This is a report on a trip that Chris McGuigan and I did from 14th November - 6th December 2003. The main aim was to see as many of the Patagonian and Southern Cone specialities as possible. I particularly wanted to get 2 new families {Sheathbill and Diving-Petrel} as well as 2 sub-families {Magellanic Plover and Plantcutters}. In addition to this we were particularly keen to see the last Dipper that we both needed. So a 3-day side trip to Tucuman province was added in to get Rufous-throated Dipper and some local endemics; we did not have time to go any further to Yala/Laguna de los Pozuelos.
Logistics and money
We found Argentina a very easy country to travel and bird in, even with a very limited knowledge of Spanish. We had absolutely no problems at all. It is completely different from any other south-american country I have visited and is far more like Europe in most respects. The standard of accommodation was on the whole good, as was the food although we did tire of endless steak .As alternatives Argentinean pizzas are on the whole not worth trying and most vegetables are bland but some of the assados are very good. The wine however is excellent and very cheap.
The recent devaluation of the Argentinean peso {written $} makes it much cheaper than it used to be although still more than other south-american countries and with the weak US$ dollar it is now even cheaper for UK birders. When we arrived it was Arg$ 3.90 to the pound but this changed further to just over Arg$ 4. Changing traveller's cheques is almost impossible except at the international airport, but US$ cash is fairly easy in most big hotels. {Sometimes preferred}. My advice would be to take US$ cash, change some early but the rest as you go.
We arranged our flights including 6 internal ones with Wildwings who as usual were very efficient and sorted everything out, including car hire with Europcar. {International driving licence is needed}. Flights with Aerolinas Argentinas from Gatwick via Madrid and the internal ones came to just over £900. Car hire was £574 and worked without any problems whatsoever. Note that some internal flights require airport tax, others do not. Check for each one.
Overall the costs worked out at just under £2000 pounds each. This was travelling as 2 so clearly with a group of 4 it would be far cheaper. We also did not always go for the cheapest accommodation in town. Compared with about £4500 for a similar commercial bird tour this works out as very good value. As Argentina is very safe and the birding easy one can see little point in wasting the extra money to do it in a far larger, less personal group!
Guides
We arranged the services of Santiago Imberti for 5 days from Calafate to Rio Gallegos. Without him we would not have had a chance of Hooded Grebe and Austral Rail and he got us many other crucial southern species such as Black-throated Finch, Ruddy-headed Goose, Patagonian Tinamou and Rufous-chested Dotterel. He charged US$210 per day but this included his 4w drive and he pre-booked all necessary hotels. I can thoroughly recommend him {as does everyone else who uses him}. He knows the areas inside out and will save an enormous amount of time as well as virtually guaranteeing the specials. We also arranged a day with Birding Argentina to do some of the Entre Rios Sites. This was expensive at US$390 for the day but was excellent getting us almost every target sp that we needed. The rest of the time we did on our own which is easy, particularly as much of it is open country where good knowledge of the calls is not crucial. However, tapes were very useful, in particular those of Canesteros and Pipits.
This, however, can be a problem. In Patagonia it is often very windy, at times making it difficult to walk. It rained very heavily when we drove down to San Clemente and in Tierra del Fuego it snowed very hard every day. The day after we arrived, all flights were cancelled as a result. This meant that looking for Seedsnipe on the Martial Glacier was more like enduring an Antarctic blizzard and completely useless. It did however produce large concentrations of birds low down in any areas of bare ground.
Information
We made use of the following reports from the net
Vermeulen 1994
J van der Woude 2000
Anderson & Bergestrom 2001. This has some very useful maps
Merrill 2001
Hornbuckle Chile and Argentina report 2000
Ornifolks Patagonia 2000 report
Wheatley gives a good idea of what to expect and has a few useful maps.
Birds of the High Andes is definitely the best book to take but we also had the small Collins guide to the Birds Of Southern South America and copies of all the plates from Ridgley and Tudor. We also used the Rough Guide to Argentina for general info particularly on accommodation.
Tapes
Meyer's Birds of Bolivia was very useful
Straneck's Voices of Argentinean Birds is also good. However it has a few crucial species missing such as Hudson's Canastero.
Itinerary
14/11 arrived BA, flight to Trelew. Drove to Puerto Piramides
15/11 Valdez
16/11 Valdez am, drove to Las Grutas pm
17/11 Las Grutas and Laguna Monte
18/11 Las Grutas am, pm Trelew Lakes
19/11 Punto Tombo
20/11 08:50 flight to Calafate where met by Santiago. Day in Los Glaciares
21/11 Calafate to Strobel plateau and Estancia Angostura
22/11 Austral Rail at Estancia Angostura then drove to Puerto San Julian
23/11 San Julian to Rio Gallegos
24/11 Cabo Virgines, late afternoon flight to Ushuaia
25/11 Rubbish dump and Tierra del Fuego NP then Martial Glacier in afternoon
26/11 Beagle channel boat trip to Harberton
27/11 Tierra del Fuego NP, late pm Ushuaia harbour
28/11 am flight to BA and connection on to Tucuman
29/11 Drove up Rio Sosa to Tafi del Valle. Afternoon El Infernillo
30/11 El Infernillo am then drove to Quilmes ruins.
1/12 am Quilmes, birding at El Infernillo and Rio Sosa en route to Tucuman
2/12 flight to BA. PM Costanera Sur.
3/12 Otamendi, Ceibas, Gualeguaychu
4/12 drive to San Clemente. Punta Rasa and back along main road
5/12 birded Punta Rasa and pools along main road again
6/12 Punta Rasa am, drove to Atalaya, then to BA airport for flight back to UK late evening
Daily Log
14/11 Arrived BA on time and got transfer bus to domestic airport. Collected our luggage, which had not been checked all the way through to Trelew despite assurances from the Gatwick staff. We were booked on the mid afternoon flight to Trelew but were easily able to switch to the midday one. This meant the hire car company were not at the airport to meet us but we soon sorted that out and headed up to Puerto Piramides on the Valdez peninsula. A couple of groups of Guanacos and a small party of Burrowing Parrots were the highlights of the journey. We booked in at the Cabanas El Cristal [Arg$70 for double room] and headed out for a couple of hours birding. We soon had our first tinamou, amazingly a Darwin's Nothura stood on the side of the track. We only saw one other poorly after that, but Elegant Crested Tinamous were common. Stopping in a fairly random bit of steppe I played Patagonian Canastero and had instant success with one bird performing well and others singing. There was a similar result with Band-tailed Earthcreeper. These were bizarre, running around with cocked tails wobbling from sided to side. Other species of note were Lesser and Grey-bellied Shrike-Tyrants. We then headed back to Puerto Piramides where a few distant whales were seen in the bay before we crashed out after a long day.
