Itinerary

Pre-tour extension: Ceibas, Argentina.

We’ll take advantage of being in Argentina by visiting the Ceibas area, a mix between pampas and Chaco habitat. This area is extremely birdy, and a visit there is usually very rewarding.

Day 1: The pre-cruise extension begins this evening in Buenos Aires. Night in Buenos Aires.

Day 2: With an early start to beat the heat, we’ll drive north to the Ceibas area, where birding is excellent in a variety of habitats, especially wetlands and Chaco scrubland. In this remarkably rich area we often see more than 100 species in a single morning, often including Giant Wood-Rail, Long-winged Harrier, Nacunda Nighthawk, White-fronted Woodpecker, Scimitar-billed Woodcreeper, Lark-like Brushrunner, Chotoy Spinetail, White Monjita, White-naped Xenopsaris, and Red-crested Cardinal. Birding is in this pampas-like open to semi-open habitat, and we’re certain to have some outstanding photo opportunities. After lunch we’ll board our cruise ship and spend the afternoon familiarizing ourselves with it. Night in Buenos Aires harbor.

Cruise Itinerary:

Day 1: The cruise begins this afternoon in Buenos Aires, Argentina. We’ll gather on board in the evening for an introductory meeting. This and all subsequent nights on our cruise ship. 

Day 2: We’ll leave the ship as early as possible and drive to Costanera Sur Reserve, close to the harbor. The number of possible species is large, and many of them will not be seen again on our tour. We’ll look for Giant Wood-rail, Gilded Sapphire, Checkered Woodpecker, Narrow-billed Woodcreeper, Masked Gnatcatcher, Red-crested and Yellow-billed Cardinal, Black-and-rufous Warbling-Finch, among many others. At day’s end we’ll drive back to the ship and later depart port for Uruguay.

Day 3: We’ll spend the full day in Montevideo’s immediate surroundings. Monk Parakeet, Rufous Hornero, and Picazuro Pigeon are common and at nearby wetlands we’ll scan for shorebirds and gulls and, in the reedbeds and shrubs, for Rufous-sided Crake, Great Pampa-finch, Firewood-gatherer, and the beautiful Spectacled Tyrant and Freckle-breasted Thornbird. In shrubbier habitat, we have a good chance of finding Green-barred Woodpecker, White-crested Tyrannulet, Short-billed Elaenia, White-throated Hummingbird, and, with some luck, even Rufous-capped Antshrike.

Day 4: On our first full day at sea we’ll head south toward Puerto Madryn, Argentina. We’ll encounter our first tubenoses including Yellow-nosed Albatross and hopefully Cory’s Shearwater, and we may find a few Long-tailed or even Pomarine Jaegers. It may be a quiet birding day compared to those we experience farther south, but we’ll be able to familiarize ourselves with the different seabird families we’ll encounter later.

Day 5: Upon arrival in Puerto Madryn we’ll leave the ship as early as possible as our drive to the wonderful Valdes Peninsula National Park is quite long. We may see Guanaco, Lesser Rhea, or Elegant Crested Tinamou along the way. The Valdes Peninsula is well known for Orcas coming very close to the beach to catch young Sea Lions during their first swim, but we’ll have little chance of actually seeing this impressive hunt.

We’ll stop at a Sea Lion colony, looking for Snowy Sheathbill, Rock and Imperial Cormorants, and Cayenne Ternand search along the coast for American and Blackish Oystercatchers, Chilean Flamingo and Crested Duck. The scrublands are interesting too, and we’ll walk into steppe habitat looking for Plain-mantled Tit-spinetail, White-throated Cachalote, Patagonian Mockingbird, Mourning Sierra-finch, and Lesser Shrike-tyrant. Around Puerto Madryn we may even find a flock of the fancy Burrowing Parakeet.

Day 6: We’re now in the South Atlantic sailing toward the Falkland Islands. Seabirds will be a completely different species mix from those we saw yesterday: Soft-plumaged Petrel, often abundant, Great and Manx Shearwaters, the elegant Atlantic Petrel, and the minuscule Gray-backed Storm-petrel among others. We may also see a few Southern Right Whales.

