Today was incredibly successful, as we birded the shoreline, lakes and marshes on the outskirts of Montevideo. No tender ashore required today, we just walked off the ship and met up with our excellent local guide, Florencia Ocampo. When I say today was a great day, it was! We saw 106 species in total and I think i'm right in saying that none of us wanted today to end. Our first site was a large lagoon just inland form the massively wide Rio de la Plata, where we spent a pleasant hour or so watching all the activity as birds kept coming and going, and we notched up many new trip ticks. My particular favourite was a Snowy-crowned Tern that appeared right in front of us and landed on a small island. Amazing!
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| Snowy-crowned Tern |
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| Hudsonian Godwit |
In the sedges right in front of us, a few stunning Rusty-collared Seedeaters appeared and looked gorgeous! On the far side of the lagoon a Sooty Tyrannuletwas spotted, then a few Black-necked Stilts appeared, followed by both Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, and a couple of Baird’s Sandpipers. We continued scanning through the masses of Lake Ducks and found a few Silver Teals as well before moving on towards the river.
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| Rusty-collared Seedeater |
As we walked out to the beach, a pair of Long-tailed Reed-Finch showed well and a Spectacled Tyrant popped up in view. Along the shoreline there were masses of birds present, flocks of Snowy-crowned, Cabot’s and a few Common Terns were constantly on view and flying past us, several groups of American Golden Plovers were present, there were more skimmers, godwits and yellowlegs, groups of White-fronted Ibis took to the air, flocks of ducks whizzed by, and we also found a few Royal Terns. Florencia was excited by a Magnificent Frigatebird out on the river, apparently a rare bird here. Moving inland again we picked up Small-billed Elaenia and Gilded Hummingbird, before calling at another section of beach where a few Chilean Flamingo’s were another rare bird for Uruguay, and we also had nice close views of White-rumped Sandpiper too.
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| White-rumped Sandpiper |
Then we drove to a pool beside the highway where a flock of Black-necked Swans looked superb in the sunshine, there was another Spot-flanked Gallinule, a family of Cinnamon Teals and best of all, a Rufous-sided Crake skulking at the base of the reeds. A flock of Bare-faced Ibis also flew over as we rejoined the minibus.
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| Cinnamon Teal |
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| Black-necked Swans |
By now it was late morning and our stomachs were grumbling and we were ready for lunch, so drove to a Eucalypt woodland along the river. But the drive there was superb and we picked up many trip ticks and a few previously seen species, beginning with Burrowing Owl, Greyish Baywing, Screaming Cowbird, Red-crested Cardinal, White Woodpecker, Brazilian Teal, Whistling Heron, Fork-tailed Flycatcher, Grey Monjita, and also a brief White Monjita.
Lunch consisted of a selection of empanadas, before we staked out a nearby marsh. There’s been a drought so the marsh was practically dry but that didn’t deter a pair of Narrow-billed Woodcreepers that were on view for quite a while.
Chestnut Seedeater 
Chestnut and Dark-throated Seedeaters 
Chestnut and Dark-throated Seedeaters
But it was my new favourite family, seedeaters that stole the show as we saw several Double-collared, a few Chestnut and a stunning male Dark-throated Seedeater. Further scanning produced White-tipped Dove, Dark-billed Cuckoo, Rufous-capped Antshrike, Black-and-rufous Warbling-Finch, Masked Gnatcatcher, Hooded and Black-chinned Siskins, Southern Yellowthroat, Variable Oriole, a skulking Freckle-breasted Thornbill, and a White-crested Tyrannulet.
Black-and-rufous Warbling-Finch
So, by now it was late afternoon and we had to return to the ship, arriving in plenty of time for yet more food and drinks and time to relax! It’s a little but like a holiday!!!
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