We caught the flight to Cuiabá, where our van driver was waiting to take us to our first lodge along the Transpantaneira Road. This is a dead end road that was supposed to connect the state of Mato Grosso with Corumbá, a city in the neighbouring state of Mato Grosso do Sul, but the road construction ended far from its destiny because it was just too hard to build it over the wetlands. Today the dirt road, with 145 km and 125 wooden bridges, is a magnet for wildlife during the dry season because of the water trapped in the ditches alongside the road.

We arrived at the cozy lodge in the afternoon and photographed at a pond in front of it, filled with caimans and also some capybaras in the water. We also shot a few frames of the Hyacinth Macaws nesting in front of the lodge.

A pair of Hyacinth Macaws

The next day we went to the 25m observation tower nearby, where often a family of Howler Monkeys are seen, as well as many varied birds. The view from there is incredible and is a place well worth spending the mornings at, as many birds come and go, providing different photo opportunities, like the ridiculously colorful Orange-backed Troupial.

Orange-backed Troupial shot from the tower

I spotted a Rufous-tailed Jacamar from the tower and we descended to photograph it, and it was well worth it. This bird just sat there for a few minutes and we had lots of great shots.

A male Rufous-tailed Jacamar singing from the forest understory.

On the trail between the lodge and the tower we often saw a few different animals, like Black-tailed Marmosets, Agoutis and Coatis… but one day we also found a huge Tapir. We went off the trail trying a better angle, but it picked a very hidden spot to rest, so it was impossible to get a good shot. At the heat of the day we photographed some Chestnut-eared Araçari that came to the front of our lodge to bathe in the fresh water.

A Tapir hiding in dense vegetation

A very wet Chestnut-eared Araçari

On one afternoon we drove to a nearby wetland with lots of waterbirds, especially Wood Storks. The light was good and we caught a few nice shots. It was amazing how many fish was in this water body, every square inch had one small catfish at the surface. There was also an immense number of caimans on this spot, hundreds and hundreds of them. We even saw one getting a Rufescent Tiger-heron! This is quite rare, caimans eat mostly fish, but like any croc, they won’t pass up an opportunity for a bigger meal.

A Wood Stork fishing in shallow water

A large Caiman eating a Rufescent Tiger-Heron

Soon we were heading towards the main goal of the trip, the Jaguars! We arrived at our comfortable riverside hotel and were greeted by the manager, who showed us our rooms and the surroundings. This rest of the afternoon we spent at the hotel gardens. Quite a few birds around, but the real action would start on the following morning.
We woke up early, had breakfast and were in the river at first light. The first day started great, with most of us making great photos of Jaguars. In total we found 2 or 3 different cats this day.

A large Jaguar resting in the shade of the forest. The intensity of their eyes always impress me.

The next day was pretty amazing. Not 15 minutes after leaving the docks we already had some action on the radio. Everyone seemed to have a different Jaguar at one point, and we all focused on a mother with 2 cubs seen at a small bay only 5 minutes from the docks. My boat arrived just in time to see the largest cub entering the forest. I was glad of the very fast boats we were using, otherwise we would have missed this and other Jaguars. We continued to see Jaguars all through the morning but the real show was in the afternoon. A few rainstorms were visible here and there and some of us even got the core of one, but that was well worth it, as we saw a female hunting Caiman. She almost got one but, unsuccesful, kept walking down the river bank. Eventually she climbed on a large fallen tree and did all sorts of poses. Just amazing. I shot nearly 16 GB of images. To end the perfect afternoon a great orange sunset on a very light refreshing rain as we returned to our hotel.

A Jaguar cub looking at us from the safety of the forest

Jaguar hunting Caimans in shallow water.

Ready to pounce!

The following days we continued to see Jaguars, including one that tried to hunt some Capybaras, but we also focused a bit more on the varied wildlife around, like Giant Otters, which were quite easy to find in some places and also gave us quite a show.

A Giant Otter eating a fish

This very large male had just chased down some Capybaras, which ran into the water.

It was a great trip and we all got lots of shots of wild Jaguars. I have a lot of other images that I will post soon. Click here to see the details of next year’s trips.

A Black-throated Trogon, a very attractive bird of the forest interior.

Rainforest humidity.

A river runs through primary rainforest.

A Tawny-browed Owl, endemic to the Atlantic Rainforest.

Wild orchids.

Tropical leaves.

Me at work. I’m on the far left.

And now some camera trap photos, poor quality, but cool animals…

Puma

Brazilian Tapir

And a video of an Ocelot

We had some light rain the evening before, so in the morning a light mist was covering the fields, making some interesting shots with the rising sun.

A Southern Anteater in defense posture. Although small and quite fragile looking, few predators will mess with it with those big tearing claws ready to strike.

A pair of Crimson-crested Woodpecker, a male on the left, female on the right.

The huge Jabiru, one of the largest birds in South America. When they fly past you you can really feel the amount of air they move.

A pair of Plumbeous Ibis on top of a dead tree beside a wetland.

Caimans are always common and conspicuous in the Pantanal, but this time there was a HUGE concentration of them on drying water bodies. They were feasting on fish and whatever else would dare to pass close enough.

Will post more photos soon.

best regards

For those who don’t know, this is the holy grail of birding books, the dream of every serious birder or ornithologist. The book quality is amazing, a true work of art. They are also huge. The whole collection weights more than 60 kg! There is just one more volume, the 16th, to complete the series. This should be published by november.

Now excuse me, cause I have some serious reading to do!

Out of the box! Smells like new!

Birder's porn

The photo was made during one of my photo tours to the Pantanal, at a place where we photograph the flying macaws. I remember when I saw that photo at the back of my camera I immediatly knew it was a special one.

We are going there again on October as an extension tour to our main trip to photograph jaguars. Check more details clicking here.

About 2 weeks ago me and my friend found a large venomous lancehead in the Atlantic Rainforest. This was a 1.5 meter long Bothrops jararacussu, probably the snake that causes the most deaths in Brazil. We quickly and carefully grabbed it with an improvised stick and took it the lodge where we could photograph it with more control. I chose a branch with some epiphyte plants and positioned the off-camera flashes in various ways. I finally found one that I was pleased with.

Ready to attack!

And below you see the lighting diagram. The program I was using didn’t have a snake image so I had to use the regular person subject image instead
The main light was to the left, a Vivitar 285-HV set to 1/4 with 1/2 CTO gel shot through a white umbrella. Just to the right of the snake my friend was holding a round reflector in daylight color (a light gold). In front of the snake another Vivitar set to 1/16 just for some light fill. Behind at the ground an SB-900 shot in SU-4 mode and set to 1/16 or 1/8, I don’t remember well now. This is for some soft hair light. The Vivitars were fired with Pocket Wizards.

I shot this with a D700 and Nikkor 600mm f/4, but only because I didn’t have a 300mm with me on that trip, cause that would be ideal. Of course the 600mm made sure I was shooting very far away from those fangs . I used a rather slow speed and high ISO to capture some available light at the background (it was getting dark), 1/50 @ f/16, ISO 640, with cable release and mirror lock up.

If only all birds posed like that