Having dipped our biggest target the previous day, we were determined not to let that be the case with our other key trip target, the dazzling Banded Cotinga. We had tried to find this bird back in 2019 when we visited the Serra Bonita reserve near the small town of Camacan. On that occasion, we could not give the bird the time required, and the fruiting Acai trees had almost finished. Since we were in the area we decided to try again at the farm where we had been back then. Although it was the correct time of year, there had been a lack of records on both Wikiaves and eBird, so I had decided to cut it from the itinerary. However, Lia decided it might be worth a visit regardless, so that is what we did. And her faith was rewarded, when a foreign birder reported the bird as present a week before we arrived.
We were
still incredibly nervous, as one record without photos or comments is hardly
conclusive. And after two hours with no activity in the area we had checked in
2019, we were becoming more and more apprehensive. Just around the corner from
the Acai trees we had staked out was a small group of other Acai trees, which
every half an hour or so we would check, just to ensure we were not missing
anything. On one occasion there were a couple of Marroon-bellied Parakeets
feeding there, nothing exciting, but a young girl working with the reserve was
there watching them. She spotted me and asked if I had seen, which I smiled and
nodded, before following up with the word Cotinga. And there, sat behind the
parakeets was an absolutely superb adult male Banded Cotinga.
I whistled
to Lia, our pre-arranged signal, and she ran, but by the time she arrived the
bird had already left. She waited half an hour for it to return, and again its
visit was frustratingly brief. In total we saw it four times during the day,
before we left and probably no more than a cumulative five minutes, but it was
worth it. On the last occasion, we got to watch it consume a few berries before
it departed. Strangely the female never appeared.
There were
plenty of other birds to keep us entertained while we waited between Cotinga
appearances. A Cream-coloured Woodpecker was an unexpected life tick, given it
is an uncommon species in the Atlantic Forest. A flyover Ornate Hawk Eagle was
appreciated, as was a small flock of White-eared Parakeets. The farm was
generally buzzing with activity, with good numbers of Yellow-rumped Cacique and
commoner tanager species.
In the end
we left the site around 16:00 and drove three and a half hours to our next stop
in the coastal town of Porto Seguro. Here night birding was key to our
itinerary, so we got stuck in as soon as we arrived. We had a good start to our
night exploits with a pair of Great Potoo calling in the forest, complete with
a few flyover views in the torchlight.
Fazenda Paris: Plumbeous Pigeon, Squirrel Cuckoo, Grey-rumped Swift, Rufous-breasted Hermit, Black Vulture, Turkey Vulture, Ornate Hawk-Eagle, Roadside Hawk, East Brazilian Pygmy Owl, Green-backed Trogon, Swallow-winged Puffbird, Rufous-tailed Jacamar, Black-necked Aracari, Channel-billed Toucan, Golden-spangled Piculet, Yellow-fronted Woodpecker, Cream-colored Woodpecker, Yellow-throated Woodpecker, Crested Caracara, Plain Parakeet, Maroon-bellied Parakeet, White-eared Parakeet, Golden-capped Parakeet, Kinglet Manakin, Banded Cotinga, Black-tailed Tityra, Black-capped Becard, Crested Becard, Common Tody-Flycatcher, Yellow-olive Flatbill, Cliff Flycatcher, Masked Water Tyrant, Grey-hooded Attila, Great Kiskadee, Boat-billed Flycatcher, Social Flycatcher, Piratic Flycatcher, Variegated Flycatcher, Tropical Kingbird, Grey-breasted Martin, House Wren, Moustached Wren, Pale-breasted Thrush, Rufous-bellied Thrush, Violaceous Euphonia, Yellow-rumped Cacique, Red-rumped Cacique, Campo Troupial, Tropical Parula, Sayaca Tanager, Palm Tanager, Red-legged Honeycreeper, Rufous-headed Tanager, Bananaquit, Buff-throated Saltator,
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