Special Birds of the Brazilian (Eastern) Amazon

July 2018: A Week at a Remote Birding Site near Paragominas, Pará

Sunday, July 1 2018 - Belém

I really wanted to get to the (proper) Amazon this year and had a surprisingly hard time doing it.  The first plan fell through when flight schedules changed, the second never really settled, so by the time I left Sao Paulo on my way to Belém I was hoping that my third attempt was going to pan out.  This trip was organized by Brazil birding veteran Andy Whitaker, who had arranged for me to meet with local birding expert Pablo Vieira Cerqueira and to head off to a remote logging camp in a private reserve about nine hours South of Belém near Paragominas.  He promised basic conditions, high humidity, but also great birds so I was excited to get going and, after a few pampered days in Sao Paulo, I felt ready to get out there into the forest.

With time to spare after my afternoon flight arrival, and suspecting that I'd be itching to bird, Pablo took us directly to Park Estadual do Utinga, a suburban forest patch/park that with concrete biking trails and the like.  It actually produced a few lifers with the spiffy Red-necked Aracari and the tricky Green-tailed Goldenthroat joining the list before a very pleasant dinner at Belém's newly redeveloped dockland area.   Not a bad start ...

Red-necked Aracari

Monday, July 2 - Saturday, July 7 - Fazenda Cauaxi, Paragominas

OK, so Andy Whitaker was right ... the drive was very long, the accommodations were basic, the humidity was high and the food was monotonous.  We were staying in a logging camp, the huts were hot and stuffy, the spiders and cockroaches were large, and the facilities were basic.  BUT, the welcome was warm, the locals were friendly, and the birds .... well yes, they were good.

Accommodations and Greater Yellow-headed Vulture
(they were always looking for hand-outs at camp)

The highlight of the drive down was watching Brazil beat Mexico in a World Cup Football match at a roadside restaurant on the way ... we later skipped the Belgium match and were glad we did.  With little internet though, our connection to the outside world was tenuous and that left little to do but do birding.  So we basically went birding from before dawn until siesta time, then from late afternoon until well after dark every day.  In six days we racked up around 250 species and while it's hard to capture all of those things, here are some of the highlights:

An evening stake-out for GOLDEN PARAKEETS, that most Brazilian of birds, proudly sporting the national green-and-gold colors, and the bird I most wanted to see on this trip  We waited for them to return to their roost site, in fact we waited several hours.  Then, just before dusk, a group flew in and shot straight into the roost hole without waiting for me to get get good photos or savor the scene ... not quite the plan ... but at least we saw others in flight several other times.

Golden Parakeets at their roost site

A GUIANAN RED COTINGA in a mixed flock and GOULD'S TOUCANETS in the canopy at dawn.  Two very colorful and charismatic rarities that were high on my list and exciting to see.

Gould's Toucanet (I love anything with the world Gould in it ...
John Gould is a bit of a personal hero)

A successful search for the very range-restricted RED-AND-BLACK GROSBEAK and even a few bad photos to show for it.

Red-and-black Grosbeak ... it's hard to photograph birds in the dark
of the deep forest.

A magical dawn encounter with a pair of WHITE-WINGED POTOOS (a form sure to be split from the Atlantic Coast birds I saw last year).  A quick whistle and the birds called back and then went hunting, flying overheard and silhouetted against the lightening sky and the leaves and vines of the canopy.  We also had Long-tailed Potoo, Common Potoo and a good selection of nightjars and owls on this trip, but then we did spend a fair amount of time out at night.

Quirky Amazonian Parrots like VULTURINE PARROT, Dusky Parrot and Red-fan Parrot.

Getting to grips with the birds we worked really hard for like Guianan Gnatcatcher (the future Pará Gnatcatcher), Hooded Gnateater, the local Amazonian Barred-Woodcreeper (the future Todd's Woodcreeper), Cryptic Forest-Falcon, and Snethlage's Antpitta.

My first trumpeters, and them being the very restricted and hard to see Black-backed form of the DARK-WINGED TRUMPETER (another future split).  Trumpeters are really the soul of the Amazon and it took me way too long to finally see one.  I seem to have specialized in the edges of the Amazon so definitely need to spend more time in the deep forest for species like this.

White Hawk and Pearly Parakeets

And even two species that at the time didn't even have 'official' names.  A currently un-described megascops presently sitting in Tawny-bellied Screech Owl (Andean) but clearly a different species, and what eBird currently has listed as the Maranhao-Piaui Pygmy-Tyrant (un-described form).

I'd also hoped for some mammals.  From Andy's descriptions he was constantly being stalked by Pumas and Jaguars here and had to chase Tapirs off the trail at every turn.  Alas the mammals didn't show for us, or at least nothing scarier than South American Coati, some monkeys, a glimpse of a Jaguarundi, and a Crab-eating Fox.  One day I will see Jaguar and Tapir in Brazil ... it just wasn't to be in this trip.

