birding never sleeps: Southern Argentina part 3: Valdez Peninsular to Puerto San Julian (20-22 November)

Southern Argentina part 3: Valdez Peninsular to Puerto San Julian (20-22 November)

A continuation of my blog giving my take on a very enjoyable Ornis trip to Southern Argentina. Made so by a very high success rate and excellent leaders Chris Venetz and top Argentinian guide Hector Solongo, driver extraordinaire Pedro Chiesa the other participants very long time friend/travelling companion Nick Preston, Magnus Aurivillius, Lyn Capalad, Gordon Beck and Eric Shaw.

Wednesday 20 November 2024. The Valdez Peninsular was the only part of this trip that I had visited in August 1990 although my memories of it were very hazy. I remember camping out under the stars on the beach near Puerto Piramides and being glad of a sleeping bag, it was winter. Hearing Southern Right Whales calling from the bay during the night and the next day walking on a beach with Elephant Seals and Snowy Sheathbills. Things have certainly changed. We left the hotel at 07:00 and met our guide, a very enthusiastic lady who gave us a brief history of Puerto Madryn. Named by Welsh settlers from Madryn on the Llyn Peninsular in North Wales, an area Nick knew quite well having been to University in Bangor. Nick gained further ‘brownie swot’ points by coming from Liverpool where the 150 settlers had sailed from in 1865, taking exactly two months the Mimosa. My time at university in Cardiff didn’t cut much ice. If I’m honest the Valdez Peninsular was a big disappointment but my memories were most likely rose tinted. Any sort of close approach to the wildlife wasn’t possible in most places as once on the National Park we were not allowed out of the vehicle except at a couple of viewpoints and a very restricted path by the café where we had lunch. At Punta Piramides and Punta Cantor I had distant views of 15 Dolphin Gulls, 10 Snowy Sheathbills, 10 Blackish Oystercatchers, an estimated 7000 South American Terns, 40 Southern and a Northern Giant Petrel and 20 Rock and an Imperial Shag with an Elegant Crested Tinamou, Mourning Sierra Finch, Patagonian Yellow Finch and 4 Diuca Finches during our lunch stop at Punta Cantor. From the van I saw 5 adult and at least 18 young Lesser Rheas, another 11 Elegant Crested Tinamous, 3 Tawny-throated Dotterel, Burrowing Owl and 2 Rusty-backed Monjitas. The latter were near the National Park exit and we were allowed out to stand beside the van, although not cross a fence to get closer. While watching them we saw 4 Patagonian Maras and heard a Darwin’s Nothura in the scrub behind us but frustratingly couldn’t follow it up. Also seen on the peninsular were 100+ Elephant Seals and South American Sea Lions, a single Southern Right Whale and 15 Guanacos. Leaving Valdez mid afternoon we dropped off our guide and drove on to the Laguna del Ornitologo just outside Trelew. Here I saw 40 Coscoroba Swans, 250 Red Shoveler, 6 Chiloe Wigeon, 3 Rosy-billed Pochard, 4 Black-headed Duck, 4 Lake Duck, West Peruvian Dove, Red-fronted,4 Red-gartered and 8 White-winged Coot, White-tufted and 9 Silvery Grebes, 100 Chilean Flamingos, White-backed Stilt and 750 Wilson’s Phalaropes. We arrived at Hotel Libertador in Puerto San Julian at about 19:00. Other birds seen were 2 Flying Steamer Duck, 4 Crested Duck, 3 Yellow-billed Pintail, 5 Yellow-billed Teall, Eared Dove, 5 Great Grebes, 8 American Oystercatchers, 2 Southern Lapwings, 2 Double-banded Plovers, 50 Kelp Gulls, Brown Skua, 5 Neotropic Cormorants, 15 Turkey Vultures, 2 Variable Hawks, a Crested and 15 Chimango Caracaras, 4 American Kestrels, Peregrine, White Monjita, Lesser Shrike Tyrant, Fork-tailed Flycatcher, 2 Southern Martins, 4 Barn Swallows, 3 Patagonian Mockingbirds, Austral Thrush, 2 Correndera Pipits, 6 Rufous-collared Sparrows, 2 Long-tailed Meadowlarks and a Shiny Cowbird.

Punta Piramides viewpoint, Puerto Piramides where my memories were from in the bay to the left

South American Sea Lions from Punta Piramides Viewpoint with Dolphin and Kelp Gulls

Blackish Oystercatchers from Punta Piramides Viewpoint

Snowy Sheathbill from Punta Piramides Viewpoint

Snowy Sheathbill and South American Sealion (photo: Chris Venetz)

