Saída Pelágica Balneário Camboriú

The Saída Pelágica Balneário Camboriú is organized by ornithologist Cristiano Voitina — creator of the Aves de Santa Catarina project and one of southern Brazil's leading field ornithologists — departing from Barra Sul marina in Balneário Camboriú aboard the Barco Pirata. The vessel heads approximately 50 kilometres out into the open South Atlantic, well beyond the continental shelf break, where fish-viscera chum is deployed to attract seabirds to the side of the boat. Trips are publicly announced in advance and open to paying participants who pre-register by phone or social media; described in news coverage as the largest organized offshore birding excursion in the south of Brazil, with 20 or more species regularly logged per trip. Participants include both serious ornithologists and interested members of the public — the combination of chumming, a skilled guide, and genuinely offshore positioning makes this as close to a classic pelagic birding experience as Brazil currently offers.

Balneário Camboriú sits on the Santa Catarina coast at a latitude where the warm south-flowing Brazil Current and the cold north-flowing Falkland (Malvinas) Current converge — one of the most productive oceanographic zones in the entire South Atlantic. This frontal boundary concentrates fish, krill, and cephalopods, and consequently draws seabirds at high densities, particularly in the austral autumn and winter months (April–August). At 50 kilometres offshore the vessel is well into open pelagic waters over the outer continental shelf and approaches the shelf edge, where species diversity is highest. The Santa Catarina coast is also directly on the migration corridor of austral-breeding tubenoses that disperse northward up the Brazilian coastline in the non-breeding season.

Target species include Black-browed Albatross, Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross, White-chinned Petrel, Great Shearwater, Sooty Shearwater, Trindade Petrel, Wilson's Storm-Petrel, Sub-Antarctic Skua, and South Polar Skua. Magnificent Frigatebird and Brown Booby are often encountered near the continental shelf, while Magellanic Penguin is a cold-season regular. Cristiano Voitina's expertise in the local avifauna — he mapped nearly 600 species across Santa Catarina over eight years of fieldwork — ensures accurate identification and contextual knowledge of expected rarity potential. The Aves de Santa Catarina project can be followed on Facebook at @avesdesantacatarina and on Instagram at @avesdesantacatarina for trip announcements; registration is by contacting the organizer directly at +55 47 99953-9049.