15/11 We set off early planning to do a loop out to Punta Delgada, Punta Norte and back. We had stupidly not sorted out food supplies for breakfast but eventually managed to persuade the staff at the hotel at Punta Delgada to serve us fruit, tea, coffee and toast. We did not however, take up the offer of a guided tour to the Elephant Seal colony, expecting to see them later. We picked up our first Scale-throated Earthcreepers and spent some time watching Short-billed Pipits. These were the most distinctive of the pipits we saw, but call and song are definitely the best features. Several bizarre Maras were seen, some of which were quite tame. We then headed up towards Caleta Valdez stopping en route to scan the seabird cliffs and beaches. A stunning Tawny-throated Dotterel was a major bonus. Caleta Valdez is a tourist magnet with a big restaurant and information centre but is the best site to get down to the beach to see the Elephant Seals. Most of the adult males had left but there were plenty of young around, along with Giant Petrels. Just up from Caleta Valdez there is a small colony of Magellanic Penguins, which we visited. Punta Norte produced a fine male Sea-lion. Best of all though was a small group of very distant Snowy Sheathbills one of which flew along the beach right in front of us. We had no luck with Orcas though, but were really a few months too early. March and April are when they are supposed to come onto the beaches after Sea-lion pups. We then headed back to Puerto Piramides seeing several big Guanaco groups on the way back but little else.
16/11 Having yesterday failed to find any Rusty-backed Monjitas, early morning we concentrated on birding bare areas and grassy patches down the track to Punta Pardelas but were totally unsuccessful. We did, however, see our first Double-banded Plovers, Lesser Canesteros and endemic Carbonated Sierra-finches. After breakfast we did a one-hour whale-watching boat-trip in the bay. This worked out at about £15 each and was well worth it. There were only about 10 people on our boat and we got very close to a group of 4 whales splashing their fins and tail-fluking. It was a little choppy which meant we could see little under the water but nevertheless the views were stunning and seeing them all interacting at such close range was amazing.
We felt there was little more to be extracted from the Valdez and so headed north to Las Grutas. On the way out of Valdez peninsula we stopped at Isla de los Parajos. This is supposed to be a site for Chubut Steamer-duck. However, the island is at least half a mile away and although we saw one steamer-duck it was totally unidentifiable. The long drive north was easy driving, although through a somewhat uninspiring landscape. Groups of Burrowing Parrots were common but best of all while doing 70mph a Rusty-backed Monjita flew in front of the car. On turning round we quickly relocated it feeding on the ground. More like a stripy Wheatear than a flycatcher we were extremely pleased to have found this bird, as we knew it was potentially very difficult. Arriving at Las Grutas we checked into the Hotel Patagonia which was clean and smart for about Arg$80 for double inc breakfast. For a couple of hours before dusk we birded the 3rd gully south of town as marked on Anderson and Bergestrom's map. One Black-Tyrant was found which initially we thought was Hudson's but on the following day after watching it and many others along with females it was clearly White-winged. A group of Short-billed Canesteros was found but the only other highlight was a pair of Patagonian Skunks that came trundling down the track towards us. Watched England beat France in the rugby world cup that night.
17/12 In the morning we birded the same gully hoping for Sandy Gallito on the track but no joy. We did, however, flush a Band-winged Nightjar and watched it on the ground. A group of 4 White-throated Cachalotes was good but disaster struck when my telephoto lens dropped off my camera, landing on, and filling up with, sand. It looked like it was totally beyond repair but that night I managed to shake half a beach out of it and it worked again! White-winged Black Tyrants were common but they were all just this one species. A fence crossed the gully, suspended about 20ft in mid air. Walking north up the side of the fence for about 100m we were able to get into some taller vegetation. This held Yellow-billed Tit-tyrant, Carbonated Sierra-finch, Stripe-headed Spinetail, White-tipped Plantcutter and several Cinnamon Warbling Finches. Pleased to have got excellent views of the Plantcutters and Cinnamon Warbling finches, we were a little concerned we had not found any Hudson's Black Tyrants. Driving about 1km south we checked an area of scrub but only found Ringed Warbling-finches, Plantcutters and Stripe-headed Spinetails.
In the afternoon we headed up to Laguna Monte, a site near San Antonio Oeste for Yellow Cardinal and also supposed to be good for Hudson's Black-tyrant, Sandy Gallito and Brown Cachalote. Arriving at the site we were dismayed to see all the trees were neatly stacked in piles and the land had been ploughed up. Basically the site had been completely destroyed to make way for pasture. Nevertheless we went in and were invited by some Estancia workmen to go wherever we wanted. They pointed out where birders normally went, which was now bare soil and let us wander around. The only remaining vegetation was around the estancia itself and amazingly enough the garden actually held a party of 5 Yellow Cardinals. I would not expect them to hang on much longer though. So we headed back to Las Grutas, stopping at some tall scrub to play a tape of Brown Cachalote. There was an instant response as a pair came in to investigate and screech at us.
18/11 Early morning at Las Grutas. Nothing new and then drove south to Trelew stopping for 2 separate Rusty-backed Monjitas. Stayed at Hotel Libertador [Arg$ 78 double B+B]. We then birded the lake in centre of town, which was quite good, and then the large lakes to the northeast. These were heaving with wildfowl feeding on the animal effluent {and sewage?} that was being dumped in them. Red Shoveler were the most abundant but there were large numbers of all 3 Coot, Wilson's Phalarope, Lake Duck, Rosy-Billed Pochard, Yellow-billed Teal, Coscoroba Swan, and smaller numbers of Chiloe Wigeon and Cinnamon Teal.
19/11 We drove down to Punto Tombo missing the turn off for the dirt track south and instead drove south on the main road before cutting across country. It did not take much longer and took us through a farm where we had four tame Rusty-backed Monjitas and several Rufous-backed Negritos around the farm buildings. At the reserve itself there were a few Brown Skuas, although none very close, as well as several Giant Petrels. The Penguins' eggs were just hatching while we were there but the best bird was a very close Chubut Steamer Duck. Several distant ones were also seen but little else of note.
20/11. We caught the 08:50 flight to Calafate where we were met by Santiago. We drove first to our B&B in Calafate and then on to Los Glaciares national park. With the devaluation of the Argentinean currency, Calafate has become a booming tourist town. Buildings are going up everywhere and accommodation is expensive and booked up well in advance. Santiago then drove us to the park, birding en route. He stopped at a small pool away from the road to show us Andean {Ruddy} Duck along side Lake Ducks for comparison. Although neither were ticks it was an instructive lesson. Andean Condors were common, far, far easier to see here than in Ecuador or Peru and other common roadside birds included Black-faced Ibis and Upland Geese. On reaching the park and some amazing beech forest we started birding in earnest. The trees were covered by beards of flowing lichens and with multiple dead branches they looked like they had come straight out of Tolkien. At our first stop we failed to find Magellanic Woodpeckers but saw a few Austral Parakeets and Thorn-tailed Rayaditos. At a small patch of scrub an obliging Rufous-tailed Plantcutter performed well along with goodies such as Fire-eyed Diucon, Patagonian Sierra-finch and Black-breasted Buzzard-Eagle. As we drove through a patch of beech forest again I spotted a group of 3 Magellanic Woodpeckers {1m, 2f} right next to the road. They gave stunning views and were just as good as I had been hoping. We then rounded a corner and set eyes on the glacier for the first time. It was certainly impressive but the stop was to see Spectacled Duck that Santiago had staked out on a pool at the edge of the main lake below the road. We hiked down the hill and soon had superb scope views of a pair chasing Chiloe Wigeon from their pool.
Periodically the glacier blocks off the lake's outlet, so raising the water level by 15-20 metres. This prevents trees growing thus revealing bare rocks and creating grassy areas around the edge of the lake. Here was the only place we were to see a pair of White-browed Ground-tyrants. Santiago now had Austral Pygmy-Owl prepared for us, which duly showed brilliantly on top of a tree, as did 2 Chilean Flickers. After a little bit of effort we got good views of Magellanic Tapaculo, which actually climbed up a beech tree trunk to above head height! Easily the most arboreal Scytalopus I have ever seen. Next we drove right up to the glacier finding one Austral Blackbird by the roadside en route. The next hour was spent watching and listening to the glacier. It was truly amazing, groaning continually and with huge lumps of ice dropping off at frequent intervals. At one stage it calved a small iceberg, which produced a small tidal wave and massive roar as it plunged into the water. It was now clear why so many people came here. Even as an obsessive birder I was awestruck. This is the most easily accessible glacier in the world that calves like this and as Argentina is now so affordable the tourists are coming. Having said that, there were fewer than twenty people in the whole place!
More than satisfied we headed back to Calafate discussing our plans for the next day. Santiago was planning to drive straight out to the Strobel plateau but after a bit of discussion we decided we would just check out Lago Argentino first thing, to make sure the crucial Magellanic Plover was under our belts.
21/11 So early morning we were at the edge of town 'scoping three Magellanic Plovers. These were quite unlike any other wader, appearing more like a cross between a dove and a gull. A soft grey plumage added to this effect and we watched these birds feeding by stirring up the mud with their feet. Other birds around included Cinereous Harriers and our first Ashy-headed Geese. Then the long drive to the Strobel plateau began. Few birds were seen on the long journey but a few Chocolate-vented Tyrants were good. The best though was a Great Yellow-finch found by Santiago singing from a cliff face. Although this was some 1500km south of the normal range of this species Santiago has now found it at 3 sites in southern Argentina. We also had our first Cinnamon-bellied Ground-tyrant at the base of the cliff. After several hours we had climbed up on to the plateau and now we headed off on a small track across totally barren hills. We found our first Grey-breasted Seedsnipe and several close Tawny-throated Dotterels. Eventually we came to our destination, a small lake hidden on the top of the plateau. A quick scan revealed our target, the rare Hooded Grebe. Some seventy or more were scattered across the lake along with lots of Silvery Grebes. We spent the next ninety minutes or so watching these stunning grebes displaying and calling to each other in glorious calm, sunny weather. We also had our first Flying Steamer-ducks close in by the shore. Having drunk our fill and got some half-decent photos we headed off again. Driving across the plateau it was clear we were in the middle of the breeding season. We found chicks or nests of Tawny-throated Dotterel, Least Seedsnipe and Two-banded Plover. We also had Magellanic Plover and Magellanic Oystercatcher on a nearby lake. Eventually we arrived at Estancia Angostura, the site for Austral Rail. In the midst of barren dryness, this old estancia is in the middle of a lush valley. The wind was now far too strong for the rail but in the last hour or so we did some birding around the entrance seeing good numbers of common birds including our first Yellow-winged Blackbirds.
22/11 Before breakfast we were down at the edge of the marsh to try for Austral Rail. One responded to the tape immediately but seeing it was another matter. Eventually I spotted one partly hidden, perched half way up some reeds. It remained motionless for over half a minute enabling me to get a good look at this recently rediscovered species. Having successfully seen one of our main target species we headed off towards Gobenardor Gregores. Just after driving out of town we found 3 large tinamous on the track. Assuming they were Elegant Crested we drove up to them until we realised they were the far rarer Patagonian Tinamou. The rest of the drive could not compare with this as we headed towards Puerto San Julian across some of the most expansive, monotonous landscape I have ever been in. Arriving in town, we booked into the Hotel Bahia {Arg$70 double} before heading out to the bay and then the coastal area north of town. Several attractive Commerson's Dolphins were close in to the town. The cliffs further north had breeding seabirds including Red-legged Cormorants and Black-crowned Night-heron. A small Southern Fur-seal colony had three Snowy Sheathbills walking over the seals' backs and several Dolphin Gulls were also present. Amazingly we then found another three Patagonian Tinamous including one with chicks.
Highlight of the evening was watching England beat Australia in the rugby world cup final, complete with Spanish commentary: brilliant.
23/11 Birded around Puerto San Julian early morning before heading south to Rio Gallegos. It was blowing a howling gale and we only managed 2 more Patagonian Tinamous and several Grey-bellied Shrike-tyrants. We stopped at some lakes en route and found a pair of Magellanic Plovers with a tiny chick but birding was very difficult in the strong winds. We got good views of Magellanic Snipe in the open at some marshes and stopped just north of Rio Gallegos for Austral Canastero. These were in some Sueda type bushes near the river and they came up on top of them in response to a tape despite the winds.
24/11 Another day of howling winds greeted us as we set off to Cabo Virgines. There were four target species here and we managed all of them. Rufous-chested Dotterel was found quickly but vanished faster in the winds. It was difficult at times to see in the wind but it did seem to prevent one very tame Chocolate-vented Tyrant from flying. We eventually managed to find an obliging pair of Dotterel and one excellent group of Black-throated/Canary-winged Finches but they were reluctant to allow close approach, even in the car. At the Estancia was a large group of geese including at least 8 {Santiago counted 11 but I could not find them} Ruddy-headed Geese. These are getting increasingly difficult to see on the mainland. We then headed off to the point itself for a bit of sea watching but not until we had first had stunning views of a Magellanic Horned Owl roosting in the open. Sea-watching was unfortunately poor in the extremely strong offshore winds but we picked up a few Black-browed Albatross as well as Sooty and Manx Shearwaters. So that was the end of our time with Santiago. He had found us all the goodies and more, and I am sure will continue to do so for many more birders after us.
We then caught the late evening flight to Ushuaia wondering initially if we were going to have to turn back as we circled the airport several times in a snowstorm. Ours was the last flight in for 36hrs. This was supposed to be summer!
