Argentina!

Laura and I landed in Buenos Aires on the morning of January 9, a little bleary-eyed and feeling the effects from the three flights and two layovers. But we had made it. Nearly six years had passed since I last visited Buenos Aires. It had been the final port of call on my month-long backpacking trip with Adam Timpf and David Bell that started in Santiago, Chile. We had covered a lot of ground on that trip - mainly by overnight buses and one flight - and had seen much of the "Southern Cone" of South America (and its resulting bird species). But my time in Argentina had been relatively brief. It was just over a week in length, with stops at various sites between the windswept plains of Patagonia and the modern city of Buenos Aires. The boys continued on after I had departed, spending another month and change elsewhere in Argentina. 

Harris's Hawk - Reserva Ecológica Costanera Sur, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Laura has never ventured to Argentina and I am keen to explore more of this beautiful and diverse country. Over the next six weeks we have a route planned with a rental car that will take us to the Bolivian border in the northwest, to Iguazú Falls area in the northeast and back to Buenos Aires. 

Laura and I booked our first two nights in Buenos Aires to give us a chance to rest after our overnight travel. This also was a contingency plan in case our luggage was lost somewhere in transit and we needed an extra day to reconnect (luckily, that didn't happen!). Our hotel was located nearby to Costanera Sur, which is a large area of parkland along the waterfront of Buenos Aires. It is a mix of scrub, wetland and woodland, and it is home to many species of birds as well as a nice diversity of other wildlife. Of course it is a popular place amongst Buenos Aires' very active population and many people use the park for jogging, walking and cycling. 

Monk Parakeet - Reserva Ecológica Costanera Sur, Buenos Aires, Argentina

January 9, 2023

Laura and I had a quick nap at the hotel before spending a few hours during the heat of the afternoon along the promenade facing the park. Since Costanera Sur is closed on Mondays we were not allowed to enter into the park, but birding along this wetland-lined pathway can be very productive for ducks, coots, wading birds and the like. 

Reserva Ecológica Costanera Sur, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Silver Teals - Reserva Ecológica Costanera Sur, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Red-gartered Coot - Reserva Ecológica Costanera Sur, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Cattle Tyrant - Reserva Ecológica Costanera Sur, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Speaking of coots, three species are commonly seen at Costanera Sur: Red-fronted, Red-gartered, and White-winged. I was happy to photograph White-winged for the first time.

White-winged Coot - Reserva Ecológica Costanera Sur, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Red-fronted (left) and Red-gartered Coots - Reserva Ecológica Costanera Sur, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Southern Screamers are a conspicuous member of the avifauna here. In addition to the adults, we enjoyed the antics of the very large, baby "screamlets" that towered over nearby ducks and coots. 

Southern Screamer - Reserva Ecológica Costanera Sur, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Since this was Laura's first visit to this corner of South America, many species were new for her and she easily picked up sixteen life birds during our short afternoon visit.

Grayish Baywing - Reserva Ecológica Costanera Sur, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Picazuro Pigeon - Reserva Ecológica Costanera Sur, Buenos Aires, Argentina

The lifers were comparatively fewer for myself - just one (Red-crested Cardinal). 

Red-crested Cardinal - Reserva Ecológica Costanera Sur, Buenos Aires, Argentina

But I photographed a half-dozen birds for the first time. In the last several years I have made a concerted effort to photograph as many as possible and I have currently photographed about 83% of the species on my life list. This trip will give me a chance to improve that percentage as I left many of the species from the 2016 trip un-photographed. 

Lake Duck - Reserva Ecológica Costanera Sur, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Monk Parakeet - Reserva Ecológica Costanera Sur, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Rufous Hornero - Reserva Ecológica Costanera Sur, Buenos Aires, Argentina

These turtles may superficially resemble softshell turtles from a distance, but they are actually a species of sideneck turtle native to southeastern South America. This is Hilaire's Side-necked Turtle (Phrynops hilarii). 

Hilaire's Side-necked Turtle (Phrynops hilarii) - Reserva Ecológica Costanera Sur, Buenos Aires, Argentina

January 10, 2023

We returned for another visit to Costanera Sur, walking up to the entrance a few minutes before it opened at eight. The sun was already pretty high in the sky. It is, after all, midsummer here in the deep south and days are over 14 hours in duration. 

Picazuro Pigeon - Reserva Ecológica Costanera Sur, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Argentine Black-and-white Tegu (Salvator merianae) - Reserva Ecológica Costanera Sur, Buenos Aires, Argentina

We walked the entire perimeter throughout the morning. The park was a lot busier than I expected, especially considering that we were visiting on a Tuesday morning, but I suppose it is good that lots of people are outside being active. And we didn't receive too many strange looks from the others. Birding and nature photography are common pastimes here. 

Red-crested Cardinal - Reserva Ecológica Costanera Sur, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Fork-tailed Flycatcher - Reserva Ecológica Costanera Sur, Buenos Aires, Argentina

The morning was a little cuckoo, however, with two species represented: Dark-billed and Ash-coloured. 

Dark-billed Cuckoos - Reserva Ecológica Costanera Sur, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Ash-coloured Cuckoo - Reserva Ecológica Costanera Sur, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Again, many of the birds were new for Laura. Some of her standout lifers included Masked Gnatcatcher, Black-and-rufous Warbling Finch, Green-barred Woodpecker and Narrow-billed Woodcreeper. 

Black-and-rufous Warbling Finch - Reserva Ecológica Costanera Sur, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Green-barred Woodpecker - Reserva Ecológica Costanera Sur, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Narrow-billed Woodcreepers - Reserva Ecológica Costanera Sur, Buenos Aires, Argentina

None of the birds were new for me, but some of them felt like they were. This was because my only other encounters with many of them were brief sightings at this very same park six years ago (and I have seen a lot of birds in the time since). Again, I focused on adding birds to my world bird photographed list and I was successful with another eleven species. 

Checkered Woodpecker - Reserva Ecológica Costanera Sur, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Gilded Hummingbird - Reserva Ecológica Costanera Sur, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Several species of skulking ducks reside in the waterlily-choked wetlands of Costanera Sur. I was really hoping to find a Masked Duck, but had to settle for Black-headed Duck instead. This was a species that I had only seen once before. 

Black-headed Duck - Reserva Ecológica Costanera Sur, Buenos Aires, Argentina

We quit around 1 PM, enjoyed hamburgers from one of the many food stalls along the promenade, and then headed into the city's interior to source local SIM cards for our phones. This was much more of a hassle than it should have been, but we were eventually successful. We picked up some empanadas from a store on the way back to the hotel, and I write this now as the sun sets on the city. Tomorrow, we have plans to pick up the rental car and head west. 

Golden-crowned Warbler - Reserva Ecológica Costanera Sur, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Coscoroba Swan - Reserva Ecológica Costanera Sur, Buenos Aires, Argentina