Libro birdwatchingchile

BIRDING AND WILDLIFE TRIPS IN CHILE & PATAGONIA

© Diego Reyes

• Northern Chile • Central Chile • Southern Chile • Total Chile

• Humboldt Pelagics • Islands of Chile • Photo Safaris • Whale Watching

• Patagonia Fjord Expeditions • Tailor-Made Trips • Special Programs: Day Trips around Santiago and Valparaiso

© Birdwatching Chile [1]

SOUTHERN PATAGONIA, TORRES DEL PAINE & TIERRA DEL FUEGO

HUED HUED

BIRDS & WINE LAKE DISTRICT & CHILOE ISLAND

BIRDING CHILE THE HEART OF CHILE

WHALE-WATCHING TAILOR-MADE TRIPS PERU-CHILE PACIFIC SLOPE, PRE-PUNA & HIGH

ANDEAN PLATEAU FROM THE ANDES TO THE HUMBOLDT CURRENT

ATACAMA DESERT & ALTIPLANO

TENCA TAPACULO

PHOTO SAFARIS

PERDIZ CHILENA

Rodrigo Reyes Director & Senior Guide Rodrigo Reyes is an Ornithologist who embraced Birding as a lifelong passion.

His acquaintance with birds starts at 10 in Europe, where he was particularly attracted to Corvids. Upon returning to Chile he started studying the birds of the country, becoming very knowledgeable on them thanks in part to more than 20 years of field experience. Professional Birding Guide since 2004 and Director/Senior Guide of Birdwatching Chile.

He´s been involved in different ornithological projects, among them wetland bird population counts in Central Chile (where he was in charge of the coordination for Wetlands International´s Neotropical Waterfowl Census for several years), studied the breeding biology of several endemic birds, pelagic field trips to the Humboldt Current and field trips all over Chile, from the Atacama Desert to Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego, and from the high Andean peaks to the Pacific Ocean, including the Juan Fernandez Archipelago.

Rodrigo is currently involved in a thorough record of the birds present at La Campana National Park, and developing a complete checklist of the birds of Chile, among other projects.

He also works in environmental education in many schools of Valparaíso and as a birding guide for CODEFF Valparaíso (BirdLife in Chile) and renowned wildlife-oriented lodges and companies like Patagonia Baker Lodge, Aysen Wildlife, El Ingenio Lodge, Guaitecas Travesía Lodge, Patagonia Fjord Expeditions and Posada del Parque.

Together with Rodrigo Tapia he created the first Chile Bird Festival “Festival de Aves de Chile” and organized its first and second versions. He is also the director and creator of the Olmue Bird Festival “Festival de Aves de Olmué”, one of the most important events into birds and wildlife in Chile.

He has published several articles and photographs in scientific magazines, bulletins and specialized books, including the Bird and Nature Guide of Valparaiso. He has also taught a number of lectures, conferences and workshops in Chile and abroad, including the South America Bird Fair (Argentina 2010 and 2012) and the Extremadura Birdwatching Fair (Spain 2013).

Rodrigo is a member of the Chilean Ornithologists Union “UNORCH” and a co-founder of the Chilean Bird and Wildlife Observers Network, “ROC”.

He´s fluent in Spanish and English, and he currently lives in Viña del Mar.

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Northern Chile PERU-CHILE PACIFIC SLOPE, PRE-PUNA & HIGH ANDEAN PLATEAU 7 Days/6 Nights

ATACAMA DESERT & ALTIPLANO 5 days / 4 nights

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PERU-CHILE PACIFIC SLOPE, PRE-PUNA & HIGH ANDEAN PLATEAU 7 Days/6 Nights

This program will start in the northern coast to gradually climb up the Pacific slope of the Andes to end birding at elevations above 4.000m-13.000ft., in the vast and stunning Puna or Altiplano, the high Andean plateau. In the process we will bird environments as diverse as coastal marshes, Polylepis forests, Pre-puna Shrubbery, salt flats or high Andean bogs, all bustling with Andean Pacific Slope specialties, like Andean Hillstar, Puna Miner, Straight-billed Earthcreeper, Whitewinged Cinclodes, Cordilleran Canastero, Canyon Canastero, Pied-crested Tit-Tyrant, White-tailed Shrike-Tyrant, Peruvian Thick-knee, Andean Swift, Andean Lapwing, Dorbignyi´s Chat-Tyrant, Giant Coot, Andean Flicker, Black-throated Flowerpiercer and others.

Peruvian Meadowlarkand Slender-billed Finch, among many others. Night in Arica.

Day 2: Lluta River + Lluta Valley + Molinos: Peruvian Thick-Knee, Peruvian Pygmy-Owl, Groove-billed Ani, Oasis Hummingbird and Peruvian Sheartail, among others. Night in Putre.

Day 3-4: Putre + Socoroma + Chapiquiña: Barefaced Ground Dove, Andean Hillstar, Sparkling Violetear, Spot-winged Pigeon, Andean Flicker, Straight-billed Earthcreeper, Cream-winged Cinclodes, Dark-winged Canastero, D´Orbigny´s Chat-Tyrant, Band-tailed Seedeater and Hooded Sisikin, among others. Night in Putre.

Day 5: Parinacota, Lauca National Park + Chungara Lake: Puna Tinamou, Puna Ibis, Puna Flamingo, Andean Flamingo, Puna Teal, Giant Day 1: Flight from Santiago to Arica. Lluta River Coot, Andean Lapwing, Puna Miner, Plainmouth: Band-tailed Gull, West Peruvian Dove, breasted Earthcreeper, White-winged Cinclodes, Croaking Ground Dove, Cinereous Conebill, Cordilleran Canastero, White-tailed ShrikeItinerary in Brief:

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Tyrant, White-fronted Ground Tyrant, Andean Negrito, Chiguanco Thrush, Tamarugo Conebill, Black-throated Flowerpiercer, Bright-rumped Yellow Finch, Black-hooded Sierra Finch and White-winged Diuca Finch, among many others.

Night in Arica.

Day 6: Chaca + Camarones: Grey Gull, Chilean Woodstar, Scale-throated Eartcreeper, Seaside Cinclodes, Pied-crested Tit-Tyrant, Vermilion Flycatcher andChestnut-throated Seedeater, among other birds. Night in Arica.

Day 7: Pelagic trip to the Humboldt Current: Southern Giant Petrel, Black-browed Albatross, Cape Petrel, Buller´s Shearwater, Pink-footed Shearwater, Sooty Shearwater, Elliot´s Storm Petrel, Markham´s Storm Petrel, Peruvian Diving Petrel, Humboldt Penguin, Peruvian Booby, Peruvian Pelican, Red-legged Cormorant and Inca Tern, among others. Flight from Arica to Santiago. End of the trip.

Optional extension to “Atacama Desert & Altiplano”.

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Price: US$ per person.

Including: English-speaking Ornithologist and Birding Guide, private transportation, lodging, Pelagic Trip, all meals, mineral water + snacks every day and all park entrance fees.

Domestic Flights can be arranged.

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Meet/depart: Arica or Santiago.

Dates: All year.

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ATACAMA DESERT & ALTIPLANO 5 Days/4 Nights

The Atacama Desert and high Andean plateau or Altiplano are among the most breathtaking places you´ll ever experience (and not just because of the altitude)...the scale of landscapes is overwhelming, and the crisp light is ideal for photography and wildlife watching. In this program we´ll visit places like Andean bogs, the Puna or Altiplano, vast salt flats, gurgling ravines and oasis where a number of interesting and unique birds live. Some of the bird specialties from this area include Horned Coot, Puna Flamingo, Puna Tinamou, Puna Teal, Red-backed Sierra Finch, Black-hooded Sierra Finch, Grey-bellied Shrike-Tyrant, Rufous-naped Ground Tyrant, Creamy-rumped Miner, Whitewinged Cinclodes, Golden-spotted Ground Dove, Mountain Parakeet, Straight-billed Earthcreeper, Creamy-winged Cinclodes, Rufous-bellied Seedsnipe and Black Siskin, among many others.

Some other wildlife here includes the Vicuña, a wild Andean relative to Llamas, Culpeo Fox, Vizcacha (a huge rodent who lives among boulders), and the endemic Fabian Lizard.

Itinerary in Brief: Day 1: Flight from Santiago to Antofagasta.

Antofagasta & Mejillones (Coast): Grey Gull, Bandtailed Gull, Peruvian Tern, West-Peruvian Dove and Seaside Cinclodes, among others. Night in San Pedro.

Day 2: San Pedro de Atacama & Los Flamencos National Reserve (Oasis, Valleys and Andean Bogs): Chilean, Andean and Puna Flamingos, Andean Gull andChiguanco Thrush, among many others. Night in San Pedro.

Day 3: Salt Flat and Pre-puna: Horned Coot, Andean Coot, Andean Avocet, Black-winged Ground Dove, Black-billed Shrike-Tyrant and Yellow-rumped Siskin, among many others. Night in San Pedro.

Day 4: Altiplano: Andean Goose, Puna Teal, Puna Hawk, Giant Coot, Puna Plover, Tawny-throated Dotterel, Rufous-bellied Seedsnipe, Golden-

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spotted Ground Dove, Mountain Parakeet, Straight-billed Earthcreeper, Cordilleran Canastero, Rufous-naped Ground Tyrant, Andean Negrito, Greenish Yellow Finch, Black-hooded Sierra Finch and Red-backed Sierra Finch, among others. Night in San Pedro.

Day 5: Flight to Santiago. End of the Trip.

Optional extension to “Peru-Chile Pacific Slope, Pre-Puna & High Andean Plateau�.

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Price: US$ per person.

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Including: English-speaking Ornithologist and Birding Guide, private transportation, lodging, all meals, mineral water + snacks every day and all park entrance fees.

Domestic Flights can be arranged.

Meet/depart: Antofagasta or Santiago.

Dates: All year.

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Central Chile THE HEART OF CHILE RIO CIPRESSES & ALTOS DE LIRCAY BIRDS & WINE

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THE HEART OF CHILE Through this program, we will get to know the vastness of Central Chile from the Andes to the Pacific Ocean. We will travel through diverse ecosystems and habitats such as the Central Andes, Mediterranean shrub, Coastal Range, coastal marshes and seashore, delighting ourselves in Chilean Endemics like Chilean Tinamou, Crag Chilia, Moustached Turca, Whitethroated Tapaculo, Dusky Tapaculo, Dusky-tailed Canastero, Chilean Seaside Cinclodes, Chilean Mockingbird and Central Chile specialties such as Diademed Sandpiper-Plover, Creamyrumped Miner, Black-billed Shrike-Tyrant, Thick-billed Siskin, Grey-breasted Seedsnipe, White-browed Ground Tyrant, Greater Yellow Finch, Mourning Sierra Finch and others.

Price: US$ per person.

Including: English-speaking Ornithologist and Birding Guide, private transportation, lodging, Pelagic Trip, all meals, mineral water + snacks every day and all park entrance fees. Domestic Flights can be arranged.

Meet/depart: Santiago, ViĂąa del Mar or ValparaĂ­so.

Dates: All year.

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FROM THE ANDES TO THE PACIFIC COAST 4 Days/3 Nights

Itinerary in Brief: Day 1: Central Chilean Andes (El Yeso Valley): Andean Condor, Andean Goose, Crested Duck, Torrent Duck, Variable Hawk, Mountain Caracara, Black-winged Ground-Dove, Scale-throated Earthcreeper, Buff-winged Cinclodes, Whitebrowed Ground Tyrant, Dark-faced Ground Tyrant, Rufous-banded Miner, Mourning SierraFinch, Gray-hooded Sierra Finch, Yellow rumped Siskin, Greater Yellow-Finch, White-sided Hillstar, the endemic Crag Chilia and the extraordinary Diademed Sandpiper-Plover, among others. Night in Maipo Valley.

Thick-billed Siskin. Drive to the Pacific coast. Night in Viña del Mar.

Day 3: Coastal Mountain Range (La Campana National Park): Chilean Tinamou, Moustached Turca, White-throated Tapaculo, Dusky-tailed Canastero and Chilean Mockingbird. Other birds: Variable Hawk, Black-chested Buzzard Eagle, American Kestrel, Harris’s Hawk, California Quail, Chilean Flicker, Striped Woodpecker, Greenbacked Firecrown, Giant Hummingbird, Longtailed Meadowlark, Rufous-tailed Plantcutter, Plainmantled Tit- Spinetail, Tufted Tit-Tyrant, Fire-eyed Day 2: Central Chilean Andes (El Volcán): Picui Diucon, Thorn-tailed Rayadito, Austral Blackbird Ground Dove, Black-winged Ground Dove, Scale- and Common Diuca-Finch. Night in Viña del Mar. throated Earthcreeper, Bar-winged Cinclodes, Ochre-naped Ground-Tyrant, Chilean Swallow, Day 4: Humboldt Penguin breeding colony and Mourning Sierra Finch, Greater Yellow Finch and Coastal Wetlands: Peruvian Pelican, Peruvian Booby,

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Neotropic Cormorant, Guanay Cormorant, Redlegged Cormorant, Kelp Gull, Grey Gull, Inca Tern, Blackish Oystercatcher, Gray-flanked Cinclodes, the endemic Chilean Seaside Cinclodes, Turkey Vulture, Black Vulture, Chimango Caracara, Great Shrike-Tyrant, Austral Negrito, Chilean Swallow, Rufous-collared Sparrow, Long-tailed Meadowlark, the beautiful Many-colored Rush-Tyrant, Great Grebe, White-tufted Grebe, Speckled Teal, Yellowbilled Pintail, Chiloe Wigeon, Lake Duck, Red Shoveler, Snowy Egret, Cinereous Harrier, Redgartered Coot, Red-fronted Coot, White-winged Coot, Spot-flanked Gallinule, Plumbeous Rail, White-backed Stilt, American Oystercatcher, Burrowing Owl, Wren-like Rushbird, Spectacled Tyrant, Yellow-winged Blackbird and the endemic Dusky Tapaculo, among others.

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Price: US$ per person.

Including: English-speaking Ornithologist and Birding Guide, private transportation, lodging, Pelagic Trip, all meals, mineral water + snacks every day and all park entrance fees. Domestic Flights can be arranged.

Meet/depart: Santiago, ViĂąa del Mar or ValparaĂ­so.

Dates: All year.

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FROM THE ANDES TO THE HUMBOLDT CURRENT (Pelagic extension) 5 Days/4 Nights

Itinerary in Brief:

Mourning Sierra Finch, Greater Yellow Finch and Thick-billed Siskin. Drive to the Pacific coast. Night Day 1: Central Chilean Andes (El Yeso Valley): in Viña del Mar. Andean Condor, Andean Goose, Crested Duck, Torrent Duck, Variable Hawk, Mountain Caracara, Day 3: Coastal Mountain Range (La Campana Black-winged Ground-Dove, Scale-throated National Park): Chilean Tinamou, Moustached Earthcreeper, Buff-winged Cinclodes, White- Turca, White-throated Tapaculo, Dusky-tailed browed Ground Tyrant, Dark-faced Ground Canastero and Chilean Mockingbird. Other birds: Tyrant, Rufous-banded Miner, Mourning Sierra- Variable Hawk, Black-chested Buzzard Eagle, Finch, Gray-hooded Sierra Finch, Yellow rumped American Kestrel, Harris’s Hawk, California Quail, Siskin, Greater Yellow-Finch, White-sided Hillstar, Chilean Flicker, Striped Woodpecker, Greenthe endemic Crag Chilia and the extraordinary backed Firecrown, Giant Hummingbird, LongDiademed Sandpiper-Plover, among others. Night tailed Meadowlark, Rufous-tailed Plantcutter, Plainin Maipo Valley. mantled Tit- Spinetail, Tufted Tit-Tyrant, Fire-eyed Diucon, Thorn-tailed Rayadito, Austral Blackbird Day 2: Central Chilean Andes (El Volcán): Picui and Common Diuca-Finch. Night in Viña del Mar. Ground Dove, Black-winged Ground Dove, Scalethroated Earthcreeper, Bar-winged Cinclodes, Day 4: Humboldt Penguin breeding colony and Ochre-naped Ground-Tyrant, Chilean Swallow, Coastal Wetlands: Peruvian Pelican, Peruvian Booby,

