Fazenda Barranco Alto - Pantanal

Predators can be prey themselves ...

2012-01-24T05:07:00.001-04:00

When caimans are still small lizards they are prey for bigger raptors like the black-collared hawk (Busarellus nigricollis, gavião-belo).

2012-01-11T14:20:00.000-04:00

This region of the Pantanal (Rio Negro) is one of the richest in parrot abundance. Flocks of these birds are everywhere and the gregarious macaws catch everyone´s attention. In this picture we see a mixed flock of red-and-green and hyacinth macaws that are together feeding on the dry acuri nuts (Attalea phalerata) found in ungulate´s droppings. Altogether there were 24 birds...

Toucans in their nests agree

2011-12-09T16:36:00.001-04:00

After you´ve read the last post about Haley´s adventures in the Pantanal you might wonder how a toco toucan looks in reality... well, it´s even more colorful than any comic can be !

In this photo the toucan is not predating on another bird´s nest, but guarding its own nest.

In the 1940´s an advertisement from irish Guiness beer ran with the following jingle: "Toucans in their nests agree/Guinness is good for you/Try some today and see/What one or toucan do." See a more recent Guiness toucan TV ad here: http://youtu.be/QXzIMP_wxQ0?hd=1

Haley´s Adventures

2011-11-29T19:01:00.001-04:00

http://www.craigmorecreations.com

Take a look at this very interesting and beautiful comic from Craigmore Creations. It´s about Haley Zoic´s travels, a natural history corespondent, as she explores the lives and struggles of endangered species. In this episode, she visited Fazenda Barranco Alto and learned a lot about the hyacinth macaws, the trees they nest in and the toco toucan. Click on the image to read the comic it´s really worth !

2011-11-10T07:56:00.000-04:00

This is a very interesting time of the year, when the water level of the Negro river is at its lowest. Recently we watched a school of tetra fish (Astyanax sp., lambari) trapped by a big group of caimans at the confluence of a bay with the river. Caimans were all around the shallowest bits of water and the fish would perform aerobatic jumps to escape the predators ...

Black is beautiful !

2011-10-29T13:47:00.000-04:00

This short video shows a skimmer parent incubating its eggs on a sandbank surrounded by the Rio Negro waters ...

Sunbirds !

2011-10-13T20:11:00.000-04:00

We´d like to share with you two very shy birds we sighted these days on the Rio Negro: the sunbittern (Eurypyga helias, pavãozinho-do-pará) and the sungrebe (Heliornis fulica, picaparra). Despite their names, both are not closer related but they share the same colors and a remarkable and exquisite beauty...

Sunbittern displaying its amazing wing-pattern.

A female sungrebe hiding under branches.

Nosey bat

2011-09-15T20:14:00.001-04:00

The proboscis bat (Rhynchonycteris naso) has this name from the elongated nose, which somehow looks in shape like a tapir´s nose... They are nocturnal insect feeders and are always associated with water. Therefor they are more commonly found along the river, where you can see them under tree trunks. We have observed river otters predating on them.

Note the long and pointy nose!

The Swamp Hen

2011-09-04T15:26:00.003-04:00

The american purple gallinule (Porphyrio martinica, frango-d'água-azul) is a common bird of the rail family in our marshes. It´s rather skittish, thus not very easy to approach close enough for a good picture.

They are omnivorous and walk over floating vegetation as if they were on firm ground. No surprise if you look at their huge yellow feet !

Note all the purple-blue tonalities of their plumage...

Pecking Order

2011-08-23T11:24:00.000-04:00

The ringed kingfishers (Megaceryle torquata, martim-pescador-grande) are outstanding in their ability to fish. From a suitable perch they wait patiently until prey swims by. This female was lucky enough to hunt a knifefish (Gymnotus sp., tuvira) probably about half her body weight !

But a few seconds later an attentive roadside hawk (Buteo magnirostris, gavião-carijó), that was watching everything with even more patience, hit the kingfisher in flight and caught the prey from the fisher: pecking order ...

King of the Bush

2011-08-11T04:08:00.001-04:00

As always we would like to remember that seeing a cat is a rare moment and should not be expected ...

This young male and an associated female were seen literally just around the corner in Fazenda Barranco Alto´s "RPPN das Onças" (a private reserve). It´s a young male in stunning shape. The mysteriously dark background is typical of the Rio Negro, one of the Pantanal´s most pristine rivers.

Young male jaguar.

Caiman vs. Capybara

2011-08-03T20:46:00.000-04:00

Capybaras (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris, capivara) are heavily predated by jaguars, pumas, ocelots, foxes, anacondas and caimans. Therefore they reproduce in a rodent-like manner. Here you see a 2 meter caiman (Caiman yacare, jacaré) after it killed a year-old capybara ... It's nature's circle of life.

Another praise to the Giant Otters

2011-07-23T14:49:00.001-04:00

This is one of our favorite posts of the recent past and since these creatures irresistibly draw our attention and interest every single day, we'd simply like to repeat the post of last year:

The giant otters (Pteronura brasiliensis, Ariranha) are amongst the most fascinating animals of the Pantanal. They form family groups of up to 12 individuals with a dominant male and female which stay together lifelong. They show a wide variety of behavior patterns according to their very cooperative and social existence. Research being conducted here in the Rio Negro by Leuchtenberger et al. suggests that giant otters use up to a dozen different vocalizations!

