Hooded Grebe, back in Tierra del Fuego after 20 years

March 14, 2017 Posted by Rodrigo Tapia Birding, Birdwatching Trips, Blog, Nature Photography, Photography Tours, Tierra del Fuego, Wildlife & Nature Trips No Comments

Hooded Grebe, Photo ©Rodrigo Tapia, Far South Expeditions

This past 9th of January, 2017, a solitary individual of Hooded Grebe, Podiceps gallardoi, one of the most endangered and rare birds of South America, was spotted and photograped in Lake Santa Maria, near Porvenir in Tierra del Fuego island, Chile, among a flock of 100-some Silvery Grebe, Podiceps occipitalis, a closely related and similar-looking but far more common south american grebe. This record adds to several recent records of isolated birds that have been found between 2013 and the present in the province of Magallanes in Chilean Patagonia, but the last time it was seen in Tierra del Fuego was 1997, 20 years ago.