BRAZIL
A vast array of species gives photographers a nearly endless stream of opportunities.
In 2010 we built photo blinds in our third destination: Xaeres Lodges in Pantanal, southwest Brazil. Tropical Pantanal is the largest wetland in the world, with an estimated 1,000 bird species. The 4,000-hectare farm has eight photo blinds. The high season is August to October, which is the dry season.
Xaeres offers a unique opportunity to photograph Hyacinth Macaws from a specially built tower blind. These macaws forage in colonies and come to feed near the tower blind in flocks on a daily basis. About 1 m (3.3 ft) long from head to tail, Hyacinth Macaws are endangered, with only about 5,000 pairs left in the world.
There are two drinking pond blinds that attract several colorful bird species every day, and they are also occasionally visited by mammals. In addition, five one-person blinds are available for photographing caracaras. Feeding also attracts Black Vultures and Turkey Vultures, and there are often fights between the vultures and the caracaras.
Located deep in the rainforest, about 130 km (81 mi) from the closest village, Xaeres offers high-quality, air conditioned accommodations with phone connections and Internet access via satellite. You can find more information at www.hidephotography.com.
The Hyacinth Macaw is the largest parrot in the world (Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus)
Nikon D300, 300mm f/2.8, 1/160 second, f/2.8, ISO 400, manual focus, Gitzo tripod and video head, blind. Pantanal, Brazil, 2009.
A tower blind built on the Xaeres farm in the Pantanal offers good opportunities to photograph Hyacinth Macaws (Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus)