Brazil - the Pantanal and a bit of Atlantic rain forest (1 Viewer)

In the afternoon we decided to try something different: Instead of going out in a vehicle we would go out in two small boats. We split into two groups of three, Octavio going with one of the couples going up the Rio Negro and I with the other couple going downriver.

The boats were quite small with outboard motors, and if there was something of interest the drivers could turn off the engine and allow us to glide without noise and vibration. This worked quite well for photography from the boat. I found these outings really enjoyable - it was a much quieter experience than the rather noisy open vehicle with its diesel engine.

This allowed us to get really good views of riverside birds that it would be hard to get close to on foot or with the vehicle. It seems they were quite accustomed to boats and didn't pay them too much attention. We saw a White-winged Swallow on a dead tree, and our kingfisher count increased by adding Amazon and Green to our tally. We got our first close look at a Rufescent Tiger Heron, and were enjoying a photo session with a very confiding Neotropical Cormorant when another boat came up at high speed: Octavio and his boat had found a Jaguar!

All ideas of a quiet float on the river gone, our boat driver got the engine on again with a bit of trouble and we raced in the opposite direction. Good thing we hadn't got very far yet! He knew where the sighting had occurred and as we got close to the bend he slowed down, making sure that our approach wouldn't do anything to alarm the animal if it was still present.

And there it was, lying on the opposite bank: A male Jaguar, estimated by the experts to be around three years old, just lounging without any concern for our boats.

They see the big cats at this fazenda maybe once every couple of months, so this was a very big deal. I know that people go to the Pantanal to see Jaguars, but not to this part of it! Indeed, the cat we had secretly hoped to see here was Puma.

There were just the three boats from the fazenda, and we all kept strictly to the opposite bank from where the cat was. However, the Rio Negro isn't a very broad river so we weren't that distant. Unfortunately from a photographic point of view the Jaguar was in the shade, and by now the sun was low and the light wasn't that good. But I don't think that any of us was thinking about that at the time - we were just drinking in the experience.

The driver of the other boat, Mendoza, had gone into the water, clearly not worried about the piranhas or caimans and was holding on to our two boats so that we could stay stationary without the use of an engine.

Once the cat rose and we wondered what would happen now, but all it did was to turn once and to lie down again. The third boat was a family with a small boy who clearly thought a stationary jaguar wasn't worth looking at for more than a few minutes, and after half an hour or maybe a bit longer they left, after he'd inadvertently made some noises as he was trying to play in the boat. We were relieved by this, and all of us had been puzzled by the `try to take a selfie with jaguar in the background' idea.

Once there were only the two boats Mendoza very slowly started to walk towards the other shore with the two boats in tow, to allow us to get a slightly closer view. All this was done very slowly and carefully, and through all this the cat didn't stir. Eventually he decided we were close enough and the cat just stayed lying there.

As it was getting darker a young man working as a guide at the fazenda came up in a kayak, and he was very happy to have caught the Jaguar. After he'd had a chance to watch the cat it finally seemed to decide that it was time to move, and as the sun was going down the cat got up and returned to the forest.

Two more boats which arrived from the fazenda, having interrupted a drive in the hope os sharing our sighting arrived too late, and all they could do was to return to the lodge with us. We gave the kayaker a tow since he didn't even have a torch with him to get him safely back in the dark.

What an afternoon! We had been hoping to see Jaguars at our next destination, but instead we'd had a totally uncrowded ninety minutes or so with a completely relaxed cat just hanging out. The complementary caipirinhas tasted particularly well that evening!


Rufescent Tiger Heron
Neotropic Cormorant
Jaguar x 3

Andrea

Congratulations on seeing it.

What a great day on the Pantanal and what an excellent trip report, thanks Andrea!

Dalcio

The awesome blackbirds in post #19 are Scarlet-headed Blackbirds not Chestnut-headed.

One word 'superb'!

Phil

dacol said:

The awesome blackbirds in post #19 are Scarlet-headed Blackbirds not Chestnut-headed.

Click to expand...

So they are! I shouldn't post after a long day working. At least I got the name right in the text. I've edited the post to fix the mistake.

Thanks,

Andrea

Amazing colors, Jaguar, Toucan! Thanks for this nice report!

