Tina-who?? Tina-mou! Huayco Tinamou, that is!

The habitats of Northwest Argentina are incredibly varied due to the intense elevational differences. Over the past week and a half, it felt like we had been hopping between arid Chaco, high-elevation plains, and lush Yungas forest. After exploring the highest points of our trip, it was time to visit the largest tract of Yungas forest yet.

Yungas Forest is a very specific type of habitat found in the Eastern foothills of the Andes mountains known for its rich biodiversity, lush vegetation, and humid, rainy climate.

Parque Nacional Calilegua is Argentina’s largest protected area of Yungas forest. The park is home to over 120 species of mammals, including iconic species like jaguars, pumas, and giant anteaters. It also hosts more than 300 bird species, making it a must-stop location for birdwatchers like ourselves. We spent two days exploring this incredible area, staying in the small town of San Martín at the base of the mountain and making daily trips up into the lush forest. While we had visited a few patches of Yungas up until this point, there were still many new species to look for here.

Pre-dawn we saw Rufous Nightjar and Montane Screech-Owl and as the dawn chorus began, Black-banded Woodcreepers, Barred Forest Falcon, and Andean Slaty Thrush made their presence known. We slowly walked the road finding targets such as Blue-capped Puffleg, Buff-banded Tyrannulet, Slaty Elaenia, and White-throated Antpitta. Even during moments when the birds weren’t around, simply gazing out over the lush hillsides served as a powerful reminder of how special this place truly was.

By lunchtime, we had already compiled a nice list for the day, but as we fed Roger and kept an eye on the sky, we spotted several Swallow-tailed Kites. At one point, we even saw King Vulture and Andean Condor kettling together! As we worked the edge of the clearing, we found a Plumbeous Black-Tyrant, a bird that had been eluding us for some time.

In the afternoon, we dropped down in elevation to bird the drier forests, where we found Yellow-collared Macaw, Black-capped Antwren, and Ochre-cheeked Spinetail. Overall, it was quieter compared to our busy morning but no less fulfilling.

The next morning, we began once again high in the Yungas, but we descended into the drier forest earlier in hopes of finding a few more targets before the heat of the day set in. This strategy worked well, and we managed to track down Cream-backed Woodpecker, Giant Antshrike, Blue-crowned Trogon, and Rust-and-yellow Tanager. But soon enough, it was time to move on to our next destination. I guess all good things must come to an end.

Up until this point, Huayco Tinamou had eluded us. Through a bit of eBird research, we found a location—Finca La Montaña—that seemed to be a reliable spot for the species. The area also seemed decent for a few other good birds, including Buff-fronted Owl.

We found this site through Oliver, a local birder who regularly updates his eBird checklists and has an impressive list from the property. Oliver’s family owns the property so he birds it a lot. Ross managed to track down Oliver’s contact info, and we arranged to meet him for a morning of birding. He was happy to spend a morning birding with us.

We started predawn in search of Buff-fronted Owl, but unfortunately, we had no luck. (Small aside: Ross and I have searched for this owl species before. I realized I never finished my updates from our trip to North East Brazil in 2017. There’s a fun story where Ross was out alone at night searching for Buff-fronted Owl along a public road but some people called the cops on him and before long he had 6 police officers surrounding him with their guns pointed at him. I’m glad he didn’t get shot that night. It’s quite the story. I should go back and write that one down!)

Anyway, Oliver had warned us that it wasn’t quite the right time of year for the owl, but we figured we’d give it a try anyway—who could pass up an opportunity to see a Buff-fronted Owl? Despite not finding the owl, we were treated to excellent looks at Scissor-tailed Nightjar.

Oliver wasn’t too confident that we’d find Huayco Tinamou either, as the season hadn’t really started—there hadn’t been much rain, and the Tinamou weren’t vocalizing much. However, Oliver’s local knowledge paid off and he took us to an area he had them in the past. A Huayco Tinamou quickly responded to our playback, and with Ross’s thermal camera, we were able to track it down as it sang from the thick grass. Without the thermal I’m not sue we would have seen this bird but it was a success!

The rest of the morning was spent casually birding the property, where we saw Yungas Guan, White-barred Piculet, Stripe-backed Antbird, Great Rufous Woodcreeper, Yellow-Olive Flatbill, and Yungas Sparrow. By midday, it was time to say goodbye to Oliver and start our long drive east. Before hitting the road in earnest, we made a quick detour to a nearby stakeout to search for Cinereous Tyrant.