Southern Cone: ChAr 2016, Part 6 - Pampas and Buenos Aires

Jan 28

Our overnight bus pulled into Bahia Blanca around 08:00, and we walked to find a rental car agency where we could get a vehicle for the day. We ended up at Localiza, and by 09:30 we were on the road. Our first stop was at a little wetland on the northwest side of the city, where some activity caught our eye (https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S27180722). Here we added our first Snowy-crowned and Gull-billed Terns, Picazuro Pigeons and Cliff Swallows for the trip. Heading north, we checked out the roads through the grasslands near Chasico, adding Red-winged Tinamou, Spotted Nothura, Guira Cuckoo, Tawny-headed Swallow, White-browed Meadowlark and Great Pampa-Finch to our life lists (https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S27180732).

Pampas near Chasico

After getting lunch in one of the small towns, we continued on our quest for Pampas specialties, and quickly found one of them - a group of Pampas Meadowlarks (https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S27180755)! This species has become quite rare and localized, so we were extremely happy to have found a few and gotten good looks. As we were heading out, windows down as usual, I heard a song that sounded vaguely familiar. Stopping the car, we got out to see and hear 4 Pampas Pipits doing display flights over a field (https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S27180782)! A bonus bird that we assumed we had no chance for on this trip, as there were very few records on eBird.

Pampas Meadowlark showing the diagnostic black underwing

With that success, we headed back through Bahia Blanca to the little village of Villa del Mar, adding a Long-winged Harrier on the way (https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S27180790). Almost immediately we found our first target, with 15 Olrog's Gulls out on the mudflats (https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S27180804). After spending quite a bit of time looking for them farther south, it was nice to catch up with this target species! Josh went out on the mudflat to get some better photos while Adam and I scanned for shorebirds.

Olrog's Gull

Neohelice granulata

Gull ticked, we wandered around a grassy area nearby that was rumoured to hold Dot-winged Crakes, a secretive and range-restricted species. In the heat of the afternoon, we had no luck with the crakes, so we retreated to a restaurant in Punta Alta to get some food and use the WiFi out of the heat. Crake spot confirmed, we were back at it a few hours later once the wind had died down and it had started to cool off a bit, and this time we had some luck, with a Dot-winged Crake responding to playback (https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S27180814). Despite sounding like it was close to us, and seeing the grass move where it must have been on a few occasions, we never actually saw the bird - sneaky little bugger! As we were running short on time, we gave up on the crake and headed back to Bahia to drop off the car (just made it before closing time), and caught an overnight bus to Buenos Aires.

Running trip list: 299 (AR: 140)

Jan 29

After a coffee at the bus station, we got a locker for the day to keep our big bags in, and hopped a cab to Costanera Sur, a large reserve on the east side of Buenos Aires that has quite a large bird list. We had decided to stay in the city rather than try to rent a car and explore further afield, as Josh was flying out the next day and there was plenty for us to see at the reserve anyway. After taking a cab to the reserve, we arrived to find the gates closed, and were informed the reserve would open at 8. With that news, we grabbed breakfast and birded the promenade for a bit before entering the park proper. We spent the next 6 hours walking just about every trail the park had to offer, with 51 of the 93 species we observed being new for the trip, and 30 of them were lifers for me (https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S27190946).

The reserve in the city - Costanera Sur

Nanday Parakeet

We could easily have spent all day here, but a thunderstorm rolled in and so we ran to get lunch (highly recommend the sausage stands that are near the park entrances!) before hopping a cab back to the bus station to pick up our gear. From there we caught a cab to our hostel (V&S Hostel Club, only a few blocks from the reserve, 210p each for a dorm bed). We spent the remainder of the afternoon relaxing at the hostel, making friends with some other travellers before going out for an Argentine asado and splurging on a couple bottles of nice wine to celebrate Josh's last night on the trip.

Running trip list: 350 (AR: 198)

Jan 30

As we had done quite well the day before, we slept in a bit, and then after the included breakfast at our hostel we wandered back down to the reserve to try our luck with a few more species. We concentrated more on the marshy areas on this attempt, skipping the back trails that went mostly through scrubby forest. This strategy proved successful, and we added another 11 species for the trip, highlighted by Southern Screamer, Gilded Hummingbird, Solitary Black Cacique and a skulking Stripe-backed Bittern that I spotted from across the pond (https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S27208880).

Guira Cuckoo

Stripe-backed Bittern

Rufescent Tiger-Heron

Rosy-billed Pochard

After another round of delicious sausage on a bun from the local vendors, we headed back to the hostel so Josh could pack his stuff and catch a ride to the airport. He ended up leaving a bit late, and had a bit of an adventure getting to the aiport, almost missing his flight in the process! Luckily he made it just in time, and sent us a message to let us know he was en route back to Canada. From that point our trio was down to a duo, and Adam and I would continue on just the two of us. As we planned our next move using the hostel WiFi, it appeared there were a few more range-restricted species we could see near Buenos Aires, so we opted to stay another night at the V&S hostel, and spent the rest of the afternoon/evening hanging out with a group of European girls that were staying at the hostel, most of whom we'd met the night before.

Running trip list: 361 (AR: 212)

Jan 31

We had a 05:45 wakeup, as we wanted to be at the bus terminal early enough to catch a ride out to the Otamendi reserve, not far from the city. Arriving at the bus terminal, we asked around about how to get there, and everyone pointed us to one ticket window that was closed, saying it would open at 08:00. At 09:15, there was still no sign of it opening any time soon, and we eventually figured out that you can't get to the reserve by taking a bus out of Buenos Aires, as the bus companies don't like to fill the seats with short-distance travellers. In order to get there, you'd have to take a network of local buses and taxis, which wasn't worth the hassle for us. We ended up deciding to cut our losses, and searched around for bus tickets on to Mercedes. Not finding anything decent until later that day, we booked our tickets for a 21:00 bus and then returned to the hostel for breakfast. After a bit of hanging out at the hostel, we ended up spending the afternoon walking around that area of the city with our new European friends, checking out a few markets and cafes before going for a walk through the Costanera reserve (https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S27232293). While the day was a writeoff for new birds, it was nice to have a bit of a relaxing 'tourist' day after several weeks of intense travel. In the evening, we said goodbye to our new friends and hopped a cab to the bus terminal, where we got dinner, only to discover that dinner was served on the bus as well! We stuffed ourselves and hoarded a few snacks for the next day, then got some sleep as the bus rolled on into the 'Argentine Pantanal'.

Running trip list: 361 (AR: 212)