25/11 Having sorted out temporary accommodation in a bit of a hurry the previous evening we decided to get alternative digs after breakfast. So early am we headed off to the rubbish dump on the road to the national park. This is supposed to be a good site for White-throated Caracara but we were in for a bit of a shock. First of all as the rubbish is now covered with soil, it does not have huge numbers of birds scavenging there any more. Secondly it was heaving with Ground-tyrants and Finches. Being one of the few areas with bare ground anywhere around, large numbers of Ochre-naped and Dark-faced Ground Tyrants along with Yellow-bridled Finches gave excellent views. They had clearly been forced off the tops in the harsh weather. We did find two White-throated Caracaras and a couple of Chilean Skuas though. Well satisfied with this short outing we headed back to town to book the Harberton boat trip for the next day and find better accommodation. The latter we soon did at the Hotel Tzion {Arg$55 double inc breakfast} which was an excellent family B&B where they spoke perfect English. We then headed off to Tierra del Fuego National Park. Our main target birds here were Dark-flanked Cinclodes and White-throated Tree-runner but we failed dismally with both. Bar-winged Cinclodes were common as were Austral Thrushes and Chilean Swallows looking pathetic trying to feed amongst the snowflakes. The main highlight though was the cake selection in the restaurant, followed closely by some more Magellanic Woodpeckers. Eventually the snow seemed to ease so we decided to give the Martial Glacier a try. This is the site for White-bellied Seedsnipe and Grey-flanked Cinclodes but we failed to see a bird of any species in 2 hrs searching. This was hardly surprising considering the appalling conditions. Visibility was down to a few metres at times and if I were a Seedsnipe I would have followed all the other birds to lower ground. Well, we had tried. Heading back into town we noticed another dump on the east shore. This was more like it. A mass of half burnt sheep heads and feet was being fought over by a mass of Kelp Gulls, all three Caracaras, Turkey Vultures and some large pigs. Not the most picturesque spot in the world but good for scavengers. 26/11 This day we took the boat trip up the Beagle Channel to Harberton. If you are not doing an antarctic cruise this is a must. It is also the only way you can get to see the small colony of Gentoo Penguins. All the boat trips leave from the harbour in the middle of town and the ticket offices are on site {price about £15 each}. The water was somewhat choppy but going out was a very smooth ride. The boat stopped at various islets enabling good views of Imperial and Rock Cormorants, Snowy Sheathbills, Flightless Steamerducks, Southern Fur-seals and South-American Sea-lions. From the boat large groups of Black-browed Albatross were always on view. Magellanic Diving Petrels were often flushed from the water and several were seen at close range, on the water and in flight. We also had a couple of Southern Fulmars and an Ochre-naped Ground-tyrant circling the boat, and best of all, two Blue Petrels. These were a total bonus and had most amazingly striking white tail spots. The boat then drew up to the penguin colony where the Gentoo Penguins were obvious in their own little area. We then landed for an hour or so at Harberton, which is an old farm. Various tours were on offer to look around but we concentrated on the birds. An obliging Blackish Oystercatcher gave good photo opportunities and I finally located a Dark-bellied Cinclodes on the beach.
Later that evening we tried for Rufous-legged Owl at Tierra del Fuego NP but without success. Maybe they don't respond in the snow! {N.B. the call of Chaco Owl is completely different and RL Owl will not respond to it. We had the right one.}
27/11. It had snowed heavily overnight as we set off for Tierra del Fuego NP. Birds around the restaurant were very tame and clearly beginning to struggle in the snow. We found dead Chilean Swallows and others looked ready to drop. This was clearly right in the middle of the breeding season as we found juv Austral Thrushes and Thorn-tailed Rayaditos feeding young. Highlights this morning were a Dark-bellied Cinclodes and one, possibly two, White-throated Treerunners, which proved a lot harder to find than we had expected. Back at Ushuaia, while photographing some Kelp Geese on the beach, we flushed a Grey-flanked Cinclodes. Luckily this was fairly tame allowing all its diagnostic bits to be seen. So we had managed to see all the Martial Glacier specialities in or around the town itself, apart from the Seedsnipe. Hoping that maybe they might be down low as well, we searched around any open areas we could find, but to no avail. Similarly a nighttime foray for the Owl also drew a blank. However, considering the dreadful weather we did feel we had done well as we prepared to leave the following morning.
28/11 This was a day of travelling. We caught the early morning flight to BA and then an onward connecting flight to Tucuman. We booked into a reasonable hotel for the night.
29/11 After an early breakfast we headed south on the main highway before turning off up the Rio Sosa valley. Soon we were in what looked like ideal Rufous-throated Dipper habitat. After several stops we had still not found any but the habitat looked perfect and surely it was only a matter of time. Meanwhile we found several Sclater's Tyrannulets, Brown-capped Whitestarts and Slaty Elaenias. Soon though the distinctive shape of a Dipper appeared, so Chris and I enjoyed the last and possibly the best of the set. We were to see several more of these brilliant birds flashing their white wing patches at each other in display. Other good birds included Andean Slaty Thrush, Yellow-striped Brush-finch, Mitred Parakeet and Rusty-browed Warbling-finch. As we headed up the valley it was clear that there had been massive fires through the area so maybe reducing the chances of other ticks.
Carrying on to Tafi del Valle we booked into the expensive but smart Hotel Mirador Tafi del Valle {Arg$98 double including excellent breakfast}. We then headed up towards the pass at El Infernillo to look for some of the local Andean specialities. We were not to be disappointed. There are two main birding spots. These are the gullies at km 78 and 80. We decided to do km80 first and were soon watching endemic Bare-eyed Ground-doves along with Puna Canasteros and Red-tailed Comets. Heading a couple of kms further up the road we stopped to bird around a ruined building amongst a jumble of rocks. Chiguanco Thrushes were common as were Ash-breasted Sierra-finches, White-winged Cinclodes and Cordilleran Canasteros. Best of all though was an Ornate Tinamou, which I disturbed, giving me excellent views. Unfortunately, initial frantic whistling did not attract Chris's attention although eventually he got onto it. Stunning Black Siskins fed on the ground while the more common Hooded Siskins remained in the bushier areas. Heading back to the gully at km78 we found one Black-billed Shrike Tyrant, Black-winged Ground-doves and finally the main target bird of the site, Tucuman Mountain-finch. More than satisfied with a hatful of new species, we headed back to Tafi.
30/11. We headed up to El Infernillo before breakfast birding around the 2 gullies and another one just before the top pass. At the latter a Buff-breasted Earthcreeper was good. We also had Streak-fronted Thornbird at the nest and I had a Slender-billed Miner. Searching the bunchgrass at the top failed to produce Scribble-tailed Canastero despite a tape. The gully at km78 was by far the best this am with several Tucuman Mountain-finches, Brown-capped Tit-Spinetail, White-browed Tapaculos right out in the open and a pair of Grey-hooded Parakeets. Most surprising was an Andean Tinamou out in the open that completely failed to notice us. After an excellent breakfast we set off over the pass towards Quilmes and a second bite at Sandy Gallito. As soon as we crossed the pass, the Andes became dramatically drier. The birds changed as well, with Grey-hooded Sierra-finches, Giant Hummingbirds, a female White-sided Hillstar, Andean Swifts and Greenish Yellow-finches. At one stop we found a Rufous Banded Miner, the only one we saw, showing off its dramatic wing pattern as it glided down from a rock. We saw little else in the heat of the day until we arrived at the ruins of Quilmes where we booked into the expensive {Arg$97 double inc breakfast} but spectacular hotel of the same name. Around the hotel White-fronted and Green-barred Woodpeckers were common. Exploring the acacia type woodland on the road to the ruins produced a Spot-backed Puffbird of the Chaco race that is sometimes split as Chaco Puffbird. We had our only White-bellied Tyrannulets here as well as Hepatic Tanagers and Stripe-crowned Spinetails.
