I finally arrived at the lodge 24 hours late due to an accident which temporarily closed Cuiaba airport, and together with my first group of eight guests so I had to start guiding straight away. The group really got on well together so it was great to start off with such a nice, easy-going group. We also got to see some good things including three tapirs, a Neotropical River Otter asleep on a log, and both howler and saki monkeys around the lodge itself. I then had just one morning off before my next group and was having a lazy breakfast when I noticed a Straight-billed Hermit, a lifer, right next to the dining room!
I was a bit apprehensive about my second group as they were keen birders and I'm still struggling to remember all the calls. They were really nice too, though, and, with the help of Francisco, the local bird guide, we found them some fantastic things. I'd asked them what they most wanted to see, and they replied Zigzag Heron and Harpy Eagle. Well, we saw the former catching a big fish out in the open and the Harpy Eagle twice, with a supporting cast of Tapajos Hermit, Amazonian Pygmy and Mottled Owls, Razor-billed Curassow, several Gould's Toucanets, and four Bare-eyed Antbirds showing ridiculously well. They saw around 200 species during their four-night stay and I even got another lifer with them in the form of a migrant Rufous-thighed Kite. They were already very pleased, therefore, but there was one last surprise in store as we headed down to the main river on their way out. I had noticed something thrashing around in the water and got the boatman to stop as I guessed it was Giant Otters hunting. I then noticed some wings, however, and then more wings as the thrashing mess materialised into an adult Ornate Hawk-Eagle with a Green Ibis in its claws. The hawk-eagle was struggling to drag the ibis up the riverbank and then let go, leaving a stunned ibis and incredulous group of people behind. Even after six years of coming here, there are still things that leave you open-mouthed and amazed at what you have just witnessed!
