After arriving in Ushuaia we spent a day relaxing and mostly
just wandering along the waterfront near the hotel. Just outside the hotel we
found Black-faced ibis, Magellanic steamer duck, Crested duck, Chimango and
Crested caracaras, Magellanic and Blackish Oystercatchers, Austreal Negrito…
etc. Not bad at all!
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| Crested caracara |
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| Crested caracara mobbed by Southern Lapwing | |
It was interesting to note in Ushuaia that a massive amount
of effort has been put on outlining that the Falklands (what they call Las
Malvinas) is part of Argentina… all tourist maps have Las Malvinas marked with
(ARG)… oh they also claim about half of the Antarctic as well.
We departed Ushuaia on the 22nd Dec and entered the Beagle
Channel, here we got our first glimpse of species such as Black-browed
albatross, Southern giant petrel and Cape petrel. We then visited the Falklands
and South Georgia before dropping down to the Antarctic Peninsula. (I would go
into more detail but photo's speak better than words and waffle).
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| Cobb's wren |
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| Falklands |
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| Falkland flightless steamer duck |
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| Long-tailed meadowlark |
Highlights of the trip included; 5 species of Albatross in a
single day, Light-mantled sooty albatross at the nest, 5 Species of penguin
(many on the nest), Antarctic petrel (18+ at one point), Snow petrel, Blue
Petrel, Antarctic and Slender-billed Prions, Wilsons, Grey-backed and
White-bellied Storm-petrels, Ruddy-headed, Upland and Kelp Geese,
Rufous-chested Dotterel, Brown-hooded, Dolphin and Kelp gull, Blackish
Cinclodes, Dark-faced ground tyrant, Grass and Cobb’s wren, Austral thrush,
Long-tailed meadowlark, Black-throated finch and Black-chinned siskin… plus a
few more.
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| Light-mantled sooty albatross |
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| King penguins and scavenging skua |
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| South georgia pintail (a carnivorous duck!!!) |
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| King penguin youngsters |
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| Antarctic petrel |
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| Chinstrap |
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| Snowy sheathbill |
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| Gentoo |
Cetacean highlights included; Orca, Strap-toothed beaked
whale, Comerson’s Dolphin, Peale Dolphin, Dusky Dolphin, Fin Whale, Sei Whale, Humpback
and Southern Minke Whale.
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| Elephant seal |
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| Fin whale |
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| Weddell seal |
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| Antarctic shags |
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| View from porthole |
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| Avin a brew in t'antarctic!! |
After returning to Ushuaia we decided to team up with a few
guys from the big boat and attempted to locate White-bellied seedsnipe without
success… still a nice walk up the glacier and with distant views of Condor.
We then spent several days relaxing and exploring the Tierra del Fuego National Park
racking up species such as Great grebe, Ringed
kingfisher, White-crested elaenia, Rayadito, Austral parakeet and Fire-eyed
diucon (like a Sardinian warbler times 10). We were also lucky enough to find 3
Magellanic woodpeckers, a single male and a pair which came to within 5 meters
at one point.
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| Rayadito collecting nest mat |
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| Habitat!! |
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| Fire-eyed
diucon |
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| Trip! |
We returned home on the 16th Dec. A 14 plus hour flight home and we were back in
Edinburgh.
JOB DONE!
oh yeah.. happy new year!