Day 7: Just before we arrive in Stanley, several hundred Gentoo Penguins, breeding in the dunes, will welcome us to the Falklands. Once off the boat, we’ll immediately begin our drive to Volunteer Point. It will be a longish, off-road excursion on a fairly rough track, but we’ll be rewarded by a huge mixed colony of King, Gentoo, and Magellanic Penguins. Other species that occur here include Upland and Ruddy-headed Geese, Two-banded Plover, Rufous-chested Dotterel, Southern Giant-Petrel, Falkland Steamer-duck, Dark-faced Ground-Tyrant, and with luck even a few Falkland’s (White-bridled) Finches. After our return to Stanley, we should have time for shopping or a beer in a truly British pub. We’ll depart in the evening toward Cape Horn in Chile, and we’ll want to be outside looking for Great Shearwater, and possibly our first Slender-billed Prion.

Day 8: We’ll continue our journey toward storied Cape Horn. We’ll check the common Black-browed Albatross for the rare Gray-headed, and we should also see a few Wandering and Southern Royal Albatrosses, and possibly even the very rare Light-mantled Albatross. Small petrels will also be interesting; we have a chance for Black-bellied Storm-Petrel and Common Diving-Petrel. In the afternoon, Black-browed Albatross and Sooty Shearwater will probably be abundant as we sail around Cape Horn Island, enter the Beagle Channel, and continue toward Ushuaia, Argentina.

Day 9: We’ll arrive early morning in Ushuaia, the southernmost town in the world, and drive through stunning landscapes directly to Tierra del Fuego National Park where we’ll explore the fantastic Nothofagus forest in search of the impressive Magellanic Woodpecker. We also have a good chance for the beautiful Spectacled Duck and the loon-like Great Grebe. 

On the way back to Ushuaia we’ll stop at a less scenic place - the garbage dump - looking for White-throated Caracara, usually found with its two relatives, the Chimango and Southern Caracaras. Additional stops on the coast should provide excellent views of Kelp Goose, South American Tern, and Flying and Flightless Steamer-Duck as well as good numbers of the beautiful red-billed Dolphin Gull. We’ll depart Ushuaia in the afternoon, sailing into the Beagle Channel towards the Chilean town of Punta Arenas. As the sun fades we’ll pass by islands covered with hundreds of breeding Imperial Cormorant, and we’ll likely see good numbers of the elegant South American Tern and Chilean Skua.

Day 10: We’ll have a full day to explore the Patagonian steppe around Punta Arenas, where our main target will be the pink-bubble-gum-legged Magellanic Plover, the lone species in its family. We’ll have as well a good chance of finding Lesser Rhea, Upland and Ashy-headed Geese, Two-banded Plover, Austral Negrito, and Black-faced Ibis, among many others. We’ll also visit lakes and wetlands where we expect several waterfowl species including Crested Duck, Yellow-billed Pintail, Red Shoveler, Flying Steamer-duck, Coscoroba Swan, and maybe even the uncommon Silver Teal.

After our steppe birding, we’ll make a few more stops along the Strait of Magellan looking for Kelp Goose, Flying Steamer-Duck, Magellanic Oystercatcher, and groups of Peale’s Dolphin which sometimes fish very close to shore.

Day 11: We’ll wake up at the exit of the Strait of Magellan and sail into the open sea. Seabirding can be excellent and we expect our first Salvin’s Albatross and our last Gray-headed, and perhaps a few Slender-billed Prion. In the afternoon we’ll pause for about an hour to view the impressive Amalia Glacier in the Chilean Fjords before continuing through the Chilean channel. The landscapes are wonderful and in addition to the scenery, we should be surrounded by Black-browed Albatross, Chilean Skua, and Southern Giant-Petrel. We should see as well numerous Magellanic Diving-Petrel and might detect a few Magellanic Penguin.

