Hello from Chilean Patagonia!

Hi blog-friends!

Sarah & I arrived in Puerto Natales, Chile yesterday, after a very slow-feeling 5-hour bus ride from El Calafate, Argentina.  So far, our trip has been fantastic.  Some highlights so far include:

– Recoleta Cemetery in BsAs – where Evita is buried, and full of interesting above-ground monuments to BsAs´ rich and famous

– Perito Moreno Glacier – words cannot really do this justice.  Nothing quite compares to staring a large glacier in the face (its face is the height of a 20-story building).  Although the weather was not very nice for our trip to the viewing balconies in front of the glacier, it cleared up nicely for the boat ride by the south face.  Amazing blues, and the cloudy and snowy Andes behind were the icing on the cake

– 6-hour 4×4 trip through the high country above El Calafate, with varied terrain (Patagonian steppe, Magellanic forest, high volcanic rocks).  Great guide, and some good wildlife sightings

– the drive today to/through Parque Nacional Torres del Paine.  All I can say is WOW!  Easily one of the most beautiful places I´ve ever been.  Think Yosemite, except that the glaciers are still here!

Wildlife has been great too.  In addition to the birds below, we´ve seen Patagonia Skunk, Patagonian Foxes, and Guanacos galore.

Even though it is fall here, and not the prime season for birding, virtually every bird is a life bird, which works out nicely.  Other than American Kestrel, the ubiquitous Rock Pigeon, and a House Wren, my lifers list for the trip so far isÑ

– Lesser Rhea
– Andean Condor
– Black-chested Buzzard-Eagle
– Southern Crested Caracara
– Chimango Caracara
– Dark-bellied Cinclodes
– Rufous Hornero
– Fire-eyed Diucon
– Patagonian Sierra-Finch
– Rufous-collared Sparrow
– Long-tailed Meadowlark
– Austral Blackbird
– Neotropic Cormorant
– Imperial Shag (Cormorant)
– Black-faced Ibis
– Chilean Flamingo
– Black-necked Swan
– Coscorba Swan
– Upland Goose
– Ashy-headed Goose
– Crested Duck
– Chiloe Wigeon
– Red Shoveler
– Yellow-billed Pintail
– White-winged Coot
– Red-gartered Coot
– Red-fronted Coot
– Magellanic Oystercatcher
– Southern Lapwing
– South American Snipe
– Dolphin Gull
– Kelp Gull

That´s 33 life birds and counting – woo!

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