Uruguay Oct 2024
In Oct 2024 I spent five days birding in Uruguay. Two days on my own and three days with local guiding company Birding with Me. My guide was Mauricio Silvera, a post graduate biologist and excellent birder.
We birded the coastal lagoons of Maldonado and Rocha on Saturday 19th, Villa Serrana and Eastern Hills on Sunday 20th and West Montevideo and San José Wetlands on Monday 21th.
I decided to arrive in Uruguay five days earlier before embarking on a group tour to the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and Antarctic Peninsula with G Adventures. I really didn't want to miss the ship as had happened to some in the past. Arriving early allowed time to shake off jet lag and be rested before the twenty day voyage. More Antarctica exploits in a later blog.
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| Harris's Hawk. |
I checked into the excellent budget priced Palacio Hotel. Close to tourist attractions, it was perfectly situated for a few days break. The family run hotel with its Art Deco features and stained glass was an added bonus. Opening the wooden shutter doors to my oversized private terrace I had my first lifer, an Eared Dove. High above the screeching of a Harris's Hawk drew my attention. There was a plentiful supply of pigeons and doves for them to feast on. Moments later, a second lifer, a Kelp Gull flew past. Before supper a quick walk to the beach turned-up three more lifers, a Neotropic Cormorant, a Southern Lapwing and a White-rumped Swallow.
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| Southern Lapwing. |
Joining me to bird was Danial Bastaga who some Vancouver birders may know. He now lives in Hungary. Fortuitous having a fellow birder join me as it halved the guiding fee for both of us. Here are a few of the one hundred and fifty species we saw.
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Green-barred Woodpecker.
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Neither Daniel or myself had birded South America
so we were happy enough to see and photograph as many birds as possible.
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| Pampas Fox. |
Day one was spent north-east of Montevideo discovering plains, marshlands, estuaries and coastline. Many places were drier than normal which made it harder to find certain wetland species but Mauricio, like any good guide found other locations and other species.
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| Green Grass Snake. |
I am as happy going on a birding tour and getting a dozen or so good photographs rather than a photo designated tour where less ground and fewer species encountered. Photographing at feeders is fun for a while but I for one prefer the natural setting as well the chance to scope birds from a long distance. There is something to be said about watching birds behaving naturally.
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| Many-coloured Rush Tyrant. |
The Many-coloured Rush Tyrant is a wetland bird. A skulker and rarely seen in the open.
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| Red-crested Cardinal. |
Quite fearless, this cardinal came down to feed during our lunch break.
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| Red-crested Cardinal. |
Red-crested Cardinals are members of the tanager family.
Introduced to other countries such Hawaii, as Puerto Rico, Florida and Japan.
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| Masked Yellowthroat. |
A real skulker, the Masked Yellowthroat is hard to see, rarely sits still and prefers long tall grasses.
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| Spectacled Tyrant. |
The Spectacled Tyrant (male) is a flycatcher found near marshes and wet pastures.
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| Saffron Finch. |
The Saffron Finch is a tanager that is common in open and semi-open areas.
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Black and White Warbling Finch.
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There Black and White Warbling Finch is another tanager of open scrub.
Found in the Andes from central Bolivia to NW Argentina. Mostly a ground feeder,
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| Grassland Sparrow. |
A secretive bird best seen early and late in the day, we were lucky to see this one mid-afternoon.
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| Glittering-bellied Emerald. |
The Glittering-bellied Emerald feeds primarily on nectar. It gets the nectar by piercing the petal bases. with its short, straight bill.
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Campo Flicker.
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Campo Flickers are found in open habitats such as savannas and grasslands and is often seen foraging in groups.
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| Great Pampa-Finch. |
The Great Pampa-Finch natural habitats are subtropical or tropical high-altitude scrubland, temperate grassland, subtropical or tropical seasonally wet or flooded lowland grassland and swamps.
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| Hooded Siskin. |
The Hooded Siskin is the most widespread siskin in South America.
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| Cattle Tyrant. |
Cattle Tyrants feed on insects, mostly from the ground. Follows cattle or other large animals, catching flushed prey, or even hitches rides, and then snatching flushed prey with a quick sally-flight.
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| Rufous Hornero. |
The Rufous Hornero does well around humans habitations (synanthropic)
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| Rufous Hornero pair and nest (left) and Roadside Hawk. |
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| Rufous Hornero nest. |
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| Scimitar-billed Woodcreeper. |
Unlike most woodpeckers the Scimitar-billed Woodpecker are often found feeding on the ground.
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| Rufous-capped Antshrike. |
A fruit and insect eater, the Rufous-capped Antshrike is a all year round resident of Uruguay.
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| Blue and Yellow Tanager. |
A year-round resident of Uruguay Blue sand Yellow Tanagers also breed in Brazil and Chile.
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Brown-and-Yellow Marshbird.
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The Brown and Yellow Marshbird inhabits wet pastures of far southern Brazil, Uruguay, and northern Argentina.
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| Snail Kite |
The highly specialized Snail Kite flies on broad wings over tropical wetlands as it hunts large freshwater snails.
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| Snail Kite and Long-winged Harrier. |
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| Collared Plover. |
The collared plover is a small shorebird in the plover family, Charadriidae. It lives along coasts and riverbanks of the tropical to temperate Americas, from central Mexico south to Chile and Argentina.
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| Giant Wood Rail. |
The Giant Wood Rail is native to South America, with its range extending across eastern Bolivia, east-central and southeastern Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, and northeastern Argentina.
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| Southern Screamer. |
Southern Screamer bond for life. Nests are built in marches where it feeds on grasses, seeds and plant material.
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| Burrowing Owl with frog. |
The very last birds we saw were at Colonia Wilson. An area of greenhouses, farmland and park. We had thirty-two species including Short-eared owl. The very last birds, a pair of Burrowing Owls were happily nesting and seemingly doing well beside a road in the middle of a small village. Their burrow right next to a pathway. We found this pair and shot from the car window until traffic forced us to move on. A great way to end our three days birding with Mauricio.
Tour guide
-- Florencia Ocampo Director / Tour LeaderBirding With Me - Birdwatching Toursbirdingwithme.comMontevideo, Uruguay
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Fantastic encounters, fantastic and beutiful birds and amazing photos!
ReplyDeleteRegards,
Roos