Chile’s capital city offers some great birding opportunities at short driving distances in the wetland of Batuco and the highlands of Farellones: many-colored rush tyrants, condors, ground tyrants, moustached turca and more.

My research work brought me to the Patagonian coastline, where sea lions, Magellanic penguins, oystercatchers and melanistic herons meet monte specialties such as yellow cardinal, sandy gallito or Hudson’s black tyrant.

Coastal Buenos Aires Province produced several endemics and thousands of waders over a short trip marked by terrible weather: Hudson’s canastero, sulphur-bearded reedhaunter, Olrog’s gull and more.

Buenos Aires serves as a hub for travelling through Argentina, and also as a great location to connect with local specialties. Reserva Ecológica Costanera Sur brings Paraná Delta avifauna into the city center.

A short visit to the cloud forests surrounding Salta offered my first-ever hummingbirds and guans, represented by attractive endemics. Yungas specialist Tucuman amazon, yungas sparrow and brushfinches followed.

August has been a month of changes. My last days in Spain involved beach terns and waders. Moving to Argentina, both visiting the yungas and living in Patagonia brought a whole new set of birds.