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Andean Condors are seen during our tours
 in southern Argentina.

ARGENTINA     (tour: FON/AR-2 '08)

November 8-22, 2008

Tour to be led by Armas Hill, with local guides at particular places.


Among the "Top Birds" during this tour in the past have been: 
some birds dubbed "Magellanic" 
including Magellanic Woodpecker, Magellanic Plover, & Magellanic Penguin.
And Other too, such as the Burrowing Parrot.

This tour can be done either on its own, or in conjunction with the 
following tour (FON/CH-SS) our "Short-Stay in Chile

Links:

Argentina Bird-Lists & Other Nature during previous tours:
Part 1: Penguins to Woodpeckers
Part 2: Manakins to Grosbeaks

Mammals during our previous Argentina Tours

Itinerary:

Sun: Nov. 9  Departure from North America, or elsewhere.

Mon: Nov. 10  Arrival in Buenos Aires. Birding in the afternoon (particularly for those arriving in the morning or mid-day) in Buenos Aires at the Costanera Sud Nature Reserve. Overnight in Buenos Aires.

Tue: Nov. 11  Flight from Buenos Aires to Trelew. An afternoon visit to the huge penguin colony at Punta Tombo (where there are approximately a million penguins. So, of course, there are about 500,000 burrows where they nest). And, other birds are there in addition to the penguins. Among them the Brown Skua and the rare, localized Chubut Steamerduck. Overnight in Trelew.

Wed: Nov. 12  A full-day of birding and observing of other wildlife in the area of the Valdes Peninsula. Birds to include: Darwin's Rhea, Elegant Crested-Tinamou, Tawny-throated Dotterel, Black-browed Albatross, Southern Giant-Petrel, and Snowy Sheathbill, with an assortment of landbirds.  
Land mammals include the interesting Mara, and the Guanaco.  
Marine mammals can include: the Southern Right Whale, Killer Whale, Southern Elephant Seal, Southern Fur Seal, and Southern Sea Lion. Overnight, again, at Trelew.

Thu: Nov. 13  On this day, travel north (with birding enroute) to San Antonio Oeste. Our objective, at that destination would be 6 of the 16 Argentine endemic birds, along with the endangered Yellow Cardinal, and the colorful Burrowing Parrot. Whatever we miss this day, we'll try for again the following morning. Overnight at San Antonio Oeste.

Fri: Nov. 14  Among the birds that we'll seek in the area of San Antonio Oeste are the Sandy Gallito, the White-throated Cachalote, and the uncommon Rusty-backed Monjita. These are 3 of the 6 endemics in that region. Of course, we're going for all six! Return in the afternoon to Trelew. Overnight there.

Sat: Nov. 15   A flight to Calafate for some southern Patagonian birding. In the Calafate area, some bird specialties to be seen include the Chocolate-vented Tyrant and Least Seedsnipe. A number of other birds occur, as well. We'll make our first (and hopefully successful) attempt to see the recently-discovered Hooded Grebe, an attractive bird indigenous to bodies of water in southern Patagonia.
The region is a spectacular area of open-country west to the Andes. In it, some spectacular birding. Overnight in Calafate.

Sun: Nov. 16   A full-day of birding in western Patagonia, including the forested area of the lower Andes adjacent to the impressive Perito Moreno Glacier. We've never missed Andean Condor here, The Magellanic Woodpecker is our prime target in an area we'll visit of fine forest. Also to be sought in the area is the Spectacled, or Bronze-winged, Duck. A notable denizen of the forest is a small skulker with a loud call, the Magellanic Tapaculo. Another skulker there, with an even louder, and stranger call, is the Huet-huet. Overnight again in Calafate.

Mon: Nov. 17   Travel by air this day from Calafate, going further south yet, to Ushuaia, said the be "the southernmost city in the world". Ushuaia is on the island Tierra del Fuego, on the north side of the Beagle Channel. 
Some of the birding near Ushuaia will be in the Tierra del Fuego National Park, a beautiful area of forest, shoreline, and snow-capped mountains. In the forests there, we've seen during our previous tours the Magellanic Woodpecker, a great bird to see! A number of birds in the area have the adjective "Magellanic" in their names, including a Tapaculo in the forest understory, and an Oystercatcher along the coast. 
Also in the names of a number of birds, there's the adjective "Austral": a Thrush, Blackbird, Negrito, Pygmy-Owl, and Parakeet. We'll be keeping an eye toward the sky for Andean Condors and Black-chested Buzzard-Eagles. 
Not as beautiful as the national park, but certainly worth a stop between it and Ushuaia (because it's birdy) is the dump, with: gulls, skuas, and caracaras. Among them, the White-throated Caracara. Overnight in Ushuaia.    

Tue: Nov. 18  A boat-trip, this day, on the Beagle Channel, with some fine birding and other wildlife (such as sea-lions), amidst spectacular scenery. On this trip during our previous tours, 3 species of penguins have been seen: the common Magellanic, a pair of Gentoos, and one time a King. There's also an assortment of other birds: albatrosses, fulmars, giant-petrels, diving-petrels, skuas, and sheathbills. Specialties have included 2 species of steamer-ducks, Kelp Geese, and Rock and Imperial Shags. Overnight, again, in Ushuaia.  

Wed: Nov 19   A morning of birding in the Ushuaia area. Our particular quests, on a mountainside above the city, will be the White-bellied Seedsnipe and Yellow-bridled Finch. Both are rare, but both are there. After lunch, we'll travel north along the southernmost portion of the Pan-American Highway. We'll enter a quite different landscape of Tierra del Fuego, with open, rolling plains near the northeast coast. There will be another set of birds. Among the waterfowl, the rare Ruddy-headed Goose is possible. Among the shorebirds, there's the attractive Rufous-chested Dotterel. Among other rarities in this area, there's a unique bird called the Magellanic Plover (but it's not a plover at all), and another bird called "Austral", a canastero. We probably won't see all of these birds this one day, but we'll be birding two days in the area. Our first overnight in the town of Rio Grande.

Thu: Nov 20  A full-day of birding in the region of Tierra del Fuego near Rio Grande. In addition to species just mentioned in the previous paragraph, another interesting aspect to the bird-life in that area is that about 75% of the world's Hudsonian Godwits spend their non-breeding season there. Overnight again in Rio Grande.

Fri: Nov 21  After some final birding in the area, we'll begin our journey back north, with travel by air to Buenos Aires. Overnight in Buenos Aires. Some final birding, as time permits, and for those who wish, at the Costanera Sud Nature Reserve in Buenos Aires (on Nov 21 or 22), prior to the international flight departures from Argentina.

Sat: Nov 22   Flights from Buenos Aires, either for those heading home, or for those continuing on the FONT Chile "Short-Stay" Tour, Nov 22-26, which will include a pelagic trip on the Pacific off Valparaiso.  

Sun: Nov. 23  For those going to North America, after an overnight flight, a morning arrival.