14 Jan 23 - Argentina - A Few Hours Around Ushuaia

It was my last day in Ushuaia. I dropped my luggage for the Plancius check-in which was conveniently close to my bedsit & one of the reasons for choosing this bedsit. I spent the rest of the morning sending emails: as I didn't intend to pay the expensive wifi connectivity charges once we were at sea. I had been able to arrange a late checkout from the bedsit and that gave me a couple of hours to have a look around the Bahia Encerrada Urban Nature Reserve, which is a large lake on the edge of the town & the docks. There was a selection of the commoner Ushuaia species to keep me & the camera occupied, until it was time to head to the dock to board the Plancius.

The Bahia Encerrada Urban Nature Reserve: It provides sanctuary for Wildfowl & other wetland species on the edge of the town

The Bahia Encerrada Urban Nature Reserve: It is only a short walk from the edge of town

Night Heron: Adult. This is the obscurus subspecies which occurs from North Chile & North-central Argentina to Tierra del Fuego

Night Heron: Adult

Crested Duck: This is the nominate specularioides subspecies which occurs from central Chile & Argentina to Tierra del Fuego & the Falkland Islands

Crested Duck

Crested Duck

Crested Duck

Red Shoveler: This monotypic species occurs from South Peru & South Brazil to Tierra del Fuego & the Falkland Islands

Red Shoveler

Yellow-billed Pintail: This is the spinicauda subspecies which occurs from the highlands of South Colombia to Tierra del Fuego & the Falkland Islands. The other subspecies is the nominate subspecies which is endemic to South Georgia

Southern Lapwing: This is the fretensis subspecies which occurs in Southern Chile & Argentina

Dolphin Gull: Adult. This monotypic species occurs on the coasts of South Chile & Argentina, as well as, the Falkland Islands

Dolphin Gull: Immature

Kelp Gull: Adult. This is the nominate dominicanus subspecies which occurs in the coastal South of South America, the Falklands, South Georgia, Australia & New Zealand

South American Tern: This monotypic species occurs along the coasts & islands of the South of South America & the Falkland Islands

South American Tern: The bright red bill and clean appearance identify it from Antarctic Terns or wintering Common & Arctic Terns

It was getting close to the boarding time, so I walked down to the port to await confirmation that we can board.

Plancius (right) & her sister ship, Ortelius look small compared to the large cruise ship

It's always good to get on board quickly as it provides the chance to choose the bunk for the next few weeks. I got to my four berth cabin to find Bill, an American traveller, had already boarded & he had selected one of the lower berths: I chose the other. Finally, Steve Preddy & the fourth cabin mate, Alexi appeared. Bunks agreed & bags stowed, it was time to head to the top deck to watch our departure.

Ortelius

Plancius: My home for the next 19 days. It was good to be back onboard her

9 Jan 23 - Argentina - Going Inland

After having an early morning look around the small coastal town of Mar Chiquita, I carried on to explore the neighbouring small coastal town of Mar de Coba.

Great Kiskadee: This is the argentinus subspecies which occurs from extreme South East Brazil to East Paraguay, Uruguay & central Argentina

There was a reasonable-sized lake in Mar de Coba, with more of the Wetland species I had seen on the previous day. It was good to see Southern Lapwings breeding on some of the front garden lawns, which was an indication of the respect the locals had for their local wildlife and also the lack of garden cats.

Southern Lapwing: Feeding on a front lawn & looking after its offspring

Southern Lapwing: Chick. This is the lampronotus subspecies which occurs South of the Amazon & East of the Andes to South Uruguay & central Argentina

It was time to head to check out the large cattle estancias inland from the Mar Chiquita area. I had a number of eBird locations where Red-winged Tinamous has been seen, but it was clearly going to be a hit & miss species and it appeared that some of these sightings had occurred when a Birder had been surveying private estancias.

A typical view one of the from the dirt tracks

Over the next half day, I drove on a set of sandy dirt tracks for about thirty miles, before finally reaching a tarmac road on the edge of the small town of Coronel Vidal. The tracks wound between large estancias. There were many large grassy fields with a few wet marshy pools along the route. The long rank grassland and ditches between the track and the boundary fence provided plenty of habitat for a good variety of Pampas species. It was a stark contrast with many arable and cattle farms in the UK where sadly the birdlife is struggling.

