Macaws
Macaws are one of our many iconic birds (list). Their loud and colorful presence is a common sighting around here. In this picture you see hyacinth (Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus, arara-azul) and red-and-green macaws (Ara chloropterus, arara-vermelha) feeding together on nuts on the ground.
A little experiment
This is just a little experiment. Watch it in HD:
Rheas
This is the way rheas (Rhea americana, ema) drink water !
Attractive fruits
If you want to attract birds into your garden, just plant suitable fruit trees, offer them water, wait a little bit and enjoy theses wonderful creatures. In these two pictures we see a crested-oropendola (Japu, Psarocolius decumanus) and a white-woodpecker (Birro, Melanerpes candidus), both feeding on the same jackfruit (jaca, Artocarpus heterophyllus).
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| Crested-oropendola |
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| White-woodpecker |
Top of the food chain
This is a dominant male jaguar, the top predator of the local food chain. Recently we spotted him very relaxed lying along the shores of the Rio Negro.
Within our research & conservation project "Onças do Rio Negro", we have identified 8 individuals. The goal of this study involves the understanding and monitoring of jaguar ecology, demography, population dynamics and it's relation with human activities such as cattle ranching and tourism in a long-term perspective.
fast hunters
Although caymans (Caiman yacare, jacaré) live their lives in a easy-going pace they can be pretty fast when hunting fish in shallow waters:
Anteater
Fazenda Barranco Alto has very large protected areas and a highly varied habitat composition, from dense forests to wide open grasslands. This is one of the reasons why giant anteaters (Myrmecophaga tridactyla, tamanduá-bandeira) are common around here. Nevertheless, they might be hiding from our sightings in the vegetation during the days of the southern summer.
Recent population counts by Moecklinghoff have estimated the population on Fazenda Barranco Alto being bigger than 60 animals.
On this picture you see a beautiful female with her young on the back that she will carry for 6 months.
Tapera
Enjoy this picture from space of an area of Fazenda Barranco Alto called Tapera. This part of the Pantanal is an astonishing composition of ponds, forest, river and open grasslands. Right now all is very lush green.
If you wish to explore more, follow the link to Google maps: http://goo.gl/maps/vvBwH
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| Tapera, Fazenda Barranco Alto |
Jibóia
These days we had an unexpected surprise. Suddenly, a Boa constrictor (Boa constrictor amarali, jibóia) fell off a tree just next to one of us. The snake was holding on a Chaco Chachalaca (Ortalis canicollis, Aracuã), which it had killed by constriction up in the tree. The bird was already 20 cm down the snake's throat.
The same way we heard the blunt noise of the snake hitting the ground, a fox also did and came to inspect and challenged the snake. At this point snakes are completely vulnerable because they've got their mouth full! Seeing no alternative, the snake had to regurgitate the bird and then hiss to the fox ...
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| The forked tongue is used to smell. |
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| Just regurgitated the bird. |
Wading on stilts
The stilts (Himantopus sp., pernilongo) are locally abundant shorebirds in the southern Pantanal. They congregate specially around salt lakes, so called salinas. Note their extremely long pink legs, perfectly adapted to wading in muddy waters.
And talking about birds, here's our list with 402 species: http://taxeus.com.br/lista/192 . The last inclusions were the cliff flycatcher (Hirundinea ferruginea, gibão-de-couro) and the peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus, falcão-peregrino). |
| Stilts and a yellowlegs |
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| Stilts at sunsetwww.FazendaBarrancoalto.com.br |
Pink trees
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| Aerial view of "Invernada 3" |
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| blue-crowned parakeet (Aratinga acuticaudata) |
Spitting image
Take a look at this interesting short video of a Puma and it's image in a mirror on Fazenda Barranco Alto.
Cliffs ?!
We're very excited to add the cliff flycatcher (Hirundinea ferruginea, gibão-de-couro) to our list (http://taxeus.com.br/impressaolista/192). It's bird species number 401 ! The flycatcher was first sighted by William de Jong, a dutch biologist.
The only question is; where are the cliffs ?!
And by the way, Birdlife International has considered this area one of the Important Bird Areas (IBA BR156) of the World.
Nothing to say
The dark forces
The Great Black Hawk (Buteogallus urubitinga, gavião-preto) is a large bird of prey common in the Pantanal. It's a dietary generalist, feeding on a wide range of prey, including birds. Here we captured the moment when a jacana (Jacana jacana) just escaped the hawk´s attack by a few milliseconds.
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| Hunting other birds |
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| Facial details |
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| Majestic ! |
Winning the armadillo lottery !
In 24 hours we've seen the biggest and smallest armadillo. Here´s a wonderful sighting of a giant armadillo (Priodontes maximus, tatu-canastra) of probably around 30-40 Kg and from tail to nose over a meter long !!! They walk on their massive claws and are very rare to see.
And here´s a new sighting for our mammal list: the southern naked-tailed armadillo (Cabassous unicinctus, tatu-de-rabo-mole), another very rare sighting !
Iguanas
The green-iguana (Iguana iguana, Iguana) is a big, diurnal and arboreal lizard. Well adapted to the Pantanal they can swim submerged using powerful strokes of their long tail. They are primarily herbivorous and have excellent eye-sight.
These animals are a rare but rewarding sighting in the southern Pantanal.
Hyacinth macaws
Watching hyacinth macaws feeding on the ground at late afternoon always evokes a general: Wow ! Awesome ! Amazing ! Phenomenal ! Fantastic ! Terrific ! In short: simply unforgettable !
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| feeding on acuri nuts |
And sometimes there are snakes
During the wet and hot months of October through April, snakes are more commonly seen. One of the most fear causing animals is the tropical rattlesnake (Crotalus durissus terrificus, Cascavel). This pit viper advertises itself by a loud shaking of it´s rattle at the end of the tail (see and listen to a red rattlesnake here!).
Their diet consists of small rodents and birds. Although encounters like these are rare, one should be cautious when walking around in the wild. However, rattlesnakes rarely bite unless provoked or threatened; and if treated promptly, the bites are rarely fatal.
