We only had one day in Bage, as dictated by our itinerary, so we had to be sure to make the most of it. We did not have so many target species here, but we did not know if we would be able to find them and this meant that we might have to spend some time searching, not ideal when between 10:00 – 16:00 the temperature all but reduces activity to zero.
We started our day at the premier destination in the area,
the Banhado da Carpintaria, which is about an hour and a half drive away from
Bage, on the border with Uruguay. To make the most of the day, we set off at 05:00
before first light, and as such got to see a beautiful sunrise over the pampas,
with the early morning fog shrouding all the water bodies we drove past. There
was also an abundance of activity, with Brazilian Guinea Pig lining the road
almost everywhere, plus a few Spotted Nothura crossing in front of us, and a
family of foxes fighting over a roadkill Tegu.
Once we arrived at the marsh the birding continued with
gusto. One of the species we really wanted to find here was Marsh Seedeater,
and no sooner had we got out of the car did a pair fly past us. As we birded we
managed to find three different territories of this stunning little finch. Not
long after we picked up two more key targets; Sulphur-bearded Reedhaunter and
Crested Doradito, both easily missed. At the far side of the marsh to where we
parked we had a brilliant bonus with a flock of seven Ringed Teals, tiny ducks
and one of the few species of South American wildfowl that had eluded us on our
trip to Argentina earlier in the year. Brilliant birding all round, with loads
of activity from passerines, wildfowl flying over and even Greater Rhea in the
fields adjacent. Then to wrap it off, on our way back we managed to tape in a
Scimitar-billed Woodcreeper, a spectacular bird that unfortunately did not show
as well as we would have hoped but were still thrilled to see.
After a few hours break in the town to see off the worst of
the afternoon, we headed out to explore the north of the city in the hopes of
finding Chiloe Wigeon on the ponds there. Lias friend Alex had given us a few
locations and a plan of action, but the warm weather had dried many of the
pools and our chances of finding the species was very much reduced. We still enjoyed
some brilliant birding though, finding a small flock of Chestnut Seedeaters
certainly the standout, along with good views of Southern Screamer. But the
highlight was when we had an armadillo cross the road right in front of us.
It was getting late with no sign of the wigeon, but
fortunately Lia still had signal and had been in touch with Alex. He sent
through another pin to an artificial reservoir which normally had a lot of
birds, but that would be distant. With light fading we raced over and found
exactly what he said, hundreds of Cormorants, Coots and Herons but all far too
far away to pick out any wigeon lurking among them. Then, as if by magic, we
picked up a flock of ducks coming in flying over the reservoir, with big white
wing patches. It was them! The Chiloe Wigeon! They did one circuit overhead
before continuing onwards over the fields. Just like that, we completed all of
our targets in Bage, and had a brilliant days birding whilst at in.
During the rest of the evening and early night we drove on
to Pelotas, just two and a half hours away, where we would continue with our
birding the following day.
Bagé: Greater Rhea, Red-winged Tinamou, Spotted Nothura, Southern Screamer, White-faced Whistling Duck, Black-necked Swan, Coscoroba Swan, Ringed Teal, Brazilian Teal, Silver Teal, Chiloe Wigeon, Yellow-billed Teal, Dusky-legged Guan, Great Grebe, Picazuro Pigeon, Spot-winged Pigeon, Picui Ground Dove, White-tipped Dove, Eared Dove, Guira Cuckoo, Plumbeous Rail, Giant Wood Rail, Spot-flanked Gallinule, Common Gallinule, White-winged Coot, Rufous-sided Crake, Limpkin, White-backed Stilt, Southern Lapwing, Collared Plover, Wattled Jacana, White-rumped Sandpiper, Pectoral Sandpiper, Pantanal Snipe, Lesser Yellowlegs, Brown-hooded Gull, Maguari Stork, Wood Stork, Neotropic Cormorant, Rufescent Tiger Heron, Cocoi Heron, Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Western Cattle Egret, Striated Heron, Black-crowned Night Heron, White-faced Ibis, Bare-faced Ibis, Plumbeous Ibis, Buff-necked Ibis, Roseate Spoonbill, Turkey Vulture, Savanna Hawk, Burrowing Owl, Amazon Kingfisher, Campo Flicker, Crested Caracara, Chimango Caracara, American Kestrel, Monk Parakeet, Rufous-capped Antshrike, Scimitar-billed Woodcreeper, Rufous Hornero, Wren-like Rushbird, Freckle-breasted Thornbird, Firewood-gatherer, Sulphur-bearded Reedhaunter, Yellow-chinned Spinetail, White-winged Becard, Crested Doradito, Sooty Tyrannulet, Scarlet Flycatcher, Spectacled Tyrant, Yellow-browed Tyrant, White Monjita, Black-and-white Monjita, Cattle Tyrant, Great Kiskadee, Tropical Kingbird, Fork-tailed Flycatcher, Blue-and-white Swallow, Southern Rough-winged Swallow, Brown-chested Martin, White-rumped Swallow, Masked Gnatcatcher, House Wren, Chalk-browed Mockingbird, Rufous-bellied Thrush, House Sparrow, Hooded Siskin, Grassland Sparrow, Rufous-collared Sparrow, White-browed Blackbird, Shiny Cowbird, Greyish Baywing, Yellow-winged Blackbird, Chestnut-capped Blackbird, Southern Yellowthroat, Red-crested Cardinal, Blue-and-yellow Tanager, Sayaca Tanager, Black-and-rufous Warbling Finch, Saffron Finch, Grassland Yellow Finch, Pampa Finch, Blue-black Grassquit, Marsh Seedeater, Chestnut Seedeater, Double-collared Seedeater, Rusty-collared Seedeater,
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