Córdoba is the second most populated city in Argentina, located in the Punilla Valley around 600 km northwest of Buenos Aires. Laura and I spent one night in the city before our morning's birding. Our destination: the beautiful Sierras de Córdoba to the west of the city and specifically, Parque Nacional Quebrada de Condorito. It was, however, not the famous Andean Condors that we were after, but rather two species of cinclodes that are only found in this isolated mountain chain: Olrog's and Córdoba Cinclodes.
Under impossibly blue skies we drove westwards, quickly leaving the valley behind and gaining elevation into the mountains. Vegetation is relatively sparse in these hills - scrubby areas abound, along with patches of bunchgrass. The scenery felt reminiscent of some areas in Peru over 3500m in elevation, though our elevation for the day never surpassed 2000 m.
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| Sierras de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina |
A pair of Gray-hooded Parakeets streaked across the road and disappeared into an area of rocky crags. In response, we shot out of the car and after a few minutes re-found them. I'm not sure why they are named "gray-hooded", perhaps "gray-capped" would have been a better moniker.
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| Gray-hooded Parakeet - Sierras de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina |
One of the eBird hotspots along the road is a small parking area next to a stream that rushes down the mountainside called Quebrada del Batán. We spent around an hour here, taking in the spectacular scenery and finding quite a few interesting birds.
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| Quebrada del Batán, Córdoba, Argentina |
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| Southern Martin - Quebrada del Batán, Córdoba, Argentina |
Laura was on her game this morning and she quickly spotted the day's most unexpected bird: a pair of Rufous-sided Warbling Finches feeding on the seeds of some of the bunchgrass. This species is found in high elevation Andean scrub from Bolivia to northwestern Argentina, though it is rather uncommon in the mountains west of Córdoba.
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| Rufous-sided Warbling Finch - Quebrada del Batán, Córdoba, Argentina |
Laura also found our first (and only) Olrog's Cinclodes of the day while I was back at the car retrieving a fresh camera battery. Luckily for me, it hung around long enough for us both to enjoy face-melting views of it.
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| Olrog's Cinclodes - Quebrada del Batán, Córdoba, Argentina |
The Olrog's Cinclodes carefully crept along the edges of the rock face, even disappearing into a narrow crevice to inspect it for the presence of hidden arthropods.
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| Olrog's Cinclodes - Quebrada del Batán, Córdoba, Argentina |
White-collared Swifts whirred by below eye-level, disappearing into a cave beside the rushing creek. We wondered if they were nesting somewhere in there. As the morning's temperatures increased, numerous other species took to the wing including Southern Martins, Andean Swifts and Variable Hawks.
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| Variable Hawk - Quebrada del Batán, Córdoba, Argentina |
Our final lifer at Quebrada de Batán was a spectacular male Red-tailed Comet, though I never managed good photos of it. On to the next site!
We birded the entrance road to Parque Nacional Quebrada del Condorito, stopping frequently. We were a little surprised by how many cars passed us on this stretch; apparently, this is a popular weekend destination for locals. I could see why as the scenery here was just gorgeous. During one of our stops, Laura attempted to befriend several horses.
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| Making friends - PN Quebrada del Condorito, Córdoba, Argentina |
It was along this entrance road where we easily found our other main target for the day, the Córdoba Cinclodes.
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| Córdoba Cinclodes - PN Quebrada del Condorito, Córdoba, Argentina |
One of the individuals clearly had babies in a nest somewhere nearby as it had a mouthful of worms.
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| Córdoba Cinclodes - PN Quebrada del Condorito, Córdoba, Argentina |
This individual found a particularly scenic perch in the field with the horses!
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| Córdoba Cinclodes - PN Quebrada del Condorito, Córdoba, Argentina |
Laura's first Long-tailed Meadowlarks elicited the proper reaction from her. This is just a stunning species.
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| Long-tailed Meadowlark - PN Quebrada del Condorito, Córdoba, Argentina |
The Sierras de Córdoba are isolated from the main chain of the Andes, a feature which has allowed the two species of cinclodes to evolve into unique species compared to the Andean forms. An additional species, the Puna Canastero, is also found in this area and is split by some authorities as the Córdoba Canastero. I wasn't sure where this species could be found, but the Puna Canasteros of southern Peru prefer extensive areas of dense bunchgrass. We found a particularly suitable patch and a minute later we were staring at our first Córdoba Canastero!
