Brazil; Rio Grande do Sul & Santa Catarina - Day 1

  With Christmas out of the way, Lia and I decided to travel again, having not been on a real trip since I arrived in Brazil, the others both being related to Lias work. Our chosen destination was the south of Brazil; Santa Catarina and especially Rio Grande do Sul. These states encompass the more southern reach of the Atlantic Forest and its transition in Pampas. It is also the wealthiest region in Brazil, with good infrastructure and standard of living, at least compared to the rest of the country.

  We arrived in Porto Alegre, the capital of Rio Grande do Sul, the previous evening, picked up our car and then headed to a hotel. Our destination for the morning was the city's Botanical Garden before we set off on a six-hour drive north to our first real stop. The botanical garden has a few common species, but notable is Scaled Chacalaca, a species with a limited distribution that we wouldn’t encounter elsewhere on our trip. In the two hours we search we didn’t find the bird, but the weather was cold and rainy. There were some nice birds though, especially very habituated Slaty-breasted Wood Rail. The small lake in the park was filled with turtles; both Hilaire’s Side-necked Turtle and Pond Slider. Monk Parakeet was also a new species for my Brazil list.

  At 11:00 we headed north. The drive was long and with limited stops, but a small marsh we visited did produce our first lifer of the trip Black-and-rufous Warbling Finch. The wind kept them low in the vegetation and they were difficult to see. There were also two Brown Hares chasing each other around the adjacent fields and Chimango Caracara was another new bird for my Brazil list.

  Our destination was the small town of Urupema, in the state of Santa Catarina, surrounded by stunning Araucaria forest. Our lodge was set up especially for birders, with small chalets and a brilliant feeding station. Once we arrived at 18:30 we had around half an hours’ worth of light to explore and made the most of it with Chestnut-backed Tanagers visiting the feeder, our first new bird here, plus Araucaria Tit-Spinetail common and Long-tailed Cincloides nesting in the roof. The proprietor was extremely friendly, and his optimism and excitement about the birds left us extremely excited for what the following days will bring. 

  In the evening we searched a small marsh across the road for night birds, and were rewarded with a pair of very confiding Scissor-tailed Nightjars. Night birding would be a strong feature of our stay here, as there were a few species on our hit list!

Species List:
Jardim Botânico de Porto Alegre: Picazuro Pigeon, White-tipped Dove, Eared Dove, Sick's Swift, Grey-cowled Wood Rail, Slaty-breasted Wood Rail, Striated Heron, Bare-faced Ibis, Black Vulture, Roadside Hawk, Green-barred Woodpecker, Monk Parakeet, Yellow-chevroned Parakeet, Rufous Hornero, Spix's Spinetail, Southern Beardless Tyrannulet, Small-billed Elaenia, Great Kiskadee, Boat-billed Flycatcher, Streaked Flycatcher, Tropical Kingbird, Rufous-browed Peppershrike, Blue-and-white Swallow, House Wren, Pale-breasted Thrush, Rufous-bellied Thrush, Purple-throated Euphonia, Rufous-collared Sparrow, Shiny Cowbird, Tropical Parula, Golden-crowned Warbler, Red-crested Cardinal, Sayaca Tanager, Bananaquit,
Urupema: Sick's Swift, White-throated Hummingbird, Whistling Heron, Buff-necked Ibis, Turkey Vulture, Swallow-tailed Kite, Chimango Caracara, Maroon-bellied Parakeet, Long-tailed Cinclodes, Araucaria Tit-Spinetail, Tropical Kingbird, Blue-and-white Swallow, Rufous-collared Sparrow, Blue-and-yellow Tanager, Sayaca Tanager, Chestnut-backed Tanager, Saffron Finch,