The locality of Mar Chiquita is located on the Atlantic coast of the province of Buenos Aires, within the Mar Chiquita Partido, about 35 km north of Mar del Plata.
It is easily accessible via Provincial Route No. 11 and is situated next to the famous Mar Chiquita lagoon, a coastal lagoon naturally connected to the sea.
Its location is strategic: it combines marine coastline, wetland, open beaches and saline environments in a relatively small area, something uncommon in the Pampean region.
The Mar Chiquita lagoon is a coastal lagoon.
It was declared a biosphere reserve by UNESCO in 1996.
This natural reserve of international importance, part of the UNESCO, MaB is centered on the lagoon called Mar Chiquita, which should not be confused with the large Mar Chiquita in the northeast of the province of Córdoba or with the lagoon Mar Chiquita in the north of the province of Buenos Aires.
Mar Chiquita is one of the most important sites for birdwatching in the province of Buenos Aires.
The lagoon creates a unique ecosystem where fresh and salt waters mix, generating an enormous availability of food and shelter.
Key environments
Coastal lagoon (albufera)
Juncales and crab beds
Muddy beaches and mud banks
Grasslands and low fields
What birds can be observed?
In the area they register:
Water birds (herons, ducks, biguas, swans)
Waders and sandpipers (plovers, sandpipers, phalaropes)
Migratory birds, both Nearctic and Southern
Raptors associated with wetlands
Numerous reed and grassland passerines
Many species use the lagoon as a resting, feeding and reproduction site, which allows them to be observed for much of the year.
The diversity varies depending on the season, making each visit different.
Special value
The low human intervention and the visual breadth of the landscape make Mar Chiquita an ideal place for both beginner observers and experienced ornithologists.
It is one of those places where it is not necessary to “go out and look for birds”: the birds are there.