13 Dec 25 - Patagonia 25 - Franciscana Dolphin

I had started the first full day of my mini-break in Patagonia in the dunes a few miles to the South of Las Grutas. After seeing a few Ticks here, I had driven West to the town of Viedma, before heading along the Southern side of the Rio Negro river to the small coastal town of Balneario El Condor. As I reached the outskirts, I turned left to the hamlet of El Pescadero. Tall dunes separate the Rio Negro estuary from the approach road.

The view across the Rio Negro from the El Pescadero dunes

Whilst looking for information on possible sites to see Commerson's Dolphin in Argentina, I found a Mammal report by Dominique Brugiere, which said that the Rio Negro estuary was a good place to look for Franciscana Dolphins. Obviously, I was keen to look for a new Cetacean and this was one of my key targets for the Patagonian section of my trip. I arrived about 17:30 and was quickly looking from the top of the dunes. The river is about a half mile across, before it broadens out into the estuary just down river of El Pescadero. The top of the dunes provided a good viewpoint.

Looking towards the Rio Negro estuary from the El Pescadero dunes

Within a few minutes a head popped up. Unfortunately, it was just a South American Sealion. I took a few photos then carried on looking.

South American Sealion

Chimango Caracara: I didn't see a lot of Birds from the Dunes save this Chimango Caracara, flocks of Burrowing Parrots and a few distant expected river species like Neotropic Cormorants and Gulls

Chimango Caracara: This is the temucoensis subspecies which occurs from South Chile & South Argentina to Tierra del Fuego & the Cape Horn Archipelago

After about fifteen more minutes of looking, I spotted a pale dorsal fin appear in the centre of the river and downstream of my position. It was unobtrusive and quickly disappeared. However, I was sure that was going to turn out to be a Franciscana Dolphin. After a bit of searching, I managed to confirm there were two Franciscana Dolphins and to watch them in the telescope. It reminded me of the pair of Amazon River Dolphins I had seen on the River Orinoco in Venezuela back in Apr 1999, which were feeding unobtrusively in the river and just breaking the surface to breath. These Franciscana Dolphins had a similar behaviour to their riverine cousins, whilst having adapted to live in a much more saline environment.

Franciscana Dolphin: They are a pale grey colouration with a fairly triangular dorsal fin

I had expected that I would have to spend several hours that evening and the following morning to look for the Franciscana Dolphins. Seeing them quickly was a real bonus, as it would allow me to move on in search of the last target species I had considered for this Patagonian leg.

Franciscana Dolphin: They are also known as La Plata Dolphins and they occur from the La Plata area to the East of Buenos Aires to the Rio Negro

Franciscana Dolphin: This is my forty-sixth species of Cetacean. The Handbook of the Marine Mammals of the World Ed 2 lists eighty-nine extant species, but two or three have since been described since this was published

Franciscana Dolphin

Franciscana Dolphin: Finally, they appeared closer than a half mile away. However, it was a brief set of surfacing and this was the only photo I managed to get

I walked back to car via a different route and I saw a few local Birds and some Cavys. The identification of these small Rodents isn't straight-forward, but Southern Mountain Cavy seems to be the regular local species.

Picazuro Pigeon: This is the nominate picazuro subspecies which occurs from East Brazil & Bolivia to South-central Argentina

Chalk-browed Mockingbird: This is the modulator subspecies which occurs from South East Bolivia to South Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay & North Argentina

Southern Mountain Cavy: I saw several of this cute Guinea Pig-sized Rodent

Southern Mountain Cavy

After having my fill of views of the Franciscana Dolphins, it was time to continue heading North. First I had to back track to Viedma to cross over the Rio Negro. There were a couple of Patagonian Maras feeding in the fields next to road.

Patagonian Mara: I remember seeing several around the Valdez Peninsula on my first trip in 1998. These two were the only ones I saw on this short Patagonian trip

Patagonian Mara: They are one of the largest Rodents, standing about eighteen inches tall at the shoulder

The sat nav took me across this lovely old bridge in Viedma

I got lucky while looking for fuel in Viedma, when I found this old historical train by the roadside on Juan de la Piedra, in the Northern suburbs of Viedma.

