EPIC CAPE HORN CRUISE TOUR REPORT 2024

Everyone was ready to rock & roll after an early breakfast and we were ready to get up into the Andes and start seeing some of the great birds on offer. We left the hotel at 7am and drove towards the Andes and in particular an area called the Farellones on a road which would eventually take us up to around 3000m. However, first thing this morning we birded the lower slopes seeing flocks of  Mourning Sierra-Finches and found a few smaller Band-tailed Sierra-Finches, as well as a few Grey-hooded Sierra-Finches mixed in with them. It was a little slow going in the slightly cool morning air as the sun hadn’t yet risen over the looming peaks above us, but it was a very enjoyable temperature and we picked up a few Chilean Mockingbirds, brief Fire-eyed Diucon, many Austral Blackbirds were around, several Black-winged Ground-Doves and Dark-bellied Cinclodes. The endemic Crag Chilia put in a close albeit brief appearance and we’d need better views tomorrow. Heading higher up we checked out some open alpine slopes and grassy flower-filled meadows where Rufous-banded Miner, Scale-throated Earthcreeper, and Buff-winged Cinclodes performed well. A close little grassy area was attracting a group of Black-chinned Siskins, and as we were watching them a Grey-flanked Cinclodes appeared and yet more Black-winged Ground-Doves. As we walked down the road a family of Lesser Horned Owls in a tree next to the road gave incredible views, whilst nearby Rufous-tailed Plantcutter was only seen by a couple of the group. Across the road a female White-sided Hillstar and a Giant Hummingbird were scoped before we headed to a nearby restaurant for a fabulous lunch.

We left Santiago at 7am and headed to the coast some 90 minutes away to Reñaca, a coastal area just north of Valparaiso. It’s a great site with loads of activity and birds toing and froing everywhere. The rocky shoreline held Neotropic Cormorant, Black-crowned Night-heron, American and Blackish Oystercatchers, Ruddy Turnstones, Surfbirds, Hudsonian Whimbrel and the endemic Seaside Cinclodes. A huge rock held our first Red-legged Cormorant, whilst out to sea there were Peruvian Pelicans, Peruvian Booby, many Inca Terns, kelp Gulls, several franklin’s Gulls flying along, a single Grey Gull. The colony of Inca Terns are amazingly close here and held our attention for quite some time before we left, stopping at a restroom and seeing Chilean Skua,  and headed to Quebrada de Cordova where we tried for White-throated Tapaculo in vain. Seeing Rufous-tailed Plantcutter was great, as only a couple of the group had it the other day. We also saw Thorn-tailed Rayadito, Fire-eyed Diucon, Long-tailed Meadowlark, and a surprisingly confiding Dusky-tailed Canastero.

Our first full day at sea was very interesting and the first couple of hours from sunrise at 7.15am were very busy with our first Black-browed Albatrosses seen even before the sun had risen! We grappled with the all dark petrels until the light got better and it was apparent that they were all White-chinned Petrel. Wilson’s (Fuegian) Storm-Petrels began appearing in dribs and drabs and then Pink-footed Shearwaters began moving in numbers and we saw well over 400 throughout the day, mingled with a few Sooty Shearwaters during the day. Our next albatross was a Salvin’s, and throughout the day we saw around 15, with plenty of sightings of Northern Royal Albatross which looked absolutely huge as they flew over a very calm sea. At least 3 Buller’s Albatrosses appeared today as well, and it's a relatively small and compact mollymawk showing a thickish leading edge on the underwing.