LAGUNA BLANCA MINI-GUIDE PROJECT November 05
Our volunteers:
Our second volunteer project took us to the cerrado grasslands, a highly-threatened but little-known biome in central South America. The project saw the return of two old friends to work with us!
Our volunteers were:
Hemme Batjes: Back for more, Hemme was attracted by the endemic cerrado birdlife which offered him the chance to add to his already massive life list.
Bryan Wainwright: Bryan decided not to leave after the Tirol project and helped out as a volunteer for FAUNA Paraguay whilst simultaneously developing his birding website (click here)
The aims:
Laguna Blanca is the largest true lake in Paraguay, with rustic accommodation, a white sand beach and crystal clear waters for swimming. However our main interest was out in the cerrado grasslands where a remarkable total of 10 threatened and 4 near-threatened species have been recorded on a single 2500ha property! Laguna Blanca has been periodically surveyed by Guyra Paraguay, but this was to be the first in-depth survey of the area.
The work:
We aimed to survey the distribution of the threatened birds in the cerrado, noting their micro-habitat preferences within the mosaic of cerrado habitat. We would also focus heavily on night-birding, the area home to seven species of caprimulgids. Hemme dedicated some time to looking through the degraded Atlantic forest, which had never previously been given much importance, and he single-handedly found a large number of new species for the site. Each evening a list of the birds seen with approximate numbers was collated over a cool beer. In an effort to survey mammal populations we photographed and recorded footprint data, as well as noting sight records.
The results:
We recorded 210 species during the fieldwork of which 38 had not previously been recorded at Laguna Blanca. We recorded all globally threatened species except for Crowned Eagle Harpyhaliaetus coronatus and all near threatened species except for Bearded Tachuri Polystictus pectoralis. The list for Laguna Blanca now stands at 282 species. We obtained morphometric and detailled plumage data from a total of 41 different species. You can read the full report of the fieldwork by following the link at the top of the page or clicking here.
What the volunteers said:
Bryan Wainwright: "The projects I took part in were a really fantastic experience, especially seeing skulking birds in the hand! I really feel that the work Paul is doing on these projects is a boost for the conservation of Paraguay´s wonderful nature.
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 and Hugo del Castillo and are used with their permission.
