A few days ago I did a five-day birding tour covering the southwest of the Neuquén province, a territory that provides a great diversity of landscapes and environments and therefore, birds! The goal of the trip was to assess for Aves Argentinas and the Ministry of Tourism on the status of the birdwatching activity in the area. So I went from the dense Andean-Patagonian forest in San Martín de los Andes, to the dry and desolated Patagonian steppe in Zapala, passing by the spectacular Monkey-puzzle trees forest in Villa Pehuenia and Aluminé.

 

DAY 1. SAN MARTÍN DE LOS ANDES - ALUMINÉ

I started my round tour covering 150 Km. from San Martín de los Andes to Aluminé, by Routes 40 and 23. Leaving the Huechulafquen Lake and the Lanín volcano on the west this stretch covers mostly a steppe environment, specially after passing by Junín de los Andes. There Route 23, a dirt road, starts and it is a lonely one, suitable for watching steppe birds like the Scale-throated Earthcreeper, the Rufous-backed Negrito, the California Quail and the Long-tailed Meadowlark. After passing a very dry area we crossed the Aluminé River and arrived to Pilolil where there are some amazing volcanic rock formations that are a nesting place for Black-chested Buzzard Eagles and Pereguine Falcons. On the top of the rock formation there are some cave paintings, that can be visited upon request.

 

 

After Pilolil the road goes by the Aluminé River; this is one of the best spots in the country for white-waters rafting. The river has rapids of category 4 so every year there are rafting and kayaking competitions. During summer some specialized companies offer rafting tours in the area. Before arriving to Aluminé we could watch several raptors like Southern-crested Caracara, Red-backed Hawk and Black-chested Buzzard Eagle, apart from Ashy-headed Goose*, Rufous-collared Sparrow, Black-faced Ibis and Austral Parakeet, among others.

 

*The birds in green are Patagonia endemics

DAY 2. ALUMINE - RUCA CHOROY - VILLA PEHUENIA

After meeting with the local actors they took me to some of the best birding spots in the area. We started climbing some of the sandy hills east of the town, a steppe area mixed with pine plantations, a usual route for horse riding tours. On top of one of the hills there are some rocky cliffs that raptors use to place their nests. There we could see a specimen of Magellanic Horned Owl, member of a pair that nests in the place. From the top there is a great view of the town of Alumine on the east and the Ruca Choroy river basin to the west. Usually you can see Andean Condors and Turkey and Black Vultures flying over.

 

 

Then we headed to Ruca Choroy Lake, stopping by several lagoons on the sides of the road. Just on the first one we could see plenty of aquatic birds like Chilean Flamingos, Spectacled Duck, Lake Duck, Red-gartered Coot and Brown-hooded Gull. On the reed beds by the lagoon margins there are Wren-like Rushbirds and Many-colored Rush-Tyrants and we watched raptors like the Cinereous Harrier and the American Kestrel flying around . On the grassland by the lagoon banks there were Black-faced Ibises and Upland Geese, as well as Snipes, Seedsnipes, Cinclodes, Pipits, Miners and Ground-Tyrants.

 

 

On the next lagoon we could see a big flock of Ashy-headed Geese, as well as Southern Wigeon, Red Shoveler, several coots, Rufous-backed Negrito, Long-tailed Meadowlark and Austral Blackbird. Native Mapuche communities occupy this area, where they live mainly from breeding sheep and goats, growing subsistence crops and handcrafting textile and other products. After covering around 20 Km over a steppe environment suddenly the first patches of Monkey-puzzle trees start to show off. Then, once you cross the Lanín National Park entrance the Araucaria forest goes deeper and deeper and mixes with Lengas and Ñires. The road is in good state until you enter the park, then deteriorates rapidly being quite muddy as a result of ice melting, so we had to wade across several river streams. The road ends by the west end of the Ruca Choroy Lake, where there is a very basic camping area managed by the Mapuche community Aigo. From there you can take several trails like the one going from Ruca Chotory to Quilllén Lake (2 days) and, crossing the Calfi Quitra River, the one going to the Green Lagoon.

