As you will have seen, a common name is "cow killer". Respect...
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Bearly Believable – Birding Bolivia (2 Viewers)
- Thread starter Farnboro John
- Start date
Steve Babbs
Well-known member
Probably Traumatomutilla vidua
Traumatomutilla vidua
Traumatomutilla vidua is a species of insects with 62 observations
www.inaturalist.org
I used to think of Roseate Spoonbills as fairly large birds, but that Jabiru makes them look tiny.
Farnboro John
Well-known member
Farnboro John
Well-known member
22 August: This is the Chaco, and anything can happen in the Chaco!
A new crew of three from Nick’s Adventures picked us up from the Hotel 7 Calles at 0830: a lean wiry driver named Cesar, Hugo the guide who was an older chap than Nicolas and had a vaguely studious look about him that was not entirely due to his glasses, and Yetsi the cook who had a definite Amerindian look about her and a bubbly personality. Between tours she was a firefighter and volunteer at a wildlife sanctuary for animals displaced by wildfires. Her phone was full of in-the-hand pictures of Ocelots and sloths!
On the way out of Santa Cruz we paused by a resort that we couldn’t get into but which Hugo said was good for sloths and White-eared Titi Monkeys. He was right because we saw three Brown-throated Three-toed Sloths without even getting out of the car and I was lucky enough to spot one of the White-eared Titi Monkeys on an open branch before it ran off into cover as well! Amazing.
The day was hot, humid and there were odd spots of rain occasionally. There was smoke in the air in some places and after Ben’s warnings we were hoping sincerely that our visit to Kaa Iya wouldn’t be troubled by visibility issues due to wildfire smoke. This became even more of a worry as we passed several roadside fires and burns from previous fires, all illegally set by the locals according to Hugo.
En route we crossed the Rio Grande (one of many so-named rivers across Latin America I suspect) – it was perhaps half a mile wide but at this stage of the dry season only a couple of small channels held water, the riverbed being mostly sandbanks.
We lunched mid afternoon at a classy French hotel/restaurant a few km before the asphalt ran out. Hugo pointed out a Cattle Tyrant in the garden but photos were frustrated by thick window glass. A Gilded Hummingbird (tick!) was beautiful but too quick for the camera. The meal was very nice.
The road turned to track just outside the town where we had lunched and then made the only hill ascent, no worries at all for me on this one. On the plateau at the top the track was quite rough and the vehicle lurched about somewhat. Some way ahead of us the driver spotted two Red-legged Seriemas. We managed to get closer but the birds made off into tall grass and dense bushes so the photos left a lot to be desired! At least they show the red legs.
Our next stop was for a pair of soaring raptors, slim, elegant, very deeply forked tails: Swallow-tailed Kites. Seen in Florida but a lovely bird to watch and one of the highlights of the day. Blue-crowned Parakeets were the next thing onto the list and they allowed pictures too. A Tawny-bellied Seedeater was less exciting to see but useful list fodder and our second hummer of the day, Glittering-bellied Emerald, was hard enough to see as it zipped about between flowers without worrying about pictures. The last new bird of the day was an Undulated Tinamou showing at the edge of the track for long enough to get a good look, before it vanished into the boondocks.
Having arrived at the ranger station we were to make our home for the next few nights, dumped the gear and organised our kit we were off on a night drive along the near part of the Pipeline Road, seeing our familiar friends the Common Pauraque, Scissor-tailed Nightjar, Ocelot and of course Crab-eating Fox. Having noted with delight the aircon unit in our room, it turned out the South wind was making the whole place so cold we not only didn’t want cooling but experimented with trying to set a temperature above ambient, which didn’t seem to work.
John
Our room in Santa Cruz
Cattle Tyrant
Red-legged Seriema in tall grass and close bush X 2
Road to Kaa Iya
A new crew of three from Nick’s Adventures picked us up from the Hotel 7 Calles at 0830: a lean wiry driver named Cesar, Hugo the guide who was an older chap than Nicolas and had a vaguely studious look about him that was not entirely due to his glasses, and Yetsi the cook who had a definite Amerindian look about her and a bubbly personality. Between tours she was a firefighter and volunteer at a wildlife sanctuary for animals displaced by wildfires. Her phone was full of in-the-hand pictures of Ocelots and sloths!
