FIELD GUIDES BIRDING TOURS: Safari Brazil: the Pantanal
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Field Guides Tour Report Safari Brazil: The Pantanal & More 2013 Oct 11, 2013 to Oct 26, 2013 Marcelo Padua For our tour description, itinerary, past triplists, dates, fees, and more, please VISIT OUR TOUR PAGE. It's hard to beat Hyacinth Macaws as an opening photo! (Image by guide Marcelo Padua) One of the most fascinating aspects of leading the same tour year after year is seeing how different things can be from one tour to the next. This year things were particularly interesting in the Pantanal, where the past rainy season had ended late and the rains had started earlier than typical, so there was a lot more water around than we usually see at this time of year. As a result the birds were more scattered than they normally are, yet some species that are normally not very responsive at this time of year were incredibly cooperative. Such was the case with the Pheasant Cuckoo that sat in the spotlight and sang just a few feet away from our group, as well as the Gray-breasted Crake that paraded in the open for us several times. But these were not the only birds that made our visit so rewarding. The usual highlights were all present, with Hyacinth Macaws flying around our lodge every day, Jabirus at every pond, Blaze-winged Parakeets performing above our expectations, and a collection of passerines that are almost exclusive to the pantanal, such as Mato Grosso Antbird, White-lored Spinetail, Fawn-breasted Wren, and Plain Tyrannulet, among others. The birding was truly amazing, but the Pantanal would not be nearly as famous as it is without the mammals, and they did not disappoint either. Upon arriving at our lodge we were met by a Giant Anteater calmly foraging nearby; this would be the first of several we saw on the tour, including two females with babies on their backs. We saw Brazilian Tapir twice and also watched Ocelot, a mammal I had not seen myself for quite some time. White- lipped Peccaries were abundant, but the Collared were also seen well, along with four species of deer seen by the entire group, while Tom had a personal encounter with a Tayra that caught both him and the animal totally off guard. The Pantanal is a magical place indeed and one that deserves its reputation as one of the best birding areas in the world, but Brazil has many other hidden gems and Emas National Park is certainly one of them. Emas is far from every airport and major city, and getting to it requires quite a bit of driving, but for those who take the trip the rewards are incredible as this is one of the last large tracts of the native grasslands that once covered much of Central Brazil, a habitat easily converted to cattle ranching or agriculture and so hard to recover once altered. It was here that we found a number of grassland dwellers such as White-winged Nightjar, Black-masked Finch, Small-billed and Red-winged tinamous, Cock-tailed and Sharp-tailed tyrants, Campo Miners, Coal-crested Finch, and a huge flock of migrant seedeaters that included Marsh, Pearly-bellied, Chestnut, and Rufous-rumped. And, although the open fields had no shortage of birds, we took shelter in the heat of the day in the gallery forests at Emas while enjoying good looks at Helmeted Manakin, White-striped Warblers, Southern Antpipit, and the ultra-rare Cone-billed Tanager. Our next stop was Cipo National Park, situated in the Espinhaco mountain range in east-central Brazil, which shelters some very interesting Brazilian endemics, such the colorful Hyacinth Visorbearer and the Cipo Canastero, the only canastero around for thousands of miles. The habitat is also excellent for other cerrado specialties such as Blue Finch, Cinnamon Tanager, Horned Sungem, Wedge-tailed Grass-Finch, and Crested Black-Tyrant, all of which we saw remarkably well in the single day we dedicated to birding in this habitat. Field Guides Birding Tours • www.fieldguides.com • 800-728-4953 1 Our last stop had one great challenge, ending this fabulous tour on a high note -- and that was exactly what we did! Caraca is a sanctuary, an old school/monastery that sits in the middle of a private reserve protecting more than 25,000 acres of native habitat, and a historical site that was an important stop for the travelers from interior Brazil to the coast during the colonial times. It's a mosaic of Atlantic rainforest and Cerrado habitat that features excellent birding right from the doorstep. It was here that we spent the last three nights of the tour enjoying great views of White-breasted and Rock tapaculos, Serra Antwren, Ultramarine Grosbeak, Gilt-edged and Brassy-breasted tanagers, Velvety Black-Tyrant, and the Incredible Maned Wolves that visit the doorsteps of the old church every night to take advantage of some food left for them. After all the great places we visited on this tour only one question remains for those who were there: Where in Brazil will you bird next? I don't know the answer -- you'll have to choose. But I hope to be with you to show off a little more of this great