Trip Report
PHOTO TOUR PUMAS & PENGUINS
August 23, 2023
Penguins in Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego – Argentina and Pumas in Torres del Paine – Chile. These animals were the goal of this photo tour. We (Steve Sánchez and Eva Wu) were invited by Steve’s Argentinian birding guide partner Marcelo Gavensky and his companies Birds Argentina (www.birdsargentina.com) and Natural Birding (www.naturalbirding.com). Marcelo had the great idea to create a special tour for photographers who are interested in both bird and wildlife photography. What better animals to choose for this project than the icons of the pampas, dramatic mountains, and rocky coastline of Patagonia? Indeed: pumas and penguins.
During a 16 days tour (25 March – 9 April 2023), we scouted the best places by car and boat to photograph these fantastic animals.
Day 1: BUENOS AIRES
Our tour started with a 4,5-hour flight from Lima to Buenos Aires. Two giants of cities, Lima at the tropical and humid Pacific side of the continent, Buenos Aires at the temperate Atlantic side with warm summers and cool winters. We flew down south, following the Chilean coastline, from where we crossed the mighty Andes Cordillera. The sky was cloudless and sunny, the browns, ochres and oranges of the mountains contrasted with azure lagoons and snowy tops. It was breath taking.
Gerardo, a very friendly the taxi driver, picked us up from the airport in Buenos Aires and he talked about football and Evita Peron on the way to our hotel. The three-star hotel (Ker Urquiza Hotel) was located in a charming green part of Buenos Aires. A nice and clean room with a good shower, bed, and good internet connection. We met Marcelo and his girlfriend Rocio later that night for a delicious meal. Tired but exited, we went to sleep. The adventure was about to start!
Day 2: NATURE RESERVE CEIBAS
The next day, Marcelo and Rocio took us to the Nature Reserve Ceibas (Reserva Natural Ceibas). This reserve is situated in southern part of the province Entre Ríos, 1,5 hours by car from Buenos Aires. We used public rural dirt roads to look for Wetland and Espinal Forest bird species. In the green extensive grasslands with herds of cows and bushy parts, we found sleeping Nacunda Nighthawks, Borrowing Owls, Southern Screamers, Crested Caracara, White-tipped Plantcutter, Guira Cuckoo, Spectacled Tyrant, Rufous Horneros making their round nests, White Woodpecker, Chalk-browd Mockingbird, and the beautiful White Monjita for our photo moments. We had a tasty box lunch in the field, while staring over the vast grasslands with grazing horses and cows.
Some other nice animals also made their appearance: Various Nutrias (Coypus in Spanish) were taking a swim in the watery parts and some Brazilian Guinea Pigs quickly crossed the road. A big Hilaire’s Toadhead Turtle was resting at the side of the road, which gave us a good photo opportunity. In the wetland parts, we were accompanied by the melancholic sound of Weeping Frogs.
Day 3, 4, 5: PUERTO DESEADO
A morning flight took us from Buenos Aires to Comodoro Rivadavia, the biggest city of Argentinian Patagonia, followed by a 5-hour drive south along the coast in our rented car to Puerto Deseado. This small fishing port is located at the estuary of the Deseado River. Our first impression of Patagonia: its vastness and emptiness, Guanacos, Lesser Rheas, and the strong wind! We had a very nice photo moment with a South American Grey Fox at the side of the road. The strong wind blew up its fur and into its eyes, giving the fox a very funny expression (photo below). Other good photo moments we had with a Large Hairy Armadillo, Lesser Rheas, and Guanacos, who were grazing at the side of the road in abundance. Marcelo shared his vast knowledge about the area and its animals with us, while driving us safely to our destination.
On our arrival in the afternoon in Puerto Deseado, the wind blew unexpectedly warm, rocking our car from side to side. The warm wind appeared to be an exception, the next days we would experience the real Patagonian coastal weather: windy and cold! Our accommodation in Puerto Deseado was Hotel los Acantilados, located in the small harbor with fishing boats and hunting Southern Giant-Petrels. The three-star hotel was very nice with its rustic wooden décor, comfortable rooms, and a rich breakfast buffet with homemade bread and very tasty alfajores cookies.
