On our second day with Diego (2 October) we travelled north from Buenos Aires, first birding at a site close to the Rio Brazo Largo and then moving on to a marshy, wetland area near the village of Ceibas, which is 2 hours drive north of Buenos Aires. The weather was perfect for birding with blue skies and little wind.
We arrived at our first destination close to the Rio Brazo just before 9 AM and immediately began to see interesting birds. A beautiful Scarlet-headed Blackbird was on a tall branch and stood out well against the blue sky. The Long-tailed Reed Finch, which was in a similar pose to the blackbird, was new for the trip. In the trees we saw Narrow-billed Woodcreeper and Rufous-capped Antshrike.
Overhead we had Snail Kite and Southern Screamer flying by.
Moving north we found a site where we could see the near-threatened flightless Greater Rhea.
The birding road in Ceibas is a loop to the east of highway 12 and it extends towards the Uruguay river before curving back towards the highway. There is only very limited agriculture around the road and the land is mostly rough scrub and marshland, with the latter containing many snakes and other small mammals that are prey to the many raptors in the area. A lot of birding can be done from the car as birds often perch on the fences, posts and trees beside the road.
Many birds were in the fields on either side of the road and could easily be photographed from the car, which worked well as a mobile hide/blind.
This was my third visit to the famous birding destination of the Ceibas road and it certainly didn’t disappoint, with over 40 species photographed, with many shots being taken at close range. I would certainly recommend visiting the site to any birder visiting Buenos Aires.