CONNIE FOUND SANDPIPER BIRDING on the Internet and arranged for owner Diego to guide us for five days of birding. After a late start Wednesday—traffic in BA is a bitch—we headed to Ceibas, a wide spot on the road about 165 km from the city. This is cattle country, open savannah and it is prime habitat for Seedeaters.
Seedeaters all in a Row
It’s Summer time and the birding was easy—we just drove slowly listening for bird song. Then we would stop and walk along the dirt roads for a better view. And a photo. Identifying the critters was more difficult. All female Seedeaters all look pretty much alike and it takes a sharp eye to distinguish among the males, which is where Diego comes in. Between lunch and dinner we saw ninety-four species and more than half of Connie’s target birds.
Screamers like to gossip
Scissor-Tailed Nightjar
Masked Gnatcatcher
Hotel Ceibas—custom-made for Birders
We spent the night at Ceibas Hotel, a restaurant and a handful of simple rooms, purpose built for birders. When some birding guides chided the restaurant owner, “Why don’t you build a hotel?” Voilà! The “hotel” actually reminded us a newer and nicer version of the place we stayed in Marree in the Australian Outback—without the heat and the flies.
It doesn't LOOK muddy—but it is
Lesser Rhea
Sanvanna Hawk
Black-and-White Mohita
The weather changed sometime during the night. We splashed to breakfast in the rain and it was still pouring when we set off on the 500-kilometer drive to Mercedes—our last chance for gas before heading towards the Park. The morning rain turned the last 45 kilometers of rutted dirt road to Laguna Iberá National Park into slippery slime. Every time we stopped to look for a bird, regaining traction was a crap-shoot. And we stopped for a lot of birds!
