Tropical Birding Tours Trip Report NW ARGENTINA & IGUAZU Extension: November 2017 A Tropical Birding SET DEPARTURE tour NORTHWEST ARGENTINA & IGUAZU EXTENSION 1-15 November 2017 TOUR LEADER: ANDRES VASQUEZ Photos by Andres Vasquez A collage of some of the most memorable moments. From the left (going clockwise): Red-tailed Comet, the exquisite Andes at Pumamarca (part of the Humahuaca Valley), a family of the very local Citron-headed Yellow-Finch, and a view from the lower loop at Iguazu Falls during the extension. www.tropicalbirding.com +1-409-515-9110 [email protected] p.1 Tropical Birding Tours Trip Report NW ARGENTINA & IGUAZU Extension: November 2017 INTRODUCTION: Northwest Argentina is, in my opinion (and according to all my clients on this tour and past tours), one of the most UNDERESTIMATED, UNDERVALUED tours Tropical Birding offers. In reality, it is one on my all-time favorite tours to guide and one of my all-time favorite places to visit. This is thanks, not only to incredible birds we find, but also thanks to the overwhelming combination of mesmerizing landscapes throughout the tour (which includes 2 UNESCO World Heritage Natural Sites – Iguazu Falls and Humahuaca Valley), some of the best wines in the World drank by night, and a variety of habitats we bird within, from close to sea level to almost 15000ft, and from humid Yungas to high Andes desert, upper Chaco and highland Monte. Andean Hillstars love perching on rocks close to ground near Abra Lizoite at over 14500ft./4420m In terms of birds, we recorded 369 species out of which the most memorable were the 3 species of tinamou seen well (Elegant Crested Tinamou being the favorite), Giant Antshrike (aka the “beast”) that we saw completely exposed perched on a rock, Rufous-throated Dipper, of which we saw 5 individuals in 3 different spots, the always lovely Torrent Duck, the endangered and scarce Black-fronted Piping-Guan we enjoyed at close range in Iguazu from the boardwalk while walking towards the Devil’s Throat, Montane Forest Screech-Owl of which we saw a pair very close, the variety and beauty of the woodpeckers (Robust Woodpecker and Ochre-collared Piculet the most popular of these), both Tit- Tyrants (Yellow-billed and Tufted) were chosen as the cutest of the tour, and it was impossible to choose only one finch out of the huge array of these wonderfully colored birds, so the group as a whole made it to the list. www.tropicalbirding.com +1-409-515-9110 [email protected] p.2 Tropical Birding Tours Trip Report NW ARGENTINA & IGUAZU Extension: November 2017 Special mentions were also given to the superb hummingbirds we saw, including the former Bolivian endemic Wedge- tailed Hillstar, the superb Andean Hillstar, the super elegant Red-tailed Comet, and the minute Slender-tailed Woodstar of which we enjoyed great views of both male and female. It is worth mentioning the large amount of waterfowl and water related birds that we found on different places. Probably the most enjoyable were a couple of Ringed Teals (out of 17 ducks and allies) that we saw very well, Giant Coots, 3 species of Flamingos, and the 7 Argentine Endemics that we found: Steinbach's Canastero, White-throated Cacholote, Tucuman Mountain-Finch, Yellow-striped Brush-Finch, Bare-eyed (Moreno's) Ground-Dove, Sandy Gallito, and White-browed Tapaculo. Black-hooded Sierra-Finch sitting on a wall of a fallen building at the picturesque town of Yavi On a different topic, this tour is one of the most enjoyable tours in the World in terms of landscapes. There is not a single day in which we do not have to stop the car or take a moment on the walks to take pictures of the scenery. The areas we bird at along the Argentinian Andes are spectacular with highlights like the UNESCO’s World Heritage Site of La Quebrada de Humahuaca and the breathtaking Quebrada de las Conchas; plus, the extension takes us to yet another UNESCO’s site, the breathtaking Iguazu Falls whose beauty and power are difficult to describe, you have to live it. We will run this tour again in October 2018; do not miss it if you have not visited one of the most underrated places on Earth. www.tropicalbirding.com +1-409-515-9110 [email protected] p.3 Tropical Birding Tours Trip Report NW ARGENTINA & IGUAZU Extension: November 2017 The participants at the Humahuaca Valley (above) and from the balcony of our hotel in Iguazu (below) www.tropicalbirding.com +1-409-515-9110 [email protected] p.4 Tropical Birding Tours Trip Report NW ARGENTINA & IGUAZU Extension: November 2017 TOUR SUMMARY: This tour took us to a series of interesting habitats very different from each other, both in terms of scenery and birdlife. For example, we birded within the Yungas (a type of subtropical Cloud Forest), the High Andes (Slopes, Puna, and Deserts), the Chaco (a semi dry short forest), a short time in the Monte Desert along the Wine Route near Cafayate, several