The next morning, we explored the estuary of the Deseado river by car. The sun was shining and the cold wind was blowing. At a rocky beach we had some good photo moments the three species of oystercatchers that can be found in Argentina: the American Oystercatcher, Blackish Oystercatcher and the Magellanic Oystercatcher. A Patagonian Meadowlark posed in a nearby bush.
While driving a bit further, we were surpassed by a group of running Lesser Rheas. A fantastic view that reminded us of a Jurassic Park movie. From the cliffs a bit higher up, the views over the estuary were stunning: blue and green water, orange and beige cliffs. In the dry and rocky grassland, a bit more inland, a couple of beautiful Tawny-throated Dotterels were searching for food. They were quite close, so we were able to take some good photos.
In the afternoon we went on an excursion by motorboat with Darwin Expediciones to explore the estuary and visit the Magellanic Penguins, one of our main target species of this trip. The season to explore the estuary before the winter would set in and the weather would become too cold, was almost over. We were the only three passengers on board and had guide Roxana just for us, what a luxury! Whilst cruising over the water, we saw our first black and white Commerson Dolphin close to the boat. This dolphin is a common sight in the estuary.
We visited a cliff where a big group of Red-legged Cormorants have their residence. There were cormorants in different stages of life: adults, juveniles and even a chick warmed by one of its parents. We could come very close to the cliff with our boat, the birds didn’t show any signs of fear. There was also a couple of Flightless Steamer-Ducks resting and cleaning the feathers on the rocks. Very good photo opportunities for the cormorants as well as for the ducks.
Next, we went around a small rocky island with a colony of South American Sea Lions. There were females, cubs, and some fierce looking males on guard. In between the sea lions, there were pottering dove-like Snowy Sheatbills, Dolphin Gulls, many Imperial Cormorants and Magellanic Cormorants. Again, the animals didn’t show any sign of stress and the photo moments were excellent. A very nice experience to be so close to the animals with their sounds in our ears and a fishy smell in our nostrils. After a fast and jumpy ride over the waves, we reached our next stop: a little sandy island, home to a colony of Magellanic Penguins.
Magellanic Penguins are medium-sized (61–76 cm), and weigh between 2.7 and 6.5 kg. Adults have black backs and white bellies. Two black bands are situated between the head and the breast. The lower band looks like an inverted horseshoe. They eat small fish, squid, krill etc., ingesting sea water with their prey. They possess salt-excreting glands to get rid of the salt in their bodies. Adult penguins can dive between 20 meters to 50 meters deep to find food. The species is classified as Least Concern, but is decreasing. The colonies have a density of 20 nests per 100 m2, that they build under bushes and in burrows. The breeding season begins in September and extends into late February and March, when the chicks are mature enough to leave the colonies. Magellanic Penguins stay with the same partner for life. The male reclaims the burrow from the previous year and waits for his female partner to arrive. Females can recognize their partners by their call. When the breeding season is finished, the penguins migrate north. (Info: Wikipedia)
When we arrived at the island with the Magellanic colony, we were allowed, after some instructions, to go off board to have a closer look. And that meant a really close look! We followed our guide Roxana calm and silent, and before we knew it, we were surrounded by hundreds of penguins. Under and beside small bushes, in holes and hollows in the ground, everywhere penguins. Hooting, waggling, cuddling, quarrelling, cleaning feathers, doing their penguin things. They didn’t seem to mind our presence. It is easy to imagine how great the photo and video opportunities were. Roxana granted us a good amount of time with the penguins, to take the best shots and to really enjoy being so close to these fantastic and funny birds. We left the island with a smile on our faces, what a great experience!
