Our group scans for rheas on the altiplano. Photo: Judy Davis
We’ll begin in Salta, a beautiful old city surrounded by countryside that is a mixture of farmland and Yungas forest supporting a wide variety of species including such sought-after birds as Red-legged Seriema and Andean Condor. In Calilegua National Park we’ll seek the endangered Alder Parrot and the largest of the antbirds, Giant Antshrike. Clear Andean rivers should yield Torrent Duck and Rufous-throated Dipper, while the surrounding hillsides shelter Red-tailed Comets. We’ll then drive up through painted desert landscapes where enormous cactus provide food for Giant Hummingbirds, and on to the altiplano with Puna Rheas and Vicuñas. Finally we’ll visit the unique Lago de los Pozuelos, home to three species of flamingo, Giant Coots, and many of the other spectacular birds of the High Andes.
This tour can be taken in conjunction with our tour Argentina; The Pampas, Patagonia and Tiera del Fuego .
Day 1: The tour begins this evening in Buenos Aires.
Day 2: We’ll transfer to the domestic airport and fly to Salta in northwestern Argentina, where we’ll spend the night. We should arrive in time for some local birding and highlights may include Red-legged Seriema, Buff-browed Foliage-gleaner, Stripe-crowned Spinetail, and Crested Becard.
Day 3: We’ll take the old road north to San Salvador de Jujuy which passes through beautiful deciduous Yungas forest rich in birds. En route we’ll look for Cream-backed and Dot-fronted Woodpeckers, Spot-backed Puffbird, Short-billed Canastero, White Monjita, Yellowish Pipit, and Tawny-headed Swallow, among many others. Just before Jujuy we’ll stop at a reservoir that attracts many waterbirds, sometimes including Andean Duck. We’ll then drive to Libertador General San Martin for the night.
Day 4: We’ll spend a full day in nearby Calilegua National Park. The park comprises 75,000 hectares of subtropical cloud-forest and is home to countless birds. If the dirt road is in good enough condition we’ll drive directly to the pass and then spend the day walking slowly back down through the forest, looking for such species as the rare Alder Parrot, Mitred and Green-cheeked Parakeets, Planalto Hermit, White-throated Antpitta, Ochre-faced Tody-Flycatcher, Highland and Slaty Elaenias, Plumbeous Tyrant, Pale-legged Warbler, Stripe-headed Brush-Finch, and many other forest birds. Night in San Martin.
Day 5: We’ll spend a second morning in the park concentrating on the birds to be found at lower elevations, such as Buff-necked Ibis, Blue-crowned Trogon, White-barred Piculet, Ochre-cheeked Spinetail, the spectacular Giant Antshrike, Variable Antshrike, Black-capped Antwren, Two-banded Warbler, and Saffron-billed Sparrow. After lunch we’ll drive to Jujuy and check in to our hotel. In the late afternoon we’ll visit the Yala Valley to look for another Red Data Book bird, the Rufous-throated Dipper, by far the rarest and most localized of its family. Night in Jujuy.
Tour leadership was the best I’ve ever experienced. Judy and David worked great as a team and managed difficult logistics smoothly. They did an amazing job of showing the birds to all participants. I would love to travel with them again—and plan to!
- Janet Holzworth
Day 6: We’ll spend the early morning in the Yala Valley looking again for dippers, as well as for Torrent Duck, Dusky-legged Guan, the startling Red-tailed Comet, Sooty-fronted Spinetail, Spot-breasted Thornbird, Streak-throated Bush-Tyrant, Eastern Slaty Thrush, and many others. Later we’ll drive north to Abra Pampa on the high altiplano, stopping en route to explore various desert and semi-desert habitats reminiscent of Morocco and Arizona. Here typical birds include Picui and Golden-spotted Ground-Doves, Andean Swift, Giant Hummingbird, Puna and Rufous-banded Miners, Brown-capped Tit-Spinetail, White-tipped Plantcutter, Brown-backed Mockingbird, Black Siskin, and Black-hooded, Mourning, Ash-breasted and Band-tailed Sierra-Finches. Night in a small, basic hotel in Abra Pampa.
Day 7: Starting early, we’ll drive west across the altiplano to Lago de los Pozuelos National Monument. Those who have seen Jeffery Boswall’s “Wildlife Safari to the Argentine” may well recall the wonderful footage of the three South American flamingos surrounded by flocks of wintering Wilson’s Phalaropes. This was filmed at Pozuelos, and our day at the lake may well be one of the most memorable of the tour. Set in the center of a high plateau and surrounded by distant barren peaks, Pozuelos could not be more atmospheric. Here we should see Puna Rhea, Chilean, Andean and Puna Flamingos, Andean Goose, Puna Teal, Mountain Caracara, Slate-colored, Giant and (with luck) Horned Coots, Puna Plover, Andean Lapwing, Andean Avocet, and Gray-breasted Seedsnipe. We should also see some wild Vicuñas, the ancestor of the Llama. Night in Abra Pampa.
Day 8: Today we’ll drive back to Salta, making various stops on the way and looking for any species that eluded us on our outward journey. We’ll catch an afternoon flight back to Buenos Aires, where the tour concludes, in time to connect with flights back to North America.
Those continuing on with Argentina: The Pampas, Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego will spend the night in Buenos Aires and join that tour on the following morning.
Updated: 09 May 2008
Prices
- 2009 price about $2,640
- Single Occupancy Supplement $220
Notes
This tour is limited to 16 participants with two leaders.
This tour is organized by our British company, Sunbird.