This trip was a continuation of our South American trip and followed on from the trip to Peru. We were flying back from Lima via Buenos Aires and had a three night stopover in Argentina.
Andes Mountains |
The change in flight routings was made three weeks prior to our departure from Australia so there was some last minute organisation required for a birding trip in Argentina. Diego Gallegos of BAB - Buenos Aires Birding (birdwatchingbue.com) kindly undertook to arrange a trip at short notice.
Our objectives for the short time in Argentina were to do some relaxing birding, get to see the countryside and stay in some good accommodation.
We agreed on a trip up north of Buenos Aires taking us across the Rio Paraná and then onto Rio Uruguay to the city of Gualeguaychú in the province of Entre Ríos, which is on the border with Uruguay.
The Rio Paraná and Rio Uruguay feed into the Rio de la Plata (River of Silver), which is well known for the early World War II naval engagement. The Battle of the River Plate between the German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee and British and New Zealand ships, started several miles off the coast of the estuary. The German ship retired up the estuary and put into port at Montevideo. A few days later, rather than fight outgunned, she was scuttled in the estuary.
The area we were visiting is known as Pampas country which in Quechua, the language of the Incas, means open or empty space between mountains. Spanish conquistadores used the word Pampas to name the vast extension of flat grassland around Buenos Aires. The Pampas includes the 750,000 square kilometres of fertile lowland grass plains plus also marshland, swamps and patches of forests.
Argentina
13th October – The flight from Lima to Buenos
Aires was very pleasant, a 4.5 hour flight leaving at 8:35am and arriving at
3:05pm, with good views as we crossed the Andes. Visas are available on arrival
and Australian tourists are charged a “reciprocity
fee” of US$100, which is equivalent to the cost of a visa for an Argentinean
visiting Australia.
We were met by Diego Gallegos and headed up to the northern suburbs of Buenos Aires to Refugio de la Ribera Norte located in San Isidro. This is a very pleasant area, being one of the more affluent suburbs of Buenos Aires and has very civilised European feel to it.
Refugio de la Ribera Norte is a small wetland which has a very high diversity of flora and fauna, located on the shores of the Rio de la Plata river. We spent about an hour there after arriving at 5pm and saw close to 30 birds with highlights being Rufous-sided Crake, Gilded Sapphire and Rufous-browed Peppershrike. Yvonne located a Spotted Rail which we had good views of and this was a lifer for Diego.
After a good introduction to some Argentinean birds we drove up to La Posesiva (www.laposesiva.com) which is about 100km north west from Buenos Aires. La Posesiva is a lovely place to stay on a large farm with good accommodation and excellent food. We were well looked after by our hosts and made to feel most welcome.
Diego and Bruce at La Posesiva |
14th October – Diego and I had a walk around the farm in the morning to find some birds before breakfast, which included Chalk-browed Mockingbird, Saffron Finch, Southern-crested and Chimango Caracara. Also had Glittering-bellied Emerald (hummingbird) in the aloe flowers at the farm stay.
After breakfast we headed across the Rio Paraná, this is a huge river system, into Entre Ríos and on towards Villa Paranacito. The name Entre Ríos, literally means “Between Rivers”,and is the province flanked by two major rivers, Paraná and Uruguay.
This area consists of shallow wetlands on either side of the road, open grassland and acacia type thorn-trees. The area has rich soils, temperate climate and good rainfall, all of which support the proliferation of a varied flora and fauna, and the development of extensive agriculture and stockbreeding. Birds also abundant both in terms of number of species and also quantity of birds seen.
Southern Lapwing |
We spent most of the day in the area from 9am though to 4pm and saw 98 species of birds with many highlights. Some of the birds which stood out were the Spotted Nothura, Giant Wood Rail, Maguari Stork, Red-crested and Yellow-billed Cardinal, Southern Screamer, Yellow-throated Spinetail, Sayaca Tanager and Scarlet-headed Blackbird.
Green-backed Becard |
Bruce, Yvonne, Poppy, Rodolfo and Diego |
As we were driving up to the farm stay we saw some Burrowing Owl on the side of the road, which was very nice.
Burrowing Owl |
15th October – Diego and I birded around the farm in the morning till 9:30am and saw just under 40 birds, which included Monk Parrots on the lawn, Brown Cacholote, Sooty-fronted Spinetail and Red Pileated Finch. After that Diego and I headed out to Nandubaysel for some birding whilst Yvonne went into town with Poppy our host for some shopping for clothes. The clothes in Argentina are very elegant and the quality of the leatherwork is excellent.