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Neotropic Cormorant, Guanay Cormorant, Redlegged Cormorant, Kelp Gull, Grey Gull, Inca Tern, Blackish Oystercatcher, Gray-flanked Cinclodes, the endemic Chilean Seaside Cinclodes, Turkey Vulture, Black Vulture, Chimango Caracara, Great Shrike-Tyrant, Austral Negrito, Chilean Swallow, Rufous-collared Sparrow, Long-tailed Meadowlark, the beautiful Many-colored Rush-Tyrant, Great Grebe, White-tufted Grebe, Speckled Teal, Yellowbilled Pintail, Chiloe Wigeon, Lake Duck, Red Shoveler, Snowy Egret, Cinereous Harrier, Redgartered Coot, Red-fronted Coot, White-winged Coot, Spot-flanked Gallinule, Plumbeous Rail, White-backed Stilt, American Oystercatcher, Burrowing Owl, Wren-like Rushbird, Spectacled Tyrant, Yellow-winged Blackbird and the endemic Dusky Tapaculo, among others. Night in Viña del Mar. Day 5: Pelagic Trip to the Humboldt Current off Quintero: Humboldt Penguin, Inca Tern, Peruvian Booby, Guanay Cormorant, Peruvian Pelican, Grey Gull and Peruvian Diving-Petrel. Pelagic birds: Northern Royal Albatross, Black-browed Albatross, Salvin´s Albatross, Antarctic Giant Petrel, Hall’s Giant Petrel, Southern Fulmar, Cape Petrel, Pink-footed Shearwater, Sooty Shearwater, White-chinned Petrel and Wilson’s Storm-Petrel among others.

With a little bit of luck we might observe: Southern Royal Albatross, Wandering Albatross, Chatham Albatross, Buller’s Albatross, Juan Fernandez Petrel, Masafuera Petrel, Westland Petrel, Red-billed Tropicbird and Chilean Skua, among other birds.

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Price: US$ per person.

Including: English-speaking Ornithologist and Birding Guide, private transportation, lodging, Pelagic Trip, all meals, mineral water + snacks every day and all park entrance fees. Domestic Flights can be arranged.

Meet/depart: Santiago, Viña del Mar or Valparaíso.

Dates: All year.

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RIO CIPRESSES & ALTOS DE LIRCAY 3 Days/2 Nights

Birds of a transition zone between Matorral, Sclerophyllous Forest and Dry Deciduous Forest, including: Chilean Tinamou, Burrowing Parrot and Chestnut-throated Huet-Huet. Other birds: Chilean Hawk, Chilean Pigeon, Austral Parakeet, Magellanic Woodpecker, White-throated Treerunner, Chucao Tapaculo and Rufous-tailed Plantcutter, among many others.

Price: US$ per person.

Including: English-speaking Ornithologist and Birding Guide, private transportation, lodging, all meals, mineral water + snacks every day and all park entrance fees.

Meet/depart: Santiago or ViĂąa del Mar, Valparaiso.

Dates: All year.

Itinerary in Brief: Day 1: Rio Cipreses National Reserve. Birds: Burrowing Parrot, among others. Night in Vilches.

Day 2: Altos de Lircay National Reserve. Birds: Chestnut-throated Huet-Huet, among others.

Night in Vilches.

Day 3: Altos de Lircay National Reserve. Birds: Magellanic Woodpecker, among others. Back to Santiago.

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BIRDS & WINE Half- and Full-Day birding in the field, followed by a visit to vineyards for wine-tasting including the best wines of Chile.

Price: US$ per person.

Including: English-speaking Ornithologist and Birding Guide, private transportation, winetasting, lunch-box and all park entrance fees.

Meet/depart: Santiago or ViĂąa del Mar, Valparaiso.

Dates: All year.

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Southern Chile NORTHERN PATAGONIA & CHILEAN FJORDS 6days/5nights

LAKE DISTRICT & CHILOE ISLAND 4 days / 3 nights

SOUTHERN PATAGONIA, TORRES DEL PAINE & TIERRA DEL FUEGO 6 days / 5 nights

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NORTHERN PATAGONIA & CHILEAN FJORDS Birdwatching, Wildlife & Photo Expedition

6 Days/5 Nights

Ever imagined waking up surrounded by untamed nature, then exploring rivers, lakes, fjords and imposing glaciers and finally anchoring every day in a different calm and protected cove with only the sound of birds altering the silence of a placid summer night?

Our ship “Noctiluca”, with a capacity for 8 passengers and a crew of 5 will become your mobile home and shelter while discovering the magical Guaitecas Archipelago (declared Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 2008), that will blow you away with its magnificent natural beauty.

A trip through the inside sea passages of Chilean Patagonia, that will stay with you forever.

Trip highlights: • Guiatecas Archipelago, UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.

• Native southern beech forest birds as Magellanic Woodpecker, Austral Parakeet and Thorn-tailed

Rayadito.

• Up to 20 Patagonian endemic birds, including: Ashy-headed Goose, Chucao Tapaculo and Patagonian Sierra-Finch.

• Bird specialties: Pink-footed Shearwater, Redlegged Cormorant, Chilean Flamingo, Flightless Steamer-Duck, Kelp Goose, Andean Condor, Dolphin Gull, Green-backed Firecrown, Des Murs´s Wiretail, White-throated Treerunner, Black-throated Huet-Huet, Magellanic Tapaculo and Rufous-tailed Plantcutter, among others.

• Mammals like Marine Otter, South American Sea Lion, Peale´s and Chilean Dolphin.

• Magellanic Forest, the southernmost forest in the world, including three species of Nothofagus.

• Laguna San Rafael National Park & San Rafael Glacier.

• Pristine, untouched and diverse landscape with forests, mountains, fjords and rivers where few people have set foot before.

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Itinerary in Brief: Day 1:

Our guide will meet you at Balmaceda airport to take you to Puerto Aisén, our port of departure.

This road trip takes two hours through the scenic and mysterious Patagonian landscape where you might be able to spot several bird species, like Upland Goose, Chilean Flamingo, Black-faced Ibis, Andean Condor and Southern Caracara, among others. This trip will end when we arrive to Puerto Aisén and board our floating lodge, the Noctiluca.

Once on board, we´ll get to see our assigned cabins, meet the crew, get familiar with the boat and get to know our way around it, and attend an introductory lecture about our upcoming journey.

After this we’ll start sailing along the majestic fjords with their snow-clad peaks and evergreen temperate forests. Here we’ll find birds like Imperial Cormorant, Red-legged Cormorant, Magellanic Penguin and Brown-hooded Gull. Then, as we go further off shore and reach open waters, we’ll start noticing the presence of pelagic seabirds like Black-browed Albatross, Southern Giant Petrel and Southern Fulmar, and some marine mammals like South American Sea Lion and Marine Otter.

We end the day with a briefing about next day’s activities before enjoying our dinner.

Day 2: This day we’ll visit Quitralco fjord, where we’ll land and devote ourselves to explore the terrestrial environments like old-growth Southern Beech forest and Patagonian bogs and grasslands, framed by spectacular mountains covered in evergreen woods. Here we’ll find specialties from these particular habitats, like Green-backed Firecrown,

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Black-throated Huet-Huet, Chucao Tapaculo, Des Murs Wiretail, Whitethroated Treerunner, Thorn-tailed Rayadito andPatagonian Sierra Finch, among many others. We’ll also explore the rich miniature rainforests present in old-growth and decaying dead trees, made up of primitive plant forms like mosses, liverworts, lichens and fungi, and inhabited by their own micro fauna, like frogs, lizards, insects, spiders, millipedes and other invertebrates.

These minute habitats can be explored with a magnifying glass and render themselves perfect for macro photography. We end the day with a briefing about next day’s activities before enjoying our dinner.

Day 3: Today we’ll horseback ride through the woods and up into the piedmont to a pond to see birds like Ashy-headed Goose, Yellow-billed Pintail, Crested Duck, Cocoi Heron, Silvery Grebe, Chilean Hawk and Black-chested Buzzard Eagle. We end the day with a briefing about next day´s activities before enjoying our dinner.

Day 4: This day will be devoted to the riparian ecosystem, the river banks which, with their open shores close to the forest edge, are a very particular environment used by many birds such as Cinclodes, herons, ibises, different species of waterfowl like Ashy-headed Goose and openspace raptors like Southern Caracara and Variable Hawk, and scavengers like American Black Vulture.

We´ll also find aquatic birds in the rivers flowing into the fjords, among themFlying Steamer Duck, Cocoi Heron, Ringed Kingfisher and Grey-flanked Cinclodes among others.

