Chilean flamingos
On the shallow lagoon.
Nortondefeis — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Eloi Santos de Farias — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Hmullern — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Alexandre Pires Bernardes — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Paulo Hopper — CC BY-SA 4.0
Lagoa do Peixe National Park runs for about 35 km along a narrow strip between two lines of dunes on the Rio Grande do Sul coast, on average a kilometre wide, around a long shallow lagoon that opens to the sea in some seasons. It was created on 6 November 1986 over about 36,700 hectares, most of them in Tavares and the rest in Mostardas and São José do Norte. Its importance is its birds: it is a key resting and feeding stop on the migration route between North America and Patagonia. In the southern spring flocks of shorebirds such as red knots and sanderlings arrive from the northern hemisphere, while Chilean flamingos and Patagonian plovers come up from the south. It was named an international reserve of the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network in 1991 and a Ramsar wetland in 1993, and hundreds of bird species have been recorded. Facilities are simple, and guided visits are arranged by guesthouses in Mostardas and Tavares. The best time is September to November, and the Brazilian Migratory Birds Festival is held in October or November.
On the shallow lagoon.
From North America.
Between lagoon and ocean.
Municipalities of Tavares, Mostardas and São José do Norte, Rio Grande do Sul coast
September to November, when migrating birds arrive; the Migratory Birds Festival takes place in October or November.