Note: The penguins were molting at this time of the year. Some of them were already in a new winter coat, others were halfway through, looking like funny down pillows with holes. During this “catastrophic molt”, which happens once per year, the penguins shed all their feathers at once. This process takes a few weeks and during this time, they are not able to swim and hunt for fish. Take the molting time (around March) into account when you plan to visit and photograph the penguins. Some of them won’t be at their prettiest…
At the Magellanic colony island we also photographed a Blackisch Oystercatcher that was resting on the beach and a Southern Giant Petrel, that came sailing by through the air. The sun was setting and it was getting colder when we made our way back to the harbor. The next morning, we were to going to embark again with Roxana and Darwin Expediciones. This time to Penguin Island (Isla Pingüino). Roxana warned us that the next day would be a very cold day, around 5 degrees Celsius. On the open sea we would be even more exposed to the elements. Come prepared, was her advice. At night we had dinner in a small local restaurant (Lo de Piola) in Puerto Deseado, with a variety of meat and fish dishes. Actually, we took all our dinners and lunches in this restaurant, because of its nice ambiance, friendly staff, and tasty food.
The next morning, we put on all the clothes that we brought to withstand the cold weather conditions during the 1-hour boat ride to Isla Pingüino. This small rocky island is situated 21 km southeast of Puerto Deseado and approximately 3 km off the coast. The island, a protected Marine Park, is one of the places with the highest marine biodiversity in Patagonia. It is uninhabited by humans and home to a small colony of South American Sea Lions, some Southern Elephant Seals, and different species of seabirds. Without doubt though, the star of the island is the Southern Rock Hopper Penguin.
The Rock Hopper is a beautiful penguin with characteristic brushy yellow eyebrows, red eyes, and a black cape. The global Rock Hopper population is estimated around 1 million pairs and they breed on the Falkland Islands and on islands off the coast of Patagonia. The colony nesting on Penguin Island has around 1000 pairs. The breeding season starts in September and ends in November. The Rock Hoppers feed mainly on crustaceans, but also on krill, squid, octopus, and plankton. They can dive 100 meters for several minutes while hunting for prey and they can swim fast enough to launch themselves out of the water to land on the shore on their bellies. They weigh around 2,5 kg and their height is around 50 cm. Unfortunately, the conservation status of the Southern Rock Hopper is vulnerable, due to pollution e.g. (Info: Wikipedia)
Isla Pingüino is the only place where tourists are allowed, in regulated and limited amounts, to visit a Rock Hopper colony. So off we went with our cameras and binoculars. We embarked on the small motorboat from Darwin Expediciones in Puerto Deseado, with more tourists this time, and set sail. The wind blew strong and the sun shone as the boat jumped over the Atlantic waves with quite some speed. Close to Isla Pingüino is a small rocky island with a colony of South American Fur Seals. As we approached the island and lowered speed, many seals jumped in the water and swam playful and curious towards our boat. There was time to take photos of the seals in the water and on the rocks.
We continued our way towards Isla Pingüino, where we safely got off board on a small dock built on a rocky spur of the island. On the shore of the island, sea lions, mostly males, and a few elephant seals were taking a nap, body to body. Our guide Roxana told us that we were not to approach them, as they fear humans. At the end of the 18th century until the beginning of the 19th century, a small factory for sea lion fat was located on the island. The ruins can still be seen, as well as the abandoned lighthouse from 1903. The sea lions still ‘remember’ this dark period.
A short walk took us towards the lighthouse that is situated on the highest point of the island. On our way up, we passed a small colony of Magellanic Penguins, and we also had a nice photo moment with a crossing Peregrine Falcon. We continued our walk down the cliffs (steady feet are required) at the other side of the island, where we had our first glance at the colony of Southern Rock Hoppers with the turquois Atlantic Ocean in the background. The cliff, down to where it meets the sea, was covered with these fantastic penguins that were literally ‘hopping’ over the rocks. We stopped at different stages on our way down the cliff to observe the penguins, take photos and enjoy the moment. They didn’t seem to mind our presence, even though there was just a little distance between us. The Rock Hoppers were also molting, like the Magellanic Penguins that we saw. Some individuals were already through, others look liked as if they were wearing a thick bearskin rug. We spent a good 1,5-hours with the Rock Hoppers, before heading back to the other side of the island again.
Darwin Expediciones provided us with lunch (delicious sandwiches) at an appropriated distance of the resting sea lions and scavenging sheatbills. And then it was time to go back to the mainland. The photo and video opportunities during our visit at Isla Pingüino were simply fantastic, a truly unique experience. The next morning, we were going to drive back to Comodoro Rivadavia, to take a flight to our next destination: Ushuaia, the southern most city in the world.