On the way out of Santa Cruz we paused by a resort that we couldn’t get into but which Hugo said was good for sloths and White-eared Titi Monkeys. He was right because we saw three Brown-throated Three-toed Sloths without even getting out of the car and I was lucky enough to spot one of the White-eared Titi Monkeys on an open branch before it ran off into cover as well! Amazing.
The day was hot, humid and there were odd spots of rain occasionally. There was smoke in the air in some places and after Ben’s warnings we were hoping sincerely that our visit to Kaa Iya wouldn’t be troubled by visibility issues due to wildfire smoke. This became even more of a worry as we passed several roadside fires and burns from previous fires, all illegally set by the locals according to Hugo.
En route we crossed the Rio Grande (one of many so-named rivers across Latin America I suspect) – it was perhaps half a mile wide but at this stage of the dry season only a couple of small channels held water, the riverbed being mostly sandbanks.
We lunched mid afternoon at a classy French hotel/restaurant a few km before the asphalt ran out. Hugo pointed out a Cattle Tyrant in the garden but photos were frustrated by thick window glass. A Gilded Hummingbird (tick!) was beautiful but too quick for the camera. The meal was very nice.
The road turned to track just outside the town where we had lunched and then made the only hill ascent, no worries at all for me on this one. On the plateau at the top the track was quite rough and the vehicle lurched about somewhat. Some way ahead of us the driver spotted two Red-legged Seriemas. We managed to get closer but the birds made off into tall grass and dense bushes so the photos left a lot to be desired! At least they show the red legs.
Our next stop was for a pair of soaring raptors, slim, elegant, very deeply forked tails: Swallow-tailed Kites. Seen in Florida but a lovely bird to watch and one of the highlights of the day. Blue-crowned Parakeets were the next thing onto the list and they allowed pictures too. A Tawny-bellied Seedeater was less exciting to see but useful list fodder and our second hummer of the day, Glittering-bellied Emerald, was hard enough to see as it zipped about between flowers without worrying about pictures. The last new bird of the day was an Undulated Tinamou showing at the edge of the track for long enough to get a good look, before it vanished into the boondocks.
Having arrived at the ranger station we were to make our home for the next few nights, dumped the gear and organised our kit we were off on a night drive along the near part of the Pipeline Road, seeing our familiar friends the Common Pauraque, Scissor-tailed Nightjar, Ocelot and of course Crab-eating Fox. Having noted with delight the aircon unit in our room, it turned out the South wind was making the whole place so cold we not only didn’t want cooling but experimented with trying to set a temperature above ambient, which didn’t seem to work.
John
Our room in Santa Cruz
Cattle Tyrant
Red-legged Seriema in tall grass and close bush X 2
Road to Kaa Iya
Farnboro John
Well-known member
Rest of the day's pictures
John
Swallow-tailed Kite
Blue-crowned Parakeet
Chaco Chachalaca
Hawk sp - I can't work this one out, suggestions welcome
Important Spanish word
John
Swallow-tailed Kite
Blue-crowned Parakeet
Chaco Chachalaca
Hawk sp - I can't work this one out, suggestions welcome
Important Spanish word
Farnboro John
Well-known member
23 August: The Pipeline Road
We headed off into the darkness of early morning for our first drive of the day on the Pipeline Road. This is the only really accessible part of Kaa Iya National Park: it tracks a gas pipeline that used to export Bolivia’s natural gas to Brazil but with reserves exhausted now imports natural gas from Brazil, contributing to the poor economic performance of Bolivia. Scissor-tailed Nightjars were still about and Hugo called a large white-bellied nightjar as Nacunda Nighthawk – new for me and something we would see more of during our stay. The last new creature before the dawn light came up was a Tapeti (Brazilian Forest Rabbit) that loitered in the road until I reached for my camera, whereupon it hopped away into the bushes.
Continuing in the growing light we found a family of White-coated Titi Monkeys huddled together for warmth (couldn’t blame them!) with their long tails entwined. This behaviour provides them with an instant indication of disturbance affecting any one individual. They were among twigs and branches but we nonetheless managed to get some pictures of them, improving when they woke up and turned their heads to face us.
