December 2025

After the thrill of seeing Magellanic Plover yesterday (see 30^th Nov diary page) , which was the reason for coming to Tierra Del Fuego,  we had breakfast and boarded the ferry from Tierra Del Fuego and sailed the 25 minute crossing back to the mainland at Punta Delgada. We spent the next few hours driving around trackways in this area watching Grey-bellied Shrike-Tryant , Band-tailed Earthcreeper, Barn Swalow, Darwin’s Rhea (Lesser Rhea), Least Seedsnipe, Magellanic Snipe and the star bird for me several Tawny-throated Dotterels which I had missed on my previous visits to the southern South American region. I was thrilled to see them. Some also posed nicely for photographs too.

After lunch back in the town by the ferry, we headed north but diverted back onto a track which Daniel had scouted because of the wonderful opportunity it gave for seeing wildlife down in this region of Patagonia and John also wanted to see White-bridled Finch. After a bit of a drive we found a couple of White-bridled Finches but John managed to miss them so we had to try again a bit further along the road where luckily one posed several time for us all to admire. We also saw an Aplomado Falcon which flew off as soon as I opened the car window. Grrr!  We saw many Guanacos, Hares and Grey Foxes as well as a very long encounter with a Lesser Rhea which ran along a fenceline in front of our car. We now had a long drive to a hotel at Cerro Castillo just outside the Torres del Paine Nation Park where we were to spend the next five nights.

Once we had arrived in the hotel John and Daniel were too tired to eat in the restaurant, so I sat with all the other residents to eat my evening meal without them. My glass of red wine went down a treat. I have to say the wine here is delicious and much appreciated.

I have been without my laptop, as I had managed to leave it in the hotel in Santiago, but luckily the owner of Albatoss who have organized the tour for us, was due to arrive at our hotel here in Cerro Castillo this evening. As I was enjoying my evening meal Fernado arrived and put my laptop in my hand. I was so relieved to see it again that I gave him a great big hug. Thanks Fernando for retrieving it from Santiago airport hotel for me. That’s service for you!

John and I were exhausted and arranged with Daniel to have a much easier day today so we had a lie in and met for breakfast at eight o’clock. We set off for more of our target species to Sierra Baguales just outside the Torres Del Paine National Park. The scenery here was just stunning but we soon realised what Daniel had been warning us about……the strength of the Patagonian wind in this area. We were given warnings about the safety about always closing car doors. That would be a challenge for John! The car got blown about on the road and Daniel had to hold onto the steering wheel.

We kept asking Daniel to stop the car as we wanted to take photographs of the famous towers that you see in all the photographs of Torres Del Paine National Park. At every turn there seemed to be another wonderful scene and I began to have doubts that we would ever get any birding done at all, especially as we had asked Daniel to get us back by lunchtime as we begged for an afternoon off to catch up with domestics and the mountain of photographs that I had accumulated by not having my laptop over the last couple of days. We both also needed the rest as we know that the next few days involve some very early mornings to be in position for dawn which is very early at this latitude at this time of year.

Eventually we arrived in the valley with the wind still blowing a hooley. Daniel spotted a Diuca Finch and a Patagonian Mockingbird before we stopped to admire a Black-chested Buzzard-Eagle on a nest in the cliff-face as Andean Condors swirled in the wind overhead. We eventually reached the end of the road and Daniel went off searching whilst John and I put on more clothing. John then spotted a Yellow-bridled Finch perched on a distant rock which took off and flew towards us. It was another lifer for me when Daniel called us to see another lifer, a Cinnamon-bellied Ground-Tyrant. We walked back to the car and saw a juvenile Yellow-bridled Finch.

At our request our time was up and after taking yet more scenic photos, we drove back to the hotel in time for lunch and a meeting with Fernando who had had a successful Puma watch this morning with other clients. Fingers crossed for tomorrow!

Today was the day that John and I had been waiting for, as the holiday to Chile was built around it. This year John and I have been having a bit of a ‘mammal’ year targeting some of the iconic mammals that we have not yet seen on our travels. We started the year with Iberian Lynx in Spain, then Eurasian Lynx in Poland, then Aard Wolf and African Wild Dog in Botswana and now finally Puma in Patagonia, Chile.

