world heritage sites Archives - Distracted Birder

Hey Tiger: Random Photographic Update

distractedbirder — Wed, 19 Apr 2023 00:24:12 +0000

I am about to break every SEO rule by basically saying nothing and using zero keywords. I know, I’m blowing minds over here. But I never update… though I should. And I took a birding trip to India that I really do want to post about. I know I really should. Yet it takes me about a billion months to curate photos, so that’s my excuse for why updates never happen. With that in mind, I’m posting this photo now. Because it’s my site, and I can post useless content. That’s how the internet works! I present to you: A WILD TIGER. This handsome adult was spotted with his mate at Ranthambhore National Park. He was a “non-tourist” tiger. He was beautiful. I am sharing this because this particular travel experience is something I have dreamt of for, literally, decades. I am very likely to share this again, because he brings me joy. More to come…

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Jaguar Safari in the Pantanal: The Best of Brazil

distractedbirder — Sat, 03 Jul 2021 14:47:14 +0000

I decided to take a trip to Brazil based almost entirely on the appeal of the Pantanal. I’m not sure how well-known this site is to the general public, but it is a tremendously popular ecotourism destination. There’s plenty of cool critters and beautiful birds to see in Brazil, but the most people come to the lowlands for one specific target – one of those charismatic big cats everyone loves to see. It’s almost certain that a visit to the Pantanal will include a search for the Jaguar. That Darned Cat I had never seen a big cat before my trip to Brazil. At that point, my only trip to Africa was to Ethiopia – not a “Big 5” destination. And of course I’d love to see every Panthera this world has to offer. I’m just a bit slow to get started. At the time, videos of male jaguars preying upon black caiman had experienced quite a moment of internet popularity. This is unlikely to be a tourist’s view of the cat, of course. This big cat with beautifully patterned fur is near threatened, having lost about 40% of its historic range. Besides, visitors have to have realistic expectations! Any glimpse of this secretive predator would be exciting. Populations are most stable in equatorial South America, especially the Amazonian rain forests of Peru. Despite larger populations in the Amazon, the Pantanal in Brazil has the reputation for providing the best opportunity for observing a jaguar in the wild. I booked an available tour. The itinerary included 10 days in the Pantanal and Cerrado (plus an extension into the Amazon basin). Granted, this was a birding tour. But we’re talking a birding/wildlife tour now. On trips like this, the birders tend to be less driven to get the highest bird numbers and have a broader interest in wildlife. The Wetlands The Pantanal begins just south of Cuiabá, a city in the western Brazilian state of Mato Grasso. It’s the largest tropical wetland in the world. It covers most of the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul, but extends into much of Mato Grasso and crosses borders into Bolivia and Paraguay. The Pantanal is protected by the Ramsar Convention and a portion is designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Pantanal is a depression, a large delta of converging rivers. It is seasonally flooded and supports a diverse ecosystem of vegetation and dense wildlife populations. But it’s also a threatened system – particularly from cattle ranching and logging. Cattle ranching is the dominant land use across the entire wetland. (And, as a special added concern, sometimes predators aren’t welcome in landscapes where they might prey on livestock.) Destination: Porto Jofre From Cuiabá, we head south on the Transpantaneira, the two-lane dirt highway connecting Poconé to Porto Jofre. Porto Jofre is, quite literally, the end of the road. It’s actually north-central in terms of the Pantanal, but this is a northern access point from Mato Grasso. This is a long day of travel. In fact, Porto Jofre was our second destination. We had already driven for hours after leaving Cuiabá to arrive at our first lodge near the Rio Claro. This was the second stretch, but it was still a lengthy drive on a dirt road. It did include a nice lunch stop and great birding, though. In central and South America, the bird feeders frequently include fruits. This stop was no exception, and we were delighted to see hungry araçari eating lunch. After hours of driving (with birding stops), we arrived at Porto Jofre in the early evening. This was our most anticipated destination of the entire tour. There wasn’t much opportunity for birding on the grounds this night. But we were excited for the following day, which would begin the search for wildlife along the river. Jaguar Safari The next morning, we boarded the boat from our dock on the Rio São Lourenço to search for our prime target. This is not the serene excursion you might be picturing – imagine, instead, numerous motorboats heading out on the river throughout the day. Each is searching for the same elusive cat. A sighting leads to frantic calls over the radio, and all boats descend upon the same location. The moments are filled with anticipation of seeing the cat and dread that our arrival will be too late… One… Finally, the call came for a location somewhat close to us – our driver raced over in time to see a beautiful adult Jaguar striding along the river’s edge. She was the first big cat I had ever seen, and she was perfect. I couldn’t stop shaking; the sight of her filled me with a rush of relief and happiness that was surprising to me. She soon started walking, stalking along the banks of the river and moving in and out of sight behind the vegetation. We were told she had cubs and was hunting for them, although we did not spot them at the time. All the spectators watched her walk the bank for hundreds of meters, slowly boating along to keep her pace. Eventually, she stalked away, tracking inlets where boats could not float. Two… Once she had disappeared, we ventured away down the river to observe more wildlife. But, as luck would have it, she re-appeared not long after. This