I
recently came back from an 8-night independent trip to the Pantanal ‑
the largest tropical fresh water wetlands in the world. Wetlands equals
birds. All arrangements were made on-line. Google translate was a big
help as many places have no English speaking staff. My only problem was a
thunderstorm that closed the Philly airport and I missed my flight to
Rio, and as a result, a day in the Pantanal. I spent the day at the
Georgia aquarium (Atlanta) with its two 25-foot long whale sharks.
I
flew from Rio de Janeiro to Cuiaba (via Brasilia) where I picked up a
rental car (stick shift) and an English speaking guide (for 3 days).
From there I drove to Pocone and the start of the Transpanteniera. For
the most part it is a dirt road with over a hundred and twenty wooden
bridges. Built in the early 70s, it was never finished once it became
clear that the annual flooding made it impractical to maintain. It is
now a corridor through the Pantanal that ends at Porto Jofre. The road
is very drivable in the dry season. But there were heavy downpours the
last two days of my stay that turned the road to mud and made the drive
back ‘interesting’. Taking about 6-hours to go about 80 miles with lots
of sliding and skidding. Before I left I was given some advice: go slow
and stay in the middle of the road, the first 15-20 km would be the
worst (no), and the rain would let up after about 25-30 km (forecast was
wrong). For most of the trip the car was in second gear trying to
maintain a speed fast enough not to get bogged down in the mud , but not
so fast that the car ended up in a bank.
I
stayed at the Pousada Rio Clarinho, basic but good, appeals to budget
and independent travelers-no English or Spanish, St. Tereza (SouthWild
Pantanal) more upscale (small pool), part-owned by an American, gets
birding and photo tours, feeders and lots of birds around lodge
including Hyacinth macaws, and lastly the Pantanal North Hotel in Porto
Jofre at the end of the road, also more upscale (pool), no English, gets
lots of fisherman and those looking for jaguars, good birding around
lodge and Hyacinth macaws. Pouso Alegre visited twice on day trips from
Rio Clarinho—birds and very good for mammals-got a brief view of a tapir
and longer views of marsh deer. Missed a tamandua anteater. At all
three places meals were buffet style and lunch and dinner always
included rice and beans (feijoada).
Transpantaheira: A 140 km road from Pocone to Porto Jofre. Mostly dirt with over 120 wooden bridges.
One of the many bridges. There was a temptation to slow down, or stop on the bridges and check for birds.
Most of them are not marked. You know you are approaching one when to road starts to rise.
Greater Rhea: Seen only at the beginning of the road.
Jabiru:
A very large stork about as tall as the rhea. Each year the pair adds
to the nest. Monk parakeets or other small birds nest underneath. The
jabirus provide security, and the small birds are part of an early
warning system.
Only the Andean Condor has a greater wingspan than the Jabiru.
Jabiru Chicks
Yellow-billed cardinal: Very common
Yacare Caiman: Even more common
White Woodpecker
Campo Flicker
Flower #1
Agami Heron: I was very lucky to see this rare heron out in clear view. Boatman phoned it in, but a group of birders arrived a few minutes after it went to ground. Two days later I saw a pair, also along the Pixiam River.
Speed bumps
Chestnut-eared Aracari
Black Crowned Night Heron (immature)
Rufescent Tiger Heron. It was nesting season and I saw several nests. At one, a capuchin monkey had stolen an egg, and I could hear the heron complaining, and the monkey crunching on the egg.
Immature Rufescent Tiger Heron
Silver Tailed Marmoset: They chew holes in bark and lap up the sap that comes out.
Saffron Finch
Striated Heron: Common but very wary. Was once considered to be the same species as the green heron found in the US.
Pied Plover
Hyacinth Macaws: Largest members of the parrot family. Endangered due to habitat destruction and the pet trade. Making a comeback in the Pantanal and often seen and heard.
Blue and yellow macaw: Being re-introduced back into the Pantanal.
Capybara: Our largest rodent.
Sunbittern
A quick grab shot of a pair.
