Argentina Part 2: Ushuaia

 El fin del mundo. Tierra del Fuego has this mystic aura about it that has always captivated me. Ushuaia is considered the southernmost city in the world and is the departure point for most Antarctic cruises. In addition to great birding it is such a unique place to go that it we could not turn down the chance to visit. Condors, penguins, and sierra finches were all on the table, as was fresh seafood, lamb, and stunning scenery. Our visit would be for 4 days and would center around Parque Nacional Tierra del Fuego and would include a penguin cruise.

Getting to the end of world is logistically pretty easy and somewhat difficult at the same time. You can fly nonstop from Buenos Aires in about 4 hours. One thing to note is that if you book on the Aerolineas Argentinas website it was half the listed price on Google flights.

South American Sea Lions with Magellanic and Imperial Cormorants

 Landing in Ushuaia was pretty jarring in a good way. I can’t speak for the summer, but the Andes were covered in snow and we even passed over some turquoise lakes. It might be more impressive from the ground. Walking out of the airport we were captivated by the mountains, which look totally different from the Rockies. On the other side of our view there was the Beagle Channel, where Charles Darwin famously sailed. A very light snow was falling and our spirits were through the roof despite Christina being hungover and us being tired and hungry from a 4:30 AM wake up. We were ready to get settled in and eat, but it was not meant to be.

Dolphin Gull

This is where it got somewhat difficult. We booked our hotel through the Chase Portal to stay at Hotel de los Andes, but when we arrived we were told our booking was nonexistent. Here we were at the end of the Earth with no place to stay. In our state it was like dropping a nuclear bomb on us. I won’t get too much into it, but after about 2 hours of fretting we ended up getting a place booked.

Look past that ugly blob in front and admire that gorgeous backdrop!

Here I will also note that there are shuttles all over Ushuaia that leave as early as 10 AM and return as late as 7 PM. They are dirt cheap and are easily located in the center of town. We did not know this coming in, and even after asking waiters in restaurants we were told that service did not exist. It was about $10 to from downtown to the national park, and its about $40 if you take a cab.

We timed our visit perfectly. While temperatures rarely got above 40 and we experienced some snow, it did not stick and we weren’t too cold. November is also not as wet and it is too early for mosquitoes. But the penguins are back in decent numbers and fewer people are in town!

Lago Acigami

Walking around town that first afternoon I just knew it would be a good few days. The first bird that I identified was one of my most wanted birds: Southern Giant Petrel! They really were gigantic and kind of menacing. They’re one of the quintessential end of the world birds for me.

Southern Giant Petrel

We woke up on our first day pretty early and headed to the park in a taxi. It was sunny but cold and windy as we got out on Lago Acigami. The lake is half in Argentina, half in Chile. This was my first real view of what you think of when you think of Patagonia and I really didn’t want to walk away. But our main target for the day, Magellanic Woodpecker, would not be found there.We were hiking the Senda Costera, which was supposed to be a 3 hour, 4 ish mile hike. We had time to spare (so we thought!).

Austral Thrush

We took our time as we got started, stopping at open clearings listening for our targeted woodpecker. Things were relatively quiet. I felt my bird senses tingling as we entered the edge of boggy looking clearing. Christina was super patient. But red sticks out in the woods, and in a tree there was a red clump. No way, MAGELLANIC WOODPECKER! Magellanic Woodpecker was the first bird that I saw in a Chile field guide that made me want to go to Patagonia. It’s also one of the few birds, in my experience, where the female is prettier than the male, which is saying a lot because a male is breathtaking.

Male Magellanic Woodpecker

We did the hike in the opposite direction, leaving the Alakush visitor center. This was a good strategy as the forest was not super birdy outside of our woodpecker encounter. We were still able to get super close to a Chimango Caracara and had some Austral Thrushes.

Great Grebe

The closer we got to the post office at the end of the world, the better it got. The trail winds around a bay that offers jawdropping views. Christina hunted for treasures on the coast while I soaked up the views at a beach that the forest opens up to. Upland Geese were common everywhere, and I was dazzled by great looks at a Patagonian Sierra Finch, another highly sought after bird.

Upland Goose

There was also a puff of air coming from the water. Christina thought she was going nuts. I thought it was a whale. But no, it was a South American Sea Lion! Despite the amazing views, we had to keep going. The trail was much farther than we thought and it took way longer than expected, and we were actually a few minutes late to leaving. We were so rushed that I blew by 2 lifers, Tufted Tit-Tyrant and Ashy-headed Goose and even more incredible views.

Ashy-headed Goose. You can tell we were in a rush

We had some solid birding and a 7 mile hike already on the day, but the birding highlight of the trip was about to begin. We were stressed though, and I have to confess that impatient Christian came out at the end of the world post office due to serious time constraints and a verbal quarrel did break out. We keep it real here at Birding with Christian, and logistics, hunger, and the emotional exhaustion of birding will do that to you.

