Artigas is the most northern department of Uruguay and borders Brazil and Argentina. We stayed in the city of Bella Union and spent most of our time in the Environmental Protection Area Rincon de Franquia. We were guided by local conservationist and bird guide, Fernando Lapitz. We spent one amazing day on the Uruguay river, in sight of both Argentina and Brazil. This department contains a number of species more common in the neighboring countries. Hopefully conservation efforts will be successful in this area of Uruguay, Brazil, and Argentina. It was wonderful to meet, travel with, and learn from Fernando Lapitz.

This is the final installment of images that were captured during an amazing 15 day return visit to Uruguay in Nov. 2016 organized by Birding With Me and led by Florencia Ocampo. On both my visits I arrived I stayed at Parador Grace in Canelones the day before the tour and the day after. Graciela Oddone is a wonderful host and I was treated to great food. There are many photo opportunities on the property, but unfortunately the weather did not cooperate. On this trip I had the pleasure of meeting Daniel Gutierrez and his son Juan. It was great visiting with them on their property for a meal, conversation, and some photography. On both my trips I was amazed by the number of different species and the ability to get close enough to get good photographs.

This is the second installment of images that were captured during an amazing 15 day return visit to Uruguay in Nov. 2016 organized by Birding With Me and led by Florencia Ocampo. This installment is from Maldonado, a small department on the coast east of Montevideo. Prior to my visit this part of Uruguay had considerable wind and rain and when we visited it was still very windy. We had hoped to photograph birds in the lagoons and on the coast but conditions were not favorable so we spent much of the time on the beautiful property of Hotel del Lago where we were staying. We just spent one night but considering the conditions I was happy with the results. Florencia is very good at adapting to the conditions and finding birds under any circumstances.

This is the third installment of images that were captured during an amazing 15 day return visit to Uruguay in Nov. 2016 organized by Birding With Me and led by expert birding guide, Florencia Ocampo. This installment is from Rocha, a department in the southeast, just east of Maldonado on the coast. Although primarily known for its beautiful beaches, Rocha has some beautiful Estancias and wetland areas. We stayed at Estancia Guardia del Monte, Estancia La Rosada, and Hotel El Fortin while we explored the department. At each location there were many photographic opportunities on the grounds as well as in RAMSAR wetlands just a short distance away. From a photography standpoint I was particularly impressed with Estancia La Rosada and want to thank Leticia Anarte and Martin for their wonderful hospitality.

This is the fourth installment of images that were captured during an amazing 15 day return visit to Uruguay in Nov. 2016 organized by Birding With Me and led by Florencia Ocampo. This is the second of two groups of images from the Department of Rocha. We photographed so many species I felt there were too many for one gallery.

This is the sixth installment of images that were captured during an amazing 15 day return visit to Uruguay in Nov. 2016 organized by Birding With Me and led by Florencia Ocampo. Nestled in the Department of Tacuarembo is Posada Bichadero. One of my favorite locations, Dario Fros and his lovely wife Serrana are wonderful hosts. The variety of habitats on the property provide wonderful opportunities for observing and photographing birds.

This is the fifth installment of images that were captured during an amazing 15 day return visit to Uruguay in Nov. 2016 organized by Birding With Me and led by expert birding guide Florencia Ocampo. After leaving Hotel El Fortin in Rocha we traveled to the Department of Treinta y Tres we stayed at Posada El Capricho. We spent our time birding and photographing on the property and in the nearby Quebrada de los Cuervos Protected Area. If you read the captions closely you will some species are from Rocha, I failed to include them in my previous galleries.

This is the seventh installment of images that were captured during an amazing 15 day return visit to Uruguay in Nov. 2016 organized by Birding With Me and led by Florencia Ocampo. To explore this area of Uruguay we stayed at the beautiful Estancia La Paz in the Department of Paysandu and also visited the nearby Esteros de Farrapos National Park in the Department of Rio Negro. The Estancia provided many wonderful photographic opportunities as did Esteros de Farrapos National Park.