Date: Monday 29 August 2022

Trajectory:  Formosa – Guaycolec – Formosa

Distance covered: 85 km

Ariel and I left at six in the morning for the Guaycolec Animal Reserve, where he used to work. Today was a full on birding day, but this is not a birding blog so I’ll limit myself as usual to one bird of the day.

In fact I shot about four hundred pics today, between birds and other fauna, which I’ll probably not get to process for quite a while. Today’s photos are all off my iPhone (and the ones above and below off Ariel’s!).

Guaycolec was not technically open but Ariel had a key and knew everyone there so I had a very privileged visit, meeting some of the new arrivals, some of the long-term residents, and helping with the feeding of the big cats. I was very honoured to see behind the scenes of the reserve, something not easily accessible to amateur wild life enthsuiasts like me.

Here are one or two of the residents – I will have many more photos in time. The iPhone quality is not great, especially when I’ve pumped up the zoom, but they give a flavour. The first is a ñandu – one of many friendly rheas walking around the compound.

Next, a very young Geoffroy’s Cat – rather more spit and snarl than it seems. This had arrived in the rescue centre this morning.

And a lovely young South American tapir, about eight months old. It will soon lose its humbug colouring.

These baby macaws had just come in too – confiscated contraband from near the Paraguayan border. Some macaw species sell illegally for very high prices.

Time for my bird of the day. It’s unusual for me to take a decent photo of a bird with my iPhone, but this was a big bird (a King Vulture) and I was inside the cage with it for once.

It was Ariel’s task to get the asado ready, with some hefty chunks of meat …

… while one of the other people working at the reserve was cutting up animal food for the big cats. I loved his [home-made] hat.

I helped muckout and feed a dozen or so puma compounds, and one ocelot enclosure: it was a first for me to be so close to ocelots. 

By the time the pumas and ocelots were fed and their compounds cleaned out Ariel’s cooking was more or less done … 

… and we sat down for an al fresco lunch ….

After which Ariel and I spent a little more time trying unsuccessfully to get some decent shots of a couple of birds we had seen.

By five o’clock we were back in town. Siesta, blog writing and supper in turn, and an early night. Tomorrow to two more sites, this time for some undiluted birding.