We began our adventure just as the sun was coming up.
Looking back at our accommodations from our boat as the sun came up. We were about to see more than 100 species of birds, deer, Cayman, armadillo, etc., etc., over the next two days. Here are just a few from this incredible day.
The morning was spent in a boat on the lake. Cruising the shores and approaching the islands we saw many cayman and deer, and a huge number of birds.
Crakes are a family of birds related to the rails, and somewhat like the Sora here in North America. This Rufous Sided Crake was shy but really interesting to watch.
Several different Blackbirds were seen on the islands we approached.
The Chestnut Capped Blackbird
And the absolutely stunning Scarlet Headed Blackbird
Of course we saw a lot of Wattled Jacana, some very close.
A couple of Kingfishers.
Green
And Ringed
Masked Gnatcatcher
The Southern Screamer
With the spurs that it, the Jacana and the Lapwing all have.
Cattle and both male and Female (shown here) Tyrants
A couple of raptors were particularly interesting. Both were seen on the islands out in the lake itself. First was the Snail Kite. This bird is endangered in the US where it is not limited to a very small habitat in Florida. I don't know it's status in South America, but I was pretty thrilled to see it.
The next bird was probably my favorite of the day (although that is hard to call with so many amazing birds). The Great Black Hawk is huge, and very intimidating looking. I am sure that the only reason we got close to this one was because of the giant snake that it had in its talons and was reluctant to leg go of even though it was too heavy for it to pick up and fly away with.
It did make a valiant try to get away with the snake however.
At this point it was still only about 9 am. In the distance we saw a Marsh Deer (quite large) in the distance on another of the floating islands.
As we approached, we saw a very nice White-Headed Marsh Tyrant.
An then off in the distance, we saw something quite incredible. Our first Jaibiru and a very beautiful White-Necked Heron feeding together.
The only thing that I can conclude is that these birds have either never developed a fear of humans, or have become used to seeing the boats that bring us. They allowed us to get quite close.
We saw a lot of the Giant Wood Rail
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Morning is not yet over however. Great Kiskadee's were plentiful.
Even the reeds near our lodge were very productive.
As we were returning from the morning out on the lake, we saw this very nice Black Capped Donocobius.
But perhaps the most unexpected surprise of the morning came as we were pulling the boat up to the dock. In the reeds not more that a few feet from us, a juvenile Ruferous Tiger Heron was hunting and as well arrived, grabbed a big fish and ate it whole.
As an adult, (perhaps it's parent?), flew overhead!
OK IF YOU ARE A GRANDCHILD AND YOU MADE IT THIS FAR YOU SHOULD GET A PRIZE WHETHER YOU GET THE MYSTERY CRITTER OR NOT, SO THROW A GUESS UP EVEN IF YOU ARE NOT SURE. THIS NEXT BIRD IS THE MYSTERY CRITTER AND IS A VERY IMPORTANT BIRD TO THE ARGENTINE PEOPLE.
As of course is the tradition in Argentina, we returned in time for a great lunch, and then a siesta. I was pretty keyed up after that morning however and couldn't sleep. Whether you are taking pictures or just checking off birds, it is always more fun when there are lots of "targets". Hardly ever does it get this rich, and in this case it was almost overwhelming. I really feel lucky to have been on the Ibera on this particular morning. I prefer to be in church on Sunday mornings, and am lucky to have been given the chance to serve, but this particularly Sunday morning was certainly an inspiring experience as we had the chance to observe the beauty of a world virtually unspoiled by the mistakes of men and full of life.
The birds were not taking a siesta , so I sat out on the lawn and was soon rewarded with some great looks at the Guira Cuckoo.
At 3 pm, we loaded up and went north of the village birding along the road and in some marshy areas among the cattle ranches. Among the birds seen in a couple of hours from the road included the following:
Both the Male (above) and Female (below) of the White Headed Marsh Tyrant
The American Kestrel. This falcon is seen frequently in our neighborhood in Oregon, but this was the only one I saw in Argentina.
The White (above) and the Grey (below) Mojita.
The storks are very easy to see, but not real easy to get close to. The Maguri Stork is not quite as large as the Jaibiru, but was very shy and therefore hard to photograph. Here are a couple.
Besides the Roadside Hawk seen in the morning as well, we saw a number of Savannah Hawk
And one Apomaldo Falcon. I once looked for this bird all day in south Texas, and was really happy to finally see it. It was pretty cooperative, sitting on a fence pole about 50 feet from the truck we were in. We all got good looks and shots.
A couple of Woodpecker's were common.
Yellow-Fronted (above) and the Field Flicker (below).
Some BIF's (birds in flight) included the Kiskadee
This pair of Southern Screamers
A solitary Jaibiru
And a Yellow Headed Vulture
Two species of Ibis were found in the marsh.
The Plumbeous Ibis (above) and the White Faced Ibis (below)
A large number of the tyrant flycatcher family were all over the place. Just a few.
Vermillion Flycatcher (above) and the Tropical Parula (below)
A little Masked Gnatcatcher showed up just a few feet from us in a bush and worked it over for a long time. This was a rare chance to get some really close shots.
To illustrate just how crazy this day was, we saw a Burrowing Owl on a fence post, watched for a minute and suddenly saw a Spotted Nothura running around below it. Soon there were two Owls flying around, and a couple of Nothura chasing each other around. Crazy.
The Spotted Nothura is of the Tinamou family which is a South American specialty. This pair was obviously getting frisky and it was fun to watch the antics.
And the end was as beautiful as the beginning. What an incredible day!
