Where the Hal have you been? Feb '08

I went to Brazil with a bird researcher named Audrey. She needed an assistant for a satellite tracking study of Swallow-tailed Kites near the Pantanal in Brazil. The trip was fully paid for. I knew nothing about climbing palm trees or putting tiny backpacks on baby birds. I was essentially a high paid escort and that was OK by me.

It may sound glamorous, but in reality I spent three weeks wandering around cattle ranches in the blasting sun and hacking through impenetrable swamps in knee deep water with a machete that I found in a field. On one occasion I even chopped a hole in my own leg.

Thankfully we did get to spend a couple days in the Pantanal, the largest wetland area in the world. That's where I shot most of my wildlife pics from this trip.

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