Brazil; East Sao Paulo state Part 2 03.03.2020 - 06.03.2020

Brazil Day 19 03.03.2020

We had a more relaxed morning working for a couple of hours before heading out for some local birding before we would depart the city and Alex’s house to pastures new. We spent a couple of hours at a wetland site not far from where we had visited the previous evening. Despite having been in the areas wetland sites for three days now, I still managed four new birds; Sooty Tyrannulet, Green-billed Toucan, Orange-breasted Thornbird and last but certainly not least Chestnut-bellied Seed Finch. The last species is incredibly rare due to trapping pressures for its beautiful song, which we were able to hear, but at this site the bird seemed to be doing well.

-Sooty Tyrannulet

-Chestnut-bellied Seed-Finch

-Orange-breasted Thornbird

-Green-billed Toucan

In the afternoon we visited a site an hours drive away to try to find Sao Paulo Marsh Antwren but had no luck at all and barely saw any birds. We then made tracks back towards Ubatuba to a site where, in the morning, we hoped to find some special Atlantic Forest species.

Species List:

Estrada Municipal Anhangüera Marsh: Smooth-billed Ani, Swallow-tailed Hummingbird, Southern Lapwing, Black Vulture, White Woodpecker, Southern Crested Caracara, Green-billed Toucan, Orange-breasted Thornbird, Yellow-chinned Spinetail, Sooty Tyrannulet, Bran-colored Flycatcher, Cliff Flycatcher, Curl-crested Jay, Southern Yellowthroat, Ruby-crowned Tanager, Hooded Tanager, Saffron Finch, Wedge-tailed Grass Finch, Blue-black Grassquit, Chestnut-bellied Seed Finch, Double-collared Seedeater,

Brazil Day 20 04.03.2020
Whilst at Alex’s house it became apparent that we were not going to see Speckle-breasted Antpitta, my most wanted species for the trip, at the sites I had anticipated to. This left us in something of a dilemma, but Alex told us of a site not far from Ubatuba where a Pousada had been feeding an individual, and whilst the bird was no longer coming to the feeders, it seemed like our best shot at this species.

So we headed down, a two hour drive that we could have easily incorporated into our time at Ubatuba, and spent the night at a small lodge in the Atlantic Forest there. The lodge manager, for lack of a better term, was the guide who had previously been feeding the Antpittas. We had been told that our chances were slim but we knew it was our only chance so headed out to the nearby territory to try our luck. At first the bird sang distantly and did not seem interested when we applied playback and worms. As a result we continued birding the nearby track for another hour before trying again. At this point the bird was much closer and we settled ourselves into the woods to wait.

And we were not disappointed. The bird soon came strolling out of the undergrowth and began feeding on the worms we had brought. It showed incredibly well in the gloom and vegetation, walking all around us, sometimes extremely closely. I write this account now at the end of the trip and I can still say that this was the highlight of our travels. One outstanding moment of this experience was when our time was interrupted by a herd of wild pigs. The vegetation from the road was thick and inaccessible, but there was one are where we could enter. It was only after that our guide told us that this was in fact a track used by the pigs. When the sound of crashing vegetation erupted from the valley our guide grabbed us and told us to run! He made it about twenty meters back up towards the road before he turned, listened and then barked like a dog. The vegetation nearby then burst into life with the sound of the pigs running back down the valley. Assuming the pigs had gone, we returned to the Antpitta which continued to perform well.

-Speckle-breasted Antpitta

Other good birds we saw here included brief but nice views of Cryptic Antthrush and Bertoni’s Antbird. Both of these were lifers for me. And the feeders at the lodge itself was excellent for tanagers and hummingbirds. Among the birds arriving was another lifer for me in Golden-winged Cacique. We only spent the morning here before we headed off to Sao Paulo for a few days, but it was absolutely brilliant and well worth the extra hours added to the trip.

-Amethyst Woodstar

-Golden-chevroned Tanager

-Yellow-browed Woodpecker

-Bertoni's Antbird

-Blue Dacnis

-Black Jacobin

-Golden-winged Cacique

-Swallow-tailed Hummingbird

-Green-billed Toucan

Species List:
Pousada Oikos: Ruddy Ground Dove, Smooth-billed Ani, White-collared Swift, Black Jacobin, Scale-throated Hermit, Brazilian Ruby, Amethyst Woodstar, Swallow-tailed Hummingbird, White-throated Hummingbird, Slaty-breasted Wood Rail, Turkey Vulture, Short-tailed Hawk, White-eared Puffbird, Green-billed Toucan, Yellow-browed Woodpecker, Bertoni's Antbird, Speckle-breasted Antpitta, Cryptic Antthrush, Rufous Hornero, Pallid Spinetail, Blue Manakin, Pin-tailed Manakin, White-rumped Monjita, Masked Water Tyrant, Cattle Tyrant, Great Kiskadee, Social Flycatcher, Tropical Kingbird, Yellow-legged Thrush, Rufous-bellied Thrush, Hooded Siskin, Rufous-collared Sparrow, Crested Oropendola, Golden-winged Cacique, Southern Yellowthroat, Golden-crowned Warbler, Ruby-crowned Tanager, Brazilian Tanager, Sayaca Tanager, Golden-chevroned Tanager, Burnished-buff Tanager, Brassy-breasted Tanager, Blue Dacnis, Saffron Finch, Blue-black Grassquit, Lined Seedeater, White-bellied Seedeater, Double-collared Seedeater, Bananaquit,

Brazil Day 22 06.03.2020
Whilst we are enjoying a few relaxed days in Sao Paulo, we still had some unfinished business with Sao Paulo Marsh Antwren, so today we took the morning to return to the site near Sao Jose dos Campos to look. The weather was much improved, which clearly helped as we did find the bird without much trouble at all. It showed particularly well, crawling through the reeds around us. The birding was generally quite nice, with Chesnut-bellied Seed-Finch and Rufous-capped Spinetail also good birds that we saw.

-Sao Paulo Marsh Antwren

Species List:

Sao Jose dos Campos: Ruddy Ground Dove, Black Vulture, Toco Toucan, Yellow-headed Caracara, Blue-winged Parrotlet, White-eyed Parakeet, Sao Paulo Marsh Antwren, Streaked Xenops, Rufous-capped Spinetail, Yellow-olive Flatbill, Great Kiskadee, Pale-breasted Thrush, Golden-crowned Warbler, Black-goggled Tanager, Ruby-crowned Tanager, Palm Tanager, Gilt-edged Tanager, Chestnut-vented Conebill, Saffron Finch, Chestnut-bellied Seed Finch, Double-collared Seedeater,