January 31-February 14, 2026 with Marcelo Padua
2026 started off as a challenging year. Just days before the tour, I received news that an important birding site for our tour had been closed to the public. Heavy rains in the Andes one day before the tour started caused landslides that closed the roads to Farellones in Santiago, and the weather forecast predicted rain almost every day in Mendoza. I was certainly worried that we were going to have a very difficult tour, and yet, much like the finest wines that are produced in some of the most challenging years, this vintage of the the Birds & Wines of Chile and Argentina was one of our best to date.
We started things off in Santiago with a memorable seafood feast at the famous Central Market, and had to find an alternative to our usual birding site for the first day as the road to Farellones was closed. We headed instead to some wetlands and connected with our first Chiloe Widgeons, Cinnamon Teals, Yellow-billed Pintails, Yellow-winged Blackbirds, and many others. This was a fine start, but the next day would be simply spectacular as we headed up the Andes to look for the iconic Diademed Sandpiper-Plover, which we saw beautifully with a chick that was merely a few days old. On the way to and from Termas del Plomo where we found the Diademed Sandpiper-Plover, we connected with a variety of iconic Andean birds, including Gray-breasted Seedsnipes, Black-winged Ground-Doves, Yellow-rumped Siskins, Andean and Upland Geese, Andean Gull, Scale-throated Earthcreeper and several others. We finished the day with a memorable dinner at Concha Y Toro Winery, Chile’s largest and most famous winery.
On the third day of our adventure, we headed to Rio Clarillo National Reserve and picked up some important birds there, including Giant Hummingbird, Dusky-tailed Canastero and Dusky Tapaculo, before heading to Santa Rita winery where we had lunch. We also visited the museum and the winery before heading back to our hotel and going out to dinner at Peumayen. This restaurant is always a hit with the clients, as it focuses on the cuisine of indigenous people from Chile, all paired with excellent wines. On our last morning in Santiago, instead of heading straight towards the Argentine border, we went birding in an area near Farellones that I had scouted a couple of days earlier. This allowed us to pick up some important missing birds, including Andean Condor, Crag Chilia, White-throated Tapaculo, and White-sided Hillstar. Our birding stop here was brief but very productive, and then we continued on our way to the Argentine border, stopping at Portillo's ski resort for lunch just before reaching the border. The border crossing into Argentina was very chaotic, as it usually is, but we made it through and visited Aconcagua National Park for some looks at the peak and some brief views of Mountain Parakeets. We then reached Uspallata where we had dinner and got ready for the next day.
Our first morning in Argentina, we started the day with an early morning birding session along the river in Uspallata, and we picked up Great Pampa Finch, Subtropical Doradito, White-crested Tyrannulets and some common birds that are only found this side of the Andes, including Great Kiskadee, Black-hooded Siskins, and Rufous Hornero, to name a few. We then had a late breakfast and packed our bags before continuing to Salentein Winery, where we had lunch with a view of the garden that yielded some great looks at some fabulous birds, including Crested Gallito, Dark-billed Cuckoo and Golden-billed Saltator. All were seen from the table with a glass of wine in hand and some fabulous food to go along.
The next day was devoted to birding around the winery, finding species such as Chaco Earthcreeper, Sharp-billed Canastero, Brown Cacholote, White-tipped Plantcutter, White Collared Swifts and Vermillion Flycatcher, just to name a few. Later we toured the award-winning building of the Salentein Winery, followed by a visit to the boutique La Azul Winery, where we had a lovely lunch before returning to the lodge for a little rest. Late in the afternoon we birded a road behind the lodge looking for Yellow-billed Tit-tyrant, White-throated Cacholote and repeat views of a few species.
On the 7th day of the tour, we started out with a brief birding walk behind the lodge and found Gray-hooded Parakeets. We also heard Darwin’s Nothuras singing, and had excellent looks at White-throated Cacholote before returning to the lodge for breakfast and making our way south towards Villa 25 de Mayo. This route is a bit longer than the route to Mallargue, but it is worth the detour as the birding is excellent in the area. A brief birding session near the village produced good looks at Brown-crested, Tufted and Plain-mantled tit-spinetails, Stripe-crowned and Sooty-fronted spinetail, Greater Wagtail-Tyrant and Southern Scrub-Flycatcher. Lunch was pre-ordered at Villa Bonita and as usual it was quick and delicious, and we paired it with some delicious local wines. The rest of the afternoon was devoted to reaching Mallargue where we checked in to our hotel and had dinner.
