Old Christian pre-2020 would not have wanted to go to Argentina. Back then I feared the hassles of international travel and I read warnings of how certain countries in Latin American, specifically Argentina, are not very safe. Besides, Argentina isn't really a well known birding destination. Old Christian was a dumbass.
When I met Christina I had just booked my first ever birding trip to a place that was not a state: Puerto Rico (seriously, don't be scared of the world like old Christian). We were talking about how I planned to start branching out from there and I asked her where she would go in the world if she had a choice. She said Argentina, specifically Mendoza, because her dad went there a raved about it. A few months later I came across porteño style pizza. If this awesome girl wanted to go to Argentina and I got to eat pizza like that, then yeah I'm taking her Argentina.
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| Southern Yellowthroat |
Originally Christina really wanted to go to Mendoza, but after talking to the right people (shoutout Carolina) we realized it was mostly a bougie winery region with not much else to do. For two active travelers that wasn't our thing. Puerto Madryn was logistically harder due to my inability to drive stick, but it was a finalist. Down to our final 2 choices, Christina used penguins as a tiebreaker chose Ushuaia over El Calafate. As much as we wanted to add Iguazu, there was too much time to make it our other stop and not enough time to add it as a third stop.
Ushuaia will be a second post, because there is great birding in Buenos Aires and it offers a lot more.
There really is only one location in Buenos Aires to go birding: Reserva Ecologica Costanera Sur, a wetland in the Puerto Madero area that has water, grassland, and some woods. 344 species have been recorded here, pretty nuts for a city of this size. While some birds may be more easily found in other areas, this is the place to spend your time.
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| Rosy-billed Pochard |
We entered at the south end near Laguna de los Coipos. With Pitbull blaring from the food trucks on the road we starting amassing quite the list. Grayish Baywing, Wattled Jacana, Rosy-billed Pochard are all right there in front of you. Creamy-bellied Thrush is abundant in the trees next to you as squadrons of Monk Parakeets fly low and screech overhead like fighter jets. It's sensory overload in the best way possible.
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| Wattled Jacana |
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| Saffron Finch |
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| Limpkin |
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| Black and Rufous Warbling Finch |
In the middle of the reserve there are boardwalks that will get you a little higher up in the thick brush. From there we saw Golden-billed Saltator and a stunning Glittering-breasted Emerald. The boardwalks continue to a marsh where you see Maguari Stork and also marks the first spot where had Southern Yellowthroat and Hooded Siskin.
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| Maguari Stork |
We haven't even gotten to the woods yet. Tall trees guard to ponds and host tons of new birds. Here we got Sayaca Tanager, Chivi Vireo, Bran-colored Flycatcher, and Red-crested Cardinal.
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| Bran-colored Flycatcher |
I of course saved the ponds for last. They are full of incredible water birds. Southern Screamer, this weird mix of goose and chicken, can be found here. But there is so much more. Along the edges we had hard to find Wren-like Rushbirds and even a Freckle-breasted Thornbird! There are new things around these lakes each day. One day we had 8 Fork-tailed Flycatchers and Coscoroba Swan. Neither were present the next visit, but Silver Teal was abundant and we got a Black-necked Swan. Rufescent Tiger Heron is there as well, although we saw one and never saw it again.
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| Southern Screamer |
As epic as this spot it, there were times where our vibes wavered. Frustration gripped our non-visit to this location on one day. Election day was the Sunday that we were in town for. Despite getting up early, we arrived to locked gates. The reserve is closed on Mondays. We spent most of our first visits focusing on certain areas. Because we left on a Monday, that meant we only had 2 visits and one of those was a day where we didn't get out early. That meant my birding was done earlier than expected. It was crushing to leave so much meat on the bone here.
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| Golden-billed Saltator |
But the vibes returned. Christina convinced me to stick around that Sunday and we picked a few new lifers from the road including a cool Green-barred Woodpecker. We went back the morning we were leaving to do the same thing and bird the outskirts, but the park was inexplicably open! It was a very late in the morning visit, but we still added some amazing new birds like Checkered Woodpecker and Grassland Yellow Finch!
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| Green-barred Woodpecker |
For the sake of space I am leaving out the strong emotional swings associated with that Sunday and Monday, but shoutout to Christina for her patience with the grumpiness on Sunday and charging into a mosquito populated reserve without bugspray on Monday knowing full well she would get some bites. Unselfish teammate, gotta love her. Without her we would have ended the birding way earlier than necessary. This was not her only clutch moment, but you'll have to read part 2 for that.
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| Freckle-breasted Thornbird |
What makes Costanera Sur extra amazing is the food scene in Buenos Aires. We went to new place for lunch after each visit. Pizzeria Angelin in Palermo had the best fugazzetta pizza we had as well amazing empanadas, although Pizzeria Guerrin was also quite good. Peron Peron had mouth watering ossobuco that made the lifers we saw all that more delicious. Throw some cheap, delicious steak (no joke $10 filet mignon) from a parilla for dinner and you're having an epic birding trip.
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| Argentine Black and White Tegu |
I mentioned safety earlier. Don't listen to what you read on the internet. Palermo and Recoleta are completely safe and we never had any issues. Even when we stayed in San Telmo, a place that is not as highly regarded as the other two neighborhoods, we had no problems walking around. Like I said, old Christian was a moron.
Go to Buenos Aires. From cheap steaks to great birds, you'll love it. Part 2 coming soon!
