North East Brazil (2 Viewers)

[dandsblair]

North East Brazil Trip Report - August 23

We booked with Brazil Birding Experts after great feedback from our friends Roland and Ann who went to Brazil twice with BBE (Ciro) and also good reviews on Birdforum.
Booking was all done with Joanna once we had agreed a date when Ciro was free to guide us. Joanna booked us accommodation before and after the trip and managed to change it when our plans changed slightly. Only slight problem was paying in Brazil Reais (none of my foreign currency accounts worked so I paid in dollars and covered the conversion fee). As we changed hotels we were given a refund that Ciro delivered to us in cash.

We had done Brazil and Guyana independently with just some local guides the last couple of trips for Brazil (Iguazu, Pantanal, Amazon and area around Rio in Brazil) but I think I’m getting lazy so didn’t really consider it this time, plus there were lots of range restricted birds that required access to private land or needed detailed directions.

Travel Day

Reasonably early start and drive to Manchester Airport, car left at meet and greet. Check-in was just open for Executive Class as we arrived, so straight through to the lounge for breakfast.

We flew with Air Portugal from Manchester to Fortaleza via Lisbon, we had the Brasillian and Portugese Para swimming teams on the plane to Lisbon after the championships in Manchester so loading and take off was slightly delayed, it meant that we only had 1.5 hours in Lisbon before our connecting flight so not worth the trip to the lounge which would also have meant going through passport control. So we just waited at the gate.

We arrived in Fortaleza on time and being at the front of the plane got through immigration and had our luggage within 20 minutes of landing so we had to wait 10 minutes for our driver Antonio (arranged by Joanna from Brazil Birding Experts), so just enough time to get some Brasillian Real for tipping etc.

Antonio had us in the hotel (Blue Tree Tower) by 10.15pm and we started to unpack. Unfortunately I managed to dislocate a finger and tore some tendons when unpacking within the first 20 minutes of arrival while Sarah was having a shower. A quick look on line and I had the finger back in place and a splint made from a toothbrush and some plasters held it OK until a visit to the pharmacy the next day.

Day 0

We had arranged to meet Ciro at 11.00am, he was refunding us some money after our booking changed and we were no longer birding or staying in another hotel after the main tour. I had time to go to the pharmacy to get some tape and splints for the next few weeks, fortunately it seems nothing is broken so no need to go to the hospital.

It was good to meet up and arrange our pick up for the next morning – breakfast at 06.00 and leave at 6.30.
Our day was spend on the beach and around the pool with a lovely dinner at a barbecue place on the front. Only birds were Fork-tailed Palm Swift, Greater Kiskadee, Plain Parakeet, Saycuya Tanager and White-winged Swallow.

Day 1: First day and we transfer to GUARAMIRANGA (named after Little Red Birds) and then birding the rest of the day in nearby humid forest reserves.

Maciço de Baturité has a remarkable humid Forest ranging from 600-1100 meters altitude. This Forest is a kind of island in the middle of the Caatinga (dry) vegetation, that is predominant in the lower elevations (below 600 meters). Because of its unique habitat, this is the main refuge for several humid forest species in the state of Ceará.
In the morning we stay in the ground of the old estate where we are staying and then in the afternoon go on the main trails and a manakin viewing spot; then to a reserve for the range restricted Grey-breasted Parakeet one of the world's most threatened parrots.

In the gardens and grounds we see Buff-breasted Tody-Tyrant, Ochraceous Piculet, Guianan Tyrannulet, Gray-headed Spinetail, Campo Oriole, Variable Antshrike (possible split) and Planalto Hermit, before we get just fleeting glimpses of Gould’s Toucanet and finally a Ceara Woodcreeper.

At the manakin viewing spot we quickly spot a Ceara Gnateater (Conopophaga cearae), before a few young males and a female come to a drinking spot, these are quickly followed by two incredibly bright adult male Band-tailed Manakin. We also pay special attention to some subspecies that could possibly be elevated to species in the future such as Variable Antshrike (Thamnophilus caerulescens cearensis), Red-necked Tanager (Tangara cyanocephala cearensis) and Rufous-breasted [Ceara] Leaftosser (Sclerurus scansor cearensis) all of which we saw and photgraphed. Other birds included Plain Antvireo, Great Antshrike, Blue-winged Parrotlet, Black-capped Antwren and Pale-legged Hornero.