Our trip to Mallargue is aimed at birding at Laguna Llancanelo Park and we had breakfast early and headed out for a full day at the park. This is a full day of birding, with a picnic lunch at a private estancia, and the birding is fantastic. We found Elegant-crested Tinamou, Sandy Gallito, Chilean Flamingo, Grass Wren, Many-colored Rush-tyrant, Wren-like Rushbirds, Coscoroba and Black-necked swans, Maguari Storks, Correndera Pipit and lots of Grassland Yellow-finches. A fabulous day indeed. We returned to town and tried to do some birding in the area and despite the brutal wind, we still managed to find Andean Gulls, Cinnamon Teal, Austral Negrito and a few shorebirds at Blas Brissoli dique before retiring for the day.
Up next, we needed to head back north and make the long drive back north towards Mendoza City, but this time we took the new section of the route 40 and saved about one hour of drive time, and made just a few brief birding stops along the way for things like Burrowing Parakeet. The drive was very scenic but not very birdy, so we took advantage of the time to reach Manzano Historico for some Andean birding. Our main target was Torrent Duck, but despite not finding one we picked up a lot of birds that were missing from our checklist, including Carbonated Sierra-Finch, Band-tailed Seedeater, and Plumbeous Sierra Finch, before enjoying a memorable lunch experience at La Vigilia Winery and continuing our journey to Mendoza City.
We reached Mendoza City late in the afternoon and went to bed early to prepare for our early departure next morning.
The next morning was one of the most exciting birding days of the tour, and we started off by leaving the hotel before dawn to head east to Bosques de Telteca reserve, an area of transition from the Chaco to the Montes Desert. It essential to get here early as the bird activity tends to drop quickly as the day heats up, but our efforts were rewarded wih an array of birds that we can only see here on the tour. We started off by hearing a Black-legged Seriema singing and despite our efforts we did not manage to see it, but we did get excellent views of Scimitar-billed and Narrow-billed woodcreepers, Black-and-white Monjita, Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl, White-fronted and Checkered woodpeckers, Swainson’s, Brown-crested and Slaty Crowned flycatchers, Cinnamon Warbling-finch and the handsome Many-colored Chaco-finch, before returning to Mendoza City for lunch, followed by a siesta and a visit to the lovely General San Martin Park, where we finally picked up a Red-tailed Comet and a Glittering-bellied Emerald.
Our return to Chile was essentially a travel day as we had breakfast and headed to the airport for our flight. Upon arriving at the airport in Santiago we grabbed a quick lunch, cleared customs, and continued on our way to Viña del Mar, but in a roundabout kind of way, making a stop at Cachagua where we visited a breeding colony of Humbolt Penguins. The contrast between the desert we had been birding in and the richness of life in the coast of Chile quickly became clear as we marveled at hundreds of penguins accompanied by Peruvian Pelicans, Inca Terns, Seaside Cinclodes, Blackish Oystercatchers and many others. We finished the day with a seafood banquet by the sea in Viña del Mar before hitting the bed at our lovely seaside hotel.
Our last full day of the tour was an exciting one as we made our way to the Maipo River mouth, one of Chile’s most productive birding spots, and we came across several new birds for our tour, ranging from the unique Des Mur’s Wiretail to hundreds of Hudsonian Godwits, and even the scarce Great Shrike-tyrant, racking up 32 species in less than two hours before heading to Matetic Winery for a lovely lunch that even produced some great looks at Rufous-tailed Plantcutters, Thorn-tailed Rayaditos and Black-crowned Night Herons. We then returned to our hotel and enjoyed a little down time before heading to dinner and enjoying our last sample of the richness of the marine life from the Humbolt Current.
On our last day, we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast and went for a quick birding outing at the mouth of the Aconcagua River before packing our bags and heading to Casablanca Valley for our final wine and dining extravaganza, with a memorable lunch at Viña Mar Winery that was paired with all the lovely wines from this winery, and heading to the airport.
This turned out to be one of the best tours we've ever had in the area, with 200 species recorded (our new record!) and lots of wonderful memories.
During our tour we sampled lots of wonderful wines. Here is a list of the wines we tried during the tour.
