Tags
caiman, caracara, giant river otter, great black-hawk, green kingfisher, Howler monkey, iguana, Jabiru, jaguar, Pantanal, smooth-billed ani, striated heron, tree frog, wood rail
6.45 am, Wednesday 23rd September, and we’re longing to get going in the boat for its refreshing breeze. As we wait…
This was the ugliest, biggest, scariest caiman we saw the whole time – and it was right beside the flotel, bankside, every morning
This Striated heron close by was not the least bit concerned
We moved off, but soon stopped for a while.
Impossible not to stop and watch yesterday’s family of giant river otters at their morning ablutions
The cream markings on throat and chest are individual to each otter
‘Giant’ means about 6 foot in length, full-grown
After jaguars, these otters were what I most wanted to see, and I wasn’t alone.
We have an appointment with Bianca.
Jabiru
So have others.
Rent-a-crowd
We didn’t stay very long after Bianca disappeared into the undergrowth, having other delights in store.
Grey-necked wood rail (confirmed by BL)
A little too close for these binoculars’ focus
George sporting the natty butterfly
Howler monkey
Black-collared hawk
? Smooth-billed ani (probably, says BL)
Jabiru and older chicks
This green iguana crawled out of the lower part of the nest
This one was near but well away from it
Caracara
Green kingfisher, female
? Juvenile Great black-hawk preparing for…
… take-off
Pete modelling a very chic tree frog, which had fallen on to our eagle-eyed boatman, Manuel
Close-up of tree frog
Caracara, high up in tree, with snake
Despite the heat, the morning’s outing was over quickly, though as ever we were pleased to get back to the air-conditioned flotel, a delicious lunch, and a short siesta.
Musiewild's blog 
What a wonderful collection of fantastic birds and animals especially the caiman!
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We were just a matter of feet from the big black caiman. Fortunately that was vertically, from the ‘first floor’ of the flotel.
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I think Bianca needs an agent – entertaining all those humans for no reward! And I’ll bet the tree frog was a bit startled to find himself the centre of attention suddenly. Wonderful pictures as always. x
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See below..
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Trust a professional performer to think in that way. Perhaps you’re thinking of offering to take her on?
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Another bag of delights for us.
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Thank you.
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A feast of excitiements. The close-up of the frog was a triumph.
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I know someone – you met her on Saturday – who will shudder at it!
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So much amazing wildlife in the Pantanal. Thank goodness the ranching-based economy has maintained a good chunk of the original habitat.
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Long may it last. The pressure is constant.
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Some birding answers…
—? Grey-necked wood rail > yes, sure
—? Smooth-billed ani > yes, probably
—? Juvenile Great black-hawk (? or Savanna hawk) > yes, probably not Savanna hawk, the chest should be striped and lower beak yellow…
A real pleasure to read your adventures in the Pantanal! And incredible ease of meeting jaguars!
Bernard
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Merci Bernard. Meeting jaguars is due to the great local knowledge and co-operation of the boatmen, and the fact that where we were there is not much ranching.
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