CHILE 2
An early start as we had arranged a pelagic boat trip out of Quintero in the hope of connecting with some sea-birds. The boat was skippered by Franco, but not the British birder, and we sailed out of Quintero Harbour straight out into the Pacific Ocean and headed out to some distant islands. We are due to return after seven hours and therefore we are planning to spend some time birding at La Campara camp site in the hope of finding some of the local endemics.
As we left the harbour we passed a small party of sea-birds including Pink-footed Shearwaters, White chinned Petrel, Southern Fulmar and Black-browed Albatross.
Pink-footed Shearwaters - Puffinus creatopus A common Shearwater off Chile and good numbers were seen from our pelagic.
Cape Petrel, Pink-footed Shearwater and Southern Fulmar.
Southern Fulmar - Fulmarus glacialoides. Widespread and common in Chile and becomes more abundant during the winter months with birds moving up from the Antarctic region.
White-chinned Petrel - Procellaria aequinoctialis A numerous large Petrel of the Southern Oceans and breeds on some of the Sub-Antarctic islands. On our two pelagic trips, we saw a total of 25 White-chinned Petrels.
South Polar Skua - Stercorarius maccormicki Just a single bird seen on the pelagic. The South Polar Skua is highly migratory. Generally a paler bird than the other large skuas with whitish neck and a small white spot at the base of a fairly small bill. Two types of adults, pale form and dark form. On checking the Chile field guide although they claim a number of reports from various places off the Chilean coast, but identifable photos or specimens unavailable and it may be most migrants are well offshore.
Sooty Shearwater - Puffinus griseus We recorded 50 on the first pelagic & 12 on the second.
Salvin's Albatross with Pink-footed Shearwaters and Southern Fulmar.
Immature Salvin's Albatross Thalassarche cauta blanca with Pink-footed Shearwater. Salvin's breed on the Bounty and Snares Islands of New Zealand, and mainly immatures come up to Chile, and it is the second most abundant Albatross in Chile.
Peruvian Pelicans Pelecanus thagus seen on the pelagic. The only pelican in Chile, and are often seen on pelagic trips and breeds in large colonies in both Chile and Peru
Cape Petrel - Daption capense Just small numbers seen on both pelagics, and its among the most widespread and commom sea-bird in Chile.
.Cape Petrel and Pink-footed Shearwater.
Sub-adult Black Browed Albatross Thalassarche melanophris & Salvins Albatross, 10 Black Browed's were seen on the first pelagic and 8 on the second pelagic trips.
Sub Adult Black-browed Albatross
We also saw on this pelagic trip several Masatierra ( De Filippi's) Petrels, Pterodroma defilippiana and several Juan Fernandez Petrels, Pterodroma externa both breed on nearby islands and good views were obtained, but unfortunately they never came close enough for photography. Comparing the two, Juan Fernandez is much larger and longer winged and tail than Masatierra and with a distinctive black cap.
Both have the typical Pterodroma fast flight.
After the pelagic, we made our way back to the camping site at La Campana. to look for some of the endemics which can be seen in this area.
Dusky Tapaculo Scytalopus fuscus, we were delighted to find this Tapaculo which gave a stunning performance just a few feet from us at La Campana, and never once did it take any notice of us as we spent a good 30 minutes photographing it, and it was high up on our list of the most wanted birds to be seen on this trip. Mainly in central Chile, upto 800m. although it has been reported from Mendoza, Argentina, although these records would appear to need confirmation (per Ridgley and Tudor). Generally uncommon, in undergrowth of woodland, showing a strong predilection for ravines. Often behaves like a mouse and has to be one of the main birds of our trip.
Rufous Tailed Plantcutter Phytotoma rara Its range is Central and Southern Chile and Southern Argentina. It may be extending its range southward moving into areas of young second-growth in areas recently cleared of forests. There is a single record from the Falkland Islands. During our trip, we recorded it at three different sites.
Moustached Turca Pteroptochos megapodius Endemic to Chile, Strongly terrestrial. Prefers dry rocky slopes preferably with shrubbery. Calls from promiently large boulders with its tail cocked as shown above. Several During our trip, Moustached Turcas were seen at La Campana and odd birds were also seen at El-Yeso.
White-throated Tapaculo Scelorchilus albicollis Endemic to Chile. Uncommon to fairly common on or near the ground in dense matorral. Usually a very difficult bird to see almost always remaining in dense cover. During our trip, we heard 6 White Throated Tapaculos singing at La Campana, but only 1 bird could be enticed out.
Austral Pygmy Owl - Glaucidium nanum A common versatile little owl, but more often heard than seen. Prefers more open forests but also uses suburban areas. Three colour phases: grey morph, brown morph and rufous morph. The above bird would appear to be a rufous morph. Our only sighting of an Austral Pygmy Owl was during daylight hours at La Campana.
Rufous Collared Sparrow Zonotrichia capensis the most widespread species seen in Chile and in most habitats, as this one was seen in the open forest area at La Campana.
Tufted Tit-Tyrant Anairetes parulus. The only Tit-Tyrant in Central and Southern Chile. A common species inhabits a variety of habitats. During our trip the odd Tufted Tit-Tyrants were seen at several sites on the trip, with 8 at La Campana.
Well what a day birding, started off with an excellent pelagic trip and we finished off at La Campana and finding a nice selection of birds. Tomorrow we are due to fly out of Santiago to Arica.
