Endemic birds of Northern Patagonia

This itinerary covers the very best locations of Northern Patagonia: The Valdes Peninsula, Punta Tombo and San Antonio Oeste. This part of Argentina is characterized by arid steppes and brushlands and a very flat terrain. Upon arrival we will visit the impressive Magellanic Penguin colony of Punta Tombo. With 200,000 breeding pairs, the scenery of this, the largest colony in the world, is stunning. Along the 128 km of road to the colony we will make several stops to look for some of the Patagonian specialities, like Patagonian Canastero, Band-tailed Eremobius, Lesser Rhea and Elegant Crested-tinamou. Once in the colony we will also look for the endemic White-headed Steamer-duck as well as Blackish Oystercatcher and Dolphin Gull, species typical of the rocky shores. The next morning we set off to the mythical Valdes Peninsula, and spend all day there.

A loop road will take us to prominent coastal viepoints, where the Elephant Seal and Sea Lion rookeries are a highlight. Here, the Common Giant Petrels and even Orcas can be seen patrolling. Along the roads we will look for Patagonian Yellow-finch, Grey-bellied Shrike-Tyrant and Rusty-backed Monjita. Valdes is also a great spot for mammals, and we will probably bump into Maras (Patagonian Hare), Guanacos, Gray Fox, and even Pichi (or Hairy Armadillo). Of course, Southern Right Whale is one of the main attractions of the area, in the right season. Moving north from Valdes we will enter a habitat that is endemic to Argentina.

The Monte dessert is a scrubby and light woodland formation much resembling south-western US. This endemic land is thus home to several endemic birds. Target species here include Sandy Gallito, Hudson's Black-tyrant and Cinnamon Warbling-finch. Other birds that we will look for include Burrowing Parrot and the endangered Yellow Cardinal. The last day we return to Trelew, stopping by for birding along the road, before we arrive in the airport.