Some of us get up extra early since Octavio suggested that there might be some lingering atmospheric mist around sun rise, allowing for interesting photographs of Capybaras on a pond near the lodge (if nothing else). But there's no mist, and the Capybara are a long way away, so we eventually capitulate and go for breakfast.

We go for another drive, this time with Claudia, one of the couple who owns this place. It's a slow morning. We see some White-lipped Peccaris, not for the first time but the light is a bit better for pictures. A Grey Brocket deer appears a good while later, but we reach our target in the form of a known spot where a Great Potoo likes to roost, and the bird is indeed found as expected. We are grateful there's something willing to be seen and photographed!

At one of the ponds we find some waterfowl, and Least Grebe, Pied-billed Grebe, Purple and Common Gallinule all join the trip list, but are a long way away. A Red-and-green Macaw is found perched, rather than in flight, but it too is a fairly long way off. The second highlight of the morning is a Neotropical Otter that crosses the edge of a pond as we stand there wondering whether it's worth trying to take record shots of the grebes.

It's already hot although we return a little earlier than the previous day. We sit under the big mango tree, where a lovely Red-legged Seriema comes by to pose for a few pictures.


White-lipped Peccaris
Red-and-green Macaw
Great Potoo
American Kestrel
Rusty-collared Seedeater female

Andrea

I include a record shot of the Neotropical Otter.

Sometimes the birds come to you, at least if you're in right part of the world. This Red-legged Seriema walked in as we were having our post-morning outing fruit juice. A lovely bird that's clearly used to snap-happy tourists! I have no idea why it suddenly fluffed out its feathers in the one shot.

Andrea

In the afternoon we went for another boat ride, in the same constellation as on the previous day, Again it's lovely to be on the river and move slowly, without the engine whenever we come close to something. Not all subjects are willing to be photographed, and unfortunately the light doesn't last all that long before the sun goes down again. The heat certainly isn't helping us.

Apart from swallows and kingfishers we get a reasonably close Black Skimmer on a sandbank, and a nearby Large-billed Tern which certainly does justice to its name.A Bare-faced Ibis is in the open, and as it is becoming gloomier and gloomier with the fading light we find a Boat-billed Heron hidden under a bush.

Another day comes to a close, and we only have one full day left at this location. The lodge is lovely, the rooms large (although I don't need that) and tiled, with air conditioning and also wire in front of the window to keep out insects, allowing the inhabitant to decide whether to allow the cooler air of the night or to count on the air conditioning.

This place is much smaller than Pousada Aguape where we stayed before. Meals in both places are taken buffet-style, but here we are indoors, all around one long table, joined by at least one of the owning family for breakfast and lunch. Everything is included here, with a fridge making various beverages available, and fresh-pressed fruit juices and water with all meals. We even get complimentary caipirinhas after each afternoon excursion! At the other places were we stayed all beverages had to be paid for, but meals were inclusive.

This is still a working cattle farm, but the owners have done much to try to make it as wildlife friendly as they can. They have planted a great number of the palm trees whose fruit are the favourite food of the hyacinth macaws, and they have made a name for themselves with wildlife tourists. Some of the pools of water are sweet and some salt water, and that gives a greater range of birds. But the tourist season doesn't last year round since when the rains come, much of the Pantanal is under water.

Yacare Caiman
Capybara
Black Skimmer
Large-billed Tern
Sunset on the River

Andrea

Wow is all I can say. Great photos, fun report! Looks like you saw tons of great species.

The next morning we tried to get away even earlier in an effort to make the most out of the relatively cool morning hours. We were ready for breakfast at 5.45, when the kitchen staff were still putting everything together.

This morning we are going for a board ride rather than a drive. On the way to the river I see Capybara, and Hyacinth Macaws at their morning gymnastics, but the light is still very poor because the sun is only starting to come up, so the photographs only show silhouettes.

Octavio comes with me and one of the photographers, splitting up the couple. It is a lovely morning, the light beautiful as the sun comes up above the horizon, and the river is so calm that it's hard to believe this isn't standing water. We get some lovely reflections as well.

We see the usual herons and kingfishers, Neotropic Cormorants, Wattled Jacanas and Grey-necked Wood Rails. An Anhinga spreading its wings is new for our list - it doesn't look wet at all, so maybe just taking the sun. Photography is fun too!