When it had cooled down we explored an area of bare sand with scattered bushes below Ampimpa that we had noted on the way down. It is supposed to have both Sandy Gallitos and Chestnut Canastero, both endemics. Wandering around it seemed totally birdless. Resigned to try again in the morning we were right back at the car when I spotted a Gallito. There were two of them clearly involved in some form of territorial dispute, chasing each other at high speed across the sand. At one stage one of them tried a suicidal dash in front of one of the very few cars, almost running between the wheels. We got excellent views of these bizarre short-tailed roadrunners sprinting between bushes. As for the Canastero, there was no sign. Back at the hotel large numbers of Burrowing Parrots of the distinctive dark-bellied race were coming into roost.
1/12 We tried the Gallito area for Chestnut Canastero without success but did see several more Sandy Gallitos, which were now very conspicuous calling from the tops of bushes. We did have several White-throated Cachalotes though. Driving up to above the village of Ampimpa we located a Creamy-breasted Canastero with the aid of a tape. The most surprising bird for us though, was in the woodland by the road at Quilmes. Stopping to photograph a Picui Ground-dove I heard a totally new song. A short search revealed a Chaco Earthcreeper. This was not a species I had expected here although in retrospect was clearly not surprising. We then set off on the drive back to Tucuman, birding en route. A stop at some of the vast columnar cacti produced a couple more Creamy-breasted Canasteros. Little else was seen until we reached a large clump of flowering yellow bushes where we had seen the Giant Hummingbirds the previous day. Chris managed to find a White-bellied Hummingbird but I repeatedly failed to see it. However I kept flushing an incredibly elusive small black finch with white tail spots. Eventually we managed to pin it down and got views: Black-and-chestnut Warbling-finch. While trying to obtain better views of this bird a Rufous-sided Warbling-finch appeared. We had been hoping to get this the previous day so this still gave us a chance of the full set of Argentinean Warbling-finches that we needed. Pleased with progress so far we headed up to El Infernillo where we saw a couple of Skunks but nothing else new. Continuing down into the alder forest we made various stops and managed to locate a few Andean Tyrants. We then staked out some flowering bushes in the hope of some new hummers or maybe a parrot flying over. There were good numbers of hummingbirds flying around but getting on to them was another matter. I eventually managed good looks at White-bellied Hummingbird and suspected Slender-tailed Woodstar was in amongst them but could not see any well enough. Other birds included more Slaty Elaenias, Yellow-striped Brush-finch, our only Buff-browed Foliage-gleaner of the trip and a Dot-fronted Woodpecker. We had one more Dipper on the river before poor light made us decide to call it a day and to head on to Tucuman.
2/12 We caught the morning flight to BA and from there, a taxi to our pre-booked Hotel Diplomat. Somewhat disconcerted to discover that they had no record of my booking, even though I had had e-mail confirmation, we checked in {Arg$120 double inc breakfast!}. We had pre-booked in order that German Pugnali could meet us the next morning for a day's birding in southern Entre Rios. Never mind at least we knew he would be there at 5 am the next day. Unfortunately neither of the contact telephone numbers I had for him seemed to work so we just hoped he would be there. After a steak lunch {just for variety!} we discovered that the Europcar hire office in BA just happened to be round the block from our hotel so we collected our car and headed off to Costanera Sur. After working out that to turn left you need to be in the right-hand lane we negotiated our way to the reserve without incident. In the mid afternoon heat we wandered around the reserve. The birds here were very tame and we were soon ticking off our last Warbling-finches: Black-and-rufous and Black-capped. I was somewhat surprised with the latter. It has been lumped in the past with the more northerly Cinereous Warbling-finch but was strikingly different from those I had seen in Brazil. Other new species were Yellow-billed and Red-crested Cardinals, Freckle-breasted, Thornbird, Masked Gnatcatcher, Campo Troupial and best of all three Black-headed Ducks, which were pointed out to us by some German birders. For some reason I was not really focused on birding today but no important species were missed.
That evening we had a phone call from Keeny {spelling maybe entirely wrong} to say that German would not be able to lead us the following day. He himself would be taking us instead and would meet us at 5am. Somewhat disappointed by this, we accepted there was nothing we could do and we would just have to see what Keeny was like.
3/12 We were soon to find out: excellent. Keeny met us with Oscar, our driver for the day, who was also a birder. They had clearly done this birding route before and knew exactly where to find all the target species. We presented them with our hit list. Having been to SE Brazil there was no point wasting time looking for species we had seen there before and were difficult here. First stop was Otamendi, the main site for Straight-billed Reedhaunter and the more common Curve-billed. We were a little late in the season for peak song activity but we quickly got a response to a tape. It however, was a juv Straight-billed. Its tawny underparts and short, slightly decurved bill were not what I expected but Keeny was one hundred percent certain that was what it was. I though, am still not totally convinced it could not have been a juv Sulphur-bearded Spinetail. Other species quickly followed including Curve-billed Reedhaunter, Sulphur Bearded Spinetail, Scarlet-headed Blackbird, Giant Wood-rail, Long-tailed Reed-finch and Long-winged Harriers. Soon we were heading off north to Ceibas to an area of Espinal woodland. Here amongst the first group of ducks we found our only Ringed Teals of the trip. Other ticks came flooding in. Crowned Slaty-flycatcher, Xenopsaris, Little Thornbird, Chotoy Spinetail, Scimitar-billed Woodcreeper, Ash-coloured Cuckoo, Tufted Tit-spinetail and Brown-and-yellow Marshbird were all ticks. We had to take things in fast as there were so many new species within seconds of each other. Keeny and Oscar were working as team, Oscar going on ahead to try and locate anything interesting while Keeny worked another spot with us.
All too soon we had run out of time and had to leave for Gualeguaychu, an area further north that was the main reason we had hired guides. Here are still to be found the endangered Saffron-cowled Blackbird and scarce Black-and-white Monjita as well as several seedeaters, some of which are also threatened. As we drove into the main area it was clear that guides, or precise directions and lots of time, were needed in the vast area of rolling, grazing fields in order to locate the specialities. Almost immediately we scored with a bonus though, a male Glaucous-blue Grosbeak perched on top of a trackside bush. But it only gave brief views unlike the female! So no time for a decent shot as my autofocus zoomed into the background! Other species included Firewood Gatherer, Grey Monjita, Screaming Cowbird and Spotted Nothura. Soon we found the odd Dark-throated, Tawny-bellied and one Chestnut Seedeater. Meanwhile Oscar signalled from further up the track that he had found something and we were quickly looking at a pair of Black-and-white Monjitas. Far longer-winged than the other Monjitas these are now in their own monotypic genus. All these birds clearly favoured the far more lightly grazed areas with long grass and weeds. Often Saffron-cowled Blackbirds are supposed to follow the Monjitas and soon in the distance we were able to scope some flying in our direction. While trying to get better views of these I unfortunately wandered off and so missed a Marsh Seedeater that Chris managed to get in the scope. Well satisfied that we had seen so many of our target species we continued driving in the hope of something else. After stopping for a Dark-throated Seedeater, Keeny shouted as a Bearded Tachuri popped up onto a fence giving excellent views. This is yet another threatened although previously widespread grassland species. A few hundred metres on I spotted an extremely close Saffron-cowled Blackbird also perched on a fence. This bird allowed extremely close views and to me was clearly the highlight of the day. This unfortunately was the climax and although we found another group of Blackbirds there was nothing else of note. We did find a local landowner who was very interested in the birds and agreed to let Oscar come back at a later date to survey his Estancia and meet with him to discuss threats to them {overgrazing and drainage or tree planting on the marshes}.