Day 5: This day will be the turn for seabird colonies, including several species of cormorants and gulls, with one of the largest reproductive rookeries of theImperial Cormorant, the beautiful Dolphin

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“Embark yourself on a unique experience discovering the unexplored fjords of Chilean Patagonia.”

Gull and places where you can find four species of cormorant in a single rock, something quite unusual anywhere in the world. During the trip we´ll focus on seabirds and marine mammals, like Peale´s Dolphin, Chilean Dolphin, South American Sea Lion and we´ll also look for the elusive Flightless Steamer Duck, and Pink-footed Shearwater, a Chilean breeding endemic. One of the highlights of the trip is Kent Island, a pristine island where you can find many different land and seabirds. Back to the ship, expedition recap, night on board.

Day 6: This, our last expedition day, will find us sailing back into Aisén Fjord, once again we´ll be escorted by seabirds like albatrosses, petrels and cormorants, a chance to watch these and other open-sea species. Finally, we´ll anchor at Puerto Aisén, thus ending these six-day expedition to the wild and virgin nature of the Guaitecas Archipelago.

Optional extension to “Lake District & Chiloé Island” and/or “Torres del Paine & Tierra del Fuego”.

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LAKE DISTRICT & CHILOE ISLAND 4 Days/3 Nights

This tour includes visits to two remarkable National Parks of southern Chile (Alerce Andino & Vicente Perez Rosales), a boat trip to a Magellanic Penguin Colony, plus the chance to see four species of Cormorants on the same rock! including other birds like Flightless Steamer-Duck, Kelp Goose and Pincoya Storm-Petrel (a recently discovered specie to the world)!!! Mammals like the stunning Marine Otter and up to 3 species of dolphins can also be seen. Additionally we´ll get a touch of the local culture of Chiloe, one of Chile´s most significant islands. A comprehensive natural history, birding and cultural tour.

Itinerary in Brief: Day 1 Valdivian Temperate Rain Forest. Target Birds: Austral Parakeet, Magellanic Woodpecker, Des Mur´s Wiretail, Black-throated Huet-Huet, Ochreflanked Tapaculo and Chucao Tapaculo, among many others. Lodging: Puerto Varas.

Shearwater, Pincoya Storm Petrel (recently discovered specie to the world), Magellanic Diving Petrel, Magellanic Penguin, Rock Cormorant, Imperial Cormorant, Red-legged Cormorant, Kelp Gooseand Flying Steamer Duck, among many others. Lodging: Chiloe Island.

Day 3 Ferry trip Chiloe-Puert Montt & Coastal Wetland.

Target Birds: Black-browed Albatross, Peruvian Pelican, Black-necked Swan, Chiloe Wigeon, Speckled Teal, Yellow-billed Pintail, Brownhooded Gull, South American Tern, Austral Negrito and Common (Chiloe) Diuca Finch, among many others. Lodging: Puerto Varas.

Day 4 Coastal Wetlands. Target Birds: Flightless Steamer Duck, Chilean Flamingo, Magellanic Oystercatcher, Hudsonian Godwit, Sandeling, South American Snipe, Kelp Gull, Franklin´s Gull, Black Skimmer, Ringed Kingfisher, Dark-bellied Day 2 Cinclodes, Fire-eyed Diucon, Grassland YellowFerry trip: Puerto Montt-Chiloe. Magellanic Finch and Black-chinned Siskin. End of the trip.

Penguin Breeding Colony. Target Birds: Pink-footed

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Price: US$ per person.

Including: English-speaking Ornithologist and Birding Guide, private transportation, Ferry Trips, lodging, all meals, mineral water + snacks every day and all park entrance fees.

Meet/depart: Santiago or Puerto Montt, Puerto Varas.

Dates: All year.

Optional extension to “Patagonia & Chilean Fjords” and/or “Torres del Paine & Tierra del Fuego”.

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SOUTHERN PATAGONIA, TORRES DEL PAINE & TIERRA DEL FUEGO 6 Days/5 Nights

Southern Patagonia is a windswept land with a wealth of stunning environments, jagged peaks, glaciers, vast plains and old-growth forests, sprinkled with lakes and ever-changing landscapes. You will be surprised by the variety of views that never repeat themselves as you travel across this wild realm.

Some of the bird specialties found here are Darwin´s Rhea, Magellanic Penguin, Chilean Skua, Magellanic Plover, Austral Canastero, Spectacled Duck, Flying Steamer Duck, Dolphin Gull, White-throated Caracara, Kelp Goose, Magellanic Oystercatcher, Austral Parakeet and White-throated Treerunner, among others.

Other wildlife includes Grey Fox, Guanaco, a wild relative to Llamas, Patagonian Skunk and Hairy Armadillo.

Itinerary in Brief: Day 1: Meet at Punta Arenas Airport, then we´ll drive to Tierra del Fuego, including a ferry trip, afterwards we´ll visit the shrubby slopes and moorland of the Baquedano Hills. Birds: Blackbrowed Albatross, Southern/Northern GiantPetrel, Southern Fulmar, Cape Petrel, Whitechinned Petrel, Magellanic Diving-Petrel, Magellanic Horned Owl, Austral Canastero, the spectacular Black-throated Finch and our target species in Tierra del Fuego, the Magellanic Plover, and other interesting shorebirds including Twobanded and Rufous-chested Dotterel. Lodging at Porvenir.

Day 2: Tierra del Fuego and the huge embayment of Bahia Inutil. Birds: Flightless and Flying Steamer-Ducks, Kelp Goose, Imperial and Rock Cormorants, Kelp, Brown-hooded, and Dolphin Gulls and South America Tern. Along the bay we will have a slight chance of finding King Penguin as well. Lodging at Porvenir.

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Day 3: Tierra del Fuego and mainland Patagonia in search of its specialities and a short ferry ride where we´ll have a chanse to see the striking Commerson´s Dolphin. Birds: Ruddy-headed Goose, Upland Goose, Coscoroba Swan, Silver Teal, Black-headed Duck, Rosy-billed Pochard, Chilean Flamingos, Least Seedsnipe, Tawnythroated Dotterel, Short-billed Miner, Bandtailed Earthcreeper and Chocolate-vented Tyrant. Waders such as Wilson´s Phalarope, Baird´s and White-rumped Sandpipers will be common.

Lodging at Punta Arenas.

Day 4: Torres del Paine National Park. Birds: Great Grebe, Spectacled Duck, Chiloe Wigeon, Speckled Teal, Yellow-billed Pintail, Cinereous Harrier, Black-chested Buzzard Eagle, Chilean Flicker, Striped Woodpeckar and Austral PygmyOwl. We will scan the fast-flowing rivers hoping to find the remarkable Torrent Duck, Andean Duck, Silvery and White-tufted Grebes and with luck the elusive and recently re-discovered Austral Rail. In the surrounding sub-Antartic forest we will have good chance to see Thorn-tailed Rayadito, White-throated Treerunner, Austral Parakeet, Austral Blackbird and the striking Magellanic Woodpecker. Lodging at Torres del Paine.

Price: US$ per person.

Including: English-speaking Ornithologist and Birding Guide, private transportation, Ferry Trips, lodging, all meals, mineral water + snacks every day and all park entrance fees.

Meet/depart: Santiago or Punta Arenas.

Dates: From October to March.

Day 5: Sierra Baguales and Punta Arenas. Birds: Patagonian Mockingbird, Gray-bellied ShrikeTyrant, White-throated Caracara, Gray-breasted Seedsnipe, Cinnamon-bellied and Ochre-naped Ground-Tyrants, Patagonian and Greater YellowFinches and the stunning Yellow-bridled Finch.

Lodging at Punta Arenas.

Day 6: Birding around Punta Arenas and drive to the Airport. End of the Tour.

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*Optional extension to “Patagonia & Chilean Fjords” and/or “Lake District & Chiloe Island”.

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Total Chile BIRDING CHILE

13 Days / 12 Nights - 14 Days / 13 Nights - 19 Days / 18 Nights We will travel through diverse ecosystems and habitats such as: Atacama Desert, Altiplano, the Andes, Precordillera, Central Valley and Matorral (Chilean Savannah), Coastal Range, Sclerophyllous Forest, Swamps, Lagoons, Coast line and Marine Coast, including a Pelagic trip into the cold waters of the Humboldt Current (one of the most productive marine ecosystems on Earth). We´ll try to find as many species as possible, especially the endemics of the country.