A fairly distant Ocelot on the track provided only a record shot before it too made off into cover and disappeared for ever. Our attention was then taken by Red-crested Finches, attractive small birds with generally dull reddish plumage but a lurid scarlet crest. These were very typical of the Chaco and we saw lots over the next few days: there were some feeding around our accommodation when we returned for breakfast. There was also a shorebird feeding on the dry sandy area in front of the accommodation which I quickly identified as Baird’s Sandpiper due to its long wings, dark legs, wheaty mantle and wash on a streaked upper breast. Somewhat unexpected in this dry environment! A House Wren bounced about in the bushes bordering the camp – I’ll get around to determining which one it must be at some point: I’ve seen them in Florida and the Falkland Islands but I think they may have been split more than somewhat since. The FI one is certainly now Cobb’s Wren.
Another new bird then appeared in a nearby bush: a Fork-tailed Flycatcher, one of those birds with overdeveloped tail feathers giving it a very elegant look. Breakfast was briefly postponed while we photographed it. A flock of swifts overhead were quickly identified by Hugo as Sick’s Swifts. Imagine going through life named Sick…. “Hi, I’m Sick.” “You’re Sick!”
Post-breakfast it was back on the Pipeline Road heading West on the long bit. In total the pipeline cuts through the national park for about 150 kilometres and the Ranger Station where we were staying was about 40 Miles West of where it entered the park, leaving approximately 110 km to the West of us. The flatbed of the long cabin pick-up was loaded with water barrels and plastic sheet to create a new drinking pool by the track many kilometres from our base. We were not involved in this working party but it did deny us the open back of the truck due to the amount of gear stashed there, which was disappointing.
Hugo found us a White-winged Black Tyrant and then a Barred Antshrike while the pool was being worked on by Cesar the driver, both of which were new for me. A Crab-eating Fox was wandering about a pumping station compound but nipped off as soon as we arrived. We also occasionally encountered Gray Brockets but they didn’t hang about as we approached and we failed to get pictures. Even worse was an Orange-backed Troupial that went past in a blur of bright orange but didn’t stop, leaving a just-about tickable view but not a chance to savour it.
John
White-coated Titi Monkey X 2
Ocelot
Great Kiskadee
We headed off into the darkness of early morning for our first drive of the day on the Pipeline Road. This is the only really accessible part of Kaa Iya National Park: it tracks a gas pipeline that used to export Bolivia’s natural gas to Brazil but with reserves exhausted now imports natural gas from Brazil, contributing to the poor economic performance of Bolivia. Scissor-tailed Nightjars were still about and Hugo called a large white-bellied nightjar as Nacunda Nighthawk – new for me and something we would see more of during our stay. The last new creature before the dawn light came up was a Tapeti (Brazilian Forest Rabbit) that loitered in the road until I reached for my camera, whereupon it hopped away into the bushes.
Continuing in the growing light we found a family of White-coated Titi Monkeys huddled together for warmth (couldn’t blame them!) with their long tails entwined. This behaviour provides them with an instant indication of disturbance affecting any one individual. They were among twigs and branches but we nonetheless managed to get some pictures of them, improving when they woke up and turned their heads to face us.
A fairly distant Ocelot on the track provided only a record shot before it too made off into cover and disappeared for ever. Our attention was then taken by Red-crested Finches, attractive small birds with generally dull reddish plumage but a lurid scarlet crest. These were very typical of the Chaco and we saw lots over the next few days: there were some feeding around our accommodation when we returned for breakfast. There was also a shorebird feeding on the dry sandy area in front of the accommodation which I quickly identified as Baird’s Sandpiper due to its long wings, dark legs, wheaty mantle and wash on a streaked upper breast. Somewhat unexpected in this dry environment! A House Wren bounced about in the bushes bordering the camp – I’ll get around to determining which one it must be at some point: I’ve seen them in Florida and the Falkland Islands but I think they may have been split more than somewhat since. The FI one is certainly now Cobb’s Wren.
Another new bird then appeared in a nearby bush: a Fork-tailed Flycatcher, one of those birds with overdeveloped tail feathers giving it a very elegant look. Breakfast was briefly postponed while we photographed it. A flock of swifts overhead were quickly identified by Hugo as Sick’s Swifts. Imagine going through life named Sick…. “Hi, I’m Sick.” “You’re Sick!”
