14 Dec 25 - Patagonia 25 - A Morning In The Pampas

I was down to my last full day of Birding on my whistle-stop return trip to Patagonia. I had booked the flight home a week before Christmas to grab one of the last reasonably priced tickets. But as the Antarctica trip was a last minute decision to book, I hadn't really planned what I would do in Patagonia. Initially I planned the time to look for Commerson's Dolphins around Puerto Rawson. Having managed to bump into them in the Beagle Channel, I could focus on other options. The main target was the Franciscana Dolphins which I had seen at the El Condor River mouth, near Viedma on the previous afternoon. This gave me the time for a long three hours drive North to look for the range-restricted Pampas Meadowlark near Bahia Blanca. I ran out of light before I reached Bahia Blanca and I had pulled over soon after dark at a large garage for the night, about one hundred miles short of Bahia Blanca. I left at first light for the final leg of the drive.

The Pampas around Chasico

After reaching Bahia Blanca, I headed out North West on RN35 before turning right to the small settlement of Chasico. This seemed to be the best option to try and see some Pampas Meadowlarks. This scarce range-restricted species is vastly outnumbered by the commoner Long-tailed Meadowlarks. To add to the challenge the area has many miles of similar-looking arable fields and separating the two species isn't straight-forward. Pampas Meadowlark are a bit smaller than Long-tailed Meadowlarks, with a shorter tail and shorter, straighter bill. Plumage-wise, they have a deeper crimson throat and breast, with a narrower black border and a rounded lower edge to the breast. They are best told in flight, when its possible to see their diagnostic black underwing. The first thing was to look at lots of Long-tailed Meadowlarks to get my eye in on them.

Long-tailed Meadowlark: There was some variation in the Long-tailed Meadowlarks as they were a mixture of adults and immatures sitting on the fence posts. This is the nominate loyca subspecies which occurs in Chile & Eastern Argentina as far South as Tierra del Fuego

White-browed Blackbird: This monotypic species occurs from South East Peru to Paraguay, Uruguay, Brazil & North Argentina

I took the dirt track back towards Bahia Blanca and it was a case of stopping and grilling every Long-tailed Meadowlark party, whilst driving miles through identical-looking fields. After a couple of hours of looking and one candidate that disappeared before I could confirm it, I finally found a Pampas Meadowlark, which I was happy was the real deal. Unfortunately, it flew to another fence post about two hundred metres back on the private ranch, before I could get any photos. I continued to watch it for a few minutes with the telescope, but it didn't move back towards the dirt track. It was time to move on. It took me another hour of driving before I ended up back onto a tarmac road. There were plenty of other Birds along these dirt tracks, however, I didn't spent long on photographing them.

Greater Rhea: This is the albescens subspecies which occurs in the Pampas of Argentina South to the Rio Negro

Spotted Tinamou: They are also known as Spotted Nothura. This is the annectens subspecies which occurs in the moist grasslands of East Argentina

Crested Caracara: This is the plancus subspecies previously known as Southern Crested Caracara which occurs from the Amazon basin to East Peru, Tierra del Fuego & the Falklands. It has now been relumped with Crested Caracara which occurs as far North to the Southern United States & some of the Caribbean Islands

Chimango Caracara: This is the nominate chimango subspecies that occurs from South Brazil & Paraguay to central Argentina & central Chile

Burrowing Owl: This is the nominate cunicularia subspecies which occurs from South Bolivia, South Brazil & Paraguay to Tierra del Fuego

Burrowing Owl: They are normally happy to post for a photo, but not this one

Campo Flicker: This is the campestroides subspecies which occurs from South Paraguay to South East Brazil, Uruguay & North Argentina

As I was driving back to Bahia Blanca on the dirt tracks, I stopped to photograph a Pipit on a fence post. This time I took some photos before looking at it properly. It proved fortunate that I did, as it flew off, before I could have done both. When I was sorting out the photos, it was a pleasant surprise to find it was a Chaco Pipit: which was a bonus Tick.

