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Incredible to see the pumas (including cubs, no less). Amazing sighting. We saw tracks when we were there, but not their makers. 

 

And there I was telling @SafariChick before the trip not to get her hopes up too high. Yes, that’s me now eating crow, as we say. 

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Puma! Puma! Puma!

 

Interesting she had two cubs.  The mother puma I saw also had two cubs, but definitely of different ages--a teenager and a toddler.

 

Exciting trip!

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Armadillos and armadillos! giant anteater again and again. and then Boom. Pumas! wow. you've set a new benchmark now. 

 

so pleased for you both, and I'm very, entirely, green with envy.

 

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Yes @Atravelynn we thought of you with your mother puma and two cubs! very interesting coincidence. We would have honestly been thrilled with just one puma, but this was a puma-palooza! We had been wishing and thinking and hoping so hard and were so grateful!

 

@Alexander33 yes, and you were right to encourage me not to be too hopeful as it was really pretty unlikely but I couldn't help hoping and luckily it worked out!

 

@Treepol thanks, it really was special.

 

The next morning, we set out on a drive and quite early encountered a Burrowing Owl posing nicely on a fence:

 

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next we came upon some Pantaneiros, the cowboys who work on the ranch (Pantaneiro means resident of the Pantanal) who were gracious enough to allow us to take their photo

 

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Continuing on, we came upon a group of peccaries. Often they are fairly shy and wouldn't let us get too close, but we were able to get close enough for a few photos

 

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And then we came to our destination for the morning: an abandoned farm shed that now is home to two species of bats who roost here during the day. It was quite a sight to see when we opened the door and saw dozens of bats inside! For me, the photography was tricky as it was dark inside and I mostly got photos of the vampire bats. (the name of the second species is escaping me at the moment, but I'm sure @kittykat23uk will know, or perhaps one of the other ST readers who has recently been here). Here are the photos I managed:

 

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After leaving the bats, more birds were on the agenda. A pretty Ferruginous Pygmy Owl

 

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and an entertaining Crimson-Crested Woodpecker

 

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a bit further on, we came upon some White-faced Whistling Duck and Limpkin in the water

 

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We then encountered several horses eating some kind of water plants and enjoying the water. I know they're not wildlife but I love horses and they looked so pretty in this setting, I took a bunch of photos and will post a few:

 

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moving on, the morning was getting quite hot and at about 10:15 a.m., we discovered the sweetest (in my mind) scene of some Capybaras resting in shallow water.  

 

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and the last critter of the morning (I think this was actually the one armadillo I saw right by the lodge during or just after lunch):

 

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 P.S. Thanks @Kitsafari  -- you were writing at the same time as me! I hope you get to go to this lovely place some day :-)

Edited by SafariChick
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What a fabulous trip, you really had extraordinary sightings. Just Wow! 

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Thanks all, yes we were really delighted to see the pumas. Everything was hitting the right notes, sightings-wise on this trip and the guiding was excellent!

 

Here's some additional shots from the morning. First again I was up and about early and was rewarded with a pair of crab-eating foxes, one of them posed nicely:

 

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P9190589 Crab-eating Fox by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P9190592 Burrowing Owl by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P9190613 Yellow-collared Macaws by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P9190623 Southern Screamer by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P9190628 Southern Screamer by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

Toco Toucans often raid other birds' nests and this one had angered a Kiskadee!

 

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P9190641 Great Kiskadee attacking a marauding Toucan by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

The peccarie herd was quite impressive:

 

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P9190648 White-lipped Peccaries by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P9190652 White-lipped Peccaries by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P9190660 Lizard sp by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P9190679 Campo Flicker by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

The bats who had taken over an abandoned building were quite a sight to behold. 

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P9190692 (2) Common (Pallas’s) Long-tongued Bat by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P9190699 (2) Vampire Bats by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P9190700 (2) Vampire Bats by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P9190728 (2) Vampire Bats by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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Vampire Bats by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P9190787 Flower by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

The Ferruginous Pygmy Owl's call is very distinctive and sounds like someone rapidly opening and closing a rusty gate.

