As we were setting off a little later this morning, I got up early to explore the Cerrado before breakfast, but the number of birds was generally fairly low. I did manage a couple of new species; Double-collared Seedeater and Gray-breasted Martin, for my efforts.
We moved into a different area today, to scout for any nests before erecting mist nets. We failed to find any Manakin nests, or any numbers of birds in general, but I had a great time attempting to photograph Sharp-tailed Streamcreepers. Towards the end of our mornings fieldwork we also got really nice views of Russet-mantle Foliage Gleaner, another new species. The highlight of the morning was a massive Owl butterfly landing on my face.
-Sharp-tailed Streamcreeper
-Caligo Butterfly Species
-Russet-mantled Foliage Gleaner
In the afternoon break, I continued to explore the farmland around our accommodation. I had recently discovered that the farm kept Cattle, so this seemed like a suitable place to find Cattle Tyrant. I was in luck, with three different individuals present. In addition I racked up a host of other new species for me (And American Kestrel for the trip); Rufous-thighed Hawk, Grassland Sparrow, Gray-fronted Dove, Palm Tanager, Narrow-billed Woodcreeper, White-rumped Monjita and Crowned Slaty Flycatcher. Despite being the middle of the day it was cloudy for the most part meaning a lot more birds were out and about. This cloudy weather persisted into the afternoon, so we only spent an hour or so in the field putting up the mist nets for future use.
-Saffron Finch
-Grassland Sparrow
-Crowned Slaty Flycatcher
-Cattle Tyrant
-White-rumped Monjita
Species List:
Brasilia: Cattle Egret, Great Egret, Black-vulture, Roadside Hawk, Southern Caracara, American Kestrel, Red-legged Seriema, Southern Lapwing, Ruddy Ground Dove, Scaled Dove, Picazuro Pigeon, Gray-fronted Dove, Peach-fronted Parakeet, Blue-fronted Amazon Parrot, Squirrel Cuckoo, Smooth-billed Ani, Burrowing Owl, Sick's Swift, Fork-tailed Palm-Swift, Fork-tailed Woodnymph, White-wedged Piculette, Campo Flicker, Narrow-billed Woodcreeper, Rufous Hornero, Russet-mantled Foliage Gleaner, Sharp-tailed Streamcreeper, White-rumped Monjita, Cattle Tyrant, Piratic Flycatcher, Great Kiskadee, Streaked Flycatcher, Crowned Slaty Flycatcher, Tropical Kingbird, Helmeted Manakin, Curl-crested Jay, Blue-and-white Swallow, Gray-breasted Martin, Southern House Wren, Buff-breasted Wren, Veery, Pale-breasted Thrush, Chalk-browed Mockingbird, Sayaca Tanager, Palm Tanager, Burnished-buff Tanager, Blue Dacnis, Rufous-collared Sparrow, Grassland Sparrow, Saffron Finch, Grassland Yellowfinch, Blue-black Grassquit, Yellow-bellied Seedeater, Double-collared Seedeater, Shiny Cowbird, Common Waxbill, House Sparrow,
Brazil Day 8 18.01.2019
We started early to make the most of the nets that we had set up yesterday. The ringing started slowly so I spent a bit of time birding the Cerrado, where I enjoyed a very large mixed flock moving through. For the first time I actually started paying attention to the flycatchers that I saw, given that they all looked the same I had, for the most part, ignored them. As a result I got two new species; Yellow-olive Flycatcher and Southern-beardless Tyrannulet, neither of which are particularly rare. An Orange-headed Tanager that we found in the woods was a bit more exciting, but sadly did not linger for a photo. The best bird we caught was a cracking Rufous-bellied Thrush, which behaved exactly the same as the thrushes at home; loud, boisterous and pooing everywhere. The only other new bird was a Common Tody Flycatcher, which was intermingled with the flock.
-Toco Toucan
-Yellow-olive Flycatcher
-Common Tody Flycatcher
In the afternoon I tried once again to see the Brasilia Tapaculo which lives at the bottom of the road. Once again it proved extremely elusive, but this time I did actually see the bird (birds head) singing away from the bottom of the ferns. It was so obscured that I did not even try to get a photo. Glad that I was finally able to see this species, the range of which is entirely restricted to the greater Brasilia area.The afternoon clouded over and in the humidity the birdlife seemed to vanish as we caught no birds at all in the nets and the birding in the woodland and Cerrado was reduced to all but zero. A Sepia-capped Flycatcher was about the only bird, but it was another new species for me.
