Riverman - Postcard from Brazil

      These narrow canoes scare me.  I don't understand how these fishermen stay upright, but they seem to be perfectly comfortable while fishing all day!

      In our area, fishing is one of the larger industries and many people live only on what income they can get from the day's catch.

Our Morning View

     Every morning we get to watch parrots and parakeets fly over our house. This morning some Red-shouldered Macaws stopped in the mango tree across the street and so we got to watch them for a while.

Here Comes the Rain! - PostCard from Brazil

     "Here comes the Rain!"  It seems like that is a common phrase here these days.  


     When we first arrived here in Brazil, it was the beginning of the dry season (our region really only has two seasons: hot wet, and hot dry) and so it never rained.  However, now we are coming into the rainy season and storm clouds can blow up out of nowhere and surprise us with a good downpour.  


     Though you can't do much outside during the rain, it's nice that it cuts the dust and often brings cooler temperatures immediately afterward - a very welcome relief!

Birds of the Pantanal

A few weeks ago, we had the privilege of traveling a few hours away from our home into the Pantanal.  The Pantanal is the world's largest tropical wetland.  The Pantanal attracts many tourists, but we weren't limited to the tourist spots - we got to go behind the scenes!  We had to drive quite a ways off the main highway, down dirt roads, and along the river's edge before we got to our final destination (a fisherman's home at the river's edge.)

  There are about 1,000 bird species in the Pantanal, and we were able to see quite a few just in our one day there.  Here are some of the beautiful creatures that Omar was able to capture with his camera.   

Tuiuiú (two-you-you)

This bird is our state bird.  (I think they look a little pre-historic!) The males can get as tall as 5 ft. and have a wingspan of 10 ft.  It's the tallest flying bird in South America, and their nests are can be several yards in diameter!

Tuiuiú in nest

Periquito-Rei (Peach-Fronted Parakeet)

These parakeets are larger than a domesticated parakeet, but not quite as large as a parrot.  They flew around in large groups and made quite a lot of noise!  When they flew through the air, you could see all the beautiful colors of their plumage.

parakeets in flight

Quero-Quero

This bird's name literally means, "I want, I want!" It was a neat bird (at first) until it became very territorial and tried to dive-bomb Omar several times.

Jaçanã

This one stayed near the water.  Check out those long toes!

Martim-Pescador-Grande
Recognize this bird?  Yep, it's a kingfisher.  There are MANY different types of kingfishers throughout Brazil.  This one had just made a catch, and was resting before he took it back to his nest in the cliff below us where we could hear several baby kingfishers squawking for a bite.

Colhereiro (Roseate Spoonbill)

Omar tried to get a closer shot of this large pink bird, but he didn't seem to be very sociable.  It never came very close to us.

Tachã (Southern Screamer)

When Omar first saw this bird, it was soaring so high that it was almost out of sight.  It had an incredibly loud screech like an eagle.  It circled for a long time before finally descending into a swampy area nearby.  

(Tachã on the ground)

Garça-Moura (Cocoi Heron)

Cavalaria (Yellow-Billed Cardinal)

Tiê-Sangue

Canário-da-terra-verdadeiro

Andorinha-do-rio

Unidentified  - (Any Suggestions?)

Jacaré (Caiman)

Fortunately for us, this guy was on the opposite side of the river from us!  There were several caiman on the river that day.  I'm not sure if it was coincidence or not, but they were all facing our direction.....hmmm.

A caiman trying to be sneaky!

dragonfly 

Bats!
We had been resting in the shade of a tree next to the river all day, and didn't realize until late afternoon that these bats were right above our heads!  


It was a beautiful place full of beautiful animals (well..... maybe not the bats.)  It was probably the remote area that we've ever been, and we'd love to go back and see more of it!

The Fisherman - Postcard from Brazil

About this photo:
    I was able to capture this photo of a fisherman's return to his home grounds.  Though his professional fishing years were years ago, it is obvious that he still knows the trade.  In this photo he is casting a net to catch small fish to be used as bait for piranha.  It was amazing to watch!

[Edit:  I've posted many bird photos from this location.  They are available by clicking here.]

Croará - Postcard from Brazil

     Here is a digital post card from Brazil for you!

    Recently we traveled with the Duarte's down to the area where Pastor Duarte grew up near a small town called Croara.  This is in the Pantanal (everglades type) region and very, very rural.   Ok, it's not just rural, it was completely off the map, out-in-the-sticks, in the middle of nowhere!

    There was so much wildlife and it was so peaceful that we just absolutely loved it!  We also saw (and photographed) a number of bird species that I've  never seen before and I can hardly wait to share those here in the near future.  [Now available here.]

     The area in this photo was a large swamp about half-a-mile from the Cuiabá river.  Right after I took this photo I heard a good bit of splashing in an area with a lot of underbrush and then a bit later we saw a couple of Caiman (Brazilian Alligators) in the water just a short distance from where this photo was taken!  Lots of fun, but you have to be careful!


[Edit: I've posted many bird pictures from this location.  They are available by clicking here.]