With the fieldwork season drawing to a close we decided to have another last look to see if any birds had started breeding. Sadly it did not appear that the Helmeted Manakins were active. In fact the river that we checked was fairly quiet in general, with a Sharp-tailed Streamcreeper about the only bird. We saw the Grey-headed Kite again on our drive over, and this time I was able to grab some pictures.
-Grey-headed Kite
-Caterpillar
In the afternoon we headed to the university for a short lecture, in Portuguese so I understood nothing, but afterwards we headed back to the botanical gardens to try again for the frilled coquette. Once again though we were unlucky, but there was a nice selection of commoner species, and I was able to improve on my photos for a number of birds.
-Rufous-collared Sparrow
-Rufous-bellied Thrush
-Rufous-tailed Jacamar
-Scaled Dove
Species List:
Brasilia: Brazilian Teal, Great White Egret, Buff-necked Ibis, Whistling Heron, Black Vulture, Gray-headed Kite, Bicoloured Hawk, Southern Caracara, Red-legged Seriema, Southern Lapwing, Ruddy Ground Dove, Scaled Dove, Blue Ground Dove, Feral Pigeon, Picazuro Pigeon, Yellow-chevroned Parakeet, Blue-fronted Amazon Parrot, Squirrel Cuckoo, Smooth-billed Ani, Guira Cuckoo, Burrowing Owl, Fork-tailed Palm Swift, Swallow-tailed Hummingbird, Rufous-tailed Jacamar, Variable Antshrike, Rufous Hornero, Sharp-tailed Streamcreeper, Cattle Tyrant, Great Kiskadee, Boaat-billed Flycatcher, Helmeted Manakin, Blue-and-white Swallow, Masked Gnatcatcher, Rufous-bellied Thrush, Chalk-browed Mockingbird, Bananaquit, Sayaca Tanager, Burnished-buff Tanager, Blue Dacnis, Guira Tanager, Rufous-collared Sparrow, Saffron Finch, Blue-black Grassquit, Yellow-bellied Seedeater, Buff-throated Saltator, White-bellied Warbler, House Sparrow,
Brazil Day 35
14.02.2019
Today was our last day of fieldwork for the Helmeted Manakin
project, before a weekend birding in the north. We set up nets in a new
location just down the road from the field centre, where we hoped to capture a
new Helmeted Manakin. Sadly we had
no such luck and failed to ring any birds during the morning. The highlight was
hearing potentially five different Brasilia
Tapaculos singing around our position, where before we had thought that
there was only one.
We left after lunch, heading north to the Terra Ronca
national park where we planned to spend the weekend, hoping to see the
endangered Pfrimers Parakeet and some other new species that we could not see
around Brasilia. This did mean that the rest of the daylight was spent
travelling to reach our destination, but a few stops on our journey yielded a
handful of new species. A small pond, surrounded by palm trees, got us awesome
views of an amazing Point-tailed
Palmcreeper and family party of White
Woodpecker, as well as brief views of a male Lined Seedeater. Before dark we also got our first views of Jandaya Parakeet as a flock flew over
the car on their way to roost, alighting briefly in a tree next to the road. We
arrived at our new digs after dark, with a few frustratingly brief views of
nightjars our only new birds, although a tarantula on the road made for an
exciting end to our five hour trip.
-Point-tailed Palmcreeper
-Tarantula
Species List:
Brasilia: Black
Vulture, Picazuro Pigeon, Brasilia Tapaculo, Buff-breasted Wren, White-bellied
Warbler, Helmeted Manakin, Yellow-bellied Seedeater, House Sparrow,
Terra Ronca: Picazuro
Pigeon, Ruddy Ground Dove, Sick’s Swift, Fork-tailed Palm Swift, Wattled
Jacana, Roadside Hawk, White Woodpecker, Yellow-chevroned Parakeet, Jandaya
Parakeet, Blue-and-yellow Macaw, Point-tailed Palmcreeper, Tropical Kingbird,
Purple-throated Euphonia, Palm Tanager, Blue-black Grassquit, Lined Seedeater,
Brazil Day 36
15.02.2019
Our first day in the Terra Ronca Park was hard work but
awesome, one of the best days birding I have ever had. We started with a
pre-breakfast stroll from the hotel down the road, picking up three new species
along the way; Campo Troupial, Cliff
Flycatcher and Red-cowled Cardinal.
