Marsh Birding In Ceibas And Otamendi

February 18, 2023

Laura and I left Parque Nacional El Palmar and continued south towards Buenos Aires and beyond. We had just five days remaining in our Argentina trip, with ferry tickets purchased that would take us to Uruguay on February 23. At this point in the trip, potential lifers were few and far between. There was, however, one "important" species that we hoped to nab before departing Argentina: the Hudson's Canastero which is reliably found near San Clemente del Tuyo, almost four hours south of Buenos Aires. We had a chance at several other potential lifers, all of which would give us more opportunities in Uruguay, but we hoped to clean these up before leaving Argentina. They included the Bay-capped Wren-Spinetail, Warbling Doradito and Short-billed Pipit. 

Brazilian Guinea Pig (Cavia aperea) - Ceibas area, Entre Ríos, Argentina

The morning of February 18 was cool and breezy but with a gleaming sun in a bright blue sky. Neither Laura and I had managed much sleep during our car-camping experience at El Palmar and so we enjoyed the relative luxury of a hotel room. This meant that it was nearly 8:30 in the morning when we finally pulled up to our first destination: a dirt road called Camino Cuatro Hermanas in the Ceibas area. This seems to be a semi-reliable site for Short-billed Pipit and Warbling Doradito, along with many other species that find habitat in the mix of agricultural fields, grasslands and wetland pockets. Small populations of Saffron-cowled Blackbirds exist near Ceibas too, but locations for this imperilled species are kept closely guarded and I did not expect to encounter any (spoiler: we did not). 

Roadside birding - Ceibas area, Entre Ríos, Argentina

We made the most of our visit and quickly racked up over 50 species in two hours. One hundred species is very doable along this road, provided that one starts early and avoids a really windy day (we did not on both fronts).  

We found at least one Short-billed Pipit along the road, and heard another singing from somewhere unseen. The only pipit that paused for my camera was this Yellowish Pipit. 

Yellowish Pipit - Ceibas area, Entre Ríos, Argentina

Spectacled Tyrants were abundant in the fields and we enjoyed watching the males occasionally perform their ridiculous flight displays. Roadside birding was very productive with great views of many species; this Black-and-rufous Warbling Finch included. 

Black-and-rufous Warbling Finch - Ceibas area, Entre Ríos, Argentina

Some exploration along the edge of a reed-filled wetland produced our first Warbling Doradito skulking in the edges. We held out faint hope for a flock of Saffron-cowled Blackbirds (they are more widespread now that the breeding season is over), but the closest we got was another species of brown and yellow icterid, the Brown-and-yellow Marshbird. 

Brown-and-yellow Marshbird - Ceibas area, Entre Ríos, Argentina

These fields are well-known in the local birding community as a great site for migrant shorebirds and so we kept an eye out for Upland Sandpiper and Buff-breasted Sandpiper. Though we stopped far too many times to scope distant American Golden-Plovers, we finally succeeded with a single Upland Sandpiper as well. It was one of those terrible views through heat haze where the ID was made from the overall shape and behaviour of the bird, since it was far too blurry to see actual field marks. Again, an early start is essential to beat the haze (and wind), if one wants to scope shorebirds in the fields here. 

Laura with Pampas Grass (Cortaderia selloana) - Ceibas area, Entre Ríos, Argentina

We finished our visit to Camino Cuatro Hermanas and had enough time to check out another dirt road, which accessed an eBird hotspot called Ceibas - Terraplén. It traversed similar terrain as the Camino Cuatro Hermanas and eventually passed a large wetland that was dry, given the time of year. 

Near the entrance of the road we finally obtained our first good looks at several highly-territorial pairs of Little Thornbirds. 

Little Thornbird - Ceibas area, Entre Ríos, Argentina

Laura still had not seen a Ringed Teal (I had this species from a previous visit to Argentina in 2016) and there had been recent eBird reports of this species here. Along the road, we noticed a couple of ducks swimming in a cattle pond that was behind a row of thorny bushes. Finding a gap, we were thrilled to connect with a pair of Ringed Teals, alongside Brazilian Teals and Silver Teals. 

