Rich Hoyer on his just-completed Marvelous Mato Grosso, Brazil tour

On this year’s Marvelous Mato Grosso tour, the Jaguar near the end was a highlight for almost everyone but the Yellow Anaconda and Giant Anteater were close contenders, and they’re even more rarely spotted. But this was indeed a birding tour, and we tallied some 450 species including some really good ones. At Chapada dos Guimarães it was hard to choose between the unexpected male Coal-crested Finch (photo below), a Collared Crescentchest (one of the first birds of the morning), the stately Red-legged Seriemas, iconic Red-and-green Macaws, the shockingly colored Helmeted Manakin, or the drab but seldom seen Pale-bellied Tyrant-Manakin. 

Then came our short week at Cristalino, with challenging but extremely rewarding birding. We had a few highlights on the trails, such as a Gould’s Toucanet, Pavonine Quetzal, and a singing (and seen) Musician Wren on the giant Brazil Nut Tree trail (below). Giant Otters and fabulous puddle parties of butterflies on the river (below) were a highlight, as was our time on the canopy towers where a Tooth-billed Wren at eye-level and looking down on a White-necked Puffbird (below) were some of the memorable sightings. 

We reached the Pantanal a bit apprehensive with an approaching cold front and with news that water levels have never been higher this late in the dry season. But there was no need to fear. Birds were abundant and easy to see everywhere, such as the Toco Toucan (below) and Crimson-crested Woodpeckers at Pouso Alegre Lodge pictured below. We made many roadside stops for birds and animals, the first being a Giant Anteater (below if distant) in a termite mount-studded pasture on our arrival afternoon. Then on the way south to Porto Jofre an 8-feet-long Yellow Anaconda (below) was spotted on the shoulder by our driver Robson, and we watched cross the road. Then came the excitement of the boat rides on the Cuiabá River, and in our first afternoon, in the midst of the cool and windy cold front, Giant Otters and Capybaras were the only mammals we spotted. But on the next morning ride we receive radio news of a pair of Jaguars, which we arrived in time to see slink off into the deep grass from our boat. Then 20 minutes later came the prize animal, a female furtively watching a pair of Capybaras on the opposite bank (below). The whole tour was a fabulous experience from beginning to end.

Coal-crested Finch

Eight hundred-year-old Brazil Nut Tree

Just one of the amazing "puddle parties."

White-necked Puffbird

A brilliant Toco Toucan

A Giant Anteater at work in tne termite fields

A speed bump...No, a Yellow Anaconda

A most riveting Jaguar