Southern Giant Petrel from Punta Piramides Viewpoint

Lesser Rhea and young through the van window on Valdez Peninsular

Tawny-throated Dotterel on the Valdez Peninsular

a really stunning bird

Elegant Crested Tinamou during our lunch stop

Punta Cantor

presumed Northern Giant Petrel at Punta Cantor

appearing to have a dark bill tip

Patagonian Mockingbird with its lunch

Diuca Finch at Punta Cantor

female Mourning Sierra Finch at Punta Cantor

Rusty-backed Monjita in Park National Valdez

a smarter bird than these photos suggest and my new bird for the day

stampede of Patagonian Mara

then a standoff

Eared Dove on the Valdez Peninsular

Coscoroba Swan at Laguna del Ornitologo

Red Shoveler at Laguna del Ornitologo

Chilean Flamingo at Laguna del Ornitologo

Thursday 21 November 2024. A long travel day - over 530km by the time we’d finished and half on dirt roads. We left Trelew at 07:00 and were soon driving south on a dirt road (RN1) to Punta Tombo. We stopped for a roadside Grey-bellied Shrike Tyrant and 2 Rusty-backed Monjitas but the latter were very flighty and gave no better views than those on the Valdez Peninsular the previous day. Further on was a site for Lesser Horned Owl where we saw two, one possibly on a nest. At Punta Tombo we followed the boardwalk through the scattered Magellanic Penguin colony to the coast where we soon found Chubut Steamer Duck, a distant male on the beach and an even more distant pair with six small ‘steamerlings’. We continued to the furthest point seeing another distant pair on the sea and a closer male on the beach while my Magellanic Penguin estimate rose to 200. From Punta Tombo we continued south to Punta Raso and Camarones where we saw another 9 Chubut Steamer Duck, a Cabot’s Tern on an offshore islet with 200 South American Terns. It was still 260km to Comodoro Rivadavia although once we were back on a metalled road Pedro put his foot down. This cause me to almost make a fool of myself when I could work out what on earth a small flock of large, long-necked and apparently tail-less birds were flying in the opposite direction. Fortunately I realised my error before calling out for us to stop. They were Burrowing Parrots that we had rapidly overtaken. We arrived at the Hotel Comodoro in Comodoro Rivadavia at 20:10. Also seen were 3 Lesser Rheas, 3 Elegant Crested Tinamous, 6 Crested Duck, Eared Dove, a White-tufted and 6 Great Grebes, Blackish Oystercatcher, 2 Southern Lapwings, 30 Kelp Gulls, 8 Rock Shags, a Great Egret, 8 Turkey Vultures, Variable Hawk, 8 Chimango Caracaras, 4 Sharp-billed Canasteros, Spot-billed Ground Tyrant, 2 Austral Negritos, Spectacled Tyrant, 4 Southern Martins, 5 Patagonian Mockingbirds, single Austral and Chiguanco Thrushes, Short-billed Pipit, 2 Shiny Cowbirds, and 4 Mourning and a Grey-hooded Sierra Finch.

Grey-bellied Shrike Tyrant en route to Punto Tombo

Lesser Horned Owl on nest?

its mate keeping guard nearby

Patagonian Mockingbird at Punta Tombo

Magellanic Penguin at Punta Tombo

Sharp-billed Canastero at Punta Tombo

more Magellanic Penguins

Guanacos and Penguins

Southern Mountain Cavy at Punta Tombo

Penguins and Chubut Steamer Duck at Punta Tumbo

Chubut Steamer Duck

Magellanic Penguins at Punta Tombo

Eric at Punta Tombo

Chimango Caracara at Punta Tumbo

female Austral Negrito at Camarones

Chubut Steamer Duck at Camarones

Chubut Steamer Duck at Camarones (photo: Chris Venetz)

Friday 22 November 2024. Another long travel day, 425km south to Puerto San Julian taking us almost as far south as we’d be going. We left at 07:15 and found our way to the coast on the edge of town. I’d been disappointed with our views of Dolphin Gull at Valdez and Chris had found a likely spot on the edge of Comodoro Rivadavia on eBird. One flew over almost immediately after we arrived and we soon spotted a small group almost a km further down the beach. Pedro navigated through the towns one way system to get us within a 100m and we had great views. As well as another 8 Dolphin Gulls along the coast I saw 15 Crested Duck, 4 Snowy Sheathbills, 70 Magellanic and a Blackish Oystercatcher, 12 Hudsonian Godwits, 20 South American Terns, 100 Brown-hooded and 50 Kelp Gulls, 20 Southern Giant Petrels, 2 Neotropic Cormorants and 2 Rock Shags. We drove south with a few roadside or rest stops arriving at Puerto San Julian for a late lunch before dropping our gear at Hotel Bahia San Julián. We spent the afternoon and early evening driving around the peninsular opposite, Reserva Natural Bahia San Julian. We were hoping to see Patagonian Tinamou on the dirt roads. We’d had a couple of false starts on our way south that morning as 3 then 2 Elegant Crested Tinamous crossed the road proudly showing their crests. We got off to a dreadful start a few kms out of town when a Lesser Rhea with a trail of young ran across the road a 100m or so in front of us and right into the path of an oncoming container lorry. The driver could do nothing to avoid them and wiped out half the chicken sized young. Rheas have adapted a strategy of having large numbers of young as most fall prey to predators or other mishaps but to witness it first hand was very distressing. Away from the main road it was all eyes on the track ahead of us as we circumnavigated the peninsular, not seeing another vehicle. We saw 3 Tawny-throated Dotterel and 2 Scale-throated Earthcreepers but Hector telling us he’d only ever seen Patagonian Tinamous five times rather dampened our spirits. Approaching the end of the peninsular 3 tinamous crossed the track into longish grass looking decidedly crestless! We piled out and watched them slowly walking away. What a result! Maybe 10 minutes later on our return down the east side of the peninsular two more Patagonian Tinamous were seen by the road and we piled out again although I only saw one of them as it walked into scrub and promptly vanished. While looking for them we disturbed a Humboldt’s Hog-nosed Skunk which dived under a thick bush and stayed tight as we circled it trying to get some sort of view. With lengthening daylight as we’d been heading south it was a bit of a shock to be returning to the hotel at 21:00 feeling it was still light enough to go birding. Other birds seen by me during the day were 4 adult Lesser Rheas (one with a single half-sized young), 4 Southern Lapwings, 2 Least Seedsnipe, 2 Turkey Vultures, Cinereous Harrier, 2 Variable Hawks, a Crested and 4 Chimango Caracaras, Austral Negrito, Southern Martin, House Wren, Patagonian Mockingbird, 2 Austral Thrushes, 10 Rufous-collared Sparrows and a Long-tailed Meadowlark. As well as the skunk we saw South American Grey Fox and 40 Guanacos.