Parque Provincial Caá Yarí

Our swing through Misiones province of northeastern Argentina was coming to a close with just a couple of days remaining. When researching this part of Argentina, I kept noticing one particular area that had a number of interesting eBird reports, but very little information on public access. The name of this region was Caá Yarí, and it appeared to be accessed from a gravel road south of San Pedro. From the few trip reports that mention this area, it seemed possible to just drive down the gravel road until reaching the forest. Laura and I planned to do just that, hoping to car-camp somewhere along the way. 

February 11, 2023 (continued)   

It was just a short drive to Caá Yarí from the town of San Pedro and we arrived during the heat of the afternoon. The gravel road was of reasonable quality and we eventually parked at the guard house for the provincial park. As expected, nobody was around; it appears that this area receives very few visitors. 

Laura and I poked around alongside the road, and I scouted out sites to set up the moth sheet/light. By 4 PM the heat had subsided somewhat, so we decided to do some late afternoon roadside birding. 

One thing about Caá Yarí is that the good quality forest isn't easily accessible. We only drove a few kilometers past the guard house down the dirt road, and it would seem that during rainy periods this road could be inaccessible for vehicles without 4X4. The areas that we explored consisted of secondary forest with few large trees. Despite this, there were still quite a few interesting species here. 

Our afternoon foray was very productive and we turned up a pair of life birds. Some speculative playback in a decent looking area instigated an immediate response from a Gray-throated Warbling-Finch. 

Gray-throated Warbling Finch - PP Caá Yarí, Misiones, Argentina

A minute later, I spotted this Shear-tailed Gray-Tyrant teed up on the top of a dead tree. 

Shear-tailed Gray Tyrant - PP Caá Yarí, Misiones, Argentina

This was a completely unexpected discovery, as Shear-tailed Gray-Tyrants are pretty rare in Argentina. Most records are from the period of May-November, so this February record was a bit of an anomaly. That being said, Caá Yarí is one of the more reliable sites in Argentina to find this species. 

Shear-tailed Gray Tyrant - PP Caá Yarí, Misiones, Argentina

A small mixed flock in this area produced great views of Green-backed Becards and a family group of Diademed Tanagers. Both of these were lifers for Laura! They didn't really cooperate for photos, though...

Green-backed Becard - PP Caá Yarí, Misiones, Argentina

One of the main reasons that we wanted to car-camp at Caá Yarí was the potential for night-time naturalist activities. The moth sheet, for one, and the chance to night-hike, for two. But also, this area can be somewhat reliable for Long-tufted Screech-Owl, Rusty-barred Owl, and on occasion, Long-trained Nightjar. 

We had one more surprise in store while we waited for night to fall at a particular bridge that had relatively recent eBird reports of the screech-owl. A bit of speculative playback caused a Planalto Tapaculo to lose his mind and start calling back. We even had a great view of him perched deep in the thickets and then flying across the road. Clearly, he had never been "tickled" with playback before. This was a great catch-up bird after dipping on it at Cruce Caballero in the preceding days.

About half an hour after sunset, the Long-tufted Screech-Owls began vocalizing, though we were unable to obtain views. We slowly drove sections of the road where Long-trained Nightjars are sometimes reported, but we came up empty. This ended up being one of our only misses in the Atlantic Forest. It is a tricky species outside of the breeding season.

The best bird that we found on the drive was this Common Potoo, perched down low on a fence post. 

Common Potoo - PP Caá Yarí, Misiones, Argentina

Laura and I went for a stroll for a kilometer or so, south of the guard house. We finally succeeded with hearing our first Rusty-barred Owls, but they, too remained out of sight. The walk was otherwise fairly uneventful. Perhaps the dry conditions were making it difficult to find many herps. Below are a few of the scant photos that I took during the walk. 

Adimantus ornatissimus - PP Caá Yarí, Misiones, Argentina

Tailed Sulphur (Phoebis neocypris) - PP Caá Yarí, Misiones, Argentina

Hypselonotus interruptus - PP Caá Yarí, Misiones, Argentina

Coptopteryx sp. - PP Caá Yarí, Misiones, Argentina

Stalaeochlora arcuata iguazuensis - PP Caá Yarí, Misiones, Argentina

The rest of the evening was devoted to the moth sheet. 