Monk Parrots |
Nandubaysel is a camping area on Rio Uruguay and has some good riverine habitat. We saw just over 40 birds in the morning including highlights such as Grey-necked Woodrail, Checkered Woodpecker, Tropical Parula, Spix’s Spinetail and Golden-billed Saltator.
Creamy-bellied Thrush |
After lunch in town with Yvonne and Poppy, we headed out to Termas del Guaychu hot springs just outside of Gualeguaychú. Some good thorn bush birding with the South American Snipe, Firewood-Gatherer, Rufous Hornero and Nacunda Nighthawk being some of the highlights. The Rufous Hornero builds a large nest of mud which looks like an oven.
Rufous Hornero Nest |
Rufous-bellied Thrush |
Back to Itapeby at about 7pm for another great meal. Lots of fireflies out in the evening lighting up the path down to the main house.
Accommodation at Itapeby |
16th October – We had a 2pm flight out of Buenos Aires direct to Sydney, so left after breakfast for the airport. Stopped off at a wetlands at Universidad Ciudad (University of Buenos Aires) to see the Nanday Parakeet and then onto the airport. Saw just over 40 birds for the morning, most as we were driving.
Conclusions
We really enjoyed Argentina and need to go back again for at least two or three weeks. Argentina is such a large country with the Andes on the west, the hot tropical areas to the north and the cold southern regions, that one needs a lot of time to explore the country fully. We found that our hosts were very friendly and went out of their way to make us feel at home.As regards the birds, I saw 148 birds in just over two days birding, of which 92 were lifers. This was quite surprising given that we had just spent close to three weeks in Peru and I wasn’t expecting to see so many new birds. Diego Gallegos also looked after us very well, was easy to get on with and a great birder.
The full list of the 148 birds seen during the trip, including subspecies according to the IOC taxonomy, is as follows:
Tinamiformes
Tinamous
(Tinamidae)
Spotted
Nothura [sp] (Nothura maculosa)
RHEIFORMES
Rheas
(Rheidae)
Greater Rhea
[sp] (Rhea americana)
Anseriformes
Screamers
(Anhimidae)
Southern
Screamer (Chauna torquata)
Ducks, Geese
& swans (Anatidae)
White-faced
Whistling Duck (Dendrocygna viduata)
Fulvous
Whistling Duck (Dendrocygna bicolor)
Coscoroba
Swan (Coscoroba coscoroba)
Brazilian
Teal [sp] (Amazonetta brasiliensis)
Ringed Teal
(Callonetta leucophrys)
Red Shoveler
(Anas platalea)
White-cheeked
Pintail [sp] (Anas bahamensis)
Yellow-billed
Teal [sp] (Anas flavirostris)
Yellow-billed
Pintail [sp] (Anas georgica)
Silver Teal
[sp] (Anas versicolor)
Rosy-billed
Pochard (Netta peposaca)
Podicipediformes
Grebes
(Podicipedidae)
Pied-billed
Grebe [sp] (Podilymbus podiceps)
Great Grebe
[sp] (Podiceps major)
Ciconiiformes
Storks
(Ciconiidae)
Maguari Stork
(Ciconia maguari)
Pelecaniformes
Ibises,
Spoonbills (Threskiornithidae)
Bare-faced
Ibis [sp] (Phimosus infuscatus)
White-faced
Ibis (Plegadis chihi)
Roseate
Spoonbill (Platalea ajaja)
Herons,
Bitterns (Ardeidae)
Rufescent
Tiger Heron [sp] (Tigrisoma lineatum)
Black-crowned
Night Heron [sp] (Nycticorax nycticorax)
Striated
Heron [sp] (Butorides striata)
Western
Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis)
Cocoi Heron
(Ardea cocoi)
American
Great Egret (Ardea alba egretta)
Whistling
Heron [sp] (Syrigma sibilatrix)
Snowy Egret
[sp] (Egretta thula)
Suliformes
Cormorants,
Shags (Phalacrocoracidae)
