Our guide for this part of our trip was Rodrigo Silva, a great guide from Albatross Birding. Rodrigo told us that he guided Noah Strycker, who was doing a World Big Year in 2015 and was at nearly 6,000 for the year.
Today we had an early start for our long drive north from Porvenir to Puerto Natales, first getting a ferry across the Megellanic Straits at Punta Delgada, which was a much shorter crossing that on the way over to Tierra del Fuego.
We then drove east stopping at Buque Quemado for ducks and Grebes before driving with the coast to the south and then to the north. We saw the fantastic Band-tailed Earthcreeper, which used to be thought to be an Argentinian endemic, until discovered in a small area of similar habitat in Chile, right next to the border.
We then drove east stopping at Buque Quemado for ducks and Grebes before driving with the coast to the south and then to the north. We saw the fantastic Band-tailed Earthcreeper, which used to be thought to be an Argentinian endemic, until discovered in a small area of similar habitat in Chile, right next to the border.
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| Band-tailed Earthcreeper Photograph taken by and copyright Young Birder Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig |
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| Tawny-throated Dotterell Photograph taken by and copyright Young Birder Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig |
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| Chocolate-vented Tyrant Photograph taken by and copyright Young Birder Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig |
We then drove through Puerto Natales, where we stopped for dinner, before driving into the night but still late evening to get to Torres del Paine National Park. The last section of the drive was truly stunning, with a long mountain range covered in snow and fjords in front.
Young Birder Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig
Photograph taken by and copyright Helena Craig
Photograph taken by and copyright Helena Craig
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| Torres del Paine National Park Photograph taken by and copyright Young Birder Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig |
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| Torres Del Paine National Park
Photograph taken by and copyright Helena Craig
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Best birds and animals of the day:
Darwin's Rhea
Band-tailed Earthcreeper
Tawny-throated Dotterel
Least Seedsnipe (which I had seen in Bolivia)
Chocolate-vented Tyrant
Chilean Flicker
Big Hairy Armadillo (fantastic views crossing the track)
2 Humbold’s (Patagonian) Hog-nosed Skunk
European Hare
Guanaco
Gray Fox
Gray Fox
Commerson’s Dolphin
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| Guanaco Photograph taken by and copyright Young Birder Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig |
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| Humbold's Hog-nosed Skunk Photograph taken by and copyright Young Birder Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig |
Humbold's Hog-nosed Skunk
Photograph taken by and copyright Young Birder Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig
Humbold's Hog-nosed Skunk
Photograph taken by and copyright Young Birder Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig
About the Writer
Photograph taken by and copyright Chris Craig
Mya-Rose Craig is a 13 year old young birder, naturalist, conservationist, environmentalist, writer and speaker. She is based near Bristol and writes the successful Birdgirl Blog, with posts about birding and conservation from around the world. She loved seeing Mountain Gorillas in East Africa and is looking forward to watching Penguins in Antarctica in a week (arriving on 22 December 2015), which will be her 7th continent.
Mya-Rose is a Bristol European Green Capital 2015 Ambassador along with Kevin McCloud, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Tony Juniper, Simon King, Miranda Krestovnikoff and Shaun the Sheep! See the full list of Bristol 2015 Ambassadors. She has also been listed with the singer songwriter George Ezra and actress Maisie Williams from Game of Thrones as one of Bristol's most influential young people. Please like her Birdgirl Facebook Page and follow her on Birdgirl Twitter