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BIRDING CHILE

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Itinerary in Brief: Day 1: Arrive to Santiago. Flight to Arica. Birding Lluta River Mouth. Night in Arica.

Day 2: Pelagic Trip off Arica for Storm-Petrels and other pelagic bird. Night in Arica.

Day 3: Atacama Desert. Birding Lluta Valley for Chilean Woodstar among many others. Drive to Putre. Night in Putre.

Day 4: Birding around Putre. Night in Puetre.

Day 5: Lauca National Park. Drive back to Arica.

Night in Arica.

Day 6: Morning flight to Santiago. Birding the costline north of Viña del Mar. Humboldt Penguin Colony. Night in Viña del Mar. Day 7: Pelagic Trip to the Humboldt Current off Quintero. Night in Viña del Mar. Day 8: La Campana National Park. Night in Viña del Mar. Day 9: Andes: Yeso Valley (Diademed SandpiperPlover). Night in Maipo Valley.

Day 10: Andes: El Volcan. Night in Santiago or Drive to Vilches looking for Chestnut-throated Huet-Huet. Night in Vilches.* Day 11: Early drive back to Santiago. Flight to Puerto Montt. Night in Puerto Varas.

Day 12: Birding Lake District Area: Alerce Andino National Park & Vicente Perez Rosales National Park.

Night in Puerto Varas.

Day 13: Chiloe Island. Boat trip. Night in Puerto

Varas.

Day 14: Boat trip to Seno Reloncavi looking for Pincoya Storm-Petrel (a recently discovered specie to the world!). Flight to Santiago. End of the Tour.

Extension to Patagonia: Day 15: Afternoon flight from Puerto Montt to Punta Arenas. Night in Punta Arenas.

Day 16: Visit Magellanic Penguin colony. Night in Puerto Natales.

Day 17: Torres del Paine National Park. Night in Puerto Natales.

Day 18: Drive to Tierra del Fuego. Night in Cerro Sombrero.

Day 18: Tierra del Fuego. Looking for Magellanic Plover among many others. Visit Bahía Inútil (King Penguin). Ferry to Punta Arenas. Night in Punta Arenas.

Day 19: Morning flight to Santiago. End of the Tour. *We can skip the Chestnut throated Huet-Huet and drive back to Santiago for the flight to Puerto Montt next morning (in this case the trip will be one day shorter).

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Price: US$ per person.

Including: English-speaking Ornithologist and Birding Guide, private transportation, Ferry Trips, Pelagic Trips, lodging, all meals, mineral water + snacks every day and all park entrance fees.

Meet/depart: Santiago, Arica, Puerto Montt or Punta Arenas.

Dates: From October to March.

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Special Programs Day Trips around Santiago and Valparaiso/Viña del Mar. Depending on the available time, we offer the following Half- and Full-Day Programs

CENTRAL CHILEAN ANDES COASTAL RANGE & MEDITERRANEAN FOREST OWLING OWLS, NIGHTJARS AND OTHER BIRDS SEASHORE & COASTAL WETLANDS

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CENTRAL CHILEAN ANDES 63

The Central Chilean Andes have many interesting mountain habitats including moorland, arid hillsides, heath, cliffs, bogs, upland valleys and Andean lakes and rivers, all inhabited by very interesting and sometimes endemic birds. Info about the trip: We will drive to the impressive Andes (the largest mountain range in the world) in search for birds that only live in this ecosystem.

Among theme we are going to try to see the majestic Andean Condor, the “Lord of the Andes”.

We are going to be at heights above 2000m.

(6500 ft.), and witness peaks reaching more than 6000m. (19700 ft.). We may see birds like: Crested Duck, Torrent Duck, Black-chested Buzzard Eagle, Variable Hawk, Mountain Caracara, Grey-breasted Seedsnipe, Black-billed Shrike-Tyrant, Whitebrowed Ground-Tyrant, Ochre-naped GroundTyrant, Rufous-banded Miner, Creamy-rumped Miner, Gray-hooded Sierra-Finch, Plumbeous Sierra-Finch, Yellow-rumped Siskin, Greater YellowFinch, White-sided Hillstar, the endemic Crag Chilia and the extraordinary Diademed Sandpiper-Plover among others.

Price: US$ per person.

Including: English-speaking Ornithologist and Birding Guide, private transportation, lunch-box and all park entrance fees.

Duration: 8 to 12 hours.

Meet/depart: Santiago or Viña del Mar, Valparaiso.

Dates: From October to March.

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COASTAL RANGE & MEDITERRANEAN FOREST 66

To the west of the Central Valley rises a mountain range separating this valley from the coast. This is the Coastal Range, with some peaks reaching 2000 mts. (6500 ft.) and higher. These mountains are covered by a dense perennial, Mediterranean type forest dominated by sclerophytic tree species such as Boldo (Peumus boldus), Peumo (Cryptocaria alba), Litre (Lithraea caustica), Quillay (Quillaja saponaria) and others, home to a wide variety of animals, including many forest-dwelling birds. As altitude decreases, we find a landscape formed mainly by shrubby steppe or Espinal, in which the thorny Espino (Acacia caven) is the dominant plant. This and other shrub and grass species support a dynamic food chain, giving shelter and life to a rich community of insects, reptiles, small mammals and birds, which in time are preyed upon by several birds of prey and carnivorous mammals. The birds here are a typical sample of Southern South American families, and it is here that most Chilean endemics are found.

Info about the trip: We will go into the heart of the Coastal Mountain Range. We will be between some hills of more than 2000m. of height (6500 ft.) and we will try to search and see endemic birds like: Chilean Tinamou, Chilean Mockingbird, Moustached Turca, Whitethroated Tapaculo and Dusky-tailed Canastero.

We are also going to visit La Campana National Park (Ocoa area), which was declared a Biosphere Reservation by UNESCO. This park has a varied native flora composed by the Mediterranean Forest.

It has a great number of birds that interact there, some of which are: Variable Hawk, Black-chested Buzzard Eagle, American Kestrel, Harris’s Hawk, Chimango Caracara, California Quail, Chilean Flicker, Striped Woodpecker, Green-backed Firecrown, Patagonian Sierra-Finch, Grassland Yellow-Finch, Rufous-collared Sparrow, Long-tailed Meadowlark, Southern House Wren, Rufous-tailed Plantcutter, Plain-mantled Tit-Spinetail, Tufted Tit-Tyrant, Fire-eyed Diucon, Thorn-tailed Rayadito, Austral Blackbird and Common Diuca-Finch, among others.

Price: US$ per person. Including: Englishspeaking Ornithologist and Birding Guide, private transportation, lunch-box and all park entrance fees.

Duration: 8 to 10 hours.

Meet/depart: Santiago or ViĂąa del Mar, Valparaiso.

Dates: All year.

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OWLING: OWLS, NIGHTJARS AND OTHER BIRDS

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We´ll travel in the evening to the Coastal Range to look for owls and other nocturnal birds. Among them the elusive Rufous-legged Owl, an endemic from Southern South America, which has inspired many legends and folklore.

We´ll arrive at dusk to watch and listen to the diurnal birds as they call off the day by singing and calling before they retire to rest, like: California Quail, Giant Hummingbird, Green-backed Firecrown, Thorn-tailed Rayadito, Southern House Wren, Rufous-collared Sparrow and Central Chile endemics including: Dusky-tailed Canastero, Moustached Turca, White-throated Tapaculo and Chilean Mockingbird, among others.

After sunset we´ll focus on our main objectives, owls like: American Barn Owl, Magellanic Horned Owl, Austral Pigmy-Owl, and the shy Greater Band-winged Nightjar.

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Price: US$ per person.

Including: English-speaking Ornithologist and Birding Guide, private transportation, snacks (or all meals) and all park entrance fees. Duration: 6 hours up to 2 Days / 1 Night.

Meet/depart: Santiago or Viña del Mar, Valparaiso.

Dates: All year.

Optional extension to “The Heart of Chile”.

