Most of our day was spent travelling though Bahia to reach
Lia’s work site for the following day. Sadly, this meant that there was not
much in the way of birding done today. In our small period of down time between
landing in Salvador and commencing our journey through Bahia, we headed to the
beach hoping for some seabirds or waders but sadly there was nothing except
common birds feeding in the adjacent gardens. There was one new bird for me
though, a Tropical Mockingbird that
was sat on the wires as we drove to the beach. Sadly it flew just as I got the
camera, but otherwise it had shown very nicely.
Species List:
Salvador: Tropical
Mockingbird, Chalk-browed Mockingbird, Tropical Kingbird, Saffron Finch, Feral
Pigeon, Southern Lapwing, Ringed Kingfisher,
Brazil Day 26 29.06.2019
And so begins the next stage of this Brazilian adventure,
doing survey work in Bahia. We awoke early and were on site before light,
although the drizzle and thick cloud gave an impression of gloom for most of
the day. The work was fairly easy, Lia recording birds and me photographing
them, but access through some of the scrub was a nightmare. Still, it meant
seeing a lot of cool birds whilst getting paid.
The work started slowly, with just a few commoner species
along the way, but as the morning warmed up there began to be some far more
interesting species and even a lifer; Tawny-crowned
Pygmy Tyrant. Other interesting birds we found included Slender Antbird,Caatinga Antshrike,
Caatinga Cachalotle and Silvery-cheeked
Antshrike. Then in the afternoon we headed back to the same location for
more survey work and had the real highlight of the day, a very nice Black-chested Buzzard-Eagle. At many
sites during our trip we had been told it was possible to see this species, but
we had always dipped. Now it was nice to have fantastic views, albeit in poor
light, as this individual flew low over the car.
-Silvery-cheeked Antshrike
-Chestnut-crowned Becard
-Slender Antbird
-Tawny-crowned Pygmy-Tyrant
-Black-chested Buzzard-Eagle
Species List:
Jequie EA2: Picazuro
Pigeon, Guira Cuckoo, Planalto
Hermit, Swallow-tailed Hummingbird, Southern Lapwing, Common Gallinule, Black
Vulture, Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture, Snail Kite, Savannah Hawk, Zone-tailed
Hawk, White-tailed Hawk, Black-chested Buzzard Eagle, Burrowing Owl, Caatinga
Puffbird, Campo Flicker, Southern Caracara, American Kestrel, Laughing Falcon, Rufous
Hornero, Band-winged Hornero, Pale-legged Hornero, Caatinga Cachalotle, Chestnut-crowned
Becard, Caatinga Antshrike, Silvery-cheeked Antshrike, Black-bellied Antwren, White
Monjita, Masked Water Tyrant, Tropical Kingbird, White-naped Jay, Chalk-browed
Mockingbird, White-browed Meadowlark, Saffron Finch, Pileated Finch, Blue-black
Grassquit, White-throated Seedeater, Rufous-collared Sparrow, Campo Troupial,
Red-rumped Cacique,
Brazil Day 27 30.06.2019
Our second work day was much further south, just to the
north of Boa Nova park where we had been during our trip. The habitat was more
open fields with some thick scrub bordering. The fields were fairly lifeless
and the scrub was a nightmare to navigate but we once again had some nice
birds. The mornings highlight was finding a new site for Slender Antbird. Yesterday’s location had already been recorded by
Lia, but today she had failed to find the bird on her previous visits but we
had one individual performing nicely, as well as a Stripe-backed Antbird. I also had a long overdue and very nice
lifer in the form of a Harris Hawk
that we spotted perched further down the valley. We were able to get fairly
close before it flew off, and it was nice to see no jesses on the legs as it
flew. Another lifer I had this morning was Sapphire-spangled Emerald, although it was only a flyby. Fortunately I was able to grab some record shots, which showed more than enough for identification.
-Slender Antbird
-Stripe-backed Antbird
-Harris Hawk
In the afternoon, since we had a little time to spare, we
decided to retry the boa nova tapaculo, but alas we once again had no joy. The
woods were fairly quiet but we saw a few nice birds, although nothing too
exciting.
