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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Jos Stratford" data-source="post: 3518885" data-attributes="member: 12449">Part Two - Patagonia & Tierra del Fuego19 December. Punta Arenas to Puerto Natales.From the air, treeless plains stretching to the horizon, dotted by pools and indented by a rocky coast ...descending to the small airport at Punta Arenas, this was the enchanted land awaiting. Stepped off the plane, brr, a chill wind to remind us that we were now little over a thousand kilometres from the Antarctic Peninsula. Picked up a car and headed off to the north-east, Upland Geese immediately appearing roadside. Stopped for a pause by the coast a few kilometres along - almost lost the car door as it got wrenched by the wind, but that aside it was most excellent. A pair of Flying Steamer-Ducks sitting on boulders, Crested Ducks and Magellanic Oystercatchers either side of them. Austral Negritos feeding on short turf, bold and chunky Southern Caracaras sitting atop a bank just further along. The plan for this day was to meander 300 kilometres or so northwards via quiet gravel roads and hopefully pick up most of the Patagonian specialities en route. First however, I hoped to find one of the true stars of Patagonia, Magellanic Plover.Rather localised, this bird favours open shores of shallow pools, the best known sites being in the Porvenir area on Tierra del Fuego. On the mainland however, there is also a lake some 30 km north of the airport that sometimes reportedly holds the birds. Sunshine and 13 C as I arrived, but with brisk winds whipping up waves across the extensive lake. Hundreds of Upland Geese present, many trailing broods of young goslings, more Southern Caracaras, a pair of Flying Steamer-Ducks. Hopped over a roadside fence and began to walk the southern shoreline, eyes watering a little in wind. Chiloe Wigeon skittled out onto the lake, small rafts of Yellow-billed Pintail too, plus a pair of Silver Teal. A kilometre along, short-cropped grass grazed by geese, a couple of Baird's Sandpipers busied themselves along the water's edge ...and here, plump and splendid in ashy-grey, one Magellanic Plover. Truly a very nice bird, I watched this individual for quite a while as it actively fed in the shallows, barely ever stopping to pause. Then, suddenly up it flushed and zigzagged across the lake, disappearing as a dot towards the far shore. A hundred metres along I found another, feeding in company with a young Two-banded Plover. Excellent thought I, then I discovered there was yet another pair feeding quietly on the short turf about 50 metres from the lake's edge. One of my main targets for Patagonia was well and truly in the bag! With this, I returned south and then looped to the east to access the northbound Road 455, a lonely gravel track that would wind through pampass grassland for over 120 km. And super it was, from the very outset, a landscape dotted by massive great featherballs (aka Lesser Rheas) strutting their stuff, an impressive 250 or so seen along this route. Also many dozens of Guanicos and a splendid range of birds, including a minimum of 25 Least Seedsnipes, a couple of small flocks of Ashy-headed Geese, frequent Southern Caracaras, numerous Austral Negritos and more localised species such as Common Miner, Cordilleran Canastero, Black-throated Finch and Patagonian Sierra-Finch. One of the biggest surprises however was at a small stream crossing – I was standing next to the car watching a Grey-flanked Cinclodes when my younger companion suddenly shouted 'Behind you! What's that?' Swinging round, I was astonished to see a Big Hairy Armadillo darting across the track a mere two or three metres away!!! Rattled off a couple of photographs, but this thing was in quite some hurry ...up the back it went and down along the stream, gone! A bonus indeed, I had hoped to see this species in Patagonia, but had fully expected I would need to put in extensive hours at night.Two species I had expected to see along this track however were conspicuous by their absence – despite frequent stops and scans, not a sign of either Tawny-throated Dotterel or Rufous-chested Dotterel. As I neared the end of Road 455, I presumed by chances were edging away. Onto Road 405 I turned, another gravel road cutting through this wilderness. Still heaps of Guanaco and Lesser Rhea, then some birds on the road ...stopped, put the binoculars up, Tawny-throated Dotterel! Then more, I was in the middle of a flock! Scanned the adjacent plain and my dotterel tally soared considerably – not just eight Tawny-throated Dotterels, but three Rufous-chested Dotterel too!Four or five hours we had been on these gravel roads and not a single other car had we seen, nor a single petrel station since leaving the airport ...and having picked the car up with only half a tank, I was now a little concerned that we might not actually have enough to get to Port Natales, still some 150 km distant. Still on we went, trying to drive a little faster to get to Port Natales before dark. Not too easy however with umpteen stops for assorted birds, two Chocolate-vented Tyrants among the new birds. Then a shout from my passenger, 'Stop, go back'. Reversed a few dozen metres to a most splendid sight – quite how I had missed them I am not sure, but there were two young Hog-nosed Skunks play-fighting at the edge of the road! Thinking they would be timid, I quietly edge round the car to get some shots only to get spotted by the mother who came running over to tackle me! Quite brave little thing, she repeatedly charged me, tail raised high, stopped only when less than a metre away! As for the two youngsters, they couldn't care less, we watched them as close as we liked, they occasionally glancing at us, but otherwise just continuing to play.Eventually we got the main Punta Arenas-Port Nateles road, turned north and motored onward to the town. Arrived early evening, two Cinereous Harriers as we approached town, lines of Imperial Cormorants on an old jetty as we got to the centre. For a first day in Patagonia, I was feeling quite content – not only the key Magellanic Plovers and both dotterels, but Big Fat Armadillo and Hog-nosed Skunk too. Found quite a nice hotel just off the waterfront, had a meal in town.  Next days would be roughing it!</blockquote>

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