Day: 6, 7: USHUAIA
We had a very early start on day 6 to arrive on time in Comodoro Rivadavia for a flight to Ushuaia. After returning our rental car and check in, we waited at the gate for our plane. But no plane was arriving and we finally got the feared announcement that our flight had been canceled. Unfortunately, there were no other flights to Ushuaia that same day, nor the next. And we had to arrive in Ushuaia, because the next day it would be the last opportunity to take a boat tour to the island Isla Martillo in the Beagle Channel, before the season ended. The island is home to a small colony of Gentoo Penguins, a big colony of Magellanic Penguin and occasionally, a small group of King Penguins. Marcelo found the solution with the help of his girlfriend Rocio at home: we would go by taxi to the town of El Calafate, an 11-hour drive, crossing Patagonia from one side to the other. From El Calafate we would be able to take a flight to Ushuaia in the early morning and be on time for the boat tour. And so we did. After the long drive, with stunning views of the Patagonian landscape and night sky, we arrived safely at the airport in El Calafate at 3 am. A few hours later we landed safely in Ushuaia.
Ushuaia is, together with the small Chilean city of Puerto Williams, the southernmost city in the world. It is situated in a wide bay on the southern coast of Tierra del Fuego, between the Martial Mountain range and the Beagle Channel. The word Ushuaia comes from the Yaghan or Yámana language of the indigenous peoples who were living in this area when the European colonizers arrived. Ush means “bay” or “cove”, waia means “deep”. Ushuaia is a charming town with approximately 80.000 inhabitants. Its location is beautiful with wide views over the Beagle Channel and the panoramic mountains with snowy tops around. Autumn started to set in, coloring the leaves of the trees on the mountain slopes deep red, yellow, and brown.
Our three-star Hotel Tolkeyen with its great location at the bay outside of the city, was warm and welcoming. A nice big dining room for breakfast (buffet), lunch and dinner, with big windows providing a beautiful view over the bay. The rooms have this nice view as well and spacious bathrooms. After arriving at the hotel, we had our first photo moments with Upland Geese and Kelp Geese, who were grazing the field next to the hotel. And some nice shots of the Crested Ducks in the little bay and foraging Rufous-chested Dotterels on the shore.
After an early lunch in the hotel, we drove in our rental car to the place where we would embark for the Isla Martillo boat tour with Piratour. The drive was about 1,5-hour through the beautiful Tierra del Fuego landscape with autumn forests and bays. The tour started with a guided visit to the small natural history museum Acatushun. It is located at the Harberton ranch, 85 km from Ushuaia, on the west bank of the Beagle Channel. This small ranch community was founded 200 years ago by European colonizers. The museum has a collection of southern marine mammal bones, like whales and dolphins, some of them impressively big.
After visiting the museum, a short walk took us to a covered boat with space for around 20 people. In 15 minutes, we arrived at the small Isla Martillo where we embarked. We were guided towards the small colony of around 100 Gentoo Penguins close to the beach. Our group was quite big, around 18 people, and we were asked to stick together to not bother the penguins too much. Despite the group size though, we had good photo opportunities with the Gentoo Penguins on the beach and in the water close to the shore.
The Gentoo Penguin is a photogenic, medium-sized penguin (70-95 cm) with white “headphones”, a black cape reaching all the way down its back, white belly, a lipstick-orange bill, and matching orange feet. They like to have their settlements directly on the shoreline or inland, where they also breed. The total breeding population is estimated to be over 600,000 birds. Gentoos are monogamous and infidelity is punished with banishment from the colony! They can reach speeds up to 36 km per hour, making them the fastest underwater swimmers of all penguins. Their diet consists mainly of crustaceans, such as krill and shrimp, and they also eat small amounts of fish. Gentoos, like other marine birds, have a salt gland located above their eyes that helps to reduce the high concentration of sodium in the body, due to ingestion of seawater. The gland produces a highly saline-concentrated solution that drips out of the body from the tip of the beak. Gentoo Penguins are listed by IUCN as least concerned, but their population is declining. (Info: Wikipedia)
After our visit to the small Gentoo colony on Isla Martillo, we walked on a marked trail inland to the nesting area of the Magellanic Penguins colony. We already had great photo moments with them in Puerto Deseado, but it was nice to photograph them again in a different setting. After one hour it was time to leave the Island. We had hoped to see and photograph a couple of King Penguins that visits the island regularly, but unfortunately there was no sight of them.