-Rufous-fronted Thornbird
Species List:
Boa Nova: Ruddy
Ground Dove, Squirrel Cuckoo, Blue-winged Parrotlet, Rufous Hornero,
Rufous-fronted Thornbird, Cattle Tyrant, Boat-billed Flycatcher, Tropical
Kingbird, Rufuous-bellied Thrush, Red-rumped Cacique, Shiny Cowbird,
White-lined Tanager, Sayaca Tanager, Palm Tanager, Burnished-buff Tanager,
Saffron Finch,
Brazil Day 28 01.07.2019
Brazil Day 28 01.07.2019
Work continued, albeit in a more relaxed fashion today.
Rather than the usual early census, today our task was to survey wetland areas
we had been given for birds that could be affected by the overhead cables. As a
result we were able to set off a bit later. Sadly though, our day was made much
tougher by Brazil’s roads, but we made it to all our destinations in the end.
The area was patchy Atlantic forest scattered among cleared pastures and
cropland. Despite the area being cleared and destroyed from its natural state,
it still felt good for birds.
The undoubted highlight of the morning was when we
encountered two Blackish Rails
fighting in the middle of the road. They were so preoccupied with each other
that they even ran towards the car without hesitation. Amazing to see such a
shy secretive animal behaving in such a way! The other lifer of the morning was
long overdue, when I spotted a Ferruginous
Pygmy Owl roosting next to the road. Having missed this species so many
times, it was nice that my first was a day roosting individual. Other cool
birds we spotted during the day included; Black-capped
Donacobius, Copper Seedeater, Rufescent Tiger-Heron and Yellow-browed Tyrant. It was also nice
to see my first Red-legged Seriema in
a while, with a single individual that we ended up chasing a short distance up
the road.
-Blackish Rail
-White-headed Marsh-Tyrant
-Ferruginous Pygmy Owl
-Purple Gallinule
-Ruddy Ground-Dove
-Rufescent Tiger-Heron
Species List:
Jaguaquara: Brazilian
Teal, Least Grebe, Ruddy Ground-Dove, Picui Ground-Dove, Guira Cuckoo,
Smooth-billed Ani, Squirrel Cuckoo, Swallow-tailed Hummingbird, Blackish Rail,
Common Gallinule, Purple Gallinule, Southern Lapwing, Wattled Jacana, Rufescent
Tiger-Heron, Great White Egret, Striated Heron, American Black Vulture, Turkey
Vulture, Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture, Roadside Hawk, White-tailed Hawk,
Ferruginous Pygmy Owl, Burrowing Owl, Caatinga Puffbird, Rufous-tailed Jacamar,
Campo Flicker, Red-legged Seriema, Southern Caracara, Yellow-headed Caracara,
American Kestrel, Blue-winged Parrotlet, Golden-capped Parakeet, Wing-banded
Hornero, Rufous Hornero, Yellow-chinned Spinetail, Southern Beardless
Tyrannulet, Yellow-bellied Elaenia, Cliff Flycatcher, Yellow-browed Tyrant,
White Monjita, Masked Water-Tyrant, White-headed Marsh Tyrant, Cattle Tyrant,
Short-crested Flycatcher, Great Kiskadee, Boat-billed Flycatcher, Social
Flycatcher, Tropical Kingbird, Blue-and-white Swallow, Southern Rough-winged
Swallow, Grey-breasted Martin, White-winged Swallow, House Wren, Black-capped
Donacobius, Rufous-bellied Thrush, Chalk-browed Mockingbird, Grassland Sparrow,
Rufous-collared Sparrow, White-browed Meadowlark, Red-rumped Cacique, Campo
Troupial, Chopi Blackbird, Pale Baywing, Chestnut-capped Blackbird, Red-cowled
Cardinal, Sayaca Tanager, Palm Tanager, Burnished-buff Tanager, Swallow
Tanager, Wedge-tailed Grassfinch, Black-black Grassquit, Copper Seedeater,
Yellow-bellied Seedeater, White-throated Seedeater, Bananaquit, House Sparrow,
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