July 8, 2024
We began today with an early morning game drive. The highlight was a giant anteater carrying its baby on its back. Anteater pups spend the first year of their life astride mama anteater's back. Because they are born furred and looking like a mini adult, it is hard for predators to tell them apart from their mom. Instead they just see mom as a bigger anteater. We saw them early in the drive when it was still dark out so pictures aren’t the best, but you can clearly see the baby.
We saw some hyacinth macaws perched atop a tree.
A savannah hawk was on the lookout for prey nearby. Although it often swoops down on prey from a high perch, it will also search for food on the ground and even follow farm machinery to catch animals that are scared out of their hiding spots.
We saw a grey or brown brocket deer (Fabi wasn't sure which one). You can see it's little antlers peeking out. Although very small, when threatened these deer can leap ahead long distances.
The sky blossomed as the sun began to rise.
Some crab eating foxes disappeared into the trees.
Termite mounds dotted the landscape. Termites make the mounds out of soil mixed with their saliva and excrement. They live in nests beneath the mound, but the mounds provide shelter for other animals. They are also a convenient food source for the giant ant eater and other animals that see termites as a tasty burst of protein.
Off to the east, the sky blazed as the sun rose higher above the horizon.
A white-rumped monjita perched on a fence post. The monjita, a type of fly catcher, eats insects and when one flies by it will swoop down to capture it and then return to its vantage point - or one close by.
The Campo flicker was great fun to watch. The flicker is a kind of woodpecker that targets soil rather than wood in its search for food. They have a long sticky tongue that is ideal for collecting termites, one of its favorite foods. It will even sometimes build its nest in termite mounds.
It flew to a termite mound and began to preen itself. When preening, birds get a special oil from their glands and distribute it to their feathers. Preening helps birds keep their feathers clean and free from parasites. It also helps to waterproof their feathers.
The sun had mostly risen by now and it was gorgeous shining through the clouds as a pair of hyacinth macaws flew past.
Capybaras, the largest rodent in the world, live in small groups of 10 to 20 and cooperatively take care of the babies. In addition to the babies, there are usually 1 to 2 males and several females in each group. When traveling on land, they mostly seem to walk single file in a long line.
We saw prints that indicated a jaguar was dragging a caiman across the road. We had to be back soon, but we looked for the jaguar for a little while.
As we neared the lodge, we passed a waterhole with jabiru storks, wood storks, and roseate spoonbills feeding. The spoonbills flew away as our vehicle approached. It was fun to wath the storks as they combed through water with open beaks.
Once we returned, we had breakfast and they had a couple of the little meat pies like the restaurant at the Hotel Deville had. They are my favorite treat! It's a wonderful way to start the day.
After breakfast, we went for a walk. We started out at the pond with jabiru stork, wood stork, egret, and roseate spoonbills. This time the spoonbills stayed in the pond.
The jabiru stork is the tallest bird that flies in South America. (The rhea is the tallest of all the birds in South America.) If you look closely, you can see the fish that it is getting ready to eat.
The wood stork uses the sense of touch to find its food. It marches back and forth through the water swinging its beak until it touches a fish. Then it quickly snaps it up.
Like flamingos, the roseate spoonbill gets its pink color from eating shellfish that contain carotenoids, a pigment that turns their feathers pink. LIke the wood stork, they feed by touch. Males and females have the same coloring, but the young are a paler pink and have a completely feathered head. Can you see the differences? When they are very young they don't yet have a spoonbill. It flattens out as they grow up.
As we were walking, we startled a yellow-rumped cacique that flew off to safety. Although they often flock together, this was the only one we spotted.
After the watering hole, we headed back across the lodge in the other direction. The capybaras from last night were still hanging out as we passed by our room.
We saw a great kiskadee on a branch. They are pretty birds, but extremely common in Brazil so locals don't take much note of them.
We passed some caiman sunbathing by the water.
A pair of peach-fronted parakeets cavorted in the trees above us. They are playful, inquisitive birds who snack on seeds. They play an important role in dispersing these seeds so the plants of the Pantanal can flourish.
A monk parakeet foraged for seeds on the ground.
A roadside hawk searched for prey from its perch on a fence post.
We observed some leaf cutter ants working amidst the leaves. They use the bits of leaves to grow a special fungus that they grow for food in their underground nests.
Fabi pointed out some giant anteater footprints. To preserve the sharpness of their claws, anteaters bend their feet so they don't walk on their claws. As a result, their footprints look like a barefoot toddler passed by.
The pousada (which translates as guesthouse) is also a working ranch. We frequently pass by cows and horses as well as the wildlife we are searching for.
We passed a large arboreal termite nets above us. Fabi explained how the termites use the long tube to travel between the nest and the ground. Arboreal termites are very tiny. The ones with the termite mounds on the ground are larger.
A trio of hyacinth macaws called out from the trees above. Can you spot all three?
Below the babassu palm tree, Fabi pointed out some cracked open palm nuts that form the main part of their diet.
Later we saw some with some nuts that were not yet ripened.
He also picked a fragrant flower that may have been a type of agertina or snake root - but I'm not sure if that grows in the Pantanal so it may have been a different kind of flower.
We saw some a glittering throated emerald hummingbird getting nectar from a Fridericia chica plant. This useful plant is used to make a dye and its leaves have medicinal properties reducing inflammation. The emerald hovers as it feeds while its wings flutter in speedy figure eights.
