| New bird species: Dark-throated Seedeater Sporophila ruficollis |
 Juvenile photographed in october 201110-2011© Pablo Mosto |
| Scissor-tailed Nightjar Hydropsalis torquata |
 Photo taken in 2011. But it is worth watching the details of this female Scissor-tailed Nightjar so exposed in broad daylight. The Nightjar becomes active at dusk so poor light prevents us from having a good look at it.2-2011 © Rosana Ursino |
| Chotoy Spinetail Schoeniophylax phryganophilus |
 © Pablo Mosto
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| The Chotoy Spinetail appeared from time to time at Costanera. Last October it popped up and stayed to breed. During that time it was difficult to capture images since it moved surreptitiously so as not to be discovered. Here, instead, we can fully appreciate this relative of the Rufous Hornero. Long tail with two spines. Rufous crown and shoulders. Yellow chin and black throat flanked white. CR |
| Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl Glaucidium brasilianum |
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 © Pablo Mosto |
 © Pablo Mosto |
These two photos were taken a bit before the video. Pablo told us about the pygmy-owl. The prey is a juvenile of Small Elaenia |
| Caburé chico Glaucidium brasilianum Aves non gratae Among the bird species present at Costanera the Southern Caracara and the Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl are considered unwanted because they prey on birds, among other things. The birds know the risk they run when either of them are close. So they take courses of action that differ from one another. The Southern Caracara is stalked either solitarily or in pairs by the Chalk-browed Mockingbird (25 cm) and the Fork-tailed Flycatcher (38 cm) among other birds. They mob on the Caracara till it is driven away. It is chased and even pecked at on the wing. It seems funny to see how the big Caracara is driven away by a much smaller bird. In this case there was a Red-eyed Vireo, a male Masked Yellowthroat, a Small-billed Elaenia, a Streaked Flycatcher (not appearing in the video), three Masked Gnatcatchers and several Emeralds (definitely some females). All of them sounded very altered. The feathered ball which appears under the branch is the juvenile Small-billed Elaenia of the above photos. It held it tightly with the claws and stood motionless only moving its head to keep visual contact with the birds flying by. None of them attacked the owl. They only put pressure by flying very close to it. At a point it moved to another branch and stood there for a while till it left. Video © Roberto Ares – Texto Cora Rimoldi |
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| Blue-billed Black-Tyrant Knipolegus cyanirostris |
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 Female© Pablo Serur |
 Female© Pablo Serur |
| South American Snipe Gallinago paraguaie  © J. Simón Tagtachian |
Ringed Teal Callonetta leucophrys  Pair© J. Simón Tagtachian |
| Ringed Teal Callonetta leucophrys  In flight circular white patch is seen© J. Simón Tagtachian |
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| Brazilian Teal Amazonetta brasiliensis  In flight white triangular patch and blue speculum are seen© J. Simón Tagtachian |
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| Glittering-bellied Emerald and Gilded Sapphire Chlorostilbon aureoventris – Hylocharis chrysura If in flower is the silk floss tree hummingbirds around you’ll see The Silk Floss tree Ceiba speciosa at the Viamonte Access is loaded with flowers. Joy to our eyes and a nutritious food source for the hummingbirds. There were a Gilded Sapphire (bronze colour) and a female Glittering-bellied Emerald (with grayish underparts), some time later a male showed up, too. The Gilded Sapphire defended from the competitors what it considered its tree. As the Sapphire identified an intruder it pounced on it to drive it away. The intruder reacted by escaping and the Sapphire escorted it to make sure it left the grounds. But success was temporary since the Emerald was back in no time and the sequence was repeated. When the male Glittering-bellied Emerald showed up things got worse for the Sapphire, now there were two intruders to be expelled from its territory. The movement of hummingbirds is so fast that only these scenes could be rescued. Among them, two chases © Roberto Ares – Text: Cora Rimoldi |
| February 2nd – World Wetlands Day |
| This day in 1971 in Ramsar, Iran, a treaty on wetlands was signed. It provides a framework for the conservation and sustainable use of their resources. Wetlands are defined as extensions where water is a crucial element and its regime (permanent or temporal water, tides, etc.) defines the structure and ecological functions of the place, be it lakes, rivers, swamps, marshes, marine areas, man-made sites, etc. Argentina joined the Convention on 4th of September 1992. The first site was the Monumento Natural Laguna de los Pozuelos in Jujuy. Reserva Costanera is the 14th site and was included on the list on 22nd of March 2005. Nowadays Argentina has 20 sites on the list. Joining the Convention implies a commitment on the part of the National Government to actively work to secure conservation and sustainable use of the area in question. |