So as we were dropped off at our hotel we thanked Keeny and Oscar for getting us almost every species on our list. I had had 15 ticks that I was not to see again on the trip and there were a large number of trip exclusives as well. I had not thought that we would do as well as this, even with German.
4/12 We left the hotel at 7:30 and headed south to San Clemente. We had no problems getting out of BA at all and the roads were pretty empty once we were out of the city. The weather though was absolutely appalling with torrential rain so once we got into the main wetland birding areas this seriously restricted our activities. After checking out a few roadside pools and getting very wet, we booked in to the Hotel Morales {Arg$45 for double including breakfast}. The heavy rain had eased to a light drizzle so we drove out to Punta Rasa. This is reached by a sand road to the northwest of town. We parked at the turn off on the right to the nature reserve. As soon as we got out of the car I could hear the high-pitched grasshopper like song of a Bay-caped Wren-spinetail and we quickly got good looks of this bird in the saltmarsh sedges. Other birds around here included Sulphur-bearded Spinetail and Warbling Doradito. Heading out to the point, we found good numbers of roosting waders, terns and gulls. Amongst them were quite a few Snowy-crowned Terns and Hudsonian Godwits but there was no sign of any of the local Olrog's Gulls. We decided to give the small port area a look and found the gulls. All were sub-adults but quite different from the immature Kelp Gulls. We were only to find one full adult the whole time we were there. Having scored on all our targets in this area, apart from Hudson's Canastero we thought we would check the pools by the main road for our other 2 main targets, Stripe-backed Bittern and American Painted-snipe. There were large flocks of White-faced Ibises, Egrets, ducks and waders, of which White-rumped Sandpiper was by far the most common. We had no problem locating the canal where Stripe-backed Bittern was supposed to be found but despite a lot of looking there was no sign of any. Southern Screamers were good but despite large numbers of birds such as Plumbeous Rail, Long-Winged Harrier, Maguari Stork, and Roseate Spoonbill, it was clear that our two main targets were going to be hard work. The rest of the day proved to be frustrating, finding no more new birds.
5/12 Again we worked the point and roadside pools but had only one tick in the form of Swainson's Hawk. Despite putting in a lot of effort for the Canastero there was no sign of any, whilst the roadside pools and reed beds failed to produce anything new, even at dusk
6/12 Our last day. The point again failed to produce the Canastero. Highlight here was an Arctic Skua on the beach. On the way out we bumped into a Fieldguides group. Their guide said he had dipped on the Canastero last time as well. We decided to head north to Atalaya, which is supposed to be reliable for Gilded Sapphire. On birding the pools and marshes, the only variation from previous visits was a group of Buff-breasted Sandpipers, the first I had seen outside the UK. On arriving at Atalaya we were surprised that areas where the gen had marked reeds with Giant Wood-rails and Curve-billed Reedhaunters, were now overgrown with trees. Luckily we did not need these two. Glittering Bellied Emeralds were common and we eventually located and got good views of several Gilded Sapphires. They seemed to like the trees with red, hanging flowers.
That was to prove to be the last tick of the trip. The drive to BA was straightforward and with good road signs the whole way, we returned the car without any problems and checked in for our flight back to the UK. It had been an excellent trip all round with very few dips. Santiago and Keeny had done us proud. The last couple of days had been a little disappointing with the dip on the Painted-snipe being the worst. Maybe the high water levels had not helped. Nevertheless 183 ticks and some excellent mammals was pretty good.
Species list.
1 Ornate Tinamou (Nothoprocta ornata) 1 km 83 Tafi del Valle
2 Andean Tinamou (Nothoprocta pentlandii) 1 km 78 Tafi del Valle
3 Darwin's Nothura (Nothura darwinii) 1 Valdez, the 1st tinamou we saw! Plus 1 other poorly seen
4 Spotted Nothura [sp] (Nothura maculosa) 5 in the Buenos Aires region
5 Elegant Crested-tinamou (Eudromia elegans) Very common on the Valdez
6 Patagonian Tinamou (Tinamotis ingoufi) 3 near Gdor.Gregores plus 5 adults and 4 young near Pt.San Julian
7 Greater Rhea (Rhea americana) 7 near Gualeguaychu and 33 near San Clemente
8 Lesser Rhea (Rhea pennata) common on the Valdez and most of Patagonia
9 White-tufted Grebe (Rollandia rolland) common on most water bodies in areas visited north of Trelew.
10 Pied-billed Grebe(Podilymbus podiceps) 2 San Clemente
11 Great Grebe (Podiceps major) Seen most areas except the NW Andes. Common on the coast. Note different race on inland Patagonian rivers
12 Silvery Grebe(Podiceps occipitalis) Common Trelew area and on Strobel plateau lakes
13 Hooded Grebe (Podiceps gallardoi) 70 on the Strobel plateau. Bird of the trip seen in glorious sunshine and flat calm.
22 Magellanic Diving-petrel(Pelecanoides magellani) About 20 in the Beagle Channel. The white collar is actually very obvious. Remarkably like Little Auks.
23 Neotropic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax brasilianus) Common most areas
24 Imperial Shag (Phalacrocorax atriceps) Seen at most coastal sites
25 Rock Shag (Phalacrocorax magellanicus) Seen on the Valdez, Pto San Julian and Beagle Channel
27 Whistling Heron(Syrigma sibilatrix) odd birds in the San Clemente and Tucuman areas
28 Snowy Egret (Egretta thula) common San Clemente
29 Cocoi Heron (Ardea cocoi) 20 or so round San Clemente
30 Great White Egret(Egretta alba) some around the Valdez area and common San Clemente
31 Cattle Egret(Bubulcus ibis) common San Clemente
32 Striated Heron(Butorides striatus) 12 in the Buenos Aires region
33 Black-crowned Night-heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) 2 Valdez. 1 nesting on the cliffs at Pto.San Julian, 2 on Tierra del Fuego and 7 around Buenos Aires. Note blackish race in the south.
34 Rufescent Tiger-heron (Tigrisoma lineatum) 2 Costenera Sur
35 Wood Stork (Mycteria americana) 3 San Clemente
36 Maguari Stork (Ciconia maguari) common San Clemente
37 Whispering Ibis (Phimosus infuscatus) common north of Buenos Aires
38 White-faced Ibis (Plegadis chihi) very common around San Clemente and north of Buenos Aires
39 Black-faced Ibis (Theristicus melanopis) Common Calafate/Strobel plateau area and Tierra del Fuego
40 Roseate Spoonbill(Ajaia ajaja) 20 or so in the Buenos Aires region
41 Chilean Flamingo (Phoenicopterus chilensis) Common on lakes near Trelew, Calafate, Pto.San Julian and some at San Clemente.