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| Puna (Córdoba) Canastero - PN Quebrada del Condorito, Córdoba, Argentina |
This is likely a young individual, as evidenced by its fleshy gape. This is probably the reason why it was so tame, allowing me to roast it with photos. It hadn't yet acquired the wariness that is typically shown by this skulky species.
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| Puna Canastero - PN Quebrada del Condorito, Córdoba, Argentina |
It felt like spring here in the mountains. The sun was shining, a brisk breeze was lightly blowing, and the birds were singing and displaying. One of the most prominent species was the Spectacled Tyrant. We watched one male perform his display to a watching female. He flew straight up in the air, paused, and quickly snapped his wingtips together before softly falling back down to his perch.
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| Spectacled Tyrant - PN Quebrada del Condorito, Córdoba, Argentina |
Our final new sighting of the morning was a Hellmayr's Pipit in a grassy field, and then it was time to move on. We ended up in a different area with steep rock walls and scrubby vegetation, undoubtedly home to a different set of birds.
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| Puente Colgante area, Córdoba, Argentina |
The birding was unexpectedly excellent! One of the show stoppers was the Red-tailed Comet, of which there were many.
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| Red-tailed Comet - Puente Colgante, Córdoba, Argentina |
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| Red-tailed Comet - Puente Colgante, Córdoba, Argentina |
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| Red-tailed Comet - Puente Colgante, Córdoba, Argentina |
The sweet warbled song of a Black-and-chestnut Warbling Finch was a welcome addition to the soundscape. What a beaut...
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| Black-and-chestnut Warbling Finch - Puente Colgante, Córdoba, Argentina |
We picked up a couple of additional lifers here, including Chaco Earthcreeper and Brown-crowned Tit-Spinetail. Our only Andean Condors of the day cruised over, too. A very productive spot, indeed!
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| Chaco Earthcreeper - Puente Colgante, Córdoba, Argentina |
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| Brown-capped Tit-Spinetail - Puente Colgante, Córdoba, Argentina |
And in case you were worried that I have stopped looking at anything that isn't a bird, fear not. This grasshopper was a real stunner, though I am ashamed to admit that it was the only non-bird that I photographed during the morning.
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| Diponthus puelchus - Puente Colgante, Córdoba, Argentina |
We left the mountains behind, having seen everything that we had hoped to (plus some bonus species). After a quick coffee and empanada stop, we continued down into the valley and northwards towards the town of Capilla del Monte. With a few hours to kill in the afternoon, we investigated an area of chaco forest called Balcón de Punilla. Several dirt tracks probe deep into the thorny forest, giving access to a habitat that is home to a number of specialists.
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| Balcón de Punilla, Córdoba, Argentina |
Most birders come here for the rare Black-bodied Woodpecker. We did not see any. But the birding was still excllent, even in the heat of the afternoon. Highlights included Blue-tufted Starthroat, Chaco Sparrow, the Chaco subspecies of Spot-backed Puffbird and Blue-crowned Parakeets.
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| Spot-backed Puffbird - Balcón de Punilla, Córdoba, Argentina |
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| Blue-tufted Starthroat - Balcón de Punilla, Córdoba, Argentina |
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| Blue-crowned Parakeet - Balcón de Punilla, Córdoba, Argentina |
A whole host of drab, grayish flycatchers made their way onto our eBird checklist, as did another Black-and-chestnut Warbling Finch and both Andean and Tataupa Tinamous. The ubiquitous Golden-billed Saltator was present as well. You can tell this is a Golden-billed Saltator because it does not have a golden bill. Perhaps, Carrot-billed Saltator would be more appropriate?
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| Golden-billed Saltator - Balcón de Punilla, Córdoba, Argentina |
It had been one heck of a day and Laura and I were pretty pleased with how it worked out! That evening, we found an excellent little hosteria in Capilla del Monte and enjoyed our empanadas that we had purchased earlier along with some delicious malbec to wash it all down.
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