Our next photo location the following morning, was the Ushuaia dump. That may sound a bit odd, but the photo opportunities were fantastic! Crested Caracaras, Chimango Caracaras, White-throated Caracaras, Black-chested Buzzard-Eagles, and Turkey Vultures, all of them were present and looking for a dump snack.
The rest of the day we spent on a ferry, during a 5-hour cruise on the Beagle Channel. We embarked the large ferry at 3 pm in the harbor of Ushuaia. There are several companies offering this kind of ferry trips on the Beagle Channel. It was cold and windy, but we managed to stay on deck during the entire trip, watching and photographing the spectacular birds and scenery. The ferry was full of people, but they stayed in the warm restaurant of the ferry and only came outside for highlights, like the penguins and sea lions on the small islands that we passed by. During the rest of the time, we had the deck practically for ourselves and all the space to photograph the birds from different angles. Black-browed Albatrosses were sailing on the waves behind the ferry, going up and down without moving their wings. It was a spectacular sight and a fantastic photo moment. Other bird species that we photographed close to the ferry were the Southern Giant Petrel, Imperial Cormorant, Chilean Skua, Flying Steamer-Duck, Southern Fulmar, and Sooty Shearwater.
Around 6:30 pm the sun started to set, turning the clouds in the sky, the snowy mountains, and the water in different shades of orange, yellow, and blue. We were on our way back to the harbor in Ushuaia when we received the icing on the cake. A group of Dusky Dolphins and three Humpback Whales gave a show in the sunset light, playfully hitting the water with the tails and jumping the waves. It was absolutely stunning, what a beautiful end to another fantastic day in Tierra del Fuego.
Before going back to our hotel, we had a delicious dinner in the restaurant Paso Garibaldi, close to the harbor. We ate specialties from the region: Southern King Crab, known as Centolla and Sea Bass or Merluza Negra.
Day 8, 9, 10 TORRES DEL PAINE – CHILE
The next morning, we said goodbye to Ushuaia and Tierra del Fuego, and boarded a plane for a 1.5-hour flight back to El Calafate. This town is situated at Lake Argentino, in Southeast Patagonia close to the border with Chile. We picked up our rental car at the airport to continue our travels to Torres del Paine in Chile for our next goal: Pumas.
The Puma (a Quechua word), also known as the Cougar, or Mountain Lion, is a large cat native to the Americas. It is the most widely distributed large wild terrestrial mammal in the Western Hemisphere, ranging from the Canadian Yukon to the southern Andes in South America. They are the fourth largest cat species in the world. Males generally weigh 53 to 72 kg, females between 34 and 48 kg. Pumas living around the equator are the smallest and the ones towards the poles tend to be the biggest. Their coat is mostly tawny but may range from silvery-grey to reddish. The belly, jaws, chin, and throat are often lighter colored. The cats prefer habitats with dense underbrush and rocky areas for stalking but also live in open areas. Although capable of sprinting, Pumas are known to be ambush predators. They stalk the prey through bushes and trees, before leaping on its back and killing it with a suffocating neck bite. Like almost all cats, the Puma is a solitary animal. Only mothers and kittens live in groups. Sometimes they share kills with other Pumas living in the same area. They have been listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List since 2008, although their numbers are declining due to human interference (loss of habitat, hunting and poisoning). (Info: Wikipedia)
The drive to Torres del Paine took us around 4.5-hours and bestowed us again with fantastic views of the Patagonian steppes, its fast horizon, Guanacos, Lesser Rheas, South American Grey Foxes, Upland Geese, and Andean Condors. We crossed the border to Chile at a remote outpost and in the distance, we got the first glance of the Torres del Paine mountains. They grew more and more spectacular against the dusking sky, as we approached.
