On Saturday 18th, January a team of three –led by Juan Pablo Seco Pon- jumped on a 4x4 vehicle around mid-afternoon aimed at continuing a conservation project focused on obtaining estimates of the abundance and productivity of ducks in Las Flores, western Buenos Aires province. The austral summer was already advanced in our study area; therefore we encountered quite hot weather throughout the outing. A total of 11 lagoons were visited that day; few of them hold ducklings of a single species, the Ringed Teal. All seven species of ducks of interest were spotted that day, including the before mentioned species along with the Speckled and Yellow-billed pintails, the Southern Wigeon, the Rossy-billed Pochard, and the Silver and Cinnamon teals.
On Sunday 19th, the team started very early in the morning, and with the driving skills of Javier, one of our local guides, we managed to visit another 5 lagoons. The hot weather typical of the austral summer coupled with very few light rains has caused many lagoons to dry out since our previous visit. In spite of this scenario, we continued our search for ducks of interest, also checking for nest or ducklings; but none was found this time. Only two species of duck of interest were sighted that day, the Speckled and Silver teals.
Apart from the ducks latter referred, other bird species were spotted, (incomplete list) including several species of raptors (Roadside Hawk, Chimango Caracara, Southern Crested Caracara, Long- winged Harrier, American and Snail kestrels), a number of species of aquatic birds (Neotropic Cormorant, Maguari Stork, Southern Screamer, Coscoroba Swan, Black-necked Swan, Snowy Egret, Cattle Egret, Striated Heron, Black-crowned Night-Heron, Plumbeous Rail, Limpkin, South American Stilt, Wattled Jacana and Roseate Spoonbill), several species of “land-birds” (Greater Rhea, Red-winged Tinamou, Rufous Hornero, Spectacled Tyrant, House Sparrow, Picazuro Pigeon, Eared Dove, Picui Ground-Dove, Monk Parakeet, Guira Cuckoo, Southern Lapwing, White-banded Mockingbird, Field Flicker, Fork-tailed Flycatcher, Brown-and-yellow Marshbird, European Greenfinch, Shiny Cowbird, Bay-winged Cowbird, Grass Wren, Great Kiskadee, Great Pampa Finch, and Yellow-winged Blackbird), four species of swallows (White- rumped, Blu-and-white, and Barn swallows and Southern Martin), three species of coots (Red- legged, White-winged and Red-Fronted coots), three species of grebes (Great, Silvery and Pied- billed grebes), and two species of gulls (Grey- and Brown-hooded gulls), and the Burrowing Owl. Other duck species sighted during our visit included the Fulvous Whistling-Duck, the White-faced Whistling-Duck, and the Lake Duck.
