Just when you thought it was over . . .

Glittering-throated Emerald

Now, would I let you off that easily?    Of course not.   Although my friends had returned to the UK, I had arranged to stay on for a couple more weeks to do some voluntary work on the reserve.

Quite what this was going to involve I was not sure, but the idea was to put something back to a project that had found it's way into my heart and become extremely important to me over the last six years or so.   Apologies to all those who have to put up with me going on and on about how great this place is - blame Phil for introducing me to it in the first place!

Armed with Nicholas' SLR camera, I decided that some serious photography was called for - unfortunately whilst the mind is willing the ability does not quite keep pace, so apologies for the dodgy photos.

The largest moth seen this year at 7 inches across

As with all my stays we had been running a daily moth trap, so that had to continue and each morning was spent taking photographs to add to the reserve data base of species seen and then moving all the moths before the birds came in for a free takeaway!   Southern House Wren and Kiskadee seemed to be the most persistent offenders, although I managed to beat them most times.

We did have a few hawkmoths, but a lot less than previous years - probably down to the cold evenings and the increasing moon.

Red-eyed Thornbird

The other interesting development to plot was a human activity and the building of the new "Sunset Viewing Platform".   This is being erected just below the Lodge at canopy height so that you will get a superb overview of the wetland, with the cattle egrets coming into roost at eye-level.   It looks as if it will be a fantastic spot to watch the sunsetting over the mountains and enjoy a Caipirinha.  Each day I watched as Rui and his team built the height of the concrete pillars, all by hand and with great attention to detail, it won't be long before it's completed - can't wait to test it out next year.


My main responsibilities were to ensure that the guests staying at the lodge had a great time - not really that hard given the venue!   But there are times when expectations need to be managed and changes to itineraries made at the last minute.   Having the Rio +20 Conference didn't help with our Airport transfers - the usual 1hr 45 mins transfer took anything up to 4 hours on some occasions.

On other days I was able to either join birding groups on their off-site visits or take new visitors on a recce around the wetland.   There were a couple of new bird watching sites to view and evaluate and trails to walk.   Hard work, as I am sure you can tell.

Handsome Frog

The area for biggest impact was in the lodge where we had already had some good ideas to improve the library area and provide extra facilities for the guests.   This involved a trip to Nova Friburgo for some furniture.   Shopping in Brazil is an amazing experience, the easy part is making the decision to buy, then comes the need for extreme patience as there is paperwork to complete, federal and state tax papers to complete and then the payment - usually in cash - which needs three members of staff and a cast of thousands to sort out.   One settee took over an hour to order (not to mention the three hours it took to find!).   All in all, though, a great day out where Raquel and I had a great time around the shops - lunch was good too - thank you Nicholas.

An area highlighted for re-forestation in the future

So, a big "Thank You" to all the team at Regua who made it possible for me to have such a great experience and without whom this fragile environment would not continue to improve and flourish.

Can't wait to go back . . . . . .