After a few
days in Rio enjoying the delights of carnival. Today we headed back into birding
mode. We hoped to see a couple of Cotinga species in the mountains just north
of Rio, and in order to maximise our chances, had hired a guide, Cirillo, who
was a friend of Lias.
Although
our first stop was supposed to be the famous reserve of REGUA, instead we took
a morning detour to the north side of the mountains to look for Serra Antwren
and Three-toed Jacamar at a site the guide knew. He was not wrong, as within a
few minutes of arriving on site we had managed to connect with both species,
both showing extremely well. There were some other nice species in the forest
fragment as well, including Rufous Gnateater and Chestnut-backed Antshrike. We
also had a strange mammal that had us wondering for some time before Lia’s
friend that studies mammals identified it as a Bare-tailed Woolly Opossum.
-Serra Antwren
-Three-toed Jacamar
-Rufous Gnateater
-Chestnut-vented Conebill
-Uniform Finch
-Bare-tailed Woolly Opossum
We then
headed to REGUA for the afternoon. The reserve is an area of reforested
pasture, with an established network of ponds and wetlands. Unfortunately, it
had become overcast and extremely humid, so bird activity was frustratingly
low, specifically our target Cotingas. I did manage a few lifers however;
Boat-billed Heron, Eye-ringed Tody-Flycatcher, Black-cheeked Gnatcatcher and
Red-legged Honeycreeper. We tried for owls in the evening but sadly the only
species I was able to manage was Ferruginous Pygmy Owl.
-Rufescent Tiger Heron
-Boat-billed Heron
-Black-cheeked Gnateater
Species
List:
Carmo: Ruddy Ground Dove, Guira Cuckoo, Black
Vulture, Turkey Vulture, Black-and-white Hawk-Eagle, Roadside Hawk, Three-toed
Jacamar, Southern Crested Caracara, Yellow-headed Caracara, American Kestrel, White-eyed
Parakeet, Chestnut-backed Antshrike, Serra Antwren, Rufous Gnateater, Scaled
Woodcreeper, White-winged Becard, Sepia-capped Flycatcher, Long-tailed Tyrant, Short-crested
Flycatcher, Brown-crested Flycatcher, Social Flycatcher, Streaked Flycatcher, Chopi
Blackbird, Sayaca Tanager, Burnished-buff Tanager, Blue Dacnis, Chestnut-vented
Conebill, Uniform Finch, Double-collared Seedeater, Bare-tailed Woolly
Opossum,
REGUA: Picazuro Pigeon, Ruddy Ground Dove, Squirrel
Cuckoo, Common Gallinule, Southern Lapwing, Wattled Jacana, Rufescent Tiger
Heron, Great Egret, Western Cattle Egret, Striated Heron, Whistling Heron, Black-crowned
Night Heron, Boat-billed Heron, Black Vulture, Ferruginous Pygmy Owl, Ringed
Kingfisher, Green Kingfisher, Chestnut-backed Antshrike, Black-cheeked
Gnateater, Streaked Xenops, Band-tailed Hornero, Yellow-chinned Spinetail, Eye-ringed
Tody-Tyrant, Masked Water Tyrant, White-headed Marsh Tyrant, Great Kiskadee, Rusty-margined
Flycatcher, Social Flycatcher, Streaked Flycatcher, Blue-and-white Swallow, Southern
Rough-winged Swallow, Red-rumped Cacique, Chestnut-capped Blackbird, Palm
Tanager, Green-headed Tanager, Red-legged Honeycreeper, Chestnut-vented
Conebill,
Brazil
Day 11 24.02.2020
Today we
spent the full day at REGUA with our guide, Cirillo. After failing the previous
evening we headed off once again into the forest trail to try and find the Cotingas
but with no luck. Again we struggled to find any real numbers of birds along the
trail, but I had a new bird with Unicolored Antwren. It was also awesome to see
Capybaras and a Broad-snouted Caiman on the wetlands that we passed through.
-Capybara
-Broad-snouted Caiman
-Reddish Hermit
-Micrathyria ocellata
After lunch
we headed out to a few sites away from the immediate reserve but still in the
general area. First we headed to an area of pasture where there were a few
drainage ditches that Cirillo said was a good place for Ash-throated Crake.
While we were optimistic of seeing the bird, we did not expect it to run across
the road, showing incredibly well. Only my third South American crake.
