New Podcast Episode: "Voices of Argentina!"

Magellanic woodpecker, female.

I've just finished episode #46 of my "This Birding Life" podcast, entitled "Voices of Argentina." In this episode I interview a variety of interesting folks whom I encountered during a recent birding trip to Argentina. We talk about birds (of course), culture, food, music, the landscape, and many other things.

Scanning the Iberá Wetlands.

Music and birds are the two largest rivers running through my life so I'm really happy to be able to include some Argentine music in this episode. The style of music is called Chamamé and it's a meeting or blending of the folk music of Europe (German accordion and Spanish guitar) and the Guaraní people of Argentina. We were entertained one evening by a duo playing Chamamé  and singing while some local dancers showed us the typical moves associated with each song. And all this was occurring while we were being fed a traditional Argentine asada meal of grilled meats and vegetables. Plus the famed Argentine wine. A memorable night indeed.

Duo playing Chamamé.

After they'd played two sets of music the band even let me play a bit during their break. Another thrill and yet another country where I've had the good fortune to bond with fellow musicians. After the show we exchanged CDs and hearty handshakes.

As you'll hear in the podcast, we birded in just two regions of Argentina (which is a huge country): the northeast around the large Iberá Wetlands Preserve and in the central southwest in the Andean foothills of Patagonia. The birding was incredible in both regions. Special avian treats included Andean condor, many-colored rush-tyrant, Magellanic woodpecker, greater rhea, and horned screamer. We saw a total of about 230 species during our 10-day trip, though, as our wonderful guides noted repeatedly, we were not there at the height of the birding season.

Greater rheas.

Andean condors.

If you are interested in learning more about birding in Argentina, please visit the travel page we've set up on the Bird Watcher's Digest website: www.birdwatchersdigest.com/travel/argentina. This page has links to Argentina's main tourism websites as well as links to the paces we visited, including lodging.

Drinking maté with Starsky, Dominic, and Tim.

My special thanks go out to Tim Appleton of the British Birdwatching Fair who invited me on the trip. And to Pablo Cagnoni from Inprotur, the organizer of the trip in Argentina, as well as to our wonderful guides, hosts, drivers, and planners.

Birding on a large estáncia in Patagonia with our lead guides Scarlett (dark hat) and Eugenia (second from left).

My fellow travelers on the Argentina adventure were Niklas Aronsson of Vår Fågelvärld (Our Birding World magazine in Sweden), Dominic Couzens (a popular and prolific nature writer in the UK), Matthew Merritt (editor of Bird Watching magazine (the original) in the UK). Click on their names to find out more about them.

From left: BOTB, Niklas, Tim, Dominic, and Matt.

Thanks for reading and listening!