We had a 4.30am start and after an hour’s travel Daniel Terán, John and I met up with Christobel, a professional tracker whose all terrain vehicle took us into an Estancia by the side of Torres Del Paine National Park. After a bumpy ride along tracks, we stopped and searched several valleys for an hour and a half seeing Spot-billed Ground-Tyrant and Great Shrike Tyrant whilst searching. We tried another valley and Christobel called for Daniel’s scope, as he thought he had spotted a Puma in the bottom of the valley lying under a bush. John and I rushed over and indeed he had found a Puma. It looked like a lump of rock as I looked through Daniel’s and then John’s scope, from our position high up on the hillside, trying to convince myself it was an animal and not a rock. All of a sudden the Puma lifted its head and I could see some ears and eyes. There were celebrations all round as John, Daniel and I all had hugs together, as we were all so pleased that we had seen a Puma in the wild.

We spent the next five hours watching the Puma but John and I spent some of the time having brunch in the vehicle and warming up, as the wind was bitterly cold as we sat on some rocks watching the Puma. Luckily after an hour revitalizing and having a hot drink the sun appeared which made watching the Puma a real joy.

At first the Puma was sleeping but after a while left its bush and walked over to a stored cache of a dead Guanaco, which it had covered up with dead grass. It pulled some of the grass back and tucked into its meal and when satiated re-covered its larder and had a nap once again. Some walkers walked along a trail behind it not knowing that the Puma was there, but having seen us watching from the hillside opposite them, realised that we were watching something. They too enjoyed good views of the Puma. All of a sudden the Puma woke up and started to walk towards us. As it got closer I started to feel uncomfortable at how close it was coming and the guide assured me that it would not attack us, but would stop at a bush that was nearby and rest again. He was right, it did exactly that. However he said we should retreat back to our vehicle as soon as the Puma was settled, which we did much to my relief!

The sun was shining and the snow-covered mountains gleamed in the sunlight. A pair of Andean Condors flew overhead. We had also watched a pair of Cinereous Harriers, Austral Negritos, a Correndera Pipit and an American Kestrel as well as adding White-throated Caracara to our lists. Christobel drove us back to our vehicle in the car park where we watched another pair of Andean Condors and two Black-chested Buzzard-Eagles.

It had been another amazing morning of wildlife-watching and thanks must go to Christobel and Daniel for their help.

It was the first day that the weather had been against us as we set off this morning with the threat of rain as we got nearer to our intended destination of the Torres Del Paine National Park stopping at Lake Grey in the hope of seeing Chilean Hawk. We stopped to take some photographs of Andean Condors, Crested Caracaras and Black-faced Ibises en route before we met the rain as we entered the park. The heavy rain meant that birding was pointless so we parked up and had a hot chocolate and a cake in the Lake Grey’s hotel and waited for the rain to ease a little before setting off down a trail, over a bridge and into the forest. Daniel soon spotted a pair of Magellanic Woodpeckers which gave us amazing views as I clicked away and even managed a short video of them.

Daniel and I walked on to the beach and along a shingle bank over the beach at Grey Lake so that we could see the glacier snout. After a few photos we walked back watching an Andean Condor overhead and met back up with John who needed a rest. We ate our sandwiches and drove to the car park where we met up with Chistobel, the Puma Tracker once again. After a bit of a disagreement about parking along the almost deserted road, we stopped to watch a Puma which was near the roadside, just minutes along the road, before spending the next two hours looking for it around the back of the hillside, as it had wandered up the hillside only to disappear, despite our best efforts at finding it in the strong wind and sun. We watched a Guanaco before asking to be taken back to Daniel’s car and back to the hotel for a late dinner.

I am going to run out of superlatives for this wonderful country of stunning scenery if we stay too much longer! We are still in Patagonia and decided to have an easier relaxing day today with a slightly later get up and just two target birds to look for.

