Otto Plantema
Trips around the world
Text by Nicole Bouglouan
Sources of the text:
Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia
BIEN NACIONAL PROTEGIDO - Islas Diego Ramírez
Bird species list:
Name of Species - Avibase (Denis Lepage)
Austral Negrito - Lessonia rufa - Lessonie noire
Austral Thrush - Turdus falcklandii - Merle austral
Black-bellied Storm-Petrel - Fregetta tropica - Océanite à ventre noir
Black-browed Albatross - Thalassarche melanophris - Albatros à sourcils noirs
Black-chinned Siskin - Spinus barbata – Chardonneret à menton noir
Blackish Cinclodes - Cinclodes antarcticus - Cinclode fuligineux
Blue-and-white Swallow - Pygochelidon cyanoleuca - Hirondelle bleu et blanc
Blue Petrel - Halobaena caerulea - Prion bleu
Brown Skua – Stercorarius antarcticus - Labbe antarctique
Buff-winged Cinclodes - Cinclodes fuscus - Cinclode brun
Cape Petrel - Daption capense - Damier du Cap
Chilean Skua - Stercorarius chilensis - Labbe du Chili
Common Diving-Petrel - Pelecanoides urinatrix - Puffinure plongeur
Dolphin Gull – Leucophaeus scoresbii - Goéland de Scoresby
Grey-headed Albatross – Thalassarche chrysostoma – Albatros à tête grise
Imperial Shag - Leucocarbo atriceps - Cormoran impérial
Kelp Gull - Larus dominicanus – Goéland dominicain
Light-mantled Albatross - Phoebetria palpebrata - Albatros fuligineux
Macaroni Penguin – Eudyptes chrysolophus – Gorfou doré
Magellanic Diving-Petrel - Pelecanoides magellani - Puffinure de Magellan
Magellanic Penguin - Spheniscus magellanicus - Manchot de Magellan
Neotropic Cormorant - Phalacrocorax brasilianus - Cormoran vigua
Northern Giant-Petrel – Macronectes halli – Pétrel de Hall
Peregrine Falcon - Falco peregrinus - Faucon pèlerin
Rock Shag or Magellanic Cormorant – Phalacrocorax magellanicus – Cormoran de Magellan
Rufous-chested Plover - Charadrius modestus – Gravelot d’Urville
Rufous-collared Sparrow – Zonotrichia capensis - Bruant chingolo
Snowy Sheathbill - Chionis alba - Chionis blanc
Sooty Shearwater - Ardenna grisea - Puffin fuligineux
South-American Tern - Sterna hirundinacea - Sterne hirundinacée
South Polar Skua - Stercorarius maccormicki - Labbe de Mc Cormick
Southern Crested Caracara - Caracara plancus – Caracara huppé
Southern Fulmar - Fulmarus glacialoides - Fulmar argenté
Southern Giant Petrel - Macronectes giganteus - Pétrel géant
Southern Rockhopper Penguin - Eudyptes chrysocome - Gorfou sauteur
Southern Royal Albatross - Diomedea epomophora - Albatros royal (du Sud)
Striated Caracara - Phalcoboenus australis - Caracara austral
Thorn-tailed Rayadito - Aphrastura spinicauda - Synallaxe rayadito
Western Cattle Egret - Bubulcus ibis - Héron garde-bœufs
Westland Petrel - Procellaria westlandica - Pétrel du Westland
White-chinned Petrel - Procellaria aequinoctialis - Puffin à menton blanc
Wilson’s Storm-Petrel - Oceanites oceanicus - Océanite de Wilson
DIEGO RAMIREZ ISLANDS BIRD SPECIES
The Diego Ramírez Islands are a small group of Chilean subantarctic islands located at the southernmost extreme of South America, about 100 km SW of Cape Horn, and 93 km S-SE of Ildefonso Islands. They stretch 8 km from north to south.
They were found by the Spanish Garcia de Nodal expedition on 12 February 1619. They retained the distinction of southernmost land mass for 156 years, until the discovery of the South Sandwich Islands in 1775.
The Diego Ramírez Islands are named after Diego Ramírez de Arellano, the cosmographer of the expedition.
Otto Plantema
Trips around the world
These islands include a smaller northern group of six islets and a larger southern group, separated by a passage of three kilometres wide. They have a “tundra climate” with heavy rainfall. During the entire year, the temperatures remain chilly to cool.
Alan & Ann Tate
AA Bird Photography
The Diego Ramírez Islands are an Important Bird Area with large seabird breeding populations. We can find here colonies of Macaroni Penguin and Southern Rockhopper Penguin, also Grey-headed Albatross and Black-browed Albatross, and Blue Petrel.
Tom Merigan
Tom Merigan’s Photo Galleries
The Subantarctic Rayadito was identified in 2022 as a new endemic species of these islands. It was formerly a subspecies of the Thorn-tailed Rayadito.
The Subantarctic Rayadito differs from the Thorn-tailed Rayadito by a more robust appearance, a weight of 16 grams, a larger bill, longer tarsus and shorter tail.
This new species nests above the ground among the grass (not in cavities). It also moves closer from the ground and flies over shorter distances. Its habitat is extreme, with strong winds exceeding 100 km per hour.
From studies and genetic information, there is no connection, migration or current gene flow between the mainland and island populations. This population has been completely isolated for thousands of years.
Philippe et Aline Wolfer
GALERIE
The Diego Ramírez Islands are isolated, with extremely difficult access. For this reason, both human impact and small numbers of invasive species make them relatively secure for the avifauna.
In 2018, the Drake Passage Marine Park was created, to conserve the marine ecosystem and the biodiversity
Jean-Claude Billonneau
Photographe-témoin de la Beauté du Monde