Chaco Pipit: They are also known as Pampas Pipit. This monotypic species occurs locally in the Chaco of East Paraguay & North Argentina

Correndera Pipit: This is the nominate correndera subspecies which occurs from coastal South East Brazil to Uruguay, Paraguay & North Argentina. It was photographed later in the day near to the Parque Eolico Villalonga wind farm on the drive South to Trelew and provides a useful comparison of the Chaco Pipit to this widespread species

Finally, I was back at Bahia Blanca. The next challenge was the four hundred and fifty mile drive South to Trelew to catch my lunchtime plane back to Buenos Aires on the next day. There wasn't any time to lose in heading South, but I had a bit of time for some quick roadside stops. I will cover the last part of the trip in the final Blog Post.

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.

1 Dec 25 - Argentina 25 - A Final Walk Around Ushuaia

I woke early as I had a number of things to sort out before I left the flat to drop the bags with Oceanwide Expeditions. A quick scan of the quay confirmed the Ortelius was tied up.

Ortelius is the middle ship on the right hand jetty

As previously mentioned in an earlier Blog Post, this is a flat I wouldn't recommend. However, it had one positive thing, it was only a ten minute walk to drop the bags off. I then headed off to the Urban Reserve which is next to the city.

The view of the Urban Reserve from the flat

There is a raw look to the Urban Reserve: However, the scenery behind is stunning

I'm sure I would find similar raw-looking areas next to some of the high Arctic towns

There was a selection of Ducks on the water, which included over two hundred Crested Ducks, fifty Flying Steamerducks and a handful of Red Shovelers and Speckled Teal.

Crested Duck: This is the nominate specularioides subspecies which occurs from central Chile & Argentina to Tierra del Fuego & the Falkland Islands

Crested Duck: There is a second subspecies which occurs in the Andes of North Chile & North Argentina to Peru & Bolivia

Flying Steamerduck: This monotypic species occurs in South Chile & South Argentina. They also occur on the Falkland Islands, where they are a scarce species

Flying Steamerduck: Note, the thinner and less orange bills compared to the Flightless Steamerducks

Flying Steamerduck: The males also have darker heads than Flightless Steamerducks

Red Shoveler: This monotypic Duck is probably my favourite of the Latin American Wildfowl. They occur from South Peru & South Brazil to Tierra del Fuego & the Falkland Islands

Night Heron: Adult. This is the obscurus subspecies which occurs from North Chile & North-central Argentina to Tierra del Fuego. There are two other New World subspecies to the North of this subspecies and on the Falkland Islands, respectively

Night Heron: Juv

Night Heron: Another adult

After the lake at the Urban Reserve, I walked along the path next to the stream that flows into the lake. It didn't take long to find a feeding Magellanic Snipe. They are very approachable compared to our Snipe, which typically would have flushed as soon as it saw me.

Magellanic Snipe: This is the nominate magellanica subspecies which occurs from central Chile & Argentina to Tierra del Fuego & the Falkland Islands

Magellanic Snipe

There was a party of three Long-tailed Meadowlarks at the end of the stream, as well as, a Chimango Caracara and a few Southern Lapwings by the houses that are adjacent to the Southern end of the reserve.

Long-tailed Meadowlark: This is the nominate loyca subspecies which occurs in Chile & Eastern Argentina as far South as Tierra del Fuego

Long-tailed Meadowlark: Two other subspecies occur in the North West of Argentina, with a third subspecies on the Falkland Islands

Long-tailed Meadowlark: This looks to be a display, as I saw two different individuals in this posture

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

Southern Lapwing: This is the fretensis subspecies which occurs in South Chile & South Argentina. It always surprised me, how happy Southern Lapwings were on unfenced garden lawns. I saw few cats in Argentina and dog ownership wasn't high in Ushuaia, with many walked on leads. That scenario would be fantastic in the UK, but sadly it will never happen

As I reached the far corner of the Urban Reserve, it was good to see this old Argentinian Patrol Boat. It looked like she was being restored. Having checked since I got home, she was an American Fast Patrol Boat built during WW2 for deployment in the Pacific. After WW2, she was one of ten Fast Patrol Boats sold to the Argentinian Navy and in service up to 1984. After that she was used as a storage vessel, with most of the internal compartments removed. It is good to see that the Maritime Museum of Ushuaia is working closely with the Navy to restore her to her former glory. There still looks to be a lot of work to complete. However, there has been excellent progress to get her back to looking this good, from the sorry state as a glorified storage container.

Fast Patrol Boat A.R.A. Towora

It was lunchtime and time for me to head towards the port to board the Ortelius. I will cover the rest of the day in the next Blog Post.