Some tricky birds join the list. Another pre-dawn start and we drove north past the main lodge to another area of wet forest. Our first new bird of the day was a delightful Capped Heron feeding in a small pool, quickly followed by a pair of Fawn-breasted Wrens. Moving on to an area of drier forest we worked hard to eventually secure good looks at Mato Grosso Antbird and White-lored Spinetail, both of which gave us the runaround. Another tough species also surrendered itself further down the track when a Fuscous Flycatcher finally gave itself up to the list. This area also held Tawny-crowned Pygmy-Tyrant. Moving on again we birded a palm forest and picked up Pale-crested Woodpecker, and Rufous-tailed Jacamar. On an adjacent river bank a Rusty-backed Spinetail fed in a deep tangle of vegetation. By now the sun was up and the temperature had risen considerably from the surprisingly cold early morning. We then birded the area near the main lodge overlooking the beautiful lake and flooded grassland area. Here we saw Greater Thornbird and Blue-crowned Parakeet. Moving on again to a small plantation on the cattle ranch, we searched unsuccessfully for Common Potoo but did come away with Great Rufous Woodcreeper and Chotoy Spinetail, both new for our list. We headed back towards the lodge but hadn’t gone far when we saw a Crab-eating Fox ahead on the road. We stopped sharply to take a better look and realised that the Fox was in full alert mode, brush fluffed up and held aloft. What could he see that caused him such concern? We picked out a second animal moving along the edge of the woodland, and the adrenalin levels peaked as we realised we were watching an Ocelot! Too quickly, it disappeared amongst the undergrowth, its spotted camouflage helping it melt into the background, but we held our nerve and waited patiently. Our patience was rewarded as this handsome animal reappeared out of the undergrowth and paced nonchalantly across the road right in front of our car.Back at our lodge for lunch, our meal was interrupted twice: first by Black-backed Water-Tyrant and then by the spectacular Scarlet-headed Blackbird. We headed out again but new birds were hard to find in the afternoon heat and we only added Common Thornbird and Rusty-backed Antwren to our list. However we did enjoy unexpectedly good views of not just one but two Undulated Tinamou, a species we’d only heard previously. As night fell, we were still a long way from the lodge so we drove back in the dark, trying a bit of spotlighting along the way. This paid off when we discovered a Common Potoo on top of a roadside tree, the orange reflection of its eyes in the torch beam giving it away, last new bird of the day.
Bird species list: 2393
Posted 17th June, Caiman Lodge, Pantanal, Brazil