Thanks to our jetlag, even though Max did not arrive at the hotel until 01:00 in the morning, we found ourselves awake at 05:00 and decided to just go. As such we drove the hour out of Asuncion and to an area of wetland, grazing and woodland on the road towards the Chaco where we would finish the day.
Our first stop I had marked down as a good
location to find Chestnut-bellied Seed Finch, and the local subspecies of
Saffron-billed Sparrow (which has a grey back in contrast to the green back I
am used to in this species). This site was mostly just a destination so the
morning was not wasted, but we had some phenomenal birding here. Mostly common
species but both of the target species were found in less than an hour, and
good bonus birds included White-winged Becard and Greater Thornbird.
After a successful start, we continued 20
minutes further and birded another location which I had marked down for
Firewood Gatherer. After half an hour searching we located an individual but it
did not show especially well. Chotoy Spinetail was another nice bird here, and
I had my first lifer of the day when a flock of Nanday Parakeets flew over,
although hopefully the swill be seen better further into the trip. In addition
there were several commoner species I had not encountered for a few years which
I very much enjoyed being reacquainted with.
By 10:30 it was already hot, so we started
our five hour drive to the Chaco and the town of Filadelfia. The road was long and
flat but passed through long stretches of habitat and we had a few nice birds
along the way. Jabiru and Maguari Stork were seen on a few occasions, and we
had a nice pair of Greater Rhea by the side of the road. We also made a short
stop at a know stakeout for some bats which are known to roost under the
bridge. What species they are I could not say, but it was cool to see
regardless. At this site we also found our first Yellow-billed Cardinals, my
second new bird of the day.
As we closed in on our destination we
encountered a few wetlands which had several nice species in. Black-bellied and
White-faced Whistling Ducks were abundant at one site, and another site had
seven Southern Screamers and a Yellowish Pipit. There were our first Chaco
birds as well, with Many-coloured Chaco Finch and Ultramarine Grosbeak. Another
lifer as we approached the Chaco was Crested Hornero, a long awaited tick that
we would see many more of during the afternoon.
At 16:30 we finally reached the small village
of Fortin Toledo, which would be our base for the next two nights. The
disturbed chaco here has several bird and mammal targets, and we set out as
soon as we had checked in to our AirBnB. Sadly the weather was not on our side,
with a heavy thunderstorm looming on the horizon. We birded for about an hour,
seeing goodies such as Lark-like Bushrunner and White-fronted Woodpecker, as
well as our first Chaco Mara, before returning to our lodging and chilling out
before night. As we arrived back to the lodge we had the first of my main Chaco
Targets, with a nice Brushland Tinamou running around the garden. Due to the
gloom it was tricky to get photos, but always good to see a new Tinamou
species.
For our first night drive at Fortin Toledo
we decided to drive the road south of the lodge to see what we might find. It
started quite steady, with a nice snake and a toad, as well as two more Chaco
Mara. But about halfway through it escalated quickly, with two Chaco Owls seen
sat on the side of the road, a much wanted species for the trip, followed by a
very bold, feeding Crab-eating Racoon in a roadside ditch. On the way back this
improved activity continued, with a Tropical Screech Owl and an American Barn
Owl also seen by the side of the road, and we finished up with three Armadillos
scuttling across the path just before our lodging. If all out night drives are
as good as this then it is going to be some trip.
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