March 05, 2016
Today was our last full day on Isla Chiloé - so we spent it on Isla Lemuy! We left early to do some birding. G had scoped out a spot to look for pelagic species - from the point of the island looking out into the Gulf of Corcovado.
We knew it would be a good day when G found me a lifer from the ferry to Isla Lemuy. Nope not a new gull or cormorant - a heron! A Cocoi Heron! They’re big and sort of like the Great Blue Heron of Chile. This one perched, roosting in a tree. They’re relatively uncommon here and usually only found along a few rivers -most of which aren’t road accessible.
In a good mood, we got off the ferry and drove onto Isla Lemuy - we were heading towards Detif and the point of the island. We made our way down to the playa with an unobstructed view of the Gulf of Corcovado.
The Gulf of Corcovado is the body of water that separates Isla Chiloé and associated other islands from mainland Chile. It was formed by glaciers and hosts a semi-famous population of Blue Whales.
G had his scope out for 30 seconds before he found our main target species: a Black-browed Albatross. This is the most common mollymawk (small albatross) in Chile and the only one that you’d really expect in the Gulf of Corcovado.
Albatrosses are an incredible group of seabirds. You’ve probably heard recently on the news about Wisdom the 64 year-old Laysan Albatross that recently hatched yet another chick on Midway Atoll. Albatrosses are long-lived large pelagic seabirds. The Black-browed is small by albatross standards with a wingspan of about 6.5 to 7 ft. They breed annually in colonies on islands - in the Falklands, southern Chile, and sub-Antarctic New Zealand, and spend the rest of the year out in the open ocean. Some albatrosses have been tracked flying for 10,000 miles and circumnavigating the globe before returning to land.
Work went well today. We surveyed two small bays for the second time and found small groups of godwits in both. No green flags sadly.
Tomorrow we head to the mainland for our last few days in Chile.
Today was our last full day on Isla Chiloé - so we spent it on Isla Lemuy! We left early to do some birding. G had scoped out a spot to look for pelagic species - from the point of the island looking out into the Gulf of Corcovado.
We knew it would be a good day when G found me a lifer from the ferry to Isla Lemuy. Nope not a new gull or cormorant - a heron! A Cocoi Heron! They’re big and sort of like the Great Blue Heron of Chile. This one perched, roosting in a tree. They’re relatively uncommon here and usually only found along a few rivers -most of which aren’t road accessible.
In a good mood, we got off the ferry and drove onto Isla Lemuy - we were heading towards Detif and the point of the island. We made our way down to the playa with an unobstructed view of the Gulf of Corcovado.
The Gulf of Corcovado is the body of water that separates Isla Chiloé and associated other islands from mainland Chile. It was formed by glaciers and hosts a semi-famous population of Blue Whales.
G had his scope out for 30 seconds before he found our main target species: a Black-browed Albatross. This is the most common mollymawk (small albatross) in Chile and the only one that you’d really expect in the Gulf of Corcovado.
Albatrosses are an incredible group of seabirds. You’ve probably heard recently on the news about Wisdom the 64 year-old Laysan Albatross that recently hatched yet another chick on Midway Atoll. Albatrosses are long-lived large pelagic seabirds. The Black-browed is small by albatross standards with a wingspan of about 6.5 to 7 ft. They breed annually in colonies on islands - in the Falklands, southern Chile, and sub-Antarctic New Zealand, and spend the rest of the year out in the open ocean. Some albatrosses have been tracked flying for 10,000 miles and circumnavigating the globe before returning to land.
Work went well today. We surveyed two small bays for the second time and found small groups of godwits in both. No green flags sadly.
Tomorrow we head to the mainland for our last few days in Chile.