Into the Pampas

Our first day in Argentina was a travel day as we left Usplata and headed down the road into Mendoza Provence.  As we drove along, the Andes Mountains were never far from us.  Here we made a roadside stop, with mountains in the background.

A little farther down the road we came to a wide valley filled with tall pampas grass.  These tall stalks waved back and forth in the wind and provided habitat for a variety of birds.

Already a favorite, we spotted a male Spectacled Tyrant moving around with the pampas.

The female Spectacled Tyrant looks nothing like its mate, although it still is a handsome bird with a striking eye.

Perched on some empty stalks, a Patagonian Mockingbird finds a little caterpillar for a snack.

Winding its way through the pampas we found several Yellow-billed Pintails.   They didn’t look much like the Northern Pintails we see around the midwest, which have a distinctive white line snaking down their necks.

We somehow flushed the pintails and they took off for parts unknown.

We ended that day at the Salentein Winery Hotel where we saw a wide variety of birds all around us, including my new favorite – the Fork-tailed Flycatcher.  See pics of it and more next time.

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