After breakfast, around half eight, we got picked up by a guide, for the parks
footpaths and to take us to the Pfrimers Parakeets, but not a birding guide as
such. Our initial stop for the parakeet, less than a kilometre from the hotel
brought no joy, but we were told about another location where the birds can be
seen, so off we set on a 13km trek through the forest and then through a cave
to a collapsed cavern where a few small trees were growing, and where we found
a flock of 20+ Pfrimers Parakeets.
The bird was pretty cool, but the atmosphere was what made the experience so
incredible. The cavern was really something to behold, and the fact that it was
home to endangered birds made it all the more awesome experience. There were a
host of other new birds for me on the way; Screaming
Cowbird was common, a small group of Scaly-headed
Amazon Parrots flew over, Black-bellied Antwren was stunning and
common, two Red-and-green Macaws flew
over, a Planalto Hermit flew past us
identified by the extensive white in the tail, Ochre-backed Woodpecker was smart, Yellow-rumped Cacique and
White-necked Thrush were also both cool, and to finish off I spotted an
Agouti from to the top of the plateau.
-Black Vulture
-Screaming Cowbird
-Red-cowled Cardinal
-Jandaya Parakeet
-Black-bellied Antwren
-Terra Ronca cave
-Pfrimers Parakeet
We arrive back at around 15.00 and had a short break in the
hotels pool before heading out to bird some fields near a river system at the
other end of the park. Most of the birds that we saw here were species we have
grown used to seeing, although it was nice to see some of them so well. The
only new bird for me was a Social
Flycatcher, the last of the Kiskadee flycatchers I still needed. At last
light we managed to tape lure out a Small-billed
Tinamou across the road, only my second sighting of a tinamou during my
time in Brazil.
-Rufous Casiornis
-Tropical Kingbird
Species List:
Terra Ronca: Small-billed
Tinamou, Muscovy Duck, Brazilian Teal, Great White Egret, Cattle Egret,
Buff-necked Ibis, Turkey Vulture, Black Vulture, Roadside Hawk, Savannah Hawk,
Southern Caracara, Yellow-headed Caracara, American Kestrel, Ruddy Ground Dove,
Blue Ground Dove, Scaled Dove, Picazuro Pigeon, Pale-vented Pigeon, Plumbeous
Pigeon, Gray-fronted Dove, Blue-and-yellow Macaw, Red-and-green Macaw,
White-eyed Parakeet, Jandaya Parakeet, Pfrimer’s Parakeet, Blue-winged
Parrotlet, Yellow-chevroned Parakeet, Scaly-headed Amazon Parrot,
Turquoise-fronted Amazon Parrot, Squirrel Cuckoo, Smooth-billed Ani, Guira
Cuckoo, Burrowing Owl, Fork-tailed Palm Swift, Swallow-tailed Hummingbird,
Amethyst Woodstar, Rufous-tailed Jacamar, White-eared Puffbird, Black-fronted
Nunbird, Toco Toucan, White-winged Piculette, Little Woodpecker,
Crimson-crested Woodpecker, Ochre-backed Woodpecker, Planalto Slaty Antshrike,
Black-bellied Antwren, Olivaceous Woodcreeper, Planalto Woodcreeper,
Narrow-billed Woodcreeper, Rufous Hornero, Sooty-fronted Spinetail, Russet-mantled
Foliage Gleaner, Sepia-capped Flycatcher, Common Tody Flycatcher, Cliff
Flycatcher, Long-tailed Tyrant, Cattle Tyrant, Social Flycatcher, Great
Kiskadee, Boat-billed Flycatcher, Tropical Kingbird, White-throated Kingbird,
Rufous Casiornis, Short-crested Flycatcher, Helmeted Manakin, Chivi Vireo,
Curl-crested Jay, Blue-and-white Swallow, Masked Gnatcatcher, Rufous-bellied
Thrush, Pale-bellied Thrush, White-throated Thrush, Chalk-browed Mockingbird,
Bananaquit, Sayaca Tanager, Palm Tanager, Burnished-buff Tanager, Blue Dacnis,
Guira Tanager, Purple-throated Euphonia, Saffron Finch, Blue-black Grassquit,
Yellow-bellied Seedeater, Pileated Finch, Red-cowled Cardinal, Greenish
Saltator, White-bellied Warbler, Crested Oropendula, Yellow-rumped Cacique,
Epaulet Oriole, Campo Troupial, Screaming Cowbird, White-browed Blackbird,
House Sparrow, Agouti,
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