One of the many Pampas roadside fields

American Golden Plover: I found one large ploughed field near the start of the dirt tracks which contained over thirty wintering American Golden Plovers

Guira Cuckoo: This monotypic species occurs from North East Brazil to Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay & central Argentina

Fork-tailed Flycatcher: An adult with two young nearby

Fork-tailed Flycatcher: The recently fledged two youngsters

Fork-tailed Flycatcher: Another nest. This is the nominate savana subspecies which breeds in central & Southern South America. The Southern populations are migratory and Winter in Northern South America

Brown-and-yellow Marshbird: This monotypic species occurs from extreme South Brazil & Uruguay to North Argentina

Brown-and-yellow Marshbird: Another individual

Brown-and-yellow Marshbird: A third individual

White-browed Blackbird: This is the obscurus subspecies which occurs from extreme South East Peru to Paraguay, Uruguay, Brazil & North Argentina

Long-tailed Meadowlark: This is the obscurus subspecies which occurs in central Argentina

Bay-winged Cowbird: The juvenile Screaming Cowbirds look very similar to Bay-winged Cowbirds (AKA Greyish Baywing). The bill shape is one of the key features and gives this away as a Bay-winged Cowbird. This is the nominate badius subspecies which occurs from East Bolivia to Paraguay, Uruguay & North Argentina

This was only a few of the species seen along the dirt tracks through the cattle estancias. More photos will be included in the next Blog Post.

9 Jan 23 - Argentina - The Burrowing Owl Town

I had had a good night's sleep in the car at a campsite in the small town of Mar Chiquita on the Atlantic coast. I was up at first light & was greeted by a calling Chimango Caracara near to the car. It was clearly going to be a nice day, albeit with strong sunlight.

Chimango Caracara: This is the nominate chimango subspecies that occurs from South Brazil & Paraguay to central Argentina & central Chile

Chimango Caracara: They are a common species and I bumped into the next individual just outside of the campsite

After a quick breakfast, I was heading out to explore the coastal areas around Mar Chiquita. The small town has two rivers that runs into the larger river and the sea, as well as, some good-looking coastal beaches and mud flats. It looks a nice place to live for a Birder & where the locals were tolerant of their local wildlife.

Southern Lapwing: This is the lampronotus subspecies which occurs South of the Amazon & East of the Andes to South Uruguay & central Argentina

Chalk-browed Mockingbird: This is the modulator subspecies which occurs from South East Bolivia to South Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay & North Argentina

Southern Crested Caracara: This monotypic species occurs from the Amazon basin to East Peru, Tierra del Fuego & the Falklands. When I first travelled to the New World, it was lumped with Crested Caracara which occurs as far North to the Southern United States & some of the Caribbean Islands

There was a dirt track along the side of one of the coastal rivers which had a good selection of species.

Coscoroba Swan: This monotypic species occurs from South Brazil to Paraguay, Uruguay, Tierra del Fuego & the Falklands

Hudsonian Godwit: This monotypic species breeds in Alaska and Northern Canada & winters in Chile & Argentina. Note, the stronger supercilium compared to our similar-looking Black-tailed Godwit. In flight, their black underwing gives them away

Black Skimmer: This is the intercedens subspecies which occurs from East Brazil to Paraguay, Uruguay & North East Argentina

There was a good selection of species on the mudflats at low tide, but all too far for photos. Then I ran into the local celebrities. It was good to see how the locals were looking after them.

Burrowing Owl: This is the nominate cunicularia subspecies which occurs from South Bolivia, South Brazil & Paraguay to Tierra del Fuego

Burrowing Owl: They are quite happy dozing during the day as long as their partner is awake

Burrowing Owl: Just in case it wasn't obvious that they were protected

Burrowing Owl: The protected nest site is next to one of the dirt roads in the small town

Burrowing Owl: When I checked Google Maps, I found that I could see the Burrowing Owl pair & their nest site on Google Maps (Copyright Google Maps)

It was time to leave the Mar Chiquita area & explore further in the hope of seeing a Red-winged Tinamou: which was the Tick I was hoping to see in this area of the Argentinian coastline.

18 Mar 18 - Chile: First Impressions Of Chiloe Island

It had been a late arrival into Santiago the previous evening & it was a pre-dawn alarm call to get breakfast at the Hostal Sol y Luna near the airport. The owner then dropped me back at the airport for my mid-morning flight. After five hours of flying, including a stop en route, I arrived at Puerto Montt. This is the nearest city to my next destination of Chiloe Island. I quickly collected the hire car which was a one-way drop into Santiago airport on 24 Mar. It was an hour of easy driving on the dual carriageway to Pargua which is the ferry point across to Chiloe Island. The only thing that slowed me down were a few toll booths on the road. Toll booths are a regular feature on the motorway-standard roads in Chile & the tolls quickly mounted up on a long journey.