Post-breakfast it was back on the Pipeline Road heading West on the long bit. In total the pipeline cuts through the national park for about 150 kilometres and the Ranger Station where we were staying was about 40 Miles West of where it entered the park, leaving approximately 110 km to the West of us. The flatbed of the long cabin pick-up was loaded with water barrels and plastic sheet to create a new drinking pool by the track many kilometres from our base. We were not involved in this working party but it did deny us the open back of the truck due to the amount of gear stashed there, which was disappointing.
Hugo found us a White-winged Black Tyrant and then a Barred Antshrike while the pool was being worked on by Cesar the driver, both of which were new for me. A Crab-eating Fox was wandering about a pumping station compound but nipped off as soon as we arrived. We also occasionally encountered Gray Brockets but they didn’t hang about as we approached and we failed to get pictures. Even worse was an Orange-backed Troupial that went past in a blur of bright orange but didn’t stop, leaving a just-about tickable view but not a chance to savour it.
John
White-coated Titi Monkey X 2
Ocelot
Great Kiskadee
Farnboro John
Well-known member
Rest of the morning
John
White-lined Tanager X 2
Baird's Sandpiper
Fork-tailed Flycatcher
Eaten-out armadillo shell
John
White-lined Tanager X 2
Baird's Sandpiper
Fork-tailed Flycatcher
Eaten-out armadillo shell
Farnboro John
Well-known member
Back home again for a late lunch we also had some downtime and while wandering about the compound I disturbed a pair of Nacunda Nighthawks that proceeded to fly about in a tailchase, occasionally passing me for flight photo opportunities that I took eagerly.
Dinner’s central feature was breadcrumbed butterflied chicken and very nice too.
Early evening and back in the vehicle again, driving up the long end of the Pipeline Road (typically we would do about 50-70 km of this, not the full length to the end of the park). There was a real sense of anticipation as well as an increasing feeling that we were running out of time: lots and lots of Ocelots but of other felines, notalot. So the concentration level as we made our way along the arrow-straight track for kilometre after kilometre was high: the light was going down fast.
Suddenly our driver said something to Hugo in Spanish and drifted to a halt. Far ahead of us a big cat was padding down the track towards us. It was so far away that it was difficult with bins to tell what it was and on the straight track judging size or perspective was not easy either. We could see the slow deliberation with which it placed each foot: watch any big cat walking and they have this deliberate rhythm, makes me think of the boom, boom, boom of an approaching Tyrannosaur in Jurassic Park. I stuck my head out of the window and with difficulty levelled my camera to take a couple of shots and blow the image up on the screen. The images were not the best but in my judgement showed a Jaguar. Apparently the etiquette of the tour was to sit tight if a cat was heading for the vehicle so we made no attempt to get closer. Accordingly it was disappointing when the animal turned off into the bush! We continued to sit tight in case it came out again and by the time we did move up to its position we found that this bit of track was too firm to take tracks. Absolutely not the view I’d hoped for but equally, no doubt in my mind that we had seen a Jaguar. Tick.
When we moved on it was not long before the darkness was complete. We surprised a Crab-eating Fox in another pumping station compound (those seemed to be preferred hunting areas for the foxes – or perhaps they were just where we found it easiest to see them in this environment) and ticked off the customary Scissor-tailed Nightjars for the drive.
Hugo found an owl high in a tree to the left of us and I could see it well from my seat apart from the rather critical bit – the head. A branch was right across that and I couldn’t from my seat get around it. As Hugo had said it was a Striped Owl and we’d had mega views of one at Jaguarland I wasn’t worried and when it flew off we perforce gave up on it. When we got back to the camp and Hugo confessed he’d made a mistake and it had been a Spectacled Owl we were crushed. No way was I ticking it on the view I’d had.
The remainder of the drive involved three Tapetis that didn’t hang about for photos and a Burrowing Owl that perched distantly and we didn’t worry about after the Jaguarland posers.
John
Nacunda Nighthawk X 5 Overkill perhaps but just the best photo session of the trip with a bird I didn't expect to photograph perched let alone in flight!
Dinner’s central feature was breadcrumbed butterflied chicken and very nice too.