Day 12: We’ll sail from Golfo de Penas towards Guafo Island, where a few million Sooty Shearwaters breed and, not surprisingly, will probably be the most common bird of the day. Stejneger’s Petrel is regular, and although they are very fast fliers and usually avoid the ship, we should have some good views. We’ll also hope to see the recently described Pincoya Storm-petrel among the numerous Fuegian (Wilson’s) Storm-petrel, as well as the rare, in these waters, Subantarctic Little Shearwater.

It could be an eight-albatross day: Black-browed, Salvin’s, and Northern Royal will be the most common, but we have good chances of finding the huge Snowy and Antipodean Albatrosses as well as Southern Royal, and with good luck possibly even Chatham and Buller’s.

Day 13: We’ll leave the ship as soon as it arrives in Puerto-Montt harbor and drive south to the wonderful Alerce Andino National Park. We’ll be birding in impressive Nothofagus forest, looking for four species of tapaculo: Black-throated Huet-huet, Chucao, and Ochre-flanked and Magellanic. All of them should be easy to hear, but we’ll have to be lucky to see them! The austral migrant Chilean (White-crested) Elaenia is common, and there are lots of other species including White-throated Treerunner, Thorn-tailed Rayadito, Austral Parakeet, Patagonian Sierra-finch, and even the rare Magellanic Woodpecker. On our way back to Puerto-Montt we’ll make several stops and may see the splendid Black-faced Ibis or the local subspecies of Ringed Kingfisher. We may also find a few Hudsonian Godwit, come from northern Alaska or Canada to winter on the rich mudflats on Chiloé Island near Puerto-Montt.

We’ll depart in the afternoon, and everyone will want to be on the outside deck looking for Pincoya Storm-Petrel. This enigmatic species was discovered in 2009 by a group of birders making a similar cruise, and was officially described in 2013. For the most part, this species has only been seen in the Gulf of Corcovado, and we have good chance of seeing it as we leave Puerto-Montt.

Day 14: During our last sailing day, the most common albatrosses will be Salvin’s and Black-browed, but we’ll probably also find a few Northern Royal Albatross. We’ll sail within a few miles of Mocha Island, where 90 percent of the world’s Pink-footed Shearwaters breed. By now, we should be able to separate White-chinned and Westland Petrels, and Sooty Shearwater, three very similar-looking seabirds. Among the Stejneger’s Petrels we have a chance of finding rarer Pterodroma petrels such as Juan-Fernandez and De Filippi’s and with a bit of luck we’ll see a few whales - Fin and Humpback are the most common - migrating north towards their breeding areas. 

Day 15: We’ll disembark at the port of San Antonio, near Santiago, Chile, in time to catch international flights home, continue with the Santiago to Los Angeles Cruise, or join the 3-day Santiago extension.

Post-cruise Santiago extension

The area around Santiago offers wonderful birding in amazingly varied habitats, from the stunning scenery of the High Andes to the coastal wetlands and the dry scrublands in between. We’ll make a special effort for the Chilean endemics found around Santiago, and have a good chance of seeing seven of the 12: Chilean Tinamou, Dusky and White-throated Tapaculo, Moustached Turca, Crag Chilia, Dusky-tailed Canastero and Chilean Mockingbird.

Day 1: The post-cruise extension begins this morning in San Antonio. We’ll leave the ship as early as possible, but our actual schedule for the day depends on the disembarking procedure and timing. After meeting our driver at the San Antonio harbor, we’ll visit scrublands where we have a chance to find our first Chilean endemics such as Chilean Mockingbird, White-throated Tapaculo or Dusky-tailed Canastero. We’ll have lunch at a good restaurant by the rocky shore, where we may detect Blackish Oystercatcher along with another Chilean endemic, the Seaside Cinclodes. In the afternoon, we’ll head to a small wetland where Stripe-backed Bittern is sometimes seen, as well as Red-gartered Coot, Yellow-winged Blackbird, and/or Plumbeous Rail. Night in Santiago.

