A-C-B: On to Buenos Aires

Joan had been perusing tours that included the Atacama Desert of South America for a few years, but they either didn't go to places we wanted to go, or included places we didn't want to go, or both. Then, at the 2016 American Birding Expo in Columbus, Ohio, she made contact with Luis of Trogon Tours, an Argentine company. After working through vanishing emails, schedule issues, and such, we arrived at a custom tour arranged by Trogon that would include time in Argentina, Chile, and Bolivia, much of the time in the desert regions. This tour would include some birding, but also geology, pre-Columbian cultures, and other topics. The trip dates were set, and after working through immunizations and visa issues (Bolivia and the United States aren't the best of friends at the moment) Joan and I were ready to go.

On October 17th 2018 we boarded a Delta flight to Atlanta, our first connection. The flight attendant making announcements had a full quiver of humorous patter:

"If you can't get your carry-on into one of the overhead bins, I'll tape it to the wing myself."

"We have a tradition here that the last person to get off the plane has to clean it."

 From Atlanta it was a ten hour flight to the Ezeiza International Airport outside Buenos Aires, and we were numb on arrival. Passport control and customs went smoothly, including having a photo and thumbprint taken. Laura, from Trogon, met us at Arrivals, and Gustavo was our driver.

At first the ride into Buenos Aires went quickly, but the traffic grew more and more congested. We were barely crawling as we reached downtown. Laura mentioned that this was the final day of the Youth Summer Olympics, which made it worse than usual. 

At the Lafayette Hotel we had time to drop our bags in our room, splash some water on our face, so to speak, and then rejoin Laura and Gustavo. Laura lunched with us, and then Gustavo dropped off the three of us at the Natural Park and Ecological Reserve Costanera. Argentina is only one or two hours ahead of Eastern time (it does not observe Daylight Savings Time), so we weren't suffering from jet lag, but it had been a long day and an uncomfortable night. This was a wonderful opportunity for sunshine, fresh air, walking, and observing. Being outdoors appealed.

The large park is wedged between the skyscrapers of Buenos Aires and the estuary of the Río de la Plata.

Gustavo dropped us off at the southwest corner entrance, and immediately we were seeing wildlife, such as this male campo flicker, a largely terrestrial bird.

Here's an adult plus youngster coipú, known in North America as nutria. (Click on the image to enlarge.)

The nutria co-exist happily with the birds.

Through the foliage we spotted (part of) a Rufescent Tiger-Heron sitting on its nest.

The view was best through binoculars.

Our path in the reserve was wide and green,

even though we were adjacent to the city. Note the apartment windows behind this bird!

Caught this one in flight.

Just took off from the stick.

A vegetation-scooping boat plied the water between the reserve and the city.

There are about three dozen species of hummingbirds in Argentina ... this is a Glittering-bellied Emerald.

There were occasional viewing decks allowing spotters to check out the reserve grasslands.

Laura was thrilled when we spotted a Vermilion Flycatcher, and she wanted us to document it even though was far away.

An Ash-Colored Cuckoo, at the edge of its range. (Click on the image to enlarge, and perhaps you can see the red rim around the eyes.)

We turned onto the path that led across the reserve to the Río de la Plata.

There were picnic spots along the way, and a Crested Caracara.

Then we arrived at the shore, where paths cross and games are played.

That's a river, and over the horizon is Uruguay.

We returned the way we'd come, and the city towered ahead of us.

We passed several mud nests of the Rufous Hornero, the national bird of Argentina.

Returning to the original trail, we headed north, and stopped at a viewing deck over the edge of the wetlands.

Striding through the water's edge ... a Wattled Jacana.

A male Rosy-billed Pochard earnestly followed a female through the vegetation.

Laura recorded sixty-two species of birds during this expedition! After the hike it was time to return to the Lafayette, have a light dinner, and crash into sleep. Tomorrow an Aerolíneas Argentinas flight would take us to Tucumán, in northwestern Argentina, to meet our guide for the trip, Carlos.