Final Day in the Cerrado

July 18, 2024

On our final day in the Cerrado, we rose early to go to the Macaw Lake for bird watching from a boat. We got there just before sunrise. A pair of ibis were just awakening as we got in the boat.

The fog had settled in which lent an eerie air to scene.

As the sun began to rise, the fog slowly faded away.

The macaws were silhouetted against the colorful sky.

Soon the fog was gone and the sky was a clear, bright blue. We could now clearly see the macaws as they perched and dried out their wings.

Many were mated pairs.

This pair were the most fun to watch.

We then went in search of other birds.

A blue-fronted amazon peeked out at us.

A grey monjita found a nice protected perch.

Another macaw took off from its perch.

A pampa finch foraged in tall grasses along the shore.

The southern lapwings were entertaining as they "danced", likely to claim the area as their territory.

A pair of aplomado falcons flew by and landed nearby. They are courageous birds, willing to face down larger raptors to defend their young, or even to steal freshly caught prey. They will bombard the larger bird forcing them to drop their kill and then swoop down to claim it as their own.

Some Picazuro pigeons were foraging. These are among the larger pigeons.

A pair of Muscovy ducks flew by.

Some jacana frolicked in the distance.

An egret flew off across the lake.

Although it looks more blue than green, we had a good view of this female green kingfisher.

A blue-fronted parrot peaked out at us.

A buff-necked ibis flew by.

A blue-and-yellow macaw flew down to get a drink.

A cinereous warbling-finch was hidden among the branches.

We next spotted a pair of white-headed marsh tyrants. The male is black with a white head.

All too soon, we were back where we had started. The macaws were jockeying for position as we began our walk back to the car along the flower-lined path.

Back at the lodge, I took a last look around the bird feeders while we awaited our ride to the airport.

On the drive back, we spotted some young gauchos (cowboys).

Unfortunately, although we were able to depart Brasilia with just a short delay, the global computer outage that grounded thousands of flights on July 19, 2024 caught up to us in Atlanta, Georgia. We stood in line all night long but were finally able to get on a flight back to Seatac the next morning. Luckily we were able to make our Sunday cruise to Alaska where we were taking my dad for his first cruise.