The roads were good & quiet

The ferry to Chiloe Island at Pargua: Within a few minutes I was boarding for the thirty minute crossing

The ferry was a reasonable size & there are three or four ferries leaving every hour

The other ferry company

Looking back at Pargua on the mainland

The equally small ferry slipway on Chiloe Island at Pargua

I was Birding from the raised part of the ferry on the crossing. It is a wide channel & not too far from the open sea, so there is always the chance of Seabirds. Very occasionally, Birders have seen the newly described (2013) Pincoya Storm-petrel from the ferry, although March didn't look a likely time of year from eBird. Not surprisingly, I didn't see any on this calm crossing. There were a few Magellanic Penguins, Sooty Shearwaters, Imperial Cormorants & Peruvian Penguins on the crossing.

South American Sealion: Three of the eight I saw on the crossing

House Sparrow: An introduced species that seems to survive in many countries outside of its natural range

It was a thirty minute to the Northern town of Ancud where I was staying. I quickly found my self-catering accommodation, the Casa Damasco Chiloe Guesthouse, for the next two nights. A quick look around the town confirmed most of the cafes were shut as it was a Sunday, so I tried one of the hotels for some food, as I hadn't eaten since breakfast. Chiloe Island is a large & pleasant place to visit. There seems to be plenty of places to stay on the island & it has a sleepy laid-back lifestyle that is reminiscent of the islands on the Scottish West coast. It was my favourite part of Chile & I could easily have spent a few more days exploring the island.

Dark-bellied Cinclodes: There were a couple of in the small hotel car park. They have a strong white eyebrow, strong white streaking continuing down the breast, consistent colouration across the middle of the belly, more uniform flanks & longer bill. The very similar-looking Grey-flanked Cinclodes has a paler belly, less streaking on the breast, a thinner white eyebrow & which is browner in front of the eye, a thinner, shorter bill & is a smaller Cinclodes. I've struggled writing this Post on the identification of these two similar Cinclodes, partly as I don't think I saw Grey-flanked Cinclodes on my trip (I would welcome any comments on my identifications)

Dark-bellied Cinclodes: Another photo which I think was also taken at the hotel with the Canon 7D hence the better colouration tones (20 Mar 18)

Dark-bellied Cinclodes: Another at Punihuil Penguin colony

There was still some light to get out Birding as sunset wasn't until 20:15 (sunrise isn't till 08:00). I headed off for the beach by the Punihuil Penguin colony. There is a small colony of Magellanic Penguins on the rocky islands off the beach, but I was more interested in the chance of seeing Marine Otters here. I didn't see any Marine Otters, but there was a reasonable selection of coastal Birds to keep me interested.

The beach at Punihuil Penguin colony

The beach at Punihuil Penguin colony

The beach at Punihuil Penguin colony: One of the ribs going out to the Magellanic Penguin colony. There are a couple of Magellanic Penguins on the rocky island

Kelp Goose: The black male & white female

Kelp Goose: Male

Kelp Goose: Female

Flightless Steamerduck: I've found identification of lone Steamerducks where both Flying Steamerduck & Flightless Steamerducks occur can be tricky for those newly arrived in their range. The bill looks bulky & deep-based indicating Flightless Steamerduck

Flightless Steamerduck: Identification is made easier when you can see a pair as they are similar in Flightless Steamerducks & a noticeably darker grey colouration in females of Flying Steamerducks. Female Steamerducks also have a green bill with a dull orange base. The other key feature is the wing length which looks very short

Flightless Steamerduck: Just in case there was any doubt about whether this individual could fly

Flightless Steamerduck

Southern Lapwing

Blackish Oystercatcher

Kelp Gull: Adult

After a good look around the bay from the beach, I decided against a trip out on one of the ribs. I was keen to spend the rest of the light driving back along the dirt road heading West from the Magellanic Penguin colony, rather than the main road. I had read that one of the other Birders had bumped into Slender-billed Parakeets along this route. I had no joy on the Slender-billed Parakeet front, but I did see my first Bicoloured Hawk.

Fire-eyed Diucon

Austral Thrush

It had been a good start to my time on Chiloe Island.