Birds of Argentina 2011 Post 2

Because most of us had never been to Argentina before, we decided to spend an extra day in Buenos Aries birding.  A local bird guide took us north out of the city to several parks and wildlife preserves.  Clearly the Argentinians are very eco conscious, and it was fun to walk the various, often small parks just outside such a big city and see so many birds.







Coscoroba Swan

This was a good test for my Sigma 300 - 800 lens (Sigmonster) and the new Nikon D7000 it was mounted on.  This combination gives me great reach and flexibility as the D7000 is a digital crop frame camera.  Essentially this set up results in 450 to 1200 mm equivalent.  I was worried about the sharpness of this setup, especially on a cloudy day as it became on the 5th, but as you can see from the next photo, this lens and camera combination does a great job.  This is actually a very tight crop (about 200%) and was taken at ISO 320, 1/400s, F10 at 750mm (1125mm equiv.).



Gray-Necked Wood Rail

The other camera I was carrying is a D3 with a Sigma 50 - 500 mm (Bigma, non IS version).  Because the D3 is a full frame camera with very good high ISO capability, I find this set up give me good results even in very low light.  With the two together I get a legitimate 50 to 1200mm coverage!

One of the things I like about using the zooms is the ability to "get on" the bird.  With my aging eyesight, I find that the close view of a long lens often makes it tough to find the bird in the viewfinder.  By starting with a zoom out and then zooming in, I find I rarely lose a bird.  This is especially good for the flight shots which is what I use the D3/Bigma kit for often.  The next few shots of a Southern Crested Caracara were taken with the D3/Bigma and are very tight crops of shots taken at ISO 1000, 1/4000s, F8, and 500mm.  I probably could have reduced my ISO, which would have slowed my shutter speed down, but on this camera body ISO 1000 rarely is a problem, no matter how tight the crop. 




Even this shot of a South American Stilt (similar to the Black-Necked Stilt of North America) which was probably 500 meters away gave me a good id photo.


Let's insert the mystery critter here.  This was seen on a small lake just north of the city.  It is very similar to a common mammal in North America with big teeth!  First grandchild to guess get's the $10!


One of our trip mates was a woman from Saskatchewan Canada.  May is 75 years young and an avid bird photographer.  She packs her D300s/300mm 2.8 and 1.4 teleconverter  mounted on a PROSLIK tripod and never complains.  Here she is putting the rest of us to shame to get that perfect shot of some Coot's in a park near BA. 


The Coot's that May was shooting are new to me, and I got some fun shots as well.  Coots are common water birds in NA, but these two species are only found in SA.  The primary difference between the two is the look of the bill and particularly the "shield" which is common to coots, gallinues and jacanas.


Red-Gartered Coot.  Notice the red marking between the bill and the shield.


The other species we saw here was the White-Winged Coot.


Notice the very large yellow and almost round shield on this bird.


Another common water bird is the Cormoront.  The Neotropic Cormoront however is the species that we saw here.



The Great Egret is seen all throughout North and South America.


And though not nearly as numerous as seen in the US, the European Starling seems to find a way to thrive just about everywhere in the world!


We saw one Limpkin in a park near the city.  This is also a bird seen in Florida, however later up north we saw them in numbers which were quite astounding.  This is another crop of a long shot taken with the Sigmonster.


An obnoxious, but very beautiful bird is the Southern Lapwing.  On an athletic field adjacent to a small wildlife preserve, we found this family including 3 chicks. 


In flight this bird is really striking with the black and white underwing display.


One of the very interesting things about this bird is a "spur" on both shoulders that can be extended when the bird is defending itself or its young.  Our photographer guide Nate Chappel reported that he had been attacked by one after getting too close to the nest, and was genuinely threatened by the extended spur as he got buzzed!   In the next photo you can see the spur just barely exposed as this momma tucked her chicks under her when we began to approach.


In the same close in preserve we saw several water birds on a small lake. 


Common Gallinue with a big frontal shield.


