10-day birding and nature photography tour covering Patagonia from east to west and 3 of the 4 Patagonian provinces. Starting on the city of Trelew we will spend our first two days in Peninsula Valdés the most important wildlife hotspot of the Patagonian Atlantic Coast. There we will see not only lots of steppe and coastal birds but also big mammal such as sea lions and the, of course, the start of the show: The Southern Right Whale. From there we will start moving east, covering all the natural regions in North Patagonia and Central Argentina: Espinal, Monte, Patagonian steppe, Subantarctic forest and High Andes, looking for the endemic bird species of each one of them while we enjoy the amazing sceneries. The tour ends in the city of Bariloche, the capital of Argentina’s Lake District.
If you want to do this tour on a different date, please contact us at info@tierraspatagonicas.com
Reception in the morning at Trelew airport. From there we will head directly to Peninsula Valdés to start exploring this amazing wildlife reservoir. The Peninsula is part of the Monte ecoregion, made by dry shrubby plains which surprisingly host a vast range of animal species. Apart from birds like Lesser Rhea, Elegant-crested Tinamou, Least Seedsnipe, Scale-throated Earthcreeper, Plain-mantled Tit-Spintail, Patagonian Canastero and Patagonian Mockingbird on our way to the coast we will have chances to see mammals such us Mara (or Patagonian Hare) , Guanaco (the Patagonia camelid), foxes, armadillos, and, if we are very lucky, pumas. Near the protected area entrance, we will visit Isla de los Pájaros, where we will look for the extremely local White-headed Steamer-Duck, as well as Crested Duck, American Oystercatcher and Grey-bellied Shrike-Tyrant. Overnight in Puerto Pirámides. Distance: 20o km.
In the morning, we will take the loop road around the peninsula to explore the key spots on the coast looking for sea birds such us Blackish and Magellanic Oystercatchers, Two-banded Plover, Baird’s Sandpiper, White-rumped Sandpiper, Chilean Skua and the iconic Magellanic Penguin. On the beaches, we will also have the chance to see mammals such as South America Sea Lion, Southern Elephant Seal, Dusky Dolphin and Killer Whale. On the road we will have chances for Carbonated Sierra-Finch, Burrowing Parrot, Tawny-throated Dotterel and Rusty-backed Monjita, among others. In the afternoon we will take a group boat tour from Puerto Pirámides to watch the stars of Peninsula Valdés: the mighty Southern Right Whale. Valdés Peninsula hosts one of the largest breeding populations of these giant mammals, that chose these calm and protected waters to mate and give birth to their calves. We will take one of the sunset boat outing, when there is fewer people as all the day visitors have already left and the light is perfect for taking good photos. Overnight in Puerto Pirámides. Distance: 75 km.
From Valdés we will move 300 km up along the coast of the San Matías Gulf to get to Las Grutas, another Important Bird Area (IBA) and the main hotspot in Rio Negro province. We will arrive to Las Grutas by lunchtime and spend the afternoon exploring the beaches near the town. There we will focus on shore and coastal birds such as Wilson’s Pharolope, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Olrog’s and Brown-hooded Gulls, South American, Snowy-crowned, Royal and Sandwich Terns, Southern Giant-Petrel, Neotropic, Rock and Blue-eyed Cormorants. Overnight in Las Grutas. Distance: 330 km.
In the morning we will head to San Antonio Bay Protected Area, just a few km away from Las Grutas. There we will look for Baird’s Sanpipers and have new chances for Yellowlegs, Gulls, Terns and Cormorants. At cerro Banderita we will look also for the Sandy Gallito. In the afternoon we will head to the Conesa Valley, just 95 km north from Las Grutas. This is a very interesting site for birding as it is the just one the confluence point of two key ecoregions for the southern South American fauna: the Monte, which is exclusive from Argentina and the Espinal, which extends all the way up from here to the north, then continuing in southeast Bolivia and west Paraguay as The Great Chaco. On top of that many species from the Pampas are expanding along the Negro River course, so the mix of species at this point is just impressive: Brushland Tinamou, Spotted Nothura, Spot-winged Pigeon, White-faced Ibis, White-tailed Kite, Green-barred Woodpecker, Campo Flicker, Monk Parakeet, Chaco Earthcreeper, Rufous Hornero, Tufted Tit-Spinetail, Short-billed Canastero, Stripe-crowned Spinetail, Brown Cacholote, Suiriri Flycatcher, Yellow-billed Tit Tyrant, White-crested and Straneck’s Tyrannulet, Greater Wagtail-Tyrant, Great Pampa-Finch and Golden-billed Saltator, among others. Overnight in General Conesa. Distance: 95 km.
We continue exploring the medium course of the Negro River on a 180 km ride on the Monte region from General Conesa to Choele Choel, where we will chances for Roadside Hawk, Burrowing Owl, Burrowing Parrot, Sharp-billed Canastero, Vermilion Flycatcher, Rusty-backed Monjita, White Monjita, White-tipped Plantcutter, and Screaming and Shiny Cowbirds, among many others. Overnight in Choele Choel. Distance: 180 km.