Day 2: We’ll spend all day at 8000–9000 feet elevation in the Maipo and Yeso valleys, home to the delicate Diademed Sandpiper Plover, one of the world’s most beautiful shorebirds and our main target. Other interesting species could include Crag Chilia, a stunning ovenbird endemic to Chile, and, in the high-elevation bogs, Gray-breasted Seedsnipe, Greater Yellow-finch, Rufous-banded Miner, White-sided Hillstar, White-browed Ground-tyrant, and if were very lucky the rare Creamy-rumped Miner. The scenery is absolutely stunning and is as much a reason to make the journey as the birds. Night in Santiago.

Day 3: We’ll leave early for the ski resort of Farellones, stopping at different elevations from the Mediterranean matorral shrublands to the alpine zone at 8250 feet. Our route is excellent for several Chilean endemics, including the cryptic and difficult-to-see Chilean Tinamou and the charismatic Moustached Turca. At high elevations we’ll almost certainly find Rufous-banded Miner, Black-winged Ground-dove, Band-tailed Sierra-finch, and Greater Yellow-finch, but the Andean Condor will probably attract the most attention as we have a good chance of seeing a few of these giants during our picnic lunch near Farellones. After lunch we’ll reach the highest point of our excursion, Valle Nevado at 9,850 feet, where we usually have excellent views of condors. The rare Creamy-rumped Miner and Black-fronted Ground-tyrant are also often here.

The post-cruise excursion ends at 5 pm at our hotel near the Santiago airport.

2025 Narrative

IN BRIEF: This was WINGS’ ninth cruise around the Horn, and once again it was a wonderful adventure. On what other trip can you see both giants -- Wandering Albatross and Andean Condor? Or to spend one day with thousands of seabirds, and the next day go into dense bamboo thickets looking for tapaculos? Here’s a list of some of the ‘best sightings’ of the trip to give a sense of the diversity encountered: colony of colorful King Penguin with their young chicks; hundreds of Black-browed Albatross seen every sailing day; the long-tailed Des Mur’s Wiretail and the charismatic Chucao Tapaculo in the forest near Puerto Montt; the unique Magellanic Plover seen in Patagonia; the amazing family of Magellanic Woodpecker posing on a photogenic tree trunk near Ushuaia, both Stejneger’s and Masatierra Petrels seen so close and a pair of displaying Lesser Horned Owl!

In addition to plenty of wonderful birds, we also had several groups of dolphins including the rare Chilean Dolphin, three species of whales and even a pod of Killer Whale! A very enjoyable trip; visiting four countries and navigating on two oceans, sailing to legendary places such Cape Horn and the Magellanic Straight, without having to change rooms. 

IN DETAIL: At the start of our tour, the group met at a very comfortable hotel in Buenos Aires, nicely located close to the great Costanera Sur wetland reserve, where some of the group went for a walk as soon as they arrived.  

On our first morning, we had an early start to reach the little village of Ceiba, to the north of Buenos Aires, where we spent most of the morning. We didn’t have to walk much to find plenty of fantastic birds! As soon as we stepped out of the bus, we immediately found a pair of Lark-like Brushrunner and a few Rufous Hornero walking on the roadside, while flocks of Bare-faced and White-faced Ibises were flying overhead. In the nearby acacia trees, we quickly found Narrow-billed Woodcreeper, Checkered and White-fronted Woodpecker, Stripe-crowned Spinetails, Masked Gnatcatchers, Suiriri Flycatcher, White-crested Tyrannulet, a pair of Dark-billed Cuckoo and even a few Ringed Teals! 

Ceiba is a great location for furnariids, and we also found a few Brown Cacholotes, a Pale-breasted Spinetail and several Chotoy Spinetails, a Short-billed Canastero, a pair of Little Thornbird and a single Tufted Tit-Spinetail. An Ash-colored Cuckoo was singing close and offered stunning views, as did a pair of White-tipped Plantcutter. And after spotting a few Double-collared Seedeaters and Golden-billed Saltators, we enjoyed great views of a Mississippi Kite, a very rare bird here, concluding this lovely morning! We then drove back to Buenos Aires for lunch, and later boarded the impressive Sapphire Princess! 