Early evening and back in the vehicle again, driving up the long end of the Pipeline Road (typically we would do about 50-70 km of this, not the full length to the end of the park). There was a real sense of anticipation as well as an increasing feeling that we were running out of time: lots and lots of Ocelots but of other felines, notalot. So the concentration level as we made our way along the arrow-straight track for kilometre after kilometre was high: the light was going down fast.
Suddenly our driver said something to Hugo in Spanish and drifted to a halt. Far ahead of us a big cat was padding down the track towards us. It was so far away that it was difficult with bins to tell what it was and on the straight track judging size or perspective was not easy either. We could see the slow deliberation with which it placed each foot: watch any big cat walking and they have this deliberate rhythm, makes me think of the boom, boom, boom of an approaching Tyrannosaur in Jurassic Park. I stuck my head out of the window and with difficulty levelled my camera to take a couple of shots and blow the image up on the screen. The images were not the best but in my judgement showed a Jaguar. Apparently the etiquette of the tour was to sit tight if a cat was heading for the vehicle so we made no attempt to get closer. Accordingly it was disappointing when the animal turned off into the bush! We continued to sit tight in case it came out again and by the time we did move up to its position we found that this bit of track was too firm to take tracks. Absolutely not the view I’d hoped for but equally, no doubt in my mind that we had seen a Jaguar. Tick.
When we moved on it was not long before the darkness was complete. We surprised a Crab-eating Fox in another pumping station compound (those seemed to be preferred hunting areas for the foxes – or perhaps they were just where we found it easiest to see them in this environment) and ticked off the customary Scissor-tailed Nightjars for the drive.
Hugo found an owl high in a tree to the left of us and I could see it well from my seat apart from the rather critical bit – the head. A branch was right across that and I couldn’t from my seat get around it. As Hugo had said it was a Striped Owl and we’d had mega views of one at Jaguarland I wasn’t worried and when it flew off we perforce gave up on it. When we got back to the camp and Hugo confessed he’d made a mistake and it had been a Spectacled Owl we were crushed. No way was I ticking it on the view I’d had.
The remainder of the drive involved three Tapetis that didn’t hang about for photos and a Burrowing Owl that perched distantly and we didn’t worry about after the Jaguarland posers.
John
Nacunda Nighthawk X 5 Overkill perhaps but just the best photo session of the trip with a bird I didn't expect to photograph perched let alone in flight!
Farnboro John
Well-known member
To the end of the day
John
Jaguar full image
Jaguar heavy crop
Crab-eating Fox
John
Jaguar full image
Jaguar heavy crop
Crab-eating Fox
JWN Andrewes
Poor Judge of Pasta.
How do you titillate an Ocelot?
Oscilate it's tits a lot.
(I'll get my coat)
Oscilate it's tits a lot.
(I'll get my coat)
Jeff Hopkins
Just another...observer
I tittered at that!
Suspect an immature savanna hawk
Steve Babbs
Well-known member
Two more for luck.
Attachments
Farnboro John
Well-known member
24 August: The Pipeline Road (extended version)
Our early morning drive yielded more views of White-coated Titi Monkeys but no cats. In the compound, on our return, we had a couple of Blue-crowned Parakeets and a Scaly-headed Parrot before finding a Southern Beardless Tyrannulet flycatching and gleaning in the tree the Fork-tailed Flycatcher had previously adopted. The House Wren teased from a dense bush, staying always with too much twiggage in front of it for pictures.
Today was our day for the Big Pipeline Road drive: Westward to the edge of the National Park, 107 km away. We took with us a picnic lunch to eat at the far end ranger station, which turned out to be disused and partly locked up: the toilets had been drained down, slightly disappointing! But I’m getting ahead of myself….
On the outbound leg we stopped for a Red-legged Tortoise that was stumping along at the side of the track. We dismounted for a better look and to take pictures before it could run off. Speedy things, tortoises, go like hell, I’ve missed out on pix of them before because of it. We stopped to install another drinking trough and while the work was going on Hugo found us more birds: A Great Antshrike and then a White-fronted Woodpecker that both allowed photos and a Suiriri Flycatcher that didn’t.