South American Coati

Soon enough though, our time was over and I warned Pablo that our last dinner, back in Belém would NOT have rice and beans (and certainly no mystery meat gristle), but would rather feature fish and caipirinhas ... luckily he knew just the place and we feasted in local seafood with local açaí and cocktails made of local fruit (and all after hot showers at the hotel).

Sunday, July 8 - Belém

There was time for one more star bird before my flight the next day though.  The BLACK-CHESTED TYRANT is a very local bird with a poorly known range.  It's also a stunner so I was keen to see one given the chance and so, before my flight back to Sao Paulo, we birded some lowland forest along the river just outside Belém.  The flycatcher it turned out was easy to hear at a known site, harder to see and even harder to photograph ... in the end I managed only slight out-of-focus shots but I'll include them anyway because it's such a special bird.

The super special Black-chested Tyrant

Then back to the world.  But, even after my second birding trip to Brazil this year (and the third in the last two years) I'll definitely be back to this amazing country.  So many places I want to go and things I want to see.

Colombia (Part 1 - Risaralda Province)

Some birding at Otún Quimbaya and Montezuma / PNN Tatamá

July 14-16 - Otún Quimbaya

On Friday, July 14th I flew to Bogota and then on to Pereira in the Colombia Andes where I was met by Daniel Uribe for a week of private guided birding around some of Colombia's best birding spots.  Daniel is a very well known guide and has an eBird map for Colombia that made me very jealous, having seen 1,363 species in the country.  Before this trip, with one brief stop in Bogota to my name, long before the days of eBird, I had zero species for Colombia (!), but I was pretty sure that was going to change during the week.

Our first stop for the week was Otún Quimbaya, where we pulled up to the lodge not long before dusk.  Still, we did have a few moments for birding and the endemic CAUCA GUANS (a species once thought to be extinct before being rediscovered here a few years ago) performed nicely for us, getting my Colombia list and adventure underway in style.

Cauca Guan

The next two days followed similar patterns, birding along the main road which, while pretty rough in places, allowed us to follow the river valley up into the park through a mix of old plantations and native forest.  The undisputed target bird here is HOODED ANTPITTA (a bird reliably found only here and at one site in Venezuela) which we managed to see in the second day after a long search.  While working the road though, we also saw dozens of other species that ranged from common to endemic and provided me with a good introduction to the Colombia Andes, and a bunch of life birds.

Red-ruffed Fruitcrow - another specialty bird, perhaps easier here that anywhere
else in the World, and needless to say, a life bird for me.

Among other highlights were the endemic Grayish Piculet and Whiskered Wrens around the lodge.  The near-endemic Bar-crested Antshrike called constantly from the slopes around us, while we also heard multiple calling Moustached Antpittas, a bird I'd encountered as a rarity in Ecuador some 20 years ago.  Chestnut Wood-Quails were another treat, calling like crazy then rushing across the road in front of us, and of course there were great mixed flocks with some very nice treats including Rusty-winged Barbtail and Streak-capped Treehunter mixed in with more common species.

The first night there we went out to try for Colombian Screech-Owl but came up short so, we ended up trying again.  That second evening started off much better with a pair of calling  Rufous-bellied Nighthawks hawking over us at dusk.  The Screech-Owl also popped up into a nearby giving us some decent, if brief, views before vanishing into the night.


The highlight of the visit also occurred at night, although more specifically as we drove out along the road before dawn.  We had seen a couple of Crab-eating Foxes driving along the road the night before and saw another one that day.  Then another set of 'eye-shine' appeared down the road before us, but flipping the headlights to bright revealed not another fox, but a cat!  The cat in question, a small spotted cat native to the cloud forests called an ONCILLA, dropped down low on it's belly and slunk off into the forest looking a bit sheepish about being spotted.  I never see cats, I have terrible cat karma and had seen only Jaguarundis in South America before (no Jaguar, no Puma, no Ocelot, no Margay, etc.) so I was thrilled and buzzed for hours afterwards.  A very, very cool moment.

Red Howler-Monkey and Rufous-bellied Nighthawk

The lodge itself at Otún Quimbaya was very serviceable even though I couldn't work out how to get a hot shower - cold showers are character-building I suppose.  I also got an introduction to Colombian food, which tends to be a protein and three 'carbs' (plantain, rice and potatoes for dinner) and the inevitable 'aripa' (a corn pancake) for breakfast.  Aripas I learned are much better with butter and salt on them, I think I ate one each day for breakfast 9 days in a row.  Good hearty food if you've been out in the field all day, or are about to go out all day.


All to soon though it was time to move on, and we spent the next 5 days in Caldas Province before returning to Riseralda.