We spent the first night onboard the Sapphire Princess in-harbor in Buenos Aires. Disembarking the next morning to visit the nearby Costanera Sur wetland reserve. Unfortunately, because of very heavy rain during the night and part of the morning, the reserve was closed. Regardless, we were able to bird the wetland bordering it, finding an amazing variety of waterbirds including four Silver Teals, dozens of Rosy-billed Pochard, a pair of White-faced Whistling-Duck, a pair of Plumbeous Rail showing well in the open, a few White-tufted and Pied-billed Grebes, two beautiful immature Rufescent Tiger-herons, and several families of Wattled Jacanas. In the trees bordering the main avenue we had great views of Black-and-chestnut and Black-capped Warbling-Finches, as well as a pair of Sayaca Tanager, Rufous-bellied and Creamy-bellied Thrushes, a few Grayish Baywings, a group of Hooded Siskin, and Gilded Hummingbird and Glittering-bellied Emerald. Two Green Kingfishers also showed well, as did a pair of Southern Yellowthroat, a few Yellow-chinned Spinetails and even two Bran-colored Flycatchers. After that successful birding morning, we boarded our ship for a late lunch, an afternoon rest, and a chance to familiarize ourselves with the huge vessel that will be our home for the next two weeks. 

We arrived early the next morning in Montevideo (Uruguay) but our ship was delayed by one and a half hours, so we used this extra sailing time to do some seabirding from the bow. Arriving into the harbor, we had great views of Kelp Gulls, as well as Cayenne and Royal Terns. Once at the pier, we disembarked, met our driver and guide Rafa, and immediately drove towards Colonia Wilson. In the agricultural fields and shrubs, we found Picui Ground-Dove, the lovely White Monjita, a group of Nacunda Nighthawk roosting in an open field, a few Brown-and-yellow Marshbirds, as well as a cute Burrowing Owl perched in the open just a few meters from the road. At a small wetland, we found a pair of Firewood Gatherer, a distant Gray Monjita, a beautiful male Rufous-capped Antshrike, a few Chestnut Seedeaters, a pair of very cooperative Spix’s Spinetail, and had a great view of two Campo Flickers. 

After lunch near the shore of the Rio De La Plata Estuary, we headed towards the Playa Penino area. There, we first stopped at a small lake where we found a few Lake Ducks, White-tufted Grebes, two Striated Herons, and numerous Red-gartered Coots, amongst which we spotted two White-winged Coots and a few Spot-flanked Gallinules. In the nearby shrubland we had great views of a pair of Freckle-breasted Thornbird, as well as of Gilded Hummingbirds and Glittering-bellied Emeralds feeding on a blooming tree. On the beach itself we found hundreds of Snowy-crowned and Cayenne Terns and Brown-hooded Gulls, together with less numerous Royal and Common Terns. We also found a group of 30+ Black Skimmers and 50+ American Oystercatchers. A single male Austral Negrito was also found on the beach, an austral migrant here, which probably arrived with the strong southern winds of the previous days. Before driving back to the ship, we made a last stop at a small pond where we found two beautiful male Spectacled Tyrant, no less than three impressive Giant Wood-Rails walking in the open on the roadside, a flock of Yellow-winged Blackbird and two lovely Bran-colored Flycatchers. A fantastic way to end a great day in Uruguay! 

Our first full sailing day was wondeful. We spent it traveling from Montevideo to Puerto Madryn (Argentina), were we enjoyed seawatching from the exterior decks! For the entire day, we saw continuous numbers of Yellow-nosed and Black-browed Albatrosses, Great and Manx Shearwaters, as well as good numbers of White-chinned Petrel, our first Magellanic Penguins, three Long-tailed Jaegers and a juvenile of Brown Skua (far from the colony from where it fledged)! The sea was beautiful, with wind getting stronger during the day and the  swell increasing from two meters in the morning to five meters in the evening. It was great to admire the elegant seabirds flying so easily in this strong weather, going faster than our ship without giving a single wing beat! In addition to these wonderful seabirds, we also had a small group of 15-20 Short-beaked Common Dolphins. What a wonderful introduction to our forthcoming seabirding days! 