Over the last two months on Fazenda Barranco Alto we have been able to observe the family of "Perereca" doing their best to raise 3 babies. Spending many hours daily watching them we have been lucky to see the most beautiful scenes such as teaching the newborn to swim and fish, grooming and resting together.

Mother giant otter bringing one baby at a time down to the water.

All giant otters come to groom the little one ...

After parental caring comes feeding!

Ending up with a well-deserved siesta !

Howling family

2011-07-19T11:27:00.001-04:00

The black howler monkeys are the only resident monkeys in this area of the Pantanal. O occasionally Capuchin monkeys may roam this far (see the 2007 post).

These large monkeys are seen mostly either resting or eating leaves in the high canopy. Their presence is often given away by their very loud vocalization (click to hear !)

Dominant male.

Female with baby on the back.

A golden beauty

2011-07-02T20:06:00.000-04:00

The Pantanal is not well-known for its hummingbirds ... but the gilded hummingbird (Hylocharis chrysura, beija-flor dourado) is an easy to find beauty that draws everyone´s attention. On this photo it´s feeding on the pink trumpet-vine (Cuspidaria sp., cipó roxo).

Tiger heron

2011-06-26T12:26:00.003-04:00

If you go around and watch carefully, you´ll notice that many species of birds fish. Each one has a different technique. The rufescent tiger-heron (Tigrisoma lineatum, socó-boi) has a standing-still way of fishing. Sometimes they wait for several dozens of minutes without any apparent movement until a suitable fish is in reach and then they precisely and deadly spear it.

Because of their mooing calls, we call them socó-boi (cow-heron) in Portuguese.

A successful early morning hunt ...

Little

2011-06-09T19:55:00.000-04:00

These handsome birds are the pied lapwings (Vanellus cayanus, mexeriqueira). They are quite common along the river banks of the rio Negro, where they hunt invertebrates, rarely entering the water.

And just another new sighting !

2011-05-27T21:10:00.001-04:00

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 !

2011-05-19T21:38:00.001-04:00

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

2011-05-09T15:25:00.001-04:00

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 ...

2011-04-27T18:58:00.000-04:00

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

2011-04-20T16:17:00.000-04:00

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 !

2011-04-14T21:56:00.000-04:00

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"

2011-03-27T21:03:00.000-04:00

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

2011-03-15T08:48:00.002-04:00

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

2011-03-02T16:35:00.003-04:00

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.

2011-02-23T07:43:00.000-04:00

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

2011-02-04T14:26:00.001-04:00

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

2011-01-04T11:16:00.001-04:00

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

2010-12-19T09:41:00.000-04:00

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

Oropendolas

2010-11-27T15:37:00.000-04:00

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.

2010-10-26T09:40:00.002-04:00

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 !

2010-08-21T16:52:00.005-04:00

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 !

2010-07-30T15:26:00.003-04:00

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

2010-07-18T20:31:00.004-04:00

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

2010-07-13T14:21:00.000-04:00

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)

2010-06-26T10:23:00.001-04:00

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.

The world is pink again !

2010-06-13T19:54:00.000-04:00

These days our world turned pink again. After a 56 mm rain most pink trumpet-trees (Tabebuia impetiginosa, piúva-do-campo, aka ipê-roxo) started to bloom like magic. For 15 days our forest looked like the picture below. Now it´s over and we´re already counting the days for the blooming of the yellow trumpet-trees in august ...

Old fences

2010-06-06T08:40:00.000-04:00

Many people ask us why we leave old fences standing around. The old fence posts in this picture appeared to our eyes for the first time last year, during the very long and dry season that we had. They are standing in a saline lake (salina) and if we could ask them I am sure that they would have many stories to tell. Right now they are being used daily by birds (in this case by large-billed terns (Phaetusa simplex, trinta-reis-grande)) as roosting and resting opportunity. So from our point of view old posts open a new micro-habitat that soon will be colonized by many different creatures, from fungi to insects, birds and others !

2010-05-28T11:51:00.001-04:00

The Great Horned Owl, (Bubo virginianus, corujão-orelhudo) is the biggest of our owls. During these days you can hear them calling each other over big distances (listen here).
Their eyes are almost human size, although the bird weights "only" around 1500g and are fixed within their facial bone structure, therefor owls have to turn their head to change the visual field.

About Giant Otters in the rio Negro

2010-05-16T11:54:00.000-04:00

In 1992 Jorge Schweizer published his pioneer work about giant otters (Pteronura brasiliensis, Ariranha) ecology. His studies were all done around one of the few places you would find giant otters in the 80´s: the Rio Negro in the southern Pantanal of Brazil.

Still into these days the Rio Negro is the most pristine of all rivers in the Pantanal. It is an isolated river with no commercial fishery and access from other rivers, with most of it´s gallery forest well conserved.

Here giant otters thrive, feeding on adundant fishes like these catfishes. They live in families with up to 12 members and are very active and noisy animals.

Surely, the giant otters are emblematic of the Pantanal´s wildlife abundance!