Ringed Teal - Ceibas area, Entre Ríos, Argentina

Silver Teal - Ceibas area, Entre Ríos, Argentina

Even though it was approaching midday, we still found quite a few bird species including our first Sharp-shinned Hawk for Argentina. The large wetland was dry (as expected), which limited the waterbirds present. Highlights included Pantanal Snipes, a Scarlet-headed Blackbird, two species of ibis and a Rufescent Tiger-Heron. I played tapes for Warbling Doradito, hoping for a repeat performance, but was denied. 

Junonia genoveva hilaris - Ceibas area, Entre Ríos, Argentina

Our most memorable find here was a snake on the road. This gorgeous little fella is called Gunther's Striped Snake (Lygophis anomalus). It has a relatively restricted range in east-central Argentina, Uruguay and barely into southern Brazil but it can be common in suitable habitat. This was a new species for Laura and I. 

Gunther's Striped Snake (Lygophis anomalus) - Reserva Natural Otamendi, Buenos Aires, Argentina

It just so happened that one of the only cars we would see on this road passed us as we were photographing the snake. What were the odds that the occupants of the car included a fellow naturalist and his family, and he deftly identified the snake for us. Not what we were expecting along the side of a dirt road in rural Argentina!

Gunther's Striped Snake (Lygophis anomalus) - Reserva Natural Otamendi, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Gunther's Striped Snake (Lygophis anomalus) - Reserva Natural Otamendi, Buenos Aires, Argentina

February 19, 2023

Laura and I returned to the Otamendi Reserve to brave the dusty road for a repeat visit this morning. This had been our first stop with the rental car way back on January 11, and at the time we had found one of our main targets (Straight-billed Reedhaunter) and heard another (Curve-billed Reedhaunter). We hoped for a repeat performance with these species, as well as to perhaps find a Sulphur-bearded Reedhaunter which was a species that Laura had never seen. 

As expected, the moderate traffic rate and dusty road made birding a little difficult at times as we tried to stay on the upwind side of each passing vehicle. However, with some persistence, we found quite a few species of interest along the road. 

This Many-coloured Rush-Tyrant popped up beside us, lit up perfectly by the low angle of the sun's rays. I never tire of this charismatic little flycatcher!

Many-colored Rush Tyrant - Reserva Natural Otamendi, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Many-colored Rush Tyrant - Reserva Natural Otamendi, Buenos Aires, Argentina

The reedhaunters were a lot less vocal this time around. During our January visit, we were present during the latter half of the breeding season, while an additional six weeks had now past. It was no surprise that birdsong in general was much diminished. 

We only found two reedhaunters but they were of our target species. Success!

Sulphur-bearded Reedhaunter - Reserva Natural Otamendi, Buenos Aires, Argentina

A Long-tailed Reed-Finch provided the best-ever looks we have had of this species, too. 

Long-tailed Reed Finch - Reserva Natural Otamendi, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Though the dirt road accesses the extensive wetland habitats, in the nearby reserve one can walk along a small trail system. We decided to pay Parque Nacional Otamendi a visit, but once again were a little disappointed by our national park experience. It did not open until 10 AM while the trails remained closed until 10:20 AM (for no apparent reason). We hoped to be able to access the massive wetland complex by foot, but the trails only looped around several small woodlots near the headquarters. Our visit happened to be on a Sunday, and within an hour of opening the meagre trail system was crawling with Argentinian tourists enjoying the beautiful day. The staff were all friendly and all the visitors were too, but it was not the sort of place worth visiting if your primary goal is finding a lot of native birds. That being said, we enjoyed a casual stroll through the woods, seeing the odd thing, before departing around noon. 

Laura and I drove south for the afternoon, bypassing Buenos Aires and finding a decent hotel in the town of La Plata. We hoped to finish the drive to San Clemente del Tuyú the next day. Hudson's Canasteros awaited...