BIRDS
Ribera
Norte is definitely a good birding place. I have seen over 170 species
here, which of course are not all present at the same time! Some are
only winter or summer birds, others are infrequent. Best birding time
is in the early morning.
Most birds here are native, though there are some exotics: mainly
Common Starling, House Sparrow, Rock Dove & European Greenfinch.
There are also a number of feral species, mainly parrots, that really
belong to the north of Argentina. Their presence seems to be the result
of decommissioned catches of illegal trade in wildlife, that have
been released in Buenos Aires, so far away from the place where they
were caught!
CHECKLIST: Click to download the checklist
of species I have seen over literally hundreds of birding visits to
the place.
This is an EXCEL file with the English common names. You can print
it onto a single page of "Letter-size" paper. For each species
it includes a basic status, (common / rare, exotic / feral, etc.)
and a column to "tick off" once you've identified it. Remember
there is always a chance of seeing something that is not accounted
for in the list!
Here are some photos of the more common birds. Click on each one to
see an enlarged image.
PHOTOS
OF SOME COMMON OR INTERESTING BIRDS OF RIBERA NORTE
Rufescent
Tiger-Heron
Tigrisoma lineatum
ONE OF THE NICEST HERONS |
Speckled
Teal
Anas flavirostris
THE MOST COMMON DUCK HERE |
Chimango
Caracara
Milvago chimango
A SMALLISH RAPTOR |
Rufous-sided Crake
Laterallus melanophaius
A SPECIALITY OF RIBERA
NORTE |
Plumbeous
Rail
Pardirallus sanguinolentus
FAIRLY COMMON |
Grey-necked
Wood-Rail
Aramides cajanea
A SPECIALITY OF RIBERA
NORTE |
Gilded
Sapphire
Hylocharis chrysura
FEEDING OFF A "CEIBO" FLOWER |
Checkered Woodpecker
Picoides mixtus
A SPECIALITY OF RIBERA
NORTE |
Curve-billed
Reedhaunter
Limnornis curvirostris
A
SPECIALITY OF RIBERA NORTE |
Mottle-cheecked
Tyrannulet
Phyloscartes ventralis
A SPECIALITY OF RIBERA
NORTE |
Masked
Gnatcatcher
Polioptila dumicola
ONLY MALES HAVE BLACK MASKS |
Rufous-collared Sparrow
Zonotrichia capensis
VERY COMMON |
Hooded
Siskin
Carduelis magellanica
ONLY MALES HAVE HOODS |
Black&rufous
Warbling-Finch
Poospiza nigrorufa
SINGS: "PLEASED TO MEET YOU! |
Tropical
Parula
Thraupis sayaca
A TANAGER |
Scarlet-headed Blackbird
Amblyramphus holosericeus
SPECIALITY OF R.N. -
A BEAUTY! |
The
species marked with "A
SPECIALITY OF RIBERA NORTE"
are birds that are not often seen (or have not been recorded) in other
reserves in Buenos Aires, such as Costanera Sur. But here they are
common, this being due to the land being regularly flooded during
the higher tides of the Rio de la Plata, and to the dense vegetation.
On a visit here you may see 50 or 60 species.
Here are links to some of my lists of birds identified during countless
visits to Ribera Norte
- Birds seen from 1997 to 1999
- Birds seen during 2000
 |
Making
good use of exotic species?
Here is a native bird, the very common Rufous-bellied Thrush (Turdus
rufiventris), dining away at the fruit of a Privy, an exotic
plant from Asia that rapidly invades many parts of the reserve.
We all know what will happen to the seeds inside the little fruit:
it will pass unharmed through the digestive tract of the bird,
and will then fall to the ground with a good dose of fertilizing
"guano", and form yet one more invading plant!
The fruit ripen in June, and are then very abundant!
|
MAMMALS
Since the reserve is a fairly small space, the number of species is
not all that rich, but I'm sure it is far more than what one may at
first imagine. The list includes rodents (Coipu, Cavies, and
some smaller species of rats or mice, including exotics, and also
opossum and bats.
Very infrequently a dolphin or pilot whale has turned up dead on the
beach. And before Buenos Aires was so large other species lived in
or near the area: capybaras, hurons, armadillos and even deer.
PHOTOS
OF SOME MAMMALS OF RIBERA NORTE
Coipu
Myocastor coypus
Family: Myocastoridae
Order: Rodentia (rodents) |
Cavy
Cavia pamparum (=C. aparea?)
Family: Caviidae
Order: Rodentia (rodents) |
White-eared
Opossum
Didelphis albiventris
Family: Didelphidae
Order: Didelphimorphia
(marsupials) |
Size check: a
Coipu can be 90 cm long, having a long tail. Cavies are much smaller:
only 25 cm and no tail
REPTILES & AMPHIBIANS
Ribera Norte has a fair assortment of reptiles:
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