After agreeing to meet up with one of Daniel’s fellow guiding mates and friend with his two clients, we drove to one of the marshes to try for the Austral Rail, a bird that only a few years ago was thought to be extinct. It is a notoriously difficult bird to see and we had heard many tales along the way of birders failing to see it or only having the briefest of glimpses after several hours of waiting. I was all prepared with a snack in my pocket, goodness knows how many layers of clothing on, in this windy part of the world and my little seat with binoculars and camera at the ready for a long vigil.

John, Daniel and I walked along a trail overlooking the lake and marsh, met up with Daniel’s friend and clients and watched the reeds with anticipation. I settled down but was almost straight back up again as Daniel said something was moving in from the right of the very small patch, clear of reeds. Within a minute we watched the Austral Rail scuttle across the gap with another following it. Far too quick for my camera! Luckily the birds were moving back again and Daniel suggested that I could move a bit closer and get ready. This time I was ready and bingo, I pressed the shutter at the right moment! Result!

We motored on, stopping far too many times (at John and my requests) to take yet more photos of the scenery, so now we have too many photos to process and label! We arrived at Lake Grey where we had been rained on yesterday, to a much better sunny day, but it was very windy as we saw Thorn-tailed Rayadito, Austral Parakeet as well as Patagonian Sierra Finch and White-crested Elaenias along the way. We failed to find Chilean Hawk but the lunch was wonderful, as we sat and looked out of the restaurant’s window over the lake and views of Torres Del Paine. What luxury!

On the way back we watched Andean Condors soaring over the mountains as well as fantastic views of Cinereous Harriers, Crested Caracaras, Chimango Caracaras and Black-chested Buzzard-Eagles.

What a day it had been. Thanks to Daniel and John.

I am often somewhere exotic on December 6th and today was no different this year, but after watching Long-tailed Meadow Larks at our hotel and setting off, our day started with trying to get some help for a poor little injured Culpeo but its chances of getting reached were slim in this region of Patagonia, so far from anywhere. We enjoyed our last looks of Andean Condors and a Black-chested Buzzard Eagle as we drove on.

Next up was getting stopped on our route back to Punta Arenas at the southern end of the mainland of Chile by the police. Luckily we had done nothing wrong, but we were not allowed to continue as two Baqueanos on horseback and numerous dogs were shepherding thousands of sheep along the road. I don’t think I have ever seen such a large flock in one place together. We waited until they passed by, which took a while before we could stop to admire some Lupins on the side of the road and some Lesser Rheas in a gully, that we could photograph without a fence in the way. They wanted to play hide and seek behind a bush.

At Puerto Natales we admired Black-necked Swans, Chiloe Wigeon, and Crested Ducks on the water. We motored on and stopped along the Magellan Strait where we watched Black-browed Albatrosses, Southern Giant Petrel, Chilean Skua and Magellanic Oystercatchers before moving onto a wetland reserve in Punta Arenas, where we added several Magellanic Snipe, Upland Goose, Southern Lapwing, Austral Negrito, Correndera Pipit and more Chiloe Wigeon.

We are now ensconced back in a hotel overlooking the Magellan Strait before flying to Santiago tomorrow for the next exciting part of our trip.

After breakfast we flew from Punta Arenas back to Santiago. One we were settled back into the airport hotel we had a very late lunch in the bar and spent the rest of the day processing some photographs. We met up with Daniel in the evening, who had been back to the airport to obtain all the necessary documentation for the next exciting part of our trip, before retiring to bed.

After sharing our last breakfast with Daniel we walked to the airport together and Daniel made sure that after dropping our large suitcases off at the check-in desk we knew what forms we needed to show the officials at the separate lane for those flying to Rapa Nui (Easter Island). We handed over our FUI forms and our booking form for the hotel on Easter Island, as well as our passports and were allowed to progress towards security with another little bit of paper we were given. A little further on, we had to show this all over again. Once through security we were allowed down to the gate where we were given priority boarding onto the plane but only after handing in yet another little bit of paper to another official!  

We flew Premium Business Class to Easter Island after a wonderful flight with lots of room in the front row of the plane!

After landing at Easter Island, Sebastian met us and drove us to our hotel. We had some lunch and then Sebastian picked up up again and drove us to the coast where we watched Masked Boobies and Grey Noddies. He then drove us to the rim of the Rona Kau volcano where we watched Kermadec Petrels flying around in the late afternoon sun. It was a magical experience! My two favourite interests rolled into one!