 

 

Once we finished our tour to Ruca Choroy we went back to Aluminé and from there I took Route 23 towards Villa Pehuenia. This a beautiful itinerary following the Aluminé River course, which carried a lot of water, across a pure Monkey-puzzle tree forest. Some of the Aluminé birdwatchers have warned me about the possibility of spotting the Torrent Duck along the way, on the area known as Pampa de Lonco Luan. I watched carefully from the car, stopping several times until I saw something promising. I stopped the car again, rushed out and there it was! A beautiful pair of Torrent Ducks standing on a big rock in the middle of the water stream!!! The wind was blowing strong and starting to snow but I took my time anyway to watch their movements in detail and to take as many pictures as I could. First male and female where standing on different rocks, then the male jumped into the freezing cold water, swam against the fierce torrent and managed to climb the rock where her beloved was standing.

 

 

The Torrent Duck is one on the most charismatic species in Andean Patagonia, for its exceptional features and habitat and for being endangered, with an obvious decline on its populations in the area. The Lanín National Park administration is putting in place a specific plan for the conservation of this species. The local birdwatching clubs are also giving a hand searching for the Torrent Duck in different water courses on the park and monitoring the reproductive success of the pairs.

 

 

DAY 3. VILLA PEHUENIA - ZAPALA

After a good dinner and a better sleep in the gorgeous Villa Pehuenia the following morning I met with the local birdwatchers and authorities and after the meeting we went to take a look to the Urban Natural Reserve where we saw species like the White-tufted Grebe, Thorn-tailed Rayadito, White-throated Treerunner and Plain-mantled Spinetail. Then we went to the five lagoons on the place called La Angostura, where we watched Fire-eyed Diucón, Tufted Tit-Tyrant, Austral Thrush, Eared Dove, Pied-billed Grebe, Speckled Teal and Chimango Caracara. Then I took my way to my next destination: Zapala.

 

 

 

I took Route 13, that passes by a placed called Primeros Pinos, meaning “Firsts Pine Trees” referring to the fact that those are the easternmost Monkey-puzzle tree patches in the area, so they are the first you encounter when approaching the mountain range from the west. The scenery en route was just amazing, displaying a huge snow-covered plateau spotted here and there by groups of Araucaria trees, the “First Pines”. Half of the way goes by a dirt road (although in good condition) while from Primeros Pinos to Zapala the road is paved. I stopped several times, to take some pictures of birds but mostly of landscapes. I still managed to arrive to Zapala by mid-afternoon with some spare time to visit the remarkable Olsacher Musuem, displaying a magnificent collection of geology, paleontology and biology pieces. The fossils are mostly from the Patagonia region, as this is one of the regions in the world with better dinosaurs fossils findings, but the minerals and rocks collection host samples from almost everywhere in the word. Truly recommendable if you ever pass by Zapala.

 

 

DAY 4. ZAPALA, MARIANO MORENO, COVUNCO, LAS LAJAS

The following day I met with the local people in the morning and then went birding in some of the nearby areas. First we went to La Solitaria Lagoon, in Mariano Moreno, a salty steppe lagoon that hosts big concentrations of aquatic birds. There were 130 individuals of Chilean Flamingo and more than 50 Coscoroba Swans, apart from Brown-hooded Gull, Crested Duck, Baird’s Sandpiper, South American Stilt, Collared Plover, Two-banded Plover and Chilean Swallow. We continued covering the rural areas of Covunco and Mariano Moreno; this is a very interesting ornithological area, as there are ingressions of species from the pampas grasslands and the monte region so you can add a lot of new species to your list here if you are coming from the Lake District. Some of this species are: Golden-breasted Woodpecker, Great Kiskadee, Chalk-browed Mockingbird, Chiguanco Thrush, Rufous Hornero, White-throated Cacholote, Sandy Gallito, Blue-and-Yellow Tanager and Rusty-backed Monjita.

