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6 to 10 participants
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Breakfasts and lunch/box lunch IS included from the morning of Day 2 to lunch on Day 5.
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Buenos Aires, Argentina (EZE)
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Buenos Aires, Argentina (EZE)
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Standard hotels
Description of Argentina: Birding Patagonia & Tierra del Fuego
The mighty Andes Mountains form a tall, jagged spine down the edge of South America, with the mountains plunging west into the Pacific Ocean while vast steppe-grassland form a broad, tapered slope eastward to the Atlantic Ocean. As the Andes march south they steadily sink into the Southern Ocean, creating an archipelago of islands wrapping into the sea. Together, these dynamic landscapes create the famous Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego regions of southern South America which encompasses 1 million square kilometers and a population density of less than 2 inhabitants per square kilometer, leaving plenty of room for wild landscapes and spectacular wildlife! The scenery throughout this trip is a highlight alone!
This 11-day tour tour was specially designed to observe some of the region’s finest endemic birds such as Lesser Rhea, Kelp Goose, Magellanic Oystercatcher, Flightless Steamer-Duck, Least Seedsnipe, Short-billed Miner, Austral Canastero, and the scarce Magellanic Plover! Glacier-carved valleys above the tree line are home to the spectacular Yellow-bridled Finch and the massive Andean Condor. The southern beech forests are home to many unique birds, including the otherworldly Magellanic Woodpecker and the tiny Thorn-tailed Rayadito. An endemic camel relative, the Guanaco, forms huge herds across the steppe grasslands, and their stately appearance on distance ridgelines is iconic. The dry Atlantic Coast at the Valdez Peninsula is rich in wildlife, including Southern Right Whale and Southern Elephant Seal. On cool, rocky beaches in Tierra del Fuego, we will make a special boat trip to visit penguin colonies where Magellanic Penguin, Gentoo Penguin, and even the odd King Penguin gather to raise their young during the austral summer!
In addition to the dozens of regional specialties, this area is also a major wintering area for birds we may be familiar with from the Northern Hemisphere. South America’s southern tip is broken up into thousands of islands, creating an archipelagos known as Tierra del Fuego which provides the wintering grounds for many palearctic migratory birds. The vast coastal estuaries and the Strait of Magellan on the border of Argentina and Chile are particularly important for wintering shorebirds. These remarkable marathon fliers have traveled nearly 10,000 miles from their high-arctic breeding grounds in the Northern Hemisphere to winter here (near the Antarctic!) in the Southern Hemisphere! The shorebirds can take full advantage of the huge buffets exposed by the changing tides in this wild area at the bottom of the World! Multiple sites in the region are globally important for the wintering populations of Hudsonian Godwits, Baird’s and White-rumped Sandpipers, Sanderling, Whimbrel, Ruddy Turnstones, Red Knots, and many other shorebirds that gather by the thousands each year!
Combine this 11-day Birding Patagonia & Tierra del Fuego tour with our CHILE: Puma of Torres del Paine Extension, for a total of 16 exciting days of exploring in South America!
Highlights of Argentina: Birding Patagonia & Tierra del Fuego
- Many regional endemic birds & other specialties!
- World’s largest (500,000+) Magellanic Penguin Colony!
- Southern Right Whales at the Valdes Peninsula!
- Wildlife boat trip in the Beagle Channel, Tierra del Fuego!
- Visits the majestic Perito Moreno Glacier!
- Esteban Daniels & Alex Lamoreaux coleading!
- Optional 6-day extension tour to see the Pumas of Torres del Paine!
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