Friday 8th August - Kaa Iya

I managed to sleep until about 3, them woke up and dozed until around 5.30 when I decided to get up, catch up the blog and get packed for the drive to Kaa Iya. Breakfast was on the 11th floor with a wide view across the city, showing how much greenery there was. Black Vultures floated around and settled on the buildings. There was a wide choice of fruit, meat, cheese, cereals and yoghurts, bread for toast and scrambled eggs, bacon and sautéed vegetables, as well as tea, coffee and three kinds of milk.

We finished breakfast, went back, collected our bags and made our way down to the lobby, meeting John at the lift. In the lobby we met up with the rest of the group and were introduced to Nick, our guide for this part of the trip. We were divided between 3 cars for the drive to Kaa Iya and once all the luggage was loaded we set off, with Me and David and Sarah in the car with Mauricio as driver. We chatted about some of the possibilities in store and kept a look out for birds, but identification was difficult as we were driving. We did see lots of Black Vultures, some Crested Caracara and several things that escaped identification. We had some quite heavy drizzle but it cleared after about an hour and, although it was cloudy, it was very pleasant watching the landscape as it passed. We had a short slow down for Capybara at the back of a field and several toll stops meant you could have a quick scan round.

A stop for fuel gave a chance to stretch our legs and have a scan for birds, butterflies and anything else. Along the front of the building was Snow White and her Seven Dwarfs. The first thing was a pair of Burrowing Owls that were calling, and sitting on a branch above our heads. They did fly down near a hole in the ground, which we assumed was a nest hole. Fuel in Bolivia is in short supply and some garages had long queues lined up waiting. Often there were trolleys and trailers with fuel tanks among the lorries and cars, some waiting for days and some queues were there for days until there was some fuel.

There were several puddles in the area around the station and a number of butterflies were puddling around the edges.     

A short drive, passing through the town with a very brief stop to photograph the old Jesuit church and we were at the restaurant, ready for chicken and chips.

The drive into Kaa Iya started just outside the town with a right turn onto a dirt track. The track was in reasonable condition and there were various trails, look out points and an archeological site, which was the first settlement for Santa Cruz. We did catch up with the first car when they stopped, beckoning us forward, for a group of White-lipped Peccary’s. We got out and moved a little closer to the four snuffling on the track, with dozens more crossing over behind them. Another stop later on had 2 Crab-eating foxes which moved off before we really had a chance to photograph them.

Arriving at the camp, we sorted out our rooms, had a welcoming cocktail, and met up again for an evening drive. We turned east along the road while the other car drove west. Our first stop was not far from the gate when the spotter on the top found a group of Black-tailed Marmosets cuddled up in the crook of a tree. We spent some time watching them through bins, scope and the camera, but the light was getting dim so my pictures weren’t very good. Other sightings as we drove along and back were Common Pottoo, 3-banded Armadillo, Tropical Screech Owl and loads of nightjars on the road and flying about. We eventually identified Parauque, Swallow-tailed and Little Nightjars. Just as we got back to the camp we had a Crab-eating fox working through the vegetation at the side of the road.

In for supper, which was fish with mash and a variety of vegetables, before doing the log. We checked out any bat activity but couldn’t find any and looked around with the thermal, finding another Crab-eating fox before turning in to be ready for a 5.30 start.