FUEGIAN SNIPE EXPEDITION, CAPE HORN, CHILE – In Search of the Grail-Bird at the End of the World

FUEGIAN SNIPE EXPEDITION, CAPE HORN, CHILE: OVERVIEW

Our good friends Claudio Vidal and Enrique Couve at Far South Expeditions have managed to charter a yacht for us for a special Fuegian Snipe Quest in January 2020, to be guided by Enrique.

Fuegian Snipe is a rare, very little-known and barely accessible species that inhabits the small islands off the southernmost coastline of South America. Hardly any birders have ever seen one, and indeed most birders who are aware of its existence regard it as a ‘grail-bird’; one of those species that one dreams of, but never finds.

Our own Mark Beaman wrote about it and called it “A true bird of mystery: wanted by so many, observed by so few”.

Well, now you have the chance to participate in a Fuegian Snipe Expedition to the very best area for the species, where the highest density occurs; the remote islands of the Cape Horn archipelago.

During our expedition, which will have some scientific purpose as the primary intention is to survey the islands for snipe, we plan to explore Grevy, Bayly, Wollaston, Herschell and Hermite Islands, all of which can be seen on the above chart, and we may have time for more. Cape Horn, or Cabo de Hornos, island itself is a Chilean military outpost, but even so we may get permission to land.

Our main quest is of course the Fuegian Snipe, but these remote islands have many other birds, most notably Magellanic Diving Petrel, Striated Caracara, White-throated Caracara and Blackish Cinclodes. There is also a fair chance for the uncommon Rufous-tailed Hawk.

Other bird species in the Cape Horn Islands include Magellanic and Southern Rockhopper Penguins, Upland, Kelp and Ashy-headed Geese, Flightless and Flying Steamer Ducks, Crested Duck, Chiloe Wigeon, Yellow-billed Teal, Yellow-billed Pintail, White-tufted and Great Grebes, Black-browed and Grey-headed Albatrosses, Southern Giant Petrel, Cape and White-chinned Petrels, Great and Sooty Shearwaters, Slender-billed Prion, Wilson’s Storm Petrel, Common Diving Petrel, Neotropic Cormorant, Rock Shag, Imperial Shag (including the ‘King Shag’ form), Black-crowned Night Heron, Black-faced Ibis, Andean Condor, Black-chested Buzzard-Eagle, Chilean and Variable Hawks, Southern and Chimango Caracaras, American Kestrel, Peregrine Falcon, Plumbeous Rail, Blackish and Magellanic Oystercatchers, Two-banded Plover, Rufous-chested Dotterel, South American Snipe, White-rumped and Baird’s Sandpipers, Snowy Sheathbill, Chilean Skua, Dolphin, Kelp and Brown-hooded Gulls, South American Tern, Eared Dove, Austral Parakeet, Magellanic Horned Owl, Ringed Kingfisher, Dark-bellied, Grey-flanked and Buff-winged Cinclodes, Thorn-tailed Rayadito, White-throated Treerunner, Magellanic Tapaculo, Chilean Elaenia, Tufted Tit-Tyrant, Fire-eyed Diucon, Dark-faced and Ochre-naped Ground Tyrants, Austral Negrito, Chilean and Barn Swallows, House and Grass Wrens, Austral Thrush, Patagonian Sierra Finch, Rufous-collared Sparrow, Long-tailed Meadowlark, Austral Blackbird and Black-chinned Siskin.

On Isla Navarino there are also Black-necked Swan, Bronze-winged (or Spectacled) Duck, Western Cattle Egret, Southern Lapwing, Western Barn, Rufous-legged and Austral Pygmy Owls, Green-backed Firecrown, Magellanic Woodpecker, Patagonian Tyrant, Grey-hooded Sierra Finch, Yellow-bridled Finch and the introduced House Sparrow.

Accommodation: We use a comfortable hotel in Puerto Williams. We will be staying and travelling between islands on the yacht M/Y Chonos. She is 17 metres (56 feet) in length and has two passenger cabins. There are two bathrooms. There will be plenty of food and a good atmosphere on board. This may be a real expedition, but it will also be fun.

Walking: There are few paths on these uninhabited islands and the terrain is often boggy and/or undulating, so the walking effort will be moderate. If you want to look for White-bellied Seedsnipe out of Puerto Williams you need to be reasonably fit as the walk up to the site is fairly demanding.

Climate: Isla Navarino and Cape Horn is an ‘edge of the known world’ kind of place, often windy, with changeable weather: sunny spells change to rain and overcast, and back again, often in short order. It is cool even in January, which passes for early summer in these parts.

Bird Photography: Opportunities will be quite good.