14th pm
Paul Smith (Zoologist) founder of Fauna Paraguay and Roberto
arrived mid morning. Roberto a photographer had not visited Laguna Blanca
before therefore there were life birds to see on the reserve.
At around 3pm the truck was loaded with snacks and the gang
for a trip into the Cerrado to see these birds. The first species to make his
life list was the White banded Tanager. The ultimate destination for the group
was the aptly named Nightjar land with a stop off near a disused airstrip for
the Lesser Nothura. This species had been heard here but to make it onto my
life list I had to see it.
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| (White winged Nightjar) |
En route to Nightjar land a White tailed hawk put in an
appearance. A Savanna hawk was noted on arrival in the area. The gang
disembarked and began wandering around the area and what happened next was a
surprise to everyone. A male White winged Nightjar seen in flight during
daylight! This bird attracted the attention of a Aplomado Falcon which caused
considerable anxiety from within our group.
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| (White winged Nightjar) |
The position of the White winged Nightjar was noted as it
came to ground and Joe Nightjar catcher extraordinaire set to work in netting
the bird. Once caught the bird was banded and measurements taken for the log. The bird was then taken back to the point of capture (a point
is recorded on the GPS) so that it could sit safely away from the eyes of predators.
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| (Joe, Sagi and I, banding team) |
Some of the area beyond the third fire break had been
cleared and all that remained were piles of wood scattered across the ground. A
group of Plumbeous Seedeaters and a Blue black Grassquit took advantage of
these high rise perches.
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| (Gray Monjita) |
As the evening closed in the group moved to the grassland
near the airfield and saw a Grey Monjita perched on a bush. This was a rare
sighting and a new bird for my Laguna Blanca list. On arrival at the airstrip
the search began for the Lesser Nothura. A couple of birds were heard calling
but once again we could not get near enough to see a bird. Three Red winged
Tinamous were flushed during the search.
After dark I took on searchlight duties during which a
second White winged Nightjar was spotted in the area. The bird a female was
caught, banded and processed. This find could prove significant if Nightjar
land falls foul of future development.
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| (Common Potoo) |
During the drive back to the base the regular night species
were observed including a Potoo at very close range.
Nice blogging
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