We also get good views at a Variable Oriole, and a Rusty-margined Flycatcher is close enough to be sure we can see the rusty margins for which it is named. For these sightings I tend to look before taking photos, and I haven't got a lot of shots of birds we only saw briefly, and no more than a couple of times.

For the first time we also find a Rufous-tailed Jacamar, a species that is more common further north, and a Black-backed Water Tyrant also falls into the `easy to identify' category. Short-crested Flycatcher is the only Myarchus species we see on this trip, and the first one of those also appears today.

As the sun rises it gets warmer, and it is quite hot before too long. We get back by mid-morning or so. Octavio suggests having a go at photographing caimans from the shore, and proceeds to get some bait, but I find myself not all that interested and instead make the rounds of the property. I don't find any new birds, nor was I expecting any, but I enjoy seeing what's there and looking for photographic opportunities.

Green Kingfisher
Striated Heron
Wattled Jacana
Grey-necked Wood Rail
Amazon Kingfisher

Abdrea

After lunch there's the usual siesta and then we go out again for a drive. We get a few new birds, and some of them are particularly noteworthy: A rather distant Chestnut-eared Aracari, Narrow-billed Woodcreeper, Green-barred Woodpecker while we are looking for another species that sometimes is known to nest in a particular area. I didn't take a note of which woodpecker that was and embarrassingly I can't remember now. A pair of Blue-crowned Trogons are a highlight, and at least I do manage a record shot.

A new mammal species to note is White-collared Peccari, but it's a fairly quiet afternoon, all in all.

We try and find a spot which is good for sunset photography, and spend some time with that. Then Octavio tries to call in a Tropical Screech Owl, which he does manage, and which I just about manage to see. Good thing it is calling. The mosquitoes are out in some force and the non-birders are happy when the lengthy owl episode is over and we can get moving again. By now it is fully dark, and we spotlight our way back to the lodge. Pauraques and cattle are the only vertebrates to be caught in our light.

Anhinga
Pied Plover
Scaled Dove
Red-billed Cardinal
Blue-crowned Trogon (really bad record shot)

Andrea

Fantastic. Brazil and the Pantanal have been on my "to-do" list for quite some time, and your report certainly makes me want to go there even more. Lovely photography as well!

Thanks to everybody for their very kind words. It really does make a difference to hear that people are reading (and hopefully enjoying) this.

This was our last morning at Barranco Alto, and I for my part was sorry to leave. Again most of us meet for breakfast at 5.45 and leave for one last drive as soon as possible thereafter. One couple decided they didn't think there'd be anything new to seen (or at least not anything that would give them the kinds of pictures they were looking for).

We spend some time watching morning jamboree of a group of Hyacinth Macaws, and one can't help but smile as one watches these birds interacting with each other and clearly enjoying themselves.

That would have been enough to make the early morning worthwhile, but we next found a pair of Chaco Puffbirds, and they did condescend to have record shots taken of them as they were sitting at the top of a bare tree. Octavio hears a White-lored Spinetail, and while we get to see the bird chasing after it to get photographs does not bear fruit, nor do I manage to capture the Rusty-backed Antwren also in the vicinity.

Red-pileated Finch, Little Woodpecker and Golden-collared Macaw are further new species we manage to see. A Limpkin is seen in the distance, and one of the ubiquitous Chaco Chachalacas poses in a tree, eating its yellow flowers. We also get truly horrible record shots of a Purple Gallinule that refuses to come out of the reeds.

And then we can hear our planes approaching and we hurry back to finish packing, leave some tips, and get ready to move on. Just as I leave our accommodation I see Octavio pointing at a raptor that's rapidly vanishing into the distance, flying low. `That's a Bat Falcon,' he says. Well, on those views it can't go on my list.

Southern Rough-winged Swallow
Chaco Puffbirds
Chaco Chachalaca eating flowers
Hyacinth Macaws fooling around
White-collared Peccaris from the previous day

Andrea

We fly north, and change state from Mato Grosso du Sul to Mato Grosso. Whereas on the first plight there was much open country, with curiously circular pools, and rivers, this time it is mostly forest. A forest that is yellow with flowering trees.