42 Southern Screamer (Chauna torquata) Over 50 seen in total around San Clemente and Ceibas
43 Fulvous Whistling-duck (Dendrocygna bicolor) 1 Costanera Sur
44 White-faced Whistling-duck (Dendrocygna viduata) Common around Buenos Aires.
45 Andean Duck (Oxyura ferruginea) 3 Calafate
46 Lake Duck (Oxyura vittata) Common on most lakes
47 Black-headed Duck (Heteronetta atricapilla) 1 Costanera Sur
48 Black-necked Swan (Cygnus melanocorypha) Common most wetlands
49 Coscoroba Swan(Coscoroba coscoroba) Common most wetlands
50 Upland Goose(Chloephaga picta) Very common in southern Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego.
51 Kelp Goose(Chloephaga hybrida) 75 around Ushuaia
52 Ashy-headed Goose(Chloephaga poliocephala) 10 Calafate, 25+ Tierra del Fuego national park.
139 Black Skimmer(Rynchops niger) 20 most days San Clemente
140 Picazuro Pigeon(Columba picazuro) up to 30 daily in the San Clemente area
141 Spot-winged Pigeon(Columba maculosa) 12 Las Grutas, 4 San Clemente
142 Eared Dove(Zenaida auriculata) Common except on Tierra del Fuego
143 Picui Ground-dove(Columbina picui) 1 Trelew, common Entre Rios
144 Bare-eyed Ground-dove(Metriopelia morenoi) easily seen at El Infernillo with a daily max of 26
145 Black-winged Ground-dove(Metriopelia melanoptera) up to 10 daily at El Infernillo
146 Mitred Parakeet(Aratinga mitrata) 18 Rio Sosa
147 Burrowing Parakeet(Cyanoliseus patagonus) Southern form very common around Las Grutas, a few on the Valdez. 100 or so at Quilmes of the northern form.
148 Austral Parakeet(Enicognathus ferrugineus) 50 at Los Glaciares and heard at Harberton
149 Monk Parakeet (Myiopsitta monachus) Very common San Clemente and Costenera Sur
150 Grey-hooded Parakeet(Bolborhynchus aymara) 2 El Infernillo
173 Dot-fronted Woodpecker(Veniliornis frontalis) 1 Rio Sosa
174 Green-barred Woodpecker [sp](Colaptes melanochloros) 2 Quilmes,8 Costenera Sur, 4 Ceibas and 2 San Clemente. Sometimes split as Golden-breasted
175 Chilean Flicker(Colaptes pitius) 3 Los Glaciares
176 Andean Flicker (Colaptes rupicola) 10 El Infernillo
177 Campo Flicker(Colaptes campestris) 2 Gualeguaychu. 5 San Clemente
178 Magellanic Woodpecker (Campephilus magellanicus) 3 each at Los Glaciares and Tierra del Fuego NP. Excellent birds but did not respond to knocking stones on trees!
183 Rufous-banded Miner(Geositta rufipennis)1 West slope beyond El Infernillo
184 Slender-billed Miner(Geositta tenuirostris) 1 El Infernillo
185 Chaco Earthcreeper (Upucerthia certhioides) 1 Quilmes was very unexpected
186 Scale-throated Earthcreeper(Upucerthia dumetaria) Common Valdez with smaller numbers from Calafate to Rio Gallegos
187 Buff-breasted Earthcreeper(Upucerthia validirostris) 1 El Infernillo at the very top Gulley
188 Bar-winged Cinclodes(Cinclodes fuscus) Common around Ushuaia plus 2 along the Rio Sosa. It is important to get to know this sp well to separate out Grey-flanked in the South and White-winged in the north. The race of Bar-winged in the north is very similar to White-winged but both were along the river while WW were on the top at El Infernillo itself.
189 Grey-flanked Cinclodes (Cinclodes oustaleti) 1 eventually found on the beach at Ushuaia and watched at length at very close range. Has pale belly and vent [cf Dark-bellied] but far darker and more heavily marked than Bar-winged.
190 Dark-bellied Cinclodes(Cinclodes patagonicus) 3 on the coast at Tierra del Fuego NP
191 White-winged Cinclodes(Cinclodes atacamensis) 10 around El Infernillo, some breeding with large young in the nest
192 Rufous Hornero(Furnarius rufus) Common in northern lowland areas
193 Thorn-tailed Rayadito(Aphrastura spinicauda) Common in the forest at Los Glacieres and Tierra del Fuego NP. Recently fledged young at the latter
194 Brown-capped Tit-spinetail(Leptasthenura fuliginiceps) 14 sightings from El Infernillo to Quilmes
202 Lesser Canastero(Asthenes pyrrholeuca) 6 Las Grutas/Valdez area, 6 Strobel
203 Short-billed Canastero(Asthenes baeri) 16 sightings Las Grutas
204 Cordilleran Canastero(Asthenes modesta) 5 El Infernillo
205 Creamy-breasted Canastero(Asthenes dorbignyi) 3 near Ampimpa east of Quilmes. The stick nests in the large cacti appeared to belong to this sp.
206 Patagonian Canastero(Asthenes patagonica) 2 on our first evening on the Valdez where regularly heard thereafter but no further attempt to see them. 1 Punto Tombo
207 Puna Canastero(Asthenes punensis) 9 El Infernillo
208 Austral Canastero(Asthenes anthoides) 3 Rio Gallegos
209 Little Thornbird(Phacellodomus sibilatrix) 3 Ceibas
210 Streak-fronted Thornbird(Phacellodomus striaticeps) 1 pair on a nest in the last gully at El Infernillo
211 Freckle-breasted Thornbird(Phacellodomus striaticollis) 4 sightings at Costanera Sur and San Clemente
212 Bay-capped Wren-spinetail(Spartonoica maluroides) 4 San Clemente giving high grasshopper type buzzing from salt marsh sedges
235 Greater Wagtail-tyrant(Stigmatura budytoides) 1 Las Grutas, 6 Quilmes. Appeared much duller than the NE Brazil race but I could not remember the call.
236 Yellow-billed Tit-tyrant(Anairetes flavirostris) 2 Las Grutas
237 Tufted Tit-tyrant(Anairetes parulus) about 15 Valdez/Las Grutas, 3 Los Glaciares and 2 Quilmes
238 Many-coloured Rush-tyrant(Tachuris rubrigastra) 1 Trelew, 3 Otamendi,11 San Clemente
255 Lesser Shrike-tyrant (Agriornis murina) 5 Valdez area
256 Spot-billed Ground-tyrant (Muscisaxicola maculirostris) 1 probable Las Grutas, 2 Strobel, 1 Tafi del Valle
257 Dark-faced Ground-tyrant(Muscisaxicola macloviana) 5 Calafate, about 120 in Ushuaia: birds having moved down in the bad weather
258 Cinnamon-bellied Ground-tyrant(Muscisaxicola capistrata) 7 Strobel, 2 San Julian
259 White-browed Ground-tyrant(Muscisaxicola albilora) 2 Los Glaciares
260 Ochre-naped Ground-tyrant (Muscisaxicola flavinucha) about 30 around Ushuaia, with even one flying around the boat in the Beagle Channel. Birds had clearly moved down in the bad weather.
