2-day/1-night birding experiences on the best-selected birding spots in northern Patagonia, camping underneath the stars. We will drive in the afternoon from San Martín de los Andes to the selected spot, set up our campground and then go birding till sunset. After enjoying a nice dinner we can go birding again for a while in search of owls and nightjars before going to bed. We will wake up at sunrise, have a good breakfast and go birding again until noon. Back on the campsite, we will have a picnic before dismantling our camp and taking our way back to San Martín de los Andes. If you want to stay more time, all these outings can be combined and extended, with all kind of hiking options as well. The possibilities are infinite, so do not hesitate to ask for a customized program.
Laguna Verde (Green Lagoon) lies west of Curruhué Lake, on the core of Lanin National Park. Definitely one of the best camping sites of the park, Laguna Verde offers a great location, good facilities, plenty of forest birds and access to some of the best hiking trails in the park. Upon our arrival and after setting up our tents we will go birding by the lagoon shore, where we can find Ashy-headed Geese, Rufous-backed Negrito, Great Grebe, and Flying Steamer-Duck. Walking 400 meters on the main road we can get to the west end of Curruhue Lake, an excellent spot to look for the iconic Magellanic Woodpecker. Back on the campsite and after dinner, we can take a short walk to look for the elusive Rufous-legged Owl. The following morning, just after sunrise, we will take the Huella Andina trail towards the Achen Niyeu volcano, looking for Patagonia forest endemics such us Chucao Tapaculo, Black-throated Huet-Huet, Andean Tapaculo, Des Mur’s Wiretail, Thorn-tailed Rayadito, White-throated Treerunner, Patagonian Sierra-Finch and Chilean Pigeon.
We will drive in the afternoon from San Martín de los Andes to the Lanin Volcano base, a 100 km drive where we will have the chance to find raptors like Black-chested Buzzard-Eagle, Red-Backed Hawk, American Kestrel and Southern Crested Caracara, as well as bids of the steppe and the ecotone from steppe to forest like Great Shrike-Tyrant, Rufous-tailed Plantcutter and Diuca Finch. Once on the base of Lanin Volcano, a few meters away from the Chilean border, we will set up our base camp and then go birding on the trails near the campsite. There is a short but very steep trail that goes up to a viewpoint over the Tromen Lake, with amazing views of the volcano too. There we will have great chances for Austral Parakeet, White-throated Treerunner, Thorn-tailed Rayadito, Des Mur’s Wiretail and Chucao Tapaculo. Another trail goes to the grasslands down to the mouth of Malleo River, then follows the shore of the Tromen Lake and goes back to the starting point by a dirt road. On that one we will look for Bicolored Hawk, Black-throated Huet-Huet, Andean Tapaculo, Ochre-flanked Tapaculo, Rufous-backed Negrito, Ringed Kingfisher and Fire-eyed Diucon. Back on the camp we will have dinner and look for the Rufous-legged Owl. The following morning we will wake up at sunrise, have breakfast and take the trail that goes towards the volcano. The first part goes through a mature forest of Southern Beeches, the perfecto environment for the Magellanic Woodpecker. Along the trail, we have also good chances for the Green-backed Firecrown, Patagonian Sierra Finch, Thorn-tailed Rayadito, White-throated Treerunner and Stripped Woodpecker. Once we get out of the woods we will be walking over volcanic soil, with Lanín just in front of us. There we will have chances for White-throated Caracara and Andean Condor.
We will drive from San Martín de los Andes to the Collón Curá River valley, probably the best hotspot in northern Patagonia. Along the way we will do several stops, with good chances for Burrowing Parrot, Ashy-headed Geese, Black-chested Buzzard-Eagle, Red-backed Hawk and Long-tailed Meadowlark. Passing by Junín de los Andes we will stop at some small lagoons on the side of the road, looking for Grass Wren, Wren-like Rushbird, Many-colored Rush-Tyrant and Bay-winged Cowbird. On the road down to the river we can see Guanacos, a Patagonian camelid and we will stop at a viewpoint over a condor cliff. Once we cross Collón Cura River we will drive along it course for almost 40 km, stopping at some key spots where we can find Yellow-winged Cowbird, Tufted Tit-Tyrant, Warbling Doradito, Spectacled Tyrant, Sooty Tyrannulet, Grey-hooded Sierra Finch and Plumbeous Rail, among others. We will camp near the road, surrounded by the Patagonian steppe and enjoy a nice dinner underneath the stars. Early in the morning, we will take a road over a plateau looking for specific steppe birds such us Lesser Rhea, Patagonia Mockinbird, Rusty-backed Monjita, Grat-Shike Tyrant, Patagonia Canastero, Band-tailed Earthcreeper, Rufous-banded Miner and Least Seedsnipe, among others.
Miramas is a mountain refuge located 9 miles away from San Martín de los Andes, at 1.400 metres above sea level, by the foot of Chapelco Massif. It is surrounded by the Andean-Patagonian forest, with spectacular views of Lácar Lake. There we will do 2 half-day birding outings, staying overnight at the refuge. We will meet at 5 pm in San Martín de los Andes. From there we will drive by a mountain road to Miramas, a 45-minute trip. Once there we will start our first birding outing, hiking on the trails around the refuge for around 2:30 hours. Miramas is surrounded by the Andean-Patagonia forest, with large sized Southern Beeches (Lengas), dense patches of Colihue Cane and some high meadows. Along the way we will look for endemic species of the Patagonian forest, such as Thorn-tailed Rayadito, White-throated Treerunner, Chucao Tapaculo, Black-throated Huet-Huet, Patagonian Sierra-Finch, Fire-eyed Diucon, White-crested Elaenia, and the iconic Magellanic Woodpecker, among others. We will return to the refuge with the last light of day to enjoy a good dinner in the cozy refuge before going to bed. The following day we will wake up at the break of day, and after breakfast, we will start our second outing with the first light of day, the best time for birdwatching, as the birds are fully active after resting during the night. Apart from the forest birds like the Patagonian Forest Earthcreeper and Dark-bellied Cinclodes, we will pass by a small lagoon where we can see Yellow-billed Pintails and Ashy-headed Geese. Then we will walk up to some of the high meadows in search of altitude birds like Rufous-banded Miner, Dark-faced Ground-Tyrant, Ochre-naped Ground Tyrant, Yellow-briled Finch, Plumbeous Sierra-Finch and White-bellied Seedsnipe.