Chile Ramsar wetland
Soncor hydrological system in Salar de Atacamar
44 bird species recorded; the most from October to November.
Francesco Mocellin · CC BY-SA 3.0
This month here
14 species in January.24 species in February.11 species in March.16 species in April.10 species in May.15 species in June.19 species in July.17 species in August.16 species in September.28 species in October.28 species in November.22 species in December.
The birds you are most likely to see in the month you choose, those that come for the season first. It opens on today's month.
VU
NT
NT
VU
NT
VUNTNTVU
NTNT
NT
VUNTNTNTVU
VUNTNTVUNTNTVUNTNTVUNTNT
VUNTNT
VUNTNT
VUNTNTNTVUNTNTNTVUNTNTNTNTVUNTNTNT- Resident all year
- Summer visitor comes to breed
- Winter visitor comes for the winter
- Passage migrant in spring and autumn
In numbers
44 species, counted.
Our own rating, from the records only: species (50 points), threatened species (20), migrants (20) and protected status — Ramsar, IBA, SPA, observatory (10).
- 44Speciesrecorded more than once
- 18Migrantssummer, winter or passage visitors
- 2ThreatenedVulnerable, Endangered or Critically Endangered (IUCN)
- 3,418Recordsopen records within 6 km
- 2,302 mAltitudeabove the sea
- 2Raptors
- 1Owls
- 11Waders
- 1Gulls & seabirds
- 5Ducks & geese
- 1Herons, ibises & grebes
- 3Flamingos
- 15Songbirds
- 5Other birds
From open records (eBird and others, through GBIF, licensed for any use). More birdwatchers mean more records: a quiet place may have more birds than it shows.
The checklist
All 44 species.
By group, with the year in twelve cells: the darker the cell, the more often the bird is recorded that month.
Raptors2 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Buteo polyosomaButeo polyosoma
- Aplomado FalconFalco femoralis
Owls1 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Burrowing OwlAthene cunicularia
Waders11 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Andean AvocetRecurvirostra andina
- Baird's SandpiperCalidris bairdii
- Wilson's PhalaropePhalaropus tricolor
- Greater YellowlegsTringa melanoleucaNT
- Lesser yellowlegsTringa flavipesVU
- Pectoral SandpiperCalidris melanotos
- Stilt SandpiperCalidris himantopusNT
- American golden ploverPluvialis dominica
- Grey-breasted SeedsnipeThinocorus orbignyianus
- Semipalmated SandpiperCalidris pusillaNT
- Least SandpiperCalidris minutillaNT
Gulls & seabirds1 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Andean GullChroicocephalus serranus
Ducks & geese5 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Crested duckLophonetta specularioides
- Yellow-billed TealAnas flavirostris
- Andean GooseChloephaga melanoptera
- Yellow-billed PintailAnas georgica
- Puna TealSpatula puna
Herons, ibises & grebes1 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Southern Silvery GrebePodiceps occipitalis
Flamingos3 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Andean FlamingoPhoenicoparrus andinusVU
- Chilean flamingoPhoenicopterus chilensisNT
- James's FlamingoPhoenicoparrus jamesiNT
Songbirds15 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Blue-and-white SwallowNotiochelidon cyanoleuca
- Andean NegritoLessonia oreas
- Black-billed Shrike-tyrantAgriornis montanus
- Spot-billed Ground-tyrantMuscisaxicola maculirostris
- Barn swallowHirundo rustica
- House SparrowPasser domesticus
- Gray-bellied Shrike-TyrantAgriornis micropterus
- Greenish Yellow-finchSicalis olivascens
- Rufous-collared SparrowZonotrichia capensis
- Puna MinerGeositta punensis
- Dark-faced Ground-TyrantMuscisaxicola maclovianus
- Sand MartinRiparia riparia
- Chiguanco ThrushTurdus chiguanco
- Chilean SwallowTachycineta leucopyga
- Plumbeous Sierra FinchGeospizopsis unicolor
Other birds5 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Horned CootFulica cornutaNT
- Eared DoveZenaida auriculata
- Golden-spotted Ground-doveMetriopelia aymara
- Lesser RheaRhea pennata
- West Peruvian DoveZenaida meloda
Monthly presence relative to all bird records that month, so a busy month does not inflate every species.
When to go
The most species from October to November.
