This month West Cork Branch committee member Nicholas Mitchell shares his “best bird experience”, a feature that will continue in this column during the months ahead.
This is about a bird that I encountered, or more correctly a pair of birds, that were so special they had my wife Karen shrieking with delight. I have some video footage somewhere that I will make public one day, in which the dominant sound, despite the close presence of the thundering torrent of water cascading down the Río Cañadon de los Toros, is Karen’s voice, one octave higher than normal.
It was November 17, 2012, our fourth week in Argentina and our fifth day in El Chaltén (The Mountain) in Patagonia. We had celebrated Karen’s 60th birthday and our 25th anniversary a few days earlier; been blessed with blue skies, enjoyed some strenuous hikes in this magnificent landscape, and the infamous katabatic winds had not materialised. Our bird list was ticking over nicely and further north we had already encountered a few special birds, the Andean Condor topping the bill (no pun intended). But on this day, we were seeking out a very special bird. I dislike having a target bird, preferring just to “head out” and see what turns up, but we knew that this one frequented the Río Cañadon de los Toros. This river rushes down from the ice-capped mountains on the Chilean border in the north, into Lago del Desierto, past the Huemul Glacier, and only slowing as it passes through El Chaltén.
“This bird” was the Torrent Duck, specifically the Chilean Torrent Duck, the nominate subspecies Merganetta armata armarta. We had seen footage of this extraordinary duck in David Attenborough’s Life of Birds some years before, and we now had an opportunity to find and see one in the wild…maybe. We took a leisurely drive from El Chaltén, following the river upstream, stopping at points along the way to admire the cascading waterfalls, and think “surely no duck can survive in this”. The river was like a giant washing machine, churning the water into an angry white maelstrom. But finally, after a fair few stops, while we were standing quietly, patiently, by the torrent; as if from nowhere, a sleek duck, stuck his black-streaked white neck above the water, swam powerfully through the current and, with some ease, flew out of the water and climbed up on to a rock. His cinnamon-coloured mate joined him shortly after. This is where the Torrent Duck lives and thrives in a spectacular fashion, and we were smiling from ear to ear.
This red-billed, aerodynamic duck with its very powerful legs, its stiff strong tail, and long claws, is so extremely well-adapted in order to live in this turbulent habitat. Apparently, during courtship, the males use distinct postures as part of courtship. They will repetitively bow, rapidly flap their wings and kick up water with their legs. Courtship also includes vocal communication between males and females. It is also common for a male and female bird to swim around each other, rising out of the water and snapping at one another during courtship. I can believe that. It somehow came as no surprise to learn that Torrent Ducks are monogamous.
Their courtship and other behaviours are things that that we read about afterwards. At the time we were simply in awe of these amazing creatures, not just surviving, but thriving in this harsh and unforgiving environment. They were a joy to watch, as they flew short distances to plunge into the wild water, constantly diving and swimming against the current, and to finally climb back up on to the slippery rocks. We didn’t want to leave. The memory stays with us even now.
In the meantime, back in West Cork, birds are on the move. At the time of writing in late March, there are less of our over-wintering waders to be seen on our estuaries as they start their migration north. Evidence of migration from the south has also arrived in the form of a “fall” of Hoopoe along our southern coast. These birds have “overshot”, but they may stay for a few weeks, so keep any eye out on along dirt tracks for this exotic-looking visitor.
BirdWatch Ireland West Cork Branch News
Upcoming outings being held by the Branch are:
Sunday, May 4: Dawn Chorus – Liss Ard Estate
Visit www.birdwatchirelandwestcork.ie for more information about these events. To receive news and reminders about events subscribe to the mailing list by going to http://eepurl.com/dHAz79. For more information about the Branch, contact Fiona O’Neill at secretary@birdwatchirelandwestcork.ie.
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