Southern Argentina: Hooded Grebe Extension

Hooded Grebe © Rob Jansen/Shutterstock

Our exciting extension to Southern Argentina focuses on one of South America’s holy grail birds, the beautiful and critically endangered Hooded Grebe on its remote breeding grounds, as well as the recently rediscovered Austral Rail along with several other highly sought-after Southern Cone species. We are based in a delightful, plush setting in a remote, little-visited region of spectacular Patagonia. Good photographic opportunities.

One of the most spectacular ornithological events in South America in the twentieth century was the remarkable discovery of the enigmatic Hooded Grebe in 1974 by Maurice Rumboll, a Scottish biologist living in the state of Santa Cruz in Argentina, on a remote lake in Patagonia. Maurice was a co-leader with Steve Hilty on VENT’s first Argentina tours over 30 years ago.

This optional extension to our new Southern Argentina tour takes us deep into Patagonia in search of the Hooded Grebe where they breed, along with other enticing southern tier species. In visiting remote steppe grasslands and isolated lakes and marshes, we feel our chances for finding this mega-rare bird are high. We will concentrate especially on locating the grebe and the Austral Rail—itself only rediscovered to science in 1998—and in the process enjoy an overall avifauna that should include Patagonian Tinamou, Aplomado Falcon, White-throated Caracara, colonies of Silvery Grebes, Flying Steamer-Duck, Gray-breasted Seedsnipe, Tawny-throated Dotterel, Magellanic Snipe, Black-faced Ibis, Cinereous Harrier, Patagonian Mockingbird, Patagonian Yellow-Finch, the stunning Chocolate-vented Tyrant and Cinnamon-bellied Ground-Tyrant, Gray-bellied Shrike-Tyrant, and Sharp-billed, Austral, and Cordilleran canasteros.

Patagonia hosts a low human population density—almost all habitation is limited to widely spaced estancias (large-area sheep ranches). Our plush base is ideally located directly in front of the rich marshes and reed-fringed lakes on the Chico River, a key site to look for the poorly-known Austral Rail. The estancia is wonderful for group visitation (also offering the opportunity to see how they function).

We will explore this spectacular Patagonian location and visit its remote and secluded lakes, which are known breeding sites where Hooded Grebe colonies have been recorded. The Hooded Grebe is an enigmatic species that was probably never abundant to begin with, but sadly the effects of non-native fish introductions and habitat alteration have contributed to the bird’s decline. More recently, climate change has emerged as a pronounced threat to the species, as it has caused the drying out of the aquatic habitats where the species breeds, thus causing breeding colonies to shift more often. Fortunately, intensive conservation measures seem to have stabilized the population, or at least slowed its decline. To see this special bird, we will need to be flexible in our planning. Our efforts will be greatly aided by the knowledge of the local researchers studying the grebe, who will know of their current whereabouts.

Excellent accommodations; wonderful home-cooked cuisine and famous wine; tour slow to moderately paced with roadside birding; physical demands light to moderate with easy walking on flat terrain, however, depending on where the Hooded Grebes are breeding, a hike of a few kilometers may be required; early summer weather conditions mostly sunny, dry, and pleasant, however, could be rather cool to cold early morning and depending on winds, possibly late afternoons.

Cinnamon-bellied Ground-Tyrant © Andrew Whittaker