Sunday, October 20, 2019

Our orchids have been spectacular this year thanks to Cepi. Although they did not appear naturally, they are surviving happily in this tree and should flower for many years to come.

Friday, October 4, 2019

We did a training session on Saturday and put out a double high net to see what we could catch. To our surprise the first bat turned out to be Tadarida brasiliensis, Brasilian Free-tailed Bat. These are very rare in Corrientes, although common throughout most of Argentina and this is a first for Reserva Don Luis. This makes a total of 14 bat species captured at the reserve.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

We have not seen Rosita, our semi tame Marsh Deer since early June and we are all very worried.

She is a totally wild animal and sometimes disappears for several weeks but never for this length of time. We are also concerned about her latest offspring – Valentin.

Tuesday, June 4, 2019

We only had 2 fruit on one of our 8 Avacado trees but were they delicious! We first planted Avacados 9 years ago and have been waiting for them to bear fruit. It was worth the wait! We are expecting a lot more fruit for next year’s crop.

Friday, April 19, 2019

We were pleased to welcome Molly as our volunteer for March/April. Molly has experience of bat echolocation and has been very useful for our bat projects. She accompanied us to the private Reserva Urugua-i and was a useful member of the team. Here she is with Mario & Miranda on horseback. Molly was wonderful with the horses, all of whom will miss her a lot.

Thursday, April 18, 2019

Rosita is bringing her new baby into the garden at Reserva Don Luis quite often. This is always a joy to see. Here he is around 5 weeks old and is already nibbling grass. He was born on 14 Feb, hence the name Valentin.

Saturday, April 13, 2019

We captured two of these large bats at the private reserve belonging to Fundacion de la Vida Silvestre in Urugua-i, Misiones. They are powerful bats and have a diet that includes birds, reptiles, amphibians and other bats. They are classed as Carnivorous and are the largest bat species in Argentina (2nd largest in South America). They weigh around 85g and have a forearm measurement of around 85mm. They are only found in the heart of the Selva and this reserve was definitely very remote. We had a very successful 3 days there.

Monday, March 4, 2019

We captured this beautiful medium sized Molosside in Misiones in Feb 2019. It is Nyctinomops laticaudatus. This is quite a rare species and although similar to the more common Tadarida brasiliensis, it has some notable differences. It is insectivorous and has a distinct echolocation call. Thanks to Temaiken for allowing us to use their Reserva Osununu.

Monday, March 4, 2019

We are always delighted to see these colourful noisy birds visiting our garden. This one stayed for around 15 mins and amused us all with its antics. These birds are part of a rewilding project run by CLT.

Sunday, December 16, 2018

The bat team did some research on bats on the banks of the River Parana in a place called Puerto Rzpecki last week.

We managed to capture 2 new species for the team. Noctilio albiventris and its larger cousin (see photo) Noctilio leporinus.

These are both large bats that hunt over the surface of the water, leporinus catching small fish. Both species are brightly coloured and have large feet and claws with which to catch their prey. They both have a dorsal stripe.