The historical locomotive, La Maragata: The train is close to the Carmen De Patagones station

The historical locomotive, La Maragata: She dates back to 1922 and was built in the UK. She was designated a historical monument in 1970

I carried on driving North towards my next destination near the large town of Bahia Blanca. This was about three hours drive away, however, I pulled over soon after dark at a large garage for the night, about one hundred miles short of Bahia Blanca. The lights on the hire car weren't great. I decided to get some sleep and start at first light for the final leg of the drive. It had been a long, but worthwhile day.

25 Apr 26 - An Approachable Raven

It's hard to go out Birding in the Isle of Purbeck for a couple of hours and not see, or at least hear, a Raven. These days they are a common species, albeit many sightings are of Ravens flying over at a distance. For a change, I was walking back to the car park at St Aldhelms along Emmetts Head, rather than following the main track back. There were a couple of Ravens feeding close to the footpath in the Buff-breasted Sandpiper field. Once was just over ten metres into the field and on this occasion, it didn't follow its mate further into the field. It was time for some photos.

Raven

Raven

Raven

13 Dec 25 - Patagonia 25 - A Roadside Tyrannulet Steals The Show

Well that's a Blog Post title I never expected to write, given there are a lot of same-same looking Tyrannulets, but like Birding, you can always be surprised. You will have to read further into the Blog Post to find out the species: it's worth it. After an early lunch in Las Grutas, I had a two and a half hour drive East, but I was planning on roadside stops in areas of similar habitat to try and bump into some of the remaining Ticks for me in the wider area.

This Blue-and-yellow Tanager was the reason for the first roadside stop: I saw a flash of yellow as I was driving and it was worth stopping to double-check it. Unfortunately, it was only a Blue-and-yellow Tanager. Whereas, I was hoping for an encounter with the Endangered Yellow Cardinal. I didn't have any sites for Yellow Cardinal, which is targeted by the illegal cage bird trade, but there are historical sites along this stretch of the Highway

The first road stop was on Highway 3, to the East of San Antonio Oeste. It was a random location where I spotted a number of Birds near to the Highway and pulled the car over. Typical for Argentina the land was around the fenced off, so I was restricted to looking at the bushes just beyond the fence. It proved to be a worthwhile fifteen minute stop.

Hudson's Black-tyrant: This was a Tick earlier in the morning

White-tipped Plantcutter: The three species of Plantcutters used to be in their own family, but now they are placed within the Cotingas

White-crested Tyrannulet: This isn't a species I hadn't seen since a trip to Brazil in 2004

White-crested Tyrannulet: It turned its head and wow!

White-crested Tyrannulet: It was transformed from another dull olive-green Tyrannulet to a spectacular Tyrant Flycatcher

White-crested Tyrannulet: Tyrant Flycatchers are a large family containing nearly four hundred and fifty species. There are some incredibly drab and tricky to identify species, as well as, some exceptional pretty or characterful species and this White-crested Tyrannulet has just joined the latter category

White-crested Tyrannulet: This is the munda subspecies which occurs from West Bolivia to West Paraguay, far South West Brazil & West Argentina

It was time to move on as I wanted to have time for a good look at the El Condor River mouth, near Viedma and I didn't have the time for long roadside stops. Later in the journey, I had to brake quickly when a male Greater Rhea and it's offspring ran across the road well ahead of me. They had reached the roadside cover, by the time I reached them and this was the only worthwhile photo for the trip.

Greater Rhea: A species I've just bumped into while driving on the last two trips to Argentina. This is the albescens subspecies which occurs in the Pampas of Argentina South to the Rio Negro

The final roadside stop before I reached the large town of Viedma was where I saw a group of taller trees in the endless bushy scrub, next to a turning to the Estancia O'Connor. There was something different here. It turned out there was a derelict water pumping station and the remains of an old farm house. For once, this area wasn't fenced off, so it was time for another quick stop. It proved fruitful with my final Avian Tick for the day: a Swainson's Flycatcher.

