Dia de los Muertos and insects

I have been intrigued with Dia de los Muertos since I first leaned about it in the 1970s. This celebration is the perfect mix of ancient Mexican beliefs and Christian beliefs. One year in the early 1990s I was at Palenque, Mexico for the celebration and it was amazing. But now, thinking about death theContinue reading “Dia de los Muertos and insects”

Brazil: Birds, Food and People

I’m sitting here writing this on Halloween in Ann Arbor, but thinking about the last days in Brazil which was two weeks ago. Surucua Tanager. on our final day of birding before heading back to the USA. Sayaca Tanager. White-winged Becard. Fawn-breasted Tanager. Golden-crowned Warbler. Pinnated Bittern – our last bird of the trip. OverContinue reading “Brazil: Birds, Food and People”

Ubatuba, Brazil: Day-1

We flew to São Paulo from the Pantanal then the next day drove to Ubatuba on the Atlantic Coast. How could things get better? We’ll to start with as we were going through town we spotted a family of at least three Burrowing Owls. While food in the Pantanal was OK, meals here were spectacular.Continue reading “Ubatuba, Brazil: Day-1”

Pantanal, Brazil: Day-4

It’s time to get out onto the rivers and head into the marshes in search of jaguars. There were a number of these floating hotels along the main river near Porto Jofre. The sandbars often had interesting birds like this Large-billed Tern. There were Jabiru everywhere. Giant River Otters were seen in small groups lurkingContinue reading “Pantanal, Brazil: Day-4”

Pantanal, Brazil: Day-3

Amazon Kingfisher, one of the first birds of the day. Staying close to wetlands we continue to find a lot of birds. Capped Heron on the left, Striated Heron on the right. Wattled Jaçana. Red-legged Seriema. Another Black-collared Hawk, a bird that I never get tired of. Unicolored Blackbird male. Yellow-olive Flatbill, formerly known asContinue reading “Pantanal, Brazil: Day-3”

Pantanal, Brazil: Day-2

Our days often started with Capyberras. But today we started as the sun was rising in search of Giant Anteaters – and we weren’t disappointed. Not only did we find one that we were able to get close to, but she had a baby with her. What a way to start the day. Walking backContinue reading “Pantanal, Brazil: Day-2”

Pantanal, Brazil: Day-1

Here’s where the adventure started. My friend Sue took this photo. Every trip that I take is full of promise. Some deliver quickly. This is a Guira Cuckoo, a bird that I wanted to see. Getting it quickly and easily made the first day a success hours into the day. Shiny Cowbird on a capyberra.Continue reading “Pantanal, Brazil: Day-1”

Western Canada: Day-8

We started our day early, got breakfast then went to the Dawson City airport for a flight to Inuvik in the Northwest Territory. Since the weather for the next day looked iffy we decided to drive to Tuktoyaktuk as soon as we could, which was a great decision. We made it all the way toContinue reading “Western Canada: Day-8”

Whitefish Point – A rare bird shows up

You never quite know what to expect bird wise when you’re at Whitefish Point. I am always interested in what raptors appear, when they appear and in what numbers. Rough-legged Hawks seem to fly in any weather, regardless of the temperature or wind direction. The same applies to Sharp-shinned Hawks and Turkey Vultures. Red-tailed HawksContinue reading “Whitefish Point – A rare bird shows up”

Traveling south

As I am sitting here writing we are on the fourth day of our trip south. The drive through Kentucky, Tennessee and Georgia were easy and occasionally interesting. We always stop at the Tennessee Welcome Center on I-75 because they have nice bathrooms and a nature trail. It’s always where we find the first warblersContinue reading “Traveling south”