Brazil: The Pantanal, Serra das Araras, and Chapada dos Guimarães 14 – 23 October 2012 Leader: Nick Athanas Photos and report by Nick Athanas The Harpy Eagles did not disappoint! Tour summary with bird and mammal lists 2012 was a good year for Harpy Eagles in Brazil. Two pairs successfully nested in easily accessible spots near well known lodges. One of those nests, in the Serra das Araras, was only a few hours from the Pantanal, so easily combined with that famous wildlife destination. This custom tour was put together with exactly those two things in mind. We spend six days in the Pantanal before heading up to see the Harpy Eagles, then wrapped up the trip in the scenic (and thankfully slightly cooler!) Chapada dos Guimarães, where we added a number of very neat birds of the scrubby cerrado habitat. We had a fun group of eight friends from Maryland and Washington DC, two of whom had never been to South America before. Maybe they got a bit spoiled with two Harpy Eagles (including an adult right next to the bus), half of the continent’s macaws, some of the best woodpeckers Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 1 around, ridiculously easy Sunbitterns , huge numbers of waterbirds in the Pantanal, and tons of other neat birds like Red-legged Seriema , Bare-faced Curassow , White-eared Puffbird , Toco Toucan , Great Rufous Woodcreeper , Rufous-winged Antshrike , Helmeted Manakin , White-rumped Tanager , and Scarlet-headed Blackbird . We started the trip with three nights in Pousada Piuval on the northern edge of the Pantanal. Despite being right on the edge, it’s my favorite of all the Pantanal lodges, and I also think it has the best birding due to the great variety of habitats that can easily be visited – daily bird lists of well over 100 are easily possible. We spent time walking, riding in a safari truck, and even just driving the bus over the open fields or back out onto the nearby Transpantanal Highway. Gorgeous blue Hyacinth Macaws (seen daily here) were the most memorable birds, but a few others to mention include herds of Greater Rhea (including dozens of chicks), Chestnut-bellied Guan , Whistling Heron , Plumbeous Ibis , Aplomado Falcon , Sunbittern , Red-legged Seriema , Long-tailed Ground-Dove , Nanday Parakeet , Yellow- collared Macaw (perched for a change!), Ash-colored Cuckoo , Chestnut-eared Aracari , White , Pale-crested , and Cream-colored Woodpeckers , Chotoy Spinetail , Rufous Cacholote , Great Rufous Woodcreeper , Mato Grosso Antbird , Black-backed Water-Tyrant , Dull-capped Attila , Green-backed Becard , Moustached Wren , Masked Gnatcatcher , Yellowish Pipit (doing display flights), Rusty-collared Seedeater , Red-crested Cardinal , Saffron-billed Sparrow , Scarlet-headed Blackbird , and Orange-backed Troupial . A juvenile male Dark-throated Seedeater was a nice surprise, and also my only lifer of the trip. Subtropical Doradito was also unexpected and not even in the field guide, but it turns out there have been several other recent records for the Pantanal. Leaving Piuval, we continued south to Santa Tereza lodge for another two nights. This lodge is located on the edge of the Rio Pixaim, which snakes its way through dense gallery forest. We spent our afternoons birding the river by boat, and the mornings working the open areas and gallery forest. The low water levels and dense water hyacinth made the river trips here more difficult than normal, but they were still fun. The much-wanted Sungrebe was seen well, while handsome Black-collared Hawks and hulking Jabirus patrolled the edges of the river, sometimes looking for handouts (our boatman obliged). Loads of herons , egrets , and kingfishers were around every bend, and we had our best views of Bare-faced Ibis and Bare-faced Curassow here too. Birding the pastures and entrance road got us a few White-bellied Seedeaters and the pretty Rusty-backed Antwren , while the shady gallery forest had a different set of birds like Band-tailed Antbird , Buff-breasted Wren , Flavescent Warbler , Forest Elaenia , Stripe-necked Tody-Tyrant , Fuscous Flycatcher , and Ashy-headed Greenlet , not to mention some very friendly troops of Black-striped Capuchins. Feeders attracted a horde of ravenous birds including a pair of Toco Toucans , and a night walk even got us a Brazilian Tapir at close range as well as a Great Horned Owl . Driving north out of the Pantanal, we reached the Serra das Araras, a low mountain range with more of an Amazonian feel to it. We spent two nights in the pleasant Currupira Lodge. It was full of ladies doing a week-long health spa getaway, but we were far more interested in the Harpy Eagle nest than doing aerobics by the pool. It didn’t take long; the local guide spotted an adult Harpy close to