time, she was simply sitting at rest on a small sandy point. After a few moments, the cat began walking again. Unfortunately, she didn’t venture very far down the bank before she disappeared from view. Three! The day’s river tour was eventful with a number of great wildlife observations, in addition to our two jaguar sightings. It was about time to end the day when another call came over the radio. We weren’t far from the reported location, so our captain sped down the river to try to see jaguar a third time. As we approached the location, we saw a neat row of boats – waiting. They motioned for us to stop, and so we sat motionless, staring across a channel of water. Soon, between us and those aligned boats, the head of a jaguar appears. The cat was swimming across the river! The mother had already crossed – this was the second cub. We only really saw its head as it swiftly paddled through the water. But it was remarkable – to see how easily and quickly those cats can swim! Cost/Benefit: Are Jaguar Tours Good? Heck, I can’t be certain about this. It probably requires some research, and even then the decision to seek out this type of activity would come down to personal interest/comfort. Honest assessment, there’s probably potential for tourism to wreak havoc here, same as anywhere. If people want to see the cats, they might need more places to stay, might need more boats on the water. At some times, maybe there already are a large number operating in a finite linear space. But whether you see cats crossing the water or prowling on the water’s edge, you can only get as close as your captain allows. The cat will always have more options for movement than the tourists, even if there’s an annoying number of boats out on the water. And lodges do not seem to dominate the landscape. There are a few options in Porto Jofre, but the development is still at low densities and minimal. On the other hand, the allure of the jaguar does provide clear economic value to an ecologically sensitive area, which doesn’t hurt when there are economic powerhouses vying for the same landscape. And the tourists are coming to see the cats, giving a remarkable incentive to support conserving the habitats and land use that would keep them around. Bottom line: Like in all ecotourism activities, it’s good to be thoughtful about choosing a conscientious tour operator. But given the lower potential for tourists to directly impact the cats, it does seem sensible to give the wetlands (and their threatened wildlife) a distinct, measurable economic value. This is in addition to any intrinsic value of the ecosystem. Unfortunately, that type of value is not universally respected. The Wildlife Parade As lovely as seeing the jaguar was, it was only the highlight of a tremendous day on the river. We saw herons trying, unsuccessfully, to devour an utterly enormous catfish. Elegant swallow-tailed kites swooped around us, catching insects in mid-flight. Osprey perched above us, enjoying its recent catch. And, one of the most common sights was families of capybara, watching us from the bank. This Otter Be Good… If any critter were to secure a Number 2 spot on our “Best Wildlife of the Day” list, it would have to be the Giant Otter. Note: We did not actually make a “best wildlife of the day” list. The best on this day was pretty clear to everyone with a pulse. Also, no more lists are allowed. We probably spend more than an hour reviewing the bird checklist each night… (yep, that is actually a thing we do!) We watched a family of Giant Otters as they swam together, eating a meal of fish. As we watched, they climbed out of the river to return to their bank den. As some continued swimming nearby, one otter dug sand from the den entrance. Then, others stalked around the nearby bank, blatantly marking their territory. It was a tremendous production of natural history theatre. Porto Jofre – Day Two Our itinerary included two days of in the Porto Jofre area. Since we’d seen the jaguar on our first day on the river, most folks opted for bird walks on our second day. We saw a good number of birds, including some lovely Toco Toucans, grey ibis, and wetlands full of lily pads and wading birds. But the most engaging species was not hard to spot on the grounds of our lodge – the Hyacinth Macaw. There was even a statue of a macaw on the grounds, although I assumed at first that the statue was just honoring a beautiful local bird. We didn’t see any on our first day at the lodge. But, as it turns out, the statue was an omen of many sightings to come. Once macaws were spotted in the trees outside our rooms, they seemed to be in every tree. And, in typical macaw fashion, they seemed to be laughing at us from their high perches. These are simply spectacular parrots, large and brilliantly colored. I am a sucker for a blue bird; I just can’t help myself. Beyond the grounds and the wetlands, we continued to explore small trails just off the entrance road. Short walks led to a number of new songbirds in the understory of small forest tracts and shrubby edges. We did take some short drives to increase our trail access, but there was plenty habitat to explore and keep us birding through the day. For Your Consideration When to Go Although I’ve heard Porto Jofre can actually be a fairly busy place, we were lucky that there were probably less than ten boats on our section of the river this day. I’m sure timing is important here for both the crowds and the possibilities of seeing jaguar in the Pantanal, so it’s worth consideration – especially if large numbers would lessen your enjoyment of the experience. In the wet season, typically October-April, many of the grasslands are flooded. This is also during the southern hemisphere’s spring and summer, so these months are generally warmer and rainier. During this time, you’d have less hiking opportunities and wildlife might be more dispersed. In drier periods, water bodies might be more limiting as the precipitation wanes. The fauna tends to be concentrated and easier to spot/access. My tour took place in mid-August, which is dry season and winter in the southern hemisphere. So if you want drier weather, good temperatures, and better wildlife viewing… you’ll probably shoot for...

