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Fra: Vader Willem Jan Marinus Sendt: ti 11/23/2010 10:55 Kopi: Ebn (ebn@birdlife.fi); Sabirdnet (sabirdnet@lists.ukzn.ac.za); birdchat Emne: Argentina with Bird Guides 2. Rincon del Socorro
ARGENTINA WITH BIRD GUIDES. 2. RINCON DEL SOCORRO
Rincon del Socorro is a ranch that has been converted into a lodge, in the Ibera marshes in the province Corrientes in NE Argentina. You fly 1 1/2 hrs from Buenos Aires to Posadas, just across the border in Missiones province, and from there it is 4 hrs, largely over very dicy dirt roads, to the lodge—when it has rained, as is often the case here, this ride may take as many as seven hours, and I have also seen several trip reports of people who had to turn around before reaching this destination. The country is flat here, and for the first half of the ride not all that inviting. Rough grazing land originally dominates, with lots of cows, and here and there also Merino sheep, and as everywhere in Argentina, also many horses. Now there are also endless production forests of pine, that cover large areas and make the landscape still less alluring. But there are birds also here; Greater Rheas share the pastures with the cattle here and there, Southern Lapwings are loud as always, there are lots of raptors around: Caracaras, Chimangos, Roadside Hawks and the large Savanna Hawks, and there lots and lots of the elegant Fork-tailed Flycatchers along the road. I also see my first Guira Cuckoos, which will turn out to be a common bird in this area, usually going around in small flocks. Gradually the landscape becomes wetter and more interesting, and various wading birds appear, herons, a few ibises and the first Maguari Storks. The roadsides here are full of spring flowers, in contradistinction to all other places we visited in Argentina, where spring was much less obvious. Large violet patches of a verbenid, yellow composites and Ludwigias, and a number of other flowers that I sadly do not know at all.
The lodge itself lies in an area where all hunting was discontinued ten years ago, and where flora and wildlife now are strictly protected and all domestic animals have been removed. This the wild animals clearly already know quite well and they are therefore often very tame. The lodge—the old ranch– is surrounded by lawns with scattered trees, close to several marshes and small lakes. I have a room ‘around the corner from the others’, on the short side of the building, and there is a bench outside, where I now and then sit and enjoy. There are almost always capybaras around; these enormous and friendly-but-sleepy-looking rodents are quite unafraid and dig and take their mud-baths wherever they want, also close to the lodge; their mudholes are a trap for the unwary! The other spectacular inhabitants of the lawn are the Greater Rheas, also these thoroughly accostumed to people nowadays; the males have a very deep OOOO-WHOOOM, uttered with closed beaks, a somewhat bittern-like boom that at forst mystified us.
There is much more to be seen from my bench. Colourful Monk Parakeets are everywhere, as are their enormous nests; as everywhere in this country, there are also plenty of pigeons (the large fat Picazuro Pigeons and the hoarse-sounding Spot-winged Pigeons) and doves, here mainly Eared Doves, but also Picui Ground Doves, around, and a most colourful addition to the lawn birds are the Campo Flickers, often most entertaining to watch for a while. Closer by, at my feet, small dapper stripy crested birds walk around and collect twigs; to my European eyes they look uncannily like Crested Larks, but they are furnariids, the Lark-like Brushrunners. The twigs are for their substantial twig nests, quite high up in the trees, and I have much fun to watch them build: they perch with a large twig above their nest, and then more or less ‘fall down’ with the twig, so that it intertwines with the ones already there. Also these brushrunners are completely unafraid. In the tree outside my room a pair of American Kestrels is at home, and in another tree, in front of the dining room, there is often a Yellow-headed Caracara. And of course, many trees have the curious clay-ovens of the Hornero, from which the whole family Furnariidae derive its name as ovenbirds; it is the national bird of Argentina, and indeed ubiquitous in the lower parts of the country. As always here, there are also House Wrens around this house!
It is not far from the lodge to a marsh, which serves as a night roost for lots of wading birds, and there we can, in brilliant afternoon light, watch hundreds of egrets, herons (also my first ever Whistling Herons and lots of Night Herons) , ibises (Here predominantly the Whispering Ibis, but there are also Plumbeous Ibises and the ubiquitous White-faced Ibis) and whistling ducks. I also see my first ever Southern Screamers here, a whole new bird family for me, and a bird ‘all its own’. At twilight armadillos bustle around , and one evening I surprise a Hog-nosed Skunk on my doorstep—I yield him the right of way!
