And just another new sighting !

The pantanal cat (Leopardus braccatus, gato-palheiro) is probably by far the most elusive cat that inhabits this region. Nobody has ever seen it around here and now Lydia`s (the german giant anteater researcher that works here) camera traps finally got the most sought-after picture: the misterious Pantanal cat !

Here are two pictures pasted together, the left leaves no doubt about the ID and the right one shows you the size of it. It´s been caught 5 times by a camera-trap on this location: http://goo.gl/maps/uatF

Our chickens are all gone again !

A few weeks ago we still had about 24 chicken living free in the backyard. Happily they would lay an egg per day. But during one windy night a few tiles were blown off the chicken house and readily an ocelot (Leopardus pardalis, jaguatirica) saw it´s chance. It jumped into the chicken barn and killed all but ONE chicken. We heard them screaming but when we arrived it was to late, the ocelot had let it´s instinct gone wild and was already resting it´s full stomach, an excellent opportunity to get the camera ready.

Well, this wasn´t the first time, last time it was an armadillo that dug a tunnel into the chicken barn.

Anyways, we will have to buy more chicks and repopulate the barn !

An ocelot´s siesta is at mid-night !

A golden necklace

This wonderful bird is a golden-collared macaw (Primolius auricollis, ararinha-de-colar), one of our smallest macaws. They live in little flocks around woodland and savanna and are common.

An intriguingly different armadillo ...

One of our many camera traps got another first documented sighting for Fazenda Barranco Alto: a giant armadillo (Priodontes maximus, tatu-canastra). This is by far the biggest armadillo weighing up to 28 Kg. They are strictly nocturnal and spend most of their time underground searching for termites. Armadillos play a very important role in local ecology due to their insect diet.

Welcome giant !

Forest ground runners

The ameiva lizard (Ameiva ameiva, calango-verde), is a common reptile around here. Mostly you hear them searching for food (they´re omnivorous) between the leaf litter before you can see them.

Their predators are snakes, tegu lizards and some hawks.

Although they look very bright their camouflage is notable. Click on the picture, close your eyes a bit and see how you loose it between the leaves ...

And more sightings !

This week two new bird species for Fazenda Barranco Alto´s list were sighted by Cassiano Zaparoli (http://zapa.photoshelter.com/). One is the Tawny-crowned Pygmy-Tyrant (Euscarthmus meloryphus, barulhento) a little bird very hard to see but easy to hear, hence it´s Brazilian name: barulhento.

       

The other bird is a fawn-breasted wren (Cantorchilus guarayanus, garrincha-do-oeste) an easy to find bird in gallery forests along the rio Negro.

Back to "normal"

The dramatic flood we had during the last 3 weeks is finally over. The water is receding to its normal level. After all the damage was close to none and the benefits by far outweigh the troubles it caused.

This picture symbolizes the vanishing flood ...

Jabiru stork taking off (note the sun´s reflection on the water droplets!)

Update Flood 2011

For the first time today the water of the Rio Negro didn´t rise anymore. We might be coming to the apex of the flood. This is the biggest ever measured flood in this area of the Pantanal.

Over the past 2 weeks the water rose daily, sometimes 50cm in 24 hours. The rains were heavy, in 12 days more than 520 mm, this on top of all the fallen rain in december/january. On the photos taken on the 1st of March (right) and later on the 13th of March 2011 (left) the difference of the water level is remarkable. The lodge (mid-right) is an island and the runway is partially flooded in. Note that the right photo is already a "wet" one, that means what we consider to be the peak of a normal flood.

Following you can see the lodge "island" and us towing the airplane to a higher part of the runway after a rainy (45mm) night.

Again, one has to point out that the flood is a highly beneficial act of nature. It reinvigorates the Pantanal´s exuberance of life. It restocks lakes and river with fishes and it keeps open grasslands "clean" from shrubs. 

Last but not least, it is a very healthy lesson to us humans who live in this natural paradise, teaching us to be  humble towards our environment.

Flood 2011

This summer (2010/2011) started in an unexpected manner, late rains and no flood until 10 days ago. On the 22nd of February the rio Negro finally started to raise and is now flooding a very extensive area of the local Pantanal. In these pictures you see: A) All of Sta. Tomázia (Barranco Alto´s other side of the river) is flooded as far as you can see B) The observation deck close to the lodge from where we normally look down (+/-3m in the dry season) at the bay looks like you would now be sitting in a bathtub C) the river is getting very close to the lodge.

In the last 24 hours it rained another 242 mm which is quite impressive for this region. That means 242 liters of rain per square meter or a total of more than 24 billion liters of water over the whole property !!!

But the Pantanal is only what we see because of this vastness of water; after all it is a FLOODPLAIN. And this is the natural cycle. It needs it.