Star gazing

2010-05-06T10:04:00.009-04:00

One of our favorite sightings are the stars at night with no moon. Because we are in such a remote place we can see the faintest stars, distant galaxies like the Large Magellanic Cloud (160´000 light years away) and even the mysterious Zodiacal lights.

In this picture you see carandá palm trees (Copernicia alba) in the foreground and a short stretch of the milky way.

If you go left from the top palm crown you will find the southern cross (Crux), a constellation we use to know where south is. Right below the southern cross is a dark nebula called the Coalsack, lying 600 light-years away from us. It is formed by interstellar dust grains and thus blocks the light of stars behind it. These nebulas can be "birthplaces" of new stars.

Yellow-chevroned Parakeets

2010-04-27T22:43:00.001-04:00

April is the month when the mandacaru cactus (Cereus peruvianus) frutifies. It´s fruits are red with a delicious white flesh. Many animals love them but most of all the parakeets. The cactus become hotspots for birdwatchers and any other nature interested person ...

These are a yellow-chevroned parakeet (Brotogeris chiriri, periquito-de-encontro-amarelo) and a monk parakeet (Myopsitta monachus, caturrita) in the background.

And why are they called "yellow-chevroned parakeets" ? Here is the answer:

In the middle of the night ...

2010-04-12T20:26:00.001-04:00

These wonderful flowers are of the Nymphaeceae family, the same as the well-known Vitória-régia (Victoria amazonica). They flower usually in April and only after midnight.
Right now many of our 200+ fresh water ponds have many of these flowers ...

Spoonbills

2010-03-28T10:13:00.001-04:00

The spoonbills (Platalea ajaja, colhereiro), are large wading birds of the Ibis family, with oversized, spatulate bills that resemble a spoon ... They occur here throughout the year. Unlike herons, spoonbills fly with their necks outstretched.

Osprey

2010-03-12T14:36:00.000-04:00

This is the Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), a diurnal raptor, migrating dwon to the Pantanal from the USA, where they nest.

Ospreys are found on every continent but Antarctica, but in most places they are threatened by habitat loss and aquatic polution.

They are always found close to bigger water bodies fishing from the air, dropping out of the sky they can dive more than a meter into the water to catch the fish.

Ospreys are the only raptors together with owls where the outer toe is reversible, allowing them to grasp their prey with two toes in front and two behind.

In my oppinion, on of the most elegant birds we find here !

Hi-res pictures on Google Earth

2010-02-18T20:27:00.001-04:00

A great thanks to Google ! They have updated their satellite imagery of our region and now we can enjoy seeing tiny details, down to single trees ...
The little squared photos were added by us and show detailed views, just click on them !

Barbie's cub

2010-02-03T17:58:00.004-04:00

Many people have asked us over the last few months what happened to Barbie and her cub. As I say: I don't like to post too many cat pictures because cats are very hard to see and it creates high expectations about possible sightings...

Anyway, here is an update:

F (the cub) is most probably a female, she's almost her mother's size but of a lighter appearance, less muscles. F has very big rosettes like her mother.

This picture was taken by Adrian Testa, a Smithsonian Institute's (Washington-DC) photographer, from about 20 meters at night as the cats were coming out of the reeds. We were in absolute silence and watched them for a couple of minutes. The picture was taken at ISO 5000, therefor the high background noise. A magic moment even for those who have seen inumerous jaguars over the years.

Colors

2010-01-17T21:03:00.001-04:00

Another "side-effect" of the present rains is how vivid color can get. The green is much greener and the blue of the hyacinth macaws (Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus, arara-azul-grande) is close to something you would only expect from Disney ...

After all the water is back !

2010-01-08T20:38:00.001-04:00

The Pantanal is a land of extremes, if you saw it in October 2009, you'd say you are close to a desert, humidity of 15%, brown/yellow grass, temperatures over 30Celsius and most ponds dried out ... and after a few months, hundreds of millimeters of rain later, everything is under water !

And that's exactely what makes the Pantanal special and so rich. The up and down of the water creates more ecological niches than a steady system would offer, the flood renews the land, brings in new nutrients and fishes into lakes that were dry ...

It's a time full of new adventures and experiences, a time when we see less wildlife but the beauty of the beauty of the omnipresent water the sheer endless variety of green tones more than compensate for that ...

John Alcock and the Foliage-gleaner

2009-12-09T08:09:00.004-04:00

Most biologists from all over the world know John Alcock's book "Animal Behavior". It's a must for people interested in an evolutionary approach towards animal AND human behavior. It's simply a masterpiece.

How pleased we were with John and Sue Alcock's visit to Barranco Alto ! For several days we enjoyed their nice company and profited from John's amazingly broad knowledge !

From right to left: John, Sue, Jorge and Marina

As an avid birdwatcher, John Alcock was very enthusiastic to find a new bird species for the Barranco Alto Birdlist: the Chestnut-capped Foliage-gleaner (Hylocryptus rectirostris, Fura-barreira). It's a member of the ovenbirds and nests in the riverbanks of the Rio Negro.

First photo of a maned Wolf !!!

2009-11-19T07:52:00.007-04:00

We have now the first documented record of a maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus, Lobo-guará)! The picture was taken by a trail camera also known as camera trap at this position.