Torres del Paine is a National Park belonging to the National System of Protected Forested Areas of Chile. It measures approximately 181,414 hectares and it is one of the largest and most visited parks in Chile. The Torres del Paine (towers of Paine) are the three characteristic granite peaks of the Paine Mountain range. They extend up to 2500 meters above sea level. The area is famous for its landscapes with steppes, valleys, rivers, lakes, glaciers, and some small patches of Lenga Tree Forest. It is one of the best places to spot Pumas, that are abundant in the park. Here they enjoy a protected life because it is forbidden to hunt them in the park. Their main food source, Guanacos, are present in large numbers.
Our hotel (Hosteria Pehoe) was situated on a small island in lake Pehoe. To get to the island, we had to walk over a long entrance bridge. The scenery was spectacular: the surrounding mountains contrasted dramatically with the turquoise water of the lake. The hotel rooms were simple, the food (buffet breakfast, lunch, and dinner) very good. A room upgrade is possible.
The next morning after breakfast, we were picked up at our hotel by local puma guide Pepe Wayaja. Pepe’s father was a ranger at the park and from a young age Pepe learned everything about the pumas of Torres del Paine and especially where to find them. We learned during this trip that Pepe’s eyes were amazing. He was able to spot the pumas from far, even though the color of their fur blends very well into the Patagonian landscape. Pepe’s company Wayajapuma works with several guides, who keep each other updated via the radio in their vans about the location of the pumas in the park. Once a puma had been spotted, the throttle of the van would be pressed, and we would fly over the dirt roads to the spotting site.
We spent the morning driving around slowly, scanning the landscape. The upcoming sun turned the mountains in different shades of orange with dark rain clouds in the background. Even a rainbow appeared, it could not have been more beautiful. Unfortunately, we didn’t see any pumas that morning. Only in the afternoon we saw our first one, running down a hill in an unsuccessful attempt to hunt a guanaco. Another puma showed up. It appeared to be two sisters (Pepe knows all the individual pumas) who laid down for an afternoon nap, too far to take photos. We waited for an hour or more to see if they would wake up and move in our direction. Unfortunately they didn’t. It started to dusk and the wind was getting icy. While Pepe brought us back to our hotel, he spotted 2 pumas with a freshly killed guanaco. Although they were a bit far away, we were able to take some photos and had a good view with our binoculars of the bloody scene.
During our picknick lunch in the field that day, a Patagonian Meadowlark landed close to us in a bush, which provided a good photo opportunity.
The next morning, Pepe took us to the place where the pumas had killed their prey the day before. No less than four pumas with red stained faces were at the spot, the guanaco was already half eaten. Steve did videos and photos, Marcelo and I some digiscoping. We had our box lunch from the hotel at a nice lake with the three granite towers in the background. The rest of the day turned out to be pumaless and we were happy that we had one more day ahead to find them.
The third day, our last day in Torres del Paine, it was finally bullseye. In the morning, a puma suddenly crossed the road a few meters in front of our car and another one appeared at the other side of the road! We got out of the car and were able to take some nice shots at relatively close range. Pepe told us that it was a mother and her adolescent male cup. We were very happy and felt a sense of relieve.
Lunch time we spent in a small forest with Lenga Beech trees covered in autumn colors. It was nice to have some shelter from the strong cold wind that seems to be always blowing in Torres del Paine. Steve took good photos of a White-throated Treerunner.
We spent the afternoon driving around, but again no pumas. The moment we were about to call it a day, Pepe received a radio call about a puma sighting. We raced to the spot and there, on the top of a small hill, were three pumas taking a nap. We waited a long time in the cold wind for them to wake up. And then it finally happened! One by one the pumas came walking downhill in our direction, passing us with just a few meters distance. The last one was a beautiful male. He watched us with slight distrust, slowing his pace for some seconds, before he continued in the direction of the other pumas. We were speechless for a moment, what a fantastic experience to see those magnificent animals so close. The photo opportunities were formidable. They were so close that it was possible to do some nice portraits. It wasn’t over though, because the group turned around, joined by yet another puma. The 4 cats passed us again at close range, while chasing and playing with each other. It was spectacular and more than that we had hoped for. We left the park the next morning with many beautiful images and memories.
When visiting Torres del Paine, sightings of pumas are guaranteed. There are many pumas living in the park, and they are clearly used to have human admirers. For good photo opportunities though, a good puma spotter like Pepe and at least three days in the park is necessary. We have seen around 17 pumas and at least 8 of them we could photograph very well.
DAY 11, 12: EL CALAFATE & PARQUE NACIONAL LOS GLACIARES (GLACIAR PERITO MORENO)
The next morning, we packed our bags and left the beautiful Torres del Paine, happy and fulfilled. On our way to El Calafate, we spotted condors and vultures at the side of the road, feasting on a roadkill. We stopped to take photos. A female Andean Condor was involved is a fight with a Black-chested Buzzard Eagle in plain air, close to where we were standing, a very nice photo moment.
Once in Calafate, we withstood the strong and cold wind to visit Reserva Laguna Nimez and Bahia Redonda, both situated at Lake Argentino. The small Nimez Reserve consists of typical Patagonian steppes and wet parts with reed that are being fed with the water of Lake Argentino. With around 80 bird species, it is an attractive place for birding and bird photography. This time, we had more luck in the bay, Bahia Redondo, next to the reserve. The birds were closer to the shore, and we had good opportunities to photograph and film Chilean Flamingos, different species of ducks (Red Shoveler, Chiloe Wigeon, Yellow-billed Pintail, Andean Duck), Black-necked Swan, Coscoroba Swan, White-winged Coot, Magallanic Snipe, Black-faced Ibis, Upland Goose and Ashy-headed Goose.
We had an early dinner, for Argentinian standards, at 7:30 pm in a restaurant at the lake. We stayed at a hotel in the center of El Calafate. The 3-star hotel was good, cozy rooms with good internet and a rich breakfast buffet.
After a good night sleep, we set off by car to the highlight of this area: the glaciers of Parque Nacional los Glaciares. This UNESCO area is, with 726,927 ha, the largest national park in the country. The giant ice cap that is covering the Andes mountains, is the world’s third largest reserve of fresh water. It is feeding 47 large glaciers, of which 13 flow towards the Pacific Ocean in Chile. The park Los Glaciares borders with the park Torres del Paine in Chile. Between the ice and the Patagonian steppe there is a fertile area with Magellanic Subpolar Forests. There are over 100 species of birds in the area, like the Andean Condor, Torrent Duck, and the impressive Magellanic Woodpecker. We had good photo moments with a couple of very tame Crested Caracaras, parading in front of our lenses in the autumn forest on our way to the Perito Moreno glacier. This glacier is 30 km in length and due to its size and accessibility, it is one of the major tourist attractions in southern Patagonia. Frequently, the glacier ruptures and big pieces of ice fall into the water. There is a pathway with terraces to admire the glacier from different viewpoints and altitudes. Absolutely impressive, this huge blue mass of ice in, that seemed to crawl out of the mist towards us, flanked by the dark silhouettes of mountains. Before making our way back to El Calafate to catch our flight back to Buenos Aires, we had a hot chocolate in the restaurant close to the glacier. Although the weather was wet and cold, the experience was unforgettable.
CONCLUSION
It is only possible to talk in superlatives about the places that we visited and the animals that we saw and photographed during this trip. Patagonia, Tierra del Fuego, and Torres del Paine are simply stunning. The photo opportunities of our target animals, the pumas and the 3 different species of penguins, were fantastic. It was a very special experience to be so close to the animals without causing them stress. We saw many different species of birds and mammals, which makes this trip also very interesting if you prefer a binocular over a photo camera.
The logistics of the tour (and solutions when things didn’t go as planned), the hotels we stayed in, the food we ate, it was all very well organized by Marcelo and his company. His knowledge of the regions and its animals was a great contribution to the tour. Muchas gracias, Marcelo!
Would you like to join Marcelo and us on our next Pumas and Penguins Photo Tour? You can find the dates and short itinerary here. Contact us if you would like to receive the full itinerary.
Written by Eva Wu
Photos by Steve Sánchez and Eva Wu
Kuntur Nature and Adventure EIRL
Company Address: Av. Industrial Conj. Hab. FOVIPOL. Nr 104 – Santiago – Cusco – Peru
By using this website, you agree to our use of cookies. We use cookies to give you the most relevant experience and to help our website run effectively.