Birds of southern Patagonia
Argentina
Region
Patagonia
Season
October to April
Duration
7 days
Briefing
Day 1: Arrive to El Calafate. Afternoon birding at the steppes and nearby pond.
Day 2: Visit Los Glaciares National Park (forests and wetlands).
Day 3: Drive to El Chaltén with stops for birding on the steppes and tablelands.
Day 4: Explore mountains, forests and rivers of the area looking for Magellanic woodpeckers and torrent ducks.
Day 5: Drive to Estancia La Angostura looking for the extremely endangered Austral rail.
Day 6: La Angostura and return to El Calafate.
Day 7: Transfer to the airport for flying to your next destination.
Tour description
Forests, steppes and wetlands of Los Glaciares National Park.
Los Glaciares Nacional Park, in southern Patagonia, is one of the best sites for birding in the southern tip of South America, as provides a great variety of habitats and transitional areas very well preserved, with good access and big number of species on its Patagonian steppes, austral beech forests, wetlands and Andean range.
Starting this trip at El Calafate, we will explore the extensive golden steppes and its wetlands in search of lesser rheas, Patagonian tinamous, red-backed hawks, least seedsnipes, chocolate-vented tyrants, cinnamon-bellied ground-tyrants, Magellanic and two-banded plovers, Chilean flamingos and hooded and silvery grebes.
The southern beech forests around the Perito Moreno Glacier offer us the chance to observe species such as black-chested buzzard-eagles, Chilean flickers, Austral thrush, thorn-tailed rayaditos, Austral parakeets, white-headed elaenias, Magellanic woodpeckers and black-throated huet-huet. We will later travel to El Chaltén, adding torrent ducks, Andean condors, ochre-naped ground-tyrants, striped woodpeckers and great shrike-tyrants. From this point we will visit the reed beds of La Angostura for spotting the extremely rare Austral rail.
A special birdwatching journey in one of the most beautiful mountain landscapes of South America!