Month: April 2023
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Last morning of birding in Patagonia
The shadow of the hill had retreated to shade a smaller portion of the valley; crickets trilled softly in the grass nearby. A Great Shrike-Tyrant mercilessly chased a Pygmy-Owl back and forth in the scrubby vegetation. A peaceful scene.“Ay, boludo! Que caliente!” Exclaimed Gero as he burned his tongue on the tea he had just…
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In the Shadow of El Chalten
The day after Cristobal and I visited the glacier, we headed up to the nearby town of El Chalten, the town closest to Fitz Roy peak. The mountain’s original name is actually “El Chalten” which means “The Smoking Peak”, named for the clouds which so frequently cloak its dramatic spire. Skip to the bottom of…
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Perito Moreno Glacier / Return to El Calafate
This is another post without many words, mostly pictures. (Scroll down a bit to skip to the pictures of the glacier). I took the bus back from Ushuaia and checked back into the hotsel in El Calafate. Here’s the ferry the bus took across the Straight of Magellan: The following day I met up with…
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Ushuaia: The World’s Southernmost Birders
Standing on the pebbly shoreline of the Beagle Channel, the southern edge of Tierra del Fuego, I looked at the tiny bundle of grayish feathers foraging among the wrack and seaweed and grinned. “Playerito Rabadilla Blanca” said Lio, my newest birding friend “White-rumped Sandpiper.” He and I both understood the significance of this bird, which…
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Ushuaia: first days at the end of the world
Ushuaia, Argentina is the world’s southernmost city. On the southern edge of Tierra del Fuego, it’s extremely isolated from the rest of Argentina and any other human habitation. It was a 17-hour bus ride to get there from El Calafate, as the route crosses into Chile and back again. But what an incredible place. I…
Backcountry Birding 