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Mato Grosso, Brazil Trip Report - the following is a composite of our unforgettable trips from 2004 to 2010. With an ever-growing interest in the neotropics, a desire to be involved with conservation work somewhere south of the border, and an exciting opportunity in the southern Amazon of Brazil, my wife, Karen, and I left Arizona in the summer of 2004 to spend three months working as volunteer guides at the Cristalino Jungle Lodge in northern Mato Grosso. That life-changing experience surpassed even our most unrealistic expectations in terms of seeing, enjoying, and learning about the tremendous species diversity and ecology of this part of Amazonia. The place felt so much like home that we knew we had to return, and we did so in 2006 for a four-month stay. In addition to guiding hundreds of guests at the lodge, I've also led several groups throughout the state on what have simply been the most wildlife rich trips I've ever done. The following is a summary of our experiences during my birding and natural history trips in Mato Grosso, Brazil. Arriving
in Cuiaba, the bustling capital of Mato Grosso, in July, one is usually greeted
by bright blue skies and a surprisingly mild temperature, the perfect climate
for enjoying nature. Mato Grosso, situated roughly in the middle of South
America, is a rich biogeographical crossroad where three major habitats
converge. In the south is the world's largest freshwater wetland, the
Pantanal, running across the middle of the state is the dryish cerrado, and
in the far north is Amazonia Our trip begins in the Pantanal as we follow the legendary Transpantaneira, the road that traverses the northern portion of this great seasonal wetland. In the dry months of July and August, many species of trees, shrubs, and vines are in bloom, including yellow-flowered Vochysia trees, Combretum laxum vines (one of my favorite bird magnets), several species of Tabebuia, and the widespread Cassia grandis. At this time of year, the water levels in the ponds and rivers are perfect for concentrating the foods that attract birds, caiman, and otters, for providing foraging opportunities for water-edge species that need exposed banks, and for optimizing our viewing opportunities. The roughest part of the Transpantaneira isn't the bumpy surface but rather the great difficulty in trying to drive more than a mile or so without having to stop to marvel at this or that species. The New World's three stork species - jabiru, wood, and Maguari - are roadside fixtures as are four species of ibis (plumbeous, buff-necked, bare-faced, and green), Toco toucan, Campo flicker, rufous hornero, greater thornbird, monk and yellow-chevroned parakeets, unicolored blackbird, troupial, white-headed marsh tyrant, Chaco chachalaca, chestnut-bellied guan, and the local stars, hyacinth macaws. Not as common as these "fixtures" are other species that we've seen including greater rhea, red-legged seriema, red-winged tinamou, and nanday parakeet. By the time we reach the Fazenda Santa Tereza, we're usually closing in on 100 species for the day. Santa Tereza, resting on the banks of the Pixaim River, is simply loaded with birds and wildlife. In addition to a family of giant otters on the river, we've seen crab-eating fox, red brocket and marsh deer, South American coati, southern Tamandua, capybara, black howler monkey, silvery marmoset, and other mammals on or near the grounds. Birds are everywhere. Out the front and back doors are yellow-billed and red-crested cardinals, purplish jay, saffron finch, multiple species of columbids, white-tailed goldenthroat, gilded hummingbird, glittering-throated emerald, blue-fronted and scaly-headed parrots, narrow-billed woodcreeper, and all the water birds you'd expect (kingfishers, black-collared and great black hawks, striated heron, etc.) alongside a neotropical river. The trails through the gallery forest are excellent though a little more challenging in terms of viewing. We've had great luck in these forests and have enjoyed great views of Mato Grosso and band-tailed antbirds, rusty-fronted tody-flycatcher, pearly-vented tody-tyrant, fuscous flycatcher, helmeted manakin, green-backed becard, dark-billed cuckoo, hooded tanager, ashy-headed greenlet, plain tyrannulet, red-billed scythebill, masked gnatcatcher, flavescent warbler, dull-capped attila, and rusty-backed antwren. Along the forest edges are rufous-fronted thornbird and rufous-crested cachalote while in the wetter areas, we find yellow-chinned and rusty-backed spinetails. Night in the Pantanal, though not as busy as the day, can still be pretty exciting for wildlife. After the sun has set, but before darkness takes over, band-tailed and Nacunda nighthawks take to the sky, while great-horned owls (yes, they do occur this far south) begin their "day" with calls reminiscent, but different from, those of their northern cousins. Widespread birds such as common pauraque and ferruginous pygmy owl are joined by not-so-widespread birds like scissor-tailed nightjar whose insect-hawking flights are spectacular. In addition to the many caiman (Caiman jacare) in the area, we've also seen several other large reptiles, notably the prehistoric looking caiman lizard (Dracaena paraguayensis), a spectacularly large snail-eating lizard, and the black and white tegu (Tupinambus merianae). Our afternoon boat trips along the Pixaim River, an overflow extension of the larger Cuiaba River, is magical. The tropical light, the thick gallery forest bordering the river, and the quiet create an ambiance so satisfying that the wildlife we see almost seems like a bonus............and what a bonus - agami heron, Picazuro pigeon, bare-faced curassow, sungrebe, five species of kingfisher, pale-legged hornero, whistling heron, solitary black cacique, and white-faced whistling-duck are wonderful preludes to one of the trip's possible highlights, close-up views of a dynamic group of 7-9 giant river otters. While at Santa Tereza, we're treated to excellent hospitality and delicious food which go well with our trail walks, river trips, afternoons on the Transpantaneira, and night outings. From