Manduca florestan - PP Caá Yarí, Misiones, Argentina

Euglyphis sp. - PP Caá Yarí, Misiones, Argentina

At one point, I heard some rustling in the trees behind me. Lo and behold, there was a Long-tufted Screech-Owl, also checking out the moth action!

Long-tufted Screech-Owl - PP Caá Yarí, Misiones, Argentina

It was a pretty excellent evening at the sheet and I could have stayed up all night checking out the insects. Unfortunately, I had to drag myself away as we would be up before dawn. Below are some of my favourites from the course of the evening. 

Euphobetron moorei - PP Caá Yarí, Misiones, Argentina

Unidenfied crambid moth (Crambidae) - PP Caá Yarí, Misiones, Argentina

Coleoxestia sp. - PP Caá Yarí, Misiones, Argentina

Idaea zoalma - PP Caá Yarí, Misiones, Argentina

Nemoria dentilinea - PP Caá Yarí, Misiones, Argentina

Colla rhodope - PP Caá Yarí, Misiones, Argentina

Incarcha aporalis - PP Caá Yarí, Misiones, Argentina

Rosema sp. - PP Caá Yarí, Misiones, Argentina

Dot-lined White (Artace cribrarius) - PP Caá Yarí, Misiones, Argentina

Hypocosmia pyrochroma - PP Caá Yarí, Misiones, Argentina

Loxa virescens - PP Caá Yarí, Misiones, Argentina

Paraethria triseriata - PP Caá Yarí, Misiones, Argentina

Asphaera sp. - PP Caá Yarí, Misiones, Argentina

Apatelodes pandarioides - PP Caá Yarí, Misiones, Argentina

Argyroeides sanguinea - PP Caá Yarí, Misiones, Argentina

Syngamia florella - PP Caá Yarí, Misiones, Argentina

February 12, 2023

As a naturalist, my absolute favourite time of day is that period just before and around sunrise. I love listening to and watching the changes in the environment, as the morning light slowly creeps in. The air is cool, the cicadas are relatively quiet (for once!), and the night birds slowly give way to the dawn chorus. It seems like just about every bird in the vicinity is active for a short period of time. 

We awoke before dawn following a short few hours of sleep. The moth sheet had kept me occupied far too late in the evening, and our sleeping arrangement (the two front seats of the car) was not the most comfortable for a deep sleep. 

I rolled down the car's windows and we listened to the start of the dawn chorus for fifteen minutes as we slowly woke up. Long-tufted Screech and Ferruginous Pygmy Owls vocalized early, as did a Common Potoo. A Barred Forest-Falcon and several Rufous-capped Motmots lent their voices to the dawn chorus just as the sky began to lighten. Two Short-tailed Nighthawks cut through the sky above us. Before long, the forest was alive with song. 

Laura and I had a quick breakfast before setting off on foot down the dirt road to the south. The morning was full of promise. 

I thought I heard an interesting call and so I broadcast a bit of playback. Immediately, three dark shapes glided into the canopy of a roadside tree. I could scarcely believe my eyes - Saffron Toucanets!

Saffron Toucanet - PP Caá Yarí, Misiones, Argentina

This oddly-coloured toucan was one of my most wanted species for the Atlantic forest and I was stoked to have finally found some. Laura and I enjoyed the views for a minute or so, then the trio flew off. A quick encounter, but extremely satisfying, nonetheless.

Saffron Toucanet - PP Caá Yarí, Misiones, Argentina

Even at that early hour, the sun felt like it had some strength behind it. We could tell that it would be a scorcher, and it wouldn't be long until the bird activity was stifled by the day's heat. It always feels like a race against time during these mornings. I feel self-imposed pressure to not linger at one spot for too long, knowing that these excellent conditions would be short-lived and I needed to cover more ground. 

