The Lands of Carmenere & Malbec

Magellanic Woodpecker © Fernando Diaz

A multi-themed tour offering stunning vistas, several endemics, a pelagic trip to see albatrosses and penguins; accompanied by guided visits to vineyards and wine tasting; a casual atmosphere to sample more than fifty wines; from desert to high elevation puna, we may see over 200 bird species.

The majestic Cordillera of the Andes will be the backdrop for our entire journey, beginning in Chile. We will search the high peaks and deep valleys east of Santiago for the endemic Moustached Turca, Crag Chilia, Giant Hummingbird, and an assortment of ground-tyrants and ovenbirds while Andean Condors soar overhead.

We will continue south through wine country, stopping for a tasting in the Maule Valley, famous for its red wines, the specialty being Carmenere. Our lodge in a Southern Beech forest in Altos de Lircay is also home to the incredible Magellanic Woodpecker and large charismatic tapaculos such as Chestnut-throated Huet-huet. On our return towards the coast, we will visit the Colchagua Valley, another renowned wine region.

From Valparaíso, we will explore the river estuaries along the Pacific, home to diverse wetlands teeming with shorebirds and waterfowl. There we will search for reedbed specialists such as the fantastic Many-colored Rush Tyrant and skulking rails and bitterns. We will visit “the poets’ coast” and tour Pablo Neruda’s extraordinary home.

A highlight along the coast will be a pelagic birding trip into the rich Humboldt Current. We will likely see thousands of birds including penguins, boobies, diving petrels, and up to four albatross species. Back on land, the coastal mountains will render a great selection of white wines from the lovely Casablanca Valley. Days will be well-balanced between birding and vinicultural activities, with a light and informal emphasis on some aspects of Chile and Argentina’s history and culture.

Our final day in Chile will take us up the range southeast of Santiago in search of high-altitude specialists including Gray-breasted Seedsnipe and Creamy-rumped Miner. Most sought-after will be the Diademed Sandpiper-Plover, a striking shorebird of the mountainous bogs. Our journey will take us amidst towering snow-capped giants and over the Andes, along the lap of Aconcagua—the “White Sentinel”—the highest peak in the Americas, a stunning site. Upon descending into Argentina, we will be greeted by impressive canyons and a new suite of alluring species.

The scrub and wetlands near Mendoza will render gems such as the stunning Red-tailed Comet, and endemics like the White-throated Cacholote and Steinbach’s Canastero. We may even see flamingos and, if lucky, the beautiful South American Painted-Snipe. Farther east, in the wooded dunes of Bosques Telteca, we will search for the stunning Cinnamon Warbling-Finch and the endemic Sandy Gallito.

We will visit world-class vineyards in Argentina and savor spectacular meals and top tier wines near Luján del Cuyo. We will fly back to Santiago on the final morning. Participants may choose to spend the day resting at a hotel near the airport before their connecting flights, which usually leave in the evening.

Accommodations ranging from a picturesque forest lodge to intercontinental hotels in Santiago; food and wine abundant and excellent, with visits to various wineries; some picnic lunches; travel by sprinter with occasional 4x4 vehicles; a boat trip for pelagics in the Pacific and an international flight from Argentina to Chile; physical demands light to moderate; weather dry, warm to cold.

Many-colored Rush Tyrant © Fernando Diaz