-Ash-throated Crake
And then,
just before dark, we headed to a flooded field where we hoped to see the one of
my most wanted birds; Giant Snipe. Although we never managed to find one on the
deck, we had excellent views of two individuals flying over calling. The marsh
was alive with South American Snipe, another lifer, and we had a lot of fun
seeing these birds fly around, as well as on the deck. Once it got dark we
started hearing an owl from the woods behind the field. We started playback but
the woods were distant and the bird did not approach, so we sacked it off. As a
courtesy I turned on the torch to scan and there, in full view at the top of a
stumped palm tree, was a stunning Tawny-browed Owl. What an absolute beauty of
a bird and a fine end to a brilliant afternoon.
-South American Snipe
-Tawny-browed Owl
-Big-eared Opossum
Species
List:
REGUA: Picazuro Pigeon, Ruddy Ground Dove, White-tipped
Dove, Greater Ani, Smooth-billed Ani, White-collared Swift, Black Jacobin, Reddish
Hermit, Swallow-tailed Hummingbird, Common Gallinule, Southern Lapwing, South
American Snipe, Giant Snipe, Wattled Jacana, Ash-throated Crake, Neotropic
Cormorant, Rufescent Tiger Heron, Western Cattle Egret, Striated Heron, Black-crowned
Night Heron, Boat-billed Heron, Black Vulture, Turkey Vulture, Roadside Hawk, Rufous-capped
Motmot, Green Kingfisher, Channel-billed Toucan, White-barred Piculet, White
Woodpecker, Yellow-headed Caracara, Tawny-browed Owl, Unicolored Antwren, Streak-capped
Antwren, Olivaceous Woodcreeper, Lesser Woodcreeper, Band-tailed Hornero, White-bearded
Manakin, White-winged Becard, Sepia-capped Flycatcher, Masked Water Tyrant, White-headed
Marsh Tyrant, Grey-hooded Attila, Boat-billed Flycatcher, Social Flycatcher, Tropical
Kingbird, Blue-and-white Swallow, Southern Rough-winged Swallow, House Wren, Moustached
Wren, Pale-breasted Thrush, Common Waxbill, Violaceous Euphonia, Red-rumped
Cacique, Chestnut-capped Blackbird, Green-headed Tanager, Big-eared Opossum,
Capybara, Broad-snouted Caiman,
Brazil
Day 12 25.02.2020
We set off
early from REGUA to head to Pico de Caledonia to try and find the rare and extremely
endemic Grey-winged Cotinga. Spoiler, it called at us four times distantly but
we never saw it. That said we still had a fantastic day birding in the area,
with Cirillo (Our guide) knowing some of the spots for some more difficult and
elusive species.
On a day
with so many highlights its difficult to pick out a particular species but the
Giant Antshrike pair that we saw were absolutely stunning and real beauties. We
also had excellent views of Mouse-coloured Tapaculo and a brilliant Rufous-tailed
Anthrush, both of which are normally skulking species. The Rufous-tailed
Antbird was a good bird to see, as it is quite range restricted in the
mountains around Rio, as it Green-crowned Plovercrest which sadly never sat
still for a photo.
-Rufous-tailed Antbird
-Orange-eyed Thornbird
-Diademed Tanager
Rufous-tailed Antthrush
-Giant Antshrike
-Brazilian Ruby
I also managed
my 2000th world bird, in a female Black-and-gold Cotinga. We did see
a male but it was distant and the views were nothing to write home about. We
also tried for the stunning Swallow-tailed Cotinga before heading off, but sadly
we dipped that as well. We then embarked on a seven hour drive to our next location
on the coast.
-Black-and-Gold Cotinga
Species:
Pico de
Caledonia: Squirrel Cuckoo, Brazilian Ruby, Green-crowned
Plovercrest, Slaty-breasted Wood Rail, Black Vulture, Roadside Hawk, Giant
Antshrike, Rufous-tailed Antbird, Mouse-colored Tapaculo, Rufous-tailed
Antthrush, Orange-eyed Thornbird, Pallid Spinetail, Black-and-gold Cotinga, Serra
do Mar Tyrannulet, Rufous-browed Peppershrike, Rufous-bellied Thrush, Rufous-collared
Sparrow, Golden-crowned Warbler, White-rimmed Warbler, Black-goggled Tanager, Diademed
Tanager, Brassy-breasted Tanager,
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