Fawn-breasted Tanager and Chestnut-breasted Wren

July 20-22 - Montezuma / PNN Tatamá

After a couple of sites in Caldas Province (another blog post) we came back to Risaralda for our final stop, the legendary Montezuma Lodge in Tatamá National Park.  I'd heard a lot about this place and over the next 2+ days I got to see at least some of it in the company of Daniel and the owner/manager of the Montezuma lodge, the wonderful and impressive Michelle.

With two full days here we opted to drive up to the higher altitudes (a rough road but passable with a four-wheel-drive vehicle) on the first day, then bird the mid and low altitudes the second.  Two days couldn't possibly do justice to this place but we focussed on the specialities and determined to bird pretty hard while we had the chance.

Tawny-breasted Tinamou ready for it's close-up
and the endemic Chestnut-bellied Flowerpiercer

Our targets at high altitude were the endemic Chestnut-bellied Flowerpiercer and Munchique Wood-Wren which we saw relatively easily with a little effort.  The star bird at the top though turned out to be something else entirely.  Michelle got us on to a Tawny-breasted Tinamou, that most secretive and rarely seen of birds which, while trying to sneak quietly away from us unseen, had gotten itself trapped on a steep bank ... it couldn't go up, and wouldn't come down as that meant walking towards us.  So for five minutes we had a captive tinamou in the open for a photo op .... this just doesn't happen often, a rare treat.

The joy of Tatamá though is the range and quality of it's mixed flocks and during our birding day there we saw a huge variety of very cool birds.  Tanagers, Barbets, Flycatchers, Antshrikes, Warblers, Wrens, Jays, Woodcreepers, Fruiteaters, etc. just super high quality birding.  Among the birds that stood out, the endemic Gold-ringed Tanager, Purplish-mantled Tanager, Black-chinned Mountain-Tanager, Yellow-breasted Antpitta, Bicolored Antvireo, Fulvous-dotted Treerunner, and many many more.

Chestnut-breasted Chlorophonia and the very local Olive Finch

Bicolored Antvireo and the endemic Crested Ant-Tanager

There were also good birds away from the flocks, a lek of Club-winged Manikins was a treat, as was a brooding Cloud Forest Pygmy-Owl.  A small group of Beautiful Jays, found just up hill from us by a bunch of Australian birders resulted in a quick scramble, but also a broad agreement that yes, this indeed a beautiful jay.

The endemic Gold-ringed Tanager and the Beautiful Jay 

Club-winged Manikin and the common but photogenic Cinnamon Flycater

Hummingbirds were also a abundant and spectacular, with feeders at the lodge, and at several places along the trail bringing in such superstars are Empress Brilliant, Velvet-Purple Coronet, Purple-bibbed Whitetip, along with more common but spectacular Violet-tailed Sylphs and Andean Emeralds.

White-tailed Hillstar and Purple-bibbed Whitetip 

All in all, just a spectacular two days of birding with 233 species seen in Risaralda province just in these few days at two sites.  Definitely want to go back ... who knows what we'll see next time ....

Jaguars in the U.S.

Sharing a great article from the L.A. Times ...

Always fascinated by stories about big cats in the U.S. there are many more than people think - Ocelots, Margays, and Jaguars along with the more common Mountain Lions, Canadian Lynx and Bobcats.  I also have terrible luck with them - in 25 years in the US I have seen precisely one Bobcat (Florida) and one Canadian Lynx (Alaska).  Cats therefore hold a powerful mystery for me and I'm quite intrigued when I see an article about them.

Jaguar photographed in Arizona (Credit Wikipedia I think)

So I saw this great L.A. Times Story today (which I wanted to share here) with video of a Jaguar in the mountains near Tucson.  We've known they were there for some time, but eh article says this is the only wild Jaguar living in the US (I doubt that's true).  Apparently the big spotted cats once ranged widely across the Southern and Southeastern US, but of course we pushed them out of most of their historical range at the point of a gun.  The cling on in Mexico, although the treatment of big carnivores was not better there than it was in the US and I'm amazed that a few manage to hang on.  The story in Arizona isn't always inspiring either - incompetent biologists (who 'accidentally' killed a Jaguar while trying to collar it), hostile landowners, etc. - but still there are a few of these magnificent creatures in our country, which means that a population survives South of the border, and that there is hope for the species in this part of its historical range.

Jaguar by John James Audubon - the background looks more SouthEastern than
SouthWestern and apparently these cats once called much of the US SouthEast
home too.

I know I'll never actually see one in the US, but somehow it feels great to know that these magnificent big cats still can find a place to live in our country.  It's also a tribute to the amazing resilience of the big cats that they can survive when we were able to wipe out the Mexican Wolves and Mexican Grizzlies that once shared the apex predator role with them in the South West.

I've had terrible luck with Jaguars in South and Central America, and have never seen one - once missing one by a heartbreaking 5 minutes in Belize - but one day, hopefully, I'll bump into one of these amazing cats.  Until then, it's enough to know that they're still around and even still hanging on in the Southwestern U.S.