country! Until then, good birding... --Marcelo KEYS FOR THIS LIST One of the following keys may be shown in brackets for individual species as appropriate: * = heard only, I = introduced, E = endemic, N = nesting, a = austral migrant, b = boreal migrant BIRDS Rheidae (Rheas) GREATER RHEA (Rhea americana) – This charismatic bird is the south american equivalent of Ostriches and is very common throughout our tour route. Unfortunately their abundance is largely due to the clearing of habitat for production of soya beans. Tinamidae (Tinamous) BROWN TINAMOU (Crypturellus obsoletus) [*] UNDULATED TINAMOU (Crypturellus undulatus) – We played some tape in hopes that the bird would come into view for the group, but nobody expected the bird to just come marching to the road and standing there totally exposed. SMALL-BILLED TINAMOU (Crypturellus parvirostris) – A beautiful example of how tame birds can become if they are not disturbed by humans. This particular bird was just wondering around a house near Emas. TATAUPA TINAMOU (Crypturellus tataupa) [*] RED-WINGED TINAMOU (Rhynchotus rufescens) LESSER NOTHURA (Nothura minor) [*] SPOTTED NOTHURA (Nothura maculosa) Anhimidae (Screamers) SOUTHERN SCREAMER (Chauna torquata) – Seen right around our lodge at Pousada Caiman. Anatidae (Ducks, Geese, and Waterfowl) WHITE-FACED WHISTLING-DUCK (Dendrocygna viduata) BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING-DUCK (Dendrocygna autumnalis) MUSCOVY DUCK (Cairina moschata) – Native here and to be honest quite handsome. This year they were more abundant in the Pantanal than the usual. BRAZILIAN TEAL (Amazonetta brasiliensis) – These teal can seem rather dull when they are sitting still, but when they take flight there is an explosion of colors. Cracidae (Guans, Chachalacas, and Curassows) CHACO CHACHALACA (Ortalis canicollis) – Chaco Chachalacas are to the pantanal what Screaming Pihas are to the Amazon, an ever present loud sound. DUSKY-LEGGED GUAN (Penelope obscura) – Common and quite tame around Caraca. BLUE-THROATED PIPING-GUAN (Pipile cumanensis) BARE-FACED CURASSOW (Crax fasciolata) – It is not unusual among birds for the male to be more colorful than females, but this is certainly not the case in this species as the female is simply spectacular. Ciconiidae (Storks) MAGUARI STORK (Ciconia maguari) – Very few of these Storks around this year and we ended up having to settle for some distant scope views. JABIRU (Jabiru mycteria) – By the end of our stay in the pantanal we must have seen hundreds of individuals. WOOD STORK (Mycteria americana) Phalacrocoracidae (Cormorants and Shags) NEOTROPIC CORMORANT (Phalacrocorax brasilianus) – Common and widespread. Anhingidae (Anhingas) ANHINGA (Anhinga anhinga) Ardeidae (Herons, Egrets, and Bitterns) RUFESCENT TIGER-HERON (Tigrisoma lineatum) Field Guides Birding Tours • www.fieldguides.com • 800-728-4953 2 COCOI HERON (Ardea cocoi) GREAT EGRET (Ardea alba) SNOWY EGRET (Egretta thula) CATTLE EGRET (Bubulcus ibis) STRIATED HERON (Butorides striata) WHISTLING HERON (Syrigma sibilatrix) – This is a grassland Heron which is often found a long ways away from any significant water body. CAPPED HERON (Pilherodius pileatus) BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON (Nycticorax nycticorax) BOAT-BILLED HERON (Cochlearius cochlearius) Threskiornithidae (Ibises and Spoonbills) WHITE-FACED IBIS (Plegadis chihi) – Not a common bird in the Pantanal, but we saw a few juveniles this year. GREEN IBIS (Mesembrinibis cayennensis) BARE-FACED IBIS (Phimosus infuscatus) PLUMBEOUS IBIS (Theristicus caerulescens) – This is my favorite Ibis, with its distinctive orange eyes and shaggy crest. BUFF-NECKED IBIS (Theristicus caudatus) ROSEATE SPOONBILL (Platalea ajaja) Cathartidae (New World Vultures) BLACK VULTURE (Coragyps atratus) TURKEY VULTURE (Cathartes aura) LESSER YELLOW-HEADED VULTURE (Cathartes burrovianus) Pandionidae (Osprey) OSPREY (Pandion haliaetus) – The birds found in the Pantanal are actually migrants from North America. Strangely there have been no records of Ospreys nesting in South America. Accipitridae (Hawks, Eagles, and Kites) WHITE-TAILED KITE (Elanus leucurus) SWALLOW-TAILED KITE (Elanoides forficatus) BLACK-COLLARED HAWK (Busarellus nigricollis) SNAIL KITE (Rostrhamus sociabilis) MISSISSIPPI KITE (Ictinia mississippiensis) – A few migrating birds seen during the tour. PLUMBEOUS KITE (Ictinia plumbea) CRANE HAWK (Geranospiza caerulescens) SAVANNA HAWK (Buteogallus meridionalis) ROADSIDE HAWK (Rupornis magnirostris) WHITE-TAILED HAWK (Geranoaetus albicaudatus) Rallidae (Rails, Gallinules, and Coots) RUFOUS-SIDED CRAKE (Laterallus melanophaius) – The marsh where we usually see this bird had burned quite extensively this year, so the birds were not very responsive, but we managed to bring one out briefly and a few people managed to get on the bird before it took off. GRAY-BREASTED CRAKE (Laterallus exilis) – My personal experience with this Crake is that it is always one of the hardest ones to see and this year was not different from the past ones where we had to work really hard at it.