The maned wolf is a member of the canidae family, thus related to dogs, wolves and foxes. They are about 100 cm tall at their shoulders and weight something around 25 kg.

They are very rare, to compare: we have had about 61 jaguar sightings in the last 6 years and about 2 maned-wolf sightings, which can't be proven ...

This picture is horrible but it leaves no doubt about the fact. If you'd like to see a good picture, follow this link and here is a part of a BBC documentary we worked on 10 years ago.

Coscoroba Swan

2009-11-11T07:29:00.003-04:00

The Coscoroba (Coscoroba coscoroba) is not considered a true swan, it's philogenetic position is not fully defined. It has characteristics of geese and swans.

Nevertheless, it's a very attractive bird that uses our salinas (brakish ponds) as wading grounds. The name derives from their typical call (listen here).

Coscorobas breed from Tierra del Fuego to central Argentina and migrate north up to the Southern Pantanal, where they are rarely seen like this group (11/11/2009) ...

Marsh deer in natural habitat

2009-10-25T19:04:00.003-04:00

The marsh-deer (Blastocerus dichotomus, cervo-do-pantanal) is the largest of our deers. They prefer marshy ground with standing water and dense vegetation, for this, they have large feet with an elastic membrane between the hooves.

They are solitary and their natural enemies are jaguars and pumas.

In this photo you see a typical male in his natural habitat.

2009-10-11T20:53:00.007-04:00

For weeks we have been hearing this wonderful and exotic call at night. With some patience we managed to get this shot of the bird calling and identified it as a little nightjar (Caprimulgus parvulus, bacurauzinho).

Click on the video below to listen to this wonderful call !

And more Caimans !

2009-09-18T09:18:00.003-04:00

Although we see literally thousands of caimans (Caiman croocodilus yacare, jacaré-do-pantanal), we don't get bored by them. They have a scary look but their temperament is rather docile.

Nursing caracara

2009-08-30T09:58:00.006-04:00

These days we watched a capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris), that had apparently suffered an attack by a puma (Puma concolor), being "nursed" by a yellow-headed caracara (Milvago chimachima).

In Portuguese we call this bird the carrapateiro, thus the one that eats ticks. They are well known for their symbiosis with herbivores like capybaras, cattle etc.

In this case it was picking maggots out of the capibaras wound.

Phantastic !

Breeding

2009-08-06T18:56:00.005-04:00

This time of the year is when most animals are breeding. They might become shier but if you see mothers with their offspring, it's a double reward !

Tapirs (Tapirus terrestris, Anta) in a lake with several other birds ...

A mother caiman (Caiman crocodilus, Jacaré-do-Pantanal) guarding her offspring on a river bank ...

And the unique giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla, Tamanduá-bandeira)

carrying it's baby comfortably on the back !

From Burbank, CA to SSOQ

2009-07-19T14:48:00.008-04:00

A few days ago our friends Vladimir and Amy Lange landed safely on Fazenda Barranco Alto's airstrip SSOQ. They arrived from Los Angeles, California, in their own Bonanza F35 a wonderful v-tail airplane...

Two years ago, Vladimir (Homo sapiens) was the first one to photograph a male jaguar that we later called Vladimir (Panthera onca), see the post of October 3rd, 2007). Vladimir-the-cat happens to be Barbie's favourite partner !

Unfortunately their stay was too short and they had to leave again yesterday. We wish them all the best on their way back home.

The route posted on one of the windows.

Vladimir Lange stepping down of his Bonanza.

Another first sighting for the Pantanal ! 403.

2009-07-03T14:11:00.004-04:00

And we keep sighting new birds for the Pantanal. This time it has been the Lake Duck (Oxyura vittata, Marreca-pé-na-bunda).

This stiff-tailed duck is a typical representant of this family as it has an erected tail feather when the bird is at rest. It comes from Argentina and was first sighted here on Fazenda Barranco Alto, July 2009.

Slow warm-up

2009-06-28T19:39:00.002-04:00

These shaggy-looking birds are Guira Cuckoos (Guira guira, anu-branco). It's a widespread non-parasitic cuckoo that lives in a gregarious manner withing bigger flocks.

In the winter, they all gather together on exposed branches, turning their backs to the rising sun.

The 400th bird re-edited

2009-06-09T18:13:00.004-04:00

To those that were still skeptical of my sighting of the rufous-sided crake (Laterallus melanophaius, see post down the list), here goes a slightly better picture:

401 !!!

2009-05-20T15:00:00.004-04:00

And short after bird species number 400 we have a new record: 401 species so far ! This time I had a excellent sighting of 4 red shovelers (Anas platalea, marreco-colhereiro). This species of dabbling duck breeds in southern Chile and Argentina and has never been recorded in the Pantanal before.
It has a unique bill, very large, black and of spoon shape, similar to the roseate spoonbills (Platalea ajaja, colhereiro).
What a sighting ! and the pictures are OK (compared to the last one):

and more about Jaguars ...

2009-05-16T19:22:00.005-04:00

I was really hesitating to post more about our cats and thus creating more expectations. Anyway, I just repeat: seeing any cat is a big bonus !

