Flooded ground and reed beds, wading out in the dark to set up, then waiting. The guides read this water — they grew up on it, and they are the reason the morning works.
GROUND
Marsh & reed bed
BREAKFAST
Eggs, bacon, toast, juice, cereal
PLATE 0907:15
Coming out of the reeds with the morning's birds.
PLATE 0207:15
Three guns on the same flight line.
10:00
The frost is off, and the water goes quiet.
Back at the lodge by ten, coffee and a snack by the fire before the table is set.
12:00Midday · The long table
Midday is not a break. It is the reason.
A traditional gaucho asado: Argentine beef over the coals, Malbec from the cellar, and a table that nobody leaves early. Cooked by the same family that has run this operation since 1993. Then a siesta before the afternoon flight — the water can wait until three.
PLATE 0312:00
A full costillar over the coals, ready for the table.
17:30Last light · The evening flight
The birds come off the water when the heat breaks.
The rosy-billed pochard gives us our name. The evening flight comes in low over the same water you left at noon, and you stop when your shoulder tells you to, not when the light does.
Professional guides who belong to the operation, not hired in for the week. They set the blinds, they read the water, and they are the ones you will hunt with again next year.
PLATE 05THE GUIDES
Rosybill caps, end of the morning.
PLATE 06THE CREW
Back at the trucks, boots still wet.
WHO WE AREBuenos Aires · Since 1993
A family operation, and it shows.
Over thirty years on the same wetlands of Buenos Aires. One lodge, one crew, and a way of doing the day that has not needed much changing.
Field archive01 / 02
Frames from the season, kept as they came in.
PLATE 073:2
On the call as the light comes up.
PLATE 083:2
Walking the birds in across the shallows.
21:00Night · Lamp light · Boots by the door
Boots by the door, and nobody has to be anywhere.
A traditional Argentine estancia with modern comforts, one long table, and the same family in the kitchen for over thirty years. Tell us which month you have in mind and we will tell you what the water is doing.
