Photos with this report (click to enlarge) | |||
Black-chested Buzzard Eagle |
Chiguanco Thrush |
For several years, my wife has been interested in taking a short vacation to a place very much recommended in central Argentina known as “Villa de Merlo”. This place is famous for having a very mild climate and typical countryside living conditions which should translate into very good meals, long siestas and lazy “dolce far niente” (sweetly doing nothing)! A very good choice for city stressed dwellers to regain some peace be it physical or mental. My wife insisted that I should not do or plan any birding trips at the place but would join her in order to enjoy all the usual tourist activities offered around which are quite a few and very good ones (even going on one evening to a very nice local casino and winning some money!)
Early in the morning we left Buenos Aires and after travelling a bit over 500 miles northwestwards by mid afternoon we arrived into “Villa de Merlo” in San Luis province. Once daylight broke out, my birder’s eyes started to identify birds seen flying in the fields and over the road. Most commonly seen were Chimango Caracara, Eared Dove and flocks of Picui Ground Dove. While driving past small towns many Rock Pigeons were seen, especially at the places where trucks were loading grain. As driving past such places made us slow down, I also discovered a few Picazuro and Spot-winged Pigeon. The House Sparrow is common to every place so it’s a usual sight. Now the sun was warming up and several Spotted Nothura ran across the road and some slowly flying Southern Crested Caracara were seen. Small flocks of fast flying Monk Parakeets would dart across the sky and then I saw a few White-tailed Kites typically hovering in the air looking for their prey. The best sight was provided while driving along a big lagoon where I spotted lots of White-winged Coots and small groups of ducks some resting and some feeding. Silver and Speckled Teal mixed there with Rosy-billed Pochard and Yellow-billed Pintail. In a small bay close to some reeds I got a glimpse at a group of Chilean Flamingo feeding together with a couple of Roseate Spoonbill. Southern Lapwing were seen very often and a few Southern Screamers stood resting close to a puddle. When getting closer to San Luis province, I saw several Field Flicker and more of the pigeons and doves mentioned above. Inside the car we were listening to some music so my comments about seeing or noticing birds around had no effect on my wife. By mid afternoon we arrived to our hotel www.villademerlo.com.ar which is a very nice place to stay at and as it has a nice large park I did some birding there too!
When we arrived so warm it was that many hotel guests were wearing swimming suits and mingling around the pool! A cool beer proved a very refreshenning choice! As it was winter and the weather forecasts were mentioning very low temperatures to be felt during our stay, we felt deceived. On that evening while having dinner, temperatures lowered dramatically and on the next morning some little snow was falling out yet it melted away when touching the ground. Now we felt dressed accordingly! Villa de Merlo is a town emplaced in the “Conlara Valley” some 2,800 ft a.s.l. siding with the “Comechingones” mountains chain which on its eastern side sets the border with Cordoba province. Its soils are very fertile and with irrigation different agricultural activities are done with very good results. The yearly rainfall is small thus the native vegetation is bushy, full of brush and low trees and at some spots an endemic species of a Palm tree can still be found. Many different birds are to be seen there too!
On the first morning we went up into the mountains and arrived to a place known as the “Condors sighting place”. My GPS told me that now we were at 3,912 ft a.s.l. and that pressure was almost normal. The clouds had opened and the sun was shining yet it was quite cold. Upon arrival we went into a coffe shop and had some warm chocolate with some nice freshly done waffles. At the place there is a huge balcony so, while taking pictures I saw some Long-tailed Meadowlark and had a glimpse at some soaring Condors not very far away. Now my wife called me and we ran after 2 very close to us low flying Condors obviously seeking thermals. What a sight! This is the sort of birding that makes my wife nod in approval! Alas! Birders know that this does’t happen very often. From the mountain balcony we had a very nice view at Villa de Merlo not very far away down in the valley. The clear air made things look closer than they really were. I soon discovered a gliding raptor which was using the wind doing “static gliding”. With the help of my binoculars I recognized a Variable Hawk. While driving back to town from one of the road’s twists I saw a Peregrine Falcon flying very slowly, obviously on the outlook hunting for a bird. Up in the mountain I saw a couple of different birds. One was a Rufous-banded Miner which came so close to the car that I could see how it was pecking at something invisible to me on one of the car’s tyres!
The other one that caught my attention flicking nervously its wings and tail while sitting on a large stone and then upon having me coming closer moved on to a wire fence post, proved to be a Rufous-naped Ground-Tyrant! At the hotel I discovered a couple of Cliff Flycatcher warming themselves on the sunny side of the walls.
We went on visiting in the area different places and to my amazement although it was winter many trees and bushes still had their leaves on and looked very green providing shelter to many birds. At one such place I scared off a small flock of Mountain Parakeet which look very much like dwarf Monk Parakeets. Also they are more secretive and not so noisy as the Monks are! Not far away a couple of Scimitar-billed Woodcreeper were busy walking on the ground, turning around dead leaves in search of food. This bird has a very long downcurved bill so when on the ground its stance is very straight and has its head tilted upwards as that of a very “elegant gentleman” as an american lady birder called it some years ago.
Probably one of the most spectacular sightings I had on the whole vacation trip was that of a couple of large woodpeckers. We were driving on a mud road in the town’s subburbs when a really big bird caught my eye. It landed on a tall telephone post and the sun showed a bright red head on a dark body with a distinctive white back. Soon it was joined by another one and with the help of my binocs I very well could see the detailed feathering of a male and female Cream-backed Woodpecker not mentioned for the area in the field guide!
