Itinerary - Chile

March 1 - 12 2012

March 1. Flights from North America to Santiago. Bird hotel grounds and area. Overnight : Hotel Rothenburg, Santiago. D.

March 2. Bird Farellones and search for wildflowers (am). This beautiful Andean mountain area is our best chance to find the magnificent Andean Condor, as well as Mountain Caracara, Cinereous White-browed, Ochre-naped and Black-fronted Ground-Tyrants, Lesser Canastero, and Rufous-banded and Creamy-rumped Miners. Bird Estero Lampa and Batuco wetlands (pm). Wearing rubber boots if needed, we will search for the rare South American Painted-Snipe. We also hope to find Rosy-billed Pochard, Black-headed Duck and Streak-backed Bittern. Ov. Hotel Rothenburg. B/L/D.

March 3. Birding and wildflowers at Embalse El Yeso and Malpo Valleys. These beautiful highlands can be cool but sunny. Rubber boots will be needed to search for the endemic Diademed Sandpiper-plover in the boggy areas. We could also find several Cinclodes species including Bar-wiged, Dark-bellied and Grey-flanked. Andean streams could produce the amazing Torrent Duck. Ov. Hotel Rothenburg. B/L/D.

March 4. Today we head west to the coast near Valparaiso. We will explore the coastal headlands and bays and spend much of our day at the mouth of the Rio Aconagua, walking the dunes and the reed-fringed tidal lagoons. Target birds include Great Shrike-tyrant, Burrowing Owl, Wren-like Rushbird, Dusky Tapaculo, Tufted Tit-tyrant, Many-coloured Rush-tyrant, Fire-eyed Diucon, Austral Negrito, Rufous-tailed Plantcutter, Common Diuca-finch, White-tufted and Silvery Grebes, Peruvian Booby, Guanay Cormorant, Speckled Teal, Southern Wigeon, Lake Duck, Plumbeous Rail, Spot-flanked Gallinule, White-winged and Red-fronted Coots, Rufous-chested Dotterel, Collared Plover, Grey and Kelp Gulls. Ov. Marina Del Rey Hotel, Vina del Mar. B/L/D.

March 5. Today we go to the port of Valparaiso to take a 6-hour pelagic boat trip into the Humboldt Current searching for albatrosses (Salvin's, Royal, Black-browed, Buller's, Grey-headed), shearwaters ( Sooty, Pink-footed), petrels ( Juan Fernandez, Southern Giant, Westland, White-chinned), storm-petrels ( White-vented, Wilson's ), Skuas (Chilean, Long-tailed, South Polar ), Humboldt Penguin and Peruvian Diving-Petrel. In the afternoon we will bird north of Vina del Mar. Ov. Marina del Rey Hotel. B/L/D.

March 6. We leave early for the endemic-rich La Campana National Park. A UNESCO Biosphere reserve, the park supports several Chilean endemics including Dusky-tailed Canastero, White-throated and Dusky Tapaculos, Moustached Turca, Chilean Mockingbird and Chilean Tinamou. The park is dominated by scrubby vegetation and extensive sclerophyllous forests and impressive Chilean Palm woods. Other birds possible include Variable Hawk, Black-chested Buzzard-Eagle, Giant Hummingbird, White-throated Treerunner, Thorn-tailed Rayadito, Striped Woodpecker, Chilean Flicker, Picui Ground-Dove and Chilean Pigeon.. After lengthy birding here, we will return to the Hotel Rothenburg in Santiago. B/L/D.

March 7. We fly this morning to the north to Arica. Here we will meet Barbara Knapton of Alto Andino Nature Tours, an expert in local birds and wildflowers. We have arrived in Arica at the best possible time of the year for wildflowers so these as well as birds should be a highlight of this visit to the Atacama Desert and neighbouring region. We start with a visit to the Alacran Peninsula on the southern outskirts of Arica, where we hope to find Antarctic Prion, Red-legged Cormorant, Blackish Oystercatcher, Surfbird, Band-tailed Gull, South American, Peruvian, Inca and Elegant Terns, Croaking Ground-Dove and Chilean Seaside-Cinclodes. There will be many flowers blooming in this area as well as the city itself. Ov. Hotel del Valle, Azapa. B/LD.

March 8. This morning we bird the hummingbird gardens and the olive groves of the lovely Azapa Valley. We lunch in the Lluta Valley, after which we start up through the Atacama Desert focusing on desert wildflowers, cacti and then precordillera birds as we reach Putre. Birds sought today : Grayish Miner, Chilean Woodstar, Peruvian Sheartail, Oasis Hummingbird, Peruvian Thick-knee, Peruvian Pygmy-Owl, Bran-colored Flycatcher, Slender-billed Finch, Bare-faced Ground-Dove, Plain-mantled Tit-Spinetail, Cinereous Conebill, Blue-and-yellow Tanager, Chestnut-throated Seedeater, Pied-crested Tit-tyrant, Peruvian Red-breasted Meadowlark. Ov. Hosteria Las Vicunas. B/L/D.

March 9. Today we focus on altiplano birds in the morning, particularly the Diademed Sandpiper-Plover. We are introduced to bofedales, cushion bogs and bog wildflowers. Birds in this region include Andean Tinamou, Red-backed Hawk, Golden-spotted Ground-Dove, Black-winged Ground-Dove, Mountain Parakeet, White-throated Earthcreeper, Plain-breasted and Straight-billed Earthcreepers, Andean Hillstar, Andean Swift and D'Orbigny's Chat-tyrant. After lunch in Putre, we traverse mid-elevation habitat searching for Bar-winged and White-winged Cinclodes, Dark-winged and Cordilleran Canasteros, White-browed Chat-tyrant, Spot-billed Ground-tyrant, Cinammon-bellied and Rufous-naped Ground-Tyrants, Chiguanco Thrush, Brown-backed Mockingbird, Golden-billed Saltator, Bright-rumped Yellow-Finch, Greenish Yellow-Finch, Black-throated Flowerpiercer, Hooded, Black and Yellow-rumped Siskins, and 4 species of Sierra-Finch : Black-hooded, Mourning, Plumbeous and Ash-breasted. Ov. Hosteria Las Vicunas. B/L/D.

March 10. Lauca National Park, covering almost 140, 000 hectares, is sure to be one of the highlights of this tour. Situated at an altitude of between 3,200 and 6,340 metres in the altiplano, the vegetation and birds here are unique. The scenery is spectacular ! The Pomerape and Parinacota volcanoes tower above Lake Chungara. Birds here include Puna and Andean Flamingoes, Puna Tinamou, Puna Rhea, Rufous-bellied Seedsnipe, Red-backed Sierra-Finch, and White-throated Sierra-Finch, Andean Goose, Andean Ruddy Duck, Giant Coot, Andean Lapwing, Puna Plover, Andean Avocet, Puna Snipe, Andean Negrito, Gray-breasted and Least Seedsnipe and Andean Gull. Habitats examined include wetland, tola grassland, and Lake Chungara itself. We will eat a picnic lunch at Parinacota. Late afternoon we descend to Putre for dinner and overnight. Ov. Hosteria Las Vicunas. B/L/D.

March 11. We will have an early morning trip to the alpine plant area near Putre for botanizing, then drive back to Arica to spend the afternoon there. We will stay overnight in the Hotel del Valle, Azapa. B/L/D.

March 12. Today we fly south from Arica to Santiago Airport, from where we will connect to our international flight to North America. B.