 

 

In Covunco we saw Picazuro Pigeon, Black Vulture, Burrowing Parrot, Picui Ground-Dove, White-faced Ibis, Saffron Yellow-Finch, Shiny Cowbird and Bay-winged Cowbird. Following the river course from Mariano Moreno to the crossroads with the Route 40 we saw Great Kiskadee, Golden-breasted Woodpecker, Blue-and-White Swallow, Neotropic Cormorant and Chalk-browed Mockingbird. From there we took Route 40 to Las Lajas where we had lunch with local birdwatchers and then headed to Las Lajitas Wetland. There we added the following species to our list: Cinnamon Teal, Yellow-billed Pintail, Black-chinned Siskin, Blue-and-Yellow Tanager, Great Egret, Many-colored rush-Tyrant, Yellow-winged Cowbird and Red-fronted Coot. Then, on the Agrio River banks we added the Spectacled Tyrant and the Fire-eyed Diucon. Back to Zapala we passed by Covunco just before dusk to find, thanks to the efforts by the local guide Alejandro Vazquez, the elusive Sandy Gallito.

DAY 5. LAGUNA BLANCA N. P., LAS COLORADAS, BACK HOME

Last day of the tour and after a short pass by the rural area of Michacheo, where there are some interesting lagoons we took our way too Laguna Blanca National Park. This park was created in 1940 to protect the biggest concentration of Black-necked Swans in the country, as well us a great diversity of aquatic birds like Chilean Flamingo, Coscoroba Swan, Upland and Ashy-headed Geese and several species of grebes, ducks and coots. The place was included on the List of Wetlands of International Importance by the Ramsar Covention. However, due to the introduction of exotic fish species like the Brown Trout, Rainbow Trout and Patagonian Perch the lagoon, which previously hosted no fish, has suffered a reduction in the vegetation and micro fauna on its waters, resulting in a big reduction on the amount of aquatic birds. Now that park’s administration is working hard to revert this situation, with several projects of ecological restoration.

 

 

First we passed by the visitor’s center where the park staff kindly received us. From there we walked to the birds observatory over the lagoon where we watched Red-Gartered Coot, Black-necked Swan, Chilean Flamingo, Neotropic Cormorant and Kelp Gull. Along the trail we also saw Plain-mantled Tit-Spinetail, Gray-hooded Sierra Finch and White-throated Cacholote. Then we took the vehicles to go to Laguna Verde, on the north limit of the park. There the parks’s administration plans to build another bird observatory. Along the way we could see Rufous-backed Negrito, Scale-throated Earthcreeper, Spectacled Tyrant, Upland Goose, Red-backed Hawk and Mourning Sierra-Finch. On the lagoon there were 35 Chilean Flamingos, as well as Austral Thrush and Southern Lapwing. On the rock cliffs nearby we saw a pair of Black-chested Buzzard Eagle and some Turkey Vultures.

 

 

After finishing our visit to Laguna Blanca NP I said goodbye to the Park’s staff and continued my way by Routes 46 and 24 to Rahue and Las Coloradas. Along the way I saw a good amount of bird species on the lagoons on the sides of the road, on the rock cliffs over the mountains and by the Catan Lil River banks: Southern Wigeon, Red-backed Hawk, Black-chested Buzzard Eagle, American Kestrel, Speckled Teal, Upland and Ashy-headed Geese, Rufous-backed Negrito, Long-tailed Meadowlark, Black-faced Ibis, Turkey Vulture, Austral Thrush, Southern Lapwing and Spectacled Tyrant. After passing the small village of Las Coloradas, by the Catan Lil River, I continued to the crossroads with Route 40. In La Rinconada I stopped by the Condor observatory but it was not the right time, so I could not see any. From there I took by way back home to San Martín de los Andes.

 

 

TOUR MAP: