Designed by Paul Smith 2006. This website is copyrighted by law.
Material contained herewith may not be used without the prior written permission of FAUNA Paraguay.
Photographs on this web-site were taken by Paul Smith, Hemme Batjes, Regis Nossent,
Alberto Esquivel, Arne Lesterhuis, Rebecca Zarza, José Luis Cartes and Hugo del Castillo and are used with their permission.
SHORT BREAK CENTRAL CHACO
The Chaco is one of Paraguay´s biggest attractions, a remote and isolated wilderness of dry thorn forest where the near absence of humans means that birds and large mammals still abound. Endemism is high in this harsh environment, and the most sought after species are the "Big 5" Chaco Ticks which will of course be amongst our targets. Expect 120-140 species during a three-day visit given good viewing conditions and at peak times of year, rising to 140-160 including the optional visit to PN Tte Enciso. Best time to visit is from June to October when temperatures are more agreeable and migrant waterbirds are present.
We have a long drive ahead of us to the Central Chaco so we start out early. This will give us time to leisurely bird the roadside pools in the Humid Chaco which are often replete with waterbirds. We might expect to see various heron species, Jabiru, Maguari and Wood Storks, Roseate Spoonbill, Savanna, Great Black and Black-collared Hawk, Snail Kite, Limpkin, Giant Wood-Rail, Wattled Jacana, Plumbeous, Bare-faced and Buff-necked Ibis amongst the huge flocks that gather. We´ll make a brief stop for lunch at Pirahú, famous nationally for its empanadas and also a decent birding stop, we might see Swainson´s and Brown-crested Myiarchus, Yellow-billed Cardinal, Vermillion Flycatcher, White-faced Whistling-Duck and Brazilian Duck amongst others whilst Spectacled Caiman is another possibility.
We arrive in the Central Chaco mid-afternoon and there will be time to clean up before heading out on our night drive. Nightdrives in search of mammals are a major bonus on this tour and as many as ten species in a single evening may be recorded, species like Geoffroy´s and Little Spotted Cat, Three-banded, Six-banded and Lesser Hairy Armadillo, Crab-eating and Azara´s Fox, Crab-eating Raccoon, Grey Brocket Deer, Capybara, White-lipped and Collared Peccary and Chaco Mara being frequently encountered. Of course we´ll also be looking for birds too - Great Horned Owl, Tropical Screech-Owl, Scissor-tailed and Little Nightjar, Pauraque for example.
The following morning we´ll begin our Dry Chaco birding schedule by visiting a series of salt lagoons which together make up the Central Chaco Lagoons Important Bird Area. In winter these are great for migrant ducks, such as White-cheeked Pintail, Black-headed Duck, Ringed Teal, Rosybill, Red Shoveler and of course other waterbirds such as waders, Silvery and White-tufted Grebe and at Campo Maria huge wintering flocks of Chilean Flamingo and Coscoroba. The surrounding Chaco scrub and forest is inhabited by a very particular avifauna - we´ll be looking out for Scimitar-billed and Great Rufous Woodcreeper, Red-billed Scythebill, Stripe-backed Antbird, Great and Barred Antshrike, Golden-green, Checkered, Cream-backed and White-fronted Woodpeckers, Lowland Hepatic and White-lined Tanagers, Chaco Earthcreeper, Black-capped Warbling-finch, Orange-backed Troupial and Many-coloured Chacofinch. Other characteristic species of the area include Lark-like Brushrunner, Solitary Cacique, Crested Hornero and Chaco Chachalaca. The central Chaco is also a superb place for tinamous not least the chaco endemic Brushland Tinamou, White-bellied Nothura and the "Chaco Nothura". At Fortín Toledo we´ll visit the captive breeding programme of the endangered Chaco Peccary (considered a fossil species until it was discovered alive and well in the Paraguayan Chaco in 1976) but also scour the area for the first of our Big 5 - the Black-bodied Woodpecker. Parrot species we are likely to see include Scaly-headed Parrot, Nanday, Blue-crowned and Monk Parakeets and Turquoise-fronted Amazon.
The optional addition of a visit to PN Tte Enciso greatly increases our prospects of seeing the remaining four of the Chaco "Big 5" species - Quebracho Crested-Tinamou, Black-legged Seriema, Chaco Owl and Spot-winged Falconet are all easier to see here than in the Central Chaco, whilst other species such as the popular Black-crested Finch, Cinereous Tyrant, Crested Gallito, Stripe-crowned Spinetail, Harris and Zone-tailed Hawks, endangered Crowned Eagle and the handsome Black-backed Grosbeak are also possible additions to the list. Enciso is also a fantastic mammal-watching spot with Puma, Jaguar and Lowland Tapir regularly encountered here, along with other strictly Dry Chaco species such as Plains Viscacha and Chaco Peccary.
WHAT DOES IT COST?
The price includes pick-up from and return to Asunción hotel, accommodation, transport, food, non-alcoholic drinks and guiding fees.
This is a minimum three-day trip for a minimum of 2 people:
Price: 500 EUROS per person for a minimum of 3 days each additional day 145 EUROS per person
Add 160 EUROS per day per person for optional visit to PN Tte Enciso.
