Northeast Argentina: Pampas, Ibera Wetlands and Iguazu: Nov 03—14, 2010

A trip offering many easy-to-see birds and big sky scenery in world-renowned Pampas, the Ibera Delta, and humid forests of incomparable Iguazu Falls. Large numbers of waterfowl, waders, endemic, and range-restricted species.

Argentina is an immense country, offering some of the finest wildlife experiences in the world. Because of its size and the fact that it contains so many different habitats, it is impractical to combine them all into one natural history or birding experience. With this in mind, we offer three separate trips to Argentina: one to Northeastern Argentina which focuses on the rich variety of habitats and birds in the pampas, wetlands, and forest north to Iguazu Falls; the second focuses on birds in the spectacularly scenic northwestern region of Argentina; while the last samples several regions in Patagonia and ends in the dramatic and unforgettably beautifully region of Tierra del Fuego. These three trips are designed so that they can be combined into a month-long odyssey, or they can be taken separately.

Our Northeast Argentina tour begins in the pampas which lies immediately south of Buenos Aires. The pampas is a ruler-flat grassland that was once treeless, but is now checkered with widely spaced haciendas and scattered trees. We will concentrate on this coastal section of the pampas, which is dotted with marshes and teems with waterfowl and wetland birds. During our three days exploring the pampas we will visit native coastal Celtis (hackberry) woodlands, marshes, coastal mudflats, and a range of wet to dry grasslands with huge horizons that resemble Hudson's early descriptions of this fascinating region. With an avifauna that ranges from three-inch-long hummingbirds to Greater Rheas that stand almost as tall as a human, and from pipits and tiny flycatchers to swans and a rich display of waterfowl, waders, and ponderous Southern Screamers, the pampas offers one of the exciting wildlife spectacles on the continent.

Our trip continues northward with two days in the endemic-rich wetlands of northern Corrientes (immediately south of Paraguay) and then continues to Iguazu Falls. This tour route traverses one of the most bird-rich sections of the country with the possibility of seeing many species that are near-endemics and highly restricted in range. It ends at Iguazu, which is, by almost any standard, acknowledged as one of the most lovely falls on the planet.

Good accommodations; easy walking; spring-like temperatures.