When we get to Porto Joffre it's already hot. We've moved closer to the Amazon, and it is expected to be warmer here. But this also means new birds! Already there are Brown-chested and Grey-breasted Martins on the wires outside of our bungalow.

It takes a bit of time to get us checked in and to our rooms, and then lunch is on the agenda. At 3.00 Octavio and I go birding, and the others declare us to be crazy to want to walk about in the heat. They have decided to stick to the pond with the giant water lily leaves.

But our excursion is certainly worthwhile. I notice Tropical Kingbirds for the first time on the trip - have I missed them so far? More excitingly, as we go into a patch of forest we find a highly localized Fawn-breasted wren which we study very carefully, until it calls and removes all doubt. We'd heard one earlier at Barranco Alto, but it's nice to see one. We also find some of the much more common Thrush-like Wrens with their noisy call.

A Greater Thornbird, a Black-Fronted Nunbird, and a Fork-tailed Flycatcher are all encountered in this quite small corner of forest despite the heat, and we also manage to see a Capuchin Monkey.

We are really hot as we get back to the hotel, but the day isn't over yet. There's a colony of Yellow-rumped Caciques in the grounds of the hotel which are with watching (and taking pictures of), and as the sun is going down and it gets gloomy an Orange-backed Troupial appears. Couldn't it have come when the sun was still up? It vanished into a nest-like structure to roost, and we finally call it a day because it becomes too dark.

Striated Heron
Giant water lily leaves
Black-fronted Nunbird
Rufous-tailed Jacamar
Orange-backed Troupial

Andrea

Our next three days would be spent in the same way (and I don't think there was a lot of variation in what the other guests at the Porto Jofre Hotel were doing, just with variations on when one went out and when one returned. People come here to travel the river system by boat because it's the best place in the world to see Jaguars.

We were in a special position here, in that the pressure was off, as far as I was concerned, thanks to us having seen the magnificent male at Barranco Alto. I told Octavio that I didn't want to spend all my time looking for Jaguars, and that I was happy to give up some time in prime Jaguar habitat for time finding new birds or mammals.

Since there were three boats for our small group (one of the perks of being on a photography trip, where space is taken very seriously: People who are more serious about their photography than I won't stand for the kinds of conditions where they might get into each other's way.

Our aim is to be on the water by 5.45, and so the alarm was set for even earlier than on the previous days. At least breakfast is served really early, so there was no problem with that.

A few words about the hotel: The complex doesn't have much char, the rooms are tiled, long and comparatively narrow (for some bizarre reason the standard setup is for three beds per room, it seems). The food wasn't particularly good (apart from the couple of nights when they were had roast dishes served by a chef), and they seemed to be running out of stuff towards the end of our stay.

Their ideas of a salad buffet were interesting (somebody must have got a really good deal on beetroot), and other vegetables were in short supply. They went from having four varieties of fresh fruit juice to just one. My biggest bug bear was that they served still mineral water in .2l containers (ie a not particularly large glass), and they ran out of the larger (.35l) sparking mineral water too.

I was a bit surprised that staff who work in the tourist industry with a lot of overseas visitors have problems dealing with drink orders (and we did try to order in Portuguese, but apparently our pronunciation was too eccentric), given that they do this several times every day. But they certainly have the unbeatable location that probably means service doesn't matter all that much. The alternative is to stay at one of the houseboats, but that does mean being cooped up (one isn't allowed to go on land from those), and I've heard the rooms are small.

But we were keen to get going that morning, and off we went, just about when the light changed from totally dark to the point where one can make out things that aren't too far away.

Before 6.00 we have found our first Jaguar. Once the sighting is over I begin to think that this whole Jaguar watching lark is much easier than I'd thought, but my experience was a bit unusual.

This time we have a young female, and she looks gorgeous as she patrols the river edge, looking down onto the shore from an edge. As the sun is starting to rise the light is getting better, and we thoroughly enjoy the time we get with her. Octavio thinks she's looking for caimans, but it's too early for them to be laid up on the shore.

I hadn't realized that the Jaguars in the Pantanal specialise in hunting caimans - I had thought they live mostly on Capybaras. After a while the shore becomes more overgrown, and all one gets is very brief glimpses of the cat, and so after over half an hour of watching her we decide to move on. There were a number of boats, but the river is broad here and it was still early, so it wasn't a big deal. We see the BBC Natural History unit with two boats, one carrying a camera on a large boom. We meet them a few more times, always at Jaguar sightings.