It was then time to go to the Parakeet reserve, we saw some White-browed Guan at the entrance which surprised Ciro, as they are not usual here, before some Parakeets flew in but these were Yellow-cheveroned but we didn’t have to wait too long until two groups of Grey-breasted Parakeets showed although the light in the setting sun wasn’t brilliant. We also added Little Woodpecker and Yellow-breasted Flycatcher here.

 

[Andrew Whitehouse]

I look forward to reading this. I had a great trip to NE Brazil in 2019 and really enjoyed the birding there. Baturité is lovely.

 

[dandsblair]

Day 2: AM Birding in Guaramiranga and then transfer to QUIXADÁ about a two hour drive.

Early walk before breakfast and we had good views of the Gould’s Toucanet and I managed a better photo it and of the Ceara Leaftosser, we also added Golden Green and Green Backed Woodpecker, Bay-banded Hornero as well as Planalto Tyrannulet and Golden-crowned warbler. We had done remarkably well against our targets by the time we returned for Breakfast seeing all our key target species so we decided to try for an Antthrush before heading onto Quixada.

We drove to the highest point in the area and after much trying saw the Short-tailed Antthrush only other birds we saw here were Common-tody Flycatcher, White-throated Spadebill and Pale-breasted Thrush.

Off to Quixadá, which is a municipality in the state of Ceará located three hours from the capital. One of its most striking features is the rock formations, the monoliths, in various formats that "break" the monotony of the countryside landscape. The hotel we stay in Pedro Dos Ventos is away from the town and has lots of birding around the hotel grounds. It is famous for some roosting Nightjars. On the drive we added Red-legged Seriema and Savannah Hawk. We arrive before lunch and see our first target a White-naped Jay on the approach and as we get settled in our room, hear and then see a couple of Cactus Parakeet, as we go down to lunch we look by the rocks near the swimming pool and find what we are searching for three Pygmy Nightjar not a bad start in the short period before lunch.


After lunch we go down to the entrance gate and lower caatinga are where there is a little water, we add Black-bellied Antwren, Pale Baywing, the Caatinga race of Long-billed Wren (soon to be split as Cantorchilus longirostris bahiae), Rufous-bellied Thrush, Ruddy Quail-Dove, Purple Gallinule, Scarlet-throated Tanager, Variable Oriole, Rufous-browed Peppershrike, Chalk-browed Mockingbird, White-bellied Gnateater and White-throated Seedeater.

In the area up by the mountain biking trail we add, Ochre-backed Woodpecker and ten White-browed Guan feeding alongside 5 White-naped Jays. We also had 2 Cliff Flycatchers, a Red-cowled Cardinal, Sayaca Tanager and Pileated Finch before heading back to the hotel to find a power cut but that was sorted by dinner and we enjoyed dinner watching the Nightjars flying.

 

[dandsblair]

Day 3: Birding before breakfast and we went for better views of Ochre-backed Woodpecker, unfortunately still a little bit of a silhouette, we also saw Cactus Parakeet, Blue-winged Parrotlet, Pygmy Nightjar, White-naped Jay, Crested Caracara and Spot-backed Puffbird before the long drive to POTENGI (around 350Km). We arrived at the Ranch of (Jefferson) Bob a well-known local photographer for Lunch and then an afternoons and mornings birding in the Sítio Pau Preto area.

Area description: Potengi is a small town in the south region of Ceará, part of the Chapada do Araripe area. Only recently has Potengi entered the world birding scenario because of a passionate bird photographer / biologist (Bob) who transformed his family property into a refuge for Caatinga birds. We stayed in the comfortable family-owned lodge for just the one night but could easily have enjoyed a second day here.

We saw Chestnut-capped Blackbird, Red-cowled Cardinal, Campo Troupial, Pileated Finch, Scaled Dove and Sayaca Tanager at the feeders before going out a neighbouring ranch to search for some Caatinga specialties.

