February 20, 2023
As we traveled south from Buenos Aires, the landscape opened up. The small towns and communities became less frequent, giving way to vast expanses of pasture and agriculture with nary a tree in sight, other than the occasional hedgerow. Several hours later, and we were in the realm of the Hudson's Canastero - the open pampas of southeastern Argentina.
With the sun high in the sky, Laura and I made our first birding stop at a well-known side-road leaving the main Ruta 11, about 45 minutes before reaching our final destination of San Clemente del Tuyú. The Hudson's Canastero can be found anywhere in this general region, as long as suitable wet grasslands are found, but birders tend to flock to the same hotspots in search of their target species. Most of the time, that is due to a lack of time. Why spend several hours visiting a new area where you might not find your target, when you can spend 20 minutes at a "guaranteed" spot?
Admittedly, this is not my favourite style of birding. It is akin to twitching a rare bird, as opposed to using your own knowledge of habitats and bird behaviour to discover your target. I much prefer the satisfaction that comes with visiting a little-known area and discovering the avian curiosities that occur here. But Laura and I were a little short on time and so we stopped at the well-known Hudson's Canastero spot.
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| Hudson's Canastero spot - General Lavalle area, Buenos Aires, Argentina |
Of course, it should come as no surprise that we struck out with our main target. The canastero wouldn't give itself up that easily. We enjoyed an hour of birding along the quiet roadside, though. The bright sun and brisk breeze limited bird activity, but with some effort we drummed up several Freckle-breasted Thornbirds and Sulphur-bearded Reedhaunters, a Bearded Tachuri, and a distant Greater Rhea, shimmering in the distant heat haze.
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| Sulphur-bearded Reedhaunter - General Lavalle area, Buenos Aires, Argentina |
We reached San Clemete del Tuyú and checked into the hotel. Finding an available room in this town was a more difficult proposition than we had envisioned, but we should have known. It was a weekend, and this stretch of coastline with beautiful, white-sand beaches is a popular vacation spot for residents of Buenos Aires and surrounding areas. Laura called around to various hotels, motels and guest-houses until we found one that had one room left. Lucky!
Once the worst of the afternoon heat had subsided, we headed back out to visit nearby Punta Rasa. This long stretch of sandy beach and native grassland is a popular birding spot. Not only are many of the specialty grassland birds present, but the extensive beach is a popular spot for gulls, terns, and shorebirds. Seawatching can also be quite productive in the right conditions since Punta Rasa is a long peninsula that migrating birds may veer past as they head north (or south) along the coast.
Due to recent rains, the entrance road to the beach was a little sketchy at times, with several muddy pools filled to the brim that one has to drive through. In town, it was easy to spot which vehicles had recently completed that drive: see below for evidence of our own car!
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| Reserva Natural Municipal Punta Rasa, Buenos Aires, Argentina |
Our visit produced 10 species of shorebirds, highlighted by a Hudsonian Godwit moulting into breeding plumage, a Ruddy Turnstone, several White-rumped Sandpipers and a trio of Two-banded Plovers.
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| Hudsonian Godwit - Reserva Natural Municipal Punta Rasa, Buenos Aires, Argentina |
Terns were another target of mine and we quickly found a few Snowy-crowned Terns roosting on the beach. I had seen this species once before, quite distantly in southern Argentina on my 2016 trip, but this was a much better viewing experience. It was a new species for Laura.
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| Snowy-crowned Terns - Reserva Natural Municipal Punta Rasa, Buenos Aires, Argentina |
The most unusual sighting of the day was a young Parasitic Jaeger that was resting on the sand. I have only ever seen this species out at sea before, as they are rarely seen on land away from their breeding sites in the Arctic. The young bird seemed to be in good health and it took a few spins chasing after gulls, as jaegers are known to do.
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| Parasitic Jaeger - Reserva Natural Municipal Punta Rasa, Buenos Aires, Argentina |
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| Parasitic Jaeger - Reserva Natural Municipal Punta Rasa, Buenos Aires, Argentina |
The gull diversity was a little light and we were unable to turn up any Olrog's Gulls, which would have been a lifer for Laura. Only the expected Brown-hooded and Kelp Gulls made appearances. Perhaps the large number of vehicles and people along the beach limited the gull roosts.
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| Brown-hooded Gulls - Reserva Natural Municipal Punta Rasa, Buenos Aires, Argentina |
A mud-lined lagoon on the lee side of the peninsula was chock-full of these crabs, which I have identified as Granulated Crabs (Neohelice granulata). This species is well-studied, as one would expect given its abundance. It feeds mainly on sediment, plant detritus and Spartina sp.
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| Granulated Crabs (Neohelice granulata) - Reserva Natural Municipal Punta Rasa, Buenos Aires, Argentina |
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| Granulated Crabs (Neohelice granulata) - Reserva Natural Municipal Punta Rasa, Buenos Aires, Argentina |
We left the peninsula with several hours of daylight to spare. It was time to search again for the Hudson's Canastero and the Bay-capped Wren-Spinetail. This time, I chose a dirt road just outside of town that passed through decent quality grasslands. My hope was that the slightly cooler temperatures and diminished wind of the evening would make searching more productive.
This time, we were in luck! It only took a few minutes until we were face-to-face with our first Hudson's Canastero. I couldn't believe my luck when it perched, completely unobscured, only a few meters away. Canasteros prefer skulking deep in the grasses, so having an open view of one is a moment worth savouring.
