Araucaria Forests near San Pedro

February 9 - 11, 2023

The Brazilian Araucaria is a tree that seems more suited to the pages of a Dr. Seuss book than the rolling hills of the Atlantic forests of southern Brazil and northeastern Argentina. Stands of Araucaria angustifolia are peculiar looking, with massive trunks rising high towards the sky and long, spindly branches covered with distinctive scale-like leaves. Now, most people are familiar with the Monkey Puzzle Tree, a similar but hardier species (Araucaria araucana) native to the southern Andes of Chile, and which has been naturalized in many places across the world. The Brazilian Araucaria has a much more reduced range in southern Brazil. Vast tracts of Brazilian Araucarias used to be found across the landscape, but today, over 97% of these forests have been lost. Those that are remaining are strongly protected (in theory). 

Once leaving Parque Provincial Urugua-í, Laura and I drove south on paved roads to the town of San Pedro. The excellent hotel Ceferino Rodriguez would be our base for a couple nights as we explored some nearby natural areas. One of these sites, located right at the edge of town, was Parque Provincial Araucaria, home to thousands of its namesake tree. And while we would spend a lot of time in Brazil in Araucaria forests, this would be our first time experiencing them. 

Parque Provincial Araucaria, Misiones, Argentina

As one might surmise, this unique landscape is home to a number of species found nowhere else. Several bird species are strongly linked with Araucaria araucana including a couple of parrot species which specialize on the seeds. The Red-spectacled Parrot of southern Brazil is one example, while the Vinaceous-breasted Parrot is another. 

During our first afternoon in San Pedro, I headed down to the provincial park to try my luck with Vinaceous-breasted Parrots. I was also hoping to stumble across a few other potential lifers, including Pileated Parrot, Canebrake Groundcreeper and Planalto Woodcreeper. It was a hot and steamy afternoon but as the sun slunk lower in the sky, the massive Araucaria trees provided ample shade. 

Parque Provincial Araucaria, Misiones, Argentina

My visit was only moderately successful, but that's birding for you. My only Canebrake Groundcreeper refused to show itself and had to stay as heard-only. Pileated Parrots were a no-show (no worries, we would have plenty of opportunities to see these down the line). And my Vinaceous-breasted Parrot experience was a little bit lacking. I could hear the distinctive calls of a few parrots throughout my walk, but getting views was another story. The boughs of the beautiful Brazilian Araucaria trees were a double-edged sword; they cast bountiful shade, but also blocked potential views of parrots! At last, right at dusk, I observed my quarry. They immediately flew to the north, only allowing the chance for some barely-identifiable, distant photos. I would have to return the next day. 

One of my targets was cooperative, at least. This Planalto Woodcreeper was a nice surprise in a small mixed flock somewhere along the trail system. 

Planalto Woodcreeper - Parque Provincial Araucaria, Misiones, Argentina

A pair of Red-breasted Toucans provided a splash of colour as they perched high up in an Araucaria. This was an exciting moment as our only other Red-breasted Toucans up to this point had been heard-only. And nobody wants a heard-only toucan...

Red-breasted Toucan - Parque Provincial Araucaria, Misiones, Argentina

Laura and I returned together to Parque Provincial Araucaria the following evening after an exciting day of birding at Cruce Caballero (more on that later). This time, we went straight to the location where I had found the Vinaceous-breasted Parrots at dusk the previous day, as opposed to spending time on the trail system. 

Our plan was a winning one. We quickly found a small group of Vinaceous-breasted Parrots and enjoyed nice scope views.

Vinaceous-breasted Parrots - Parque Provincial Araucaria, Misiones, Argentina

Several individuals even indulged us with a fly-by, illuminated by the setting sun. 

Vinaceous-breasted Parrot - Parque Provincial Araucaria, Misiones, Argentina

Vinaceous-breasted Parrots - Parque Provincial Araucaria, Misiones, Argentina

We heard another Canebrake Groundcreeper and found another new species for both of us: the Scalloped Woodcreeper. A very successful evening!

Laura and I made sure to visit another renowned provincial park, just a short drive from the town of San Pedro. Parque Provincial Cruce Caballero provides habitat for a wide diversity of interesting species, many of which are rather range-restricted in Argentina. Some of the big game targets for us here were Helmeted Woodpecker, Planalto Tapaculo, Saffron Toucanet, Araucaria Tit-Spinetail, and White-throated Woodcreeper. The Helmeted Woodpecker was the big one.

Unfortunately, our luck must have run out by this point as we completely struck out with our target woodpecker, tapaculo and toucanet in two days of searching. The birding was also really slow at times, and there was almost no birdsong whatsoever which seemed odd. That being said, the park was absolutely beautiful and we had it completely to ourselves. 

