BIRD WATCHING

One of the most attractive -and more and more popular- entertainments in Tierra del Fuego is bird-watching. The main tourist agencies know how to guide visitors to special circuits for them to get the best sights.

A well-known circuit starts in Rio Grande, a city in the province of Santa Cruz, where visitors are welcomed at the airport and transferred to their accommodation. From there, they are taken to the most interesting observation points in the area.

A wide range of both steppe and beach birds can be observed, such as: Ruddy-headed Goose (cauquén cabeza colorada), Peregrine Falcon (halcón peregrino face blanca), Rufous-chested Dotterel (chorlo pecho canela), Two-banded Plover (chorlito doble collar), American Golden Plover (chorlo dorado), Tawny-throated Dotterel (chorlo cabezón), Ruddy Turnstone (vuelvepiedras), Sanderling (playerito blanco), Baird's Sandpiper (playerito rabadilla perla), White-rumped Sandpiper (playerito rabadilla blanca), Least Seedsnipe (agachona chica), Common Miner (caminera común), Short-billed Miner (caminera patagónica), Chocolate-vented Tyrant (monjita chocolate), Cinnamon-bellied Ground Tyrant (dormilona canela) and Patagonian Yellow-Finch (jilguero austral).

The following step is the trip to the city of Ushuaia, through different environments and landscapes, from prairies to the southern mountain range. During this journey, the bus or the vehicle will stop at different points so that you can observe diverse bird species such as: Magellanic Plover (chorlito ceniciento), Scale-throated Earthcreeper (bandurria común), Black-necked Swan (cisne de cuello negro), Upland Goose (cauquén comúnK), Ashy-headed Goose (cauquén real), Kelp Goose (caranca), Southern Wigeon (pato overo), Yellow-billed Pintail (pato maicero), Speckled Teal (pato barcino), Red Shoveler (pato cuchara), White-cheeked Pintail (pato gargantilla), Rosy-billed Pochard (pato picazo), Chimango Caracara (chimango), Southern-crested Caracara (carancho común), American Kestrel (halconcito común), Greater Yellowlegs (pitotoy grande), Lesser Yellowlegs (pitotoy chico), Whimbrel (playero trinador), Hudsonian Godwit (besaca de mar), Willet (playero de ala blanca), Wilson's Phalarope (falaropo tricolor), Austral Canastero (espartillero austral), Austral Blackbird (tordo patagónico), Long-tailed Meadowlark (loica común) and others.

Once in Ushuaia, in the morning one may go on a half-day excursion to Le Martial Glacier to watch the following Fauna: Dark-bellied Cimclodes (remolinera andina), Andean Tapaculo (churrín andino), Dark-faced Ground-Tyrant (dormilona cara negra), Ochre-naped Ground-Tyrant (dormilona fraile), Yellow-bridled Finch (yal andino) and others.

In the afternoon, one can sail the Beagle Channel up to Martillo Island to see the Magellanic Penguin rookery with some penguin of the red-beaked species.

While sailing, different birds can be seen, such as: Black-browed Albatros (albatros ojeroso), Souther Giant-Petrel (petrel gigante común), Southern Fulmar (petrel plateado), Magellanic Diving-Petrel (yunco magallánico), Common Diving-Petrel (yunco común), Rock Cormorant (cormorán roquero), King Cormorant (cormorán real), Blue-eyed Cormorant (cormorán imperial), Flightless Steamer Duck (quetro austral), Flying Steamer Duck (quetro volador), Magellanic Oystercatcher (ostrero austral), Blackish Oystercatcher (ostrero negro), Snowy Sheathbill (paloma antártica), Pomarine Jaeger (salteador grande), Dolphin Gull (gaviota gris), Kelp Gull (gaviota cocinera), South American Tern (gaviotín sudamericano), Dark-bellied Cinclodes (remolinera araucana) and others.

On the following day, there is a full-day tour to Tierra del Fuego National Park to see the birds native to the Fueguian Andean-Patagonian forests: White-tufted Grebe (macá común), huala, Black-crowned Night-Heron (garza bruja), Black-faced Ibis (bandurria común), Kelp Goose (caranca), Upland Goose (cauquén común), Ashy-headed Goose (cauquén real), pato juarjual, Spectacled Duck (pato anteojito), Flightless Steamer-Duck (quetro austral), Flting Steamer-Duck (quetro volador), Condor, Black-chested Buzzard-Eagle (águila mora), Turkey Vulture (jote cabeza roja), azor variado, Southern Crested-Caracara (carancho araucano), Southern Lapwing (tero), Common Snipe (becasina común), Great Horned Owl (ñacurutu), Austral Pigmy-Owl (caburé grande), Rufous-legged Owl (lechuza bataraz), Green-backed Firecrown (picaflor rubí), Ringed Kingfisher (martín pescador grande), Magellanic Woodpecker (carpintero gigante), Rufous-collared Sparrow (chingolo común), Black-chinned Siskin (cabecitanegra austral) and others.

Thus, over a lapse of three to four days, you will have seen and observed almost all of the Southern Patagonian birds.