Day Fourteen: 25th July
Something I forgot to mention from Day Twelve was that at dusk I saw a couple of
Capybara on the wetlands, munching through the wet grass like small cows.
Anyway, in an unusual move, here's some more.
Today was rather epic, at least in terms of scenery and effort: five of us were walking up the Waterfall Trail and continuing on up the mountain to the elfin forest at the top. Deep breath. After being dropped off at the cottage, where once again a
Glittering-throated Emerald was at the feeders, we headed up the trail at brisker pace than yesterday. Not for the first time on the trip, a Slaty Bristlefront was heard calling from a long way inside some very thick bamboo cover. Another source of noise proved easier to locate, as a couple of
Blond-crested Woodpeckers gave good views but, once again, there was no sign of Shrike-like Cotinga in the regular spot.
We stormed on upwards, seeing some good flocks of tanagers including, rather briefly, my first
Rufous-headed Tanager amongst the
Yellow-backed and
Olive-green Tanagers. A couple of
Azure-shouldered Tanagers and
Yellow-eared and
Yellow-throated Woodpeckers were also in the forest. A sharp clanging came from a
Bare-throated Bellbird but would it be possible to see it? I’d heard a few previously but the sound was always coming from too far into the forest. This time was different; a Bellbird was perched right out on an open branch across a clearing, loudly tonking away. Because we were looking into the light, the views weren’t perfect but it was brilliant to see such a legendary bird living up to its name.
http://www.xeno-canto.org/sounds/uploaded/BCWZQTGMSO/bathbellbir.mp3
On we continued, beyond the Waterfall Trail and up the steep Red Trail, through ever wilder forest. Birds were hard to see, but the shrill cries of parrots and the buzzing chirps of
Uniform Finches kept us company. A
Channel-billed Toucan sailed briefly into the tree tops and a Sharpbill was heard calling and was seen briefly by Lee. I was unable to get onto it in time, as was becoming a habit. The occasional fallen tree produced clearings that held some interesting birds. A sooty black flycatcher puzzled all of us for a while and it wasn’t until we got back to the lodge later that we finally resolved that it had been a
Tropical Pewee. It was much darker than the illustrations in any of the guides but apparently the subspecies found in southeast Brazil is almost entirely dark. At another clearing, quite a few birds were moving through, including some obliging
Ferruginous Antbirds – the first I’d seen since Serra dos Tucanos.
The path got steeper and steeper and we sometimes had to clamber under fallen branches to make our way through. Eventually we found ourselves on the flat top of the mountain in forest that looked totally different to that through which we’d passed. The trees were small, the canopy open and sturdy bromeliads carpeted the ground. The only birds at the top were a pair of very visible and curious
Greyish Mourners, which followed us about as we admired the views out across the valley to the Serra dos Orgaos beyond and then down to the deforested lowlands stretching towards the coast.
Scrambling down the hill, we all struggled to keep up with Adilei, who stopped to point out a calling White-bibbed Antbird. We rested at the junction of the Lost Trail (so named because a couple visitors had once got lost there and spent the night out in the forest!) and were able to catch sight of a large woodcreeper off through the trees. The pale bill and rather plain head markings identified this as a
Buff-throated Woodcreeper – the only one of the trip. As we rested, we heard movement in the leaf litter. Getting closer. Craning our necks over the small ridge, eventually the source became visible: a
Tawny-throated Leaftosser, picking and rustling about in its Blackbird-like fashion. After continuing on to the bottom of the Lost Trail we got picked up at the 4x4 Trail and were driven back across the fields to the lodge.
In the last hour or so of light, I wandered over to the wetlands and found Nicholas running back to the office to pick up his scope because he wanted to have a better look at the parrots coming into roost in one of the dense stands of bamboo. When I arrived there was just one
Blue-winged Macaw still showing, together with another large parrot, which we weren’t sure about at first but later we figured it out was an
Orange-winged Parrot. By the time Nicholas came back, a scope and tripod trailing from the back of his bike, the parrots had gone into roost and out of sight.
The birding hadn’t finished with nightfall. After dinner, the others started to make their way down the hill from the lodge but we soon realised that owls were about, and they were making as strange a sound as I’ve ever heard from a bird. A
Tawny-browed Owl was in the trees by the lodge garden, giving a call almost like Rolf Harris on his wobble-board. But much stranger:
http://www.xeno-canto.org/sounds/uploaded/YRDADNREOP/Pulsatrix_koeniswaldiaena.mp3
We got hold of the flashlight, which had been on charge but was still very low on juice. Lee panned it around the trees and I just had time for a quick view of an owl before the charge went and so in turn did the light.
Below are two shots of the elfin forest and three views from the top of the mountain.