Brazil; Ceara, Bahia & Minas Gerais trip 10.06.2019 - 12.06.2019

Brazil Day 7 10.06.2019

Our flight from Brasilia to Fortaleza was one of the most brutal flights I have ever done, with a change-over between 02.00 and 04.00 in Sao Luis, before arriving in Fortaleza at 06.00. Once we had picked up our car we headed straight to our apartment, before heading out birding to make the most of the morning before our afternoon of recovery.

We stopped at Lagoa da Precabura, a large lake on the outskirts of the city. We enjoyed a few birds here, mainly wetland birds. The best of it was a Fork-tailed Flycatcher that was hunting from the fences around the wetland. There was also a large flock of Snail Kites soaring distantly, but since it was already mid-morning the temperature and humidity had clearly already taken its toll on the birdlife.

-Wattled Jacana

In the evening, after a session of recovery from our flight, we headed to the beach to attempt some Seawatching. I was not optimistic that there would be anything, but I was pleasantly surprised. Granted, the seabirds were limited to a loafing flock of around 30 Common Terns, but there were actually waders around, when I assumed they would all be in the arctic. We had nice views of Sanderling, Semipalmated Plover and a new species for me in Collared Plover, the latter being present in quite large numbers. It was a really nice chilled out evening and my first experience of a Brazilian beach.

-Collared Plover

-Semipalmated Plover

Species List:

Lagoa da Precabura: Scaled Dove, Smooth-billed Ani, Fork-tailed Palm Swift, Ameircan Purple Gallinule, Southern Lapwing, Wattle Jacana, Great White Egret, Cattle Egret, Striated Heron, American Black Vulture, Turkey Vulture, Roadside Hawk, Snail Kite, Southern Caracara, Yellow-headed Caracara, Yellow-chevroned Parakeet, Yellow-chinned Spinetail, White-headed Marsh Tyrant, Cattle Tyrant, Masked Water Tyrant, Great Kiskadee, Tropical Kingbird, Fork-tailed Flycatcher, White-winged Swallow, Chestnut-capped Blackbird, Common Waxbill,

Fortaleza Beach: Feral Pigeon, Scaled Dove, Smooth-billed Ani, Fork-tailed Palm Swift, Southern Lapwing, Collared Plover, Semipalmated Plover, Sanderling, Common Tern, Striated Heron, Southern Caracara, White-winged Swallow, Bananaquit,

Brazil Day 8 11.06.2019

We decided late into the evening to completely change our plan for the next day. Once we collected in Anton from the airport at 02.00 we would then drive for two hours Parque das Trilhas further inland. We arrived on site around 05.00 just in time for sunrise. This was a hard-core move but it paid off as we had an excellent morning and early afternoon birding in the park. The park represented a remnant of Atlantic Forest, so had a number of regionally endemic species, most of which we were able to see; Ochraceous Piculet, Ceara Gnateater, Northern Lesser Woodcreeper (Subspecies), Buff-breasted Tody Tyrant, as well as other new species not as range restricted; Straight-billed Woodcreeper, Pale-legged Hornero, Band-tailed Hornero, Yellow-breasted Flycatcher, Brown-crested Flycatcher, Rufous-throated Saphire, Pectoral Sparrow and Red-necked Tanager. I also got two new species of Hermit Hummingbird; Reddish and Rufous-breasted Hermit. It was, in all an absolutely fantastic morning littered with new bird species. And in addition, I also saw my first ever wild tortoise; Yellow-footed Tortoise. One was labouring itself crossing the path, an impressive beast at over a foot long.

-Buffy-breasted Tody-Tyrant

-Ochraceous Piculette

-Ceara Gnateater

-Reddish Hermit

-Masked Water-Tyrant

-Plain-breasted Ground Dove

-Yellow-footed Tortoise

During the afternoon we decided to drive the next two hours to our new location, near the town of Quixada. Along our way we passed a small roadside lake and decided to stop. Once again we found ourselves surrounded by birds, and I recorded four new species; Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture, Black-necked Stilt, Pale Baywing and White-throated Seedeater. There were also other awesome birds such as Picui Ground Dove and Red-cowled Cardinal.

-Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture

Our dorms for the evening were a stunning hotel situated on a mountain above the Caatinga. We arrived about 16.30, via a small delay of a Greater Rhea that I spotted at the side of the road. That was an awesome encounter. Our primary target at the hotel was White-browed Guan, and we had expected to be spending a quiet morning waiting for them to drink. As it happened we pulled into the hotel and there were five of them already drinking from the pond. We spent an hour birding the site, when I lifered Greater Ani, as well as nice views of Lesser Kiskadee and White-winged Becard. After dark we tried for Owls and nightjars, but as it happened we were treated to quite the show by a Pygmy Nightjar whilst we were eating dinner. It came by a number of times and enjoyed some fantastic views.

-Greater Rhea

-White-browed Guan

-Pygmy Nightjar

Species List:

