Brazil North Eastern Mega Birding 27th September to 18th October 2019 (22 days) Trip Report Lear’s Macaws by Stephan Lorenz Trip report compiled by Tour Leader: Stephan Lorenz Trip Report – RBL Brazil – North Eastern Mega Birding 2019 2 Tour Summary Northeast Brazil offers a combination of rare endemics and endangered specialty birds unparalleled anywhere in South America. In addition, this true to the term mega tour took us through some of the most spectacular scenery in the country, from the stark caatinga and inselbergs in the north through the rugged cliffs of the Chapada Diamantina and finally to the lush Atlantic rainforest in the coastal areas of Bahia. In between, we birded in marshy grasslands, thorn scrub, intact cerrado, remnant forests on remote hill tops, montane forest, and finally lush lowland rain forest. Our 5600- kilometre journey offered one the grandest birding adventures anywhere. The birds were even more spectacular than the landscape with the top four sightings as chosen by participants offering a good overview of Brazil’s diversity: 1. Lear's Macaw, 2. Giant Snipe, 3. Blue-eyed Ground Dove, and 4. Banded Cotinga with honorable mentions Giant Snipe by Stephan Lorenz given to Black-and-white Hawk Eagle, Ringed Woodpecker, Hook-billed Hermit, Horned Sungem, Hyacinth Visorbearer, Toco Toucan, Henna-capped Foliage-gleaner, Cipo Canastero, White-bibbed Antbird, White-browed Antpitta, and Blue Manakin. Overall, we recorded 106 Brazilian endemics and 503 species! To learn about all the other highlights we encountered, please continue reading. ___________________________________________________________________________________ Tour in Detail Everyone had arrived on time the evening before and we met up for an early breakfast at our comfortable hotel in Fortaleza. After quick introductions, coffee, and the ever- present Brazilian cake for breakfast, we loaded the vehicle and set out towards Guaramiranga and the Serra de Baturite. We arrived in the beautiful village of Guaramiranga in the heart of the mountains by late morning and quickly settled into our rooms and then enjoyed lunch. Our initial explorations of the nearby areas resulted in a healthy list of endemics and specialties. The Serra de Baturite is an isolated area of higher elevation that supports more humid forests and is a meeting point for Amazonian and Blue-eyed Ground Dove by Stephan Lorenz Atlantic avifauna. Especially taxa, typical of Atlantic rain forest have speciated with several birds, now restricted to this isolated area and several currently recognized subspecies may be split in the future. We birded along the edge of the forest in the early afternoon and in the late afternoon set out on a short trail to look for one of the main targets, the very rare Grey-breasted Parakeet, which we successfully found with a flock offering spectacular close Rockjumper Birding Tours View more tours to Brazil Trip Report – RBL Brazil – North Eastern Mega Birding 2019 3 views. Other notable species during the first afternoon included Sick's Swift, Rufous-breasted and Planalto Hermits, Ruby-topaz Hummingbird, Blue-chinned Sapphire, Swallow-tailed Hummingbird, Fork-tailed Woodnymph, Versicolored Emerald, endemic Ochraceous Piculet, recently split Ochre-backed Woodpecker giving great views, Black-capped Antwren, recently split and endemic Ceara Woodcreeper, noisy Wing-banded and Pale- legged Horneros, endemic Grey-headed and Yellow-chinned Spinetails, and very confiding and colorful Band-tailed Manakins. The range-restricted Buff-breasted Tody- Tyrant was easily found with several great views. In the canopy, we tracked down Planalto and Guianan Tyrannulets and even the ground hugging Pectoral Sparrow flew up into the trees to reveal itself for all to get great views. The open areas at our first and second Grey-breasted Parakeet by Stephan Lorenz stops also held several colorful orioles, warblers, and tanagers, including Campo Troupial, Golden- crowned Warbler, Red-cowled Cardinal, Sayaca, Palm, Burnished-buff, and a distinct subspecies of Red- necked Tanagers. The latter has an obvious bluish rump. Blue Dacnis and Bananaquits were abundant. A Green Kingfisher and Rufescent Tiger Heron by a small pond were a welcome surprise. Yet, one of the best finds included a calling Gould’s Toucanet that came in for great views, occurring here as an outlying population of this Amazonian species. This rounded out the first birding session and we returned to the hotel and then had dinner at a nearby restaurant, celebrating a good dose of lifers already. For the second full day of the tour, we covered the trails in the Serra de Baturite thoroughly and then spent an afternoon birding in the heart of the caatinga in the Quixadá area. We saw an impressive variety of endemics and specialties. During the early morning hours, we went out along a loop trail that wound its way through pristine forest where all the Serra de Baturite targets occur, and we successfully located each of them. Initially, we birded more open habitats where we saw Little Woodpecker, Yellow- chevroned