Zoo, Buenos Aires – 13 January 2016

Posted on January 23, 2016 by Martin Eayrs

With time to kill in Buenos Aires I took myself to the zoo in Palermo, which I had not visited for at least twelve years. Although not a great fan of zoos I found the one in a much better state than I remember it being, with development plans still underway.

This is confusing as it has also been recently announced that the zoo is closing down. If this is the case, I hope they find some way of keeping up the conservation work – in several areas, for me in particular the Condor Rehabilitation unit, where my condor friend Painamal was cared for before her release.

I limited the photos I took to Argentine mammals, some (like the llama and vicuña) in compounds and some (like the mara and coypu) watering freely throughout the zoo.

Coipo (Myocastor coypus) Coypu

Mara (Dolichotis patagonum) Mara or Patagonian Hare

Carpincho (Hydrochaeris hydrochaeris) Capybara

On to the Camelidae family. Those not familiar with South American Animals tend to confuse llamas, vicuñas and guanacos, although these tend to be geographical separated. The llama is basically a domesticated form go the [still] wild guanaco. Vicuñas can be wild or domesticated. There is also of course the Alpaca (the photo is not mine), a domesticated vicuña found in northern Chile, Bolivia and Peru..

Vicuña (Vicugna vicugna) Vicuña

Llama (Lama llama) Llama

The llama and vicuña are really quite different. Also easily differentiated is the guanaco (see below), which I did not see in the zoo but saw everywhere in southern Patagonia last year.

Guanaco (Lama guanaco) Guanaco

Finally, the alpaca, photo courtesy of as I do not yet have one of my own. Domesticated a long time ago, there are no known wild alpacas today.

One of two kinds of alpaca, photo courtesy of wikipedia.

I wasn’t really looking for birds, but among the zoo’s exhibits I did see a pen with Greater Rhea, a bird which I had only ever seen before as spots in the distance. I’m not really sure that I can claim this as a lifer though!

Ñandú (Rhea americana) Greater Rhea

And the Southern (Crested) Screamer roamed freely throughout the zoo – again this was a bird i had previously only seen in the distance in Entre Ríos and Buenos Aires provinces.

chaja (Crested aka Southern Screamer) Chauna torquata

Muscovy ducks were also everywhere – the zoo has plenty of lakes, and it was full breeding season

pato real (Muscovy Duck) Cairina moschata

I found two other bird photos in my camera roll: a striated heron (there were many in the zoo) and a bay-winged cowbird; not quite sure why I took them but perhaps to identify later.

tordo musico (Bay-winged Cowbird) Agelaioides badius

garcita azulada (Striated Heron) Butorides striata

Funny to think that I was so thrilled to see my first striated heron in a visit to the Pantanos de Villa in Lima only five months earlier, considering it a real ‘find’, and that they were common as muck here in the Buenos Aires city zoo. But that’s birding for you.

RECS, Buenos Aires – 13 January 2016

Posted on January 23, 2016 by Martin Eayrs

I spent a day in Buenos Aires on my way back to Manchester and, as has now become my custom, I stuck my head into the Reserva Ecologica Costanera Sur (aka RECS). I was there for a very short time as I also had shopping to do, but I did have time to take a few photos.

First up, this rather splendid photo of downtown Buenos Aires, taken from within the reserve. This shows how close the reserve is to the city centre, but is an angle I had never seen a photo taken from – really quite unusual.

160113 ba from RECS

First up, I was witness to a battle (presumably territorial) between a couple of coots and a couple of moorhens. I guess these conflicts go on all over the world; this one at least seemed quite intense.

160113 coots and moorhen 2 RECS 160113 coots and moorhen 3 RECS 160113 coots and moorhen RECS

I only seem to have taken photos of three other birds. I remember I was very low on battery and was intending to go to the zoo in the afternoon, so was preserving power. I am also quite familiar with the birds I tend to see here (it must have been my tenth visit) and didn’t register any lifers on this visit.

The ones I did take are below:

pepitero de collar (Golden-billed Saltator) Saltator aurantiirostris

pepitero gris (Grayish Saltator) Saltator coerulescens

garcita azulada (Striated Heron) Butorides striata

The Striated Heron was displaying most splendidly – and they are lovely birds to see.

