We visit the Chilean coast, 27 April.

The usual 7 am departure from Santiago, with an hour or so battle in the morning traffic although most of heading inwards.  Then turning left for the coast, to the San Antonio district, a prominent port, and the mouth of the Maipo River estuary.
we parked at the back of a beach that provided a spit at the mouth of the estuary, and walked in that direction. Mon dieu is was cold, with a biting wind blow off the sea and along the beach.
The black sand beach bordered an equally dark looking sea, with choppy surf and wind whipped waters.  This is the coastline of the cold, oxygen rich Humbolt current which tracks from Antartica up this side of the continent, supporting a prolific marine environment. and there certainly was a proliferation of bird life the beach was moving with birds especially Grey Gulls and Sandpipers. Bothe species would dash towards the retreating waterline as a breaker subsided, dig frantically right at waters edge then beat a retreat as the next wave came in.  'Grey Gull' doesn't do it justice it is a very handsome dark slate coloured bird, quite finely built and quite striking as they ran the beaches in mobs or glided around the breakers. We could see them en masse down the several kilometre length of the beach. Interestingly this gull breeds in the Atacama Desert in north Chile, 50-100 km from the sea, dispersing the coast in the non breeding season. We spent a lot of time just admiring this beautiful dark slate bird, and laughing at the their scrambling antics at the water line. By contrast the Sanderlings, engaged in the same behaviour, looked like little packs of mice as they scuttled up and down. Fenja explained that many of the coastal species were migratory, with waves of birds moving both up and down the continent but also from inland to the coast, as the seasonal climate progressed. In some instances species made it all the way to the Arctic circle and back, over the course of the year, as well as other Chilean species making it to the high Andes, inland deserts and even tropical Amazon. Unbelievable.
 Along the beach we saw plenty more species on the dunes, water edge and in the water, then towards the point of the beach spit we crossed into the lagoon at the mouth of the estuary, which was dripping with birdlife yet again. The usual wading and water bird contingent as you would expect but also some exotics, such as the Skimmers - bulky terns with an outsized lower bill for dredging the surface of the water, in flight, and Snipe - a squat, mottled bird with long straight bill like the oystercatcher. Almost impossible to see on the ground, the snipe exposed almost at your feet as you approached it, and flew round in speedy, fast wingbeats that buzzed in flight, punctured by the occasional high piping call.

The estuary included brackish wetlands and roadbeds at their side, where herons and ducks in particular abounded. Here we also saw one of the most startling of Chile bird species, the many Colored Tyrant. A small, reed dwelling passerine coloured in brightly coloured panels. We spent ages trying to photograph this little animal which would respond to a recording of its call but was so quick moving and restless that photographing was challenging. I would have spent more time on it and liked to go back as I know i didn't do too well on the shots, although enough to show what it was like.

A walk back down the beach then short drive into a seaside village just north of San Antonio, for lunch. A quaint, colourful little village, as many are right beside the sea, including a predominance of pale teal and lime paint, bits of netting, driftwood and fishing boys and wind swept hedges. The restaurant was literally on rocks leaning over the water, with a wall of salt corroded, inoperable windows and fairly beaten interior. We enjoyed fantastic local fare including (cue angelic trumpets) empanadas stuffed with oysters and cheese. Also abalones with lemon juice and mayonnaise, a seafood broth, coffee and beer and there you have it - lunch!

Our final destination for the day was a rocky headland, where we could park the vehicle on a rock shelf just a step or two from the sea below.  Not the grey sullen beach waters but crystal clean surging swells, that surged up and down the granite boulders below us. Immediacy on leaving the vehicle we heard chirrups and crimes nearby and there were otters in the water, paddling on their backs and diving. One swam close towards us holding a bright red crab, then dived and vanished. 'Loveable' was what we though best described these little creatures, as they dived, played and cavorted, at a sensible distance from us. Further around the point we found a second otter family, and on an offshore island an active Booby colony, reminding us of our visit to see nesting birds in the Galapagos. Just to complete the picture hummingbirds flitted through flowering shrubs on the edge of the headland, calling in their minuscule high pitched squeaking vocals. This has been a constant throughout the Chile trip with these tiny birds present almost everywhere.

It was such a thrill to see the central Chile coastline, so wild and rich in wildlife, but now it was time to head back to Santiago and pack for tomorrows much anticipated drive across the Andes and into Argentina.