Species recorded in each month, with the usual temperature and rain.
- Jan27°/10°10 mm
- Feb26°/10°10 mm
- Mar26°/9°6 mm
- Apr23°/6°2 mm
- May20°/3°2 mm
- Jun18°/2°1 mm
- Jul18°/1°1 mm
- Aug20°/2°1 mm
- Sep22°/4°0 mm
- Oct24°/6°1 mm
- Nov26°/7°3 mm
- Dec27°/9°7 mm
- Bar: species recorded that month.
- Temperature: average maximum / minimum (NASA, 1991–2020).
- Rain: monthly total.
The place
Soncor hydrological system in Salar de Atacamar.
Soncor hydrological system in Salar de Atacamar is a wetland of international importance (Ramsar) in Chile, 2,302 m above the sea.
44 bird species have been recorded here more than once, in 3,418 open records.
The most recorded are the Andean Flamingo, the Chilean flamingo and the Andean Avocet.
13 species come for the summer, 4 for the winter and 1 only pass through.
2 are threatened worldwide, including Andean Flamingo and Lesser yellowlegs.
The most species are recorded from October to November.
Get there and watch
- El Loa Airport (CJC)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 117 km in a straight lineCar hire at CJC airport (Calama)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
Plan the visit
A guided walk, a bed nearby, a car.
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
From above
The place and its surroundings.
The satellite image of the 6 × 6 km around the place, with the bird hides, towers and trails that OpenStreetMap shows.
Around, in OpenStreetMap
- 1visitor centres within 6 kmLaguna Chaxa
- 1viewpoints within 5 kmSalares
- 1car parks within 3 km
- bird hides within 6 km
- observation towers within 6 km
- marked trails within 4 km
- restaurants and cafés within 3 km
- campsites within 10 km
- places to stay within 10 km
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit. A low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet.
In our other atlases
Around Soncor hydrological system in Salar de Atacamar.
The lakes, beaches, islands, rivers and mountains around this place, and its night sky, in the family's atlases.
Peakyas2 mountains within 25 kmCerro Mullay · 17 kmCerro Chinchilla · 24 km
Lakeyas2 lakes within 15 kmLaguna Chaxa0.3 km² · 3.1 kmLaguna Barros Negros1.0 km² · 6.4 km
Figures from the sister sites' databases (Wikidata, HydroATLAS, GeoNames, OpenStreetMap). Links open when each site is online.
Photographs
The place, as people saw it.
Other places nearby.
Soncor hydrological system in Salar de Atacamar
Chile
- 41Birdyas Score
- 44Species
- 18Migrants
- 2Threatened
Los Flamencos National Reserve
Chile · 78 km
- 34Birdyas Score
- 27Species
- 10Migrants
- 1Threatened
Where these figures come from
| Name and type | Wikidata (Q104904478) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Birds | 3,418 open bird records within 6 km (GBIF, CC0 and CC BY 4.0 only; mostly eBird, Cornell Lab of Ornithology) |
| See these records | gbif.org |
| Species | GBIF Backbone Taxonomy · CC BY 4.0; Wikidata (CC0); Wikimedia Commons |
| Altitude | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Temperature and rain | NASA POWER (CERES SYN1deg, 2001–2020; MERRA-2) |
| What is around | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Sister atlases | Peakyas, Lakeyas |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers, canyons, caves, dark skies, viewpoints, birdwatching or forests?
Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, in seven languages.
beaches
Find your beach: sea temperature, sun and swimming month by month.Visit lakes
Every lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Visit mountains
Every summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit 
waterfalls
Every waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Visit 
islands
Every island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.Visit 
rivers
Every river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.Visit 
canyons
Every canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.Visit 
caves
Every cave with its real depth and length: the rock above, the temperature inside all year, and how to visit.Visit 
dark skies
Where the night is still dark: the sky of every place, the Milky Way month by month, the Moon, eclipses and auroras.Visit 
viewpoints
Every viewpoint with its real 360° panorama: the peaks you can name, how far you see and where the sun sets.Coming soonVisit 
birdwatching
Every bird sanctuary and wetland with the species recorded month by month: who is resident, who comes for the summer, who only passes through.You are here
forests
Every forest with its land-cover rings, what grows and lives in it, and the best months to walk it.Coming soonVisit