Parakeet, Great and Variable Antshrikes, Plain Antvireo, Masked Water Tyrant, Short-crested Flycatcher, Great Kiskadee, Social Flycatcher, Tropical Kingbird, Rufous-browed Peppershrike, Grey-breasted Martin, House and Band-tailed Manakin by Stephan Lorenz Moustached Wrens, Pale-breasted and Rufous-bellied Thrushes, the introduced Common Waxbill, and Variable Oriole. In a particularly dense section of forest, we had a response from the Rufous-breasted Leaftosser, which will likely be split as Ceara Leaftosser, and a pair showed very well, perching still for minutes on end in full view - camera Rockjumper Birding Tours View more tours to Brazil Trip Report – RBL Brazil – North Eastern Mega Birding 2019 4 shutters clicked furiously. During the walk, we also tallied an impressive number of woodcreepers including Planalto, Ceara, Buff-throated, and Straight-billed Woodcreepers, plus the impressive Red- billed Scythebill. The tiny White-throated Spadebill also offered great studies. As we completed the loop, we finally located a calling Ceara Gnateater that showed very well, and a few minutes later promptly found another one. The same area also held the skulky Ochre-cheeked Spinetail and the easier Sooty-fronted Spinetail. During the hike out, we located a Caatinga Puffbird. After such a successful morning, we returned to the hotel, packed up, and started the drive south towards Quixadá and the caatinga. We checked into the Hotel Pedra dos Ventos and, after a short break, we birded in the surrounding scrub and open areas, tallying up an impressive list of caatinga specialties. The highlights included great views of the rare White-browed Guan for scope views and the large, bold White-naped Jay was in the same Buff-breasted Tody-Tyrant by Stephan Lorenz area. Caatinga Parakeets were feeding on fruits right off one of the balconies. We carefully scanned a rock outcrop right next to the restaurant and pool and found a family group of three Pygmy Nightjars roosting next to some cacti, an amazing study in camouflage. A short walk in the nearby dry forest offered good views of Plain-breasted Ground, Scaled, Picui Ground, White-tipped and Eared Doves, Green- barred Woodpecker, Yellow-chevroned Parakeet, Blue-winged Parrotlet, a family troop of Caatinga Cacholotes near their stick nest, Pearly-vented Tody-Tyrant, Common Tody-Flycatcher, Southern Beardless-Tyrannulet, Masked Water-Tyrant, Brown-crested Flycatcher, Tropical Gnatcatcher, endemic Long-billed Wren, Chalk-browed Mockingbird, and Grey Pileated Finch. A distant Aplomado Falcon was scoped and proved to be the only one of the tour. At dusk, we heard and briefly saw a Ferruginous Pygmy Owl to finish another fantastic day. We checked the area around the lodge again briefly in the morning and then set out for the long drive to the Potengi area. During the morning, we added several great species and enjoyed better views of some we had seen previously. Some of the best finds included additional White-browed Guans, Ochraceous Piculet, better views of Ochre-backed Woodpecker, the Caatinga form of Barred Antshrike, Planalto Slaty Antshrike, Black- bellied Antwren, and great studies of Long- billed Wrens. An Ash-throated Casiornis showed very well and was a big bonus since this species is usually not present during the dry season. We made one roadside stop at a Rufous-breasted Leaftosser by Stephan Lorenz wetland during the drive southwest and here Rockjumper Birding Tours View more tours to Brazil Trip Report – RBL Brazil – North Eastern Mega Birding 2019 5 we added Brazilian Teal, Guira Cuckoo, Common Gallinule, Limpkin, Black-necked Stilt, Southern Lapwing, Wattled Jacana, the only Cocoi Heron, Great, Snowy, and Western Cattle Egrets, Striated Heron, and elegant Snail Kites. We arrived at the well situated Sitio Pau Preto for lunch and then set out to explore the pristine caatinga habitats nearby with several difficult targets in mind. We did exceptionally well with the limited time we had and found some true tour highlights in the form of several Silvery- cheeked Antshrikes, Caatinga Antwren, Great Xenops that came in close for good views, a pair of skulky Red-shouldered Spinetails that offered incredible open views, and Grey-eyed Greenlet. The wetland right in front of the lodge held White-faced Whistling Ceara Gnateater by Stephan Lorenz Ducks and Pied-billed Grebe. The feeders at the lodge were swamped with Pale Baywings, Chestnut- capped Blackbirds, Red-cowled Cardinals, and Grey Pileated Finches. After a delicious dinner of local food, we retired and slept well in the peaceful surroundings, looking forward to waking up the next morning in the middle of an excellent birding habitat. We spent the early morning enjoying the easily accessible caatinga habitat around the lodge and then had another tasty breakfast. Some of the highlights, we found within just a few minutes of walking, they included a dozen Least Nighthawks coursing above the pond at dawn, a cooperative Stripe-backed Antbird that gave unobstructed views, and a male Scarlet-throated Tanager flew in close.