 

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P9190834 Ferruginous Pygmy Owl by Jo Dale, on Flickr 

 

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P9190881 Crimson-crested Woodpecker by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P9190909 White-faced Whistling Ducks by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

 

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Over lunch, a six-banded armadillo paid us a visit to feed on some fallen fruit. 

 


In the afternoon we went for a drive. We spent a fair amount of time around the lakes again.

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P9190951 Plumbeous Kite by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P9190953 Plumbeous Kite by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P9190956 Capybara by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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White-faced Whistling Ducks by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

A flock of stilts took to the air:

31443514108_8835bd2509_b.jpgP9190988 (2) Black-necked Stilts by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P9190994 Black-necked Stilts by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

Stefan got really excited to find a secretive Small-billed Tinnamou, which I happily chased around a bush trying to get the right angle for a shot. 

 

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P9191046 Small-billed Tinnamou by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

We saw Giant Anteaters briefly a couple of times, but in the vegetation surrounding the lakes and they both quickly disappeared.

 

Dusk was approaching rapidly, then we spotted another, anteater further around the lake, we headed towards it and were about to approach on foot when Stefan spotted something large emerging from the lake, a tapir! But it was distant and we had a hard choice to make, do we try and get closer to the tapir in the hope that it stops to feed on the vegetation or do we stay with the giant anteater and have another close encounter in the last of the light. 

 

We figured we would come back for the anteater so we sped off around the lake to try and see the tapir. Alas it wasn't to be, by the time we reached the edge of the lake where it had emerged, it was gone. So we returned to the giant anteater. I approached it on foot and had another enjoyable, though midge-infested, encounter with it but it was now too dark to get any decent shots without a flash and the anteater was too deep in the sedges to be able to get any kind of nice silhouette against the setting sun.

 

I had to make do with a capybara instead:

 

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P9191049 adj Capybara by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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20180919_052527 by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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20180919_052330 by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

On our way back, either the same, or another Great Potoo. 

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P9191059 Great Potoo by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

There was another couple who were staying at the lodge who had been quite envious of our puma sighting. A call had been put in to the local research team and there was an offer to go out that night with them to search for the puma. I was really very tempted by this prospect, though none of the rest of our group were but the other couple we also quite keen to go. However, it was already quite late, we had an early start planned for the next day and we were moving on to San Francisco Farm where we also had a night drive planned for the ocelots. So I reluctantly decided that, as I had already seen our three pumas, I should let common sense prevail and get a reasonable night's sleep. 

 

Well it was a good decision, since although a puma did produce a signal that could be tracked, it wasn't our puma family and she remained elusive. Stefan had two further sightings of our pumas after we left, one of the two cubs without mum, and the other of the mum stalking pampas deer around 7pm.

 

There is a lovely lady who makes her own jewellery and sells pendants of some of Brazil's iconic animals at the lodge. I purchased a Jaguar pendant before we left. 

 

During the course of our time at Barranco Alto, Stefan repositioned a camera trap. He later sent me some pictures of what the trap recorded during our stay. Here are some of those highlights.

 

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Collared Peccary by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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Red-legged Seriema by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

46079563781_e9080d78d6_b.jpgCrab-eating fox by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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Jaguar! by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

So the jaguar in the camera trap photo is a female called Jeffa, she has three cubs at the time of the photograph. 

 

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Tapir by Jo Dale, on Flickr

Edited by kittykat23uk
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@kittykat23uk has summed up the afternoon very well. Quite frustrating about the tapir - we would have to hope that we would have another chance to see one later in the trip.  But would we? You'll have to stay tuned!

 

I'll just add a few photos from that afternoon:

 

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20 September 2018

 

We were up early to fit in a boat trip and picnic breakfast before our departure from Barranco Alto. We started the boat trip at 0515. There ad been an offer of doing canoeing but no one was especially keen to do hat, so into the motorboat we got. 

