Birding Misiones!

 We flew from Buenos Aries into Posades on the morning of 28th February. It was an early start to get to the airport, but all went well & we had an uneventful flight. We landed on time & Julian was there to meet us & we were soon speeding away down the highway to the nearby Urutau Reserve. This is a complex series of mainly more open habitats centered around a huge artificial dam. It was a nice place to start our birding adventure.

Urutau Reserve

Julian (our bird guide) & Delana

Shear-tailed Tyrant

Displaying.

A very range restricted species.

Rusty collared Seedeater

Pearly-breasted Seedeater

Marsh Seedeater

Dark throated Seedeater

Greater Thornbird

The bizarre Guira Cuckoo

An open country sociable species.

Smooth-billed Ani

Green Kingfisher

This morning was all about Shear-tailed Tyrants & various species of Seedeaters (some of which are very localized indeed). We quickly had good views of the Tyrants, doing their bizarre display. At this time of year the various species of seedeater are flocking together as their migration has just started. So we spent some time trying to get good views of the various species. We managed 48 species here in a couple of hours. 

The lovely Al Kamar Lodge

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Delana, birding the lodge grounds.

Burrowing Owl

Very engaging!

Then we drove to the nearby lodge where we would stay the night. Al Kamar was a relatively new lodge, modern & really charming. It proved to be an excellent place to spend the night. Burrowing Owls were in close attendance & proved as always entertaining!

Rufous Gnatcher

Blue Mannikin

Surucua Trogon

Golden crowned Warbler

We spent the afternoon birding in Reserve Cruz of the Santa Anna, which was good forest around the base of a hill. We birded it by walking slowly down the road. Quite a few species were noted some in mixed flocks but the highlight proved to be the beautiful male Blue (Swallow-tailed ) Mannikin. 

Female Large-tailed Antshrike

Guira Tanager

Eared Pygmy Tyrant

We stopped on the highway on the way back to our lodge & managed to see a female Large-tailed Antshrike!

Had an excellent meal & a few drinks in the lodge that evening. All in all, an excellent first day to our little birding adventure.

The extensive lake & wetlands close to Julian's house.

Horned Screamer

Giant Wood Rail

Rufescent Tiger-Heron

Brazilian Teal

Whistling Heron

Burrowing Owl

Up before dawn on 1st March & we drove to Club De Campo Santa Cecilia, where Julian & his family have a lovely home on the edge of a large lake & extensive wetland. Birding here was easy in these open habitats & we recorded 49 species in quick time. Horned Screamer; Giant Wood Rail; Rufescent Tiger-Heron were all around the lake. 

Plush-crested Jay

Narrow-billed Woodcreeper

Rufous capped Antshrike

Fork-tailed Flycatcher

This species is a migrant here.

Tropical Kingbird

Cattle Tyrant

Suriri Flycatcher

Nice to get good views of this neat little flycatcher.

Common in these open habitats.

Wedge-tailed Grassfinch

Yellow-rumped Marshbird

Hepatic Tanager

Bluish-grey Saltator

Female Saffron Finch

Sharp-tailed Tyrant

Endangered due to native grassland

 habitat destruction.

Other good species included Plush-crested Jay; Narrow-billed Woodcreeper; Rufous-capped Antshrike; Suriri Flycatcher; Yellow-rumped Marshbird; Hepatic Tanager & the endangered Sharp-tailed Tyrant in the nearby grasslands.

White-spotted Woodpecker

We spent the afternoon wandering around the trails in the Araucaria Provincial Park. Scalloped Woodcreeper & White spotted Woodpecker were highlights. We also obtained typical neck breaking views of the Araucaria Tit-Spinetail. This species is always in the highest canopy of the tallest trees, so photographing them is a bit of a challenge!

THE place to see the Vinaceous-breasted Amazon

Vinaceous-breasted Amazon

Even though there were around 45 birds coming

 into roost, they proved tricky to photograph.

Yet another very range restricted species.

Declining because of forest clearance.

Late afternoon was the time to stake out the roosting flocks of Vinaceous-breasted Amazon. This species is endangered due to the destruction of its habitat & this spot is probably the best place to see it.