We go off to explore some of the smaller rivers away from the National Park to see what we can find, and by 7.00 we have found a group of Giant Otters who have caught some fish, and are pausing to have breakfast. What a whirlwind start to the day! We watch them for a few minutes and then, as suddenly as they appeared, they're gone. They have a habit of diving for long stretches, and it's really hard to follow them when they're moving like that. This was my one and only encounter with them, but my fellow travellers saw others. I did later see a few otter dens, and I don't really know how successful a stake-out at one of those is likely to be.

Early morning Jaguar
Camouflage Jaguar
Looking for breakfast
Giant Otter

Andrea

We go off to explore some of the smaller rivers away from the National Park to see what we can find, and by 7.00 we have found a group of Giant Otters who have caught some fish, and are pausing to have breakfast. What a whirlwind start to the day! We watch them for a few minutes and then, as suddenly as they appeared, they're gone. They have a habit of diving for long stretches, and it's really hard to follow them when they're moving like that. This was my one and only encounter with them, but my fellow travellers saw others. I did later see a few otter dens, and I don't really know how successful a stake-out at one of those is likely to be.

After all this excitements things settle down a bit, and we watch birds, mostly ones we've seen a few times before such as the various herons, kingfishers, cuckoos, vultures, Roadside Hawks, Blue-throated Piping-Guan, but also new ones, such as its Red-throated relative. There are more, larger ones like Wood Stork and an unexpected Long-winged Harrier and a Laughing Falcon and small ones such as Pale-Legged Hornero, Black-capped Donacobius, Rusty-backed Spinetail and White-wedged Piculet,

We go on shore at an open swampy bit, and I just hope that Octavio knows what he's doing. Apart from the usual swamp-loving birds we find lots of migrating White-browed Blackbirds as well as, Spectacled Tyrant, Tawny-bellied Seedeater, Blue-Black Grassquit and a bird that particularly excites Octavio, since it's not been recorded here before: A Subtropical Doradito.

We stalk the bird a bit but we can't get close enough for me to get pictures, and Octavio doesn't have his camera with him. We returned to this spot a couple of days later, and Octavio got the footage he was looking for to submit the bird. He thinks it's a case of the winter range of the bird just not being known well enough, rather than b bird that is a true vagrant here.

Travelling on the river is really enjoyable, in particular when we are moving slowly, or just drifting. A nice way to look for birds! We get back for lunch half an hour or so before noon.

Ringed Kingfisher
Blue-throated Piping Guan record shot
Black-capped Donacobius
Laughing Falcon record shot
Giant Otter

Andrea

It's still hot and we go out again in the afternoon at 15.00, assuming that not too much stirs in the heat of the day. The afternoon is slower, but new birds still keep coming. It's a good day for raptors, since apart from the two new ones in the morning we also see our first Great Black Hawk (two, perched), a White-tailed Hawk (in flight) and an unseasonal Osprey. A Capped Heron poses for a photograph before it flies off.

Common Tody-Flycatcher, Great Antshrike and Little Cuckoo are other new birds we enjoy that afternoon. A Chestnut-bellied Guan is seen in a thicket and gives me the worst record shot I took on this trip, but fortunately a later sighting gives me a slightly better (but still horrible) record shot.

We don't make our way back to the hotel until it's almost dark, and I get the impression that this is mostly to allow me to see one more natural spectacle today: There are hundreds of bats over the water hunting for insects, and given the speed we move at I marvel at the fact that they seem to be able to just get out of the way instead of having us run into them. Band-tailed Nightjars join them - the food supply must be good here.

When we get back there's a bat in my room, flying around in a circle in the narrow space, and presumably a bit disconcerted, but fortunately it flies out after I've opened the door and stepped out of the way on Octavio's advice.


Cocoi Heron
Capped Heron
Great Black Hawk
Black-crowned Night Heron
Yacare Caiman

Andrea

Absolutely stunning images of jaguar and otters. The light on the jaguar is superb and makes for a wonderful set of images. Thank you for showing.

Phil