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Post-Vaccination Vacation Plans: New Developments

distractedbirder — Fri, 04 Jun 2021 14:54:41 +0000

I have vacation plans! I’ve plotted so many things for 2021 that have already been cancelled. It’s difficult to share thoughts of travel without the caveat that – what with pandemics being the nasty, unpredictable beasts they are – any plans are more likely to be trashed than not. After a trip to India was postponed to 2022 and a European cruise was cancelled (which was entirely expected), it’s difficult to feel entirely optimistic about 2021 travels. However, I’m going to embrace hope and share my currently scheduled adventures anyway. I’m genuinely excited, and I think these post-vaccination vacation plans have a good shot of happening! Recent History: Florida Just a note: We were able to take a quick break in Florida recently to see my partner’s family and spent some time kayaking in the Crystal River area. It was the first time we’d seen any family/friends in a shared space since March 2020, so it was a great opportunity to finally relax. We do tend to keep masks on inside public buildings. But that was clearly not an expectation in central Florida, and it felt very foreign to us. Too soon, Florida, too soon. But the water was beautiful, the paddling was quite a lot of fun, and we even saw a number of manatees… and even more otters! To Manatee or Not To Manatee… We didn’t feel the need to participate in manatee tours. Manatees are less abundant outside of the winter months, and each individual spotted by tour groups seemed overrun with attention (and snorkelers). Maybe it doesn’t appear quite so overbearing when more manatees are present? But the optics weren’t great as an observer. Then again, when the manatees arrive in the winter in huge numbers, they’re escaping the cold waters of the Gulf. Seeking refuge in the warmer waters of central Florida’s natural springs here in the Crystal River area is as a matter of survival. I’m usually an avid supporter of eco-tourism. The manatee tours certainly benefit the local economy. And it sounds so cool – I completely understand the appeal of the gentle, floating giants. But seeing crowds of snorkelers around a single manatee made me pause. I don’t know that there’s genuinely any negative impact there at all, so I’m not saying do or don’t. I just felt like I needed more information about the impacts of those tours before I could support the practice myself. International Plans: The Galápagos I’ve paid a deposit for a trip to the Galápagos Islands in August! It’s one of the spots I recently described as a bucket list destination, and I’m excited to follow through with my hopes to travel more intentionally! My trip is going to be a cruise rather than a land-based tour. The land-based options can certainly be more budget-friendly, but a cruise is generally a more highly-recommended way to explore the Galápagos. You can see more – and more remote areas – of the Galápagos National Park when your hotel is moving among the islands. I really want this trip to be as wonderful as it has always sounded, so I’m going with the more expensive option here. Also, I do think there are legitimate, conscientious reasons to choose a cruise instead of a land-based option. The Galápagos National Park has created restrictions on the number of boats visiting the islands, their size, and their frequency. Although very little of the islands is developed, there’s a not-discountable number of people living there now. Luckily, about 97% of the islands are protected as part of the National Park, so the threat might not be entirely alarming. But, if not capped in a similar fashion as cruise capacity, the land-based tours could support continued development and population growth on the four islands where lodging currently exists. Ramblings of a Fan-girl It may seem odd to say, but this trip is something of a pilgrimage for me. As a wildlife biologist, the Galápagos is the place on this earth where we can see the species that inspired Charles Darwin to think beyond species being unchanging forms established by a Creator. No, Darwin didn’t actually develop this theory in a bubble. Elements of adaptation had already been