Our arrival at Puerto Madryn the next morning was badly delayed because of bad weather during the night. We arrived there at 2 pm in spite of 9 am! So, we spent the all morning on exterior decks, enjoying fantastic views of hundreds of Manx Shearwaters, 1000+ Sooty Shearwaters and hundreds of Black-browed Albatrosses, but also a few hundred South American Tern, a few Chilean Skuas and Parasitic Jaegers, our first Southern Giant Petrels as well as a few dozen Magellanic Penguins. 

As soon as we landed and met our driver and local guide, we drove to the Punta Loma seals colony. Along with a good hundred South American Sea Lions with pups, we found a few dozen Rock Cormorants and 100+ Imperial Cormorants, as well as two Snowy Sheathbills and a lovely Dolphin Gull! We then made a few stops in the Patagonian steppe, finding a few well named Elegant Crested-Tinamous, Patagonian Mockingbirds, two Cinereous Harriers and a male of Chiguango Thrush. We even spotted a Patagonian Hairy Armadillo! 

Unfortunately, because of the strong delay at arrival, we only had three hours to bird the surroundings of Puerto Madryn, departing in the evening for the Falklands Islands. We started our sailing day towards the Falklands Islands with a few Black-browed Albatross and Great Shearwaters, as well as a few Southern Royal Albatrosses.  Then we added a few Southern Giant Petrels, both Chilean and Brown Skuas, and our first Slender-billed Prions. Around mid-day we got our first Soft-plumaged Petrel whose numbers increased during the day. Several small groups were seen in the evening. We also found two Gray-backed Storm-Petrels, and a dark morph of Soft-plumaged Petrel (extremely rare here) had our attention! It was also an excellent day for mammal watching, with 30+ Southern Right Whales, 20+ Sei Whales and small groups of Peale’s Dolphins.

 We had a beautiful day in the Falklands Islands! We arrived in Stanley with some strong wind, and after the short tender ride, we met the four jeep drivers who took us to Volunteer Point, where no less than three species of penguins are breeding.  It is a two-and-a-half hour drive, half of it off-road, to reach Volunteer Point, but our drivers were charming characters and their stories about their life on the islands, sheep farming and the Falklands War made the trip much shorter. 

At Volunteer Point we enjoyed very close views of the three species of penguins breeding there (King, Gentoo, and Magellanic). The breeding season of the Magellanic and Gentoo Penguins was already finished, and the adults were all molting. Most of the King Penguins were now raising large chicks, while other ones were still incubating eggs. Between the hundreds of penguins, we also saw numerous Upland and Ruddy-headed Geese, a few Dolphin Gulls and Turkey Vultures, a Variable Hawk and a lovely pair of Dark-faced Ground-Tyrant. At one point an immature Peregrine Falcon pursued a Dolphin Gull and finally caught it after several attempts. 

During our drive between Stanley and Volunteer Point, we made a few stops, finding a large flock of 150+ Rufous-chested Dotterel and a few Correndera Pipits, as well as a pair of White-tufted Grebe, numerous Falklands Steamer-Ducks, Yellow-billed Teals and Crested Ducks and our first Magellanic Oystercatcher! After a lovely day in British territory, we arrived back in Stanley early enough to have a short city tour, while some opted for a beer at one of the local pubs. Afterwards we caught one of the last tenders back on the Sapphire Princess.  Leaving these wonderful islands and charming people, we were followed by hundreds of Sooty Shearwaters, Imperial Cormorants and Magellanic Penguins, and a few jumping Peale’s Dolphins. 