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SEASHORE & COASTAL WETLANDS 71

With more than 4000 Km. (about 2500 miles) of coast in the South Pacific, Chile has almost every imaginable seaside environment, from sandy and rocky beaches to steep cliffs to intertidal mudflats to pebble shore to dunes to river deltas to sheltered harbours, you name it. The Coastal Avifauna is as diverse as these habitats, and besides the local populations of Birds that are found throughout the year, there are a number of summer migrants which visit our coasts from around September to April, escaping from the Northern winter to feed and rest in our coasts, gathering energy reserves for their return trips to their breeding grounds. The coastal plain in Central Chile is formed mainly by alluvial deposits from the rivers that run westward from the Andes. These rivers have carved many basins giving birth to a number of lakes and ponds as well as marshes and swamps, and as they reach the sea they turn into broad estuaries with many particular habitats from mudflats to dunes to reedcovered banks, habitats which are very productive and exhibit a wide diversity of life forms, with Birds occupying, of course, a very conspicuous place among them. Some of them live in almost all of these habitats, while others inhabit only very restricted environments.

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Info about the trip: We´ll visit a breeding colony of Humboldt Penguin as well as a great number of seabirds like: Peruvian Pelican, Peruvian Booby, Neotropic Cormorant, Guanay Cormorant, Red-legged Cormorant, Kelp Gull, Grey Gull, Inca Tern, Blackish Oystercatcher, Gray-flanked Cinclodes and the endemic Chilean Seaside Cinclodes (“the most maritime of all passerine birds”), to name just a few. We´ll also going to see many birds that are related with the coastal environment including: Turkey Vulture, Black Vulture, Chimango Caracara, Great Shrike-Tyrant, Austral Negrito, Chilean Swallow, Rufous-collared Sparrow, Long-tailed Meadowlark and many more.

Then, we´ll go to a particular wetland and search for the beautiful Many-colored Rush-Tyrant as well as many other species like: Great Grebe, Pied-billed Grebe, Yellow-winged Blackbird, Dark-bellied Cinclodes, Wren-like Rushbird, Speckled Teal, Yellow-billed Pintail, Chiloe Wigeon, Lake Duck, Red Shoveler, Red-gartered Coot, Red-fronted Coot, White-winged Coot, Spotflanked Gallinule, Plumbeous Rail and many more.

Price: US$ per person.

Including: English-speaking Ornithologist and Birding Guide, private transportation, lunch-box and all park entrance fees.

Duration: 8 to 10 hours.

Meet/depart: Santiago or Viña del Mar, Valparaíso.

Dates: All year.

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Pelagic Trips Our pelagic trips are some of the most thrilling with enough space for everyone to have a clear, and rewarding experiences for the birder looking unblocked view of the sea in every direction. for a wide variety of pelagic seabirds. Departing from the bay of Quintero in the Central Chilean Price: US$ per person. coast, we head due West to meet the cold and Including: Chum for the birds, English-speaking rich waters of the Humboldt Current, a stream that Ornithologist and Birding Guide, coffee or tea and runs from South to North along the Pacific coast snacks for each birder. of South America and is one of the top areas for Meet/depart: Quintero or ViĂąa del Mar. pelagic birding in the World.

Dates: All year.

Due to its extraordinary abundance of nutrients it is one of the most productive ecosystems on Earth, supporting an incredibly huge biomass with more than forty species of seabirds, several of which are endemic to these waters.

*Scheduled Pelagic Trips & Custom private pelagics on request.

We´ll spend six hours cruising and searching offshore, enjoying unique, close views of these and other pelagic birds, while our guides share their experience and knowledge of them, so you get the most out of the journey.

Our boat has room for twenty birders seated,

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Islands of Chile

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Easter Island 4 Days / 3 Nights 5 Days / 4 Nights

Easter Island is famous for its 887 extant monumental statues, called moai, created by the early Rapa Nui people. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with much of the island protected within Rapa Nui National Park.

and on the motus we´ll be able to find up to 5 species (possibly 6) of Pterodroma Gadfly Petrels and other seabirds including at least 7 species, plus the chance to see some landbirds (all introduced) on the island including Chilean Tinamou (endemic to Chile), Chimango Caracara and Common DiucaEaster Island is one of the most remote inhabited Finch, among others. All this in an island that is islands in the world.The nearest inhabited land “supposed to have no birds.”

(50 residents) is Pitcairn Island at 2,075 kilometres (1,289 mi), and the nearest continental point lies in Itinerary in Brief: Central Chile, at 3,512 kilometres (2,182 mi).

Day 1: Fly to Rapa Nui. In the afternoon we shall The Tangata Manu (bird-man), was the winner of a visit our first Moai. In the evening Boat trip to the traditional competition on Rapa Nui (Easter Island). Motus to see our first petrels. Night in Hanga Roa. The ritual was an annual competition to collect the first Sooty Tern (Manu Tara) egg of the season from Day 2: Visit to amazing archaeological sites. the islet of Motu Nui, swim back to Rapa Nui and Then visit to more spectacular Moai places and climb the sea cliff of Rano Kau to the clifftop village Birdwatching. Night in Hanga Roa. of Orongo.

Day 3: More culture and archaeology, then visit Easter Island had vast seabird colonies containing Rano Raraku, Anakena and Ahu Akiviri. Boat trip probably over 30 resident species, perhaps the in afternoon to see more seabirds. Night in Hanga world’s richest! Such colonies are no longer found Roa. on the main island, but they are coming back!!!

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Day 4: Museum and shopping. Fly to Santiago. *1 Day Optional extension

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Juan Fernandez Archipelago Robinson Crusoe Island 4 Days / 3 Nights 5 Days / 4 Nights

The archipelago is mainly known for having been to reach the archipelago from far across the sea. the home to the marooned sailor Alexander Selkirk for four years, which may have inspired the novel There are over 200 native species of plants, which Robinson Crusoe.

126 species (62 percent) are endemic. Many plants are characteristic of the Antarctic flora, and are The Juan Fernandez Archipelago are home to a related to plants found in southern South America, high percentage of rare and endemic plants and New Zealand and Australia. animals, and are recognized as a distinct ecoregion.

The volcanic origin and remote location of the Twenty land-and-seabird species breed on the islands meant that the islands’ flora and fauna had islands, including three endemics (Juan Fernandez

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Firecrown, Masafuera Rayadito and Juan Fernandez Tit-Tyrant), three endemic subspecies (Juan Fernandez Hawk, among them) and three breeding endemics (including the Pink-footed Shearwater). Robinson Crusoe Island is home to an endemic and endangered hummingbird, the Juan Fernandez Firecrown (this relative large hummingbird, about 13 cm long, is thought to number only about 500 individuals) and four Pterodroma Gadfly-Petrels, including Stejneger´s, Kermadec, Juan Fernandez and Defilippi´s petrels.

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Itinerary in Brief: Day 1: Flight to Robinson Crusoe Island and boat trip to San Juan Bautista. Night in Más a Tierra Eco-Lodge.

Day 2: Fernandezian Forest, including Juan Fernandez Firecrown and Juan Fernandez Tit-Tyrant. Night in Más a Tierra Eco-Lodge.

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Day 3: Pelagic Trip: Black-browed Albatross, Kermadec Petrel, Juan Fernandez Petrel, Masatierra Petrel, Stejneger´s Petrel, Pink-footed Shearwater and White-bellied Storm-Petrel. Includes Juan Fernandez Fur Seal. Night in Más a Tierra EcoLodge.

Day 4: Fernandezian Forest, including Juan Fernandez (American) Kestrel and Green-backed Firecrown.

Flight to Santiago or night in Más a Tierra EcoLodge. *1 Day Optional extension

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Price: US$ per person.

Including: English-speaking Ornithologist and Birding Guide, private transportation, lodging, all meals, domestic flights (optional), mineral water + snacks every day and all park entrance fees.

Meet/depart: Santiago or Valparaiso.

Dates: All year.

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Mocha Island Mocha Island is home to the breeding endemic Pinkfooted Shearwater, but the waters off the island are also noted as the home to a famous 19th century sperm whale, Mocha Dick. American explorer and author Jeremiah N. Reynolds published an account, “Mocha Dick: Or The White Whale of the Pacific: A Leaf from a Manuscript Journal� in May, 1839 in The Knickerbocker magazine in New York. Mocha Dick was the inspiration for the fictional whale Moby Dick in the 1851 novel Moby-Dick by Herman Melville.

Itinerary in Brief: Day 1: Meet and drive to Tirua. Flight to Mocha Island.

Birds: Guanay Cormorant, Rock Cormorant, Peruvian Pelican, Black-faced Ibis, Turkey Vulture, Variable Hawk, Green-backed Firecrown, Common Miner, Rufous-tailed Plantcutter and Mocha Island (Austral) Thrush.