Santa Tereza, we head north to Pousada Piuval, a lovely and comfortable lodge
with different habitat and species than we found further south. The open
fields around the lodge are ideal for viewing large groups of greater rheas
(sometimes we see attentive dads herding long-legged young) as wel From the Pantanal, we return to Cuiaba for the two-hour flight to Alta Floresta and an entirely different world. Thirty to forty years ago, when the town of Alta Floresta was established, its name described the surrounding landscape of "high forest". Today the area around and south of Alta Floresta is the poster-landscape for deforestation in South America as cattle pasture and soybean farms have replaced large tracts of broadleaf evergreen forest. Amazingly the small tract of forest that remains at the Hotel Floresta Amazonica still harbors decent wildlife, the most unexpected of which has to be the pair of harpy eagles that nested there unsuccessfully in 2004/5 and successfully in 2006/7 and again in 2009. We've also found avian gems like long-tailed potoo, crested owl, chestnut-tailed antbird, dark-winged trumpeter, and cinnamon-throated woodcreeper. Mammals include red howler, dusky-titi, and white-bellied spider monkeys as well as silvery marmoset. On the forest edges are black-tailed and white-tailed trogons, tityras, squirrel cuckoo, and about 15 species of parrots. In July and August a striking species of red Passiflora is in full bloom, drawing in reddish hermits. After a relaxing night and a morning of birding at the hotel, we head out for my adopted home in Brazil, the Cristalino Jungle Lodge. Along the way we look for Brazilian teal, pearl kite, burrowing owl, and, at a stand of Mauritia palms, the "Mauritia palm grand slam", a quartet of birds including red-bellied macaws, fork-tailed palm-swift, sulphury flycatcher, and point-tailed palmcreeper. Eventually we reach the banks of the Teles Pires River and the beginning of gorgeous forest that goes on essentially intact for hundreds of miles to the Amazon itself. Leaving behind all roads, cars, houses, fences, livestock, and exotic species, the magic is obvious as we cross the Teles Pires and enter the beautiful Cristalino River. The Cristalino is a 100-mile long river weaving its way through pristine lowland Amazonian rainforest. The trail system, the canopy tower, and the lodge's boats give us access to every microhabitat found in the area. Yes, the birds and other wild creatures are outstanding, but even the most intense life-lister will be mesmerized by the mind-boggling number of butterflies by day and stars by night. The July/August time period is a peak for butterflies with thousands of sulphurs of several species streaming down the river for hours each day, occasionally stopping to form massive "puddle parties" of many hundreds along the banks. In the forest, our eyes are almost constantly distracted by darting satyrs, hairstreaks, metalmarks, owls, skippers, and morphos. The isolation and absence of light-pollution at the lodge can make for a cosmic display that I didn't think was possible except from the space shuttle. Even though the sky may be completely clear at Cristalino, a staggering number of stars creates the illusion of wispy cloud patches scattered across the sky. At Cristalino, birders are
treated to the full lowland Amazonian show with eight species of toucans, more
than twenty species of parrots, several striking cotingas, seven trogons, six
jacamars, nineteen woodcreepers, and over fifty species of antbirds. The
diversity is tremendous, but, as elsewhere in thick tropical forest, the birding
can be challenging. With some pre In the adjacent flooded forest are birds that specialize in this unique habitat. Long-billed, striped, and straight-billed woodcreepers work the treetrunks, male flame-crowned manakins call from their inconspicuous perches, streaked antwren pairs work the lower trees, glossy antshrikes give their "bouncing ball" calls, and diminutive spotted tody-flycatchers glean from the undersides of leaves. As one heads up river, the gradient becomes more gradual, the floodplain widens, and the structure and species composition of the vegetation changes. In these "swampy" areas one can sometimes find hoatzins, a beautiful but rather odd leaf-eating bird, as well as lesser kiskadee, varzea schiffornis, Amazonian antpitta, and black-capped donacobius. An upriver Mauritia palm swamp provides a second chance for the "grand slam" specialists. Of
course, most of the harder-to-see goodies are either in the forest, where the
excellent trail system allows good access, or in the canopy, where the tower
becomes a birder's best friend. The forest birds can be roughly divided
into two groups - the mixed flock followers and the individualists. The
mixed flock followers tend to be smallish insectivores that gain various
foraging and predator-avoidance benefits by traveling in groups. The
individualists, on the other hand, have morphologies and behaviors such that
group traveling isn't beneficial. They tend to be either ground dwellers
(like tinamous and antthrushes), fruit-eaters (such as manakins and cotingas) or
sit-wait-ambush predators (think trogons, flycatchers and jacamars).
