Tropical Birding tour report - Brazil June 2006
On our
second day in the highlands, we headed for a private reserve near Maca?? de Cima
owned by the orchid expert David Miller. En-route we stopped to bird a patch of
forest for Dusky-tailed Antbird and Gray-capped Tyrannulet when a Giant
Antshrike started calling really close to the road. Luckily, this impressive
beast decided to come in and check us out, and we saw a female reasonably well
through gaps in the dense vegetation. Higher up in the reserve proper, we saw
some of the most unforgettable birds of the trip - Bertoni's Antbird
surprisingly came totally out in the open for us, and farther up we had a great
view of a Hooded Berryeater (photo above), followed shortly thereafter by a
singing Black-and-gold Cotinga perched in a tree right overhead. David's feeders
had a variety of hummers including the endemic Brazilian Ruby and the frenetic
Scale-throated Hermit - a good place to have our picnic lunch. In the afternoon
we made our way back to Guapiassu, where the reserve manager, Nicholas Locke,
gave a talk and slideshow about the history of the reserve and their ambitious
plans for the future.
We
arose early again to head for the Atlantic coast to search for the endemic and
endangered Restinga Antwren, restricted to dense scrub near the coast, a habitat
that is fast disappearing due to development. My old site seems to have been
converted to a salt evaporation pond, but with a little exploration we found
another patch, and one of the first birds we found was a very cooperative
Restinga Antwren. The scrub is also good for the little endemic Hangnest Tody-Tyrant,
which we found after a longer search. After looking at some terns, boobies, and
frigatebirds we headed back to Guapiassu for lunch. The highlight of the
afternoon was a pair of Rufous-capped Motmots that required a lot of work,
scrambling up a slope after their odd hooting calls, but eventually we all got
on it.
The
last morning of the trip was not wasted - after some last-minute birding around
the lodge, we drove to the Serra dos ??rg??os National Park to look for some of
the montane species we still needed. Despite the masses of hikers enjoying the
beautiful Sunday morning, we stumbled onto some great mixed flocks with
Sharp-billed and Pale-browed Treehunters, Brown and Azure-shouldered Tanagers,
and plenty more. On the way back down we managed good views of the skulking
Brazilian Antthrush and a surprisingly friendly Mouse-colored Tapaculo. A great
way to end the trip, and we headed off to the airport to catch our flight to
Belo Horizonte to start the next portion of the tour. |
