Brazil Pantanal day 3 - fish fest

Another great day in the Pantanal, despite the increasing mosquito load. The morning boat trip with Pantanal Nature produced another Jaguar encounter, our fifth in total. We intercepted a huge male swimming across the river, just too late before it reached the shore and disappeared promptly into the forest:

Again we had breathtaking experiences with actively feeding Giant Otters. Amazing to see them fish together, fight over fish, scream, so close we could hear the fish bones crush between their teeth:

Hungry Anhingas

Disgusting Black Vulture

Again lots of good birds (eBird chcklist here). Back at Panthera ranch birds were very active before the rain.

What goes in

Needs to go out (Buff-necked ibis)

I'm a screamer!

After the rain had stopped in the afternoon we birded on foot and by car around the camp and along the Transpantaneira road. Nice to experience some open country birding.

American Pygmy Kingfisher

Barred Antshrike

We stayed out until darkness fell. On the way back we had a fantastic encounter with an Ocelot that crossed the road, and say many nightjars, mainly Common Pauraque.

eBird checklist here.  Many thanks to Fernando for a great afternoon.

Brazil Pantanal day 2

Another fantastic day here in the Pantanal with Panthera and Pantanal Nature. We went out on the boat in the morning and in the afternoon. We had a breathtaking Jaguar encounter with a wild, un-habituated male. We followed him from a distance for a while. He pounced on a Cayman but missed. Wow.

We also had a lovely time with a Giant Otter family group during torrential rain - we ended up as wet as the otters. Photos, even videos don't do them justice. The way the move in the water, their breaths, the contact calls - just brilliant. 

We had lots of birds today (eBird checklist here), but I still feel we are just skimming the surface. There was no shortage in quality and in colour today:

Hyacinth Macaws

Sunbittern

Rufous-tailed Jacamar

So many images to edit, so little time...

Brazil Pantanal day 1

After a long and exhausting trip, including lost luggage (still!) and delayed flights we finally arrived last night at Porto Jofre in the Pantanal. We are kindly hosted by Panthera.org in their lovely accommodation. I couldn't wait for first light, and my first hour of birding in Latin America was indeed mind-blowing. All those new sounds and sights. We took two boat trips today, with Pantanal Nature. Our main target was successful - we had awesome encounters with three different Jaguars - incredible! On top of that we saw tons of cool birds (eBird checklist here) and other animals. Here is just a very quick taster - so much more to follow:

Jaguar

Giant Otter

Capped Heron

 

Orange-winged Parrot

Pale-legged Horonero

White-headed Marsh Tyrant