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.

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.

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.