Special Interest
If you would like to plan or custom-design a special program for your family and friends, contact us and we will help you plan your trip.
Birding in Central Chile from the coast to the Andes
This 4-day program will allow you to visit a representative array of environments in central Chile, such as mountains and bogs in the Andes, coastal wetlands, forests and the waters of the Humboldt Current. We will look for eight endemic species and several other “highlights”.
Day 1. Waterfowl and shorebirds in costal wetlands
We will visit an interesting array of coastal environments looking for the Collared Plover, Blackish Oystercatcher, South American Snipe, Lake Duck, Red Shoveler, Chiloe Wigeon, Spectacled Tyrant and the endemic Chilean Seaside Cinclodes. On recent trips we have recorded the rare Warbling Doradito. We will also visit other coastal wetlands where we have a good chance to observe Black-necked Swan, Black-headed Duck, three South American grebes (Great, White-tufted and Silvery), Many-colored Rush-tyrant, Wren-like Rushbird, Plumbeous Rail and the secretive Stripe-backed Bittern.
Day 2. La Campana National Park, birds and palm woods
Today we drive to the Coastal Mountain Range to visit La Campana National Park, which was declared Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO. Its landscape is dominated by an impressive Chilean Palm forest, where we will look for six endemics: Dusky-tailed Canastero, White-throated and Dusky Tapaculos, Moustached Turca, Chilean Mockingbird and Chilean Tinamou. We have good chances to observe the Giant Hummingbird, White-throated Treerunner, Plain-mantled Tit-spinetail, Striped Woodpecker, Band-tailed Sierra-finch, Chilean Flicker and Chilean Pigeon. This is also a good place for watching raptors such as Variable Hawk, Harris’s Hawk, and Black-chested Buzzard-eagle.
Day 3. Pelagic trip, meeting the seabirds of the Humboldt Current
This is the day dedicated to seabirds. In this nearly 6-hour trip through the nutrient-rich waters of the Humboldt Current off Valparaiso we will look for species which are endemic to this ecosystem such as the Humboldt Penguin, Inca Tern, Peruvian Booby, Guanay Cormorant, Grey Gull and Peruvian Diving-petrel. We will navigate a few miles offshore to see pelagic birds including Southern Fulmar, Wilson’s Storm-petrel, South American Tern, Southern Giant and Westland Petrels and Pink-footed Shearwater. We have good chances to see Salvin’s, Buller’s and Black-browed albatrosses.
Day 4.The cordillera and its Andean birds
Today we drive into the Central Andes to visit El Yeso, a reservoir with impressive turquoise-colored waters located at nearly 8,500 feet above the sea level. Here, we will look for our eighth endemic species: the Crag Chilia. Several other Andean specialities include the Torrent Duck, Andean Condor, Rufous-banded Miner, White-sided Hillstar, Yellow-rumped Siskin, Greater Yellow-finch, Black-winged Ground-dove and several Ground-tyrant and Cinclodes species. The grassy areas near bogs and streams are ideal habitats for the Diademed Sandpiper-plover.
Tour highlights
- Contrasting environments ranging from the Humboldt Current to the Andes
- La Campana National Park, UNESCO Biosphere Reserve
- Up to eight endemic species
- Bird specialities: Black-headed Duck, Stripe-backed Bittern, Warbling Doradito, Giant Hummingbird, Humboldt Penguin, Pink-footed Shearwater, Torrent Duck, Diademed Sandpiper-plover, Andean Condor