Tuesday, May 18, 2010
The local weather is forecast to improve as the day goes on, so I decide to go out with the group doing the jeep/walk outing and check the weather upon my return. After the rain we had last night and with the clouds, it was a different atmosphere and new odors. We saw many new and old birds, but few animals. We also learned more about the local plant life.
The very bright red Vermilion Flycatcher caught our eye early on. It’s very small but stunningly bright in color. As with most birds, this is the male and the female is a dull brown. Nearby were Scaly Doves, a Blue-collared hawk and a Roadside hawk with a single Toucan flying overhead.
We saw holes in the ground where pigs had been foraging then we saw the reason for their holes. They are digging up new palms to eat the heart of the palm. This type of palm doesn’t have the self-preserving needles that we saw in the rain forest. As we came to a swampy area I saw all these tails wiggling in the air. They are Coati, part of the Raccoon family. Their noses are down in the ground, foraging, and the tails stick up. They signal to each other with their tails. They don’t have to look up to see each other, just take a glance at the others’ tails. See pictures when I can post them, hopefully tomorrow.
In another meadow we saw Gold-collared Macaw. They are mainly green and have a yellow/gold neck and their tail feathers are red, blue, green and yellow. They were beautiful to see when flying together. By a lake we saw another Spoonbill, now easy for me to spot the pink color, and a duck with the little chicks on its back as it swam through the water.
We saw one species of palm that usually had a strangle fig growing on it. Lucas explained that this is useful as there are too many of these palms and this keeps their numbers down. At the same time, these palms are hosts to many orchids. They weren’t in flower during this season, but we could see the bulbs growing.
The clouds had been low and we’d had a little rain during the morning. I checked the weather upon returning to the lodge and it’s didn’t look like it would get any better. There is still a room open for this evening, even though another couple is arriving. So, I can stay one more night. The forecast locally is sunny and warm for tomorrow. It’s still not great at Iguacu, but not stormy. So I should depart tomorrow and continue my journey south.
Afternoon outing:
The sun came out and so did the animals. Right away we saw ocelot tracks in the sandy soil. After the rain, it was easy to tell they were new today. We saw a Burrowing owl, which is both daytime and nighttime bird and lives in burrows up to two feet deep.
On top of a high branch on a dead tree was a Laughing Falcon, named for its cry which sounds like a laugh. It sure looked big up there. Then we came across the first of three giant anteaters. We followed them on foot to get a better look. As I already had quite a few pictures, I used binoculars and got some great views. They are ancient creatures and little understood. More studies are going on. They have very long hairy tails which are sometimes used as a fan to cool themselves and sometimes for balance, but otherwise it isn’t known what its use is. The females carry the young on their backs for the first six months. By that time they are almost full size. We’ve only seen one at the time as they travel alone, except when mating.
We saw a single Magoa stork for the first time. These are much rarer than the Jabiru storks. To me it seemed smaller and thinner with red around the eyes. While we were walking we came across a very long trail of ants. In one direction they all marched carrying a blade of grass about an inch long. In the other direction, they were returning for more. We all laughed as one ant was carrying a small yellow flower, instead of grass, see picture. There has to be one independent one even in ant armies.
On the way home at night, we saw a Potoo, which doesn’t exist in the US and is a cross between the owl and nightjar.
It has been an absolutely fantastic stay, but I'm ready to fly again. Off to Iguacu Falls tomorrow.
The local weather is forecast to improve as the day goes on, so I decide to go out with the group doing the jeep/walk outing and check the weather upon my return. After the rain we had last night and with the clouds, it was a different atmosphere and new odors. We saw many new and old birds, but few animals. We also learned more about the local plant life.
The very bright red Vermilion Flycatcher caught our eye early on. It’s very small but stunningly bright in color. As with most birds, this is the male and the female is a dull brown. Nearby were Scaly Doves, a Blue-collared hawk and a Roadside hawk with a single Toucan flying overhead.
We saw holes in the ground where pigs had been foraging then we saw the reason for their holes. They are digging up new palms to eat the heart of the palm. This type of palm doesn’t have the self-preserving needles that we saw in the rain forest. As we came to a swampy area I saw all these tails wiggling in the air. They are Coati, part of the Raccoon family. Their noses are down in the ground, foraging, and the tails stick up. They signal to each other with their tails. They don’t have to look up to see each other, just take a glance at the others’ tails. See pictures when I can post them, hopefully tomorrow.
In another meadow we saw Gold-collared Macaw. They are mainly green and have a yellow/gold neck and their tail feathers are red, blue, green and yellow. They were beautiful to see when flying together. By a lake we saw another Spoonbill, now easy for me to spot the pink color, and a duck with the little chicks on its back as it swam through the water.
We saw one species of palm that usually had a strangle fig growing on it. Lucas explained that this is useful as there are too many of these palms and this keeps their numbers down. At the same time, these palms are hosts to many orchids. They weren’t in flower during this season, but we could see the bulbs growing.
The clouds had been low and we’d had a little rain during the morning. I checked the weather upon returning to the lodge and it’s didn’t look like it would get any better. There is still a room open for this evening, even though another couple is arriving. So, I can stay one more night. The forecast locally is sunny and warm for tomorrow. It’s still not great at Iguacu, but not stormy. So I should depart tomorrow and continue my journey south.
Afternoon outing:
The sun came out and so did the animals. Right away we saw ocelot tracks in the sandy soil. After the rain, it was easy to tell they were new today. We saw a Burrowing owl, which is both daytime and nighttime bird and lives in burrows up to two feet deep.
On top of a high branch on a dead tree was a Laughing Falcon, named for its cry which sounds like a laugh. It sure looked big up there. Then we came across the first of three giant anteaters. We followed them on foot to get a better look. As I already had quite a few pictures, I used binoculars and got some great views. They are ancient creatures and little understood. More studies are going on. They have very long hairy tails which are sometimes used as a fan to cool themselves and sometimes for balance, but otherwise it isn’t known what its use is. The females carry the young on their backs for the first six months. By that time they are almost full size. We’ve only seen one at the time as they travel alone, except when mating.
We saw a single Magoa stork for the first time. These are much rarer than the Jabiru storks. To me it seemed smaller and thinner with red around the eyes. While we were walking we came across a very long trail of ants. In one direction they all marched carrying a blade of grass about an inch long. In the other direction, they were returning for more. We all laughed as one ant was carrying a small yellow flower, instead of grass, see picture. There has to be one independent one even in ant armies.
On the way home at night, we saw a Potoo, which doesn’t exist in the US and is a cross between the owl and nightjar.
It has been an absolutely fantastic stay, but I'm ready to fly again. Off to Iguacu Falls tomorrow.
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