I am way, way behind with my birding logs, and will therefore limit this to a listing of some of the birds I saw and photographed.
In the afternoon of 19 October 2015 I drove up to Punta Rasa, one of the finest birding sites I have visited and one I can most highly recommend. It’s where freshwater meets seawater, and a stopping off point for migratory species all year round. You never really know what you will see there.
The area around Punta Rasa is also very good for other species (not water birds or migratory species, again all year round).
So, here are the photos from Punta Rasa – with captions limited to ID info. Lifers of the afternoon were Great Pampa-Finch, Royal Tern, American Golden Plover, Olrog’s Gull, and Snowy-crowned Tern.
chorlo pampa (American Golden-Plover) Pluvialis dominica
chorlito gris aka chorlo arctico (Black-bellied Plover) Pluvialis squatarola
[at foot of photo] gaviotín golondrina (Common Tern) Sterna hirundo (see also in Eurasia)
gaviotín lagunero (Snowy-crowned Tern) Sterna trudeaui
gaviotín real (Royal Tern) Thalasseus maximus
milano blanco (White-tailed Kite) Elanus leucurus)
gaviota cangrejera (Olrog’s Gull) Larus atlanticus
Food for the Olrog Gulls – the crab Neohelice granulata
ostrero comun (American Oystercatcher) Haematopus palliatus
playerito enano (semipalmated sandpiper) Calidris pusilla
verdón (Great Pampa-Finch) Embernagra platensis
And a leaving shot from Punta Rasa:
![[at end of day] gaviota cangrejera (Olrog's Gull) Larus atlanticus](https://www.eayrs.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/151019-Olrog-gull-bw-Punta-Rasa.jpg)
[at end of day] gaviota cangrejera (Olrog’s Gull) Larus atlanticus
Amazing photos Martin, it’s a great album and I’ll take a few for reference. Chorlo Pampa and all the gaviotines Next time we must go down to Maicolpué, Chilean Pacific coast
Yes, Maicolpué is a good idea – a day’s drive from SM, and near to Puerto Varas where we can meet up with Raffaele. El dice que se puede arreglar pelágicos desde Chiloe – depends on what time you can take. Golfo Corcovado, between the southern tip of the big Chiloe island and the mainland coast of Chile, they have discovered one of the best places to observe blue whales, and I’m sure that there must be lots of pelagic bird species in the area too. They run whale watching trips out from Quellon, the southern most town on the main island.
See also: http://www.birdwatchingbreaks.com/2011Trip%20Reports/NEW_Chile2007_TripRep.htm http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/southamerica/chile/placesweprotect/valdivian-coastal-range.xml
http://pilunkura.jimdo.com/servicios/birdwatching/
http://www.camacdonald.com/birding/sachile.htm
Just next to Maicolpué is the fishing village and port of Pucatrihue where the fishermen rent their boats for tour around the coast and out to sea I went there with Horatio once
Then that’s good – we should fix a date for this! Do you know if they do Pelagic (40km+ trips?)