Brazil Day 2 - Pousada Aguape (10Aug2022) - Part 3

I don't think I have ever split one day into three posts but that is how ridiculously awesome the first full day in Brazil was and it wasn't even really a full day as we travelled in the morning.   After siesta we headed out on the Beast (see last post for pic) for a drive across the property.  These drives consisted of driving 100 yards on a dirt road, stopping when the birds were good and then opening a cattle gate for covering the next 100 yards and repeating this many times.  The driver was very good at sensing when someone in the group wanted a photo of something and we stopped frequently, turning off the Beast to minimize shake from the engine.

This Buff-necked Ibis was just one of many. These birds also came in at night to roost in the trees outside our cabina.

Roadside Hawk - by the end of the trip the joke was that if we saw a hawk we were not instantly able to identify, it was a Roadside Hawk.  Roadside Hawks can come in several different plumages including a Pantanal version which has a dark head not seen further north. In fact there are 12 different sub-species that have been identified.

Red-legged Seriema - plenty of these strutting around.

The dominant cow species across the Pantanal is Zebu in origin which means it is a cow variety that comes from the Indian sub-continent and usually is characterized by a fatty hump on their shoulders, a large dewlap (floppy neck thing) and sometimes drooping ears.  Brahman is one of the varieties that fall into the Zebu grouping.  They are heat tolerant so you will see them in tropical and sub-tropical environments.   Some folks say they are not as tasty or maybe too tasty, meaning they have a stronger taste.  The Pousadas we stayed at frequently served local beef and I thought it was quite good. At home I am virtually a pescatarian by default because my wife and kids are. However, when traveling I like to partake in some beef and pork.  I feel completely fine eating beef and pork especially when I can see how they are living. In this case the cows looked totally content and to a certain extent were free to roam large tracts of land with plenty of food and shade trees.  In fact, one of the cool things (pardon the pun) about farms in Brazil is they frequently leave large trees in the fields probably so the animals can seek shade on a hot day, but it has the added bonus of providing bird habitat.  That being said I don't agree that large tracts of forested land should be cleared for cattle, so I still think its best to eat it in moderation and as part of a well balanced diet. I think of it as a treat, and I had lots of treats in Brazil.

Bare-faced Ibis 

Pantanal Caiman - these reptilians were plentiful and some were quite large.

Pied Lapwing - also known as Pied Plover.  

This species is one that covers all of northeast South America including the Amazon Basin but I hadn't seen one before.

Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture - the colors on this beauty are amazing.

Wattled Jacana - one day I will do this amazing bird justice.  I just can't seem to get the whole bird in focus.  The feet are simply amazing.

Pampas Deer - Considering the many fences around the property I was surprised to see these but apparently they are good jumpers.

Gray-cowled Wood-Rail - easy ID on these considering they only regularly see one species in the area.

Some of the Caiman were pretty large but apparently they almost never go for birds or mammals.

Capybaras were quite common but I had to wait for later in the trip to get up close and personal.

Red-billed Scythebill - and the only one we saw the whole trip.

Vermilion Flycatchers were common and the females frequently caused some ID problems but this male was unambiguous.

Green Ibis - catching the evening light and showing off that green mane.

Wattled Jacana showing the lime green primary feathers.

Look at those feet!

Red-shouldered Macaw!  Only time we saw them.

Picazuro Pigeon - these are beasts.  Wiki says they can weigh over a pound which is well over a Rock Dove.

Savannah Hawk

Southern Lapwing

Pampas Deer

Tamandua!  Otherwise known as the Lesser Anteater.

What a day!  Day 3 was spent exploring all over the property and was probably even better but I will try and spare you photos of the same species.

Brazil Day 2 - Pousada Aguapé (10Aug2022) - Part 2

We arrived at the Pousada with the intent of getting settled and maybe taking a short siesta, but if you know me well enough, I don't rest during birding trips so off I went to explore the property.  First stop, the feeders.

Yellow-billed Cardinal - these amazing birds were everywhere and there were plenty of photo ops on nice snags of bougainvillea.  There are a handful of similar "cardinals" which really are in the tanager family but most of them are in other areas of Brazil.  Here is a few more pics out of the thousands I took just of this species.

Monk Parakeets were common alongside with the Nandays at the feeders.

A pair of Blue-and-yellow Macaws were nesting in a lopped off palm trunk.  They were reliably there pretty much our whole stay.

Plush-crested Jay - just wow!

Giant Cowbird - no joke, this is a giant cowbird.

Purplish Jay - I wanted to do this bird justice as the purple only showed well in certain light but I never quite nailed it.  These Jays are kind of like a version of our crows in terms of behavior, traveling in groups and mobbing raptors.

Chopi Blackbird - these were very plentiful and had a beautiful singing voice.  You can tell them from other blackbirds in the area by the longer blackbird bill and shaggy nape.

Screaming Cowbird - We had 1-2 Screaming Cowbirds which came to the feeders everyday and it was a bit of a challenge picking them out from the Shiny Cowbirds and Chopi Blackbirds.  They were less Shiny than the Shiny Cowbirds (duh!) but still had the conical cowbird bill which was distinguishable from the Chopi's long bill.

Not sure if this was the same one or a different one, the facial plumage looks different but maybe someone pooped on him.

Grayish Baywings were one of the most common feeder birds.

Red-crested Cardinal!  Absolutely stunning.

Hyacinth Macaws - the star of the show at Pousada Aguape.  These massive macaws eat palm nuts and the Pousada puts out troughs full of them.  They roost much of the day in the palm trees in the center of the property making loud squawks and periodically taking off en masse only to circle and land again.  Apparently the Toco Toucans are one of the birds that eat the Macaw eggs which is one reason why they have been threatened in the past.  However, the Pousada has put up nest boxes all over the property and they seems to be thriving.

Toco Toucan - speak of the devil!  How can such a friendly looking bird be so troublesome.

Chaco Chachalacha - these big boys were also very loud and roosted in the trees around the Pousada cabinas, making a huge racket first thing in the morning.

Rufous Cacholote - these were not very common but we did see them in several different locations including one that was reliably near our cabina. 

Pale-breasted Thrush - the more uncommon of the two regular thrush species on the property.

Rufous-bellied Thrush being the more common one and the national bird of Brazil.

Red-legged Seriema - this interesting bird occupies its own order with the Black-legged Seriema which is found west of Brazil.  It looks like a Secretarybird but is unrelated.  In fact it is more closely related to Parrots and Falcons if you can believe that.   Its hard to gauge from this picture but they are huge!

Gilded Hummingbird - although the Pousada had no hummingbird feeders, there were plenty of flowers. 

A family of Thrush-like Wrens lived in the shade trees on the Pousada grounds.

Narrow-billed Woodcreeper

Bare-faced Curassow - I think the female is actually more attractive than the male which is atypical of birds.

Greater Rhea - should be on everyone's bucket list.  Such a gentle looking and massive bird.  I bet they make great omelets too.

All those birds in the course of a couple hours just wandering the property during siesta.  Next installment will be the afternoon birding using the Beast which was the 4x4 vehicle perfectly designed for off-road movement around the Pousada's hundreds of acres.

Gretchen modeling in front of the Beast!