Reporting from Argentina: The South

We just got finished experiencing the best of Southern Argentina from its wind-swept grasslands of the pampas to the sub-Antarctic forests lining the Beagle Channel. The pampas section was full of birds utilizing this rich environment. One early morning we went to the harbor to catch the first waders just waking up such as Wood Storks, Chilean Flamingos and a huge Maguari Stork eyeing the first light. On a nearby beach, low tide provided the perfect conditions to look for the regional specialty Olrog’s Gull.

The grasslands abound everywhere here, interspersed with patches of pampas grass and tidal marshes. A tiny resident of the bunch grass areas is the Long-tailed Reed Finch, one of the cutest birds we saw on the tour. Giant stick nests stuffed into the few shrubs scattered about revealed a group of chatty Firewood Gatherers we all enjoyed.

The Central Coast of Patagonia is a stunning landscape. We took time to explore the famed Valdez Peninsula. 

We were able to get up close and personal with several species of birds while here, including walking right through the middle of 180,000 nesting Magellanic Penguins, and tiptoeing around a raucous colony of South American Terns.

Given the remoteness of this region, there are many endemic birds that call the desert of the southern cone home. We lucked into several of them, including a family of White-throated Cacholote in the monte scrub, and (near) endemic Band-tailed Earthcreeper on a roadside post.

In El Calafate the Perito Moreno glacier glimmered over the landscape. Two major highlights of the tour occurred here. We were shocked to see a beautiful adult Andean Condor perched right next to the road, taking its time heading to the skies for the day. On the other end of the size spectrum, a bold Austral Pygmy-Owl sang at length, not even minding the mobbing birds alert to its presence.

Perhaps saving the best for last we flew down to the southern tip and the seaside town of Ushuaia. Above treeline we encountered a neon Yellow-bridled Finch as the snow was falling. We also had several species of Ground-Tyrants including an adult Ochre-naped feeding a recently fledged young. Our boat trip down the Beagle Channel brought us up close to islands ripe with life, and even had some of the denizens visit our boat instead!