At 3 PM we approached the port for our cruise to the Penguinera, a breeding colony for Magellanic Penguins with supposedly some Gentoos. It was a 6 hour cruise and I was electric. This is an incredible opportunity to get some fantastic seabirds. The water was calm and the sun was out, perfect birding weather.

Christina vibing in her 5 layers

The classic Kelp Gulls and Dolphin Gulls were abundant, as were Magellanic and Imperial Cormorants. But more species showed up as we neared a small cluster of islands that were teeming with birds and sea lions. This was a great opportunity for another bird that I really wanted to get, but I wasn’t getting my hopes up. Birds and sea lions were everywhere. It was a sight to behold. We got our only Kelp Goose of the trip here and there was even a Turkey Vulture.

Kelp Goose. Not a great pic but it counts!

But then a flash of white. Another Kelp Goose? No…SNOWY SHEATHBILL! That’s what we wanted! Snowy Sheathbills are another one of those birds that are on the northern edge of their range that you dream of getting the chance to see. We are off to a good start! Getting the sheathbill was great and while there were a few other birds I wanted to get the pressure was really off, as we pretty much knew penguins were guaranteed.

Snowy Sheathbill

But our cruise to Isla Martillo had not even begun to peak. On our way we had plenty more Southern Giant Petrels and a weird white morph looking petrel. I snapped a picture to look at it more as I couldn’t remember if Northern Giant Petrel had a white morph. But it wasn’t a petrel, it was a Black-browed Albatross! The leader on the boat told me it was a gull when I checked with her, but I would soon be proved correct. I got the credit for also spotting the first penguin of the trip, as we had a brief glimpse of a swimming Magellanic Penguin about an hour away from where we expected to.

Black-browed Albatross

The weather started to turn as we approached Isla Martillo it went from sunny and warm to cloudy, windy, and bitterly cold. Tierra del Fuego weather! But the wind brought some new birds. A South American Tern flew overhead. Then we saw the first of a few flying Black-browed Albatrosses. I highly recommend doing a pelagic just to see any species of albatross with their long wingspans. But a sneaky highlight of the trip was a seabird that was flying behind the boat. Not an albatross, but white and clearly not a gull. I knew it had to be a lifer, but the wind was so strong that I couldn’t get a good look at it. I blindly snapped a few photos and it finally got closer. SOUTHERN FULMAR! I’ve now seen both species of fulmars. It stuck around just long enough to be identified and enjoyed before going on its way. I love seabirds so much, and to get to see them in calm water makes it even better!

Southern Fulmar

But now it was time for the main show. A hushed gasp was audible from all the passengers as we approached. Magellanic Penguins were sentries on the highest points of the hill, watching as we came towards the beach. Once there, a welcoming committee of curious Gentoo Penguins waddled over. They looked hilarious as they waddled with their wings out and slightly behind them, resembling Christina when she gets excited. While I expected Magellanic, I didn’t really expect Gentoo. In fact, I told Christina I was 99% sure we would have Magellanic, 50% sure of Gentoo, and .0001% sure of a King. Our boat drew a lot of attention from naturally curious penguins, and we were dazzled by up close sightings. It was really nice to see these in the light as opposed to our Little Penguin evening in Australia.

Gentoo Penguin

Both species were separated in their own colonies, and I started to scan to get better looks. It was super distracting, though, because soon there were penguins coming out of the water onto the beach right by our boat! Then an Austral Negrito caught my attention. But as I returned to scanning the Gentoo colony I noticed something out of place.

Gentoo Penguins

There was one Penguin with a bright yellow patch. That ruled out Magellanic and it was bigger than the Gentoos. It couldn’t be…but it was. KING PENGUIN! I had to rub my eyes and look again to make sure I wasn’t nuts. It was still there. The naturalist on board told me not to make a big deal out of it for some reason, but pretty soon I was telling everyone about it. This was the best bird I have ever seen. I don’t need to tell you how kickass of a sighting this is. Just…wow.

King Penguin

You can find a breeding colony in Chile but it takes some effort to get to. It turns out a pair tries to mate here every year, but the weather is not suitable and the egg never hatches. For some reason this is not only not advertised, but almost kept a secret. There’s a reason, I just don’t know what it is. That was the last lifer of the day, as we spent the next 3 hours inside the boat as it started to rain and then snow. The weather held up just long enough for us to get 3 species of penguins, what a win.

Magellanic Penguin

We weren’t done! The next day we slept in, exhausted by the adventures of the prior day. But this would end up being our favorite day in Ushuaia. The long hours of daylight meant we had plenty of time to hike and see birds. It really was challenging psychologically to start birding at 1 PM, but here we were doing just that. Today’s agenda was the Senda Hito XXXIV, going from Alakush to the Chilean border. It was a short trail and we took our time just enjoying the hike. It really started out slow birdwise but I didn’t mind after the prior day.