I also saw quite a few lizards enjoying the morning sun; here is one example, what the locals often refer to as an iguana but not really an iguana at all.

Lagarto Overo (known locally by many as “Iguana”) Tupinambis merianae. Eng. the White-and-black Tegu Lizard.

Ceibas, Entre Ríos – 1 November 2015

Posted on January 23, 2016 by Martin Eayrs

I was in Buenos Aires at the end of October 2015 for a teachers’ conference and when it was over my good friend Alec Earnshaw invited me up to Ceibas for a day’s birding. It was a long day too –Ceibas is in the Province of Entre Ríos and we left the northern suburbs at about 04.00, getting back to BA at about 23.00– but it was an excellent day, and I had myself an excellent guide, one of Argentina’s very best. Thank you again, Alec, for a wonderful day’s birding.

Alec knew this area really well, and was able to guide me to a a great many birds, twenty-eight of which were lifers for me. Below are some of the birds we saw – there were so many birds everywhere that I didn’t bother to take photos of birds I know in order to save my batteries for new ones.

Lifers of the day were Savanna Hawk, Grassland Sparrow, Chestnut-capped Blackbird, Wood Stork, Screaming Cowbird, Suiriri Flycatcher, Yellow-browed Tyrant, Solitary Sandpiper, Sooty Tyrannulet, Grayish Saltator, White-browed Meadowlark, Brown-and-yellow Marshbird, Straight-billed Reedhaunter, Curve-billed Reedhaunter, Nacunda Nighthawk, Bran-colored Flycatcher, White Monjita, Firewood-gatherer, Brown-chested Martin, Scarlet-headed Blackbird, Freckle-breasted Thornbird, Roseate Spoonbill, Warbling Doradito, Yellow-chinned Spinetail, Stripe-crowned Spinetail, Chotoy Spinetail, Whistling Heron and Snail Kite. That’s a total of 28 – not bad for one day’s birding, and I’m no longer a beginner.

The photos below follow, for some inexplicable reason, a not quite perfect inverse alphabetical order. This was obviously not the order we saw them, but some months later it would be time-consuming to reconstruct that order, and it’s not that important anyway.

151101 varillero congo 3 Ceibas Entre Rios

varillero congo (Chestnut-capped Blackbird) Agelaius ruficapillus

tuyuyú (American Wood Stork) Mycteria americana

151101 tordo pico corto (screaming cowbird) Ceibas Entre Rios

tordo pico corto (Screaming Cowbird) Molothrus rufoaxilaris

siriri pampa (White-faced Whistling-Duck) Dendrocygna viduata

151101 Sietevestidos Común 27 Ceibas Entre Rios

siete vestidos ( Black-and-rufous Warbling-Finch) Poospiza nigrorufa

151101 pitotoy solitario Ceibas Entre Rios

pitotoy solitario (Solitary Sandpiper) Tringa solitaria

piojito gris (Sooty Tyrannulet) Serpophaga nigricans

151101 pico de plata hembra Ceibas Entre Rios

[female] pico de plata (Spectacled Tyrant) Hymenops perspicillatus

151101 picaflor comun 2 (glittering-bellied-emerald) Ceibas Entre Rios

[male] picaflor comun (Glittering-bellied Emerald Hummingbird) Chlorostilbon lucidus

151101 perhaps muscove duck? Ceibas Entre Rios

domesticated version of pato real (Muscovy Duck) Cairina moschata

pepitero de collar (Golden-billed Saltator) Saltator aurantiirostris

[not to be confused with long-tailed meadowlark!] pecho colorado (White-browed Meadowlark) Sturnella superciliaris