We quickly saw, Caatinga Antwren, Silvery-cheeked Antshrike, White-throated Seedeater, Scarlet-throated Tanager before we had to work a bit harder, getting scratched by the thorns and cactus to see, Great Xenops and Red-shouldered Spinetail, all the while we had been hearing an Antpitta calling but it was too deep in the vegetation.
Ciro and Bob thought they saw a possible viewing area so we tried calling in an area that offered a limited view – having all seen the White-browed Antpitta, myself and Ciro somehow managed to get in among the thorns without disturbing the bird to get pretty reasonable records shots of the bird.

That was about it for this area so we headed to a known nesting area for Caatinga Cacholote which we eventually seen well but on the way we added Spotted Nothura and Burrowing Owl. The last birds of the day were Amazon Kingfisher and Least Nighthawk which we had over the reservoir and then from the porch.

 

[dandsblair]

Day 4: After birding Potengi we headed to the foothills of the Chapada do Araripe plateau for one of the main target birds but before that we left at dawn to see the local race of Lesser [Bahia] Wagtail-Tyrant (Stigmatura napensis bahiae), Greater Wagtail-Tyrant and the most famous bird here the Stripe-backed Antbird which Bob has on t-shirts and his lodge literature. We also saw Rusty-margined Guan, Picui Ground Dove, Olivaceous Woodcreeper, Brown-crested Flycatcher, Fuscous Flycatcher, Ash-throated Casiornis, White Mojita and then had a sleeping Least Nighthawk to photograph as we returned for breakfast.

After a quick breakfast we had about a 1½hrs drive to the ONLY area in the WORLD for the superb Araripe Manakin Chapada do Araripe rises in the middle of the dry lowlands, forming a natural boundary between the states of Pernambuco, Piauí and Ceará. The northeastern portion of the Chapada, faces the state of Ceará and concentrates hundreds of springs, forming a true oasis in the Caatinga. The Araripe Manakin was described to science only in 1998 and to this day it stands out as one of the greatest “recent” discoveries in Ornithology. The species has an estimated distribution of just 30km²; exclusive to the humid forests along the Ceará side of the Chapada slope; it is therefore classified as Critically Endangered.

After enjoying the Araripe Manakin, in eco area of a water park we transfered to CANUDOS, in the state of Bahia, stopping for lunch on route an almost 6hour drive. Only other bird of note was Rufous-tailed Jacamar.

Fortunately we arrived in the Canudos area before dark and were able to Blue-winged Macaws coming to their roosting site before we headed to the Canudos Indigo Macaw research centre our rooms for the night for the night.

There is no catering here so we headed into the local town for Pizza and arranged a very early start for tomorrow.

 

[lgonz1008]

Amazing trip report so far, probably the area I'm most interested in Brazil and that Araripe Manakin alone is enough of a reason to make that trip. Beautiful photos of this mega!

 

[etudiant]

Just a splendid trip, thank you so much for sharing along with your great photos.
Do you speak the language or does Ciro interpret?

 

[dandsblair]

Just a splendid trip, thank you so much for sharing along with your great photos.
Do you speak the language or does Ciro interpret?

Our Portugese is very limited and we relied almost exclusively on Ciro when we were together, of course we still survived with our few stock phrases and google translate when we were on our own.

 

[dandsblair]

Day 5:

We wake up at 3.30 for 4am start. The research centre is in the reserve which is situated in the northern portion of the state of Bahia, near the borders with Pernambuco, Sergipe, and Alagoas, but it is still a 40 minute drive to the red sand cliffs where the Macaws roost.

There is some unexpected rain, the first for some time here, so when we arrive at the first view point there is no calling and nothing flying.
We sit in the car eating cereal bars while we await some light and hopefully a sunrise.
Fortunately the rain eases and we head down to the cliffs about 5.30, hearing the first calling macaws and seeing the odd bird in flight. Ciro reckons we have been lucky as rather than see small groups of Lear’s (Indigo) Macaws there are hundreds of Macaws sitting on the cliffs, the contrasting indigo blue of the macaws is simply unforgettable as we get the first watery sun breaking through.
In all over the next hour or so we had over 400 Macaws and added a King Vulture, the local race of Blue-crowned Parakeet (Thectocercus acuticaudatus haemorrhous), American Kestrel, Black-chested Buzzard-Eagle and some more Blue-winged Macaws.