At another place while going out of a small farm, after having closed the gate I got back into the car. Something moving on my right caught my eye and soon it proved to be a Brushland Tinamou. It started drinking water from a very small puddle and when my wife tried to slowly open the window in order to take a picture, it jolted up into the sky and dropped into the brush on the other side of the road. This is a very handsome Tinamou and it showed pretty well (and proved to be very alert!).
In the town’s outskirts there is a provincial Nature Reserve, the game warden is an elderly lady who lives there since her childhood. She recalls that some time ago she left the food for her dogs and forgot to unleash them. Suddenly out of the sky came a couple of Black-chested Buzzard Eagles, grabbed the dog’s food (raw meat) and flew away. Since, everyday by around 11 a.m. these birds come in, usually perch on a large tree then swoop down and take their food to all the people’s gathered around delight and fly away. A show with absolutely wild birds! They fly away into the mountains not to be seen again until the next day at the same time. A visiting birder’s must! There I also added Chiguanco Thrush and its dark form called var. “anthracinus”, Rufous and Crested Hornero and a Lark-like Brushrunner.
On another day we visited an abandoned Tungstene mine. We had a very interesting guided visit in and around and learned that this mine was first exploited by Germans in the late 1800 and later was taken over by Americans until its closure in the late 1960’s. While driving to the place I saw American Kestrel, Greater Pampa Finch and Rufous-collared Sparrow. By sunset we were back at the hotel and at the park I managed to see White-banded Mockingbird, Rufous-bellied and Creamy bellied Thrush all seeking their roosting places in a thick bushy fence.
While visiting a trout breeding farm, we were preceeded by a Spot-winged Falconet that flew along with us as if showing the way. At the farm I added several Green-barred Woodpecker, White-tipped Dove, a couple of Brown-capped Whitestart and some low flying huge Andean Swifts. The trail leading into the farm went over a small bridge with bushes at its side. My wife’s attention was caught by a beautiful Blue-and-yellow Tanager, so bright and colourful was this male that she asked me to stop in order to better look over the bird. This stop also allowed me to see some other birds like a White-crested Tyrannulet, Black-and Rufous Warbling Finch, Golden-billed Saltator, Shiny Cowbird and Baywings. After a nice meal eating fresh cooked trout washed down by a good cool white wine we made a guided tour of the farm. Oviously the presence of water brings in ducks and a couple of Speckled Teal obliged. On our way back the sun was getting low and many different birds could still be seen flying around. A small flying flock of noisy birds caught my atention and they proved to be Burrowing Parrots. It was still daytime upon our arrival to the hotel and I managed to see a group of Epaulet Orioles feeding high up in a leafless tree while a huge bunch of different birds were feeding on the ground. I discovered Saffron Yellow Finch, Hooded and Thick-billed Siskin.
On our last day while having breakfast, I discovered a Red-tailed Comet male clumsily feeding on the flowers of a blossoming Peach. It must have been very hungry as it was creeping from one flower to another rather than flying. This exercise moving around carrying its huge tail proved too much and it soon took off to feed on another blossoming tree.
At “Villa de Merlo” and while driving around it I managed to see 60 different birds species. The ones spotted on the road while driving to and from the place were birds not belonging to this mountain resort. A nice place to visit again sometime in Summer in order to have a peaceful vacation and without any conditionings enlarge the birds list!
Sergio Corbet.
Birds mentioned in the following list seen by Sergio Corbet follow the latest updated “Annotated Checklist of the Birds of Argentina” by Mazar Barnett and Mark Pearman.
Brushland Tinamou.
Andean Condor.
Black-chested Buzzard Eagle.
Speckled Teal.
White-crested Tyrannulet.
Variable Hawk.
Southern Crested Caracara.
Chimango Caracara.
Spot-winged Falconet.
American Kestrel.
Peregrine Falcon.
Southern Lapwing.
Rock Pigeon.
Picazuro Pigeon.
Spot-winged Pigeon.
Eared Dove.
Picui Ground Dove.
White-tipped Dove.
Burrowing Parrot.
Monk Parakeet.
Mountain Parakeet.
Guira Cuckoo.
Andean Swift.
Red-tailed Comet.
Green-barred Woodpecker.
Field Flicker.
Cream-backed Woodpecker.
Rufous-banded Miner.
Rufous Hornero.
Crested Hornero.
Lark-like Brushrunner.
Brown Cacholote.
Scimitar-billed Woodcreeper.
Cliff Flycatcher.
White Monjita.
Rufous-naped Ground Tyrant.
Cattle Tyrant.
Great Kiskadee.
House Wren.
Masked Gnatcather.
Chiguanco Thrush.
Chiguanco Thrush var. anthracinus
Rufous-bellied Thrush.
Creamy-bellied Thrush.
Chalk-browed Mockingbird.
White-banded Mockingbird.
Brown-capped Whitestart.
Blue-and-Yellow Tanager.
Black-and-Rufous Warbling Finch.
Saffron Yellow Finch.
Great Pampa Finch.
Rufous-collared Sparrow.
Golden-billed Saltator.
Epaulet Oriole.
Baywing.
Shiny Cowbird.
Long-tailed Meadowlark.
Thick-billed Siskin.
Hooded Siskin.
House Sparrow.