151101 pecho amarillo comun Ceibas Entre Rios

pecho amarillo común (Brown-and-yellow Marshbird) Pseudoleistes virescens

151101 pajonalera pico curvo 3 Ceibas Entre Rios

ñacundá (Nacunda Nighthawk) Chordeiles nacunda/Podager nacunda

federal (Scarlet-headed Blackbird) Amblyramphus holosericeus

151101 Espinero Pecho Manchado freckle-breasted thornbird Ceibas Entre Rios

espinero pecho manchado (Freckle-breasted Thornbird) Phacellodomus striaticollis

151101 Espátula Rosada 3 Ceibas Entre Rios

espátula rosada (Roseate Spoonbill) Ajaia ajaja

151101 Doradito Común 3 Ceibas Entre Rios

doradito común (Warbling Doradito) Pseudocolopteryx flaviventris

151101 curutie colorado 2 Ceibas Entre Rios

curutié colorado (Yellow-chinned Spinetail) Certhiaxis cinnamomeus

curutié blanco (Stripe-crowned Spinetail) Cranioleuca pyrrhophia

cortarramas (White-tipped Plantcutter) Phytotoma rutila

chotoy (Chotoy Spinetail) Schoeniophylax phryganophilus

151101 chinchero chico Ceibas Entre Rios

chinchero chico (Narrow-billed Woodcreeper) Lepidocolaptes angustirostris

chiflón (Whislting Heron) Syrigma sibilatrix

chaja (Crested aka Southern Screamer) Chauna torquata

151101 carpintero de cardon hembra Ceibas Entre Rios

carpintero de cardon (White-fronted Woodpecker) Melanerpes cactorum

151101 cardenal comun 2 Ceibas Entre Rios

cardenal comun (Red-crested Cardinal) Paroaria coronata

caracolero (Snail [or Everglade] Kite) Rosthramus sociabilis

151101 Baywing, or Bay-winged Cowbird Ceibas Entre Rios

tordo musico (Bay-winged Cowbird) Agelaioides badius

151101 becasina comun 2 Ceibas Entre Rios

becasina (South American Snipe) Gallinago paraguaiae

151101 bigua feeding 2 Ceibas Entre Rios

bigua (Neotropic aka Olivaceous Cormorant) Phalacrocorax brasilianus

151101 Cachilo Ceja Amarilla Ceibas Entre Rios

cachilo ceja amarilla (Grassland Sparrow) Ammodramus humeralis

calandria grande (Chalk-browed Mockingbird) Mimus saturninus

151101 atajacaminos tijera Ceibas Entre Rios

atajacaminos tijera (Scissor-tailed Nightjar) Hydropsalis torquata

151101 Aguilucho Colorado Ceibas Entre Rios

[young] aguilucho colorado (Savanna Hawk) Buteogallus meridionalis

suirirí común (Suiriri suiriri) Suiriri Flycatcher

151101 Suirirí Amarillo 2 Ceibas Entre Rios

suirirí amarillo (Yellow-browed Tyrant) Satrapa icterophrys

Trip to Río Gallegos, 8 November 2015

Posted on January 22, 2016 by Martin Eayrs

I made a return trip to Río Gallegos in November 2015. This time it was for work (to give one or two talks at a local teachers’ conference) but it was a good chance to meet up with my friend Emanuel Tiberí and do a little birding.

We took a half day and went out to Punta Loyola, an area that Emanuel knows well as he is working on the reserve there. I was lucky enough to see one or too lifers while there (Least Seedsnipe, Chocolate-vented Tyrant, Collared Plover and Tawny-throated Dotterel) , so it was a good outing.

Here are a few photos I took on the morning outing:

monjita chocolate (Chocolate-vented Tyrant) Neoxolmis rufiventris

chorlo cabezón (Tawny-throated Dotterel) Oreopholus ruficollis

chorlito doble collar (Two-banded Plover) Charadrius falklandicus

agachona chica (Least Seedsnipe) Thinocorus rumicivorus

bandurrita comun (Scale-throated Earthcreeper) Upucerthia dumetaria

In the afternoon I walked out along the costanera before taking my flight back north and took my final shot of the trip: possibly the most common bird in Patagonia, but always a delightful one: the chingolo.

chingolo (Rufous-collared Sparrow) Zonotrichia capensis

Atlantic coast, Part 2c – Punta Rasa back to Mar del Plata, 20 October, 2015

Posted on January 22, 2016 by Martin Eayrs

This is the final part of a trip I made north from Mar del Plata to Punta Rasa when my Pelagic trip was cancelled due to bad weather). It covers a little of the area around Punta Rasa and then the coast down to Panama and Mar Chiquita. As I am so far behind with South American bird logs I am again limiting this to photos of some of the species I saw, limiting the captions to bird IDs. I saw one lifer: the Southern Screamer.