Moving on again we saw several Gray Brockets, Steve saw a Black-tailed Marmoset briefly and we also encountered more Crab-eating Foxes one of which was photographable, unusual during the day from my limited experience. Just as we arrived at the ranger station another Gray Brocket walked into the open and paused before continuing slowly across the wide clearing around the compound right in front of us. It was a superb photo-opportunity and we made good use of it. Then it was lunchtime, with chicken wings, salads and pastries enough for all of us.
After lunch we continued along the track and stopped by the airfield that serves the pipeline employees quartered on this section. Hugo wanted to check on occupancy of a known Jaguar breeding tunnel under the airstrip. Our gallant guide lay down at the entrance and shone a torch up it. I stood on top of the concrete revetment surrounding the pipe entrance on the basis that any angry cat would come out at Hugo and would have to do a 180 to get to me. In the past Hugo had twice found a female Jaguar in this way, once with cubs. After he got back up from his check I asked him what the Jaguar felt about that. “She was quite angry,” he admitted. Flippin’ heck! Mind you, if he’d got back up and said there was a Jag up the tunnel I’d have got down and looked…..
We crossed the airstrip, encountering three Nacunda Nighthawks that obligingly flew around after we’d got roosting pictures, allowing us to get flight shots as well. The other end of the tunnel was also empty of big cats. We heard Peccaries in the woods but didn’t get views. There was also a Gilded-bellied Emerald that gave us good views but unfortunately the light was poor due to cloud cover.
Back in the vehicle we continued towards where the Pipeline Road left the national park, scoring a White-barred Piculet on the way. As we reached the gate there was a Seriema on the road and in the half second before it ran off I thought I saw black legs and a crest. We debussed and Hugo asked if we’d like him to call it back in. Oh yes please! He deployed his phone and speaker and after a short burst of Black-legged Seriema calls it came out onto the track on the far side of the gate and stood right out in the open watching us before beginning to pace about. To our surprise a Crab-eating Fox also appeared on the track and moved towards the Black-legged Seriema cautiously, never getting very close to it but pacing about nearby as the bird did much the same. Dances with Foxes!
Returning the way we had come we found a group of three Monk Parakeets sitting up on cactus and giving excellent views. This was another upgrade from a previous feral tick and much appreciated. Just after that we began to see more and more Bare-faced Curassows strutting about the track in small groups. By the time we’d passed the last group we’d seen over twenty!
Back at the airfield we stopped because there was another fox sauntering across it and it wasn’t a Crab-eating Fox! We took hurried pictures of it in motion before it sat down near the bushy edge of the strip and allowed us to take our time recording it looking at us in an interested but wary way. Hugo told us it was “Yellow-legged Fox” which later googling identified as the local term for Pampas Fox but the markings seemed spot on Culpeo, which was bizarre. Steve kindly put his photo out there on Mammalwatching.com when we returned and the congregation confirmed it was a Pampas Fox.
The return drive was singularly uneventful.
John
Southern Beardless Tyrannulet
Five assorted moths on the ceiling and walls of the veranda. If anybody has a clue then feel free....
Our early morning drive yielded more views of White-coated Titi Monkeys but no cats. In the compound, on our return, we had a couple of Blue-crowned Parakeets and a Scaly-headed Parrot before finding a Southern Beardless Tyrannulet flycatching and gleaning in the tree the Fork-tailed Flycatcher had previously adopted. The House Wren teased from a dense bush, staying always with too much twiggage in front of it for pictures.
Today was our day for the Big Pipeline Road drive: Westward to the edge of the National Park, 107 km away. We took with us a picnic lunch to eat at the far end ranger station, which turned out to be disused and partly locked up: the toilets had been drained down, slightly disappointing! But I’m getting ahead of myself….
On the outbound leg we stopped for a Red-legged Tortoise that was stumping along at the side of the track. We dismounted for a better look and to take pictures before it could run off. Speedy things, tortoises, go like hell, I’ve missed out on pix of them before because of it. We stopped to install another drinking trough and while the work was going on Hugo found us more birds: A Great Antshrike and then a White-fronted Woodpecker that both allowed photos and a Suiriri Flycatcher that didn’t.