 

The sunrise was beautiful

 

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P9200267 Sunrise by Jo Dale, on Flickr
 

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P9200273 Sunrise by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P9200277 Barranco Alto Sunrise by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

Birds were once again in evidence

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P9201062 Blue-throated Piping Guan by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P9201103 Sungrebe by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P9201106 Sungrebe by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

We stopped for a picnic breakfast

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P9200286 Our guide, Stefan by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

We had a fantastic sighting of a Neotropical Otter and its pup

 

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P9201308 Neotropical Otter by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P9201320 Neotropical Otter by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P9201325 Don''t look now, but.. we are being watched... by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P9201404 Neotropical Otter by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P9201409 Neotropical Otter by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P9201419 Neotropical Otter by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P9201427 Neotropical Otter by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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Grey-necked Wood Rail by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P9201443 Cocoi Heron by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P9201465 Jaguar Track by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

 

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We left at 1030 in a convoy of two vehicles as Corinne had business in town and wanted to drive the cross country tracks with support from others as all the recent rain had made the route quite challenging. This meant we could spread out in the cars, welcome news for our long drive with Herbert going in the second car for most of the journey. It was a rough cross country trek with lots of gates to open and close between all the different paddocks. We had a fantastic close encounter with a giant anteater around 1240. 

 

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P9201479 Giant Anteater by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P9201480 Giant Anteater by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P9201503 Giant Anteater by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P9201513 Giant Anteater by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P9201518 Giant Anteater by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P9201519 Giant Anteater by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P9201538 Giant Anteater by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P9201543 Giant Anteater by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P9201548 Giant Anteater by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

Wow! That was a really nice encounter. We stopped for lunch from 13.30 to 14.15 and then continued on again. I do not lie when I say that I went on to spot at least TEN Giant Anteaters on this drive. Not all of them were close and perhaps surprisingly, none of them had babies on their back. We obviously didn't stop for many of them, but one more individual was close enough to linger with for about 15 minutes around 3pm. 

 

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P9201552 Giant Anteater by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P9201565 Giant Anteater by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

We finally arrived at San Francisco Farm at 1745. After settling in we went to dinner at 1830. 

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Botswanadreams

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Preparation for our last breakfast on the River: Jo, Jane and Stefan

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San Francisco Farm, Agro Ecotourism Tours and Lodge is located close to Miranda, Mato Grosso do Sul. The herdsmen rest has capacity to accommodate groups of up to 28 people in nine apartments equipped with air conditioning, fans and private bathrooms. There is a bar and a small swimming pool. There is also a souvenir shop kiosk, and horse stables.

 

It has a very different character than the other places we stayed at, much more commercial with regimented tour structures- although there is still the opportunity here to select the activities you want to do. It is very popular with day trippers and they use some larger vehicles for their activities to accommodate these bigger groups. Those of us who were staying at the lodge did get the benefit of the smaller of the vehicles although that is speaking relatively in this case as they were still of the same sort of size as one would expect from e.g. the sanpark drives in Kruger and other South African national parks (so you can imagine how big those vehicles for the day trippers are like!).  
 

In any case, I had included the time here for one primary reason, the habitat of rice fields is particularly good for Ocelots and the farm has developed a reputation for sightings of this beautiful little cat without the need for the controversial baiting practice in use by the Southwild folk up in the north pantanal. Arguably, the chance of getting those "Nat Geo shots" may be higher in the north at that particular lodge as they basically have a hide that is spotlit from what I have seen, but I can't say we did badly ourselves, especially on our first night drive. 

 

The night drive started at 1930 and finished at 2215. We first headed back down the main track scanning the cattle fields. This is meant to be a good place for Pantanal Cat but we failed to connect with this particular feline. The first thing we saw was a tagged crab-eating fox. Part of a research project that we later joined. 

 

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P9201599 Crab-eating Fox by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

Finally, after all the anteaters we'd seen so far we got one with a cute little baby on it's back, but it was so far away and we couldn't get out and approach! it was so frustrating! 

 

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P9201601 Giant Anteater and Baby by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P9201602 Giant Anteater and Baby by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P9201603 Giant Anteater and Baby by Jo Dale, on Flickr 

 

We then took a route that covered some of the raised banks surrounding the paddy fields. 

 

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P9201612 (3) Barn Owl by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

Soon all frustrations were forgotten for a while when we easily connected with our main quarry, the beautiful ocelot, lazing about in a tree. I was absolutely delighted to finally get some decent photos of this beautiful cat. 

