Brazil's Pantanal - 19 Oct (Day 7)

An early morning walk around the Pousada Piuval property got us a handful of new trip birds, with RED-LEGGED SERIEMA and HELMETED MANAKIN being the highlights.


Helmeted Manakin


Savanna Hawk

After breakfast we waved goodbye to the Pantanal and headed for our next destination, known for its Harpy Eagle nest. The eagles are not currently nesting, but an 18-month old immature bird is still frequenting the nest site, giving us a decent chance of seeing one. On our drive in we were surprised to have great roadside views of three RED-WINGED TINAMOUS. Around the nest site we had RED-AND-GREEN MACAWS, Dusky-headed Parakeet, Blue-headed Parrot, BLACK-TAILED TROGON, and LETTERED ARACARI. A couple of SPIDER MONKEYS were vocalizing from the distant canopy.


Red-winged Tinamou


Lettered Aracari


Red-and-green Macaws


Plumbeous Kite




Spider Monkey

As dusk approached we began to lose a bit of hope with the eagle. However Giuliano spotted the magnificent bird flying in with prey hanging from its talons. We would return the following morning for better looks at this highly sought-after species.


The nest tree is the large tree in the left of the image


Harpy Eagle!

Night at Currupira das Araras.

- NB

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Warblers in Flight: A Photographic Collection

While active migration has always been my favorite bird behavior to observe, my interest in the phenomenon called “morning flight” of nocturnal migrants had been minimal due to the unfortunate reality that I lived well over an hour’s drive from the nearest known reliable observation site, Bluff Point State Park in Groton, CT. In autumn 2020, thanks to improved public access to Hammonasset Beach State Park in Madison, CT, I began to explore the northern tip of Willard’s Island as a morning flight viewpoint and was pleased to find that under the right conditions a reliable flight could be observed there. The volume of birds passing through is not large (a small fraction of what passes through Bluff Point), but the flight line is consistent and can be observed under good lighting conditions. Between autumns 2020-22 I visited the site 20 times in total and recorded 27 warbler species in morning flight. All but a few of these have been photographed, often poorly! I immediately found mysel
Read more

Last winter's gull review

Today's cooler, blustery conditions combined with the appearance of an Ivory Gull in Cape May got me thinking more about the upcoming gull season and reflecting on last year's. The 2008-09 gulling in the northeast was pretty damn good and included a few really exciting birds. The season started out with a bang exactly one year ago today with CT's first Slaty-backed Gull . On 12/12 an adult Thayer's Gull put in a brief appearance at the Windsor-Bloomfield Landfill, CT's premier gull hotspot, followed by a first-winter bird on 12/23. A Black-headed Gull spent the winter in New Haven Harbor. Perhaps 'gull of the year' was a subadult Glaucous-winged Gull in Rochester, NH, found by Scott Young...a first record for New England. Meanwhile Gloucester, MA was once again the gull capital of New England. I happened to already be up in Boston when news of an adult Ivory Gull broke on 1/17. I still get chills thinking about that weekend. Of course there were plenty
Read more

Iceland in April

Image
April is an exciting time for the nature enthusiast to visit Iceland. While the weather can still be quite cold and snowy, winter's grip is loosening and signs of spring abound. Several minutes of daylight are gained each day, but there is still enough nighttime darkness to observe the aurora borealis through at least mid-month. It turns out that early spring is also an excellent time for whale watching, particularly if you are keen to find Orcas. Spring migrants are beginning to arrive, including flocks of European Golden Plovers and the first Atlantic Puffins of the year. Given all that, it made sense to consider a long weekend visit to Iceland in mid-April, especially since it is a direct 5-6 hour flight from the northeast USA. Known appropriately as an expensive destination to visit, costs can be considerably reduced by hiring a campervan. Being a super popular mode of transport + lodging in Iceland, there are plenty of companies to choose from. During this shoulder season, I r
Read more