El Chalten and Southern Patagonia (100 Species YTD)
Lesser Rhea on the steppe outside of the El Calafate
Female Magellanic Tapucolo in the brush along a stream. We went searching for a Torrent Duck which is one of the most beautiful ducks on the planet. We missed it but got some great views of a few tapulcolos.
A juvenile Magellenic Woodpecker working a dead tree outside of El Chalten.
Patagonia is relatively sparse in birds in terms of number of species, but its environment is so expansive, its mountains so alluring, that I just don't care. Birding is just one passion of mine, but just being outdoors and being in a place this unspoiled and vast thrills me. I feel so alive as the crisp clean air hits my face as it hurtles off the Andean Ice Shelf or as I stare the Orion constellation at night upside down and swimming in a sea of unfamiliar stars.
As I get on the plane to head back to Buenos Aires, my life list is now 1/4 of the way toward my goal of 400 sitting at a nice even 100.