-Sepia-capped Flycatcher
Species List:
Brasilia: Plumbeous Kite, White-tailed Hawk, Southern Caracara, Red-legged Seriema, Ruddy Ground Dove, Picazuro Pigeon, Gray-fronted Dove, Blue-fronted Amazon Parrot, Squirrel Cuckoo, Smooth-billed Ani, Barn Owl, Burrowing Owl, Sick's Swift, Fork-tailed Woodnymph, Glittering-bellied Emerald, Rufous-tailed Jacamar, Little Woodpecker, Variable Antshrike, Black-capped Antwren, Brasilia Tapaculo, Olivaceous Woodcreeper, Sooty-fronted Spinetail, Russet-mantled Foliage Gleaner, Gray-hooded Flycatcher, Sepia-capped Flycatcher, Southern Antpipit, Common Tody Flycatcher, Southern Beardless Tyrannulet, Yellow-olive Flycatcher, Tropical Kingbird, Helmeted Manakin, Grey-breasted Martin, Masked Gnatcatcher, Rufous-bellied Thrush, Pale-breasted Thrush, Bananaquit, Orange-headed Tanager, Gray-headed Tanager, White-lined Tanager, Sayaca Tanager, Burnished-buff Tanager, Blue Dacnis, Guira Tanager, Rufous-collard Sparrow, Saffron Finch, Grassland Yellowfinch, Blue-black Grassquit, Yellow-bellied Seedeater, Buff-throated Saltator, White-bellied Warbler, Flavescent Warbler, White-striped Warbler, House Sparrow,
Brazil Day 9 19.01.2019
Today was our first day where we took a day off to go birding, not going to the study site at all but instead visiting a number of other sites to target some of the more difficult species.
We set off at 06.00, and were immediately rewarded with a Pauraque flushed from the road, immediately recognisable by the large white stripes in the tail. We met up with one of Lia's birding friends, Edvaldo, who took us to a number of Cerrado sites. Our first stop was called the Altiplano Leste, an upland area of wooded savannah. As soon as we got out of the car we got great views of Cinereous Warbling Finch, Black-throated Saltator and our most wanted target; Horned Sungem. Sadly the Sungem remained extremely elusive and I was not able to get a clear view at this point, despite several sightings. Further exploration of the site yielded Pale-breasted Spinetail, Sedge Wren, a fantastic Blue-and-yellow Macaw and our other site target; Collard Cresentchest, which was a really stunning bird.
-Cinereous Warbling-finch
-Black-throated Saltator
-Collard Crescentchest
-Sedge Wren
After an hour or so at this point, we drove a kilometer or so down the road to another area of Cerrado. There were less birds here, but we still managed Plumbeous Seedeater, Crested Black-tyrant, White-eared Puffbird and a fantastic male Blue Finch.
-White-eared Puffbird
-Blue Finch
-Plumbeous Seedeater
We didn't stay here long. We drove further into the Cerrado to a number of horse paddocks where we were hoping for more views of Horned Sungem. We struggled at first, but had other birds to enjoy; Pearly-bellied Seedeater, White-vented Violetear and Eared Dove, before we finally got our bird. Finally we got the views of Horned Sungem that we had wanted. Despite being insanely close, it was always on the wrong side of the light, but after a bit of a wait, and the accompaniment of a female, both birds came into the sun side for fantastic views and an incredible performance, even chasing off a much bigger Swallow-tailed Hummingbird. One of the top ten birds I have ever seen, a real cracker.
-Horned Sungem
After this, and a spot of lunch, we headed off to the Brasilia Botanical Gardens for frilled coquette, but our lucky streak ran out and we failed. It was mid afternoon at this point, and the weather was extremely hot, with very few birds around. A flyover King Vulture was the only bird of any difference. With the weather so hot we decided to head back to our digs, via a McFlurry for our efforts. An awesome day out.During the evening I headed out around the farm again. Toco Toucans seemed more abundant this evening, with more than ten in the tree outside our accommodation. There seemed to be an abundance of birds, coinciding with an abundance of small flies which made being out in the field extremely unpleasant. I lasted about half an hour, but in that time I managed two new species; Silver-beaked Tanager and Saffron-billed Sparrow, although it being a juvenile, it lacks the saffron bill which had me confused for a while.
-Toco Toucan
Species List:
Brasilia: Whistling Heron, Turkey Vulture, Black Vulture, King Vulture, White-tailed Kite, Plumbeous Kite, Roadside Hawk, White-tailed Hawk, Southern Caracara, Red-legged Seriema, Southern Lapwing, Ruddy Ground Dove, Scaled Dove, Feral Pigeon, Picazuro Pigeon, Eared Dove, Blue-and-yellow Macaw, Peach-fronted Parakeet, Yellow-cheveroned Parakeet, Guira Cuckoo, Burrowing Owl, Pauraque, Little Nightjar, Sick's Swift, Fork-tailed Palm Swift, Swallow-tailed Hummingbird, Fork-tailed Woodnymph, Glittering-throated Emerald, Horned Sungem, White-vented Violetear, White-eared Puffbird, White-wedged Piculette, Campo Flicker, Collared Crescentchest, Rufous-winged Antshrike, Black-capped Antwren, Narrow-billed Woodcreeper, Rufous Hornero, Pale-breasted Spinetail, Sepia-capped Flycatcher, Crested Black-Tyrant, Cattle Tyrant, Great Kiskadee, Tropical Kingbird, Rufous-browed Peppershrike, Blue-and-white Swallow, Grey-breasted Martin, Southern House Wren, Sedge Wren, Buff-breasted Wren, Pale-breasted Thrush, Chalk-browed Mockingbird, Bananaquit, Gray-headed Tanager, White-lined Tanager, Silver-beaked Tanager, Sayaca Tanager, Burnished-buff Tanager, Blue Dacnis, Rufous-collared Sparrow, Blue Finch, Cinereous Warbling-Finch, Saffron Finch, Grassland Yellowfinch, Blue-black Grassquit, Plumbeous Seedeater, Yellow-bellied Seedeater, Pearly-bellied Seedeater, Saffron-billed Sparrow, Black-throated Saltator, House Sparrow,
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