Brazil; Tanquã 22.10.2020

Although my time in Brazil is coming to an end, there was still a little time for birding. We returned to Lia’s parents house on the 20^th and have been relaxing here since. However, we decided to have a day out birding from here and visited the nearby site of Tanqua, a Pantanal like wetland a two hour drive from the house. As such we set off at 04.00 to arrive nice and early. To visit the site you are taken around by boat from a gentleman who lives nearby and who knows all the locations of the sites many desirable species, without being a birder himself.
Incredibly I managed ten new species, as well as a host of other goodies. We started with the stunning Yellow-breasted Crake, which showed quite nicely but was obviously shy and difficult to photograph. Next we added Plumbeous Rail, followed by the stunning Spotted Rail. The former showed quite nicely while the latter was frustratingly shy, given how smart it looked. In between we also managed Ash-throated and Rufous-sided Crake. There were good numbers of ducks as well, with both Silver Teal and Rosy-billed Pochard being lifers for me. We were then taken to a site to look for Masked Duck and we managed to find two of these small and secretive birds. Sadly their thunder was stolen somewhat when Lia picked up a Maguari Stork on the farm side of the lake. Despite the area being well watched, this is the first record for the site and was a lifer for both of us. The trip was then wrapped up with Stripe-backed Bittern, a very secretive and desirable species, and a group of Black Skimmers, with a pair of Yellow-billed Terns thrown in for good measure. Among the hundreds of common waterbirds and herons we also found a Spotted Sandpiper, three Lesser Yellowlegs and a large number of South American Snipe. Having seen my first in Brasilia just a few weeks ago, it was nice to see some more Jabiru, as well as ample Wood Storks and Roseate Spoonbills. A Crane Hawk flew over, and the sky was full of Hirundines, including Barn Swallow and my first Brazilian Sand Martin. It really was a brilliant morning out with some fantastic birds.
On the way back we called off at another site Lia knew where we hoped we might find some migrant birds. Although it was a wetland, upon arrival we were disappointed to find that the lake there had almost dried out, with only a handful of areas of open water still remaining. However we still managed to find a couple of nice bits, notably a Spectacled Tyrant, which is a very rare migrant to this area and an excellent find. Although it was just a female and not a stunning male, it still had a lot of smart plumage features. We also found Rusty-collared and Pearly-bellied Seedeaters which was nice. A Striped Cuckoo also showed nicely but frustratingly briefly. After a couple of hours here we headed back, absolutely knackered but buzzing after a phenomenal days birding with two brilliant finds.

-Spectacled Tyrant

-Maguari Stork

-Stripe-backed Bittern

-Wood Stork

-Jabiru

-Roseate Spoonbill

-Silver Teal

-Fulvous Whistling Duck

-South American Snipe

-Spotted Sandpiper

-Spotted Rail

-Plumbeous Rail

-Coypu

-White-headed Marsh-Tyrant

-Yellow-breasted Crake

-Rosy-billed Pochard

-Masked Duck

-Black Skimmer

-Yellow-billed Tern

Species List:
Tanquã: White-faced Whistling Duck, Black-bellied Whistling Duck, Fulvous Whistling Duck, Brazilian Teal, Silver Teal, White-cheeked Pintail, Rosy-billed Pochard, Masked Duck, Pied-billed Grebe, Picazuro Pigeon, White-tipped Dove, Eared Dove, Smooth-billed Ani, Striped Cuckoo, Squirrel Cuckoo, Sick's Swift, Swallow-tailed Hummingbird, Ash-throated Crake, Spotted Rail, Plumbeous Rail, Common Gallinule, Purple Gallinule, Yellow-breasted Crake, Rufous-sided Crake, Limpkin, White-backed Stilt, Southern Lapwing, Wattled Jacana, South American Snipe, Spotted Sandpiper, Lesser Yellowlegs, Yellow-billed Tern, Black Skimmer, Maguari Stork, Jabiru, Wood Stork, Anhinga, Neotropic Cormorant, Stripe-backed Bittern, Rufescent Tiger Heron, Cocoi Heron, Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Western Cattle Egret, Striated Heron, Whistling Heron, Black-crowned Night Heron, Green Ibis, Bare-faced Ibis, Roseate Spoonbill, Black Vulture, Turkey Vulture, Snail Kite, Crane Hawk, Ringed Kingfisher, Amazon Kingfisher, Southern Crested Caracara, Yellow-chevroned Parakeet, Blue-winged Parrotlet, Narrow-billed Woodcreeper, Band-tailed Hornero, Yellow-chinned Spinetail, Common Tody-Flycatcher, White-rumped Monjita, Streamer-tailed Tyrant, Black-backed Water Tyrant, Masked Water Tyrant, White-headed Marsh Tyrant, Cattle Tyrant, Great Kiskadee, Tropical Kingbird, Fork-tailed Flycatcher, Black-capped Donacobius, Blue-and-white Swallow, Southern Rough-winged Swallow, Grey-breasted Martin, White-winged Swallow, White-rumped Swallow, Sand Martin, Barn Swallow, House Wren, Chalk-browed Mockingbird, House Sparrow, Yellowish Pipit, Purple-throated Euphonia, Grassland Sparrow, Unicolored Blackbird, Chestnut-capped Blackbird, Yellow-rumped Marshbird, Southern Yellowthroat, Sayaca Tanager, Coypu,
Brejo do Triste-Pia: Pied-billed Grebe, Picazuro Pigeon, Ruddy Ground Dove, White-tipped Dove, Smooth-billed Ani, Striped Cuckoo, Squirrel Cuckoo, Blackish Rail, Common Gallinule, Rufous-sided Crake, Southern Lapwing, Wattled Jacana, Great Egret, Whistling Heron, Black-crowned Night Heron, Black Vulture, Snail Kite, Savanna Hawk, Ringed Kingfisher, White Woodpecker, Southern Crested Caracara, Yellow-chinned Spinetail, Yellow-bellied Elaenia, White-crested Tyrannulet, Spectacled Tyrant, White-headed Marsh Tyrant, Short-crested Flycatcher, Brown-crested Flycatcher, Great Kiskadee, Streaked Flycatcher, Tropical Kingbird, White-rumped Swallow, Yellowish Pipit, Grassland Sparrow, Rufous-collared Sparrow, Southern Yellowthroat, Sayaca Tanager, Pearly-bellied Seedeater, Rusty-collared Seedeater, Red Pileated Finch, Capybara,