Birding Farellones Road, Santiago de Chile. August

BirdingFarellonesRoad,SantiagodeChile.
August2016
Guide: Rodrigo Silva
Participant: Marge Anderson
Albatross Birding & Nature Tours
www.albatross-birding.com
OVERVIEW
OnthisprivatetripwebirdedatdifferentaltitudesacrossFarellonesRoad,
just40minutesfromSantiagodeChile.Ourpassenger,Margetookanextra
day after her Conference and arranged this journey to look for the birds of
theChileanMatorral(sixendemicsarepossibleforthearea)andsomehigh
altitudespecialistssuchashermostdesiredspecies:theAndeanCondor.
Driving along the single track road on the way up to the most visited ski
resortsfromtheCapitalthen,evenonaSaturdaymorninginthemiddleof
the snow-activities peak season, we managed to have a great birding and
nature experience with the perfect combination of proper birding, great
sceneryandachilloutintheAndeanmountains.
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ITINERARY
After a 07:30 pick up we headed straight to the east of the city up to the
beginningoftheFarellonesRoadat2800feetabovesealevel.Westartedto
climb up by the main road up to Corral Quemado where we took the La
Disputada road in order to avoid the first wave of skiers driving up to the
mountains.
There we got Moustached Turca and White-throated Tapaculo; both bigsized, distinctive and endemic tapaculos. Once back on the main road we
stopped at our Chilean Tinamou stake-out (if that it is possible) and after
sometrialsweweresuccessfulinourtinamouhunting(anotherendemicin
thebag!!).
Atmid-morningwereachedYerbaLocaPark,wherewebirdedandenjoyed
of some good birds. Striped Woodpecker, Patagonian Tyrant, Long-tailed
MeadowlarkandonemammalsightingaCulpeoFox.
A special note should be added for the excellent soaring show conducted
herebyanAndeanCondorandaBlack-chestedBuzzardEagle.Afteratasty
lunchatthepicnicareaofthePark,re-chargingbatterieswiththesoundof
theflowingriver,wecamebacktothemainroadandkeptdrivingabovethe
tree-linelolookforsomedifferentspecies.
We were still in the winter so the area was a mix of snowy-covered and
clearpartsandthebirdactivitywasn’tgoodasusual.
Despite this we managed to spot some high-altitude species as Mountain
Caracara, Gray-flanked Cinclodes, Dark-faced Ground-Tyrant and
PlumbeousSierra-Finch.Allthisat7200feetabovesealevel.
Ataround16:00westartedtodrivedowntothecity,savingsometimefor
thelatestroadsidebirdingstops.Inoneofthesewehadexcellentviewsof3
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individuals of one of the endemics we were missing: the stunning Crag
Chilia…agreatendtotheday!!
AfterthiswedrovebythehighwaydirectlytoSantiagoAirport,justintime
forMargetoproceedwithhercheck-inandlongflighthome.
BIRDLIST(30species)
TaxonomicorderandnotesfollowsSouthAmericanClassification
Committee
http://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.html
DetailedbirdlistavailableateBird
http://www.ebird.org
TINAMOUS
ChileanTinamou(Nothoproctaperdicaria)
NEWWORLDVULTURES
AndeanCondor(Vulturgryphus)
HAWKS
VariableHawk(Red-backed)(Geranoaetuspolyosoma(Red-backed))
Black-chestedBuzzard-Eagle(Geranoaetusmelanoleucus)
PIGEONS
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EaredDove(Zenaidaauriculata)
HUMMINGBIRDS
Green-backedFirecrown(Sephanoidessephaniodes)
WOODPECKERS
StripedWoodpecker(Veniliornislignarius)
FALCONS
MountainCaracara(Phalcoboenusmegalopterus)
ChimangoCaracara(Milvagochimango)
AmericanKestrel(Falcosparverius)
PeregrineFalcon(Falcoperegrinus)
TAPACULOS
MoustachedTurca(Pteroptochosmegapodius)
White-throatedTapaculo(Scelorchilusalbicollis)
OVENBIRDS
CragChilia(Ochetorhynchusmelanurus)
Gray-flankedCinclodes(Cinclodesoustaleti)
Plain-mantledTit-Spinetail(Leptasthenuraaegithaloides)
TYRANTFLYCATCHERS
TuftedTit-Tyrant(Anairetesparulus)
Dark-facedGround-Tyrant(Muscisaxicolamaclovianus)
PatagonianTyrant(Colorhamphusparvirostris)
WRENS
HouseWren(Southern)(Troglodytesaedon[musculusGroup])
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THRUSHES
AustralThrush(Turdusfalcklandii)
MOCKINGBIRDS
ChileanMockingbird(Mimusthenca)
FINCHES&SPARROWS
Gray-hoodedSierra-Finch(Phrygilusgayi)
PlumbeousSierra-Finch(Phrygilusunicolor)
CommonDiuca-Finch(Diucadiuca)
Rufous-collaredSparrow(Zonotrichiacapensis)
Black-chinnedSiskin(Spinusbarbatus)
BLACKBIRDS
Long-tailedMeadowlark(Sturnellaloyca)
AustralBlackbird(Curaeuscuraeus)
OLD-WORLDSPARROWS
HouseSparrow(Passerdomesticus)
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