Concha Y Toro, Casillero del Diablo Sauvignon Blanc , 2025, Central Valley
Loma Larga, Quinteto, Red Blend, 2022, Casablanca Valley
Concha Y Toro, Marques de Casa Concha Chardonnay, 2022, Limari Valley
Concha Y Toro, Terrunyo, Sauvignon Blanc, 2024, Casablanca Valley
Cono Sur, Silencio, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2021, Maipo Valley
Carmen, Gran Cuvee Extra Brut, Sparkling Wine, No Vintage, Casablanca Valley
Santa Rita, Floresta Field Blend White, 2023, Colchagua Valley
Santa Rita, Bougainville, Petite Sirah, 2022, Maipo Valley
Santa Rita, Medalla Real Gran Reserva Sauvignon Blanc 2025, Leyda Valley
Carmen, Winemaker’s Black Blend 2023, Colchagua Valley
Santa Rita, Floresta Cabernet Sauvignon, 2022, Maipo Valley
Santa Rita, Triple C Blend, 2022, Maipo Valley
Fernando Almeida, Anduriña Albariño, 2024, Curicó Valley
Bodegas RE, Vigno Carignan, 2019, D.O. Maule
Casas Del Bosque, Gran Reserva Chardonnay, 2024, Casablanca Valley
Casas Del Bosque, Botanical Series Pinot Noir, 2023, Casablanca Valley
Familia Olmedo, Gran Reserva Malbec, 2021, Uco Valley
Salentein, Single Vineyard Los Nogales Sauvignon Blanc, 2019, Valle de Uco
Salentein, Primus Pinot Noir 2021, Valle de Uco. Mendoza
Salentein, Milesime Nature, Valle de Uco. Mendoza
Salentein, Corte de Blancas, White Blend, 2024, Valle de Uco
Salentein, Reserve Pinot Noir 2021, Valle de Uco. Mendoza
Salentein, Corte de Tintas, Red Blend, 2020, Valle de Uco
Salentein, Numina Malbe, 2023, Valle de Uco. Mendoza
Salentein, Single Vineyard Las Tunas Malbec, 2021, Valle de Uco.
La Azul, Azul Gran Matilda Cabernet Franc, 2023, Valle de Uco
La Azul, Azul Gran Matilda Malbec, 2023, Valle de Uco
La Azul, Jauria Blend, 2022, Valle de Uco. Mendoza
La Azul, Azul Gran Syrah 2022, Valle de Uco. Mendoza
Salentein, Primus Chardonnay 2022, Valle de Uco
Salentein, Single Vineyard El Tomillo Malbec, 2022, Valle de Uco
Las Perdices, Sauvignon Blanc, 2025, Lujan de Cuyo
Casarena, Jamilla Single Vineyard Perdriel, Malbec, 2021, Lujan de Cuyo
Alfredo Roca, Fincas Sauvignon Blanc, 2024, San Rafael
Santa Julia, Chardonnay, 2023, Mendoza
Rutini Wines, Trumpeter Reserve, Pinot Noir, 2021, Uco Valley
Luigi Bosca, La Linda Bonarda, 2016, Lujan de Cuyo
La Vigilia, Rosado, 2024, Valle de Uco. Mendoza
Huentala, La Isabel Estate, cofermented Blend, 2024, Valle de Uco
Huentala, La Isabel Estate, Chardonnay, 2024, Valle de Uco
Vina Cobos, Bramare Cabernet Sauvignon, 2020, Lujan de Cuyo
Diamandes de Uco, Viognier, 2023, Uco Valley
Bodegas Etchart, Partida Limitada Torrontes, 1992, Salta
Escala Humana, Livvera, Bonarda 2023, Uco Valley
San Pedro de Yacochuya, Torrontes,2024, Cafayate Valley, Salta
Montes, Montes Alpha, Chardonnay, 2023, Aconcagua Costa
Matetic, EQ Limited Edition Sauvignon Blanc, 2021, Casablanca Valley
Matetic, Corralillo, Riesling, 2025, Aconcagua Valley
Matetic, Corralillo Late Harvest, 2023, Aconcagua Valley
Garces Silva, Amayna Sauvignon Blanc 2025, Leyda Valley
Montes, Outer Limits, Savignon Blanc, 2025, Zapallar
Perez Cruz, Limited Edition, Carmenere, 2024, Maipo Andes
San Pedro, Castillo de Molina Gran Reserva, Sauvignon Blanc,2024 Elqui Valley
Leyda, Coastal Vineyards Garuma, Sauvignon Blanc, 2024, Leyda Valley
San Pedro, Tayu 1865, Pinot Noir, 2022, Malleco Valley
You can see my complete trip report on eBird at this link: https://ebird.org/tripreport/484614
You can download a combined PDF of this page and the eBird report at this link: https://fieldguides.com/triplists/caw26TRIPLIST.pdf
-- Marcelo Padua