On our return to the centre some staff have turned up and prepared us a nice breakfast to enjoy before we pack up and do the long drive to Chapada Diamantina, with lunch in a self service BBQ place on the way, this was the first or afew where you have your plate weighed and pay by the weight of food – very good.

We reach the outskirts of Lençóis just before dark and in some scrub add a few more good birds, Pectoral Antwren, Grey-headed Tody Flycatcher, Mouse-coloured Tyrannulet, Laughing Falcon, Hooded Tanager and White-naped jay before heading to our hotel.

Ciro has a house in the area and we will go out to a couple of his favourite restaurants the next few evenings.

 

[etudiant]

Super photos of these wonderful creatures; seeing them flying together in harmony is a birder's dream.
So looking forward to the rest of your Brazil adventure.

 

[Andrew Whitehouse]

Very nice pictures and description of the macaw roost. Brings back memories!

 

[dandsblair]

Days 6: On our first day in the CHAPADA DIAMANTINA area, we concentrate our efforts in the locations closer to Lençóis. First at the Campo Rupestre trail about half an hour drive from the hotel. We are staying at Pousada Casa Da Geleia, this place has bird feeders (fruit) and the lady owner puts out corn for the birds too. Nothing new seen here but a opportunity for good photos.

We walk down a trail to the old reserve house at first light and see Gilt-edged and Hepatic Tanager but we don’t wait for the light to improve as we have a specific target on the Sincora plateau, a short up-hill walk and we hear a bird calling, a little bit of play back and the very range restricted Sincora Antwren is seen and I even manage a record shot, we also have a Pale-throated Pampa-Finch showing in the same clump of vegetation, and a Grey Elaenia nearby before the second main target of the day shows, the stunning Hooded Visorbearer, myself and Ciro manage to climb a small mound to get above the male and get some unobstructed photos. Next couple of birds were more expected with Yellow Tyrannulet and Pale-bellied Thrush seen before we finished with White-shouldered Fire-eye. The next reserve was still closed (despite it being 10 o’clock) so Ciro took us to his house to see East Brazillian Chachalaca which duly showed on the banana feeders, along with White-vented Violetear on nearby flowers. We then birded the forest round the football field, not a lot new just Surucua (orange-bellied) Trogon(Trogon surrucura aurantius), and Rufous-winged Antshrike.

After lunch we Bird the Humid Forest (Cerradão with Atlantic Forest influence) in the upper surroundings of the town. In the first area we quickly find Helmeted and White-bearded Manakins, then Lesser Woodcreeper before on the road side the first lifer of the afternoon Velvety Black-Tyrant.

The rest of the afternoon in the lowest area was probably the quietest session of the trip with just repeats until we finished with Red-crowned Ant-tanager, Pale-breasted Spinetail and a cracking Rusty-breasted Nunlet.

Area description: certainly, one of the most impressive places we have been to in Brazil, the landscapes are astonishing. Chapada Diamantina is part of a long series of highlands linked to the Espinhaço mountain range, which extends from north of Minas Gerais through Bahia. There is a high diversity of habitats such as Caatinga, Cerrado, Campo Rupestre (arid mountain shrubs), Humid and Gallery Forests. Most of these beautiful landscapes and pristine habitats are part of the Chapada Diamatina National Park which protects, by law, 152.000 hectares. Because of the scenic views, preserved habitat, and waterfalls, this is one of the most visited places in the state of Bahia and later in the year the town would be completely filled by tourists. Interestingly before we looked at this tour we hadn’t heard of the place.

 

[Bananafishbones]

Enjoying this report
Certainly bringing back lots of good memories (and a bad one)

Say hello to Ciro please

 

[dandsblair]

Enjoying this report
Certainly bringing back lots of good memories (and a bad one)

Say hello to Ciro please

Will do, although he is now out doing the same tour having drove back to Fortaleza after we finished.
Intrigued about the bad memory

 

[Andrew Whitehouse]

Great to read about Diamantina. I agree it's easily one of the most spectacular places in Brazil. I've just remembered that the Rufous Nightjar in my avatar was there. I found it while looking for Hooded Visorbearer!

