Argentina; Las Grutas & Playa Union - Day 3

  Las Grutas sits in the middle of the coastal reaches of the Monte Desert ecosystem. This was a new ecosystem for Lia and myself, and we were excited to explore it. Because the region is so vast, there is nowhere specific to go birding, and so we headed to the area immediately behind the town to begin our birding.

  The mornings birding was, as expected excellent. There were many new species for us, including White-throated Cacholote, Patagonian, Steinbachs and Sharp-billed Canasteros, Ringed Warbling Finch and Greater Wagtail Tyrant among others. While most of these were simply brown birds, it was good to see the White-throated Cacholote as it was a tricky species that we were hoping to target further to the north. Despite all the new birds the highlight has to be continued excellent views of the Burrowing Parrots, with many perching in the desert vegetation quite close to where we were watching from. A male Cinereous Harrier that flew by distantly was probably the best of the new birds that we were able to see.

  Obviously, it being a desert, by around midday the heat had all but killed activity in the area so we headed off to grab some supplies in the town, and then head to a beach where we hoped to find some shorebirds. We were able to find a few interesting species on the beach, including Crested Duck and Snowy-crowned Tern. We used the scope to scan out to see where there was good activity but unfortunately it was just too far to be sure. Many of the shearwaters I got a good view of appeared to be Manx, but it is impossible to be certain.

  It was then a long drive before our destination for the evening, a small town called Playa Union. Once again we arrived in the late afternoon so had some time to head to the beach This beach was composed of pebbles, and being further south we decided not to go swimming but instead to scan for any passing seabirds. There was a little activity, but the undoubted highlight was at least two Southern Giant Petrels, both of which flew by to the north.

Species List:
Las Grutas: Crested Duck, Spot-winged Pigeon, Picui Ground Dove, Eared Dove, American Oystercatcher, Southern Lapwing, Brown-hooded Gull, Kelp Gull, Snowy-crowned Tern, Neotropic Cormorant, Snowy Egret, Black-crowned Night Heron, Black Vulture, Turkey Vulture, Cinereous Harrier, Chimango Caracara, American Kestrel, Burrowing Parrot, Rufous Hornero, Plain-mantled Tit-Spinetail, Sharp-billed Canastero, Patagonian Canastero, Steinbach's Canastero, White-throated Cacholote, White-tipped Plantcutter, White-crested Tyrannulet, Straneck's Tyrannulet, Greater Wagtail-Tyrant, Fork-tailed Flycatcher, Blue-and-white Swallow, Southern Martin, Barn Swallow, House Wren, Patagonian Mockingbird, White-banded Mockingbird, Austral Thrush, House Sparrow, Rufous-collared Sparrow, Long-tailed Meadowlark, Shiny Cowbird, Ringed Warbling Finch, Diuca Finch, Mourning Sierra Finch,
Playa Union: Great Grebe, Feral Pigeon, Eared Dove, Brown-hooded Gull, Kelp Gull, Southern Giant Petrel, Rock Shag, Rufous Hornero, Great Kiskadee, Southern Martin, Brown-chested Martin, Patagonian Mockingbird, Chalk-browed Mockingbird, House Sparrow, Rufous-collared Sparrow, Greyish Baywing, Blue-and-yellow Tanager,