I headed back a little early because my back was hurting, but Brent and our guide went on to a little water hole and saw the hyacinth macaws again busily cracking open the palm nuts with their strong beaks and eating them. Fabi took pictures for me with my camera.
They came to a water hole and saw a bare-faced ibis--so named because it has no feathers covering its face. Its feathers appear all black until it spreads its wings to fly and a shimmering turquoise appears.
A beautiful water hyacinth was in bloom with busy little bees (or flies?) pollinating it.
Meanwhile, I was proud that I was able to open the gate and get it closed again. It took awhile and a lot of the strength to get the wire around the wood again. The big gate was much easier. I had forgotten to get the room key from Brent so waited outside and watched a rufous hornero eating a grub it had found. It was having some difficulty as it kept dropping it, but eventually successfully swallowed it.
There was also a very industrious ant carrying what appeared to be an insect carcass back to its nest. I helped it out once when it was stuck.
We rested some and then went to lunch. On the way, we spotted a green-barred woodpecker. It's favorite food is ants.
That evening we set off for an evening game drive. As we left the pousada, we passed a line of capybara grazing. Capybara need to eat 6 to 8 pounds of food a day. They mostly eat plants - aquatic plants, grasses, tubers, etc - but they will also eat their own poop! It gives them a good dose of protein to balance out all the carbs.
Despite starting off with a mammal, this ended up being largely a bird-watching safari.
A pair of hyacinth macaws were snacking palm nuts. Only one shows in the video, but two flew away when our safari vehicle restarted.
A black vulture waited in a tree. As you know, vultures are scavengers who clean what is left of carcasses when the predators are through. This helps prevent the spread of disease from rotting carcasses. But how do the vultures protect themselves from this contamination? One way is they poop on their legs! Their poop has a lot of acid in it which disinfects their legs and feet. Also, as the liquid in the poop evaporates, it cools off their legs so it also protects them from overheating. When startled, they will vomit to get rid of excess weight so they can fly away.
A juvenile black-collared hawk perched in a tree. Juveniles lack the orangish plumage of adult hawks and are more brown.
Rheas foraged near the water. This one appeared to be a younger rhea. Rheas can't fly, but they can run fast - around 37 miles per hour. They are ratites, a species of flightless birds of which the largest is the ostrich in Africa and the smallest is the kiwi in New Zealand. Some researchers theorize that a long time ago they could fly, but then they settled into areas with few predators and lots of food, so they gradually grew larger and gave up flying which uses a lot of calories.
I was surprised to learn this bird was also a sun bittern as it was blue and the other was brown.
The turquoise-fronted Amazon parrot is listed as near threatened, partially because of its popularity in the pet market. This is the "Polly want a cracker" bird. It is the best at mimicking human speech and can be taught a wide variety of phrases.
Jacanas have super long toes that let them easily walk across lily pads and other water plants. Surprisingly the females are quite a bit larger than the males and she leaves the eggs to the male to care for. While he keeps the eggs warm under his wings, she mates with other males in her territory. She will even protect the males from other females while they are watching over the eggs.
A crimson-crested woodpecker pecked for tasty tidbits. It was silhouetted in the distance so you just get a hint of its crimson crest, but we could clearly hear the drumming as it searched for food.
The marsh is one of the Pantanal's "Big 5" because it is the largest South American deer.
A pair of howler monkeys snacked in the trees nearby. They were difficult to see hidden in the leaves. Can you make them out? Howler monkeys eat leaves which don't give them a lot of energy so they are not as active as most monkeys. They have really loud voices that carry over long distances though which helps them protect their territory.
Near the howler monkeys, a jabiru stork perched in its large nest. They are heavy birds, so the nests need to be large to support the weight of 2 adults and their babies.
A Swainson's flycatcher was also perched in the tree. (I'm not 100% sure of the identification as with the sun's location, I was only able to capture a silhouette of the bird.)
The gray-necked wood rail is omnivorous. It will eat a variety of foods from fruit to insects to shellfish to snakes and frogs.
We got to disembark from the jeep and admire a large jabiru stork nest with lots of little monk parakeet nests built into the bottom of it. Parakeets were flitting back and forth from the nests to the branches nearby. Monk parakeets are the only birds in the parrot family to build stick nests. They also nest in colonies and live there all year.
While exploring the nesting site, we also saw other birds. An egret and a pair of southern streamers waded in the grasses by the water. Screamers are aptly named as they guard their territory and let out a loud, trumpeting call if danger threatens. This warning allows other birds to get to safety.
We were lucky and spotted a pair of golden collared macaws which according to Fabi are more rarely seen in this part of the Pantanal than the hyacinth macaw. They are considered "mini macaws" as they are smaller than other macaws.
Below them was a parrot. I'm not sure if it was a turquoise-fronted parrot or not as there didn't seem to be a blue patch on its forehead.
As we drove back to the lodge, we enjoyed the setting sun.
The chestnut-bellied guan is listed as a vulnerable species due to hunting and deforestation of its habitat.
We also spotted some rhea mingling with horses in a pasture.
The sky continue to turn beautiful pastel shades that were reflected in the water as the sun sunk below the horizon.
Once back at lodge, we enjoyed the last of the sunset with the capybaras by our cabin before heading to a delicious buffet dinner.
When we returned from dinner, we were surprised by an uninvited guest in our bathroom. This one stumped even Fabi, but after some Internet searching, we concluded that it was likely a boana raniceps.
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