261 Rufous-backed Negrito (Lessonia rufa) 8 Punto Tombo, common to very common Strobel, Rio Gallegos to Tierra del Fuego
262 Andean Tyrant(Knipolegus signatus) 3 upper Rio Sosa
263White-winged Black-tyrant(Knipolegus aterrimus) over 20 around Las Grutas. Despite close scrutiny we were unable to find any Hudson's amongst them.
264 Spectacled Tyrant (Hymenops perspicillatus)1 Las Grutas, a dozen around Calafate/Strobel and common Buenos Aires and Entre Rios provinces
265 Black-backed Water-tyrant (Fluvicola albiventer) 2 Costanera Sur
266 Yellow-browed Tyrant(Satrapa icterophrys) 4 Ceibas, 4 San Clemente area
267 Cattle Tyrant (Machetornis rixosus) 2 Gualeguaychu. 1 San Clemente
268 Tropical Kingbird(Tyrannus melancholicus) a few around Quilmes, common Buenos Aires and Entre Rios provinces
269 Fork-tailed Flycatcher(Tyrannus savana) common Las Grutas, Buenos Aires and Entre Rios provinces
271 Great Kiskadee (Pitangus sulphuratus) a few around Las Grutas, common in the north
272 Xenopsaris (Xenopsaris albinucha) 2 Ceibas
273White-rumped Swallow (Tachycineta leucorrhoa) common Buenos Aires and Entre Rios provinces
274 Chilean Swallow (Tachycineta main) common in the south. It was bizarre seeing swallows flying around in the falling snow and we found some dying.
275 Brown-chested Martin (Phaeoprogne tapera) common Buenos Aires and Entre Rios provinces, 3 Las Grutas
276 Grey-breasted Martin(Progne chalybea [subis]) common Buenos Aires and Entre Rios provinces
277 Southern Martin [sp](Progne modesta) common Valdez area
278 Blue-and-white Swallow(Notiochelidon cyanoleuca) common except Tierra del Fuego, Buenos Aires and Entre Rios Provinces where absent. Note different race in south
279 Sand Martin (Riparia riparia) thousands at Ceibas
280 Barn Swallow(Hirundo rustica) 3 Ceibas
281 Cliff Swallow (Hirundo pyrrhonota) 500+ Ceibas, maybe thousands but distant with Sand martins
282 Correndera Pipit(Anthus correndera) 3 identified and seen well Trelew lakes, others at Strobel, Cabo Virgines and San Clemente on call
283 Short-billed Pipit(Anthus furcatus) common in short grass areas on the Valdez
284 Hellmayr's Pipit(Anthus hellmayri) 5 El Infernillo. All three sp were best identified by song.{having it on disc for immediate comparison was vital}. Good views were had of all but they are very difficult if not singing and doing their display flights
285 Rufous-throated Dipper(Cinclus schulzi) 5 on the Rio Sosa. Excellent. My last Dipper
286 Grass Wren (Cistothorus platensis platensis) 2 above Tafi del Valle
287 Southern House Wren(Troglodytes aedon musculus) common almost all sites
288 Chalk-browed Mockingbird(Mimus saturninus) Common Buenos Aires and Entre Rios provinces
289 Patagonian Mockingbird(Mimus patagonicus) common from Valdez south and Quilmes area
290 White-banded Mockingbird(Mimus triurus) a few Valdez, common Las Grutas
291 Chiguanco Thrush(Turdus chiguanco) common above Tafi del Valle
292 Andean Slaty-thrush(Turdus nigriceps) 14 Rio Sosa
293 Rufous-bellied Thrush(Turdus rufiventris) 20+ Rio Sosa, 10 Costanera Sur , 4 Ceibas and 1 Atalaya
294 Austral Thrush(Turdus falcklandii) a few Las Grutas, Los Glaciares and Strobel. Common Ushuaia area
323 Yellow-bridled Finch (Melanodera xanthogramma) about 170 in the Ushuaia/Tierra del Fuego NP area. All low down having moved off the mountains in the bad weather.
324 Long-tailed Reed-finch (Donacospiza albifrons) 3 Otamendi, 3 San Clemente
325 Common Diuca-finch (Diuca diuca) common on the Valdez/Las Grutas/Punto Tombo, 1 near Quilmes
326 Rufous-sided Warbling-finch (Poospiza hypochondria) 1 on west slope below El Infernillo
327 Cinnamon Warbling-finch (Poospiza ornata) 8 Las Grutas
328 Rusty-browed Warbling-finch(Poospiza erythrophrys) 3 Rio Sosa
329 Black-and-chestnut Warbling-finch(Poospiza whitii) 1 on west slope below El Infernillo
334 Greater Yellow-finch (Sicalis auriventris) 1 on cliff face between Calafate and the Strobel Plateau. Santiago has now found this sp at 3 locations in southern Argentina up to 1500 km south of its previous known range. This bird was a singing male.
335 Greenish Yellow-finch(Sicalis olivascens) 9 on west slope below El Infernillo
336 Patagonian Yellow-finch(Sicalis lebruni) 20+ Valdez, 40 Strobel area
364 Shiny Cowbird (Molothrus bonariensis) common Valdez area, Buenos Aires and Entre Rios provinces
Introduced sp, Nanday Parakeet at Costanera Sur, House Sparrow and Starling
Dips
White-bellied Seed-snipe. Martial Glacier. It snowed every day while we were on TDF and it was blowing a blizzard on the top when we went up. No birds of any species seen up there!
Stripe-backed Bittern and American Painted-Snipe. The weather was horrendous on our drive down to San Clemente and despite searching which got very tedious we were unable to find any.
Chilean Hawk. Uncommon at Los Glaciares
Rufous-legged Owl. We tried on 2 nights but heavy snow and poor quality tape did not help.
Golden-spotted Ground-dove. Occurs at El Infernillo
Alder Parrot. Had hoped we might get one on the Rio Sosa
Slender-tailed Woodstar. Almost certainly seen in flight at Rio Sosa
Blackish Cincloides. Sometimes seen on islands in Beagle channel
Hudson's Canastero. We were unable to find any at Punta Rasa but had no tape
Straight-billed Reedhaunter. We taped one in at Otamendi that Keeny is certain was a juv. However it had a short, slightly decurved bill and I am still not happy that it could not have been a juv Sulphur-bearded Spinetail so have not ticked it.
Lark-like Brushrunner. Possible at Ceibas but easier in the Chaco
Hudson's Black Tyrant. No sign of any at Las Grutas despite carefully checking.
Great Shrike-Tyrant. No sign around Calafate/Strobel.
Patagonian Tyrant. Very difficult at Calafate. Santiago had not seen any for ages.
Scribble-tailed Canastero. We could not find this sp at El Infernillo but we suspect we were not looking in the right area as Puna was common.
Marsh Seedeater. Chris had one scoped at Gualeguaychu but I was too far away and did not get back in time to see it