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| Hudson's Canastero - San Clemente del Tuyú, Buenos Aires, Argentina |
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| Hudson's Canastero - San Clemente del Tuyú, Buenos Aires, Argentina |
Our good fortune continued when we discovered a pair of skulking Bay-capped Wren-Spinetails as well. They were a little bit more secretive, but with some patience we enjoyed incredible views of these as well.
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| Bay-capped Wren-Spinetail - San Clemente del Tuyú, Buenos Aires, Argentina |
We would have additional chances at Bay-capped Wren-Spinetails in the upcoming days in Uruguay, but it was nice to get this one out of the way, so to speak!
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| Bay-capped Wren-Spinetail - San Clemente del Tuyú, Buenos Aires, Argentina |
February 21, 2023
With both of our main targets acquired, the pressure was off for our second day in the San Clemente del Tuyú. I was eager to visit Punta Rasa first thing in the morning, when the lighting would be better for birding and there would be far fewer people on the beach.
Before reaching the beach, we stopped at a couple of sites to try to find a Dot-winged Crake. Though we heard one calling from the sedges and grasses at the edge of a lagoon, we were unable to actually see it (and we didn't feel like playing tapes for a long time at a heavily birded site like this).
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| Reserva Natural Municipal Punta Rasa, Buenos Aires, Argentina |
Our early visit to the beaches of Punta Rasa was productive. Shorebirds, gulls and terns were in greater abundance compared to the previous afternoon. We added a few new species to our Argentina lists, including Red Knot and Spotted Sandpiper. Photo opportunities of Snowy-crowned Terns abounded, and we even had an encore performance from the Parasitic Jaeger which was still patrolling the beach.
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| Snowy-crowned Tern - Reserva Natural Municipal Punta Rasa, Buenos Aires, Argentina |
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| Brown-hooded Gull - Reserva Natural Municipal Punta Rasa, Buenos Aires, Argentina |
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| Parasitic Jaeger - Reserva Natural Municipal Punta Rasa, Buenos Aires, Argentina |
A group of nine Chilean Flamingos glowed like beacons, lit up by the morning rays.
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| Chilean Flamingos - Reserva Natural Municipal Punta Rasa, Buenos Aires, Argentina |
Shorebird numbers were increased, with White-rumped Sandpipers making up the bulk of them. Several flocks of Red Knots were a nice sight, while the American Oystercatchers were looking as crisp as ever. We counted at least 25 Two-banded Plovers blending in with the sand.
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| Red Knots - Reserva Natural Municipal Punta Rasa, Buenos Aires, Argentina |
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| Two-banded Plover - Reserva Natural Municipal Punta Rasa, Buenos Aires, Argentina |
The Parasitic Jaeger put a show, chasing around Kelp Gulls and Chimango Caracaras.
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| Parasitic Jaeger and Chimango Caracara - Reserva Natural Municipal Punta Rasa, Buenos Aires, Argentina |
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| Parasitic Jaeger and Kelp Gull - Reserva Natural Municipal Punta Rasa, Buenos Aires, Argentina |
I sea-watched for about an hour but not much was moving other than distant flocks of Snowy-crowned, Royal and Common Terns. A single flock of Fulvous Whistling-Ducks powered by over the sand, turning north along the coast.
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| Fulvous Whistling-Ducks - Reserva Natural Municipal Punta Rasa, Buenos Aires, Argentina |
We found a single Austral Negrito on the beach as well. This species breeds further south during the summer, so it must be a newly arrived fall migrant.
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| Austral Negrito - Reserva Natural Municipal Punta Rasa, Buenos Aires, Argentina |
Satisfied with our morning, Laura and I headed into town for a walk at a nearby city park. We had just one target here, a species that we would no doubt see in Uruguay and Brazil in the upcoming weeks. It only took a few minutes until we spotted our first White-throated Hummingbird. Success!
Our Argentina trip was coming to a close. All what was left was the long drive back to Buenos Aires. We detoured to an area of canals and grassland with a high bird list, conveniently located only a minute off the highway.
Among the 50 species, we noted quite a few ducks and waterbirds, highlighted by Black-headed Duck, Lake Duck, Hudsonian Godwit and most of the expected wading birds. I only photographed one bird species here, a Wren-like Rushbird.
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| Wren-like Rushbird - Canal 2, General Lavalle, Buenos Aires, Argentina |
And with that, we spent the rest of the afternoon driving back towards Buenos Aires. We spent the night in the same hotel as two nights earlier in the town of La Plata.
February 22, 2023
Laura and I spent our final day in Argentina by sleeping in, taking care of some errands, and visiting Costanera Sur in Buenos Aires for one last visit (and one final choripán from a food truck!). We didn't really have any big targets remaining here, though Laura still hadn't seen a Chiloe Wigeon and there had been some recent reports here.
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| Spot-flanked Gallinule - Reserva Ecológica Costanera Sur, Buenos Aires, Argentina |
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| Black-necked Swan - Reserva Ecológica Costanera Sur, Buenos Aires, Argentina |
Luck was on our side and we quickly found the Chiloe Wigeon pair with some other puddle ducks.
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| Chiloe Wigeon - Reserva Ecológica Costanera Sur, Buenos Aires, Argentina |
For our final dinner in Buenos Aires, we took advantage of the availability of a diverse cuisine and found a Thai restaurant with good reviews. Perhaps not the most Argentine of all meals, but we were ready for something with some different flavours, and it hit the spot.
The next morning, we took a ferry from Buenos Aires across the Río de la Plata into Uruguay. So long Argentina, it's been a trip!
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