Saffron-cowled Blackbird Straight-billed Reedhaunter Southern Screamer Giant Wood-Rail Scimitar-billed Woodcreeper Scissor-tailed Nightjar Red-winged Tinamou Blue-and-yellow Tanager Glittering-bellied Emerald Vermilion Flycatcher.
Buenos Aires is a fantastic base for birding.
When you arrive to Buenos Aires you are in one of the most important birding hotspots of the continent: you can visit local reserves inside the city or natural areas around. With more than 400 wild species, plenty of reserves and natural landscapes, it is also close to hotspots where you can find more than 100 species in a single day, including Limpkin, Red-crested Cardinal, Bay-winged Hawk, Black-headed Parakeet, Masked Gnatcatcher, Rufescent Tiger-Heron, Narrow-billed Woodcreeper, Glitering-bellied Emerald, Hooded Siskin or Masked Duck
This trip includes the Paraná River Delta (north-west), the atlantic coastline and mudflats at Punta Rasa (south-east), and several excellent birding hotspots in between.
The Delta includes wetlands, Pampas grasslands and different kind of native forests. Our favorite place there is Ceibas (south of Entre Ríos), where is possible found more than 100 species in a day (or more than 150 in 3 days), including Greater Rhea, Southern Screamer, Savanna Hawk, Giant Wood-Rail, Vermilion Flycatcher, Scimitar-billed Woodcreeper, Rufous-Sided Crake, Blue-and.yellow Tanager, Scissor-tailed Nightjar, White Woodpecker, and several tinamous, herons, ibis, hummingbirds, storks, spinetails, plovers, cuckoos and seedeaters. Among endemics, we'll have good opportunities to both species of Reedhaunter, and the critical Saffron-cowled Blackbird.
The second part of the trip will be to Punta Rasa, the geographical outer limit of La Plata river's estuary. Is the best placefor migratory waders (plovers and sandpipers), also wintering migrators during our summer (September to March). Is also amazing for birds of wetlands and Pampas grassland.
This is the best spot for migratory waders and also for wintering migrators during our summer (September to March) which migrate from as far as Alaska.
If you are planning to visit this city, make a wish list of birds and don't miss a birding trip in Buenos Aires
Day 1: Buenos Aires
Reception at International Airport and transfer to your hotel in Buenos Aires, the cosmopolitan Argentina’s capital. After lunch (depending of the time arrival), visit Costanera Sur Ecological Preserve, a 360 hectares at 10 minute drive from downtown, where in wetlands, shrublands and woods we might see rufous hornero, chalk-browed mockingbird, white-rumped swallow, rufous-collared sparrows, guira cuckoo, silver teal, rosy-billed pochard, southern crested caracara, red-gartered coot, among many others.
Day 2: Buenos Aires. Ceibas and Paraná Delta
At 6:00 AM departure to the Parana River Delta, one of the five biggest deltas of the world, an extensive net of channels islands and streams formed by the Parana and Uruguay River that create a subtropical habitat at 2 hours from Buenos Aires. Our destination is a lodge located in an island in a remote location of the Delta, an excellent place for spotting gray-necked wood rail, white-necked heron, sayaca tanager, tropical parula, white-throated hummingbird, gilded sapphire, glittering-bellied emerald, limpkin and yellow-billed cardinals, among many. Accommodation in the lodge.
Day 3: Parana River Delta – Ceibas
Morning birding around the Lodge, with chances to visit Pampas grassland habitat, together with wetlands, where we will observe long-winged harriers, curved-billed reedhunters, spot-flanked gallinules, brown-and-yellow marshbird, and spectacled tyrants. Accommodation at the lodge in Ceibas.
Day 4: Ceibas
The Ceibas area around our lodge encompasses a wide array of habitats as it is located in a transitional area between the pampas’ grasslands, the subtropical thorny-bush and savannah area with Prosopis Acacia trees, such as ñandubay and espinillo, and the Deltas’ wetlands. Among many species we will observe snail kites, savannah hawks, bay-winged hawk, giant wood-rail, plumbeous rail, wood storks, striated herons, ringed teals, southern screamers, checkered woodpecker, short-billed canastero, red-crested cardinals and grassland sparrows. Night in Ceibas
Day 5: Ceibas and Villa Paranacito
Another full day for birding in these wildlife-rich environments. We will explore the groves, wetlands and riverside forests in search of Brazilian ducks, bare-faced ibis, rufous-sided crake, spotted gallinule, ultramarine grosbeak, double collared seedeaters, black-and-rufous warbling-finches, firewood gatherers, sooty-fronted spinetail, tufted-tit spinetail, chotoy spinetail, vermillion flycatchers, nacunda nighthawks and tropical screech-owls. In the afternoon we'll have the option to return to Buenos Aires city to stay there or have the night in Ceibas.
Day 6: Ceibas - Buenos Aires – General Lavalle
Morning departure according to options from Buenos Aires or from Ceibas. Also we'll have the option of a stop in Ribera Norte Natural Reserve, where among many species we might see rufous-sided crake, rufescent tiger-heron, snowy egret, white-winged coot, narrow-billed woodcreeper and crested becard. After lunch we will continue driving southwards along the old Route 11, across tala woods and grasslands in Magdalena. We will stop at El Destino, a private preserve where we will focus in birds found in the tala woods and grasslands, such as hooded siskin, pale-breasted spinetail, chicli spinetails, red-crested cardinals, green-barred woodpecker, band-winged nightjars, striped owls, burrowing owls, blue-and-yellow tanager and rusty-collared seedeaters. Hotel accommodation in General Lavalle.
Day 7: Pampas and wetlands of General Lavalle
The area between the village of General Lavalle and San Clemente del Tuyú is very rich and varied in terms of habitats and birdlife. Today we will drive along a dirt road that connects several ranches (Cañadón del Palenque), ponds, streams and grasslands, where we will add greater rheas, spotted and red-winged tinamous, white-faced ibis, maguari storks, aplomado falcon, American kestrels, white-tufted greabes, stripe-backed bittern, cinnamon teal, great Pampa finches, Hudson’s canastero, black-necked swans, semipalmated plovers, white monjita and many others. Night in General Lavalle
Day 8: Punta Rasa
Today we will visit the mudflats, wetlands and shorelines around Punta Rasa, where the estuary of La Plata River joins the salty waters of the South Atlantic Ocean, creating an abundance of life that feeds millions of crabs and resident and migratory birds (both from Patagonia and from North America). Among many species we will see Chilean flamingos, greater grebes, southern giant petrels, kelp and Olrog’s gulls, American golden-plover, collared and semipalmated plovers, greater and lesser yellowlegs, semipalmated sandpiper, pectoral and Baird’s sandpipers, Hudsonian godwits, whimbrels and more! We will also explore the flooded grasslands in search of the South American painted snipe and other species. Night in General Lavalle
Day 9: General Lavalle – Buenos Aires
During the morning we will explore the wetlands and reed beds of the area for spotting new species, such as the cinereous harrier, American kestrel, Swainson’s kite, coscoroba swans, pied-billed grebe, upland sandpiper, brown-hooded gulls, freckle-breasted thornbird, sooty tyrannulet, many-colored rush-tyrant and the stunning scarlet-headed blackbird. After lunch drive back to Buenos Aires with stops in route for birding. Hotel accommodation in Buenos Aires
Day 10: Buenos Aires
Morning visit to Costanera Sur or to the Palermo´s parks. Afternoon transfer to the airport to board your international flight or connect with your next birding trip.
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