Reluctant departure from Caiman Lodge
But new birds still added to our list. Today we sadly had to leave the fantastic Pousada Baiazinha (or Little Lake in English) at Caiman Ecological Refuge. This blog isn’t long enough to do justice to this truly amazing place. We’ve been surrounded by landscape overflowing with wildlife: every direction we’ve looked in, we’ve seen birds galore. We’ve logged over 200 species during our short time at the lodge, and the vast majority of these have been seen, and seen extremely well as the birds here are very confiding. This has been a great introduction to Brazilian birding and has already given our year list a great boost. While we don’t want to leave, we know for sure that we’ll be back at this marvellous place just as soon as we can. Of course, what makes this place so special is not just the vast numbers of birds, both in quantity and variety, but the stunning accommodation and particularly the staff who make you feel so welcome here. We left feeling that not only had we stayed at a lodge but that we’d made genuine friends here. We really can’t recommend Caiman Ecological Refuge (www.caiman.com.br) highly enough. But of course, for us we were also lucky enough to be guided by the delightful Fernanda Melo, a charming Brazilian who really knows her stuff – she’s not only an extremely accomplished birder but she has the wonderful ability to enhance every experience with her limitless enthusiasm. If you need a bird guide in the Pantanal, this is the only person you will ever need so do contact her on ortalis@yahoo.com.br and look out for her new website coming soon at www.nativanaturalists.com.br .
We broke our journey back to Campo Grande a few times meeting up with some of Fernanda’s birding friends at Miranda, where we added Checkered Woodpecker, Yellowish Pipit, Aplomado Falcon, Long-winged Harrier, White-bellied Seedeater, Green-backed and Crested Becards, not forgetting the gorgeous White Mojita as we left Caiman Lodge.
Bird species list: 2408
Posted 9pm, 19th June, Campo Grande, Brazi