Continuing upriver we will reach the high valley of Negro River, passing by a series of cities that grew from the fruit production until we arrive at Neuquén City, on the confluence of rivers Limay and Neuquén. Before entering the city we will detour to Pellegrini Lake, where we can find waterfowl like Black-necked Swan, Coscoroba Swan, Cinnamon Teal, Red Shoveler, Silver Teal, Lake Duck, Plumbeous Rail, Red-fronted, Red-gartered and White-winged Coots, as well as Stripe-backed Bittern, Cocoi and Striated Herons, Great and Snowy Egrets and marsh birds like Wren-like Rushbird and Many-colored Rush Tyrant. In the afternoon we will go to Island 132, just on the confluence of the two rivers, where we will search for Southern Wigeon, Yellow-billed Pintail, Speckled Teal, Picazuro Pigeon, Guira Cuckoo, White-throated Cacholote, Great Kiskadee, Chilean Swallow, Austral Thrush, Chalk-browed Mockingbird, Shiny Cowbird, Yellow-winged Blackbird, Red-crested Cardinal and Saffron Finch. Overnight at Neuquén City. Distance: 225 km.
From Neuquén city we will continue southwest to the town of Zapala, entering a new ecological region: the Patagonian steppe. Near Zapala we will visit some steppe lagoons where we can find Chilean Flamingo, Tufted and Silvery Grebes, Black-necked Stilt, Collared and Two-banded Plovers, White-faced and Black-faced Ibises, Spectacled Tyrant, Rusty-backed Monjita, Blue-and-white Swallow, among many others. On the rural areas of Covunco and Mariano Moreno we will search for Picui Ground-Dove, Chiguanco Thrush, Long-tailed Meadowlark and Bay-winged Cowbird, among others. Overnight in Zapala. Distance: 195 km.
We leave Zapala and head to Primeros Pinos, literally “first pines”, meaning that these are the first Monkey-puzzle trees you find in north Patagonia when coming from the east. The native Mapuche people called this wonderful conifers “Pehuén”, but the first white settlers called them just pines. We are entering the araucaria district, on the north end of the Patagonian forest ecoregion, also called sub-antarctic forest. Here we will enjoy some amazing sceneries, with patches of araucaria trees with the Andes mountain range on the background. Birds wise is also a very interesting road as it goes up to 1,900 meters, then abruptly down by the Rahue slope down to the Aluminé River. We can find raptors like Black-chested Buzzard Eagle, Red-backed Hawk, Aplomado Falcon and Southern Caracara and the three members of the cathartidae family in Patagonia: Black vulture, Turkey Vulture and the iconic Andean Condor. Here we will look also for altitude species like Dark-faced and Ochre-naped Ground-Tyrants and Rufous-banded Miner. Once in Aluminé we will continue upriver to reach Villa Pehuenia, a gorgeous touristic village by the Aluminé Lake and surrounded by Araucaria forest where we will overnight. Distance: 120 km.
Early In the morning, we will go birding by the lake, looking for Andean Gull, Ashy-headed Geese, Neotropic Cormorant, Lake Duck and Tufted Grebe. Then we will take the way to the route south along Aluminé River to Pilo Lil, a wonderful site with eroded basaltic rock formations. On the way, we can find Long-tailed Meadowlark, Spectacled Tyrant, Ashy-headed Geese, American Kestrel and Southern Crested-Caracara. Then we will follow the dirt road to Malleo River, on a steppe environment where we will have new chances for Great Shrike-Tyrant, Patagonian Mockingbird and Scale-throated Earthcreeper. We will continue following the course of Malleo River to the base of Lanin volcano, where we will hike through the woods of Southern Beeches and Araucarias, looking for endemics birds of the Andean-Patagonian forest: Thorn-tailed Rayadito, White-throated Treerunner, Patagonian Sierra Finch, Chucao Tapaculo, Black-throated Huet-Huet and the iconic Magellanic Woodpecker. In the afternoon we will drive to the town of San Martín de los Andes, where we will overnight. Distance: 315 km.
Depending on the species we are missing on our checklist we will spend the morning in Laguna Rosales, or in the Chapelco Massif. At Laguna Rosales, in Lanin National Park we can find Patagonian forest endemics, such as Ashy-headed Geese, Black-faced Ibis, Chilean Flicker, Thorn-tailed Rayadito, White-throated tree-runner, Chucao Tapaculo, Black-throated Huet-Huet, White-crested Elaenia, Patagonian Sierra-Finch, Fire-eyed Diucon, Patagonian Tyrant and Des Mur’s Wiretail. If we decide to go to Chapelco we will focus on altitude species like Yellow-bridled Finch, Plumbeous Sierra-Finch, White-throated Caracara and several Ground Tyrants and Miners, apart from Andean Condor. In the afternoon we will drive the Seven Lakes Route to Bariloche, with our last birding opportunities like Rufous-tailed Hawk and Bicolored Hawk. Arrival to Bariloche and end of our services. Distance: 220 km.
Write to us at info@tierraspatagonicas.com and we will send you a document with all the details of scheduled dates, itinerary, bird checklist, logistics and prices.