We decided to spend the morning birding an area of beaches near to Sao Luis where we had been told we could find good numbers of waders. After our long drive yesterday we did not set off super early, but we still managed to be on site for 07:30. The beach and mangroves were adjacent to a town called Raposa, and local fishermen will take you across the mangroves to more secluded areas to search for the birds.
When we arrived the tide was on its way out, but had already
progressed some distance, meaning there were some distant waders that we could
see, but also that we could not approach. However, there were still many birds
close to us, especially Grey-headed Gulls that were waiting for scraps for the
fishermen. And among these flocks we picked out our first Laughing Gulls, which
were a Brazil tick for me. The few waders in this area included Hudsonian Whimbrel and
Turnstone both showing well. A few Gull-billed and Large-billed Terns flew past
fishing the channels.
Once we took the boat across to the mangroves and the main
beach section we initially struggled to find waders, with a few Willet and Grey
Plover being all we could manage. However, once we started checking the Mangroves
instead of the beach we found a flock of Semipalmated Sandpiper, a Wilsons
Plover with a chick and seven Short-billed Dowitchers, the latter being another
Brazil tick. Plus an assortment of commoner species, as well as better views of
Tricolored Heron and the outrageous Scarlet Ibis.
It was already mid-morning when we made the crossing, but we still have a few birds in the mangrove trees themselves, including Spotted Tody-Flycatcher which was a lifer for me. Obviously its nice to see a new bird, but the joy of watching waders again was undoubtedly the highlight of the morning. After that we headed back to the hotel to do some work in the afternoon.
Raposa: Feral Pigeon, Common Ground Dove, Scaled Dove, American Oystercatcher, Grey Plover, Wilson's Plover, Semipalmated Plover, Hudsonian Whimbrel, Ruddy Turnstone, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Short-billed Dowitcher, Spotted Sandpiper, Willet, Grey-headed Gull, Laughing Gull, Large-billed Tern, Cabot's Tern, Black Skimmer, Neotropic Cormorant, Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Little Blue Heron, Tricolored Heron, Scarlet Ibis, Black Vulture, Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture, Osprey, Roadside Hawk, Ringed Kingfisher, Green Kingfisher, Yellow-headed Caracara, Spotted Tody-Flycatcher, Great Kiskadee, Rufous-browed Peppershrike, Grey-breasted Martin, White-winged Swallow, House Wren, House Sparrow, Bicolored Conebill,
No comments:
Post a Comment