Brazil - July 2024 - Day 7 - Porto Jofre Boat Safaris

Today was Jaguar day. We had as it happened already seen a Jaguar at Piuval, but today was the day that had been marked down for the boat trips, and was a large part of why we were all the way down here at Porto Jofre in the first place. When I say boat trips I don't mean a gentle spin around the river by the way. The morning session lasted six hours and covered 42 miles in a high-powered skiff, and the river is huge at this point, very wide indeed. Brad and the driver sat at the front, the best place to spot from, Richard and Bob sat in the middle, and I sat at the back to balance everyone out so that I could have a full arc in which to swing my lens. The boat was very fast, and also had a sun shade that could be raised although this does impair viewing a bit. For the most part we had it down so my recommendation is to bring a hat and sunscreen. In many ways these boat trips operate much like a traditional safari, and indeed also felt similar to some cetacean-watching trips I'd been on. There are a lot of boats on the river, all in contact with one another, and when one of them finds a Jaguar the news is broadcast to everyone else. So just like a big cat in Africa, or an Orca off the Pacific coast, everyone out that day converges on the same location. For some people that may not float their boat so to speak, and I have to say that as we all hovered off the bank for that first Jaguar of the day, jockying for position in what can only be described as a fairly major flotilla, it did all feel rather surreal. But it is what it is, and if you want the kind of views we ended up getting the you have to accept it. I don't think you will come away disappointed. And to be fair to the Jaguar, the object of all our attentions, it didn't seem to show any signs of caring whatsoever - though clearly it stands next to zero chance of catching any prey with all the boats shadowing its every move. Anyway, if you go on a trip like this, this is what you should expect. To note, Giant Otters are giant!

The Fleet

It wasn't all about Jaguars of course. Those 42 miles also contained a stack of birds. Even though additions to our list were dwindling at this point there were still a few new birds to be found. The full list for the morning is here, but the undoubted birdy highlight were a group of eight roosting Boat-billed Herons. What a bird, so cool - comical even - but such a treat to see these largely nocturnal birds. As ever the boatman knew exactly how to approach them for good views but without causing them undue disturbance. We also saw a couple of Crane Hawks, lots of Great Black Hawk and Black-collared Hawk, stacks of Kingfishers, and spent some time getting excellent views of Subtropical Doradito, somewhat of a specialty down here, and the only one we saw. Large-billed Terns and Yellow-billed Terns fished over the river, and out here our views were much better than from Piuval as we looked out at the Rio Bento Gomes. The duetting Black-capped Donacobius were pretty epic as well, rapidly ascending into my top five for the trip. As you can see from the list, we saw a ton of small birds simply by drifting close to the bank, and mimicing a Ferruginous Pygmy Owl from a boat has exactly the same effect as doing it from a track. What might a Ferruginous Pygmy Owl be doing on a boat you might well ask? Well, that's what the small birds were wondering too, and came to find out. By the way, if by chance you are an eBird fiend you can also keep a list for Mato Grosso do Sul on this trip as the southern side of the river is where this State begins. I don't know anyone like that of course.

Cocoi Heron

Black-capped Donacobius

Rufescent Tiger-Heron

Boat-billed Heron

Amazon Kingfisher

Crane Hawk

Black-collared Hawk

Large-billed Tern

The afternoon was a slightly shorter version of the morning, running from around 2.30pm until dusk, and seeking out slightly different birds as well as keeping an ear out for Jaguars. We missed several, arriving too late and after the cat had mooched away from the bank, and the Anaconda spot was blank. Such is life. Many trips to the Pantanal factor in several days at Porto Jofre in order to ensure they see lots of Jaguars as well as other things, but that was time we did not have. Towards the end of the day we were able to approach Waders and Terns on the shoreline which had presumably been feeding elsewhere during the day, and at dusk the Band-tailed Nighthawks come out over the river en masse, we must have seen around 40 at around half past five. Over the course of the two trips we spent nine hours out on the water, and covered 75 miles - not your average boat trip, and 97 species across the two outings! The photography opportunities were excellent, being on a boat is like being in a car - you are not invisible, but you don't have the shape of a human threat. I enjoyed it very much, enhanced by not having to lug the camera on foot, I just laid it on the floor of the boat when I wasn't using it.

One of the quieter tributaries

Rufous-tailed Jacamar

Striated Heron

Cocoi Heron

Wattled Jacana

Yellow-billed Tern

Pied Plover