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Day 2: Mocha Island National Reserve: Chilean Pigeon, Mocha Island (Thorn-tailed) Rayadito, Mocha Island (Chucao) Tapaculo, Black-throated Huet-Huet, Ochreflanked Tapaculo, Megellanic Tapaculo and Whitecrested Elaenia. Search for Pink-footed Shearwater.

Day 3: Humboldt Penguin, Magellanic Penguin, Peruvian Booby, Two-banded Plover, Brown-hooded Gull, Elegant Tern and Correndera Pipit. Flight to Tirua. *1 Day Optional extension.

Price: US$ per person.

Including: English-speaking Ornithologist and Birding Guide, private transportation, lodging, all meals, boat travel or domestic flights, mineral water + snacks every day and all park entrance fees.

Meet/depart: Santiago, Concepcion or Temuco.

Dates: From October to March.

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Photo Safaris Landscape and Nature Photography-oriented Tours from Atacama Desert to Tierra del Fuego, led by professional wildlife photographers.

Day Trips and Extended Programs.

Dates: All year.

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Whale-Watching NORTHERN PATAGONIA & BLUE WHALES 5 Days / 4 Nights 6 Days / 5 Nights

This trip is completely devoted to exploring and showing the hidden beauty of Chilean Patagonia, a virgin and unexplored region where highways and airports haven´t arrived yet and where man can still feel being a part of the lush surrounding nature which comes across his path every moment spent in this remote corner of the world, one of nature and wilderness tourism`s best-kept secrets.

About 15 years ago, a group of Chilean scientists discovered an important nursery and feeding area for the Blue Whale, the world´s largest living animal.

Join us to explore the waters of the Corcovado

Gulf and the Guaitecas Archipelago, and search for these remarkable gentle giants.

Itinerary in Brief: Day 1: Meet at Balmaceda airport, drive to Puerto Aisén (our port of departure) and board our floating lodge, the Noctiluca. After this we’ll start sailing along the majestic fjords with their snowclad peaks and evergreen temperate forests. Here we’ll find birds like Imperial Cormorant, Redlegged Cormorant, Magellanic Penguin, Brown-

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hooded Gull and Ringed Kingfisher. Then, as we go further off shore and reach open waters, we’ll start noticing the presence of pelagic seabirds like Black-browed Albatross, Southern Giant Petrel and Southern Fulmar, and some marine mammals like South American Sea Lion and Marine Otter. Night on board.

Day 3-4-5: Whale-Watching in Corcovado Gulf, Raul Marin Balmaceda and Tic-Toc Bay. We´ll also focus on seabirds and marine mammals, like Peale´s Dolphin, Chilean Dolphin, South American Sea Lion and we´ll also look for the elusive Flightless Steamer Duck and Pink-footed Shearwater (a Chilean breeding endemic). Night on board.

Day 2: This day we’ll visit the Guiatecas Archipelago (UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, an archuipelago with pristine, untouched and diverse landscape with forests, mountains, fjords and rivers where few people have set foot before) on our way to the feeding grounds of Blue Whales. Night on board.

Day 5 or 6: This, our last expedition day, will find us sailing back into Aysen Fjord, once again we´ll be escorted by seabirds like albatrosses, petrels and cormorants, a chance to watch these and other open-sea species. Finally, we´ll anchor at Puerto Aisén.

Price: US$ per person.

Including: English-speaking Ornithologist and Wildlife/Birding guide, lodging, all meals, mineral water + snacks every day and all park entrance fees.

Meet/depart: Balmaceda Airport.

Dates: From September to April.

SOUTHERN PATAGONIA & HUMPBACK WHALES 3 Days / 2 Nights

From the beginning of the trip we´ll share the company of a wide variety of birds and marine mammals while we navigate through fjords and channels, surrounded by subantarctic forests, glaciers and remarkable landscapes. After crossing the Strait of Magellan, we´ll get to Carlos III Island and to Francisco Coloane Marine (the first maritime zone ever established as a protected area in Chile) where we´ll have spectacular views of Humpback Whales.

Itinerary in Brief: Day 1: Pick-up in Punta Arenas. Drive to Faro San Isidro

and boat trip to Carlos III Island. Nature and WhaleWatching during the trip.

Day 2: Francisco Coloane Marine Park, boat trip to the feeding grounds of Humpback Whales. Birds: Penguins, cormorants, Giant-Petrel. Visit to Santa Ines Glacier.

Day 3: Boat trip to a Magellanic Penguin breeding Colony and whale-watching. Boat trip back and drive to Punta Arenas.

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Price: US$ per person.

Including: English-speaking Ornithologist and Wildlife/Birding guide, lodging, all meals, mineral water + snacks every day and all park entrance fees.

Meet/depart: Punta Arenas.

Dates: From September to April.

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Patagonia Fjord Expeditions These trips are completely devoted to exploring and showing the hidden beauty of Chilean Patagonia, a virgin and unexplored region where highways and airports haven´t arrived yet and where man can still feel being a part of the lush surrounding nature which comes across his path every moment spent in this remote corner of the world, one of nature and wilderness tourism`s best-kept secrets.

our eyes. They permanently keep their eyes on the route and ready to show and tell our passengers about everything that Patagonia offers, teaching and entertaining us on board every evening with lectures and presentations about what we have seen earlier in the day and about our following day´s expedition.

This staff is led by two specialists with an experience of more than twenty years exploring At the heart of our expeditions, in which our the most diverse landscapes in our country: boat is the mobile platform carrying us to our destinations, lies a professional staff who are Rodrigo Reyes, a professional ornithologist and a familiar with the area and expert in different fields birdwatcher since ten, with an experience of more of knowledge, with a solid academic background than twenty years exploring the wilderness and the and decades of field experience, and who are in most diverse landscapes in our country. Rodrigo charge of unveiling these natural wonders before will be in charge of all trips, as our Expedition

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Leader and expert Birding Guide.

Prices: US$ per person.

According to the program booked by the customer or his particular requirements, some other specialists such as a whale expert marine biologist, a botanist expert on Patagonian flora, a geographist or geologist to show and translate the area´s peculiar relief, a historian to bring to life the history of exploration in Patagonia, one of the last pristine and wild frontiers of the world, an expert wildlife photographer, experts in water sports like kayaking, diving and flyfishing or a local settler to tell the passengers about everyday`s life in Patagonia may be on board.

Included: Lodging on board (or in our lodges), all meals, open bar, tour leader, wildlife/birding guide, entrance fees to national parks and hot springs, field-and-on board activities.

Meet/depart: Santiago, Puerto Puerto Varas or Balmaceda.

Dates: All year.

Our programs: Route 1: Pincoya Storm-Petrel Expedition: A New Species to the World!

3 Days / 2 Nights Route 2: Chilean Fjords: Birdwatching, Wildlife & Photo Expedition 4 Days / 3 Nights

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Route 3: Whale Watching & Wildlife Expedition: Guaitecas Archipelago-Tic-Toc Bay 5 Days / 4 Nights Route 4: Patagonia Fjord Expeditions: Puerto Aysen & Laguna San Rafael 6 Days / 5 Nights 117

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Tailor-Made Trips Customized, tailor-made trips designed to meet your most particular birding demands. Available on request.

Day Trips & Extended Programs.

Dates: All year.

