommend the purchase of trip cancellation insurance to protect yourself.

Guides

Birding Patagonia & Tierra del Fuego - Trip Code PAT02

Enrique Couve has been birdwatching for over 40 years in his native country of Chile and is the author of the photographic guide "Birds of Patagonia, Tierra del Fuego and Antarctic Peninsula", among several other bird and nature photography field guides and books. He is extremely skilled in finding and identifying birds and is an excellent nature photographer, having one of the most complete portfolios of Chile’s birds and wildlife. Enrique has travelled extensivley throughout Chile, its oceanic islands and the Antarctic Peninsula, as well as in other countries of South America. He is partner and director of Fantastico Sur Expeditions and lives in Punta Arenas with his wife and their four children.

Claudio F. Vidal has been bird-watching since the age of 12 and he leads bird-watching and natural history tours throughout Chile. He is very keen on pelagic birdlife and marine mammals occurring in the Humboldt Current, Patagonia, and Antarctica as well as in photography, being particularly interested in photographying the wild flowers of desert and mediterranean regions of the world. Claudio is currently working on a field guide to the birds of Chile with other Chilean birders, and is co-author of the photographic guide "Birds of Patagonia, Tierra del Fuego & Antarctic Peninsula". He is involved in several nature-based tourism projects in Chile, and he is also partner and director of Fantastico Sur Expeditions. He lives in Punta Arenas, the most southerly city in Chile, with his wife Soledad.

Roberto Donoso has been part of our team since 2003, but he has been involved in the process of learning about birding and handling visitors to Chile and Patagonia since 1999. Roberto has an extensive experience leading birdwatching tours throughout Chile and Juan Fernandez islands, and his most recent trips has taken him to the Falkland Islands and the Antarctic Peninsula. During the last couple of years he has developed an increasing interest in mammals, particularly cats, and he is responsible of developing some of the hard-core puma and mammal tours that we are currently carrying out with clients from the US and the UK. Rob is one of the Fantastico Sur favourite guides due to his kind and charismatic personality, his particular attention to detail and his involvement with the goals and interests of our clients. Roberto lives in Punta Arenas with his wife Vjera and their two lovely girls, Vjerita and Florencia.

Slide Show

Birding Patagonia & Tierra del Fuego - Trip Code PAT02

Check out our set of images from recent birding trips in Chilean Patagonia.

Checklist

Birding Patagonia & Tierra del Fuego - Trip Code PAT02

Birds and mammals possible to be seen during this trip

Compiled by Claudio F. Vidal, Fantástico Sur Expeditions (2009)