Field Guides Tour Report Spectacular Southeast Brazil, both parts, North and South Oct 28, 2011 to Nov 28, 2011 Bret Whitney & Marcelo Padua In 2011, "Spectacular Southeast Brazil" again lived up to its billing. Marcelo and I and a fun group of birders, many of them friends from earlier Field Guides Brazil tours, took on the challenge of finding and seeing well as many of the birds of the northern Atlantic Forest biome as we could in two-and-a-half weeks, and then kept up the lively pace through the southern half of the route, Part 2, with most of the same group plus a few new folks that had changed out with participants doing only the first part. All told, we tallied more than 500 species seen during our month of birding travels and adventures, from the dark forests of tiny Espirito Santo in the north to the vast, rolling grasslands of Rio Grande do Sul in the far south. Many of these were seen more than once or twice, which allowed everyone a chance at especially good views of each species, including many of the rarer endemic birds, and also a "refresher" here and there to help assimilate the massive avifauna we explored. Having led most of the Field Guides tours to southeast Brazil since its inception in 1989, I can tell you that the birding success of this tour -- if measured in species seen by all -- is always highly dependent on the weather (I know, I say that every year). After all, the birds are there and we know the "address" of every single one of them... so it is the weather, overall, that dictates the likelihood of certain birds making it onto the final list. Our 2011 tour turned out to be the coldest trip we've ever done, with average daily temp's a good 5-10 degrees F below normal. This made for quite pleasant conditions on many days, and it was comfortable for birding almost every day. We also experienced somewhat more rain than on recent tours, which "put a damper" on birding a few times although it ultimately cost us perhaps only a couple of nocturnal species. We dodged the nastier weather successfully on a number of occasions, most notably at Itatiaia and Ubatuba, but it dealt us a rare three-day blow at Intervales to begin Part 2. Truth be told, I'd happily trade some ugly weather at Intervales for clear The lovely Swallow-tailed Cotinga, always a prize on any visit skies in the far south, and that's exactly what we got. The to Southeast Brazil. (Photo by guide Bret Whitney) Araucaria-dominated highlands of Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul were simply gorgeous and birdy to the max! There were so many highlights that it's hard to choose a few to mention here but, for the North (Part 1), I'd have to include Chuck's great spot of a pair of Solitary Tinamous in the trail ahead (they allowed us prolonged good views); that fabulous male Red-billed Curassow that walked toward us for a couple of minutes of oohs and ahhs early one morning (with the local TV crew along in tow); the Black-and-white Hawk-Eagles that graced our first morning afield; some fantastic looks at rare Blue-throated Parakeets and Red-browed Parrots; a very cooperative Pearly-breasted Cuckoo; wonderful views of Least Pygmy-Owl, Tawny-browed Owl, and even a Stygian Owl!; that amazingly huge Long-tailed Potoo that sat for minutes; a very close male Ocellated Poorwill; the Three-toed Jacamars that carried on with nesting activities as if we were hardly noticed; Red-breasted Toucans on the feeders at Itatiaia; fancy Blond-crested Woodpeckers and a fine study of the distinctive, endemic subspecies tinnunculus of Ringed Woodpecker followed by a pair of huge Robust Woodpeckers; a Field Guides Birding Tours • www.fieldguides.com • 800-728-4953 1 simply amazingly tame Tawny-throated Leaftosser that foraged literally at our feet for minutes; a superb view of a Black- billed Scythebill early on; a Spot-backed Antshrike that, after a good deal of suspense, appeared almost right overhead; that male Black-hooded Antwren who graced our bin's for only a minute or two but left us all dazzled and with indelible images of him stored for all time; our clean sweep of the six gorgeous Drymophila antbirds along with stunning White-bibbed and Squamate antbirds; Marcelo's work with the Rufous-tailed Antthrush that resulted in good views for all; that Eye-ringed Tody-Tyrant that we caught up with after many thought we'd missed it and the Fork-tailed Pygmy-Tyrants that came oh-so easily (for a change!); the female Velvety Black-Tyrant that sneaked on to her lichen-covered nest when it started to rain; a marvelous