Wildlife photography has always fascinated me, not only because of the digital result of seeing an image and noticing the quality of it in its colors or sharpness, but mainly because it has led me down the path of knowledge and wanting to learn more about certain species or natural environments, also because of the large number of people I have met over the last decade, many of them friends. Wildlife photography is my way of life and the easiest way I have to generate bonds with people.
I am currently 30 years old and I spent most of my childhood in the pasture and walking around the neighborhood with my friends, playing “bolita” or riding my bike until I got tired. In my adolescence, technology was advancing at a very fast pace where we were all adapting to the world of social networks, and to which I did not pay much attention until the day I discovered that I could use them to share what I saw in nature.
As I learned photography and was able to buy my first camera, I started to interact little by little with the first people. Between published landscapes and the occasional photograph of birds, my passion for winged birds was awakened: their songs, their behavior, their colors and the difficulty of finding and photographing them generated in me that great interest that I still have today in every outing in nature.
At the beginning of October I was happy to see an Instagram story from Jonatan Ilgner, with whom I had talked a few times, he told me about a pair of Yellow-cardinal (Gubernatrix cristata) that had made a nest in a hill of Chañar (Geoffroea decorticans), and he invited me to document what he was observing and photographing several days ago. I got organized and two days later I was on my way....
Three hours of travel and we arrived at the place, a beautiful Chañar mountain on a cloudy day with a light drizzle. We walked along the internal trails opened by the cows until we reached the right place. As soon as we settled there we saw the pair of cardinals, with a third male joining in from time to time. Below, at approximately 6 feet, was the nest with two chicks and two eggs.
As I set up the tripod and took the camera out of my backpack, I could not help but be amazed at the sight of them, with Joni Ilgner and Yami Guzman we were constantly looking at each other, understanding that the moment was special, we were watching three endangered yellow cardinals guarding a nest from above.
We divided the day into two observation shifts so as not to disturb them and we placed ourselves approximately 30mts from the nest, from where we observed everything, every movement was interesting and important.
After this dream encounter I insist on the power of social networks if they are put to good use. Being able to document a very valuable moment for an endangered species such as the Yellow Cardinal is a clear example that thanks to the chats and interactions we had with Jonatan we were able to join forces to make it all possible.
After posting the video in reel format on Instagram, I had the pleasure of contacting Rocío Lapido from Proyecto Cardenal Amarillo de Aves Argentinas, who taught me a lot about the species and about what we had observed and documented, such as that in the location where we did it there were no records.
After living this experience I can say that I feel very happy to be able to join ties with people who want the best for the Yellow-cardinal, and also to be able to collaborate in the conservation of this wonderful species with photographic and video archives. The mountain resists together with the Yellow Cardinal and many other animal and plant species.
About the Yellow Cardinal:
The Yellow Cardinal (Gubernatrix cristata) is a bird that lives exclusively in South America, from southern Brazil to central Argentina and Uruguay, where it inhabits open forests and scrublands. It faces different threats, due to its colorful plumage and melodious song. Historically, it has suffered strong capture pressure to supply the illegal domestic trade as a cage bird.
According to surveys and interviews, it is traded both for points of sale at local fairs and on Internet sites, and is one of the most sought-after species and one of the most valued by wild bird traders.
Under this scenario, Aves Argentinas proposes a project that articulates on the different links that make up the system of illegal trafficking of the yellow cardinal, and other species of wild birds, to ensure the survival of populations in their native habitats.
If you want to know more about the Yellow Cardinal you can follow Aves Argentinas. If you manage to spot this species, do not hesitate to report it as it is very valuable information for the project.
I would like to thank Jonatan Ilgner, Yamila Guzmán and Rocío Lapido for what I have experienced and learned.