Chile three weeks in November (1 Viewer)

[njlarsen]

Dear all,
I have unsuccessfully been looking for a book on bird locations within Chile, because I expect to visit for three weeks next november (actually three weeks plus whatever time is needed for the conference I am attending).

Given that I have not found such a book, which locations would be recommended, and what is to be said about logistics, given that the meeting I am attending is in Santiago?

thanks
Niels

 

[Tanager]

Niels,

Try tracking down - 'The essential Guide to Birding in Chile' by Mark Pearman - it was published in 1995, so could be difficult to obtain.

Mark

 

[njlarsen]

Niels,

Try tracking down - 'The essential Guide to Birding in Chile' by Mark Pearman - it was published in 1995, so could be difficult to obtain.

Mark

Seems to be hard to get, only link I can find on the web is to Amazon who then states "not available".

Thanks for the title though!

Niels

 

[etudiant]

you'll have a fun time. Chile has excellent roads and the in country air and bus links are very good.
Santiago has large parks and a river runs thru it, so it's decent birding even in town, Valparaiso and the coast is a 90 min drive over 4 lane highway away, Portillo ski resort and mountain birds two hours in the east. The south has the more temperate and near polar species, depending on how far you go. Three weeks is a good length of time to spend.
Also recommend the Atacama desert in the north, near the San Pedro salt flats, for flamingos etc.
Basic guide is Wildlife guide to Chile, not in the class of the "WTWB in ..." type guides, but a start. There is a decent Chile bird guide but i left it with my tour guide and don't have the particulars. The ABA site or Buteo Books should have what you need.

 

[fansur]

Niels,
We a company specialized in birdwatching tours, and we also sell nature books, please check our online store, the problem is that the store is only in spanish at the moment, if you have any doubt please don´t hesite in contact me!!! this is my email

 

[njlarsen]

Thank you both! I will be looking to purchase that book, and I probably will also get into using a guide one or more times during my stay in Chile; but definitely not full time. The dates are not set either, I have to get them to fit with my teaching schedule.

Niels

 

[njlarsen]

My current thinking is to use some time around Santiago, some time down south and some time far north. I expect to be in Chile mid november to early december 2009.

For each of these regions, how much time should I use? what about weather, how likely is it that the weather will be bad enough on any given day that I wouldn't see anything? For each regions, what are "must see" sites, and how much time should I expect to use on each?

Sorry if this is asking too much. I am also reading some trip reports, but some of them are not very detailed with location (quote: "a march")

thanks
Niels

 

[alancairns]

My current thinking is to use some time around Santiago, some time down south and some time far north. I expect to be in Chile mid november to early december 2009.

For each of these regions, how much time should I use? what about weather, how likely is it that the weather will be bad enough on any given day that I wouldn't see anything? For each regions, what are "must see" sites, and how much time should I expect to use on each?

Sorry if this is asking too much. I am also reading some trip reports, but some of them are not very detailed with location (quote: "a march")

thanks
Niels

Here's the trip report from my visit to Chile in 2007. We saw a good lot of birds, and the pelagic out of Valparaiso was excellent.

http://www.birding-in-peru.com/pdf-documents/Chile-November-2007.pdf


Alan

 

[njlarsen]

thanks Alan,
I had not come across that report, looking forward to read it.

Niels

 

[njlarsen]

Niels,

Try tracking down - 'The essential Guide to Birding in Chile' by Mark Pearman - it was published in 1995, so could be difficult to obtain.

Mark

Subbuteo Books (the "books" tab at the top of any birdforum page) was very helpful and got me this book -- at a good price too.

Niels

 

[lewis20126]

Niels,

I understand the engimatic Rufous-tailed Hawk is currently staked out on Chiloe Island - I don't have any details but worth asking local contacts. This bird is probably widely strung on southern cone trips with genuine records (and photos!) few and far between.

Good luck, alan

 

[njlarsen]

Thanks Alan!

Niels

 

[Scelorchilus]

Niels and Alan

Rufous-tailed Hawk can be seen right in the park in the city of Temuco, the park is called Cerro Ñielol. There is a pair breeding in the back side of the park, but serious looking in a day or two would get a sighting. I have seen it from the Terraverde Hotel.

Other resources for chile - e-bird Chile
http://ebird.org/content/chile
You can search for species, map them, look at hotspots and what people have seen.

Chiricoca - the online birding journal for Chile
http://www.redobservadores.cl/index.html
Click on the Chiricoca (Chilia photo) and navigate to past issues. Pdfs in Spanish, avistamientos are the sightings. There are also some bird finding articles there.

All brought to you by the ROC - Red de Observadores de aves y Vida Silvestre de Chile.
Saludos, Alvaro.

 

[hjvandijk]

Some Chile Sightings with pictures: http://observado.org/gebied/view/32...z=0&u=0&g=0&z=1&from=1007-08-27&to=2009-08-27

 

[njlarsen]

Thanks both :t:

As I try to dig deeper into all of this, I have one more question: in the north, a couple of reports mention a Hummingbird Sanctuary, without any further info, and I can also not find anything on the web. Where is this?

thanks
Niels

 

[alancairns]

Thanks both :t:

As I try to dig deeper into all of this, I have one more question: in the north, a couple of reports mention a Hummingbird Sanctuary, without any further info, and I can also not find anything on the web. Where is this?

thanks
Niels

Niels

It's in the Azapa Valley near Arica. It's a private house and grounds, and the lady has planted lots of shrubs and flowers attractive to hummingbirds. We saw several nests, and got Peruvian sheartail, Andean hillstar, Oasis hummingbird, and Chilean woodstar there. I'm not sure if you need to make a pre-arrangement, but Barry Walker at Manu Expeditions in Cuzco would know. An email would get him (unless he's off guiding somewhere).

It's well worth a visit.

Alan

 

[njlarsen]

Thanks Alan, I have tried sending Manu expeditions an Email.

I had another question: what is the best hotel in Putre? Does any of them have feeders?

thanks
Niels

 

[alancairns]

Thanks Alan, I have tried sending Manu expeditions an Email.

I had another question: what is the best hotel in Putre? Does any of them have feeders?

thanks
Niels

The only hotel I know in Putre is Las Vicunas. Its on the outskirts of town, next to the cemetery, which is an interesting visit too. I can't remember if they have feeders, but they do have plenty birds. We had a Straight-billed earthcreeper join us for breakfast, which was the usual ham and cheese sandwich.

Alan

 

[njlarsen]

Thanks Alan

Cheers
Niels

 

[njlarsen]

I have one additional question, unrelated to the previous ones:

I had thought I could fit in both the Far south and the area starting from Puerto Montt, but now it looks like I may need to choose only one of these two. Which area should that be?

I might be able to fit in a drive down to the northernmost region with Chestnut-breasted Huet-huet, if that happens, would that change the answer to question one?

thanks
Niels