Manco the Jaguar

Manco the Jaguar, blessed us with a sighting for over a hour, he has been very present the past couple of months through a record wet season.

Photo: Ben Griffiths

Black Skimmer

There are 3 species of skimmer, but the Black Skimmer is the only one found in the Americas. They use these impressive elongated lower mandibles to feed by skimming it over the water. 

Parents share duties, with both the male and females incubating the eggs.

Giant Anteater and Its Baby at Fazenda Barranco Alto

There have been many Giant Anteater sightings at Barranco Alto this year, however we did notice less with their young. Still this didn't stop one of our guests capturing this great shot!

Giant Anteater Climbing a Tree at Fazenda Barranco Alto

The week of the Jaguar

Blessed with two Jaguar sightings this week, our guests were spoilt as he lazed around on the river bank for over an hour.

Boa Constrictor

With its beautiful black eyes this Boa Constrictor (Boa Constrictor), though none venomous, leaps and strangles its prey. 

Red-Legged Seriema

At Fazenda Barranco Alto, we are blessed with many beautiful bird species, and there is no problem spotting a Red-Legged Seriema (Cariama cristata), with its visually distinctive crest, blue eyes, and red bill.

Little shy beauty

The striated heron (Butorides striata, socózinho) is a common heron found on many continents in warmer wetlands. Sometimes you see them baiting little fishes with a leave or any other floating debris.

They're easy to spot but difficult to approach due to their shyness.

Wingtips

Look at the wings of the most recent passenger jets constructed by Boeing (787) and Airbus (A350). A nacunda nighthawk's (Chordeiles nacunda, corucão) wing is probably all an engineer dreams of!

The big five of the Pantanal

The Big Five term was used by African big-game hunters and later adopted by the local tourist industry. Recently it has been adapted to the Pantanal in Brazil. Here's our Big Five collection.

All pictures were taken during regular tourist outings and show from top left, clockwise:

1. A South American tapir (Tapirus terrestris, anta) and a flock of whistling ducks.
2. A yellow anaconda (Eunectes notaeus, sucuri) killing a blue-and-yellow macaw.
3. A giant otter (Pteronura brasiliensis, ariranha) eating fish.
4. A giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla, tamanduá-bandeira) with a baby on it's back.
5. A jaguar (Panthera onca, onça-pintada) stalking capybaras.

New bird species !

After identifying over 400 bird species on the grounds of Fazenda Barranco Alto, every new ID is a great happening.

This time, Claudia Pozzoli had the first documented sighting of an Orinoco goose in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, it's a member of the duck, goose and swan family.

Our list contains now 402(!) species: http://taxeus.com.br/lista/192

Photo by Paulo

Otter festival

This neotropical otter (Lontra longicaudis, lontra) mother showed up three weeks ago with two pups. Here on Fazenda Barranco Alto, in the rio Negro, these otters are common, diurnal and very comfortable in our presence.

Tamandua

The lesser anteater (Tamandua tetradactyla, tamanduá-mirim) is not easy to find because it has rather arboreal and nocturnal habits, although we see them also at day and on the ground. They feed primarily on arboreal termite nests and defend themselves with their very strong and big fore claws.
In this picture you see a mother with a baby on her back.

Caracara

Caracaras (Caracara plancus, caracará) are spectacular raptors from the falconidae family. They are a common sighting around the ranch, where they opportunistically feed on a huge variety of things.

Potoo

The night active common potoo (Nyctibius griseus, mãe-da-lua) has a special disruptive feather coloration so it camouflages into a branch, as shown on the picture below. In this photo it has a chick.

The potoo's call at night is also quite unique and mysterious, listen to it here: song

Cream-colored woodpecker

For years there was a rumour that the cream-colored woodpecker (Celeus flavus, pica-pau-amarelo) would occur in this part of the Pantanal. Today Claudia has finally managed to take a photo of the bird and has definitely proven it's existence along the Rio Negro.

With this our bird list (link) has reached the impressive number of 401 species registered on the grounds of Fazenda Barranco Alto !

Cream-colored woodpecker

Green-barred woodpecker

The green-barred woodpecker (Colaptes melanochloros, pica-pau-carijó), is specialized in feeding on ants.

Green-barred woodpecker

Jaguarundis (Puma yagouaroundi, jaguarundi) are diurnal small cats and very unusual to see. These days, our resident anteater researcher Lydia Moecklinhoff has seen a pair from very close and shot this lovely picture. Read more about them here.

Sustainable tourism

This picture says much about the way we do tourism on Fazenda Barranco Alto. The key point is quality not quantity, including the footprint you leave behind ...

Photo by Claudia Pozzoli, resident team member of Fazenda Barranco Alto