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Brazil – Trip Report the Amazon and the Pantanal & Atlantic Forest Extention

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Brazil – Trip Report the Amazon and the Pantanal & Atlantic Forest Extention Brazil – Trip Report The Amazon and the Pantanal & Atlantic Forest extention 1st to 19 th September 2009 Toco Toucan and Rufous-sided Crake by Merilyn Browne Tour Leader and trip report compiled by Marcelo Padua Ten great birds as noted by the participants 1. Plovercrest 6. Agami Heron 2. Ocellated Poorwill 7. Purple-throated Fruitcrow 3. Hoatzin 8. Rufous-sided Crake 4. Toco Toucan 9. Robust Woodpecker 5. Collared Crescentchest 10. Streamer-tailed Tyrant Tour map showing sites visited Tour Summary Our inaugural trip to Brazil was a smashing hit that offered a taste of what this beautiful country has to offer and the opportunity to see as many birds in as little time as possible. With an astounding checklist of over 1800 species of birds, our 20 day exploration of this magical destination produced more than a third (we recorded 640 species) of the country’s birds; some of which are among the most sought after birds in South America. Our tour began in the Pantanal, the World’s largest wetland, where we were treated to one of largest concentrations of water fowl on Earth. Some of the delights we observed were Agami Heron (the prettiest of them all if you ask me!), Grey-breasted Crake (the first of four species of Crake that we would end up seeing), Pavonine Cuckoo (our first sightings of this illusive bird), the gorgeous Hyacinth Macaw, both Great and the Common Potoos at daytime roosts and two Pinnated Bitterns (a very uncommon record for the Pantanal). From there we moved on to the Cerrado, in the Town of Chapada dos Guimaraes, where our stay was short but very productive. In just two and a half days we were able to spot a great variety of Cerrado specialties such as the Collared Crescentchest, White-rumped, White-banded and Black-faced Tanagers and Trip Report RBT Brazil 2009 3 Rufous-winged Antshrike. Other highlights included special birds such as the Pheasant Cuckoo (stunning views!), Russet-crowned Crake and the Checkered Woodpecker (a lifer for me). But our Journey would not be complete without a visit to the mighty Amazon rain forest and we headed out to Cristalino Jungle Lodge, where the birding lived up to its challenging but unbeatable reputation. Despite the high humidity and dim light the birding was excellent and we notched up Striolated Puffbird, Bare-eyed Antbird (a highly range restricted bird), Spangled Cotinga (great views from the observation tower), White-bellied Parrots and the curious Hoatzins. What a great place! Just as it seemed that the tour could not get any better we headed the Atlantic Forest where we spent 5 days at Intervales State Park. Initially, it took us more than an hour to get past the front gate, simply because there were too many birds around us. During our stay here we found the likes of Helmeted Woodpecker and Black-fronted Piping-guan (both endangered species), Purple-throated Fruitcrow, Giant Antshrike, the magical Long-trained Nightjar and the unforgettable experience of watching a male Plovercrest through the scope at close range. This was truly a magical tour and certainly the first of many to come. I cannot wait for next year’s tour to start! Blue-and-yellow Macaws and Rufous-winged Antwren by Merilyn Browne BIRD LIST (640 species) Nomenclature and taxonomy follows Frank Gill & Minturn Wright Birds of the World: Recommended English Names (2006) Princeton University Press, Version 2.1 generated on 2009-05-12.
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