Neotropic
Cormorant [sp] (Phalacrocorax brasilianus)
ACCIPITRIFORMES
Kites, Hawks
& Eagles (Accipitridae)
White-tailed
Kite [sp] (Elanus leucurus)
Snail Kite
[sp] (Rostrhamus sociabilis)
Long-winged
Harrier (Circus buffoni)
Savanna Hawk
(Buteogallus meridionalis)
Harris's Hawk
[sp] (Parabuteo unicinctus)
Roadside Hawk
[sp] (Buteo magnirostris)
Falconiformes
Caracaras,
Falcons (Falconidae)
Southern
Crested Caracara (Caracara plancus)
Chimango
Caracara [sp] (Milvago chimango)
American
Kestrel [sp] (Falco sparverius)
Gruiformes
Rails,
Crakes & Coots (Rallidae)
Rufous-sided
Crake [melanophaius] (Laterallus melanophaius melanophaius)
Grey-necked
Wood Rail [sp] (Aramides cajaneus)
Giant Wood
Rail (Aramides ypecaha)
Spotted Rail
[sp] (Pardirallus maculatus)
Plumbeous
Rail [sp] (Pardirallus sanguinolentus)
Common
Gallinule [sp] (Gallinula galeata)
Spot-flanked
Gallinule [sp] (Gallinula melanops)
White-winged
Coot (Fulica leucoptera)
Limpkin
(Aramidae)
Limpkin [sp]
(Aramus guarauna)
Charadriiformes
Stilts,
Avocets (Recurvirostridae)
White-backed
Stilt (Himantopus melanurus)
Plovers
(Charadriidae)
Southern
Lapwing [sp] (Vanellus chilensis)
Jacanas
(Jacanidae)
Wattled
Jacana [sp] (Jacana jacana)
Sandpipers,
Snipes (Scolopacidae)
South
American Snipe [sp] (Gallinago paraguaiae)
Greater
Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca)
Lesser
Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes)
Baird's
Sandpiper (Calidris bairdii)
Pectoral
Sandpiper (Calidris melanotos)
Gulls, Terns
& Skimmers (Laridae)
Brown-hooded
Gull (Chroicocephalus maculipennis)
Columbiformes
Doves and
Pigeons (Columbidae)
Feral Pigeon
(Columba livia ''feral'')
Picazuro
Pigeon [sp] (Patagioenas picazuro)
Spot-winged
Pigeon [sp] (Patagioenas maculosa)
Eared Dove
[sp] (Zenaida auriculata)
Picui Ground
Dove [sp] (Columbina picui)
White-tipped
Dove [sp] (Leptotila verreauxi)
Psittaciformes
Parrots and
Macaws (Psittacidae)
Nanday
Parakeet (Nandayus nenday)
Monk Parakeet
[sp] (Myiopsitta monachus)
Cuculiformes
Cuckoos
(Cuculidae)
Guira Cuckoo
(Guira guira)
Strigiformes
Owls
(Strigidae)
Burrowing Owl
[sp] (Athene cunicularia)
Caprimulgiformes
Nightjars
(Caprimulgidae)
Nacunda
Nighthawk [sp] (Chordeiles nacunda)
Apodiformes
Hummingbirds
(Trochilidae)
Glittering-bellied
Emerald [sp] (Chlorostilbon lucidus)
Gilded
Sapphire (Hylocharis chrysura)
Coraciiformes
Kingfishers
(Alcedinidae)
Ringed
Kingfisher [sp] (Megaceryle torquata)
Piciformes
Woodpeckers
(Picidae)
White-fronted
Woodpecker (Melanerpes cactorum)
Checkered
Woodpecker [sp] (Veniliornis mixtus)
Green-barred
Woodpecker [nigroviridis] (Colaptes melanochloros nigroviridis)
Field Flicker
(Colaptes campestris campestroides)
Passeriformes
Ovenbirds
(Furnariidae)
Rufous
Hornero [sp] (Furnarius rufus)
Tufted
Tit-spinetail (Leptasthenura platensis)
Short-billed
Canastero [sp] (Asthenes baeri)
Chotoy
Spinetail [sp] (Schoeniophylax phryganophilus)
Sooty-fronted
Spinetail [sp] (Synallaxis frontalis)
Pale-breasted
Spinetail [sp] (Synallaxis albescens)
Spix's
Spinetail (Synallaxis spixi)
Stripe-crowned
Spinetail [sp] (Cranioleuca pyrrhophia)
Yellow-chinned
Spinetail [sp] (Certhiaxis cinnamomeus)
Freckle-breasted
Thornbird (Phacellodomus striaticollis)
Firewood-gatherer
(Anumbius annumbi)
Brown
Cacholote [sp] (Pseudoseisura lophotes)
Scimitar-billed
Woodcreeper (Drymornis bridgesii)
Narrow-billed
Woodcreeper [sp] (Lepidocolaptes angustirostris)
Typical
Antbirds (Thamnophilidae)
Variable
Antshrike [sp] (Thamnophilus caerulescens)
Tyrant
Flycatchers (Tyrannidae)
Small-billed
Elaenia (Elaenia parvirostris)
Suiriri
Flycatcher [sp] (Suiriri suiriri)
Sooty
Tyrannulet (Serpophaga nigricans)
Mottle-cheeked
Tyrannulet [ventralis] (Phylloscartes ventralis ventralis)
Bran-colored
Flycatcher [sp] (Myiophobus fasciatus)
Vermilion
Flycatcher [sp] (Pyrocephalus rubinus)
Spectacled
Tyrant [sp] (Hymenops perspicillatus)
White Monjita
[sp] (Xolmis irupero)
Black-backed
Water Tyrant (Fluvicola albiventer)
Cattle Tyrant
[sp] (Machetornis rixosa)
Great
Kiskadee [sp] (Pitangus sulphuratus)
Crowned Slaty
Flycatcher [sp] (Griseotyrannus aurantioatrocristatus)
Tropical
Kingbird [sp] (Tyrannus melancholicus)
Fork-tailed
Flycatcher [sp] (Tyrannus savana)
Tityras
(Tityridae)
Green-backed
Becard [sp] (Pachyramphus viridis)
Vireos
(Vireonidae)
Rufous-browed
Peppershrike [sp] (Cyclarhis gujanensis)
Red-eyed
Vireo [sp] (Vireo olivaceus)
Swallows and
Martins (Hirundinidae)
White-rumped
Swallow (Tachycineta leucorrhoa)
Grey-breasted
Martin [sp] (Progne chalybea)
Brown-chested
Martin [sp] (Progne tapera)
Blue-and-white
Swallow [sp] (Notiochelidon cyanoleuca)
Barn Swallow
[sp] (Hirundo rustica)
Wrens
(Troglodytidae)
House Wren
[sp] (Troglodytes aedon)
Gnatcatchers
(Polioptilidae)
Masked
Gnatcatcher [sp] (Polioptila dumicola)
Mockingbirds
and Thrashers (Mimidae)
Chalk-browed
Mockingbird [sp] (Mimus saturninus)
Starlings
(Sturnidae)
Common
Starling [sp] (Sturnus vulgaris)
Thrushes
(Turdidae)
Rufous-bellied
Thrush [sp] (Turdus rufiventris)
Creamy-bellied
Thrush (Turdus amaurochalinus)
Old World
Sparrows and Snowfinches (Passeridae)
House Sparrow
[sp] (Passer domesticus)
Pipits and
Wagtails (Motacillidae)
Correndera
Pipit [sp] (Anthus correndera)
Finches,
Siskins and Crossbills (Fringillidae)
Hooded Siskin
[sp] (Carduelis magellanica)
New World
Warblers (Parulidae)
Southern
Yellowthroat (Geothlypis velata)
Tropical
Parula [sp] (Setophaga pitiayumi)
Oropendolas,
Orioles and New World Blackbirds (Icteridae)
Scarlet-headed
Blackbird (Amblyramphus holosericeus)
Unicolored
Blackbird [sp] (Agelasticus cyanopus)
Yellow-winged
Blackbird [sp] (Agelasticus thilius)
Chestnut-capped
Blackbird [sp] (Chrysomus ruficapillus)
Brown-and-yellow
Marshbird (Pseudoleistes virescens)
Baywing [sp]
(Agelaioides badius)
Screaming
Cowbird (Molothrus rufoaxillaris)
Shiny Cowbird
[sp] (Molothrus bonariensis)
White-browed
Blackbird (Sturnella superciliaris)
Buntings and
New World Sparrows (Emberizidae)
Rufous-collared
Sparrow [sp] (Zonotrichia capensis)
Grassland
Sparrow [sp] (Ammodramus humeralis)
Tanagers
(Thraupidae)
Red-crested
Cardinal (Paroaria coronata)
Yellow-billed
Cardinal [sp] (Paroaria capitata)
Sayaca
Tanager [sp] (Thraupis sayaca)
Blue-and-yellow
Tanager [sp] (Thraupis bonariensis)
Red Pileated
Finch [sp] (Coryphospingus cucullatus)
Black-and-rufous
Warbling Finch (Poospiza nigrorufa)
Black-capped
Warbling Finch (Poospiza melanoleuca)
Saffron Finch
[sp] (Sicalis flaveola)
Pampa Finch
[sp] (Embernagra platensis)
Blue-black
Grassquit [sp] (Volatinia jacarina)
Cardinals,
Grosbeaks & Allies (Cardinalidae)
Green-winged
Saltator [sp] (Saltator similis)
Green-winged
Saltator [similis] (Saltator similis similis)
Greyish
Saltator [sp] (Saltator coerulescens)
Golden-billed
Saltator [sp] (Saltator aurantiirostris)
Glaucous-blue
Grosbeak (Cyanoloxia glaucocaerulea)
Ultramarine
Grosbeak [sp] (Cyanocompsa brissonii)