ARGENTINA

 

“Our all-too-short week in the High Andes provided an excellent prelude to the allure of Argentina as a must-visit birding destination with our days being filled with highlight birds, scenery and experiences.  As we traveled through the transitional zones between the dry chaco into moist yungas forest and ascended to the altiplano, we enjoyed the expected and the unexpected.  Our first sighting of Andean Condor portended the sightings to come.  Calilegua provided the opportunity for those with an affinity for tropical forest species to enjoy mixed species flocks and seek skulkers including flocks of Mitred Parakeets and the occasional Alder Parrot or Golden-collared Macaw, flycatchers, brush-finches, spinetails, warblers and tanagers.  The Yala River yielded the two sought-for gems including Rufous-throated Dipper and Torrent Duck.  And our ascent to the altiplano gave us opportunities to marvel at the scenic cacti desert of the Argentine Andes while watching Giant Hummingbirds and Red-tailed Comets.  The mirage-like pink haze of flamingos along the lake edge of Pozuelos pulled us like magnets into a long walk across the altiplano seeking closer views in order to complete our set of 3 species of flamingos for the trip.  But, favorites of the week were not necessarily the rarest or even a lifer for most.  Who of us will ever forget the Common Potoo electing to savor the spotlight illuminating him by repeatedly belting out his plaintive call?  And, the last-minute and most unexpected appearance of the Lyre-tailed Nightjar reaffirmed our faith that with birding, anything can happen, even on a wet and cold night. 

 

Books read as children and adults, documentaries enjoyed and just the names often conjure up mental images of the Argentine Pampas, Patagonia, and Tierra del Fuego.  But, as is so often true, no photo nor written description, however evocative, can equal the actual experience.  Greater Rheas running through the grasslands, Southern Screamers appearing too heavy to sustain flight, Many-colored Rush Tyrants adding a brilliance of color against reedbeds, and a Giant Wood-Rail finally revealing itself  -- these were just a few of our pampas experiences.  And winds in northern Patagonia could not deter us when there were Magellanic Penguins, Elegant Crested Tinamous, steamer--ducks, seedsnipe, Maras, Guanacos, and other birds and mammals to be enjoyed.  A windless morning boat trip in the bay for up-close viewing of Southern Right Whales provided a welcome atonement for the brutal winds we had braved so willingly the previous days.   Southern Patagonia contrasted remarkably with northern Patagonia, in birds and geography.  The close views of nesting Cinereous Harriers and the entertaining pirouettes of Magellanic Plovers endeared us to the Patagonian town of El Calafate as did the excellent food and interesting shops.  Our day in the nearby national park could not have been more perfect with reflections of snow-covered mountains in the lake, ice calving from the glacier, firebush providing perches for Rufous-tailed Plantcutters and the nothofagus forest yielding our sought-for species including Austral Pygmy Owl, Austral Parakeet, Chilean Flicker, Fire-eyed Diucon, Austral Blackbird and many others. 

 

And, the finale of our journey, Tierra del Fuego, land of fire, once again gave us the best of the best.  A day in Tierra del Fuego National Park gave us the ultimate and hope-for prize – male and female Magellanic Woodpecker – indescribable and remarkable!  Even the keenest of birders were distracted from birds briefly as we hiked the ski area and marveled at the views of the Beagle Channel stretching southward toward Antarctica before returning to the task of finding Yellow-bridled Finches.  Our sailing on the Channel later that day with Magellanic Diving Petrels, Black-browed Albatrosses, cormorants and Gentoo Penguins provided a taster of what an Antarctic cruise would offer.  And, Rio Grande offered a different side of Tierra del Fuego with sightings of Rufous-chested Dotterals, Austral Canasteros and Ruddy-headed Geese. 

 

It is no wonder that Iguazu Fall is one of the most visited sites by tourists in Argentina.   The Falls are mesmerizing for anyone but combine that with an interest in the many birds in the surrounding forests and you have created a recipe for a perfect birding holiday.   The Spot-billed Toucanet that ultimately seemed more curious of us than we were of it, the Rufous Gnateater that came ever so close to a couple of us, the Rusty-breasted Nunlet feeding a youngster, and the rare Black-fronted Piping Guan competed with many others for top bird of the week.  The fearless flights of Great Dusky Swifts flying into the torrents of water of the falls, Toco and Green-billed Toucans brilliant in the morning and evening light and White-bearded and Blue Manakins displaying were just a few of the birding experiences enjoyed by all.  And, as had become the norm on the trip, we had our share of the unexpected on the trip including a Black Jacobin at the feeders and a Pearly-breasted Cuckoo on one of our forest walks. 

 

Diverse would be one word to describe Argentina and our experiences there.  Few countries can offer the diversity of birds, scenery and climate as does Argentina.   Highlight families including seedsnipe, screamers, diving-petrels, gnateaters, and others are eclipsed only by the settings in which they occur.  With the excellent infrastructure of transport (air, water and land), hotels close to our birding sites (from luxurious to basic but comfortable), delicious food and drink, and hospitable and welcoming residents, Argentina provided us not only the ultimate in birds but also the ultimate in a holiday experience! “  Judy Davis

 

BIRD LIST:

 

Column A = Number of tours on which this species has been recorded.

Column B = Number of days this species was seen on the last tour.

Column C = Maximum daily count for this species on the last tour.

A = seen on the northwest (Andes) extension (including a couple of hours in Buenos Aires)

M = seen on the main tour

I = seen on the Iguazú extension

H = Heard only

(H) = Species seen at least once, but most birds only heard

N = Nesting behaviour evident

 

A

 

B

C

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2

Solitary Tinamou

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tinamus solitarius

7

Brown Tinamou

1

1

H

 

 

I

Crypturellus obsoletus

6

Tataupa Tinamou  

1

1

H

 

 

I

Crypturellus tataupa

5

Ornate Tinamou

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nothoprocta ornata

1

Brushland Tinamou

1

1

 

A

 

 

Nothoprocta cinerascens

6

Darwin’s Tinamou

1

2

 

 

M

 

Nothura darwinii

7

Spotted Nothura

3

7

 

 

M

 

Nothura maculosa

7

Elegant Crested-Tinamou

3

15

 

 

M

 

Eudromia elegans

7

Greater Rhea

3

30

N

 

M

 

Rhea pennata

7

Lesser (Darwin's) Rhea

2

30

N

 

M

 

Pterocnemia pennata

7

Puna Rhea

1

21

 

A

M

 

Pterocnemia garleppi

7

White-tufted Grebe

3

20

 

A

M

 

Rollandia rolland

2

Least Grebe

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tachybatus dominicus

7

Pied-billed Grebe

4

15

 

A

M

 

Podilymbus podiceps

7

Great Grebe

7

10

 

A

M

 

Podiceps major

7

Silvery Grebe

3

40

 

 

M

 

Podiceps occipitalis

4

Hooded Grebe

 

 

 

 

 

 

Podiceps gallardoi

7

Gentoo Penguin

1

20

N

 

M

 

Pygoscelis papua

7

Magellanic Penguin

3

‘00s

N

 

M

 

Spheniscus magellanicus

7

Black-browed Albatross

3

50

 

 

M

 

Diomedea melanophris

7

Southern Giant-Petrel

7

200

 

 

M

 

Macronectes giganteus

4

Southern Fulmar

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fulmarus glacialoides

1

White-chinned Petrel

 

 

 

 

 

 

Procellaria aequinoctialis

1

Manx Shearwater

 

 

 

 

 

 

Puffinus puffinus

2

Sooty Shearwater

 

 

 

 

 

 

Puffinus griseus

1

Wilson's Storm-Petrel