Moving on again we saw several Gray Brockets, Steve saw a Black-tailed Marmoset briefly and we also encountered more Crab-eating Foxes one of which was photographable, unusual during the day from my limited experience. Just as we arrived at the ranger station another Gray Brocket walked into the open and paused before continuing slowly across the wide clearing around the compound right in front of us. It was a superb photo-opportunity and we made good use of it. Then it was lunchtime, with chicken wings, salads and pastries enough for all of us.
After lunch we continued along the track and stopped by the airfield that serves the pipeline employees quartered on this section. Hugo wanted to check on occupancy of a known Jaguar breeding tunnel under the airstrip. Our gallant guide lay down at the entrance and shone a torch up it. I stood on top of the concrete revetment surrounding the pipe entrance on the basis that any angry cat would come out at Hugo and would have to do a 180 to get to me. In the past Hugo had twice found a female Jaguar in this way, once with cubs. After he got back up from his check I asked him what the Jaguar felt about that. “She was quite angry,” he admitted. Flippin’ heck! Mind you, if he’d got back up and said there was a Jag up the tunnel I’d have got down and looked…..
We crossed the airstrip, encountering three Nacunda Nighthawks that obligingly flew around after we’d got roosting pictures, allowing us to get flight shots as well. The other end of the tunnel was also empty of big cats. We heard Peccaries in the woods but didn’t get views. There was also a Gilded-bellied Emerald that gave us good views but unfortunately the light was poor due to cloud cover.
Back in the vehicle we continued towards where the Pipeline Road left the national park, scoring a White-barred Piculet on the way. As we reached the gate there was a Seriema on the road and in the half second before it ran off I thought I saw black legs and a crest. We debussed and Hugo asked if we’d like him to call it back in. Oh yes please! He deployed his phone and speaker and after a short burst of Black-legged Seriema calls it came out onto the track on the far side of the gate and stood right out in the open watching us before beginning to pace about. To our surprise a Crab-eating Fox also appeared on the track and moved towards the Black-legged Seriema cautiously, never getting very close to it but pacing about nearby as the bird did much the same. Dances with Foxes!
Returning the way we had come we found a group of three Monk Parakeets sitting up on cactus and giving excellent views. This was another upgrade from a previous feral tick and much appreciated. Just after that we began to see more and more Bare-faced Curassows strutting about the track in small groups. By the time we’d passed the last group we’d seen over twenty!
Back at the airfield we stopped because there was another fox sauntering across it and it wasn’t a Crab-eating Fox! We took hurried pictures of it in motion before it sat down near the bushy edge of the strip and allowed us to take our time recording it looking at us in an interested but wary way. Hugo told us it was “Yellow-legged Fox” which later googling identified as the local term for Pampas Fox but the markings seemed spot on Culpeo, which was bizarre. Steve kindly put his photo out there on Mammalwatching.com when we returned and the congregation confirmed it was a Pampas Fox.
The return drive was singularly uneventful.
John
Southern Beardless Tyrannulet
Five assorted moths on the ceiling and walls of the veranda. If anybody has a clue then feel free....
Farnboro John
Well-known member
Outbound
John
Red-legged Tortoise X 2 - going past in a flash!
Large Cactus
The Pipeline Road - dead straight for ever and ever....
Great Antshrike
Small cactus (very spiny though!)
Hugo and Steve
John
Red-legged Tortoise X 2 - going past in a flash!
Large Cactus
The Pipeline Road - dead straight for ever and ever....
Great Antshrike
Small cactus (very spiny though!)
Hugo and Steve
Farnboro John
Well-known member
To infinity
John
White-fronted Woodpecker X 2
Bottle Tree
Crab-eating Fox in daylight X 2
Gray Brocket X 3
John
White-fronted Woodpecker X 2
Bottle Tree
Crab-eating Fox in daylight X 2
Gray Brocket X 3
Farnboro John
Well-known member
And beyond
John
Nacunda Nighthawk again X 4
Gilded-bellied Emerald X 2
Whistling Heron taxiing onto the runway
Dances with Foxes
John
Nacunda Nighthawk again X 4
Gilded-bellied Emerald X 2
Whistling Heron taxiing onto the runway
Dances with Foxes
Farnboro John
Well-known member
There and back again
John
Monk Parakeet
Bare-faced Curassow
Pampas Fox X 3
John
Monk Parakeet
Bare-faced Curassow
Pampas Fox X 3