wetlands and ponds, and the subtropical humid forest of Iguazu which is like an inland extension of the Atlantic rainforest of Southeast Brazil. The Yungas: we birded along this verdant forest during several days of this tour and at different sites. The tour in fact starts with an ascent from the city of Tucuman to the small town of Tafi going directly through some great Yungas within the Valley of the Los Sosa River. Here, we found the first of various specialties of this forest like Mitred Parakeet, Slaty Elaenia, Rusty-browed Warbling-Finch, Buff-banded Tyrannulet, Brown-capped Redstart, White-bellied Hummingbird, and a few other songbirds (passerines), but the most interesting birds of the location were the first Torrent Ducks, 3 individual Rufous-throated Dippers (below), and the Argentinian Endemic Yellow-striped Brush-Finch. A very approachable Rufous-throated Dipper in terrible contrasting light A few days after that, we found ourselves exploring this ecosystem again near Salta; and stayed in a beautiful lodge surrounded by cloudforest called Selva Montana where, from the balcony, we found a few great birds like the superb Cream-backed Woodpecker, Crested Becard, Variegated, Piratic and Streaked Flycatchers, the first of many Plush- crested Jays, and in the lower grounds of the hotel found the only Fulvous-headed Brush-Finch of the trip. www.tropicalbirding.com +1-409-515-9110 [email protected] p.5 Tropical Birding Tours Trip Report NW ARGENTINA & IGUAZU Extension: November 2017 From here, we also visited El Huayco reserve on one of the nights, and were delighted with the quality of nightbirding; we found 5 individual Scissor-tailed Nightjars, a lone Barn Owl, a responsive Tropical Screech-Owl, in addition to the and the true star of the area, the scarce and local Montane Forest (Hoy’s) Screech-Owl, of which we saw two birds perched on the same branch calling out loud at close range. The next couple of days we also had terrific Yungas birding in two different spots. The first was along the well-known Cornisa Road between Salta and Jujuy. This extremely sinuous, narrow road is great for many specialties of this ecosystem that we saw like Rothschild’s Swift, White-browed Brush-Finch, Two-banded Warbler, Sclatter’s Tyrannulet, the local subspecies of Mountain Wren, and Dot-fronted Woodpecker plus lots of other more widespread birds which in this trip are local to these woodlands like one of the favorite birds of the trip, the hulking Giant Antshrike (below), a much smaller relative, the Rufous-capped Antshrike, and Orange-headed Tanager, Golden-olive Woodpecker, Euler’s and Cinnamon Flycatchers, Golden-winged Cacique, Buff-browed Foliage-gleaner, and more. A male of this ridiculously large antbird (Giant Antshrike) came in bold and tame along the Cornisa Road The last of the Yungas forest sites we visited was the valley around the Yala River just north of Jujuy. This particular place is key for a few species, out of which the most localized we saw was the large Red-faced Guan. Other specialties included Plumbeous Black-Tyrant, the minuscule Slender-tailed Woodstar, Highland and White-crested (Chilean) Elaenias, Spot-breasted Thornbird, Rust-and-yellow Tanager, Dusky-legged Guan, and the widespread though particularly abundant at this site, Red-tailed Comet. The river here produced a family of Torrent Ducks with a couple of babies that we managed to enjoy with great scope views and, while we were watching those, a couple of Rufous- throated Dippers also came into view perching on the same rocks the ducks were at. This was a very enjoyable site. www.tropicalbirding.com +1-409-515-9110 [email protected] p.6 Tropical Birding Tours Trip Report NW ARGENTINA & IGUAZU Extension: November 2017 At Yala Valley, Rusty-browed Warbling-Finch (above) and below Slender-tailed Woodstar (female left, male center) and Red-faced Guan (right) www.tropicalbirding.com +1-409-515-9110 [email protected] p.7 Tropical Birding Tours Trip Report NW ARGENTINA & IGUAZU Extension: November 2017 The Chaco: we only visited the very last morning of the main tour this ecosystem around the tiny population of Palomitas. This means that by the end of the tour we added quite a few new birds in only a few hours of birding. This dry forest is somewhat similar to the Cerrado in Brazil with short trees and very little shadow which means that only the very first hours after sunrise are active and afterwards the activity goes quiet as the heat quickly builds. We managed the best out of this time and found, among others, the difficult but very rewarding Stripe-backed Antbird, the striking Many-colored Chaco- Finch, Black-capped Warbling- Finch, Black-crested and Red- crested Finches, Suiriri Flycatcher, Variable Antshrike, Little Thornbird, Chaco Chachalacas, Spot-backed Puffbird, Narrow-billed Woodcreeper, Checkered Woodpecker, and the superb Ultramarine Grosbeak.