Date: Wednesday 31 August 2022

Trajectory:  Laguna Blanca – Misión Tacaaglé – Laguna Blanca

Distance covered: 200 km

Surprisingly good breakfast today (fresh croissants came after this photo), and off for a 07.30 start. 

Today we shared the driving … it feels good to have a bird guide and a chauffeur!

Quite early in the day we saw a King Vulture flying very, very high in the sky … 

… and it reminded me of the King Vulture feather I had been given when I was mucking out cages in the Guaycolec Reserve and which I am going to turn into a quill ballpoint.

Obviously we had a number of stops for mate as well as birds …

One interesting thing I noted is the use of beer cans as night reflectors on country roads – a cheap and effective way of providing road guidance in the dark. 

I’m also rather fond of the ‘palo borracho’ (floss silk, or drunken trees), which are very common in this region. 

Time for lunch …

… which we had at a service station after visiting a border post [with Paraguay], just across the River Pilcomayo

After lunch we visited an old Franciscan Mission at Tacaaglé – moved twice because of flooding.  A very interesting place, though much smaller in scope than the great Jesuit Missions in Paraguay and the Province of Misiones.

Back on numerous tracks and trails we continued birding until dusk .. 

And at about 18.00 we returned to our hotel in Laguna Blanca for beer, blog writing and supper.

My bird of the day: hard, with so many, but I’ve chosen the great ant shrike – this is the female. 

`Tomorrow we move west some three hundred kilometres: watch this spot.