Male Brazilian Duck


And the female Brazilian Duck.

We also saw the very beautiful Silver Teal. 



This bird was especially impressive when a flock all rose up together and flew around the pond.  You can really see why the color "teal" has such a draw.


Finally, in an area that was being recovered from extensive grazing and being restored to a nature preserve, we saw a number of interesting birds. 


Monk Parakeet in nest.


Canary Winged Parakeet



A busily singing Rufous Bellied Thrush


The striking Shiny Cowbird.



The Brown and Yellow Marshbird.  Very beautiful in an otherwise drab environment.



Stay tuned.  We left BA and went north to the IBERA next.  Amazing Birds!

Birds of Argentina 2011 Post 1

South America is to birds is what Africa is to mammals.  Over the last few years, I have had the opportunity to bird both Ecuador and Peru.  Argentina however was a desired destination because of the Ibera wetlands, one of the largest in the world.  With renowned wildlife photographer Nate Chappell and 3 other bird photographers, Paula, Michelle, Brig and I arrived in Buenos Aries on August 4 to begin our 14 day adventure.  Over the next few weeks, I will try to highlight the birds of this amazing county.

Reserva Ecológica Costanera Sur is a beautiful wetland just a block from the Hilton Hotel in the Puerto Madero district of Buenos Aries.

Right away we saw the very beautiful Yellow-Billed Cardinal.  This was my first look at this bird.

Before we even got to the wetland area, we saw this Great Pampa Finch just outside the hotel.






One of most interesting birds of Argentina is the Wood Rail.  There are two species that we saw, and one of them greeted us at the entrance to the Reserve.  This is the Gray-Necked Wood Rail which stands about 14" and is very loud!





One of my favorite groups are the Grebe's.  My recent trip to Klamath had the very fun and beautiful Western and Clark's Grebes.   Here in Argentina, I got to add the Great Grebe to those that I have seen.  This bird at nearly 18" can't be properly represented with a photograph.  It is really an impressive creature.

It was really amazing to consider how many birds we saw just a matter of a few yards from one of the most thriving metropolis areas in the world.  Though quite common, the Chalk Browed Mockingbird was one of the most fun to watch with it's constant movement and antics.

Parrots and Parakeets are just plain fun no matter where you see them.  The Monk Parakeet is a very noisy but handsome bird.  It is fairly large, about 11", and was seen mostly in large flocks.

Saltators are a group similar to other large finches like the Grosbeaks.  This Golden-Billed Saltator has a large seed that it is about to crack.   

A big surprise for me was this Troupial.  If you look in the Field Guide's, you will not see this bird likely in any of the area's that we visited.  Especially not in the city!  There was at least one pair in the Reserve, and one that we saw just outside.  

While we would see this next bird often on our trip, I was really excited to see my first  Golden Breasted Woodpecker. 

 While generally we see that the male in birds is the most beautiful, the White Lined Tanager is an exception in my book.  This female is really striking.





And even though the Shiny Cowbird male is a handsome guy,





In my opinion, the female is even more striking.



Yet another Cowbird is the Bay Winged, which was also seen frequently.

And now for the mystery critter of this post.   First Grandchild to get it right wins $10.  This bird has been featured in another post from last November.  It is related to another bird that we have already featured here.




Ok, this next bird is one of my favorite's so far.  The Ultramarine Grosbeak literally glows in the sun.



The Picazuro Pigeon is a big and very agressive dove.  Remember than in addition to the water going down the drain in the opposite direction from North America, in South America, August is springtime!






Not too much different from our American Robin is the Rufous Bellied Thrush.



Of course the raptors are among the most impressive birds in any environment.  The Hawks, Eagles etc. are certainly the most powerful of all the birds.  In South America the Caracara of which there are 3, are really impressive.  Here is the first and smallest of these.  It is the Chimango Caracara.






Two Gulls, the Brown Headed, and the Kelp were present in the Reserve.








Of course my favorite bird is my birding companion Paula!




Stand by, the birds in Argentina are amazing!