Brazil; ESEC Murici - Day 4

  Our initial plan was to wake early and set off early to be at our destination as early as possible. However, another rainstorm ended that plan, giving us an extra hour in bed. In the end we had just a single task on our itinerary, which was to visit the Blue-backed Manakin nest found by Lia the previous day, install a camera trap, and place to pipe over the base of the tree to provide some protection from arboreal predators.

  The morning walk to the river valley was quite relaxed, with little on the bird front. We had nice views of Red-legged Honeycreeper (although just a female), Greyish Mourner, Yellow-throated Woodpecker, and Scalloped Antbird. It was a lively walk all the same, with a few mixed-species flocks encountered along the way, although mostly composed of commoner species. For me, there was a single new species, the White-bellied Tody-Flycatcher which showed nicely but briefly. This briefness was frustratingly induced by me forgetting I had left the flash on the camera having just photographed a butterfly, allowing me just a single shot. 

  Once at the Manakin site our task was very quickly sorted, leaving us with the rest of the day basically free. Not far from the nest was a known lek of the Margaretta’s Great-billed Hermit, an endangered subspecies found only in a few sites across the Atlantic Forest. It is regarded as a full species in Brazil, but not yet by the IOC. At the lek site, we located two males holding territory, and they allowed us to approach reasonably close, although they would always remain in the shadow making photography difficult. At one point the two males clashed, rising into the air while they jousted, before disengaging and heading their own ways. This truly was a privilege of working at the site as opposed to just visiting, as the lek site is well off the main track and not viewable for visiting birders. We also took some time to look for an endemic frog, found just at a single river in the reserve; Crossodactylus dantei. Herminio found one which was very mobile and difficult to photograph, but we managed.

  The way back was also quite relaxed, with just a few birds along the way. Finally, I managed to see a Screaming Piha, although very obscured through the vegetation, as the photos I was able to manage clearly demonstrate. We arrived back at camp mid-afternoon, so Lia and I decided to head to the forest edge to try and look for raptors. There were many Black Vultures but the only species of note was a distant Mantled Hawk. There were a few other species here, including a rather showy Wedge-tailed Grassfinch and a pair of Lesser Swallow-tailed Swift that flew over. It was a really nice way to see out another long but brilliant day. 

-Margaretta’s Great-billed Hermit

-Haetera piera

-Porto Alegre Golden-eyed Tree Frog

-Crossodactylus dantei

-Wied's Fathead Anole

Species List:
ESEC Murici: Solitary Tinamou, Red-winged Tinamou, Grey-fronted Dove, Squirrel Cuckoo, Lesser Swallow-tailed Swift, Black Jacobin, Great-billed Hermit, Reddish Hermit, Planalto Hermit, Long-tailed Woodnymph, Black Vulture, Turkey Vulture, Mantled Hawk, Channel-billed Toucan, Golden-spangled Piculet, Red-stained Woodpecker, Yellow-throated Woodpecker, Crested Caracara, Red-shouldered Macaw, Silvery-flanked Antwren, Rusty-winged Antwren, Scaled Antbird, Orange-bellied Antwren, Scalloped Antbird, Black-cheeked Gnateater, Ceara Woodcreeper, Plain Xenops, Pernambuco Foliage-gleaner, Blue-backed Manakin, Red-headed Manakin, Screaming Piha, Brown-winged Schiffornis, White-throated Spadebill, Ochre-bellied Flycatcher, White-bellied Tody-Tyrant, Ochre-lored Flatbill, Yellow-bellied Elaenia, Euler's Flycatcher, Greyish Mourner, Great Kiskadee, Tropical Kingbird, Chivi Vireo, Trilling Gnatwren, Moustached Wren, Violaceous Euphonia, Yellow-green Grosbeak, Flame-crested Tanager, Palm Tanager, Burnished-buff Tanager, Blue Dacnis, Red-legged Honeycreeper, Wedge-tailed Grass Finch, Bananaquit,