As a side trip from his Bolivia trip, John van der Woude made a short excursion into Northernmost Chile, a great area ranging from coastal desert to extreme highlands. this is a summary of the full report at http://johnbirding.wolweb.nl. There you will also find photos of the scenery of the birding sites, and a map.

Summary of trip report by John van der Woude, The Netherlands.

From 15 to 19 October we made a side trip to northernmost Chile from our main birding trip to Bolivia. For an introduction, see the report of the main trip. In Chile we visited the coastal desert with its oases and its nutrient-rich upwelling sea currents. This is good for a nice array of bird species in itself. But the main attraction was Lauca national park, an easy drive up to over 4000 m altitude. The scenery there is one of the best of South America, and you 'll find great birds there as well.

The specific birding sites were:

-  the surroundings of Arica: Alacran peninsula, Lluta valley, Azapa valley
-  Putre and areas above and below it
-  Lauca national park

Species highlights for us were:

Ornate Tinamou, Lesser Rhea, Silvery Grebe, Humboldt Penguin, Cape Petrel, Guanay Cormorant, Red-legged Cormorant, Puna Ibis, Andean Flamingo, Puna (James') Flamingo, Andean Goose, Crested Duck, Giant Coot, Blackish Oystercatcher, Andean Avocet, Puna Plover, Puna Snipe, Grey-breasted Seedsnipe, South American Tern, Inca Tern, Golden-spotted Ground-dove, Peruvian Pygmy-Owl, Andean Hillstar, Oasis Hummingbird, Peruvian Sheartail, Puna Miner, Straight-billed Earthcreeper, White-throated Earthcreeper, Plain-breasted Earthcreeper, Streaked Tit-spinetail, Cordilleran Canastero, Creamy-breasted (Dark-winged) Canastero, Rufous-naped Ground-tyrant, Puna Ground-tyrant, Cinereous Ground-tyrant, White-fronted Ground-tyrant, Andean Negrito, Yellow-rumped Siskin, Black-hooded Sierra-finch, Mourning Sierra-finch, Ash-breasted Sierra-finch, White-winged Diuca-finch, Slender-billed Finch, Chestnut-throated Seedeater, Black-throated Flower-piercer.

For more details see the full report.