(tour: FON/BR–4, '13)

This tour includes some prime places & habitats for birds & other nature


It's been our Tour for "Jabiru & Jaguar"

One of these (the Jabiru) is always easy to see. 
The other (the Jaguar) more difficult,
but we'll be at places among the best in the world to see it.






 

Not only are the "J & J" to be sought.
We'll be in Areas with other Spectacular Nature
and where Concentrations occur of 
an Assortment of Birds & Other Wildlife

During this tour about 300 species of birds should be seen.

Tour to be led by Armas Hill, who has traveled & birded in Brazil 
many times, with over 40 visits to the country, since 1982
(with the assistance of local Brazilian guides).

Often staying not at hotels, but at lodges
where wildlife is just outside the door !

For birds such as wild Hyacinth Macaws 
in their natural environment,
and flocks of Jabirus and numerous other birds 
in the fabulous Pantanal,
(truly one of the most fantastic birding areas in the world),
this is the tour!

 This could also be called our "Tuiuiu Tour", 
as that's the local word in the Pantanal for the "Jabiru".

Birds in the Pantanal of Mato Grosso do Sul,
mostly Egrets & Jabiru Storks,
photographed during our Sep '06 Brazil Tour 

Links:

A Complete List of Brazilian Birds, with some photos, noting those during previous FONT tours:
Part #1:  Tinamous to Doves     Part #2:  Macaws to Flycatchers     Part #3:  Antshrikes to Grosbeaks

List of Birds in Mato Grosso & Mato Grosso do Sul

Rare & Threatened Birds of Brazil  (with some photos)

Brazilian Mammals & Other Wildlife  (with some photos)

Butterflies of Brazil & Argentina, including those at Iguazu Falls  (with some photos)

Highlights from Some Previous FONT Birding & Nature Tours in Brazil

A Photo Gallery of Birds & Animals during a previous FONT Mato Grosso Tour

Tour Registration Form

Itinerary  (prices follow):

Tue, Sep 10:  Arrival in Brazil at the Sao Paulo airport in the morning (after overnight flight departing USA the previous evening, Mon, Sep 9).  

Tue, Sep 10 thru Fri Sep 13:  After the arrival at the airport into Brazil (on Sep 10) a flight from Sao Paulo to Foz do Iguazu. 
In the area of the spectacular Iguazu Falls, we'll have some wonderful birding  in the national parks on both sides of the river in Argentina & Brazil.  
We'll also, during a portion of one day, visit Paraguay, where there would be a different habitat with some different birds. 
In the area of Iguazu, numerous birds are to be seen, including toucans, trogons, and tanagers of various sorts. Some notable other birds inhabiting the forest would include the Ruff-ruffed Fruitcrow and Robust Woodpecker. Swarms of Great Dusky Swifts occur at the falls. Four nights (Sep 10, 11, 12, 13) at Iguazu.           

Sat, Sep 14:  Basically a travel day, with flights from Foz do Iguazu to the city of Campo Grande in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul. Flights would be the best routing possible, but possibly via Sao Paulo. Overnight in Campo Grande.

Sun, Sep 15: From Campo Grande, we'll travel west into a region rich in wildlife, and especially birds, the Pantanal. We'll be in the southern portion of the Pantanal. 

The accommodations and the meals at the various lodges, where we'll be staying in the Pantanal, are good indeed, but the best aspect of the tour would be the close accessibility there to some spectacular wildlife. Travel in the Pantanal, from the lodges, would be in vehicles (designed for observation) during day-trips and night-trips, and by boat. Overnights at the lodges would be 3 nights at one, 2 nights at another. (Sep 15-17 &  Sep 18-19). The lodges where we'll staying in the Pantanal are about 150 & 200 miles from Campo Grande respectively. There will, of course, be birding between the lodges & along the way, both ways, between Campo Grande & the Pantanal.

