In order to get reasonably priced airfare to Ushuaia I had to spend one more day in Buenos Aires so I returned to the nearby Reserva Ecologia Costanera Sur. I studied the map of the park after I entered and decided to make a swing through the trail along the eastern bondary. Problem was the area was blocked with caution tape. The Bomberos (Fire Dept), who act as security, had an office next to the rest rooms and I asked one of them if I could enter the blocked area to do some birding and he said it was fine. Turns out later I was rebuffed by park staff for being in a closed area. What cha gonna do?
The blocked off trail was quiet with only one jogger and a couple of cars passing by. It was not particularly birdy. But I did manage to call up a Black-capped Warbling Finch.
Also making an appearance was the familiar Tropical Parula.
After a while there was an marsh that dained inland runnoff into the sea. Several times I bushwacked to get a look but saw little other than a few egrets. Then I saw a flock of raptors circling overhead. They were dark, broad-winged with a black-banded tail. They looked much like the Harri's Hawks I was commonly encountering. But why were they up high circling in a flock of about fifteen? Then it hit me. These weren't Harris's Hawks. They were Snail Kites,
I got better views of a Yellow-browed Tyrant.
Then the trail ran along the sea shore where the Rio de la Plata empties into the Atlantic Ocean. I got my first Brown-hooded Gulls.
And distant looks at my first Snowy-crowned Tern.
And then several Great Grebes, a species I had seen along the coast of southern Peru.
Then the coastal scrub became thicker and I found several more species. White-tipped Plant-cutter is a member of the Cotinga family and a species I really wanted to see. I saw three of them but as is the case with cotingas, they were hard to photograph.
A couple of Rufous Horneros watched from their nest.
A number of genera that are represented by a single species in the United States also occur in Argentina where, perhaps because of the extreme range of latitudes and habitats, they have each radiated into several species. This is true of coots as I mentioned in an earlier post and also the mockingbirds where five species are found. This was my only White-banded Mockingbird.
A nearby fruiting Ligustrum held both Rufous-bellied and Creamy-bellied Thrushes. The genus Turdus, which includes our familiar American Robin, has six species in Argentina.
I was hoping to come across a tegu at sometime during my visit to Argentina. This Black-and-white Tegu was about thirty inches long. They eat about anything and are often kept as pets. They have become a problem in Florida along with Burmese Pythons and other escaped exotics.
On the cross trail back to the main trail, I found a mixed flock feeding near a picnic area. Here's my lifer Green-backed Saltator.
I finally got good photos of the Golden-billed Saltator. The female and young have a black bill.
I really enjoyed the Black-and-rufous Warbling Finches.
Back on the main trail a Gray-cowled Wood-Rail stalked the water's edge. They are large but a bit smaller than yesterday's Giant Wood-Rail.
Here's a striking Rufescent Tiger-Heron.
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