Trip
Information
Dates:
October 17 - 20, 2009
Duration: 4
days
Tour Leaders: Richard
Knapton and
local guide
Price: TBA
Highlights:
•
A superb introduction to Argentinean birds of the Pampas, wetlands,
riverine forests and coastal sand dunes and beaches. Lots of interesting
and quite spectacular species
•
Excellent birding areas; the Costanera Sur Nature Reserve is marvelous,
as are the Pampas, the wetlands south of Buenos Aires, the bird-rich
Entre Rios province, and the important Punta Rasa peninsula
•
A delightful birding pre-tour before embarking on the Northern Argentina
Tour
Featured Birds:
•
Southern Screamer
•
Greater Rhea
•
Black-necked Swan
•
Many-coloured Rush-Tyrant
•
Hudson's Canastero
• Maguari Stork
• Whistling Heron
• Spectacled
Tyrant
• Scarlet-headed Blackbird
Trip Summary:
•
Diverse birding habitats
•
Easy to moderate walking
•
Temperate climate
•
Modern accommodation
•
Bus or van with driver
•
All meals included |
An
introduction to the immense bird riches of Argentina! We visit three
distinct areas – the flood plain and riverine forests of Entre
Rios province, the famed pampas and productive wetlands south of Buenos
Aires, and the sand dunes and open beaches of Punta Rasa along the
coast of the Atlantic Ocean. The plains and forests of Entre Rios support
very rich and diverse wildlife, from storks to spinetails, parakeets
to plantcutters. The Pampas are flat and fertile plains covering over
one-fifth of Argentina, famous for not only gauchos but unique species
such as Greater Rhea, South America's version of the Ostrich, Southern
Screamer, the flying Jumbo Jet, and a whole host of interesting and
captivating birds including some rare and very local species.  Wetlands
close to Buenos Aires support remarkable concentrations of swans, herons
and egrets, rails and ducks, including the peculiar Black-headed Duck,
the only duck in the world that breeds solely by laying its eggs in
nests of other birds. The peninsula at Punta Rasa juts out into the
mouth of the Rio de la Plata and is an important gathering area for
thousands of waterbirds, including impressive concentrations of Chilean
Flamingos. Join us for an introduction to a very diverse and exciting
avifauna.
See detailed itinerary
below.
Click
here to download a list of birds seen on our November 2005 tour
Click
here to download a list of birds seen on our February 2005 tour
This
is designed as a pre-tour to our Northern Argentina Tour
Click
here to download a registration form |
Itinerary
Day
1 – Arrival and Orientation
Upon arrival at the Ezeiza International Airport in the outskirts
of Buenos Aires, transfer to our hotel in the city. Likely your
first birds will be Chalk-browed Mockingbirds, Rufous Horneros
and Southern Lapwings on the grassy verges of the entrance road.
We start our birding tour with an excursion in the afternoon
to the Costanera Sur reserve in Buenos Aires. Costanera Sur is
wonderful, and a mistake! Originally this landfill site was created
to accommodate a housing development and new soccer stadium,
the funds ran dry half way through the project and the site was
allowed to go wild. Argentine naturalists rallied together and
were able to pressure the city to protect the area as a nature
sanctuary, truly a success story in Argentine conservation. You
will be glad that the stadium did not go up as you watch flocks
of Black-necked and Coscoroba Swans, White-faced Tree Duck, Silver
and Speckled Teals, and three species of coots. Smaller numbers
of Lake Duck, Red Shoveler, and the stunning Rosy-billed Pochard,
a relative of scaup and Redhead, but much more colourful, occur
here along with waterbirds that are harder to see, such as the
Black-headed Duck, the only duck in the world that breeds solely
by parasitising other birds, Painted-Snipe, or Rufescent Tiger-heron.
Land birds are plentiful, and include several seedeaters, thrushes,
warbling-finches, Masked Gnatcatcher, the splendid Many-colored
Rush-Tyrant and much more. The tour begins in the evening in
Buenos Aires. Night in Buenos Aires.