Parque das Trilhas: Plain-breasted Ground Dove, Ruddy Ground Dove, Smooth-billed Ani, Squirrel Cuckoo, Fork-tailed Palm Swift, Rufous-breasted Hermit, Reddish Hermit, Planalto Hermit, Swallowtail Hummingbird, Rufous-throated Saphire, Glittering-throated Emerald, Grey-cowled Wood Rail, Straited Heron, American Black Vulture, Turkey Vulture, Roadside Hawk, Zone-tailed Hawk, Green Kingfisher, Rufous-tailed Jacamar, Ochraceous Piculet, Little Woodpecker, Yellow-chevroned Parakeet, Blue-winged Parrotlet, Great Antshrike, Variable Antshrike, Black-capped Antwren, Ceara Gnateater, Lesser Woodcreeper, Straight-billed Woodcreeper, Pale-legged Hornero, Band-tailed Hornero, Grey-headed Spinetail, Sooty-fronted Spinetail, Planalto Tyrannulet, Buff-breasted Tody-Tyrant, Yellow-breasted Flycatcher, Masked Water-Tyrant, Short-crested Flycatcher, Brown-crested Flycatcher, Great Kiskadee, Boat-billed Flycatcher, Rust-margined Flycatcher, Social Flycatcher, Piratic Flycatcher, Tropical Kingbird, Southern Rough-winged Swallow, Grey-breasted Martin, House Wren, Pale-breasted Thrush, Rufous-bellied Thrush, Pectoral Sparrow, Variable Oriole, Campo Troupial, Red-cowled Cardinal, Sayaca Tanager, Palm Tanager, Burnished-buff Tanager, Red-necked Tanager, Bananaquit, House Sparrow, Common Waxbill, Crab-eating Fox, Yellow-legged Tortoise,

Travelling: Greater Rhea, White-faced Whistling Duck, Picazuro Pigeon, Ruddy Ground-Dove, Picui Ground-Dove, Eared Dove, Smooth-billed Ani, Neotropic Cormorant, Black-necked Stilt, Wattled Jacana, Great White Egret, Snowy Egret, Cattle Egret, Striated Heron, American Black Vulture, Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture, Savannah Hawk, Zone-tailed Hawk, Ringed Kingfisher, Southern Caracara, Yellow-chinned Spinetail, Masked Water-Tyrant, Great Kiskadee, Tropical Kingbird, Pale Baywing, Red-cowled Cardinal, White-throated Seedeater,

Hotel Pedra dos Ventos: White-browed Guan, Ruddy Ground-Dove, Scaled Dove, Greater Ani, Smooth-billed Ani, Pygmy Nightjar, Swallow-tailed Hummingbird, Grey-cowled Wood-Rail, Wattled Jacana, American Black Vulture, Turkey Vulture, Roadside Hawk, Sooty-fronted Spinetail, Boat-billed Flycatcher, Streaked Flycatcher, White-winged Becard, Rufous-browed Peppershrike, Grey-breasted Martin,

Brazil Day 9 12.06.2019
For our second full trip day we birded around the Hotel Pedra dos Ventos, an area of Caatinga habitat which covered the mountainside that the hotel was situated on. Since we had insane views of the White-browed Guan the previous evening the pressure was somewhat off, but we still saw a single individual perched in the treetops some distance away. And having had amazing views of Pygmy Nightjar after we arrived last night, I decided to look for day roosting birds and found three right outside the hotel cafeteria. These were my first ever day roosting nightjars and they were incredibly special, letting us get extremely close and really enjoy them. It’s easy to ride the wave of the moment, but this was one of my best ever birding experiences.

-Pygmy Nightjar

There were a number of new birds in the Caatinga for me; Ruby Topaz Hummingbird, Crane Hawk, Golden-Green Woodpecker, Cactus Parakeet, Biscutate Swift, Long-billed Wren, Tropical Gnatcatcher and Ultramarine Grosbeak. The Grosbeak especially was a real bonus, a particularly tricky species to connect with due it being very elusive, but we had an individual in heavy moult that gave us quite a bit of a show with some effort.

-Ruddy Ground Dove

-Straight-billed Woodcreeper

-Ultramarine Grosbeak

-Biscutate Swift

We left just after midday in the heat of the afternoon. We then travelled for the rest of the daylight hours, seeing a few birds along the way; White Monjita was new for me, and Red-legged Serima, White-browed Meadowlark and Least Grebe were also exciting new birds for the trip. The road was littered with potholes along the whole way, making our progress slow but we arrived at our destination, Oasis Araripe, at around half 7 in the evening. The drive to hotel took us along a country road and as a result we saw a few Paraque, and a single Tropical Screech-Owl, which Anton then caught in the torchlight, allowing us to really see the details of the bird up close.

Species List:

Hotel Pedra dos Ventos: White-browed Guan, Ruddy Ground-Dove, Plain-breasted Ground-Dove, Scaled Dove, Greater Ani, Smooth-billed Ani, Squirrel Cuckoo, Dark-billed Cuckoo, Pygmy Nightjar, Ruby Topaz Hummingbird, Glittering-bellied Emerald, Swallow-tailed Hummingbird, Biscutate Swift, Wattle Jacana, American Black Vulture, Turkey Vulture, Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture, Crane Hawk, Roadside Hawk, Spot-backed Puffbird, Ochraceous Piculette, Little Woodpecker, Golden-Green Woodpecker, Southern Caracara, Cactus Parakeet, Great Antshrike, Caatinga Antshrike, Black-bellied Antwren, Straight-billed Woodcreeper, Greenish Elenia, Pearly-vented Tody-Flycatcher, Great  Kiskadee, Streaked Flycatcher, Tropical Kingbird, White-winged Becard, Rufous-browed Peppershrike, Chivi Vireo, White-naped Jay, Southern House Wren, Long-billed Wren, Tropical Gnatcatcher, Variable Oriole, Ultramarine Grosbeak, Sayaca Tanager, Pileated Finch, Bananaquit,

Travelling: White-faced Whistling Duck, Least Grebe, Ruddy Ground-Dove, Picui Ground-Dove, Eared Dove, Common Gallinule, Cattle Egret, Great White Egret, Southern Lapwing, Black-necked Stilt, Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture, Red-legged Seriema, American Kestrel, Cactus Parakeet, White Monjita, Tropical Kingbird, White-browed Meadowlark, Red-cowled Cardinal, Rock Cavy,

Oasis Araripe: Common Paraque, Tropical Screech-Owl