The catering at the lodge is excellent in all respects, although the Landrovers that we use for excursions, are far from comfortable and get extremely hot in the back. But it is all definitely worth it, and during the three days that we are here, we see an amazing amount of birds, too many to all list here. (I have a complete list, of course) Several times we find, besides the common Red-crested Cardinals, also the exquisite Yellow Cardinal, together with lots of tyrannids. The Snow-bunting coloured White Monjita is amazing; how can a small bird afford to be so conspicuous? Cattle Tyrants sit on the back of the capybaras—and also on cattle and sheep, outside the strictly protected area, The elegant Fork-tailed Flycatchers are everywhere, as are the Tropical Kingbird and the Crowned Slaty Flycatcher (Which has the reputation of having the longest scientific name of all birds, Griseotyrannus (or Empidonomus) aurantioatrocristatus!), while the aptly named Strange-tailed Tyrant looks during its display flight like a small plane dragging an advertisement sail!
There are also many less conspicuous tyrannids, of course, and David knows them all, also by sound, and tries manfully to teach them to us—still, I am certainly still not to be trusted with the various tyrannulets and pygmy tyrants. One that stands out is the Sooty Tyrannulet of the reedlands, an archetypical ‘small friendly bird’. We also see our first thornbirds and spinetails; many others will follow during the course of the trip. Checkered, White-fronted and Golden-breasted Woodpeckers are discovered in the trees, but the cream of the woodpeckers is the large Cream-backed Woodpecker, that nests in the trees behind the lodge and ‘can be best watched in the evening dusk’. (Although once it regaled us of close views during lunch). Hummingbirds there are too, and we get a wonderful ‘demonstration’ of reflex colours by a Blue-tufted Starthroat, sitting and glittering in the sun on the tip of a bush.
On our walks we often see viscachas, somewhat rabbit-like rodents with soft fur and stripy faces, in the evenings many more come out. There are also wild cavias here, which in your mind you at first won’t really accept as truly wild animals. And there are many foxes, of different species.
One day we first drive and them walk far into the marshes, to a place where a pair of Crowned Eagles is known to nest. On the way we find several marsh birds: Crested Doradito, Bearded Tachuri, a few seedeater species (although many may not yet have arrived after migration), even S.American Snipe and a Solitary Sandpiper. But the eagles don’t show themselves. During our return at dusk, hundreds of glowworms light up the marshes, but we hear neither owls nor nighthawks. We don’t give up on the eagles,though, and try the arduous trek once more—now one of the cars bogs down for a while in the mud— on our last morning, and this time with success: We see the eagles high overhead, and just when we leave, they circle down and alight close by the nest, while the staccato calls of the Plumbeous Ibis sound from a nearby tree.
Another afternoon we make a boat trip on the lagoon, in two small boats with quite silent engines. The lagoon was full of water plants and flowers, and looked exquisitely beautiful. Water hyacinths Eichhornia of course, various Nymphaceae and Menyanthaceae, a yellowish Sagittaria-like flower, carpets of floating ferns Salvina and Azolla and the aquatic Araceae Pistia, and large fields of various flat-beaker-like flowers, maybe again Ludwigia or possibly a Limnocharitaceae.. Pontederia upright flower stems punctuated the surface here and there. This was a paradise for reed birds and thus icterids, and we saw many in quick succession: Yellow-rumped and Brown-and -yellow Marshbirds, the spectacular Scarlet-headed Blackbird, the much less spectacular Unicoloured and Chopi Blackbirds, and of course the various cowbirds.. Cormorants were common, herons and ibises also, but ducks were strangely scarce, with Brazilian teals the only species seen here. A screamer sat on its nest, there were 3 species of kingfishers, Limpkins, gallinules and jacanas (but no coots) and judicious playback brought a nice Rufous-sided Crake close. And of course there were two species of caymans!!
After the boat trip we had a very nice picnic closeby, where we i.a. were visited by the colourful and curious Plush-crested Jays.
Rincon del Socorro may be hard and arduous to reach, but it is very much worth the effort. I liked the place a lot!
Wim Vader, Tromsø Museum 9037 Tromsø, Norway
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