Birdwatching in Chile

Birding contacts and birdwatching information



Local Birdingpal Contacts

Local Birdwatchers Using the Birdingpal resources you must agree to the following: If you contact a local Birdingpal and make arrangement to go birding, you should note it is common courtesy to make sure you show up for the appointment. If for any reason you are unable to do this, the least you must do is contacting the local Pal right away. Please note that most Birdingpals are serious birdwatchers. It is a privilege to contact them, and your message should reflect it. A local Pal does not get paid, but should he/she offer to take you out birding, using their own vehicle, it would be courteous to pay for the fuel. A lunch and/or a small gift would also be appropriate, something as simple as a souvenir of your country, or a pin from your local birding club.
		Initial	Last Name	Area	Available	Language
		G	Olea	Puerto Montt, Llanquihue	Anytime	Spanish/English
		Biologo Marino
		G	Cassus	Santiago, RM	Anytime	English/Spanish Portuguese
		I am a vet and I love to go birding in Chile and other surrounding countries. Also I like photography but I am not as good as I'd like to be (www.flickr.com/cassus)
		M	Gevirtz	Santiago, RM	Anytime	English/Spanish
		I have been birding for 5 years. I know Ecuador, Peru, Estonia and the American Midwest fairly well. I have birded Chile before, but not extensively. So I am getting to know it better now that I have moved back. So if you wanna join me in Chile or Peru or the American Midwest write me.
		C	Munoz	Talca, VII Region	Anytime
Professional Guides If you contact a professional Birdingpal guide you must be prepared to pay a fee for guiding services.
		Initial	Last Name	Area	Available	Language
		S	Saiter	Punta Arenas, Magallanes-Patagonia	Anytime	Spanish/English
		Birdwatching in Tres Puentes Wetland, Chilean Patagonia, more than 70 species of birds of prey, land and aquatic birds.
		C	Segual	San Pedro de Atacama	Anytime	Spanish/English French
		Born in Chile in 1961. College studies in U.S.A. Sociology- Anthropology. Degree in Translation Stuidies English-Spanish Warwick University U.K.. Member of UNORCH (Chilean Ornithologist Union). Fluent in both English and Spanish. Succesfully involved in tourism since 1998, avid birder and naturalist. Vast knowlegde of all the places I work in as a guide. I am actively birding in Central Chile (mediterranean area) and in North of Chile, the Tarapaca and Atacama desert including remote areas such as Paposo on the coast and the El Tatio Geyser field near San Pedro de Atacama. Chungara lake in the Lauca National Park.Also pelagic trips in both Central and Northern Chile. Fees: US $ 150 per day/person, from sunrise to sunset. Not included transport,meals nor lodging.
		F	Schmitt	Santiago, RM	Anytime	Spanish/English French
		At the base of the Andes, and at only 1h30 from the coast, Santiago is a good place for few days birding !! If you have only one day, bird the foothill near Santiago (the private Mahuida parc is a very nice place, close to the city) in order to look for some endemic species as the Dusky-tailed Canastero, Chilean Mockingbird, Chilean Tinamou and White-throated Tapaculo. You will also probably find few Plain-mantled Tit-spinetail, many Long-tailed Meadowlark and perhaps a Striped Woopecker. Then follow your day at higher elevation, in the direction of Farellones or El Yeso (this last place will give you the nice Diademed Sandpiper-plover, present between october and february). In the rocky slopes, search for the Crag Chilia and the Moustached Turca. The Andean Condor are fairly common and you have great chance to see few of this impressive bird. Spend the end of the afternoon in the Lampa and Batuco wetlands, where are breeding thousands of waterbirds. This area is probably the best place in the world to find the rare Black-headed Duck. With more luck, you will also find the 'chilean' Warbling Doradito, a Painted Snipe or even a Black Rail! With one more day, you will be able to visit the coast in order to find shorebirds, gulls, pelicans, etc... An excellent place to bird is the Maipo estuary near San Antonio, especially in the evening with good light ! North to this place, visit the Cartagena lagoon where you will easily find few Spot-flanked Gallinules and have excellent views on many duck species. Following to the north, have a look on the El Peral lagoon, usually good for the Stripe-backed Bittern. Of course, a pelagic trip from Valparaiso or Quintero will be the best for many birders. Every trip is different, and you can have excellent birds all year round. My record is 6 albatross species in one trip with more than 1000 ind. Other good birds during a pelagic trip include Peruvian Diving-petrel, Pink-footed Shearwater, White-chinned and Westland Petrel, Inca Tern, and sometimes some Pterodroma species (mainly Juan-Fernandez and Masatierra Petrel). In two days birding around Santiago, you should be able to find 100 species, and 7 of the 11 chilean endemics. You will need more time and to travel farther to reach 200 species, and 300 are possible during a 15 days trip from the north to the south of the country. Don't hesitate to contact me if you need some informations, or if you want me to organise you a day trip or a longer tour.
		R	Tapia	Valparaiso	Anytime	Spanish/English
		Rodrigo Tapia was born in 1968 in Valparaiso, a 16th century port city in the middle of a beautiful bay overlooking the Pacific Ocean in the coast of Central Chile. Since he was a child he showed a great interest in Wildlife, and living by the seaside provided him with a unique opportunity to get acquainted first-hand with Seabirds, Shorebirds and Waders. Combining his daily walks to the seashore with weekend trips to the inland valleys, forests and the Andes mountains, he started watching and studying Birds before the age of ten, and has been doing so for more than 25 years. By the time he finished school his growing passion for Birds eventually led him to study Biology and work as a field researcher. He’s been involved in several Ornithological research projects and has carried on field observations in a number of aspects of Ornithology, among them Bird migration, seasonal distribution and abundance of Bird populations, and this research has lead him to almost every region and ecosystem in Chile, from the northern Atacama Desert to the chilled coasts of Antarctica, and from the heights of the Andes to the waters of the Pacific and Juan Fernández Archipelago. He offers many Birding trips in all these diverse environments, including Pelagic trips. His passion for Birds reflects also in his pictures, for he is also an enthusiastic Bird Photographer. Rodrigo is currently based in Viña del Mar, Valparaiso. Visit our web site
		R	Reyes	Viña del Mar, Valparaiso, Region V	Anytime	Spanish/English Swedish
		Rodrigo Reyes is a Landscape Architect by profession, but a Naturalist and Birdwatcher at heart. He is native from Viña del Mar, one of Central Chile's most important cities, and is currently living there at the moment. His interests in birds began at the age of eleven in Sweden, where he was especially attracted to crows (Corvidae). Since his return to Chile, Rodrigo's interest began to move naturally from that magnificent representation of the European birds to the study of Chilean birds. Now he is a great connoisseur of the Chilean birds and in particular of the birds from Central Chile. He has worked in several ornithological projects, and for his landscaping works, he tries to create harmonic designs with the environment, obtaining an interrelation between the vegetation and the birds, creating in some way, a fusion between nature and man. He speaks fluid English, Swedish and Spanish. Operative zone: Central Chile.

Local Information

	Name	Description
	Unión de Ornitólogos de Chile	Club
	Birding Hotspots around the world	Sites
	Pelagics to the Humboldt Current	Pelagic
	Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia	Chile
	Local weather	Yahoo
	Electronic maps	Google
	Find lowest prices for field guides, books, maps etc.
	Field guides recommended by Birdingpals
	Printable bird check list
	Trip Reports from Chile
	Read a Birdingpal's Trip Report from Chile

Last update 08/06/2010