After a taking far too many photographs we returned to the hotel where John and I sat on the terrace in the warm evening sun, enjoying an evening meal and a few alcoholic drinks watching the sun set. Another fantastic day!

After some time to ourselves this afternoon, Sebastian picked us up and drove to the harbour where he had arranged with a local fisherman to take us on a boat trip to the Motu Nui islands which were just offshore where many seabirds breed. The sun was shining and it was still hot. Sebastian provided us with cushioned seats which provided back support on the boards across the boat and we set off. The sea was reasonably calm, to John’s relief (he’s not a good sailor) and with the sea glistening in the sunlight we soon arrived at the islets. We cruised around the stack watching Masked Boobies and Grey Noddies before sailing around Motu Iti, the middle islet and Mutu Nui the larger of the three islands, watching many Kermadec Petrels and Brown Noddies before Sebastian spotted a Brown Booby sitting up high on Mutu Nui. We sailed nearer for some photos as Great Frigate birds soared overhead. Getting photos was tricky as the boat wobbled around and I took many photos of vacant sky and birds with head and wings missing!

All of a sudden Sebastian called Henderson Petrel and John and I both saw the two birds that were flying together. Herald Petrels were flying around with Kermadec Petrels and it was difficult to make sure that I got photos of both as the undersides are very similar, especially as there were light, dark and intermediate morphs of Kermadec Petrels. A Christmas Shearwater appeared but I failed to get a photograph of one until much later on.

Excitement grew when Sebastian called Black-winged Petrel which is scarce here and Sebastian was excited at seeing one. I managed a back view shot of one, but sadly deleted it from my card in the processing stage later on my laptop! However at least we both saw it. Seabirds were everywhere and I had my work cut out as the boat wobbled and my arms grew tired from holding a heavy lens. I needed a rest from photography and just used my binoculars for a while to enjoy all the birds swirling around in the heat of the sun. The light was fantastic, we could not have wished for better. By now I thought I had taken at least a few photos of what was on offer of each species of bird, but knew the proof would be when I downloaded the photos to my laptop later on. From this point on, I tried only to take photos of birds that looked a bit different and spotted a bird with a much darker head which was later identified as a Phoenix Petrel that Sebastian had said he had seen earlier but in the melee had not informed us. Sadly John did not see it.

After several hours we moved closer to a low rock in the sea where Brown Noddies were mating. We enjoyed the scene and taking yet more photographs. It was time to go and we sailed back to the harbour and a long night ahead of processing photographs, after we had had something to eat back at the hotel watching the sunset. What a day it had been in the sun and visiting this very special island and its Moai

After an excellent late evening yesterday adding many seabirds to our life list, (see the extra post for Dec 9th) we played tourist today on Rapa Nui (Easter Island) and visited some of the Moai sites. We took far too many photographs of the iconic Maoi! It was very hot today but we enjoyed the walk around the sites with Sebastian as our guide. We visited Tahai, Rano a Raraku, Tongariki and finally Anakena where we had a late lunch before returning to the hotel for a lie down (Pina Coladas seem to have an effect on my ability to think straight!) to have a rest and sort out yet more photographs.

Today we had requested to do a trek up to the rim of the volcano crater rim so that we could enjoy the sight of the crater once more and take our scopes to see the birds on Motu Nui again. It was a glorious walk in the sun and heat and after admiring the crater of Rano Kau, we watched Masked Boobies, Brown Noddies and Red-tailed tropicbirds soaring around the islands as well as sitting on nest with their chicks. After an hour of watching we walked back down and enjoyed a coastal restaurant luck watching Great Frigatebirds flying around as the supply boat was fetching supplies of the moored boat offshore.

Our afternoon was spent snorkelling in the clear blue sea under the blue sky from a wonderful sandy beach. The water was a lovely temperature as I watched the multi-coloured fish beneath me.

In the evening we were treated to a wonderful local show given by the Kari Kari Cultural Ballet group, where I was invited up onto the stage to partner one of the male dancers!

