Cacholote castaño (Brown Cachalote) Pseudoseisura lophotes, sitting on its nest – one of ten new species for me on my visit to Córdoba, Argentina.

I went to Cordoba at the end of September 2015 [for a teacher’s conference], and managed to stay on for a couple of days to do some birding. In fact there were plenty of birds on the Universidad Nacional de Córdoba‘s campus [where the conference was held], and in the nearby Parque Sarmiento.

Atajacaminos tijera (Scissor-tailed Nightjar) Hydropsalis torquata, taken at the Ciudad Universitaria Cordoba

Carpintero de cardon (White-fronted Woodpecker) Melanerpes cactorum, shot on the University campus.

When the conference was over I rented a car. The first day I drove up to the Pampa de Achala, stopping in small towns and exploring the highways and byways between Villa Carlos Paz and El Condor. On the whole this was a good day’s birding. I spent the night in the town of Tanti, a delightful place with great places to eat and drink, although a little quiet out of season.

Carpintero campestre (Campo Flicker aka Field Flicker) Colaptes campestris, La Pampilla, Cordoba

Chinchero grande (Scimitar-billed Woodcreeper) Drymornis bridgesii, Maya Sumac, Cordoba

Monterita cabeza negra (Black-capped Warbling-Finch) Poospiza melanoleuca, Icho Cruz, Cordoba

Paloma manchada (Spot-winged Pigeon) Patagioenas maculosa, El Condor, Cordoba

Cachudito pico amarillo (Yellow-billed Tit-Tyrant) Anairetes flavirostris, Icho Cruz, Cordoba

The second day was not so good. I had three places to visit, of which one [Reserva los Chorillos] was closed and another [la Cueva de los Pájaros] was a disappointing tourist rip off. I’ll say no more about either of these.

The third place was good though, not least because they had cold beer and a friendly biologist who shared my beer and helped me find my way around. This was the Reserva Cerro Blanco, highly recommended out of season but probably rather crowded and noisy when the tourists arrive.

A cacholote castaño (Brown Cachalote) Pseudoseisura lophotes, Cerro Blanco, Cordoba

zorzal chiguanco (Chiguanco Thrush) Turdus chiguanco, Cerro Blanco, Cordoba

I didn’t keep a tally of the [very many] species I saw, but I did log ten lifers. I was able to photograph these to at least registration level and include them here more or less in the order taken. I saw a few more new birds that I was unable to either photograph or identify, thus setting myself up for a return visit.