We had another lovely day at sea, sailing between Falklands and Cape Horn (Chile)! We began our day with close views of numerous Black-browed and Southern Royal Albatross, a Gray-headed Albatross and 100+ Slender-billed Prions and our last Greater Shearwaters. Amongst the numerous Southern Royal Albatrosses we also spotted a few Snowy Albatross. Along with these giants we also looked for tiny seabirds, and happily found hundreds of Fuegian (Wilson’s) Storm-Petrels as well as a few Magellanic Diving-Petrels. At one point in the afternoon, a Pintado Petrel also came close to the ship and offered good views for the those of the group still on the outer deck. 

We ended our day sailing by the legendary and scenic Cape Horn Island, surrounded by a swarm of thousands of Sooty Shearwaters (breeding in the nearby Wollaston Islands), great numbers of Black-browed Albatross and one more Gray-headed Albatross. We also spotted a group of 15 Southern Rockhopper Penguins, and even got pretty good views of three Striated Caracara flying over and landing on the roof of the Cape Horn lighthouse! We then headed towards Ushuaia (Argentina; the southernmost city in the world) through the ‘Mar Del Sur’ channel and spent the night sailing into the Beagle channel, another legendary place. 

After disembarking from our ship in Ushuaia, we met our local guide Marcelo, and immediately drove toward Tierra del Fuego National Park where we spent the whole morning. We had amazing weather, with no wind and beautiful blue sky, to walk in the National Park and its impressive forests. At our very first stop we had excellent views of a lovely family of the spectacular Magellanic Woodpecker! They stayed for a while on nearby trees, offering unforgettable views. Excited by our imitation of the Austral Pygmy-Owl, we were often surrounded by Thorn-tailed Rayaditos, Patagonian Sierra-Finches, Tufted Tit-Tyrants and even a Patagonian Tyrant. This morning, we also had great views of the smart Fire-eyed Diucon, a beautiful pair of Spectacled Duck, a pair of Black-necked Swan, our first Black-faced Ibises, and even found a group of no less than 10 Andean Condors soaring high in the sky. We had our picnic lunch in the spectacular National Park, and then headed back towards Ushuaia, making a stop on the shoreline of the Beagle channel where we found a few Flying Steamer-Ducks together with Flightless Steamer-Ducks, 50+ Kelp Geese, numerous Crested Ducks and Chiloé Wigeons, Rufous-chested Dotterels and White-rumped Sandpipers, both Blackish and Magellanic Oystercatchers, and had very close views of the spectacular Dolphin Gull.  

It was now time to end our day, with a visit to a well-known local birding spot: the scenic Ushuaia garbage dump! Here we had great views of half-a-dozen White-throated Caracaras, and their more common relatives, Chimango and Southern Caracaras, as well as at least a dozen of Black-chested Buzzard-eagles. 

Back on board, we departed during mid-afternoon and sailed into the scenic Beagle channel. This is one of the most scenic navigations of the cruise, with impressive landscapes on both sides of the channel, complete with hanging glaciers between mountain peaks. Black-browed Albatrosses followed the ship at close distance, while Humpback Whales and even a few Southern Fulmars were seen.  

After disembarking in Punta Arenas, we headed first toward a lake in the Patagonian steppe, finding on the way several groups of Lesser Rheas, flocks of Upland Geese, and numerous Crested Caracara and Black-chested Buzzard-Eagles. Once at the lake, we quickly found one of the most sought-after Patagonian species: the “pink bubble-gum legged” Magellanic Plover! No less than 30 birds where feeding on the shore of the lake, together with hundreds of White-rumped Sandpiper, a few Two-banded Plovers and Rufous-chested Dotterels.  

At a second lake we found dozens of Red-gartered Coots, a few White-tufted Grebes and a single Silvery (Patagonian) Grebe. And at a stop on the way, we also had great views of Long-tailed Meadowlarks, a few Rufous-collared Sparrows and a lovely pair of Austral Canastero. We then headed towards the “Tres Puentes” wetlands where we enjoyed close views of Yellow-billed Pintail, Red Shoveler, Yellow-billed Teal, Upland and Ashy-headed Geese, a few Black-faced Ibis and even a single Magellanic Snipe! 

