Next week we leave the tropics behind for colder climates!

Dad and I wouldn’t choose cities as a holiday destination. Our time in Buenos Aires was just a necessary step towards getting to Antarctica. However, a day of birding in Buenos Aires in the Costanera Sur Ecological Park was one of the highlights of our trip! Neither of us had ever been to South America before, so the birds were entirely unknown to us. Spending the morning with Marcelo from Birding Buenos Aires was fantastic, as he could show us birds we would have otherwise missed and tell us what they were. He is an amazing guide, locating and identifying birds by their calls, answering all our questions, and expertly setting up his spotting scope so we could get closer looks.

The air was thick with heat, and despite drinking water often we both found ourselves dehydrated after the morning’s walk. It was more than worth it though, to see not only a whole swathe of new species, but also two species of Hummingbirds – a first for both of us! I’ve always marvelled at Hummingbirds and loved watching footage of them in nature documentaries, but I’d never been to their part of the world before. Seeing not only one, but two different species was one of the best moments of the day!

With all these new and different species around us, it was a bit of a shock to find familiar White-Faced Whistling Ducks – also native to South Africa! No photos I’m afraid – we could only see them through the spotting scope. There were plenty of other photo opportunities though, and I’m very happy with the photos I got that morning. Thank you Marcelo!