 

[Bananafishbones]

Will do, although he now out doing the same tour having drove back to Fortaleza after we finished.
Intrigued about the bad memory

Private Tour NE Brazil March 3rd- 18th

This years tour takes Bananafishbones and Goyter (Jeff) to the NE Corner of Brazil for some serious endemic birding. The itinerary should also enable us to hopefully see some of the worlds most critically endangered species. We fly into Fortaleza on Friday morning 3rd March and meet up with...

www.birdforum.net

 

[dandsblair]

Private Tour NE Brazil March 3rd- 18th

This years tour takes Bananafishbones and Goyter (Jeff) to the NE Corner of Brazil for some serious endemic birding. The itinerary should also enable us to hopefully see some of the worlds most critically endangered species. We fly into Fortaleza on Friday morning 3rd March and meet up with...

www.birdforum.net

Ah! I recall now.

 

[dandsblair]

​

Day 7: AM and PM Birding in Chapada Diamantina (Palmeiras) and then head to area near Mucugê, still in the Chapada Diamantina NP area but about 130Km away, it’s a big National Park!!

I should have mentioned that Ciro uses a GPS system they built which takes all sightings from his Brazil Birding Expert colleagues and allows him to look at latest and best views, much more accurate than ebird. This had worked well up until now but didn’t work for a bird we were hoping for today. The Horned Sungem, that Sarah really wanted to see.

We tried all the spots where the birds had been seen recently, particularly those with plants in flower but we just couldn’t find a male. Ciro and I did get a female that showed very briefly as we walked through some fields, but Sarah missed that and we didn’t see another all day.

However it wasn’t a bad morning we had Broad-tipped Hermit, the very range restricted São Francisco Sparrow, Rufous-sided Pygmy-Tyrant, White-banded Tanager (Aka Shrike like Tanager), Rusty-backed Antwren Green-winged Saltator, Grey-backed Tachuri, Campo Flicker and a stunning male Blue Finch.

In the afternoon after a break for lunch we added Narrow-billed Antwren, Cinnamon Tanager and then one of my main targets Collared Crescentchest which was a hard one to get showing, but which I eventually got a record shot of; in the same area with stunning views of the mountains on all sides we had Stripe-tailed Yellow Finch, Black-throated Saltator, Chopi Blackbird, and Blue Dacnis; our last bird of the afternoon after walking what seemed like every square inch of a field was Sharp-tailed Tyrant.

 

[dandsblair]

Day 8: Before breakfast we were off for a key target, on the outskirts of Mucuge. We tried two places and on the second we had success with the Diamantina Tapaculo showing pretty well. I got really frustrated as Ciro managed to film the bird while I didn’t even get a record shot, a combination of my finger still with a splint taking longer to change settings and my old Canon 7D mkii – 100-400 combo needing an upgrade which I’ve put off for over a year let me down as I couldn’t track the bird through the tangles. We also had Sooty-fronted Spinetail and Rufous-sided Pygmy Tyrant in the same area.

After breakfast and with only limited time before we will leave towards BOA NOVA (a long 420Km drive), we search for the Sungem with no success, at least I had a female but Sarah is pretty down.

We did see Small-headed Elaenia, another Grey-backed Tachuri (better photo), Brown-crested Flycatcher, Tropical Parula, Green-winged Saltator, Narrow-billed Antwren and Plumbeous Seedeater.

We had been on the road for an hour when Ciro pulled into a lay-by with some cliffs above with flowering plants, we managed to find a path up and found a couple of hummers but the first was a Glittering-bellied Emerald and the second a Swallow-tailed Hummingbird, we were heading back to the car, when I called “stop”, I recognised the call we had been playing for the last 2 days in the distance, it was a the Sungem. We climbed a little and there was the male Horned Sungem a little cracker, I think Sarah even had a tear in her eye after she managed great views of one of her top targets which she had pretty much given up on. So much for her “focus on what you do see and don’t worry about what you miss” mantra which I’ve been trying to adopt. We also saw a Biscutate Swift here.

