Valdés Peninsula
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The El Doradillo beach is a protected wildlife area near the Valdés Peninsula and spans several square kilometers. During whale season it is forbidden to be in the water, as whales choose this area to raise their newborns. It is one of the few places in the world where the whales can be clearly seen from the coast.
The texture left by the waves and tides look amazing at sunrise.
As these South American sea lion settle down they fight for the best spots, socialize, and playfully nip at each other.
A Magellanic Cormorant, also known as Rock Shag, grabs a piece of kelp and flies away, probably taking it to its nest. The Magellan Cormorant is found in southern South America and shares its range with other cormorants like the Imperial Cormorant. They can be often found very close to shore diving for fish along the edges of kelp beds.
A couple of sea lions frolicking and enjoying the sun.
Overview of the town of Piramides Port and the surrounding area.
The sun was coming up over Puerto Madryn, warming the air a bit and painting the landscape in golden colors. The beach has a high clay content, which combined with the wave action and tides, forms these interesting wave ripples. Wave-formed ripples indicate an environment with weak currents where water motion is dominated by wave oscillations.
This colorful building on the beach belongs to the Municipal Nautical School of Puerto Madryn. It can be located right off access #9.
The rock shag (Phalacrocorax magellanicus), also known as the Magellanic cormorant, is a marine cormorant found around the southernmost coasts of South America. Like all cormorants, the rock shag feeds by diving for underwater prey. It feeds close to shore, often diving at the edge of kelp beds, finding small fish sheltering among the weed.
Thousands of sea lions (Otaria flavescens) can be found at the Punta Loma natural preserve, located 17km away from Puerto Madryn. This is the only permanent sea lion rookery in the Gulf of Nuevo. A colony of South American seagulls can also be found there, as well as other seabirds, reptiles and mammals.
The chalk-browed mockingbird (Mimus saturninus) lives in open wooded areas, including urban and suburban gardens. It feeds on fruits, insects and small vertebrates.
These two Mourning sierra finch enjoy a mud bath, splashing muddy water all over. Birds normally take these baths with the likely purpose of removing parasites from fur, feathers or skin, or simply to enjoy themselves like these two.
Replica of the San Jose Fort Chapel (Capilla del Fuerte San José) at Bird Island (Isla de los Pájaros). Seeking shelter from the open sea, Don Juan de la Piedra, Captain of the Nuestra Señora del Carmen frigate and leading a fleet of ships, entered the San Jose gulf, and founded what was later known as the San Jose Fort. In order to protect the Spanish sovereignty, the settlement built a chapel. What can currently be seen is a replica of the original, which had been build some 30 km away. Some recent studies suggest that the fort, built by Spain in 1779, was a replica of the Montevideo Fort in Uruguay.
The guanaco (Lama guanicoe) is a camelid native to South America, closely related to the llama. Its name comes from the Quechua word huanaco. Its relemblance to the camel can be easily noticed. They inhabit the steppes, scrublands and mountainous regions of South America, and live in herds composed of females, their young, and a dominant male.