Boat-billed Heron
Southern Screamer: Lived up to its name.
Giant River Otter: Several sightings and in one case the boat got to close to a den and the otter bit the paddle.
Greater Potoo: They always roost in the same place. Once you know where it is you can keep going back.
Capped Heron: uncommon
Another one
Wattled Jicana: Common but never seem to stay still.
Flower #2
Tuco Toucan: Largest member of the family at a feeder.
Two Tuco Toucans Together
Southern Crested Caracara
Roadside Hawk: Lunch time
Black-Collared Hawk
Giant River Otters
Blue-CrownedTrogon: The only member of the family in the Pantanal.
Orange-Backed Troupials
Scarlet-Headed Blackbird
Masked Water Tyrant
Vermillion Flycatcher: Common but hard to sneak up on.
Wood Stork
Caiman: I was told the black spot is a parasite.
Ringed Kingfisher
Amazon Kingfisher (female)
Muscovy Duck
Blue-Crowned Mot-Mot
Bare-faced Curassow pair
Agouti
Large-billed Tern
Monk Parakeet: Common, noisy, and very hard to photograph. Most images are green blurs.
The first time I saw this species it was flying over Sheepshead Bay (Brooklyn) in 1969.
Baywing: At feeder
Turquoise-Fronted Amazon: Most often seen (backlit) and heard flying overhead. This one was at its nest.
Long-Tailed Ground Dove: This dove, and the others below, found around feeders at St Tereza.
Scaled Dove
White-Tiped Dove
Eared Dove
Black-capped Donacobius: Always seen hanging onto an aquatic plant.
Neotropic Commorant
Cattle Drive: Most of the land in the Pantanal is part of a cattle ranch- (fazendas).
I ran into two cattle drives on the way out.
Plumbeous Ibis
Buff-necked Ibis
Glittering-bellied Emerald: Near a feeder at St Tereza-it also attracted a Glittering-throated Emerald.
Chaco Chachalaca: Common, noisy and wary-feeder St Tereza
Rufous Hornero: Pair at nest
White-winged Swallows
Pauraque: At dusk landed on the railing of a boardwalk right in front of me.
I got within two feet before it decided it wasn't invisible and flew off.
Cattle Tyrant: On a giant Victoria water lilly. Can be seen 'riding' on live stock and capybaras.
Southern Lapwing
Cocoi Heron
Most of the travelers that make the trek to Porto Jofre are going fishing or looking to spot a
Jaguar. On the river there were four flotels catering to fisherman. Got to sample pacu (related to piranhas),
caught by one of the guests, at lunch-very tasty. The Pantanal is one of the best places to see a jaguar.
One tour operator, for a price, will give you a money back guarantee that you will see a jaguar.
That was one of the reasons I was there. Boats go out in different directions looking for one.
Once they spot one, they radio in the location. My boatman got the news and off we went. As we approached two boats were leaving, and they signaled to go down a small channel where another boat waited.
Julinho, guide in sunglasses, said to look at the bush to right of the roots of a large tree.
This is what I saw through a 400mm telephoto and also with my binoculars.
With my bare eyes I just saw bushes. Can you spot the large, well-fed male jaguar?
After cropping and increasing the exposure, you can see what I saw from a better angle.
A third boat showed up and we collectively spent 90-minutes watching the jaguar. We hung out,
— the jaguar hung out. He lay down, got up, sat down, drooled (not a good look for a fierce jaguar), walked a short distance and peered out. All his movements were very slow and deliberate.
I passed the time looking, and listening to the birds around us. In a tree behind us there were
some melodious thrush-like wrens, and a raucous colony of yellow-rumped caciques. Overhead
egrets, herons, ibis, and parrots flew by, going to their roosts as the sun set. A few yellow-billed and large-billed terns scooted by. A pair of orange-backed troupials flitted through the trees in front of us, and a family
of curassows pecked at the ground for food. A black-capped donacobius landed on an aquatic plant,
while noisy monk parakeets carried on in a tree to our right. My boat left as dusk approached.
Michael De Rosa, Ph. D.
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