Birding Hotspots Falkland Islands

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Sea Lion Island is a wonderful place for birding. You don’t need a guide. You can walk around all day and be surrounded by hundreds of penguins and many other species of birds. There are 101 species seen on Sea Lion Island, including both resident and vagrant birds.

The Most Common Species that You Are Sure to See.

• Gentoo Penguin
• Magellanic Penguin
• Southern Rockhopper Penguin
• Upland Goose
• Brown Skua
• Austral Thrush
• Black-chinned Siskin
• White-bridled Finch
• Two-banded Plover
• Magellanic Snipe
• Rufous-chested Dotterel
• Imperial Cormorant

These are only the most common ones. Many others are a bit less common, but you should be able to find them, including several species of ducks., Magellanic Oystercatcher, Striated Caracara, and others

Endemic Species

Look for the flightless Falklands Steamer Duck at South Beach.

The Cobb’s Wren is sometimes difficult to find; other days, they are common around the lodge.

Sea Lion Island is the best place to find these endemic species. The Cobbs wren exists only on remote, cat and rat-free islands. It has been extirpated from the main islands.

The Snowy Sheathbill

The Snowy Sheathbill is an Antarctic bird that sometimes travels north to the Falkland Islands and other islands and occasionally to the southern tip of South America. The Snowy Sheathbill is the only Antarctic land bird. It is the only Antarctic bird without webbed feet. They are scavengers and eat seal afterbirth, carrion, penguin eggs, chicks, and anything else they can find. Look for them around the Southern Rockhopper colony or around the Sea Lions at South Beach.

The Giant Petrel

If you are lucky, you might see the Giant Petrel on the sand at North Beach when penguins are present. This is the only place I have seen this pelagic bird on land. The Giant Petrel is an enormous and extremely aggressive bird that will attack and eat other seabirds, including birds larger than itself. They are huge and sometimes mistaken for Albatrosses, but Albatrosses are a third larger.

Predators

The only mammals on Sea Lion Island are seals. There are no dogs. No cats. No rats. The only predators are other birds, such as the Caracara and the Giant Petrel, and the petrel is found only in or very close to the water. Because of this, the birds have become tame, and one can approach reasonably close to get great photos.

Getting There

There are only two ways to get to the Falkland Islands. You must depart from Brize Norton in England or Punta Arenas in Chile. If you live in the UK, arrange your flight with the Royal Air Force at Birze-Norton. These flights have a stopover in Ascension Island. If you live in North America, fly to Punta Arenas in Chile. This will involve one, two, or even three stops and a change of aircraft, depending on where you start from. If you live in Europe but not the UK, you can fly to Santiago and then change aircraft for a flight to Punta Arenas.

There is only one weekly flight from Punta Arenas, Chile, to Stanley in the Falkland Islands, which departs on Saturdays. Therefore, you must remain on the Falkland Islands for at least one week or multiple weeks.

I suggest arriving in Punta Arenas one or two days before your flight to the Falklands. This gives you time to rest after a long flight from Europe or North America. More importantly, it gives you time to allow for flight delays or lost or delayed baggage. If you miss your flight to Stanley, there will not be another one for a week.

A small, inexpensive hotel in Punta Arenas is Carpa Manzano. It is not fancy but good enough for a couple of days, and it is in a safe neighbourhood with a good breakfast included. A good place to eat is Rustico Restobar, which is two blocks away. Be aware that most restaurants are closed from 3 pm to 7 pm. Rustico Restobar is one of the few that is open all day.

Internal Falkland Islands Flights

The international flight will arrive at Stanley military base. You must transfer to the local airport for flights within the Falkland Islands. I suggest going to Sea Lion Island on the same day as your international flight. This gets your travel over with in one day instead of two. You can arrange to be picked up at the international airport and taken to the FIGAS (Falkland Islands Air Service) airport, which is located on the other side of Stanley.

To arrange pickup at the airport, flights to Sea Lion Island and accommodations on the island, contact ITT (International Tours and Travel.

The problem with local flights in the Falkland Islands is the baggage restrictions. They are small planes. You are allowed only ten kilos and only a tiny carry-on baggage such as a laptop or purse. If you bring camera equipment, especially with telephone lenses, use a small hard-sided suitcase usually used for carry-on. Mark the suitcase with “Fragile” stickers and inform the check-in that the case contains fragile camera equipment. Pack your clothes in a backpack, but you must check it. The ten-kilo limit includes your carry-on, and it will be weighed.