While walking Cristalino's trails, I've always got my radar on high, with a
special focus on the machine-gun-like rallying call of the cinereous antshrike,
the understory mixed flock leader. Though there is almost always a central
cast of characters in such a flock (long-winged antwren, rufous-tailed
foliage-gleaner, Spix's woodcreeper, red-stained woodpecker), the thematic
variations are exciting. If one happens to be in or at the edge of a
bamboo thicket, one can find ornate and dot-winged antwrens, striated antbird,
olivaceous flatbill, curve-billed scythebill, and maybe rose-breasted
chat. If a canopy Among the non-flockers are seven species of trogons, most of which tend to perch quite high compared to the easy-to-see elegant trogons just a few miles from my house. While black-tailed, white-tailed and violaceous trogons are fairly common, the sparsely distributed pavonine quetzal is a rarish treat. Cristalino's six species of jacamars present one of the finest examples of adaptive radiation to be found anywhere. with similar morpholgies and foraging behaviors, they partition habitat by location. Each has its reliablly specific place in the overall picture - rufous-taileds along the river, blue-cheekeds at mid to low levels in their thick-forest territories, greats just under the canopy surface, and paradise jacamars high up in the sunny treetops. Many other groups of birds (e.g. woodcreepers, flycatchers, and antbirds) exhibit similar ecologies. Army ants (Eciton sp.) are a habitat unto themselves. Their nomadic lifestyles, their insect-flushing swarm-foraging, and their ubiquitousness has led to the evolution of interesting dependencies and associations in various organisms. In addition to the professional antbirds found at Cristalino (black-spotted bare-eye, scale-backed antbird, white-chinned and plain-brown woodcreepers, and the endemic bare-eyed antbird), there are unexpected ant-following opportunists such as Spix's guan, black-girdled barbet, strong-billed woodcreeper, and even white-throated toucan! Just as tightly tied to the ants, but not as easily seen, are insects such as skipper butterflies (following the birds for their nutrient rich droppings), parasitic flies and wasps (hoping to pounce and lay an egg on escaping arthropods), and a suite of commensal beetles and other insects that live with the ants. The
50-meter canopy tower is a dream come true, not just for the wildlife-viewing,
but also for the awesome view that it provides of the vast intact forest.
