Brazil: Harpy Eagle & Southern Amazon Extension

Harpy Eagle © Jeri Langham, SouthWild Amazon, Brazil

A tour to Brazil’s southern Amazon features a marvelous array of rainforest birds and mammals; a trip with unforgettable spectacles includes opportunities to view Harpy Eagle at a nest-site; may be taken as an extension to our Pantanal tours or as a stand-alone trip.

For many, seeing a Harpy Eagle is the top avian prize of a trip to the Neotropics. Regal in its bearing and a symbol of unspoiled nature, the Harpy ranks with the Jaguar as South America’s ultimate predators.

On this trip to west-central Brazil, we’ll spend four days on the southern edge of the Amazon Basin seeking the rarely encountered Harpy Eagle and a range of wonderful rainforest birds and mammals. The centerpiece of the trip is a four-night stay at the new SouthWild Amazon lodge, located within the confines of a 6,000-acre private forest reserve. The lodge owner, Dr. Charles Munn, and his associates have dedicated an extraordinary amount of time working with local landowners to identify locations of Harpy Eagle nests. It is through their efforts that we have a very good chance to see a Harpy at one of the known nest-sites. Although success can never be guaranteed, we feel this opportunity to see a Harpy Eagle is among the best we’ve ever offered.

Beyond Harpy Eagles, this trip will be one of spectacles in which participants will see amazing things, such as trees full of macaws of several species, an array of seldom seen rainforest mammals at close range including South American Tapir and Woolly Monkey, and a gorgeous jungle river—the Rio Juruena—that teems with birdlife.

The SouthWild Amazon lodge is a new facility that offers spacious air-conditioned rooms, good food, and access to nearby habitats that include virgin primary forest, second-growth woodland, and reforested pastureland. In close proximity flows the Rio Juruena, a glorious blackwater river almost entirely devoid of human activity. We will have three full days here to enjoy an exciting mix of excursions that include birding amid different forest types, morning and afternoon boat trips on the river, and ascending a canopy tower to view birds of the treetops. Among the birds we’ll seek are a range of widely occurring species and others more local in distribution, such as Razor-billed Curassow, Blackish Nightjar, Hoatzin, Black-girdled Barbet, Red-necked Aracari, Scarlet and Blue-and-yellow macaws, Red-necked Woodpecker, Flame-crowned Manakin, Amazonian Umbrellabird, Pompadour Cotinga, Black-collared Swallow, Paradise Tanager, and a bounty of kingfishers, woodpeckers, antbirds, flycatchers, and more.

This trip may be taken as an extension to our Pantanal tours or enjoyed as a short stand-alone departure.

Accommodations may include one night in a decent rural hotel and several nights at a comfortable lodge in a private tract of forest; good quality cuisine; varied activities include morning and afternoon boat trips, ascending a canopy tower, walks on forest paths and trails, and the option to climb to the top of a viewing tower; weather conditions will range from dry to rainy, with thunderstorms possible.

Blue-and-yellow Macaws © Andrew Whittaker