BRAZIL - Northern Pantanal Birds

Well, now I am back from guiding a Heatherlea trip to the Northern Pantanal and it was certainly a successful trip. Brazil's Northern Pantanal is most definitely one of the world's great wildlife spectacles crammed full of birds and mammals. For me the mammals were just exciting as some of the birds and I think everyone was in agreement that the "bird of the trip" was in fact a mammal! The views of Jaguar that we enjoyed were without doubt one of my best wildlife watching experiences to date!

Here are a few of the bird highlights: 
Mammal highlights tomorrow!

Black-collared Hawk - a common species in wetter areas

White Woodpecker - a typically gregarious species

Green Ibis - locally common in the Pantanal

Hyacinth Macaw - following a huge decline in the 1980s for the cage bird trade, there is now a very healthy population in the Pantanal with an estimated 5,000 plus individuals

Nanday Parakeet - a beautiful parakeet found in lodge gardens

Large-billed Tern - relatively common along the Cuiaba River and its tributaries

Yellow-billed Tern - again a relatively common species on the Cuiaba River

Black Skimmer - breeding on sand banks along the Cuiaba River

Scissor-tailed Nightjar - found in drier Cerrado grasslands and wooded areas

Greater Rhea - seen in small groups in the Cerrado grasslands

Pied Lapwing - without doubt one of the best looking waders of the Pantanal

Pearly-vented Today Tyrant - locally common in scrub and gallery forest

Southern Screamer - these rather goose-like birds are found in marshy areas and often perch at the top of trees

Wattled Jacana - a common but attractive species

Toco Toucan - an amazing bird commonly found around forest and lodge gardens

Turquoise-fronted Amazon Parrots - locally common in gallery forest but declining outside Pantanal

Blue-crowned Motmot - a relatively common species in lower growth woodlands

Fawn-breasted Wren - a loud vocal songster and quite showy in gallery woodlands. This species is very similar to the Buff-breasted Wren which replaces the Fawn-breasted Wren in the northern Transpantaneira

Blue-crowned Parakeets - Uncommon in gallery woodland

Bare-necked Fruitcrow - seen away from the Pantanal more to the NW on southern edge of Amazonian forest

Jabiru - a classic Pantanal scene

Rusty-backed Antwren - fairly common in low shrubby scrub, Cerrado and woodland

Mato Grosso Antbird - fairly common and vocal in thickets and gallery woodland

Red-and-Green Macaws - uncommon in semi-humid forest and sometimes feeding in Cerrado. Has suffered from trapping and development

Sungrebe - uncommon and typically lurking near shaded and overhanging vegetation on rivers