Day
2 – North to Ceibas
Buenos Aires lies at the boundary of two life zones, and many
birds reach their southern range limits near the city. Today
we drive northward to see some of these birds. Our first stop
is at a little train station known as Ingeniero Otamendi where
we walk along a track beside marsh and thickets. Here we hope
to find several interesting birds including the rare and local
Straight-billed Reedhaunter. Other birds we should see are Masked
Yellowthroat, Many-colored Rush-Tyrant, Warbling Doradito, and
perhaps Diademed Tanager, Dark-billed Cuckoo, and Green-barred
and Checkered Woodpeckers. In 2005, we found a Marsh Seedeater,
a very rare species. We continue across the rivers that make
up the delta of the Rio de la Plata to a place called Ceibas
in Argentina's Mesopotamia. Ceibas is a site not known to most
birders, but is incredibly diverse. We spend the afternoon and
evening here looking for birds such as Suiriri Flycatcher, the
enigmatic White-naped Xenopsaris, White-fronted Woodpecker, Brazilian
and Ringed Teal, White-tipped Plantcutter, White Monjita, Rufous-capped
Antshrike, and several species of ovenbirds more typical of the
Chaco, the Chotoy Spinetail, Brown Cachalote, Short-billed Canastero,
Little Thornbird and the Stripe-crowned Spinetail. We should
see Scimitar-billed Woodcreeper, a bizarre woodcreeper that forages
on the ground! It is not unusual to see over 100 species of birds
in a day in this varied region. Night in Buenos Aires.
Day 3 – The Pampas
Today we start early, driving out of the huge city of Buenos Aires. As
we exit, the scenery quickly turns rural and is more reminiscent of the
Pampas that W.H. Hudson wrote about in the early 1900s. We stop in at
Magdalena and Atalaya where we bird some wetlands and thickets near the
shores of the Rio de la Plata. We will have no trouble seeing White-rumped
Swallow, Rufous-collared Sparrow, Great Kiskadee and waterbirds such
as Bare-faced Ibis, Plumbeous Rail, Whistling Heron and many others.
The key birds we want to spot here are the local Curve-billed Reedhaunter,
and the not so rare but difficult to see Sulphur-bearded Spinetail; both
are odd marsh inhabiting members of the Furnariidae, the ovenbird family.
Driving the highway to San Clemente del Tuyu we’ll encounter large
concentrations of waterbirds as well as having a good shot at seeing
Greater Rheas, South America's version of the Ostrich. Night in San Clemente
del Tuyu.
Day
4 –Punta Rasa
Punta Rasa is a bird rich peninsula north of San Clemente del Tuyu. Here we
could see some rather rare birds like Dot-winged Crake, Hudson's Canastero,
Bay-capped Wren-Spinetail and Olrog's Gull. The crake is so little known that
its vocalizations and nest are still unknown to science! We should see a wide
variety of wintering shorebirds, such as both yellowlegs, American Golden Plover
possibly with Buff-breasted Sandpiper among them, White-rumped Sandpiper and
Hudsonian Godwit. A major wintering roost of Common Terns at the tip of Punta
Rasa can turn up many other species, an astonishing 11 species of terns have
occurred here including Snowy-crowned Tern! There usually are large flocks
of Black Skimmers on the beaches and groups of Chilean Flamingos and Roseate
Spoonbills in the shallows. Land birding in the woods near Punta Rasa will
be fruitful. We search for the often overlooked Screaming Cowbird along with
its more common relative the Shiny Cowbird and its host the Baywing Cowbird.
We look for singing White-throated Hummingbirds among the Gilded Sapphires,
and we should obtain great looks at some spectacular flycatchers like the Fork-tailed,
Vermilion and the singular Spectacled Tyrant. Much of the day will be spent
inland in the large estancias, or ranches. Here there are great numbers of
waterbirds, including some beautiful ducks like Chiloe Wigeon, the Argentine
race of the Cinnamon Teal and perhaps a White-cheeked Pintail. Three birds
that you are unlikely to forget are the abundant, noisy, but endearing Southern
Lapwing; the flying Jumbo Jet, the Southern Screamer; and the gorgeous Scarlet-headed
Blackbird a slim black bird with the most vivid red head and thighs. We will
also search the area for a local prize, Hudson’s Canastero, which occurs
in open pasturelands with Correndera Pipits and Austral Negritos. Night in
San Clemente del Tuyu.
Day
5 – Return
to Buenos Aires
After a morning of birding, we return to Buenos Aires in the afternoon
to join the start of the Northern Argentina Tour this evening.
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