Patagonia

Torres del Paine & Puerto Natales

In January of 2019, my dad and I hastily threw together some plans for a hiking trip in PNN Torres del Paine in the south of Chile. We were lucky to have good weather throughout, especially given Patagonia’s reputation for unpredictability. The birds also cooperated. Ducks, geese, pygmy owls, and woodpeckers hung out in the lakes and trees along the trails, and didn’t shy away from a big lens as birds so typically do. I couldn’t get all of the shots that I would’ve liked, as 25-kilometer days with heavy gear around the neck get pretty grueling. The town of Puerto Natales, the hiking tourist hub, also had lots to see. Swans, oystercatchers, and cormorants braved the wind and cold water, which made for some decent impromptu photo shoots.

Species:
1. Fuegian flightless steamer duck (Tachyeres pteneres); 2. Great grebe (Podiceps major); 3 - 5. Austral pygmy owl (Glaucidium nana); 6 & 7. Magellanic woodpecker (Campephilus magellanicus); 8. Chimango caracara (Milvago chimango); 9. South American crested duck (Lophonetta specularioides); 10. Magellanic oystercatcher (Haematopus leucopodus); 11. Neotropic cormorant (Phalacrocorax brasilianus); 12. Imperial shag/Blue-eyed cormorant (Leucocarbo atriceps)

Punta Arenas and Isla Magdalena

With the hiking behind us, my dad returned home while I stayed in the south to continue a much slower journey northwards. Already in Punta Arenas, I decided to book a couple of birding tours: one to see Andean condors, and the other for magellanic penguins. Some guest appearances ended up making for some of my favorite shots, most notably the fire-eyed diucon and the steamer ducks.

Species:
1. Fire-eyed diucon (Pyrope pyrope); 2 & 3. Darwin's rhea (Rhea pennata); 4, 6, 7, 9 & 11. Magellanic penguin (Spheniscus magellanicus); 5. Fuegian flightless steamer duck (Tachyeres pteneres); 8. Magellanic cormorant (Leucocarbo magellanicus); 10. Chilean skua (Stercorarius chilensis); 12. Imperial shag/Blue-eyed cormorant (Leucocarbo atriceps)

More Punta Arenas, Chiloé, and Piedra Parada

The final leg of this journey is mostly documented on my Americas Landscapes and a little on the Climbing page, but I managed to get in a few more bird pictures even as the trip changed focus. I stayed in Puerto Varas, then headed west to the island of Chiloé. I went with Birds Chile on a couple of day trips to see some of the local species, my favorite of which was the adorable chucao tapaculo, a curious little bird that likes to investigate anything making noise on the rainforest floor. It will walk up to you - even right between your feet - if you stand still enough. After a healthy dose of tourism in the region, I crossed into Argentina and dropped off the grid for a few weeks of climbing at Piedra Parada. My neighbors - aside from fellow climbers - were a pair of great-horned owls who called to each other every morning and evening. Somehow, I never managed to get a decent shot of them. Either way, they were probably my favorite birds in the area, as their morning calls to each other acted as my alarm clock. The trip eventually took me on a reunion tour of my old stomping grounds in Buenos Aires, then back northward to Colombia.

Species:
1. Slender-billed parakeet (Enicognathus leptorhynchus); 2. Chucao tapaculo (Scelorchilus rubecula); 3 & 4. Fuegian steamer duck (Tachyeres pteneres); 5. Upland goose (Chloephaga picta); 6. Black-crowned night heron (Nycticorax nycticorax); 7. Spectacled tyrant (Hymenops perspicillatus); 8. Mourning sierra finch (Phrygilus fruticeti), juvenile