A big advantage of using Paraguay as your gateway to the bird life of South America, is that you will almost certainly not meet any other bird watchers. El Roble is situated right on the edge of the Chaco and Pantanal regions, which are known as two of the best places in South America to experience birds. The bird watcher has different options while staying at El Roble. Firstly they can simply stay on the farm and walk to the nearby rivers to explore the environment for themselves. Or, they can travel further afield, for which I can provide transport and advice.
Ornithologists Alice Hughes (University of Bristol) and Piotr Angiel (Warschau University) wrote the following trip description, and inventory of birds in a 30km radius around El Roble, in the winter of 2007 while they were staying with us.
Chaco trip
This trip requires at least half a day, because the area takes about 50 minutes to reach in a vehicle. Once there we go around the edge of a large lagoon, taking a road following a forest patch. During this part of the route it is possible the take smaller side routes into the forest – but return to the main route again, this part of the trip can reveal interesting birdlife, especially raptors.
Once an approximate semicircle has been skirted around then a line of trees should be clearly visible, which runs alongside a lagoon. This conceals a path, which should then be followed. This area has interesting wildlife, including snakes, caimen, large numbers of water birds, and possibly giant anteaters.
The end of the lagoon is marked by a comfortable resting place. The nearby area also has a large palm grove-this area can be explores, as it contains primates, Coati and possibly peccaries – however be sure to retrace your steps (angles can make it difficult to “guess” a return route). The path though the trees can then be followed back, or alternately the hiker can return along the other side of the creek-to have a better view of the water birds.
When in the vehicle it is often worth having a closer look at any lagoons by bridges, as these often attract large numbers of water birds, rhea may also be present in the scrub-land surrounding the route.
| Amazon kingfisher American anhinga American kestrel ash-colourd cuckoo azure jay azure shouldered tanager band-tailed manakin barred antshrike bay-winged cowbird black hooded parakeet black throated mango black vulture black-collared hawk black-hooded parakeet blond-crested woodpecker blue-crowned trogon blue-winged parakeet boat billed flycatcher brown-colored flycatcher burrowing owl canary winged parakeet cattle tyrant chaco chachalaca chestnut eared aracari chimango caracara collared forest falcon cream-backed woodpecker creamy billed gnatcatcher crested caracara field flicker fork tailed flychather giant wood-rail gilded hummingbird glittering bellied emerald golden billed saltator golden-green woodpecker golden-winged cacique grassland yellowfinch Grater rhea |
gray monjita great egret great kiskadee great rufous woodcreeper green cheeked parakeet green ibis green kingfisher grey-hooded parakeet grey-necked wood-rail guaira cuckoo house sparrow jaribu stork ladder-tailed nightjar laughing falcon lesser yellow headed vulture limpkin little woodpecker long-tailed nightjar maguari stork monk parakeet moorhen narrow-billed woodcreeper Olivaceous Elaenia pale-crested woodpecker pheaant cuckoo plain-breasted ground dove plumbeous ibis plush-crested jay purplish jay red-billed scythebill red-crested cardinal red-rumped cacique ringed kingfisher roadside hawk roseate spoonbill ruddy ground dove rufescent tigerheron rufous -bellied thrush rufous sided crake |
rufus homero rusty coloured seedeater saffron finch savannah hawk sayaca tanager scarlet headed blackbird scissor-billed woodcreeper screaming cowbird smooth billed ani snowy egret solitary cacique southern lapwing spot-backed puffbird spot-flanked gallinule spotted tinamou squirral cuckoo streamer tailed tyrant tataupa tinamou toco toucan turkey vulture turquoise-frounted parrot vermillion flycatcher whistling heron white banded mocking bird white monjita white throated caracara white woodpecker white-barred piculet white-bellied seedeater white-eyed parakeet white-headed marsh tyrant white-necked heron yellow winged blackbird yellow-billed cardinal yellow-headed caracara |