 

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P9201631 (3) Ocelot by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

 

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P9201634 (3) Ocelot by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P9201636 (3) Ocelot by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

Barn owls were also very common in the area. A brief sighting of Crab-eating Raccoon, too distant for photos, and then we saw what may have been two more ocelots together- our guides couldn't be sure. We also came across agoutis, but these were also too distant for pictures. 

 

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P9201678 (2)  Barn Owl by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P9201681 (4) Barn Owl by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

Marsh deer, grey brocket deer and common Parauque were also seen. 

 

We were so incredibly lucky on this night- it was the best start we could have hoped for and in fact the best night drive that we had here at San Francisco Farm. 

 

 

 

 

 

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@kittykat23ukand @SafariChickThe photos in your last few posts are amazing - the night cameras at BA showed such diversity of creatures prowling the pathways after dark. Beautiful ocelot photos, and I liked the Barn Owl too at San Francisco. 

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Just adding a few images from our last morning at BA.  

 

The sunrise:

 

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The otters were so delightful - can't have too many photos of them, right?

 

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and then just one of the Giant Anteater we saw on the way to Fazenda San Francisco:

 

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Edited by SafariChick
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And I'll just add a few from our first night drive at Fazenda San Francisco:

 

These owls look so cool to me:

 

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We were so grateful that we were lucky to see an ocelot on our very first drive - and it was calm and stayed where it was for us to see!

 

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The next morning, we found that at Fazenda San Francisco the staff puts out fruit for birds in front of the main gathering area near the dining room. They had a sign in the dining room encouraging guests to bring out any leftover fruit from their plates to that area as well. Although it was not an entirely natural situation, it was still very nice to see the birds so close and be able to take photos.

 

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Vehicle to be used for morning game drive:

 

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We'd chosen to do a game drive this morning (as opposed to one of several types of boat rides or other activities we could sign up for). We were frustrated by the fact that the game drives went out so late - From looking at my photos it appears that they began at 8:30 though in my memory it was even later! The reason given was that they have to wait for people who are not staying there and are coming for a day trip. Seemed to us they ought to have offered an earlier drive for people staying there but I guess that was not cost-effective for them. We were told that we could pay extra for a private game drive and then go earlier but in this case we decided just to try their normal one.


Unlike the first two lodges at which we stayed, at this one most of the staff did not speak English, or if they did, it was just a little. We did have the manager, Roberta, who spoke good English and she tried to help us whenever we had a problem communicating. In addition, we'd paid extra to have an English-speaking guide and he accompanied us on all the outings. But he sat with us in the large vehicle and translated so we had to lean in to hear him above the Portuguese-speaking guide. I think we were the only non-Brazilian guests which was very interesting as at the other two places, there did not seem to be any Brazilian guests. So this was an interesting contrast.

 

As might be expected leaving that late, we did not see a ton of wildlife. The drive went on the same route that the evening drives went on.  However we did have a few good sightings.  First, a male Rhea with offspring. (It is the male that sits on the eggs and raises the young)

 

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We also had a good sighting of a Southern Caracara

 

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and a Snail Kite

 

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Then, at a little after 9:30 a.m. we came upon the most interesting sighting of the morning, and one of the more unusual of the trip.  At first it appeared to be two Yellow Anacondas, but then the guide realized there was a third! The theory was that two were mating and the third was coming along to see what was going on, perhaps another male that was curious. It was hard to see all of them at once and they would at times be well-camouflaged, but we would see parts coming and going.

 

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Here, once your eye adjust, you can see a head in about the center of the photo looking towards the camera

 

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and now the head is turned sideways

 

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and sideways facing the opposite direction

 

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It was a very cool sighting!

 

The last photo I have from the morning is of a marsh deer

 

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Definitely a different style of game drive with leaving late and having a large group, but we still saw some interesting things. And our primary reason to come here was in the hope of seeing ocelot, which would be more likely at night, so we didn't have a problem with this.

 

 

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I was up at about 5 am again so I went out to find some birds around the farm. The fruiting trees in front of the restaurant attracted some of my absolute favourites:

 

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P9211704 Plush-crested Jay by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P9211721 Toco Toucan by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P9211776 Southern crested Caracara by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P9211779 Southern crested Caracara by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P9211784 Turquoise-fronted Amazon by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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Solitary Cacique by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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Plush-crested Jay by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P9211823 Toco Toucan by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P9211945 Chestnut-eared Aracari by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P9211961 Chestnut-eared Aracari by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P9211972 Chestnut-eared Aracari by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

The light was best around 6-45 to 7 am. I just love aracaris and toucans! 