We would like to share with you one of our favourite birds, the black-capped donacobius (Donacobius atricapilla, japacanim), or just the Donacobius since this is the only species within the donacobius genus. Once you find them, they´re very obvious and enjoyable to watch.

And more macaws

Do you remeber that hyacinth macaw´s (Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus, arara-azul grande) nest close to the lodge? Last year´s production was a single "little" blue macaw, but what a character... Somehow it seems that the bird  knows exactley what amuses us and is always ready for some funny positions! And don´t forget, it´s a wild bird that we don´t reward in any way.

Pampas Deer

Pampas deers (Ozotocerus bezoarticus, veado-do-campo) are commonly seen around here. They inhabit the grasslands and are a very important indicator of habitat health. Their main predator are the pumas (Puma concolor, onça-parda). When alarmed they stamp their hooves, lift their white tails and move away in a particular trot and with a silent whistle depositing odor.

Due to high genetic variability pampas deers are one of the most polymorphic mammals in South America. This suggests that the numbers of deers were vast in the recent past. The Pantanal is one of the last strongholds of this species.

Landscape of Exception

Some shots of the landscape around here, watch it on HD: 

Oropendolas

Oropendolas (Psarocolius decumanus, japu) are very gregarious birds that nest in colonies on big trees. These nests are wonderfully woven by the females out of palm and grass fibers. Toco toucans are their main predators and therefor the colonies are attentively guarded by the male birds.

The Rio Negro is one of the breeding grounds of the black skimmer (Rynchops niger, talha-mar). On Fazenda Barranco Alto this year there was an exceptionally big breeding colony of over one hundred birds on a single sandbank.

Note the much larger lower mandible.

Their nests are well protected from caymans because these can´t reach down into the little depression in the sand.

Skimmers have a light graceful flight being one of the favorite birds of the many photographers ...

They feed usually in small flocks, flying low over the water surface with the lower mandible skimming the water for small fish and insects caught by touch. 

A skimmer skimming !

Skimming next to a pied lapwing.

About Capybaras !

Capybaras (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris, capivara) are probably our most abundant native mammals together with white-lipped peccaries. They form bigger herds of up to 20 animals, lead by a dominant male which can be recognized by the prominent scent-gland on his nose. Their name derives from what the Guarani Indians call "the master of the grasses". 

They can become very tame if not stressed by people. On Fazenda Barranco Alto the "mineiros" group is a very relaxed one, led by Sir Michal and Lady Laura.

The notable Lady Laura.

Luminary Lord Michal.

Tony trying to be one of them...

Lady Laura feeding milk.

Another first documented sighting !

Fazenda Barranco Alto hosts several research projects. One of them is a survey on mammal diversity and densities by the german biologists Möcklinghoff et al. from the Department of Tropical Ecology of the Zoological Research Museum Koenig at Bonn. This week they recorded the first documented sighting of the brazilian bush dog  (Speothos venaticus, cachorro-vinagre) here on Fazenda Barranco Alto (for exact position click here).

These canids are extremly rare throughout their distribution range and photographs of them in the wild are even more extraordinary. This picture (and 3 more) was taken by a digital camera trap used in a 1x1km grid.

Bush dogs live in packs of up to 10 individuals and hunt in group, being able to bring down much larger prey than themselves.

Another very interesting property are their webed feet, indicating a high adaptation to wet environments like the Pantanal.

For better pictures follow this link: Google Images

Looks that kill

The puma or cougar (Puma concolor, onça-parda) is one of the more common cats around here, but still very elusive. Nevertheless we have an average of 3 sightings per month (over the last 24 months).

It´s looks are deceiving, what seems a cute sweet cat is a very efficient predator of animals as big as tapirs. But mostly they will hunt mammals from agouties to peccaries. Pumas have an impressive leaping and short-sprint ability because their hind legs which are proportionally the largest in the cat family.
By the way, the white flowers you see in this picture are of "assa-peixe" (Vernonia polysphaera) a very common plant with several medicinal properties.

And here´s another interesting sighting that we would like to share with you:

The untold Beauties

While everyone is fascinated by the parrots´ colors, few people note the beauty of these very common birds, the buff-necked Ibis (Theristicus caudatus, curicaca). They are always present on any grassland here in the Pantanal and their diet consists mainly of insects, spiders, frogs, reptiles, snakes, snails and many more little creatures.

Right now there are 3 nests of ibises literally above our roofs on palm trees and together with the hyacinth macaws they are our alarm clock in the mornings.

Yellow-faced Amazon (or Parrot)

The yellow-faced amazon (Amazona (or Alipiopsitta ) xanthops, papagaio-galego), is one of the rarest parrots in central Brazil. Their numbers are declining and they have already disappeared in large areas of its former range. The extent of yellow on their face and underparts is very variable even within the same group of birds. They are easiest to see early morning when they leave their night roost in flocks of up to 40 birds.