It was now on to Boa Nova with a stop for lunch and some local coffee and chocolate which were both delicious.

We stayed in a fairly basic guesthouse – Pousada Sande for the next three nights, all modern décor and pretty clean but and with good food but very different from the other places we stayed but in a good location. We had time to drop our stuff and head off to a spot just a few miles away. Where we quickly got the iconic bird that is on the hotel signs and even the welcome to Boa Nova sign. The Slender Antbird, a really nice bird and we had both male and female and on the way back I called out for a White-browed Meadowlark which might have been a common bird but was actually a lifer for us. The last birds of the day were Burrowing owl and our second Tinamou the White-bellied Nothura.

Area description: located in the Southwestern part of Bahia, Boa Nova is famous among birders due to its highly diverse bird community (+430 species), with typical elements of montane Atlantic Forest, Caatinga, and a unique transitional area between the Atlantic Forest and Caatinga known as “mata-de-cipó” (Vine Forest) this is the habitat for the Slender Antbird. This variety of habitats provides a rich avifauna, with many globally threatened species that motivated the Brazilian Government to create a mosaic of Protected Areas in the region; the National Park and Wildlife Refuge of Boa Nova, with 13.000 and 15.000 hectares, respectively.

 

[etudiant]

Day 8: Before breakfast we were off for a key target, on the outskirts of Mucuge. We tried two places and on the second we had success with the Diamantina Tapaculo showing pretty well. I got really frustrated as Ciro managed to film the bird while I didn’t even get a record shot, a combination of my finger still with a splint taking longer to change settings and my old Canon 7D mkii – 100-400 combo needing an upgrade which I’ve put off for over a year let me down as I couldn’t track the bird through the tangles. We also had Sooty-fronted Spinetail and Rufous-sided Pygmy Tyrant in the same area.

After breakfast and with only limited time before we will leave towards BOA NOVA (a long 420Km drive), we search for the Sungem with no success, at least I had a female but Sarah is pretty down.

We did see Small-headed Elaenia, another Grey-backed Tachuri (better photo), Brown-crested Flycatcher, Tropical Parula, Green-winged Saltator, Narrow-billed Antwren and Plumbeous Seedeater.

We had been the road for an hour when Ciro pulled into a lay by with some cliffs above with flowering plants, we managed to find a path up and found a couple of hummers but the first was a Glittering-bellied Emerald and the second a Swallow-tailed Hummingbird, we were heading back to the car, when I called “stop”, I recognised the call we had been playing for the last 2 days in the distance, it was a the Sungem. We climbed a little and there was the male Horned Sungem a little cracker, I think Sarah even had a tear in her eye after she managed great views of one of her top targets which she had pretty much given up on. So much for her “focus on what you do see and don’t worry about what you miss” mantra which I’ve been trying to adopt. We also saw a Biscutate Swift here.

It was now on to Boa Nova with a stop for lunch and some local coffee and chocolate which were both delicious.

We stayed in a fairly basic guesthouse – Pousada Sande for the next three nights, all modern décor and pretty clean but and with good food but very different from the other places we stayed but in a good location. We had time to drop our stuff and head off to a spot just a few miles away. Where we quickly got the iconic bird that is on the hotel signs and even the welcome to Boa Nova sign. The Slender Antbird, a really nice bird and we had both male and female and on the way back I called out for a White-browed Meadowlark which might have been a common bird but was actually a lifer for us. The last birds of the day were Burrowing owl and our second Tinamou the White-bellied Nothura.

Area description: located in the Southwestern part of Bahia, Boa Nova is famous among birders due to its highly diverse bird community (+430 species), with typical elements of montane Atlantic Forest, Caatinga, and a unique transitional area between the Atlantic Forest and Caatinga known as “mata-de-cipó” (Vine Forest) this is the habitat for the Slender Antbird. This variety of habitats provides a rich avifauna, with many globally threatened species that motivated the Brazilian Government to create a mosaic of Protected Areas in the region; the National Park and Wildlife Refuge of Boa Nova, with 13.000 and 15.000 hectares, respectively.

That Sungem is spectacular, wonderful that you heard its call.