An abandoned cart by the broken pumping station: I do wonder about the reasons places like this were abandoned

Swainson's Flycatcher: This is the ferocior subspecies which breeds from South East Bolivia & western Paraguay South to central Argentina. They winter in West Amazonia from South Colombia to North Bolivia

Swainson's Flycatcher: Only some reports I had seen mentioned seeing this species and I didn't have any good sites, so seeing this was a nice bonus

Fork-tailed Flycatcher: This is a widespread and commonly seen species, helped by their distinctive shape

Fork-tailed Flycatcher: This is the nominate savana subspecies which breeds from East Bolivia & South Brazil to central Argentina. The Southern populations are migratory and they winter in Northern South America

Vermilion Flycatcher: The males are brown with a bright vermilion crown and throat to belly. In contrast, the females are quite dull. This is the nominate rubinus subspecies which breeds in South East Bolivia, Uruguay, South Brazil, Paraguay & North Argentina. They winter from South East Colombia & East Ecuador to East Bolivia and central & East Brazil

White-banded Mockingbird: This was the first White-banded Mockingbird I've seen since my first trip to Argentina in 1998. This monotypic species occurs from Bolivia to central Argentina. They winter in South West Brazil

Time was getting on and I still only half way to my next destination. I needed to crack on. I will cover the excellent evening by the El Condor River mouth in the next Blog Post.

13 Dec 25 - Patagonia 25 - A Morning In The Sand Dunes

After a three hour drive from Puerto Madryn, I arrived at the town of Las Grutas after dark. As I drove through the town there were parties of Burrowing Parrots roosting on telegraph wires and trees in the town centre. I guess coming into the town is safer than roosting in the low scrubby bushes, where they might be grabbed by a nocturnal predator. I found the dirt road and drove South of the town parallel to the coast for about five miles. Eventually, I found a side track near the small cluster of beach houses at El Sotano. Finally, I could park up and get some sleep for the night on this side track. I was up at first light to look at the scrubby coastal bushes in the dunes behind El Sotano, where there were several potential Ticks for me.

An early morning view of the small cluster of beach houses at El Sotano

Another view of the habitat

Typical of much of Argentina, most of the dunes were fenced off. However, by chance, I had stopped by some dunes which weren't fenced off, which allowed me to wander around in the scrubby coastal bushes. There was a good selection of local species in the area.

Stripe-crowned Spinetail: This is the pyrrhophia subspecies which occurs from South Bolivia to the far South of Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay & North Argentina

Stripe-crowned Spinetail

Hudson's Black-tyrant: This is the local variant on the Black-tyrant theme

Hudson's Black-tyrant: This monotypic species occurs in central Argentina and winters to Bolivia, south West Brazil & South East Peru

Hudson's Black-tyrant: A jammy photo as it took off

Straneck's Tyrannulet: This monotypic species occurs in Paraguay, Uruguay, South Brazil and Argentina

White-tipped Plantcutter: This is the nominate rutila subspecies which occurs in the Chaco of West Paraguay, West Uruguay, Brazil & North Argentina

Patagonian Mockingbird: This monotypic species occurs in central and Southern Argentina & South Chile

Patagonian Mockingbird

Carbonated Sierra-finch: This monotypic species breeds in the Pampas of central Argentina. They winters as far North as North West Argentina

There were also some widespread South American species.

Turkey Vulture: This is the jota subspecies which occurs from in the Andes from Colombia to South Argentina

It was dry and arid habitat

Eared Dove: This is the chrysauchenia subspecies which occurs from Bolivia, Uruguay, central Brazil to Tierra del Fuego

I was surprised to see there were good numbers of an unidentified Dragonfly that looks like the UK Hawkers. It was a very arid habitat and it was hard to figure out where they were breeding.

Unidentified Argentinian Dragonfly

It had been a successful morning with four Ticks. By late morning, I had to head off to Las Grutas for an early lunch before heading North, as I had exciting plans for the afternoon to look for one of my key targets for the trip. It would be a two and a half hour drive, but I was planning on roadside stops in areas of similar habitat to try and bump into some of the remaining Ticks for me in the wider area.