Red-ruffed Fruitcrow - PP Caá Yarí, Misiones, Argentina

And what a morning it was. The next target to fall was a Spotted Bamboowren, its very distinctive song emanating from a roadside stand of dense bamboo. Laura and I tried to see this skulker; the best I got was a dark shape furtively moving in the dark interior. 

The Dusky-tailed Antbird, another lifer, was slightly more accommodating. We enjoyed the quick views of a pair, though they were too twitchy for my camera as they scampered through the bamboo. I would have to wait until Brazil a month later before finally photographing this species.

Rufous-browed Peppershrike - PP Caá Yarí, Misiones, Argentina

Laura and I tallied around 80 species of birds during the morning. Other highlights from this walk included our first Sharp-billed Treehunter, another Shear-tailed Gray-Tyrant, great views of Chestnut-headed Tanagers, two more Planalto Tapaculos, a Red-ruffed Fruitcrow and much more. 

After several kilometres of walking, Laura and I turned around to backtrack to the guard house. The morning was already quite warm and the bird activity had started to dwindle. I was more focused on insect photography at this time. 

Two-barred Flasher (Astraptes fulgerator) - PP Caá Yarí, Misiones, Argentina

Fantastic Ruby-Eye (Lycas argentea) - PP Caá Yarí, Misiones, Argentina

Pelidnota sordida - PP Caá Yarí, Misiones, Argentina

We were suddenly buzzed by a hummingbird, which eventually alighted on some nearby vegetation. We were pretty excited to see that it was a Purple-crowned Plovercrest! This Atlantic Forest endemic species had somehow eluded us to this point. Of course we hoped to find a male, but this female would be all that we would get. The males are absolutely ridiculous looking and I encourage you to google it.

Purple-crowned Plovercrest - PP Caá Yarí, Misiones, Argentina

That was it for the birding highlights and the last kilometre of the walk was a trudge, given the muggy conditions. We kept watch for interesting insects instead, and here are a few more fruits of our labor. 

Ortilia velica - PP Caá Yarí, Misiones, Argentina

Doxocopa kallina - PP Caá Yarí, Misiones, Argentina

Calycopis caulonia - PP Caá Yarí, Misiones, Argentina

Zoniopoda tarsata - PP Caá Yarí, Misiones, Argentina

Orange Banner (Temenis laothoe) - PP Caá Yarí, Misiones, Argentina

Widespread Eighty-Eight (Diaethria clymena) - PP Caá Yarí, Misiones, Argentina

Unidentified Spread-wing Skipper (Pyrginae) - PP Caá Yarí, Misiones, Argentina

Laura and I packed up and headed out after a very successful 24 hours at Caá Yarí. Our time in Misiones had come to a close, but what a successful week and a half it had been! And we had one more surprise in store. 

As we were only a few kilometres from the western boundary of Misiones Province, a massive raptor perched beside the road grabbed my attention. I slowed the car down just as it lifted off and flew back from the road's edge. I immediately recognized this bird as an adult Chaco Eagle. It was almost all gray with really broad wings and a short tail with white base and black outer band. The wings were so broad that the tail barely projected behind it, similar to a Solitary Eagle, for example. It lacked the orange tones that a Savanna Hawk shows, while the bird was also a lot larger with broader wings and a shorter tail. 

Laura and I waited at the roadside since it didn't look like the eagle had flown back very far at all. Unfortunately, that would be our only view of this enigmatic eagle. I was unable to take any photos to document this very rare sighting for Misiones Province, and it was no surprise that the local eBird reviewer rejected the sighting. It seems that down here, photos/recordings are required to get any sighting through. I can't blame them, to be honest. 

With just over a week remaining on our Argentina trip, Laura and I spent the next couple of nights in the town of Colonia Carlos Pellegrini, which is the main jumping-off point for exploring Parque Nacional Iberá (you can read about those exploits here). From there, we began the drive south towards Buenos Aires and beyond. My next blog post will cover our visit to Parque Nacional El Palmar, where Laura and I were hoping to spotlight some interesting mammals at night.