After breakfast sitting on the terrace looking out at sea in the sun, John and I packed our cases and waited for Sebastian to pick us up watching Diuca Finches everywhere. He drove us to the harbour where we spent some time watching a very large Green Turtle by one of the boats that was eventually joined by three smaller Green Turtles. It was a glorious morning but the reflection on the water was making photography difficult. I eventually managed some nice video footage of the largest of the Green Turtle before walking around the harbour to the bay where we watched two others swimming with some bathers in the waves. It was quite magical standing in the sun watching turtles on the harbor wall. I don’t think either of us wanted to leave.

We had another lovely meal with Sebastian overlooking the harbour and bay and were reluctant to leave for the airport. Our holiday was at an end unfortunately so we thanked Sebastian, who drove us to the airport and boarded our plane to Santiago where we had the privilege of premium business class seats once again!

It was very late by the time we arrived at the Santiago Airport Hotel.

After breakfast, we said goodbye to Santiago in the sun and heat and boarded a flight to Madrid.

John and I arrived at Heathrow to cold but sunny day and drove home watching many Red Kites as we travelled back to Norfolk.

We had both had a wonderful holiday and what an experience it was! My thanks must go to John, Albatross Birding and to our two guides, Daniel and Sebastian who made it all happen.

It was back to normal today when the alarm went off well before sunrise on a cold Norfolk morning as I was back on RSPB volunteer duty down at Snettisham in the pitch black. I was on the rota for leading a Pink-footed Goose walk for our paying visitors who are mad enough to enjoy a bracing experience standing on a sea-bank waiting for the sun to rise and watch thousands of Pink-footed Geese leave their roost site out in The Wash.

I positioned myself at the end of the chalets and with a small torch in hand and watched for the car headlights approaching me, travelling along at the back of the beach chalets. I welcomed our visitors and told them where to park, telling them that I would join them a few minutes later, when they had all arrived. Luckily I did not have to wait long and we were all dressed up for the bracing wind, watching the first glimmers of the approaching dawn in the distance behind us.

Screwing our eyes up we all gazed across The Wash as dawn broke and I explained where the Pink-footed Geese came from, why The Wash was so important to our birds and wildlife and where the geese were likely to go to feed throughout the day. The tide was a long way out so we wandered along the sea-bank back towards the chalets as a few skeins of  geese flew from the Wash and headed towards Snettisham village. We watched in awe as more and more lifted and tried to count a few and estimate how many were in each skein. More geese were lifting off from The Wash in the Lincolnshire direction and headed out over towards King’s Lynn. It was quite a sight as we listened to them call. I answered many questions about other species of geese whilst we were watching them as well as showing our visitors some of the birds feeding on the mud. It was nice to see mixed flocks of Lapwings and Golden Plover as well as Redshank and Shelduck.

By now we were all cold as we had been standing still for quite a while. I suggested that we could either stay a little longer or head for the arranged cooked breakfast in the warm at the local hostelry with plentiful tea and coffee. I will leave it up to you to guess what our visitors chose!

We all had a delightful breakfast sharing our travel tales with one of the participants having recently arrived for a back-packing experience from a walking holiday across Iraq! Another participant packed her old life up and decided to spend her life travelling around in a customised camper van for her adventures. And then there was a skydiving young couple with tales of travelling to China…..I get to meet such interesting people when I volunteer for the RSPB!

As the Christmas madness begins I found myself in Oxford with many family members present, watching my granddaughter in her Nativity play in church. I think the only bird that I noticed was a Red Kite in flight!

Now back at home, after hanging out the washing listening to a Chiffchaff calling and needing an arm and a leg to pay for my over-flowing supermarket trolley supplies in the supermarket, I was surprised at how quickly I managed to scoot round all the aisles and get all the usual needs to supply a Christmas dinner and meals for my family that were descending this afternoon. At least all the checkouts were being manned and I did not have to wait very long to get through and back out into the car park.