The tower also has the added benefit of reinforcing and refining that
oh-so-important birding tool, patience. There are always birds to be seen
from the tower, but numbers and diversity vary with the shifting resources of
fruits and flowers. Spangled cotinga, long-tailed tyrant, many parrots,
variegated and crowned-slaty flycatchers, swallow-tailed and plumbeous kites,
black-girdled barbet, and several toucans are pretty regular
as are white-whiskered spider and brown capuchin monkeys. What are not so
regular are the mixed canopy flocks that everyone wants to see. There's a
lot of canopy out there, and you never know where the flocks are going to be,
but every now and then, one of these nomadic bands of hungry birds gets close to
the tower and puts on quite a show of color and movement. The
action and ID challenges can be intense as chestnut-winged hookbill,
yellow-shouldered grosbeak, Sclater's antwren, spot-winged antshrike,
black-bellied cuckoo, tooth-billed wren, white-lored tyrannulet, gray-crowned
flycatcher, lineated woodcreeper, dusky-capped greenlet, paradise tanager, and
others weave and dart their way through the trees. In July and August a tree
close to the tower, a species of Xanthoxylum, has fruits that are
oddly irresistible to many birds as well as the capuchins. I say oddly
because the clusters of fruits are comprised of leathery green fruit capsules, which, when split open,
reveal pulpless black seeds. While the
cluster has a mildly sweet perfume odor, the seeds, when touched by the human
tongue, leave a caustic sensation rather like battery acid. Thus the
oddness and the mystery of why red-headed, dwarf-tyrant, and white-crowned
manakins, large groups of white-eyed parakeets, crowned-slaty flycatcher, and
scale-breasted woodpecker are regular seed-eating visitors. Part of the
mystery's solution may have something to do with the fact that there is an Asian
species of Xanthoxylum that is used by people as both a spice and an anti-parasite
medicine. Perhaps our tower Xanthoxylum is the just
neighborhood pharmacy, open for only one month a year. Also near the tower
are several Erythrina trees that bloom at this time and are attractive to
epaulet orioles, several parakeets (crim Other highlights at Cristalino include "island" outcrops of old weathered granite where the lack of soil favors arid adapted species of trees, shrubs, forbs, and a few native bunchgrasses, almost none of which occur in the surrounding forest. One prominent nearby hill has a trail to the top that provides access not only to a terrific view but also to rocky outcrop specialties such as Natterer's slaty-antshrike, white-fringed antwren, yellow-browed antbird, and blackish nightjar. The many blooming Erythrina trees in July and August attract black-throated mangos, white-chinned and rufous-throated sapphires, versicolored emerald, amethyst woodstar, and occasionally black-bellied thorntail, while Cochlospermum, Bombax, and Tabebuia trees attract other pollinators as well as parrots. I could go on for days about the wonders of Cristalino's forest as it is filled with so many species and sights that surprise and amaze. A short list of the special critters that we've had the good luck to find include many mammals - tayra, white-lipped and collared peccaries, both gray and red brocket deer, southern tamandua, seven species of primates, southern two-toed sloth, kinkajou, South American coati, Guianan squirrel, and jaguar - quite a few reptiles - bushmaster, boa constrictor, rainbow boa, black-skinned parrot snake, Amazonian ringed snake, yellow-footed tortoise, and twist-necked turtle - and countless species of butterflies. The diversity of plants and the structure of the pristine forest is remarkable. Though it at first appears as a rather homogenous mass of green, with a little time, the microhabitats and the specialists that inhabitat them reveal themselves. The forest floor is one of the richest and often most-overlooked sites. The bamboo thickets sometimes resemble a really bad hair day in which your wild hair is crawling with busy birds. The canopy, where sunlight, fruits, and flowers abound always has something going on if you have the neck and back endurance for it. A welcomed contrast to the extensive deforestation seen south of Cristalino is the excellent work of the Cristalino Ecological Foundation, a private, non-profit conservation organization established in 1999 to help protect the forest near the lodge and beyond. In addition to facilitating the establishment of Cristalino State Park in 2000, the Foundation has made possible the purchase and protection of a 16,000-acre private inholding within the park and created an environmental education program for Brazilian children (The School of the Amazon). The owner of the lodge and founder of the foundation, Dona Vitoria da Riva Carvalho, is skilled and tireless in her efforts and, to many of us, is a national treasure. From Cristalino, we return south to Cuiaba from where we make the short drive north to Chapada dos Guimaraes National Park. Chapada lies on the southern end on the Mato Grosso Planalto. Here broadleaf forest like that of the Amazon fingers its way between fire-adapted cerrado and grasslands. All are woven into a dramatic landscape of sandstone cliffs and many streams and waterfalls. In
Chapada, we stay at the wonderful Pousada do Parque from where day trips
take us to the low-stature cerrado of the Agua Fria Road and the tall forest of the
Portao de Fe Road as well as grassland and broken forest areas. At first glance the Agua Fria Rd., with its somewhat
scrawny-looking shrubs, doesn't look all that promising for birds.
Fortunately, in this case, looks are indeed deceiving as the area is a gold mine
of avian jewels. Flowering Calliandra and Bauhinia shrubs
are good places to look for some amazing hummers - horned sungem, swallow-tailed
hummingbird, glittering-bellied emerald, and white-vented violet-ear. Gray
monjita, white-banded and white-rumped tanagers, black-throated saltator, and
white-eared puffbird are the species most likely to be perched atop one of the
many small trees while skulking low in the bushes are rusty-backed antwren,
rufous-winged antshrike, collared crescentchest, a The
flora of the Agua Fria Rd. is fascinating.