In the afternoon, we decided to search the coast south of Punta Arenas, finding a few Flying Steamer-ducks, a few Kelp Geese, and a large group of Magellanic Oystercatcher, amongst which we spotted a few Blackish and American Oystercatchers. In a patch of Nothofagus Forest, a few Patagonian Sierra-Finches and Thorn-tailed Rayaditos were attracted to the call of austral Pygmy-Owl. In this location suddenly we heard the song of a Lesser Horned-Owl. After some searching and a bit of playback, we had amazing views of a pair of this beautiful owl, singing and displaying in the open, just a few meters from us! This will stay with us as one of the most memorable sights of the trip. 

After the smooth sailing in the protected waters of the Magellanic Straight, we started our next day in the open waters of the Pacific. With a very strong wind (60 knots most of the morning, decreasing to 35 knots in the afternoon) and a 6-7 meter swell, the seabirding conditions where difficult, but from the upper deck we could still enjoy views of hundreds of Black-browed Albatrosses and Sooty Shearwaters, and our first Westland Petrels. Unfortunately, because of these extreme weather conditions, we were strongly delayed and couldn’t reach Amalia Glacier.                                                                                                                              

We began our second sailing day en route to Puerto-Montt (Chile) by moving into the majestic scenery of the Chilean channels. What an experience to travel through these inaccessible islands, covered by stunted forests – like an incredible labyrinth. When we exited the channels, the strong northern winds were still blowing. Despite (because of?) these strong weather conditions, this was our best ‘albatross day’ of the cruise with no less than six distinct species. The Black-browed obviously outnumbered the other ones, but we also had a Northern, 10 Southern Royal, our first Salvin’s, at least 5 Antipodean and one Snowy Albatross! Expected here, we also found our first Stejneger’s Petrel and a few groups of Fuegian (Wilson’s) Storm-Petrel. 

Because of the strong northern winds we experienced the two previous days, we arrived slightly delayed into Puerto Montt (Chile). We did some birding from the outer deck while sailing in the Corcovado Golf, enjoying amazing views of the Andes chain and the Calbuco and Osorno volcanos. During this smooth sailing in the protected waters of the gulf, we had excellent views of numerous Pincoya Storm-Petrel, a recently described species discovered during a similar cruise, but also of Pink-footed Shearwaters, South American Terns and Parasitic Jaegers. 

Arriving late in Puerto Montt, we drove straight to the beautiful Lahuen Nadi National Monument. Here, after a wonderful picnic organized by our local guide Arturo, we birded a well-protected patch of Nothofagus and Patagonian Cypress (Fitzroya cupressoides), where we enjoyed excellent views of the charismatic Chucao Tapaculo, the secretive Des Mur’s Wiretail, White-throated Treerunner, Green-backed Firecrown and the common and lovely Thorn-tailed Rayadito. On the way out of the reserve, we even had cracking views of a Magellanic Tapaculo, who showed well in the open. During the drive back to the harbor, we also found a large flock of the endemic Slender-billed Parakeet! 

We finished our cruise between Buenos-Aires and San Antonio (Chile) with another amazing seabirding day. We had no less than 200+ Salvin’s, 300+ Black-browed and 100+ Northern Royal Albatross. Sailing close to Mocha Island. where most of the world population of Pink-footed Shearwater breeds, we saw hundreds of these long-migration seabirds. We also had fantastic views of both Stejneger’s and Masatierra Petrels. What a threat to see well these two beautiful Pterodromas, both endemic breeders to Chile! We also added Peruvian Diving-Petrel to our already long list of seabirds and had the chance to study hundreds of Pincoya/Fuegian Storm-Petrels flying close to the ship. 

In the evening, we planned to have a farewell dinner in one of the formal restaurants, but the ocean was boiling with birds, with tens of thousands of Sooty Shearwaters, Pink-footed Shearwaters, albatrosses all over, so we canceled it and met later at the buffet for a farewell dinner and drink together, after a memorable seabirding day ending nicely this fantastic cruise! 

https://ebird.org/tripreport/338689 

- Fabrice Schmitt

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