Los Gigantes, which translates to "The Giants", are mountains in central Argentina's Sierras Grandes range. From Villa Carlos Paz, it was a scenic hour and a half drive to the trailhead at La Rotonda.
Before we even arrived, I was spotting some cool birds along the road and farms. Here's a Campo Flicker and a gorgeous Long-tailed Meadowlark!
At La Rotonda there is a charge for entrance and parking. The guy was kind enough to let us borrow rain jackets, thankfully we didn't need them. I saw an Andean Condor as soon as I stepped out of the car!
This photo of La Rotonda, taken as we were leaving, is evidence of our perfect timing. On our descent, the clouds rolled in covering the mountains.
I saw some good birds like this Peregrine Falcon.
When we stopped at the top for lunch, I realized I hadn't needed to carefully track the birds for a photo. Obviously they were used to getting fed by hikers, as they came right to us. Journey held out something and a bird took it right from her hand!
Now taking their photos was easy. Here's a Black-billed Shrike-Tyrant.
A Rufous-collared Sparrow (above) A Chiguanco Thrush (below)
A very friendly and plump Plumbeous Sierra Finch was one of the most curious birds.
At the top, there's a path behind a large rock which takes you down to this really cool watery canyon type environment. It was fun to explore.
A pair of Andean Condors flew over and perched on the rock right above us!
Rufous-naped Ground-Tyrant
This was a really gorgeous hike we all really enjoyed!
On our way out we got to see some Long-tailed Meadowlarks again in the Pampas Grass!
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