Great Horned Owls (Bubo virginianus) are the largest species of owl to inhabit the South Pantanal where our lodge is situated. These graceful and powerful creatures are nocturnal hunters, so spotting one during the day is always a challenge, despite their considerable size (body length - 46 to 69cm / wingspan - 101 to 153cm). 

We were obviously delighted therefore, when in 2011, we discovered that a pair of Great Horned Owls had chosen to nest in a tree beside our shed. The owls had two large, white, fluffy chicks. The nest was not very big (about 35cm diameter), and as the chicks grew, we started to get concerned that the nest would soon be too small to hold them. And unfortunately, our concern was validated when one day we went to check on the nest, and we saw that the chicks were no longer in it! They had fallen out of the nest and were now at the base of the tree which held the nest. With so many opportunistic predators around, we were very worried that these chicks, still not able to fly, would not last long (photo below left)

Despite the chicks being out of the nest, the parent owls would still bring them food (small mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians). It was interesting to see that the chicks did not always stay at the base of the tree. Our local guide said that sometimes he would see the chicks wandering through a nearby field. After about a week, the chicks stopped returning to the base of the tree.We had no idea if they were still alive...until a few months later, when we were very relieved to see them, as young adults, perched in a tree (photo below right).

Dragonflies are great subjects for macro photography. But they can often be quite shy, which means approaching them is a challenge. Occasionally, though one can get lucky and find a dragonfly which is happy to be approached. On this occasion, I found one such dragonfly. It was perched on a twig beside our dining room, and as I got closer to it, it tilted its head and gave me a curious glance...

In late July, we were visited by Leigh and Mike Wilson, and Bobbie and Greg Hobbs from Colorado, USA. We had a wonderful time with the four of them at Embiara.

Recently, Greg sent me a beautiful poem which he wrote about their experiences at our lodge, and he attached some lovely photos to accompany the poem:

                                                                                                       Embiara Pantanal
 
Land of wetland meadows,
Tapir and the Spoonbill
 
Ponds of River Otter fishing,
woodland Oncilla,
clacking Peccaries
 
Homeland of the spreading
and the shrinking Rio Negro
 
It’s morning!
OUugg OUugg OUugg!
whoop the Howlers                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

You ride Pantanal Ponies,
duck-fitted sure footers                                                         
 
Crimson-throated Jabiru stand on                                             sand islands, Caiman sharpening eyes    
river drift the settling evening
 
You take a cross-country safari,
a Giant Anteater ambles her dinner
 
A gaggle of gathering snowy
Egrets congregates your glowing
sunset rapture.

Greg Hobbs (Embiara Lodge, Pantanal, Brazil, July 2011)

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Besides poetry, this creative bunch also enjoyed

a sing and a dance (photo below).

Thanks for the memories :-)            

Recently, we were out horseriding with some guests in the afternoon, and we caught sight of a 2.5 metre long yellow anaconda (Eunectus notaeus) slinking languidly over the grass. The anaconda was in a very large open field - no doubt it was searching for a swamp or marsh, as these are the preferred habitats of this snake. Anacondas are notoriously difficult to see as they spend most of their time hidden beneath aquatic vegetation. They are known to prey on a variety of different animals, including fish, birds, small caimans, lizards and small mammals. They will often use ambush to catch their prey, but are also known to use foraging strategies too...