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INDEX Pag 3.- NORTHERN CHILE Pag 4.- Perú-Chile Pacific Slope, Pre-Puna & High Andean Plateau Pag 6.- Atacama Desert & Altiplano Pag 8.- CENTRAL CHILE Pag 9.- The Heart of Chile Pag 10.- From the Andes to the Pacific Coast Pag 12.- From the Andes to the Humboldt Current Pag 14.- Rio Cipresses & Altos de Lircay Pag 15.- Birds & Wine

Pag 20.- Lake District & Chiloe Island Pag 22.- Southern Patagonia, Torres del Paine & Tierra del Fuego Pag 25.- TOTAL CHILE, BIRDING CHILE Pag 26.- Birding Chile

Pag 16.- SOUTHERN CHILE Pag 17.- Northern Patagonia & Chilean Fjords

Pag 27.- SPECIAL PROGRAMS Pag 28.- Central Chilean Andes Pag 29.- Coastal Range & Mediterranean Forest Pag 30.- Owling: Owls, Nightjars and other Birds Pag 31.- Seashore & Coastal Wetlands Pag 33.- Pelagic Trips

1. Giant Coot (©Rodrigo Ortega) 2. Inca Tern (©Diego Reyes) 3. Puna Plover (©Diego Reyes) 4. Andean Flicker (©Rodrigo Reyes) 5. White-browed Chat-Tyrant (©Rodrigo Reyes) 6. White-winged Diuca-Finch (©Rodrigo Reyes) 7. Andean Avocet (©Diego Reyes) 8. Giant Coot (©Rodrigo Ortega) 9. Mountain Parakeet (©Diego Reyes) 10. Bare-faced Ground-Dove (©Rodrigo Reyes) 11. Horned Coot (©Rodrigo Ortega) 12. Black-throated Flowerpiercer (©Rodrigo Reyes) 13. Chapel in the Altipalno (©Rodrigo Reyes) 14. Andean Goose (©Rodrigo Reyes) 15. Salvin´s Albatross (©Rodrigo Ortega) 16. Rufous-tailed Plantcutter (©Rodrigo Ortega) 17. Many-coloured Rush-Tyrant (©Rodrigo Ortega) 18. Chilean Seaside Cinclodes (©Diego Reyes) 19. La Campana National Park (©Rodrigo Reyes) 20. Dusky Tapaculo (©Diego Reyes) 21. Moustached Turca (©Diego Reyes) 22. Andean Condor (©Diego Reyes) 23. Rufous-chested Dotterel (©Diego Reyes) 24. Torrent Duck (©Diego Reyes) 25. Chilean Tinamou (©Diego Reyes) 26. Crag Chilia (©Diego Reyes) 27. Mountain Parakeet (©Diego Reyes) 28. Moustached Turca (©Diego Reyes) 29. Buller´s Abatross (©Rodrigo Ortega) 30. Burrowing Parrot (©Diego Reyes) 31. Chestnut-throated Huet-Huet (©Diego Reyes) 32. Burrowing Parrot (©Diego Reyes) 33. Chilean Mockingbird (©Diego Reyes) 34. Viña Indómita (©Viña Indómita) 35. Rufous-tailed Plantcutter (©Rodrigo Ortega) 36. Ringed Kingfisher (©Rodrigo Reyes) 37. Birders (©Carolina Yáñez) 38. Austral Parakeet (©Diego Reyes) 39. Rufous-chested Dotterel (©Rodrigo Ortega) 40. Chucao Tapaculo (©Rodrigo Ortega) 41. Chilean Skua (©Rodrigo Ortega) 42. Dolphin Gull (©Diego Reyes) 43. Black-throated Huet-Huet (©Diego Reyes)

44. Slender-billed Parakeet (©Diego Reyes) 45. Magellanic Tapaculo (©Diego Reyes) 46. Magellanic Woodpecker (©Diego Reyes) 47. King Penguin (©Rodrigo Reyes) 48. Megellanic Tapaculo (©Rodrigo Reyes) 49. Rock Cormorant (©Diego Reyes) 50. Darwin´s Rhea (©Diego Reyes) 51. Wilson´s Storm-Petrel (©Rodrigo Ortega) 52. Moustached Turca (©Diego Reyes) 53. Chilean Tinamou (©Diego Reyes) 54. Andean Condor (©Rodrigo Reyes) 55. Antarctic Giant-Petrel (©Rodrigo Ortega) 56. Green-backed Firecrown (©Diego Reyes) 57. Andean Condor (©Rodrigo Reyes) 58. Dusky-tailed Canastero (©Diego Reyes) 59. Dusky Tapaculo (©Diego Reyes) 60. White-throated Tapaculo (©Diego Reyes) 61. Magellanic Penguin (©Rodrigo Ortega) 62. Spot-flanked Gallinule (©Rodrigo Reyes) 63. Crag Chilia (©Diego Reyes) 64. Diademed Sandpiper Plover (©Diego Reyes) 65. Greater Yellow-Finch (©Diego Reyes) 66. White-throated Tapaculo (©Diego Reyes) 67. Magellanic Horned Owl (©Gonzalo Labarrera) 68. Rufous-legged Owl (©Rodrigo Reyes) 69. Austral Pygmy-Owl (©Gonzalo Labarrera) 70. Magellanic Horned Owl (©Rodrigo Ortega) 71. Red-legged Cormorant (©Diego Reyes) 72. Inca Tern (©Rodrigo Ortega) 73. Many-coloured Rush-Tyrant (©Rodrigo Ortega) 74. Kelp Gull & Grey Gull (©Rodrigo Reyes) 75. Chilean Seaside Cinclodes (©Rodrigo Reyes) 76. Humboldt Penguin (©Rodrigo Reyes) 77. Northern Royal Albatross (©Rodrigo Ortega) 78. Southern Fulmar (©Rodrigo Ortega) 79. Black-browed Albatross (©Rodrigo Reyes) 80. Cape Petrel (©Rodrigo Ortega) 81. Juan Fernandez Archipelago 82. Juan Fernandez Firecrown (©Rodrigo Reyes) 83. Anakena, Easter Island (©Rodrigo Reyes) 84. Moai, Easter Island (©Rodrigo Reyes) 85. Chucao Tapaculo (©Diego Reyes) 86. Motus, Easter Island (©Rodrigo Reyes)

Pag 34.- ISLANDS OF CHILE Pag 35.- Easter Island Pag 37.- Juan Fernandez Archipielago, Robinson Crusoe Island Pag 39.- Mocha Island Pag 40.- PHOTO SAFARIS Pag 41.- Whale-Watching Pag 42.- Southern Patagonia & Humbback Whales Pag 43.- Patagonia Fjord Expeditions Pag 46.- TAILOR-MADE TRIPS Pag 47.- Index & Credits

Birds & Photographic Credits

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87. Easter Island (©Rodrigo Reyes) 88. Moai Easter Island (©Rodrigo Reyes) 89. Grey-backed Tern (©Rodrigo Reyes) 90. Moai, Easter Island (©Rodrigo Reyes) 91. Robinson Crusoe Island (©Rodrigo Reyes) 92. Juan Fernandez Firecrown, female (©Rodrigo Reyes) 93. Juan Fernandez Firecrown, male (©Rodrigo Reyes) 94. Juan Fernandez Tit-Tyrant (©Rodrigo Reyes) 95. Juan Fernandez Firecrown, male (©Rodrigo Reyes) 96. Juan Fernandez Tit-Tyrant (©Rodrigo Reyes) 97. Juan Fernandez Archipelago (©Rodrigo Reyes) 98. Pink-footed Shearwater (©Rodrigo Ortega) 99. Ochre-flanked Tapaculo (©Diego Reyes) 100. Mocha Island (©Rodrigo Reyes) 101. Chucao Tapaculo (©Diego Reyes) 102. Marine Otter (©Rodrigo Reyes) 103. South Andean Deer (©Rodrigo Reyes) 104. Culpeo Fox (©Rodrigo Reyes) 105. Baker River, Patagonia (©Rodrigo Reyes) 106. La Campana National Park (©Rodrigo Ortega) 107. Whale Sound (©Whale Sound) 108. Dusky Dolphin (©Rodrigo Reyes) 109. Sperm Whale (©Rodrigo Reyes) 110. Humpback Whale (©Whale Sound) 111. Humpback Whale (©Whale Sound) 112. Eco-Camp (©Whale Sound) 113. Bahía Mala (©Rodrigo Reyes) 114. Noctiluca (©Rodrigo Reyes) 115. Laguna San Rafael National Park (©Rodrigo Reyes) 116. Magellanic Penguin (©Rodrigo Reyes) 117. Dusky Dolphin & Southern Right-Whale Dolphin (©Rodrigo Reyes) 118. Black-browed Albatross (©Rodrigo Ortega) 119. Magellanic Oyestercatcher (©Rodrigo Reyes) 120. Imperial Cormorat breeding Colony (©Rodrigo Reyes) 121. Black-chested Buzzard Eagle (©Rodrigo Ortega) 122. Dusky-tailed Canastero (©Diego Reyes) 123. Inside Noctiluca (©Rodrigo Ortega) 124. Tawny-throated Dotterel (©Diego Reyes) 125. Birders (©Rodrigo Ortega) 126. Westland Petrel (©Rodrigo Ortega)

© Rodrigo Ortega

info@birdwatchingchile.com birdwatchingchile@gmail.com +56 9 9718 69 70 /BirdwatchingChile

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