Firstly I drove west to General Lavalle:

gallineta comun (Plumbeous Rail) Pardirallus sanguinolentus

garza mora (Cocoi or White-necked Heron) Ardea cocoi

[singing his heart out] chingolo (Rufous-collared Sparrow) Zonotrichia capensis

I then drove south to Piñamar, where I parked up beside the small aerodrome:

pecho amarillo común (Brown-and-yellow Marshbird) Pseudoleistes virescens

pato picazo (Rosy-billed Pochard aka Rosybill) Netta peposaca

cuervillo de cañada (White-faced Ibis) Plegadis chihi

chaja (Crested aka Southern Screamer) Chauna torquata

carpintero-real comun (Green-barred Woodpecker) Colaptes melanochloros

Finally, I drove into the holiday village at Mar Chiquita, just to the north of Mar del Plata.

pitotoy chico (Lesser Yellowlegs) Tringa flavipes

pititoy grande (greater yellowlegs) Tringa melanoleuca

lechucita vizcachera (burrowing owl) Athene cunicularia

churrinche (Vermilion Flycatcher) Pyrocephalus rubinus

benteveo comun (Great Kiskadee) Pitangus sulphuratus

becasa de mar (Hudsonian godwit) Limosa haemastica

martin pescador grande (Ringed Kingfisher) Megaceryle torquata

Atlantic coast, Part 2b (afternoon and evening) – Punta Rasa, 19 October, 2015

Posted on January 22, 2016 by Martin Eayrs

I am way, way behind with my birding logs, and will therefore limit this to a listing of some of the birds I saw and photographed.

In the afternoon of 19 October 2015 I drove up to Punta Rasa, one of the finest birding sites I have visited and one I can most highly recommend. It’s where freshwater meets seawater, and a stopping off point for migratory species all year round. You never really know what you will see there.

The area around Punta Rasa is also very good for other species (not water birds or migratory species, again all year round).

So, here are the photos from Punta Rasa – with captions limited to ID info. Lifers of the afternoon were Great Pampa-Finch, Royal Tern, American Golden Plover, Olrog’s Gull, and Snowy-crowned Tern.

chorlo pampa (American Golden-Plover) Pluvialis dominica

chorlito gris aka chorlo arctico (Black-bellied Plover) Pluvialis squatarola

[at foot of photo] gaviotín golondrina (Common Tern) Sterna hirundo (see also in Eurasia)

gaviotín lagunero (Snowy-crowned Tern) Sterna trudeaui

gaviotín real (Royal Tern) Thalasseus maximus

milano blanco (White-tailed Kite) Elanus leucurus)

151019 milano blanco 2 Punta Rasa

gaviota cangrejera (Olrog’s Gull) Larus atlanticus

Food for the Olrog Gulls – the crab Neohelice granulata

ostrero comun (American Oystercatcher) Haematopus palliatus

playerito enano (semipalmated sandpiper) Calidris pusilla

verdón (Great Pampa-Finch) Embernagra platensis

And a leaving shot from Punta Rasa:

[at end of day] gaviota cangrejera (Olrog’s Gull) Larus atlanticus

Atlantic coast, Part 2a (morning) – San Clemente Port, 19 October, 2015

Posted on January 22, 2016 by Martin Eayrs

After my day in and around Mar del Plata I got up early and drove north from Mar del Plata to the coastal town of San Clemente de Tuyú, home to Mundo Marino (Sea World), although I did not visit it on this occasion. I was on my way to Punta Rasa, but will deal with my visit there in a second post. In San Clemente I was heading for the old port, a great place for birds, especially [migratory] water birds.

As I am putting up this post a long time after my visit I’ll just limit myself to listing some of what I saw, this time giving my IDs in the photo captions. Lifers of the morning were Bare-facded Ibis,White-rumped Swallow and Maguari Stork.