Today we watched Barbie's cub "F" (Panthera onca, onça-pintada) demonstrating obviously his carnivorous habits. Barbie killed a boar (Sus scrofa, porco monteiro) and F was trying to open it, which wasn't so easy ... Do you see Barbie in these two pictures ? Where F is I don't have to tell you !

About statistics

2009-05-04T16:20:00.009-04:00

Although we know that they are around, the probability of seing a puma is very low. Over the last years we have spotted an average of about 10 pumas (Puma concolor, onça-parda, suçuarana) per year (March-November).

Over the last week, for some yet unknown reason, we were lucky enough to spot 3 pumas in 3 consecutive days. All sightings were at diff

erent places and most probably of 3 different cats, as the events occured independently. Our guests from England and France had 1 sighting per afternoon...

This was really amazing and because the pictures I managed to take are quite good, I thought of publishing it.

But be aware: seing any cat in the Pantanal (besides our house-cat) is a rare moment. And often if you are lucky enough, you'll see just a glimpse of it !

Photo of a female in the reeds ...

Photo of a big male.

400th bird species recorded !!!

2009-04-25T20:51:00.005-04:00

We recently spotted the 400th bird-species on Fazenda Barranco Alto. It was a rufous-sided crake (Laterallus melanophaius, sanã-parda). Our guest Granger Ward from California had an iPod with a call of another crake (Laterallus sp.) which he has seen in the Atlantic rainforest close to Rio de Janeiro (Regua Bird Lodge). After many minutes of calling and a pair of crakes answering I could identify clearly with my binoculars two rufous-sided crakes. The picture I managed to shoot is horrible but still worth for the occasion:

To see a good picture of this bird, follow this link to James Lowen's site: (James Lowen @PBase)

These birds have a very borad range and are very common in some areas, but still, we are very proud of this sighting and it's number and are still convinced that there're more first-bird sightings to come !

Capybaras

2009-04-06T07:21:00.002-04:00

Cabyparas (Hydrochoerus Hydrochaeris, capivara) are one of the most abundant bigger native wildlife species here in the Pantanal. They are rodents and live in close proximity to the water; on the back of one of them you see a cattle tyrant (Machetornis rixosus, suiriri-cavaleiro). The plants are water hyacinths (Eichhornia crassipes, aguapé).

A golden necklace

2009-03-27T07:38:00.003-04:00

This wonderful bird is the golden-collared macaw (Primolius auricollis), one of our smallest macaws. They live in smaller flocks and are very gregarious, eating seeds and fruits of different trees, prefering the bush savannas over dense forest.

Jaguar female with cub in high resolution

2009-03-23T08:03:00.003-04:00

This footage was shot by Felix Richter from Mundoimagem. It was about 6 PM, so light conditions were not best and again very high ISO settings had to be used, but there she was, majestic with her not so little anymore cub F:

Vultures on Broadway !

2009-03-15T09:51:00.004-04:00

Following the last post:

Barbie (Panthera onca) was hidden in the forest where she was guarding a huge wild bore (Sus scrofa) she'd killed the day before; outside about 50 black-vultures (Coragyps atratus) were waiting their turn to feed on the carcass.

But then the rain came and all vultures got their wings wet, but being so close to a big cat isn't very safe for a bird if they can't fly off instantly, so as soon as some sun-rays broke through the clouds they all turned their back into the warm sun and dried their vital flying organs. It looked like a coreographed show !

Barbie with her cub !

2009-03-11T20:17:00.005-04:00

Today we got to see Barbie and her cub, called F, in full size. The little one is about the size of an ocelot (Leopardus pardalis, jaguatirica) but stockier and obviously heavier. He's about 80 days old, just the age when they start to feed on meat ...

We have been watching both for 25 minutes, during which F wouldn't stop. Many vultures were around and F would try to catch some unsuccessfully. Barbie looks gorgeous and about 80 Kg heavy, very well. They came out of the forest at about 18:00 hours, that's why the pictures are sop horrible, because I had to use a very high ISO setting on the camera.

Image show of the southern Pantanal

2009-01-18T21:03:00.008-04:00

This is a slide show with music by Almir Sater we produced with some pictures from this last year. For viewing it in full resolution, follow this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WBr2Z1Ci_Q#

The drought and more birds

2008-12-16T19:26:00.002-04:00

We had a very good and on-time rainy season start in October, but then towards mid-November the rains ceased and at the moment we are facing a relatively severe drought. Some lakes that we have never seen dry this year lost all their water.But in general the Pantanal's nature is adapted to these weather conditions. As a matter of fact, some parts of it even flourish, like these concentrations of black-bellied and white-faced whistling ducks (Dendrocygna autumnalis and Dendrocygna viduata).

2008-11-22T09:23:00.009-04:00

This week we captured this fabulous female jaguar (Panthera onca, onça-pintada).

The procedure was made together with the Jaguar Conservation Fund. It took us 3 days, 6 dogs and 12 people to track her down. The team consisted of vets, biologists, trackers and field guides.

Finally we found her on November 18th, at only 1 km away from the farm houses. She fell asleep with an anesthetic for a few hours and thus enabled us to take blood samples for DNA and disease analysis, collect ticks and other parasites and measure all biometric data. At the end we "equipped" her with a light-weight radio collar that will now transmit us her position non-stop over the next 3 years.