Rusty-barred Owl

Common Potoo

Paraque

Then we went night birding to Cruce Caballero Provincial Park. This proved to be one of the best night birding sessions ever!

Short-tailed Nighthawk; 10 Paraque; Little Nightjar; 2 Long-trained Nightjar; Silky-tailed Nightjar: Tawny-browed Owl; Rusty-barred Owl; Black-banded Owl & Collared Forest Falcon. What a spot!

Stygian Owl

One of my most wanted birds!

2nd March saw us well before dawn scouring the campground for Stygian Owl. This is a well known stake out for this species. After a short while, we found two birds & enjoyed excellent views with the aid of a powerful torch. 

Red-breasted Toucan

What a bird!

This species moves around a lot within this area, 

so we were quite lucky to see it.

Picazuro Pigeon.

Dusky-tailed Antbird

Nice to get good views of this elusive species.

Yellow Tyrannulet

Female Blackish-Blue Seedeater

Double-collared Seedeater

We then birded a side road, next to the provincial park & this proved very productive with our first views of the amazing Red-breasted Toucan. Other notable species included Dusky-tailed Antbird; Yellow Tyrannulet & Blackish-Blue Seedeater. 

White-eared Puffbird

While picking up our luggage from last nights accommodation we scored with 3 White-eared Puffbirds showing nicely.

The rest of the morning was spent at the Cruce Cabelleros Provincial Park, which was an excellent mixture of more open & forest species. The highlight for Julian was the finding of a Laughing Falcon, which is a bit of a rarity in this province.

Laughing Falcon

This species is rare in this province, 

but slowly expanding southwards.

A quite spectacular species.

White-tailed Hawk

Sharp-shinned Hawk

Known as Rufous-thighed Hawk in Argentina.

Formerly split as a separate species.

Lineated Woodpecker

Yellow-fronted Woodpecker

White-spotted Woodpecker

Male Black-tailed Tityra

Female

Red-rumped Cacique

Small-billed Elaenia

Other notable species include Lineated; White spotted; Yellow-fronted & White Woodpeckers. We were looking for the range restricted Azure Jay, but without success. However, it was a very enjoyable mornings birding.

Birding is hard here!

Rusty-breasted Nunlet

We then drove to Karadya Lodge, which is set in excellent forest. Birding is  tough here, as the light is often poor & not conducive for photography. We had a good afternoons birding along one of the trails, but then the rain set in!

The garden at Karadya Lodge

Roadside Hawk, 

where else but along the roadside!

Our first Chestnut-eared Aracari's for this trip.

The next morning (3rd March) we drove a little further down the main road to the Urugua Provincial Park. This proved to be an excellent decision, as we had a great mornings birding, seeing a couple of iconic species. The weather was a little overcast making photography difficult, but managed some good shots in the end.

Black-fronted Piping Guan

These birds come down to the river 

to feed on algae on the rocks in the early morning.

Sharp-tailed Streamcreeper

Normally secretive & difficult to see.

Poor light made photography difficult.

Riverbank Warbler

We spent quite sometime by the river, photographing & just looking at these birds. It really was time well spent & we all enjoyed the show. We then walked a trail deep into the forest & eventually saw Planalto Tapaculo quite well. However the persistent rain meant that I didn't get any photos.

No we didn't see it, but they are there!

Julian's house.

We then returned to the lodge for some forest birding in the afternoon, close to Julian's house adjacent to the main road. We saw some good species, but persistent rain stopped me from taking any photos.

Evening drinks at the lodge!

The 4th March was a day of leisure around the lodge. I did some birding from the lodge garden, without seeing anything out of the ordinary. 

Meanwhile Delana had some work to do so jumped on a motorbike to get into internet range. She had quite a time slip sliding away down the very muddy track.

Black throated Trogon

Male Variable Antshrike

Plain Antvireo

White-shouldered Fire-eye

Female Ultramarine Grosbeak

On the 5th March Julian & I did some birding in the forest near his house. Delana was still working, so she unfortunately missed out. We then drove to our next lodge which will be in the following post.

Delana's little adventure!

After a hard days birding!

Julian's house close to the lodge.