Driving home it was a completely different day weather-wise than yesterday and after unloading my car and getting the washing in, I realised that I had just enough time for a quick walk on Roydon Common before chaos would reign at home. The sun was out and it was not very cold as I wandered through the trees to reach the more open areas of the common. There were many Fieldfares and a few Redwing in the trees accompanied by Greenfinches and Goldfinches. I walked on further and watched a Red Kite and a lone Marsh Harrier over the eastern end of the common before turning around, as my daughter had sent a message that she would be earlier than expected.

I hurried back to the car and saw a few more Fieldfare and Greenfinches before another Red Kite flew over near the car park.

I love to host my family at Christmas but there are far too many of us now so it has to be done in shifts! With little ones in the house it is always busy. There is never a dull moment! After a lovely day playing in the park, we all had a treat and went to Luminate at Sandringham, which was an amazing light show. It was far more extensive than I imagined and took us two hours to get round it all. The laser show was enthralling but I like the green lights area which reminded me of the glow worms that I had seen in Thailand many years ago. The children liked the fairy glen. The owl at the end was a funny colour when it spoke to us.

I was determined to have a quiet day today recuperating from the last few days and so spent it on phone calls, admin and trying do di a bit more on my Chile trip report, which on a three and a half week holiday is going to take some time. I just hope I can get it together before my next trip bearing in mind I have other family Christmas visits to do. It was a typical cold, gloomy December day today and I am not sure I noticed many birds at all, save those visiting my bird feeder.

Happy Christmas to you all!

Although it was chilly, it was a beautiful day as John and I joined the gathering down at our local pub for Christmas lunch. As has become a bit of a tradition we walked down the lane so that we could imbibe a little alcohol without the need to drive afterwards. It was a good choice as the lunch was amazing and I struggled to eat it all.

It was another beautiful day as John and I drove across to Sheringham, where we met up with Matthew Deans and many other keen Norfolk birders to see the Eastern Black Redstart that has been present for a couple of days. Unfortunately it had flown off and Matthew, John and I searched along the promenade, recounting tales of our travels for  a while.  Luckily, Matthew and I had walked back up to the road when all of a sudden the Eastern Black Redstart reappeared and we got a few snatched blurry photos before the bird took off again. A few minutes later it put in another brief appearance before settling on top of the wall above the steps and posed for us all.

It is only the 3rd record for Norfolk.

After a very frustrating day yesterday in Norwich, trying to sort out John’s mobile phone problems, with us awarding O2 zero points for customer service (I don’t believe that for a major retailer who sold John the phone only 18 months ago that a major store does not have a technician or a laptop that could sort out the phone’s issue) we eventually managed to sort most of it out (but not all) in the very helpful Samsung store. So after getting back home much later than anticipated I needed a walk before settling down to complete more of my trip report.

I set off along the track that leads from the scissors car park at Wolferton to Dersingham Bog. I met several other local birders, none of whom had seen the Great Grey Shrike that was reported at lunch time yesterday. As I walked along the track 16 Crossbills flew over me chipping away as they went. Down at the Dragonfly Pool, 5 more were sitting in the trees. I continued on over the rise to see over the pools near the bypass where a couple of Mute Swans were swimming. I scanned around to no avail and after stopping to chat to a few friends, I stopped again to admire a couple of hovering Kestrels and a pair of Stonechats before returning back home to another roast lunch.

I had volunteered to lead the Pink-footed Goose walk this morning down at Snettisham. I met up with the participants in the dark and established who was present and who was not, and after a bit of initial confusion let the Visitor Experience manager know. Luckily this morning the Pink-footed Geese behaved themselves and soon started to leave their roost out in The Wash as dawn broke and started to fly in their skeins over our heads. We had a go at counting some of them but left it to Jim Scott who as warden had arrived and had the official honour of counting them. By the end of our walk when all the geese had left, he had counted 11,350 Pink-footed Geese.

The group stood and listened to the Pink-footed Geese calling as I explained where they came from and why they were here. We were captivated as more and more skeins of geese flew over us as it got lighter.  The tide was a long way out but we looked at Redshank, Curlew, Oystercatchers and Shelduck all feeding out on the mud. A few Brent Geese flew over and flew into the pits behind us. The time went quickly and soon it was time to leave for our cooked breakfast at a local pub in Snettisham where we all enjoyed a convivial time together.