Some of you might ask why we are doing this to such an amazing animal. Here is a quick and partial answer:

Jaguars are the most elusive of the big cats, very difficult to watch in free range and thus most of their behaviour, ecological role and necessities are poorly understood.

They are "umbrella species" and require large areas to maintain viable populations. The protection of their habitat will protect the habitat and populations of "passenger species" therein contained, from simple bacterias to highly evolved marsh dears for example. Therefore, caring for the conservation of the jaguar is equivalent to a broad environmental conservation.

It is only possible to preserve such an animals existence if you know and understand as much as possible about it. With radio telemetry we will be able to learn about a jaguars territory size, how much gallery forest (along the river), other forests and open grasslands it requires to survive. Where is its core area ? When does it move more ? Where are its preferred hunting grounds ? Where does it move to during the rainy season, when the river floods its banks and plains ? How does it live with human presence ? How does it interact with livestock ?

Why did we choose this particular female ?

Because she is an animal that has shown us that she can perfectly well live close and together with human presence. For the last 4 years we have very often seen her tracks in our "backyard". Only 2 weeks ago she walked through a herd of 350 young cows where hunted down a wild boar. She could easily have killed a cow but her instinct is strong enough to go after her "natural prey". Being a female jaguar, we will also learn a lot about her off-spring. In addition, females are more resident and less prone to territorial fights.

And last but not least poachers tend to avoid collared jaguars.

These are some of the questions and answers we have for the moment. If you want to know more please feel free to ask us directly: barrancoalto@gmail.com

The King of the Uglies

2008-11-09T07:54:00.003-04:00

The King Vulture (Sarcoramphus papa, Urubu-rei) is one of the largest, colored and rarest members of the Cathartidae (vultures) family, it's about twice as big as common vultures. It's closest living relative is the Andean Condor (Vultur gryphus).

These birds are called kings because they very often displace other vultures when they find a carcass and these will wait for the king to finish feeding. Often they will make the initial cut of big carcasses.

They are fabulous gliders, often soaring for hours without beating their wings.

This one was found feeding on a cow's carcass (Bos indicus).

New bird family sighted !!!

2008-11-02T13:16:00.009-04:00

Today we have spotted yet another novelty for our birdlist, the Sunbittern (Eurypyga helias, Pavãozinho-do-Pará). It's a very unique bird, belonging to a monotypic family and occurs normally in the Amazon rain forest down to the Mato Grosso state.

Once it opens its wings it's an easy identification, because this is probably the bird with the most amazing wing patterns ! Enjoy these pictures we have shot, they're not good, but give you a glimpse. For better pictures follow this link to our friend's website: Jan Dungel : Painting the Jungle

The sunbittern along the shores of the Rio Negro, MS

The sunbittern showing its wing patterns

XL mating season

2008-10-12T21:04:00.008-04:00

Last week, together with Olivier Gruenewald and Miguel Rico, I spotted this magnificent jaguar (Panthera onca, onça pintada). As we came out of the forest she had spotted us already but decided to sit down, lick her back and watch us for around 4 minutes before she gently walked away ...Since then we have seen her tracks almost daily, found two half-eaten preys and heard her roaring close to the lodge about 2 days ago. By the way this is Barbie, a jaguar female we have seen several times (see previous post further down the list).Today we went a step further exploring the grounds across the river on Santa Tomazia. There some extensive lakes and vazantes are just drying out so that you can walk without drowning between caymans ! There we found jaguar tracks right away, fresh after the last rain. As we were hiking we heard southern screamers (Chauna torquata) and chachalacas (Ortalis canicollis, arancuã-do-Pantanal) screaming, capybaras (Hydrochoerus Hydrochaeris) calling alarm. Then suddenly I noticed a sound similar to a "motorbike" accelerating several times. And finally there she was again ! In the diffuse light of a late afternoon and a wonderful full moon coming out magically we spotted her… together with her lover ! Two jaguars mating, 100 meters from us ! We were as excited as they probably were ! In the moonlight we could see her white belly as she rolled over the ground. We watched them for some minutes and as he disappeared we saw her walking at the border of the lake towards our truck.Quietly we went to the car and sat there in absolute silence as we heard the couple bellowing in the thick bush. I started to call them with loud and characteristic vocalizations made solely with my voice. After 5 minutes she came out of the bush 25 meters from us and I lit up the search light on her. There she was again for 10 seconds in full splendour ... What a brilliant sighting !!!

How do you do Tuiuiu ?!

2008-09-28T20:54:00.003-04:00

As the lakes dry up, big numbers of storks arrive and fish the fishes that got trapped in the last remaining waters ...

These are Jabiru storks, in Portuguese: Tuiuiu !

Giant Otters

2008-09-13T16:06:00.002-04:00

Giant otters (Ariranha, Pteronura brasiliensis) were once almost extinct from most rivers in Brazil. In the last 15 years the Negro river has seen a fantastical come-back of these wonderful animals. They live in families and are highly social, using up to 40 different vocalizations to communicate between themselves and their environment. Their behaviour is very complex, amphibious and diurnal.