Christina at the Chilean border

Once again, a warm and sunny hike quickly turned into snow as approached the border. The border is marked by an obelisk on the shore of the lake, and there is no station. The wilderness acts as a border guard. To answer the burning questions: yes I did walk across the border and pee.

Patagonia Sierra Finch

Outside of creating exquisite vibes, the snowstorm woke up the forest. A mixed flock of White-crested Elaenias, House Wrens, and Tufted Tit-tyrants exposed a new lifer: Thorn-tailed Rayadito. This hike is really easy to do. While it’s a must-do, I didn’t find it too birdy.

White-crested Elaenia

We finished the trail at 5:30. Too late for the 5:00 shuttle, but we had some time to poke around until the 7:00 shuttle came. I am so glad we were late. The park was much more active. Fire-eyed Diucon was sitting on top of a bush very patiently as Chilean Swallows whipped by. Patagonia Sierra Finches were plentiful. I also was not stressed, as our hike the next day gave me a good chance to get my 2 remaining targets. We didn’t have to wait that long, as shit got real once we reached the shore of the lake that is right under the visitor center.

Fire-eyed Diucon

It was about 6:15 and clear. A slowly ascending raucous screech erupted from the valley. There was nothing else that it could be, as I whipped around and frantically looked for movement.  You’re probably thinking I’m a total dweeb and you would be correct but the rush I got as I found my quarry is unbeatable. There they were, AUSTRAL PARAKEET! Some landed in the tree while others flew low and fast us. It was electric, and I rushed off to look for them. Temps were below freezing and we had parakeets?! How gnarly is that?

Austral Parakeet

Some landed at the visitor’s center but some were in front of us. Instead of turning back, we gambled and looked for the ones that flew past us. They stayed just ahead of us and out of reach, but pushing on got us Dark-faced Ground Tyrant. Our gamble paid off. The parakeets were still at the visitor’s center and we hustled back.

Dark-faced Ground-tyrant

Big time players make big time plays in big time games. You already know who I’m talking about. Christina had a birding moment that rivaled David Tyree’s catch in the Super Bowl. I stopped to get a distant shot of Austral Parakeets just to say I got them, but Christina had other plans. “Um Christian, what’s that flying really high above us.” Despite the LASIK, I couldn’t see it. Don’t get my hopes up, Christina. Once I got bins on it I instantly knew what it was, ANDEAN CONDOR! I got my last 2 targets! We waited a minute for it to turn to show the white back that would confirm it, but once it did it only confirmed what we already knew. Even without seeing the white back you could tell it wasn’t a Turkey Vulture. Christina Roberts delivers when you need her to. That would also be our only condor.

Look really closely, that's a zoomed in shot of Andean Condor! Amazing that Christina found that!

I had been saying that I thought birders were full of crap. We had seen a few Turkey Vultures, and despite being reported everywhere that we were we hadn’t sniffed them. I wondered if they were mistaking Turkey Vultures for condors. Turns out they were right!

Back at the visitor’s center we got right underneath the tree full of parakeets, getting unbeatable views. What a way to wrap the day up. Great hikes, great birds, and an even better time just handing with Christina.

Unbeatable views

Our last was spent doing the Laguna Esmeralda hike outside of town. It was snowy and mucky. No birding was really done, although I did add Black-faced Ibis. The lake is gorgeous and the snow was magical. For the sake of length I won’t get into too much detail, but is a great hike if it’s not too wet. Christina called it “a mentally taxing hike.” She’s right.

Our last night was spent at La Estancia, which was probably our favorite meal of the trip. Christina got fresh King Crab for $25 and I got 1.5 pounds of the best lamb of my life for $12. I know what you’re thinking. No Striated Caracara. We were exhausted and the weather didn’t really hold up on the last day. I could have organized a trip to the dump to get it but I just didn’t feel like it. After so many great birds I didn’t feel the need to pad my list with another bird that didn’t really get my attention after focusing so much on the others. I’ll save the caracara for when I want to do an Antarctic cruise.

Pinguinos!

If you can’t tell by the length of this, Ushuaia is some of the best birding of my life. The town itself isn’t very pretty at all and the food scene is meh (outside of La Estancia obvi), but the birding was stellar and the hiking was just what we wanted. I’d recommend Ushuaia to the birder or penguin lover. We found the logistics hard, but that’s about it and we felt way more comfortable as we got more familiar.

Magellanic Woodpecker

Argentina as a whole exceeded the very high expectations that it was given. For most countries I want to wait a little while before returning, or just not return at all, but I want to see even more of Argentina now! For all the hype certain places in Latin American get, Argentina does not get enough and you should visit ASAP. Shout out to Christina for getting some clutch sightings and being the ultimate travel buddy!

I will never get sick of a view like this