Parque Provincial Cruce Caballero, Misiones, Argentina

A Rufous-thighed Kite, our first, was a great way to kick off our two days here. Laura spotted it sitting quietly in the midstory.

Rufous-thighed Kite - Parque Provincial Cruce Caballero, Misiones, Argentina

Like its close relative the Double-toothed Kite, the Rufous-thighed Kite also shows a dark line through the throat which is a rather unique feature, and a good way to tell it apart from similar raptors like the Sharp-shinned Hawk. 

Rufous-thighed Kite - Parque Provincial Cruce Caballero, Misiones, Argentina

The massive Brazilian Araucaria trees provide ideal habitat for Araucaria Tit-Spinetails and we found plenty of them. They were very easy to detect with their high-pitched vocalizations. It was made especially simple since none of the other bird species were drowning out the sound with their own voices. 

Araucaria Tit-Spinetail - Parque Provincial Cruce Caballero, Misiones, Argentina

We found a family group of Yellow-fronted Woodpeckers during that first morning as well. They hung around for a while, giving us a chance to enjoy their antics. 

Yellow-fronted Woodpecker - Parque Provincial Cruce Caballero, Misiones, Argentina

We really put in the effort here but the birds just weren't cooperating. The first morning was rather cold and breezy, while the sporadic rain showers that drifted through did not help matters. The second morning was beautifully calm and sunny but even that did not entice the birds to sing. Unfortunately, February is not the best time to visit this part of the world if you are a birder! It is the non-breeding season for most species, making them a lot trickier to track down. 

Parque Provincial Cruce Caballero, Misiones, Argentina

But we persevered and built up a respectable bird list over our two days. Some of the other new species for us included Planalto Tyrannulet, Greenish Schiffornis, Uniform Finch and Pileated Woodpecker. 

Bertoni's Antbird - Parque Provincial Cruce Caballero, Misiones, Argentina

Greenish Schiffornis - Parque Provincial Cruce Caballero, Misiones, Argentina

We finally found our first White-throated Woodcreeper, too. Even better - it performed its incredibly loud song for us as well!

White-throated Woodcreeper - Parque Provincial Cruce Caballero, Misiones, Argentina

And not long after that, we stumbled across a Creamy-bellied Gnatcatcher in a mixed flock. The looks were rather short, unfortunately, but it was good to have another crack at seeing this scarce bird. Some of the other bird highlights for us at Cruce Caballero included Red-breasted Toucan, Blackish-blue Seedeater, Chestnut-headed Tanager, Gray-hooded Flycatcher, Vinaceous-breasted Parrot, Drab-breasted Pygmy-Tyrant and Wing-barred Piprites. 

Wing-barred Piprites - Parque Provincial Cruce Caballero, Misiones, Argentina

Drab-breasted Pygmy-Tyrant - Parque Provincial Cruce Caballero, Misiones, Argentina

Rufous-capped Spinetail - Parque Provincial Cruce Caballero, Misiones, Argentina

The main trail that continues beyond the ranger's house proved to be quite active with butterflies during the late morning hours once the sun had burned through the clouds. Skippers in particular were well-represented. Here are a few of my favourites during our two visits. 

Miltomiges cinnamomea - Parque Provincial Cruce Caballero, Misiones, Argentina

Eutychide physcella - Parque Provincial Cruce Caballero, Misiones, Argentina

Unidentified skipper - Parque Provincial Cruce Caballero, Misiones, Argentina

Cymaenes gisca - Parque Provincial Cruce Caballero, Misiones, Argentina

Conflua Skipper (Tirynthia conflua) - Parque Provincial Cruce Caballero, Misiones, Argentina

Virga austrinus - Parque Provincial Cruce Caballero, Misiones, Argentina

Below are some of the other insects I stopped to photograph at Cruce Caballero. 

Staleochlora arcuata - Parque Provincial Cruce Caballero, Misiones, Argentina

Unidentified Ichneumoid Wasp  - Parque Provincial Cruce Caballero, Misiones, Argentina

Steirastoma marmoratum - Parque Provincial Cruce Caballero, Misiones, Argentina

Tropidacris cristata - Parque Provincial Cruce Caballero, Misiones, Argentina

The entrance road to Cruce Caballero was a lot birdier than the actual reserve, but that is typical of open, disturbed habitats. We found a few interesting species along here including Pileated Parrot, Laughing Falcon and this White-eared Puffbird. 

White-eared Puffbird - Parque Provincial Cruce Caballero, Misiones, Argentina

Despite missing a few of our targets, the San Pedro area served us well and we enjoyed our time here. We then drove south to the Caá Yarí area which will be the setting of my next blog post.