Perfect for watching for hours !

Nam et ipsa scientia potestas est : And thus knowledge itself is power (Sir Francis Bacon).

2008-08-17T15:23:00.006-04:00

Since July 2008 we have been receiving several researcher groups. We built them a nice house and charge what they can afford.
Since both of us have natural science degrees but today don't have the time anymore we wanted to attract and support researchers in the most diverse fields. With them we can discuss different ideas and follow their work without having to spend hours collecting data ...

These following 3 pictures show a group of 3 professors, 3 students and 2 technicians of the Geoscience Institute of the University of São Paulo. They spent 10 days working around Fazenda Barranco Alto.
They are trying to figure out why and how salt lakes occur. What is common to them ? What is different to the fresh water lakes ? Are there any distribution patterns ? What is the origin of all these sediments ? Is there a way to predict salinity and pH from satellite images ? etc.

All very interesting questions. And now just imagine having these people around for some days, being able to discuss with them about salt and sugar!

It's great !

A line of 3D-conductivity measurements.

Pulling an Italian made ground-radar.

Precise altitude determination of salt lake Mara Maravilha with state-of-the-art GPS from Trimble.

Blue peccaries !!!

2008-08-17T15:12:00.003-04:00

This is not the best picture in technical terms, but it gives you a nice impression of what the Pantanal at Fazenda Barranco Alto is about. Beautiful harmony of endangered hyacinth macaws and white-lipped peccaries a few meters from the lodge, literally in the garden !

2008-07-20T17:41:00.001-04:00

And after the pink trumpet-tree, it's time for the blossom of the yellow ipe (Tabebuia aurea). Few words and enjoy the scenery ! For those who know it: this is Salina dos Mineiros.

June

2008-06-18T05:40:00.008-04:00

How wonderful June is ! The temperatures are milder, thus animals come out of the shade and to top that the pink trumpet-tree (piúva, Tabebuia heptaphylla) blooms in all it's splendor.
And if you're lucky, you have it all together, like this giant anteater (Tamanduá-bandeira, Myrmecophaga tridactyla) strolling along the shores of a salt lake (Salina Lindoya) on a late afternoon ...

More Tapirs ...

2008-06-10T11:14:00.000-04:00

Tapir (Tapirus terrestris, Anta) mother with young

and an adult male tapir entering one of the salt lakes (salina) which are unique to this region of the Pantanal along the Rio Negro. Salt lakes offer an unbeatable opportunity to view the Pantanal's fauna at it's best. Uncountable bird species use them to feed and rest, tapirs use them to heal their wounds and many other animals just like their salty taste ...

The nibbling (trogon in greek) bird

2008-05-25T02:37:00.000-04:00

The trogons (family Trogonidae) have soft and colorful feathers with distinctive male and female plumage. Trogons are cavity nesters, duging their nests into rotting wood or old termite nests.

They are represented here in the Pantanal by one species, the blue-crowned Trogon (Trogon curucui, Surucuá), in the pictures below a male:

Atumn

2008-05-07T20:26:00.002-04:00

Autumn has definitely arrived when caimans (Caiman croocodilus yacare, Jacaré) show up in huge numbers.
A few weeks ago you would hardly see caimans along the river bank. Late April the waters of the river reced and the sand banks apear; the flooded forest dries out and thousands of caimans come back to the river. No better time to watch them than late afternoon like on this picture below:
And no better image to simbolize the essence of the Pantanal: prey and predator together, still in balance, around the water... And again prey and predator is relative: when young, caimans are killed by jabiru storks, when adults, caimans hunt jabiru storks. So simple.

Another autumn impression

2008-05-01T06:06:00.002-04:00

Sunset and carandá palms (Copernicia alba, wax palm).

More autumn impressions ...

2008-05-01T06:04:00.002-04:00

White-lipped peccaries (Tayassu pecari, Queixadas) and greater rheas (Rhea americana, Emas) roaming together undisturbed a few meters from the lodge.

A magnificent bird !

2008-05-01T06:03:00.004-04:00

Jabiru stork (Jabiru mycteria, Tuiuiu) en passant ...

Showtime !

2008-04-20T12:59:00.003-04:00

A couple of hyacinth macaws (Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus) hanging on a carandá palm nut stem (Copernicia alba) at their early morning exercise... And a couple of blue-and-yellow macaws (Ara ararauna) also known as blue-and-gold macaws, looking very golden in the light of a late afternoon sun on a bocaiúva palm stump (Acrocomia aculeata) !

Water Meeting // Encontro das Águas

2008-03-24T15:45:00.006-04:00

In the slow-moving waters of the Rio Negro of the southern Pantanal, acids (mostly tannic acids (compounded glucose esters of gallic acid)) are leeched from decaying organic matter in flooded forests creating transparent, tea-colored water. These waters have an extremely low water hardness and an acidic pH of 5-6. The substrate of this black water habitat is typically leaf litter over a base of sand.
The muddy brown waters of the Aquidauana river carry a heavy sediment load originating in clay rich soils.

On fazenda Barranco Alto you can see the meeting of these two waters a few days after heavy rains in the headwaters of the Aquidauana river. Then some of it comes through a side-arm into the Rio Negro and presents us with this unique nature spectacle. Both waters flow side-by-side for a distance before they mix into a cafe-au-lait colored river ...

On the photo you see left the black water, right the muddy water and in between some reflexions of the forest.

And least but not last, this is not the Rio Negro in the Amazon but it's homonym in the Pantanal ! Two very different rivers and in their own way very unique ...

No fence for wildlife

2008-03-12T15:47:00.013-04:00

The tapir (Tapirus terrestris, anta) is our biggest native mammal. It's related to the horses, both being odd-toed animals (Ungulates). They are browsers and freely roam around big distances ...

Fazenda Barranco Alto is a cattle station and therefore has fences throuout the country-side. Sometimes people ask us if these fences wouldn't disturb natural distribution patterns of wild animals and here is an answer in photographs:

No, our fences just keep back horses and cows. And that's only because they are selected for respecting fences. Because if they wanted, our Indian cows (Bos indicus, Nelore) could easily jump over ...
So if a tapir just walks through the fence, imagine anteaters, peccaries, deers, pumas and all the rest !

Passion flower

2008-03-06T15:28:00.002-04:00

This is the very decorative flower of the passion fruit (Passiflora incarnata, maracujá). It grows wild (native) here in the Pantanal and right now is the fruiting season.

"Passion" does not refer to love, but to the Passion of Christ on the cross. In the 15th and 16th centuries, Spanish Christian missionaries discovered this flower and adopted its unique physical structures as symbols of Crucifixion.

Flowers and fruits are used to effectively treat insomnia because it contains specific alkaloids.

High flood this year.

2008-02-18T16:48:00.005-04:00

This lovely picture from our dear neighbour Paul Grol (Fazenda São João & Embiara, http://www.panoramio.com/photo/6675151) shows how much the water of the rio Negro has risen in the last few weeks. We expect that there is still more water to come. The flood is very important because it revigorates the soils by depositing organic matter which comes in suspension.
For our guests the high waters open a whole new world as for example canoeing in between the trees ...

Summer clouds

2008-01-28T06:14:00.000-04:00

Twin-engine taking off from our runway SSOQ.

Well, you all know we're right in the middle of the rainy season. Therefor most sunsets are dramatic and the sky is mostly scattered with cumulus clouds; usually these have a puffy appearance, with noticeable vertical development and clearly defined edges. They are mostly precursors of the cumulonimbus clouds (lower picture) that often end in rain and thunderstorms making every late afternoon a dramatic spectacle.

Cumulonimbus clouds over the Rio Negro (Fazenda Barranco Alto).

Prey and predator and vice-versa

2007-12-09T07:19:00.000-04:00

If people ask what's a caiman's (Caiman crocodilus yacare, jacaré-do-pantanal) predator we would say: "well, maybe, sometimes, ahh, uuhh, a jaguar (Panthera onca) or an anaconda (Eunectes notaeus, sucuri-amarela) and nut much more ...", but in fact, we forget that they hatch as little vulnerable creatures and are heavily predated at this stage of life. Even rufescent tiger-herons (Tigrisoma lineatum , socó-boi) feed on young caimans.
And then they grow and grow and soon they will be hunting fish and birds like tiger-herons !

Going home ...

2007-12-09T07:05:00.000-04:00

Twice a year we round-up all heads of cattle for vaccination and counting. This has just happened and after a long day we ride home again ...

A new sighting for the southern Pantanal !

2007-11-16T20:12:00.001-04:00

Today we had a very exciting new sighting of a duck never seen before in the Pantanal: the white-cheeked Pintail (Anas bahamensis, marreco-toicinho). Here's the picture with it, second from the right, between black-bellied Tree ducks and Brazilian Teals.

More spring impressions ...

2007-11-14T17:46:00.000-04:00

The Pantanal is all green and wet again. The spring has come and the rains with it. This first half of November 2007 we had already 95 mm of rain pouring down on Fazenda Barranco Alto. It´s not much compared to other tropical environments, but very good for the local statistics. Let´s calculate: 1 mm of rain is equal to 1 liter per square meter. If the ranch has 110´000´000 m2, then it rained in these 15 days aproximately 10´450´000´000 liters onto Fazenda Barranco Alto ! And because these lands are not well drained, the Pantanal floods ...

Anyways, giant otters (Pteronura brasiliensis, Ariranha) enjoy the growing river !

Golden-collared macaws (Ara auricollis, ararinha-de-coleira) find seeds in the fresh grass,

Water-hyacinths (Eichhornia crassipes, aguapé) bloom in majesty,

Great potoos (Nyctibius grandis, urutau-gigante) raise their chicks (note the baby potoo between it´s legs, like a penguin!),

and the green-and-rufous kingfisher (Chloroceryle inda, martim-pescador-da-mata) ambushes a fish !

Agami heron

2007-10-21T10:03:00.000-04:00

Today we had a very interesting first sighting of a Agami heron (Agamia agami, Soco' beija-flor), a very elusive, shy, solitary heron that never shows itself in the open. I was not known in these parts of the Pantanal ... further observations will tell if it is migratory or resident. We found it hidden close to still water and it immediately hid further into the undergrowth. With this species, our bird list has grown to a proud 395 species !