the bus a few minutes after heading out on the first afternoon. It flew to a more distant tree, but perched in the open face on, allowing terrific views in the scope. We did continue on to the nest, and saw the almost fully grown chick munching on what may have been bits of armadillo. Having seen the Harpy so well, we were able to concentrate on other birds for the rest of the stay. Maybe it was the hot and dry weather, but the birding was a bit tough here, with the cicadas singing much louder than the birds, even very early in the morning. There were some nice things to see, but we found it slower than expected. Here’s a list of some of the birds we saw here: Gray-headed and Rufous-thighed Kites , Dusky-headed Parakeet , Red-shouldered Macaw , Black-tailed and Green-backed Trogons , Amazonian Motmot , Brown Jacamar , Lettered Aracari , Channel-billed Toucan , Red-stained and Green-barred Woodpeckers , Lineated Woodcreeper , Amazonian Antshrike , White-backed Fire-eye , Black- throated Antbird , Bare-necked Fruitcrow , and Black-crowned and Masked Tityras . Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 2 The scenic Chapada dos Guimarães, with its red sandstone cliffs, is at an elevation of only around 3000 ft, but it was enough to cool down the hot weather by a few degrees. We spent the last two nights in the comfy Pousada Penhasco near the edge of the escarpment. Their opulent restaurant was only open once during our stay, but we took advantage of it, not just for the great food, but also the very friendly Helmeted Manakin that is always around. The lodge also has a nice trail that goes down to some viewing platforms over the edge of the cliffs, and we did that one afternoon to enjoy the view and the birds. A big flock of Sooty Swifts was quite a surprise, as it was the first time I had seen them here, and we enjoyed a pair of Red-and-green Macaws perched then flying along the base of the cliffs. Other birds around included Green-winged Saltator , Planalto Hermit , Swallow Tanager , White-lined Tanager , and Chestnut-bellied Seed-Finch . As far as birding goes, the main reason to visit this area is the cerrado , a type of scrubby tropical savanna found over large parts of interior Brazil. Much of it has been cleared for agriculture, but there are some well preserved patches on the Chapada which can offer great birding. Blue-winged Macaw , Horned Sungem , White-vented Violetear , White-eared Puffbird , Rufous-winged Antshrike , Chapada Flycatcher , Plain-crested Elaenia , Black-faced , White-banded , and White-rumped Tanagers , Black-throated Saltator , and Plumbeous Seedeater all gave themselves up on those dusty roads in the cerrado . During hotter parts of the day, we sought shade in gallery forest, where we found a few species we hadn’t seen in the Pantanal such as White- bellied Warbler , Red-necked Woodpecker , Cocoa Thrush , Streaked Xenops , and even a Sharp- tailed Streamcreeper . After one last morning, it sadly was time to pack up and head back to Cuiabá for our afternoon flights home. It was a great trip and I hope we can do it again sometime! Here are a few of my photos from the trip. Bob also put some of his shots up on Flickr at this link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/joesboy/sets/72157631846307137/ A Black-collared Hawk perches on a dock near the edge of the lake at Piuval Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 3 A pair of Southern Screamers at the edge of little pond at Piuval Rufous-bellied Thrush is very common, the “robin” of the Pantanal Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 4 One of a family of Thrush-like Wrens that were right next to the canopy tower at Piuval This huge Ringed Kingfisher ruled over a little pond near the lodge at Piuval Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 5 The Brown-chested Martins around Pousada Piuval are so tame you can walk right up to them A Rufescent Tiger-Heron stalks around near the lodge Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 6 This Southern Caracara landed right next to us, obviously looking for a handout An Aplomado Falcon prepares to take off Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 7 A Cocoi Heron seen from one of the boat rides on the Pixaim River Nowhere else can Sunbittern be seen so easily! We saw them over 15 on the trip Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 8 A female Bare-faced Curassow. I think they are spectacular, and they bring to mind a gargantuan antshrike Perhaps not exactly “pretty”, the massive Jabiru is still an impressive sight and an icon of the Pantanal Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 9 We saw an adult Harpy Eagle before we even got to the nest and the nest was truly impressive.