proposed, some as somewhat fringe concepts. And, more importantly, Alfred Russel Wallace played an instrumental part in identifying natural selective factors leading to speciation. He was Darwin’s contemporary. Much of his work occurred in islands of southeast Asia and in the Amazon, though, and so the connection to the Galápagos is very specific to Mr. Darwin and that famous Voyage of the Beagle. So I hope there will be blue-footed boobies and penguins! In addition to sea lions, marine iguanas, and giant tortoises. All of those things are appealing and most people rave about them during their Galápagos cruises. But I’ll also be very excited to see nesting Waved Albatross, the Flightless Cormorant, and even those remarkably similar but very inspiring finches* Mr. Darwin wrote about. And after, maybe there will be a few more days of birding? In Ecuador or Colombia. Few of my photos survived from my first trip to Ecuador, so it would be nice to see some old feathered friends again. And maybe properly maintain their images this time around… *Those inspirational, beaky little birds are actually in the tanager family. Domestic Destinations: Glacier National Park We’re hoping to find ourselves in Montana in late September. Our intent is to be in Glacier after the larger crowds but before everything shuts down entirely. Currently I’ve even planned a couple days in Waterton Lakes National Park (Canada), so our plans might need to change if international borders remain closed. It would be my first time in Canada, though, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed. Visiting National Parks is a popular thing during the pandemic, but many logistics are different while the Parks struggle with covid-19 guidance, safety, and staffing. Some campgrounds aren’t available, for instance, and more maintenance is being planned on roads and infrastructure. Waterton is actually in our plans because another very popular area, Many Glacier, will be inaccessible during our visit. Even so, we should be able to see some beautiful landscapes, view wildlife, and get in a number of lovely and/or challenging hikes. And like the Galápagos, this trip maintains my focus on more thoughtful travel. I recently discussed Glacier National Park as a domestic bucket list destination. Currently trail plans include a couple shorter trails in Waterton Lakes NP and a longer hike in the Two Medicine area. I’m hoping for several hikes – including the Highline Trail – accessed from the Going to the Sun Road. We’re just hoping for decent weather, open borders, and accessible roads! Now that I think of it, that might be hoping for quite a lot… Patience and Gratitude We talk about 2020 as if somehow an arbitrary period on the calendar has some significance. As if once the year changed to 2021, the doors that had closed would be opened. This is our resilient – and maybe slightly irrational – nature rearing its ugly head. Clearly the spread of contagions and the distribution of vaccines just isn’t dictated by the flip of a calendar page. (Although that would have been really nice, I gotta say.) But now that a bit of 2021 has passed, I’m happy to be fully vaccinated. And I am very hopeful that things return to some version of normalcy that allows more movement and more exploration. It’s great to be able to feel like we can relax enough to go to a book store, or a coffee shop, or a remote South American archipelago. Any of those things sounds awesome, even with a mask on. I’ll take it! I just try to remind myself that travel restrictions or delays? Those are minor inconveniences. There’s still a pandemic impacting most of the world. Many countries do not have nearly the access that those of us in the United States were lucky to experience. Basically, I am terribly grateful that I can leave my house again and recognize that travel is a tremendous privilege for those of us who have easy and early vaccine access. Do I want to take advantage of it? Heck yeah. Am I super excited about upcoming plans? Goodness, yes, there is so much squeeing about the Galápagos! But I’ll try to be a thoughtful and responsible traveler at those destinations, too. Because it’s important to not be a total jerk!

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