< Birds of the Pantanal and Southern Brazil >
In July 2014, we traveled to the Pantanal, a large flood plain in southern Brzail. The trip was a
photo expedition led by
Roy Toft; the emphasis of the trip was to see jaguars,
the largest cat in North or South America. We were successful in seeing jaguars for many days in a row,
but there are also many different birds and other mammals.
This gallery contains images of just the birds we saw; typically, one image per bird, but occasionally more.
05-MAY-2014
American Goldfinch Male on Lilac (4711)
This is as late as our American Goldfinches ever hang around. I'll be sad to see them leave, and look
forward to their return around Halloween.
04-MAY-2014
Pine Siskin on Lilac (4605)
Usually our birds avoid complicated landing places, but this Pine Siskin jumped right into the middle
of a Lilac bunch of flowers. I bet it smelled quite pleasant.
03-MAY-2014
Chipping Sparrow (4292)
Chipping Sparrows show up in the springtime, and are uncommon in the back yard at other times. They tend to
congregate in groups of three or four.
01-MAY-2014
Lesser Goldfinches (4118)
"Let's play nicely, boys"
These two Lesser Goldfinches found themselves on the nice perch I used yesterday, and apparently liked it
enough to want it all to themselves.
30-APR-2014
House Finch (Male) (3930)
There are somewhat fewer House Finches around at any time, probably because they are off
nesting. The ones that come around tend to come in male-female pairs. This male perched
nicely on a redbud twig.
29-APR-2014
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Male Audubon) (3782)
Setophaga coronata auduboni
Yellow-rumped Warblers are spring migrants for us. This is the only one I have seen this year while I had
my camera out. The yellow throat patch identifies this as a male of the Audubon group. It's not uncommon to
see intergrades between Audubon Warblers and Myrtle Warblers in our area, but this one looks to be a pretty well-marked Audubon's.
27-APR-2014
Black-chinned Hummingbird (3618)
Our Black-chinned Hummingbirds show up in early April. Folks up at higher elevations see them a few
days before we do. Males arrive first, and then about 2 weeks later, we see the first females.
They will breed here, although I have never found a nest near my house. However, this fellow
seems to have set up a serious guard post in the sumac bush near the feeder, so we'll see what that means.
In another few weeks, people will start seeing Rufous Hummingbirds, and then the dominance hierarchy will change.
26-APR-2014
Canyon Towhee (7062)
Our Canyon Towhees are coming around a bit more frequently lately. This one volunteered to take a
bath and offer me a reflection in the birdbath.
25-APR-2014
American Goldfinch (6958)
This is about as nice a plumage as our American Goldfinches get before they leave for the summer.
When they come back in the fall (around Halloween), they have already molted to their winter feathers.
24-APR-2014
Mourning Dove (3477)
With all the Collared-Doves and White-winged Doves around, we see only the unlikely Mourning Dove.
They are still common enough, especially in more rural habitat, but they have been chased out of the more urban areas.
22-APR-2014
American Goldfinch (3052)
This is one of the last female American Goldfinches of the spring. They will soon head north,
and I liked this one in our blossoming pear tree.
21-APR-2014
Cooper's Hawk (2911)
Our local Cooper's Hawk nest is busy again this year, at least its fifth year of use.