Ask the travel agent at ITT to store your large suitcase. Take only your camera equipment and sufficient clothes and personal items for your time on the island. Pack accordingly. ITT will arrange to pick you up when you return to Stanley and will have your suitcase in the vehicle.

How Much Time do I need to Tour Sea Lion Island?

I went for three days, which was sufficient. Less than three days may not give you enough time to see everything. If you have lots of time (more than a week in the Falklands), stay on Sea Lion Island for four days.

Accommodations on Sea Lion Island

The Sea Lion Island Lodge is the only place to stay on the island. Arrange your booking with ITT.

The lodge provides clean, basic rooms and an excellent breakfast and supper. A bag lunch is included and will be ready to pick up after breakfast.

The proprietor of the lodge is a birder, so he can answer your birding questions and give tips on where to find certain species.

For ten pounds, you can get a ride to the Rockhopper colony at the far end of the island. Take your lunch, and you can have an enjoyable day, taking your time to get back. It is only four km. On the way back, stop at Long Pond for several species of ducks, grebes and herons. About half the people did this when I was there, and the other half walked both ways.

For more information about Sea Lion Lodge, click here.

When to Go

Go to the Falklands islands during their summer, which is the northern winter. I went in January, which I think is a good time to go.

The weather in the Falklands Islands is not great at the best of times. The average summer temperature is about five degrees Celsius, and it is almost always quite windy, which makes it feel colder. Take a warm coat, a sweater and a raincoat. Sometimes, I needed my big winter coat. On other days, I wore a sweater with a raincoat over it as a windbreaker. The Falkland Islands is an amazing place, but it is not a place for shorts and T-shirts, swimming or lying on the beach.

Is it Worth It?

Definitely yes. Although it is remote and expensive, it is absolutely worth the trip. I saw five species of penguins, which is worth the trip alone if you see nothing else.

I think a trip to the Falkland Islands is better than going to Antarctica. Going to Antarctica will cost you triple the money or more, and there is little to see there compared to the Falklands. Also, going to Antarctica means your accommodations are on a ship, so you cannot go out for a walk whenever you want. You will spend the majority of your time on the ship. At the Sea Lion Lodge, you can go out birding at any time of day except for meal hours.

Birdtipper Tip

Breakfast at Sea Lion Lodge is at 7 a.m. Get up early and go for a walk before breakfast. This is the most likely time to see the Elephant seals active. In the afternoon, they lay around sleeping and look like they are dead. Although birding is good all day, early morning might get you some species that are not otherwise seen.

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Volunteer Point is located on the north shore of East Falkland, which is the main island with the capital of Stanley and the international airport.

Why go to Volunteer Point?

There is only one reason to go to Volunteer Point: The King Penguin colony.

The colony has about 3,000 King Penguins.

There is a restricted area that you are not allowed to enter. However, the penguins don’t stay in it. You might find yourself with penguins behind you and on all sides.

Getting There

There are no roads to Volunteer Point. Getting there involves an hour-long, horrible, bumpy cross-country ride. But it is well worth it. You must go in a high-clearance 4×4 vehicle such as a Range Rover or Toyota Landcruiser. You can arrange travel with either ITT (see link above) or Jimmy Curtis touring.

Birdtripper Tips for Volunteer Point

Go early. Arrange to leave by 8:30 at the latest. If there is a cruise ship in Stanley, you might find 20 vehicles and crowds of people at Volunteer Point. If you go early, you will probably be the only one there (with your driver) for the first hour.

Go to the beach first. You may be able to get some very nice photos of King Penguins on the beach before other people arrive. Then, go to the colony. Good images of the penguins at the colony are still possible even when many people are there.

Suggested Itinerary

Go to Sea Lion Island directly upon your arrival in the Falklands. Book at least three days there, more if you have time and are staying in the Falklands for more than one week.

Book accommodations in Stanley for your third night and arrange for an early ride to Volunteer Point.

Spend one day in Stanley and visit the museum and gift shops.

Other Hotspots

If you have time, other birding hotspots in the Falkland Islands include:

• Cape Pembroke (a short drive from Stanley).
• The Stanly waterfront
• Gypsey Cove (also a short drive from Stanley).
• West Point Island and Carcass Island (flights from Stanley to the other side of the Falklands).

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