Sun, Sep 15 thru Thu, Sep 19:  During these days, our diversified experience in the Pantanal, with birds (many birds!) and other nature. There are lists of the birds & other wildlife of the Pantanal  (that we've seen there during our previous tours) elsewhere in this website, but, we'll note here, that just a few of the birds would be: Hyacinth Macaw (the largest macaw in the world), Golden-collared Macaw, Great Rufous Woodcreeper, Red-billed Scythebill, Helmeted Manakin, and the Mato Grosso Antbird. 

Among what's particularly spectacular (during the dry season), would be large concentrations of waterbirds. Ducks can be numerous in certain rice-fields (where, during our previous tours, we've seen many whistling-ducks, comb-ducks, and some others). Other aquatic birds, numerous in the Pantanal, would be: egrets, herons, ibises, and storks (Wood & Maguari Storks & Jabiru). During one day of an August tour in the Pantanal, we saw an estimated thousand Jabiru, either on the ground or soaring in the sky!  Also adding to the mix would be Limpkins and Roseate Spoonbills. Both Sunbitterns and Sungrebes also occur. And Boat-billed Herons do as well, and with good fortune, the rare skulker, the Agami Heron can be seen.

Landbirds, in the trees or in the air, would be parrots and parakeets, and raptors of various kinds.
Possible at dusk, and after dark, would be 2 species of Potoos (the Great & the Common), nightjars & nighthawks, and an owl or two. (During our previous tours, we enjoyed tremendous looks, after dark, of Striped Owls and Barn Owls.)   

Mammals after dark should be those that are common, such as fox and bats, but it must be noted there's JAGUAR in the area. With good luck .......      During our tours in Mato Grosso do Sul in 2006, 2007, & 2009, we saw this elusive cat. We'll be making, if necessary, 2 night-time excursions for it, and other creatures. Pumas can also be seen (with luck).  
During one of our tours, in September 2006, for example, we had, during two nights, nice looks at 7 Ocelots, a Pantanal (formerly Pampas) Cat, 2 Brazilian Tapirs, a Maned Wolf, in addition to a number of other animals including: Marsh Deer, Crab-eating Foxes and Crab-eating Raccoons, and Giant Anteaters. During a previous stay at one of the lodges, we saw as many as 8 Giant Anteaters. 
Another anteater, the Tamandua is also possible. During the day, monkeys and marmosets can be seen in the trees. Numerous caimans will be in & near the water. 

During our overnights in the Pantanal (and after our evening excursions), we should hear, from the lodges, an assortment of sounds including those of limpkins, owls, and nightjars. At dawn, howler monkeys.

Fri, Sep 20:  Travel south into the vast, open country of Mato Grosso do Sul to the beautiful area of Bonito. "Bonito" means "beautiful". Our first of 3 nights in Bonito at a nice hotel, not in the small town, but out in the country, in forest by a river. In that forest, during a previous tour, there was a good assortment of birds and butterflies.

Sat, Sep 21:  A visit this morning to a large sinkhole, rather like a quarry, that is renowned for macaws, on the big cliffs and elsewhere in the area. And, of course, there will be other birds of note too. Overnight again near Bonito.

Sun, Sep 22:  Another full-day of birding, and nature observation and photography, in the region of a national park near Bonito. In that wild, remote region, the Harpy Eagle is among the birds that nest. Our last overnight in Bonito.

Mon, Sep 23:  After a last morning of birding near Bonito, travel in the afternoon to the city of Campo Grande.  This will be our last night in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, at a hotel convenient to the airport from which we will depart the next day.     

Tue, Sep 24:  After some final morning birding as time permits at a park in Campo Grande, we'll depart from  the airport there, on a flight to Sao Paulo to connect with departures, in the evening, from Brazil on overnight flights home (arriving in North America the a.m. of Wednesday, Sep 25.)
   

Price: 

For the tour, Sep 10-24:

US $3,475 per person, based upon double occupancy
Single supplement: US $335

Price includes: 
All overnight accommodations.
All meals (from mid-day Sep 10 thru mid-day Sep 24). 
Ground transportation within Brazil.
Services of the FONT birding tour leader.

Price does not include: 
Drinks and other items of a personal nature.
International flights to/from Brazil. 
Domestic flights within Brazil.

A deposit of US $500 required to register for the tour.