Brazil; ESEC Murici - Day 3

  Today was an important day, as this was the first time we would visit the known territory of the Alagoas Antwren, to track the movements of a family party and try to observe their behaviour. Their location was quite far through the forest, so we had to make good time, but that did not stop us from constantly birding along the way. We managed our second of the Northeast endemics with Seven-coloured Tanager, which showed poorly but well enough to see the brilliant colours the species is named after. We found the endemic subspecies of Plain-winged Woodcreeper but the trogon would not respond to our playback.

  Once we arrived at the territory it was already midday, so activity was well down. After a quick lunch break we set off out in pursuit of the family group, along the way spotting Olivaceous Flatbill and finally Yellow-green Grosbeak, which were both new for me. We also found our first Pernambuco Foliage Gleaner, an endangered species generally found only at this site although known from a few other small fragments as well. Initially it did not show well, but later in the afternoon this or another showed much better feeding in the canopy. In addition, there was also our first Long-tailed Woodnymph hummingbirds, an endemic species to the NE of Brazil. We encountered a few individuals during the day, including a stunning male. 

  It did not take too long for Herminio to find the group of Alagoas Antwrens, picked up on the short whistle calls. We were able to follow them for a short while before they vanished into the forest, and it was then some time before we were able to refind them. All the time they were mobile and difficult to follow, making photography a real, almost impossible challenge. This task of following the antwrens took up all our afternoon, and as such we saw little else during the afternoon

  Before heading back we called in at a small banana farm in the middle of the forest, to get some bananas. Whilst we were here we had a stunning Mantled Hawk pass over, soaring reasonably low over the forest clearing. Then we had a real treat, with a stunning male Black-eared Fairy feeding on banana flowers, the first time that either Lia or I have seen this incredibly beautiful hummingbird.

-Scalloped Antbird

-Plain-winged Woodcreeper

-Seven-coloured Tanager

-Long-tailed Woodnymph

-White-shouldered Antshrike

-Olivaceous Flatbill

-Alagoas Antwren

-Pernambuco Foliage-Gleaner

-Yellow-green Grosbeak

-Mantled Hawk

-Blue-topped Satyr

-Malachite

-Rhinella hoogmoedi

Species List:
ESEC Murici: White-tipped Dove, Reddish Hermit, Black-eared Fairy, Long-tailed Woodnymph, Black Vulture, Turkey Vulture, Mantled Hawk, Black-necked Aracari, Red-stained Woodpecker, Golden-tailed Parrotlet, Chestnut-backed Antshrike, White-shouldered Antshrike, Plain Antvireo, Silvery-flanked Antwren, Alagoas Antwren, Rusty-winged Antwren, Orange-bellied Antwren, East Amazonian Fire-eye, Scalloped Antbird, Black-cheeked Gnateater, Plain-winged Woodcreeper, Ceara Woodcreeper, Plain Xenops, Pernambuco Foliage-gleaner, Blue-backed Manakin, Red-headed Manakin, Screaming Piha, Brown-winged Schiffornis, White-throated Spadebill, Olivaceous Flatbill, Euler's Flycatcher, Bright-rumped Attila, Great Kiskadee, Tropical Kingbird, Moustached Wren, Violaceous Euphonia, Yellow-green Grosbeak, Palm Tanager, Seven-colored Tanager, Red-necked Tanager,