 

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P9211972 Chestnut-eared Aracari by Jo Dale, on Flickr 

 

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P9211976 Chestnut-eared Aracari by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P9212013 Chestnut-eared Aracari by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P9212020 Toco Toucan by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P9212027 Chestnut-eared Aracari by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P9212039 orchid by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

Of course there are also the macaws and parrots! The daily handouts caused no end of squabbles!

 

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P9212049 Blue and Yellow Macaw by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P9212096 Blue and Yellow Macaw by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P9212098 Blue and Yellow Macaw by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P9212098 Blue and Yellow Macaw by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P9212122 Blue and Yellow Macaw by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P9212147 Blue and Yellow Macaw by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P9212156 Blue and Yellow Macaw by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P9212163 Blue and Yellow Macaw by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P9212169 by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P9212174 Nanday Parakeet by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P9212176 Turquoise-fronted Amazon by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P9212180 Blue and Yellow Macaw by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P9212183adj by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P9212184 adj Blue and Yellow Macaw by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P9212187 Blue and Yellow Macaw by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P9212194 Turquoise-fronted Amazon by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

 

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Towlersonsafari

what a wonderful array of splendid and bizarre wildlife you have seen so far-very much enjoying the report @kittykat23uk and    @safarchick!

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Fantastic photos pod the otters, Anteaters and armadillos. And Puma, and Ocelot- amazing. A wonderful selection of birds at all three of the lodges. Getting up early at San Francisco!

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Thank you! @SafariChickhas already described the drive in depth so here's a few photos from the drive:

 

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P9212203 Wattled Jacana & Capybara by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P9212209 Wattled Jacana by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P9212211 Leucistic Southern Lapwing by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P9212212 Southern Lapwing by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P9212240 Greater Rhea & Chicks by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P9212247 Immature Great Black Hawk by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P9212257 Snail Kite by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P9212268 Yellow Anaconda by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P9212306 Marsh Deer by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P9212311 Great antshrike by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P9212314 Rufescent Tiger Herons by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

 

 

 

Edited by kittykat23uk
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Here is a video of the Yellow Anacondas:

 

 

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It was nice to be able to take a dip in the swimming pool between activities and enjoy a few cuba libres. The food was again buffet style and a very good spread was provided.

 

In the afternoon at 2pm we joined the group to go on a boat trip. A Giant Anteater was seen briefly on the drive down to the "boat". The boat was a two-level pontoon sort of thing. We cruised along the river for a while, but there wasn't a great amount of wildlife to be seen and most of the trip was allocated to piranha fishing. The largely Brazilian tourists, mostly families, all got into the spirit of this activity and piranhas we flying out of the water left, right and centre. The lucky ones were thrown back but some of the fish were landed. None of our own group were keen to give it a go and it was a bit of a tedious afternoon.

 

On the way back they used some of the fish to feed the caimans and call in various raptors to pluck fish off the surface of the water. I found my lens to be too long and the light too harsh to get any decent BIF shots. 

 

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P9212321 Cocoi Heron by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P9212331 Striated Heron by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P9212347 adj Great Black Hawk by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P9212357 Yacare Caiman by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P9212366 Yacare Caiman by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P9212396 (3) Cocoi Heron by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P9212402 (2) Cocoi Heron by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P9212457 Great black Hawk by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

After the boat trip we headed back and I spent the rest of the evening light wandering around the lodge. 

 

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P9212518 Greater Rheas at Sunset by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P9212520 Greater Rheas at Sunset by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P9212528 Greater Rheas at Sunset by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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Greater Rheas at Sunset by Jo Dale, on Flickr

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After dinner we again took a night drive but this one was not so good for ocelots as we didn't see any. We did, however see three more giant anteaters! Two were too far for photos. One was close enough:

 

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P9212543 Giant Anteater by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

We also saw a Striped Owl, or as Roberta the owner called it, a "stry-PED Owl". 

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P9212559 Striped Owl by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

 

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