In addition to the Calliandra and Bauhinia that flower in July and
August, Melastomes (a widespread neotropical plant family) are abundant
and diverse. A plant I've seen in the sandy savannas of southern Mexico
and Belize, Curatella The thick forest of the Portao de Fe Rd., though only a few kilometers from similar looking forest at Pousada do Parque, has a very different avifauna. Along this quiet road one can find both saffron-billed and pectoral sparrows working the ground while Toco toucan and chestnut-eared and lettered aracaris work the treetops. Guira tanager, sirystes, Planalto woodcreeper, blue-crowned motmot, long-billed antwren, ant-following white-backed fire-eyes, moustached and thrush-like wrens, and many others are in the forest here. The calls of fiery-capped and band-tailed manakins are common though finding the birds themselves is more of a challenge. On particularly lucky days, we've found southern antpipit and pavonine cuckoo. In Chapada, we usually make visits to the Veu de Noiva falls (where cerrado, grassland, and riparian forest create a diverse blend of habitats) and the dramatic cliffs of Pousada Penhasco. In these locations, we've found black-faced tanager, yellow-bellied elaenia, white-eared puffbird, biscutate and great dusky swifts, planalto hermit, green-winged saltator, collared crescent-chest, blue finch, and wedge-tailed grassfinch, red-shouldered and blue-winged macaws, crested black tyrant, stripe-tailed yellow-finch, and several seedeater species - double-collared, plumbeous, and tawny-bellied. At some point, and I think I've reached it, words just come up short in trying to describe the ambiance - the light, the color, the sounds, and the sights - of a trip through Mato Grosso's riches. This central South American area is an E-ticket ride for those with an interest in the natural world, and, as one of my favorite places on the planet, it's a place that I greatly look forward to returning to and sharing with many of you. Photos:
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paration, practice, a little luck, and,
above all, patience, one can see several hundred species in 4-5 days.
Having spent many months at Cristalino, I have had the good fortune of becoming familiar with bird behaviors, vocalizations, and territories which
helps in finding both the common and rare species. With over 575 species
recorded in the Alta Floresta/Cristalino area (of which I've seen about 480),
it's hard to know where to begin. The river itself is marvelous for
relatively easy viewing. Overhead one can see soaring raptors such as
black-and-white hawk-eagle or hook-billed kite while perched raptors have included
gray-bellied hawk, crested eagle, and white-browed hawk. Macaws and
parrots (including the endemic Kawall's) fly by,
occasionally perching to give good views. While golden-winged parakeets
sometimes come down to the river rocks to eat snails, groups of dusky-billed
parrotlets come to the lodge beach to eat clay at midday. Muscovy ducks,
sunbittern, great black hawk, Amazon and green-and-rufous kingfishers, greater
ani, and green ibis are fairly common. Water edge specialists include
silvered and band-tailed antbirds and buff-breasted wren. July and August
are two of the best months to see rare razor-billed curassows as they come down
to the water's edge. In addition to various primates (white-whiskered
spider, brown capuchin, white-nosed bearded saki, and red-handed howler monkeys)
we sometimes see Brazilian tapir, southern river otter, giant otter, capybara, and
proboscis bats on the river by day while paca and greater and lesser fishing bats
can be seen
at night. Spectacled and dwarf caiman, and yellow-spotted river and
spotted toad-headed turtles are common baskers along the banks and logs.
Green anacondas are often found along the river's edge, and in 2006 we saw
about ten individuals, including the 20+ ft. beast that we saw in 2004.
Though they are forest animals, your best chance for seeing a jaguar at
Cristalino is along the river. Fortunately we've been in the right place
at the right time on two unforgettable occasions, and you can see what we saw in
the photos here and in the photo gallery. 
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rufous-sided pygmy-tyrant. Coal-crested finches travel in small groups,
Chapada flycatcher, plain-crested elaenia, and cinnamon tanager work quietly
through the trees, and curl-crested jays and peach-fronted parakeets fly from
tree to tree. Red-legged seriema, whose calls are heard just about every
morning, are sometimes seen walking along or across the road as red-and-green
macaws, crane and white-tailed hawks, and yellow-headed caracara pass
overhead. 