view of Black-headed Berryeater and those stunning Swallow-tailed Cotingas at nests, so close in perfect morning light (priceless stuff, my friends!); a rare and much-appreciated Wied's Tyrant-Manakin that allowed scope study for minutes and the dynamite male Pin-tailed and Swallow-tailed manakins that later blew us away; and those first really good looks at Brazilian, Diademed, Red-necked, Brassy-breasted, and Gilt-edged tanagers (like WOW!). Mammal sightings were also exciting, the standouts being a group of globally endangered (and also pretty cute) Buffy-headed Marmosets and a very rare sighting of a Jaguarundi with two cubs that stayed in view for a couple of minutes. Whew, that was just "North of the Tropic"! Now let's recall some of the goodies from "South of the Capricorn." As I mentioned earlier, we started under rain clouds that didn't give us much of a break for our entire stay at Intervales... but did that stop us? No way! We still managed to pick up most of the "must-see" birds there, especially a single Black-fronted Piping-Guan that sat for long scope study, a pair of rare Mantled Hawks engaged in aerial display; handsome Hooded Berryeaters, sneaky Red-ruffed Fruitcrows, spectacular Plovercrests (southern subspecies loddigesii), crowd-pleasing Giant and White-bearded antshrikes, a good Such's Antthrush despite the rain -- and a truly fabulous Variegated Antpitta that bounded into the middle of the road for us early one morning. Nope, can't beat that! Red-tailed Parrots showed up right on time, only a couple of hundred yards off from their usual commute: sweet! Also very red that morning was a large flock of Scarlet Ibis, a surprise first for the tour (friends tell me they're starting to make a concerted comeback along this part of the Brazilian coast, great news!). Restinga Tyrannulet and Long-billed Wren were also friendly that morning. Speaking of parrots, the South was Super for them, producing memorable encounters with Pileated (real close!), Vinaceous, Blue-bellied (unparalleled views this year), and even the very rare Red-spectacled, which seems to be nesting in the spot we've found for it out of Sao Francisco de Paula. Canebrake Groundkeeper was the source of a little suspense one morning near Curitiba, but that story had a verrry happy ending (gracas a deus). Similarly, the hunt for Black-backed Tanager, always tricky, looked "quiet," shall we say... but man did we see that bird well, especially after Dona Margaret located it in a place where we could get the scope on it. And it came right after our first and only(!) Crescent- chested Puffbird of the tour; we dang-near missed that one, folks. A surprise Short-eared Owl spotted by Judy was really cool (and seldom seen on this tour). One morning in the forests of Rio Grande do Sul certainly stood out as special for all present as first a Speckle-breasted Antpitta, then a Rufous-breasted Leaftosser, then a Short-tailed Antthrush came in close around us, even circling the group for everyone to see. They were all three singing right beside us for a few minutes. It was a pants-wetter. If you could beat that Variegated Antpitta standing in the road at Intervales, it would have to be something like this! The invigorating highlands of Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul were a fitting close to the tour. Songs of Red-legged Seriemas, Red-winged Tinamous, and Spotted Nothuras lilted over the landscape and we got to see all of them very well. Saffron-cowled Blackbirds and Black-and-white Monjitas were in company as always and Blackish Rail, Plumbeous Rail, Rufous-sided Crake, and the tough Red-and-white Crake paraded around as if they were on stage. Meanwhile, the little guys -- Bearded Tachuri, Sharp-tailed Tyrant, Straight-billed Reedhaunter, Freckle-breasted Thornbird, Gray-cheeked Grass- Finch, and Black-bellied and Tawny-bellied seedeaters, and even the ultra-rare, as-yet-undescribed species of seedeater being studied by my friends in Rio Grande do Sul -- all performed perfectly for us. As always, a few nice birds mananged to slip through the net. We again missed Cherry-throated Tanager, which apparently had not been seen by anyone in 2011. Cold, rainy days at Caetés sure didn't help with the hunt for the tanager or Shrike-like Cotinga (not a sign of it this time around). We did not even hear Spot-billed Toucanet and Black-capped Piprites, two great birds we've perhaps never missed before; Salvadori's Antwren has become very difficult in recent years and we're going to have to find a new area for it.