By Desiree Niewinski (Northland College)
This was our first week in the Chacabuco and it lived up to all that we were expecting and more. With the start of steady bird and vizcacha surveys, the scenery of open steppe and cliffs, and the wildlife we were able to see, it was different from the Fjords and warmer. Our mornings were spent waking up at 5:30 am to do bird surveys, the only thing on our minds being “where are my binoculars” and “is the hot water ready?” The first day birding we expanded our species list significantly.
We spent the first morning around Flamingo Lake and were able to see wild flamingos, not just in a zoo behind a fence. We also saw a lot of water birds including the Chiloe Wigeon, White Tufted Grebe and Red-Gartered Coot. I was in a group with Natalie, Kristina, Izzy and Jess, our fearless bird expert. On the way to a third survey of the morning we got a little distracted and had to stop… because of the fox. There was a Culpeo Fox about 40 meters from us and it didn’t seem to care that we were there at all. From just being still and quiet we got to see its hunting process. The fox was running around looking for bird nests and eggs. Eventually, it grabbed a Long-Tailed Meadowlark from its nest and proceeded to eat it, leaving only a few feathers and a foot. It continued to circle around us, getting as close as 15 meters, and then found part of a Guanaco skeleton that still had leftover meat. By this point the rest of the group had driven to join us, because we had been in the area for an extra half an hour (they were wondering where we were). After watching it for a little more time the fox laid in the tufts of bunchgrass to rest, and we decided that it was a good time to leave. We also saw another fox, maybe the same one, on the side of the road the next morning, eating and then slowly trotting down the road and into the bushes.
Culpeo fox walking through the bunchgrass
It was a good start to the morning, which later lead into the daily pre-lunch nap—a must when you wake up with the sun in the South American summer. The afternoon was spent climbing and scrambling up the cliff side to look for vizcacha and survey their habitat. The first day the whole group was together in order to understand how the survey worked and we were treated to one of the best views. We could see the confluence of the Aviles and Chacabuco rivers. Seeing the veins of the river and how it had spread out in such a large area for only two rivers, it was incredible and it was a moment that made me realize just how strong and powerful water truly is, and being high on a cliff only added to the experience. It was another moment to remember that we were in Patagonia, living in Patagonia, and it was a dream come true.
Picture of Vizcacha survey at the confluence of the Aviles and Chacabuco Rivers.
The week was not only filled with wildlife and survey work, but some extra fun thrown in when we weren’t sleeping. This week we discovered the joys of the card game hearts and hacky sack. Hearts was played almost every night, after dinner but before homework, and just a game or two as a break. Hacky sack on the other hand was played a lot more. By ourselves, in pairs, or in a big group on a circle, we played a lot and very quickly found our skills were getting better. Rather than one or two hits before it hit the ground, sometimes we got seven (so maybe we still have some work to do, but we have time).
Our last night at Stone House (where we camped the entire week) was another exciting wildlife adventure. Hearing birds from our campsite, we could also hear an owl. We had heard and seen and Austral Pygmy Owl earlier in the week but this was different. This was a Magellanic Horned Owl. Hearing the hoot, it sounded as though it was very close to camp, maybe only a couple 100 meters in the trees. What we would later discover is that is was about 600 meters away, across the river, about 70 meters up on a ledge in the cliff on the other side of the road. With the skills of our newfound birding knowledge and our powerful binoculars, we found the owl perched high on a ledge and you could clearly see the white ring of its neck. After staring at the cliff for half an hour, we also discovered there was a second owl perched in a large crevice only 20 meters below the second one. A few of us had seen it before and thought it was just a rock, but it turned out to be an owl, what are the chances! We sat in a big group on a rocky bank next to the river and as I looked to my left down the road I saw a black speck. It appeared to be another rock, but then it was moving. We discovered that we were also seeing our first hog-nosed skunk on the road.
Flooding on the last day. As you can see the walkway is partially underwater.
Leaving the Chacabuco Valley on the last day happened a little more quickly than we had expected. We had noticed that the Chacabuco River had been getting higher everyday, but we didn’t know how much it would continue to rise. On our last day, it was high enough to start to flood parts of the road that went through the valley. Blaise, Elliott, Eric and myself were doing a bird survey near camp that morning (and intended to complete two more 30 minute surveys) but before our first survey finished, Liz came walking to us from camp. As she walked over, we were thinking anything from “the trucks won’t start, they left the lights on” to “what if someone is hurt?” When Liz got to us very calmly she said, “so parts of the road are under a foot to a foot and a half of water so we are going to pack up and leave while we can.” If the one road flooded too much for the trucks to get through we would have to spend another night in the valley, and the river was still rising. So we packed up and were in the cars an hour later, leaving the Chacabuco until the following week.
And this is how our days go, and it never gets old, and there is always something new to see. We drive to our bird sites in the mornings – getting a great view of the valley from the car with a Patagonia sunrise – then vizcacha survey in the afternoon, which is always another beautiful view from high on a cliff. This valley is something special and I think a place we have come to enjoy. Plus we still have two more trips to go!
Top photo: Playing hacky sack at Stone House before dinner, a daily event.