PERU (Manu Sept 07): Blanquillo Macaw Lick.

We made our way along the Madre de Dios to the lowlands of Manu where our first stop was the Blanquillo Macaw lick. The new hide here affords great views over the lick and several hundred Blue-headed Parrots where for me the star bird is the Orange-cheeked Parrot. It wasn't too long before the Red & Green Macaws began to gather in the trees above the lick this morning, eventually dropping down to the banks around 8AM.

PERU (Manu Sept 07): Cusco - Amazonia Lodge.

Hoatzin at Amazonia Lodge (above) and Many-spotted Hummer at San Pedro.
We didn't spend too much time in the upper stretches of the Manu road in the temperate zone on this tour, mainly concentrating on the subtropics and upper tropics. Andean Cock-of-the-Rocks showed well at the lek but personal highlights were Black-streaked Puffbird, White-throated Antpitta and Ochre-breasted Antpitta. The latter two species both SEEN too. Great stuff!

PERU: September 2007.

Very little time at home between trips and I found myself in Peru a few days after leaving Rio. A tour into Manu this time with the traditional start at Huacarpay Lakes for Bearded Mountaineer (a stunning endemic hummingbird). We journeyed along the Manu road covering the cloud forests, descending to the tropical rainforests of Manu Wildlife Centre on this tour, before flying back to Cusco and visiting Machu Picchu to end the tour.

BRAZIL: Collared Crescentchest.

Collared Cresccentchest.

White-eared Puffbird (above) and White-banded Tanager.

Few more birds from the Cerrado pictured above. Star-turn was the Collared Crescentchest that performed so well and sat in view for ages after a period of skulking. White-eared Puffbirds always seem to show well but usually distantly, so this one close up was a rweal bonus. And then there's the "mini Great Grey Shrike look-alike" or White-banded Tanager as it's also known. Chapada is a fantastic place and compliments a Pantanal trip very nicely.

BRAZIL: Helmeted Manakin.

The forests at Chapada are pretty good too. Helmeted Manakin can be readily found along with Sharp-tailed Streamcreeper, Fiery-capped Manakin, Band-tailed Manakin and we were fortunate enough to watch a Pheasant Cuckoo for lengthy periods.

BRAZIL: Birding in the Cerrado.

A few birds characteristic of the Cerrado habitat of Chapada dos Guimaraes featured above. Rufous-sided Pygmy-Tyrant can be found with a bit of searching, the Curl-crested Jay is hard to miss (noisy) and the Crested Black-Tyrant frequents the car park near the snack bar at Veu de Noiva. Plenty of other stuff here too including Red & Green Macaws, Blue-winged Macaws, Black-throated Saltator and White-rumped Tanagers.

BRAZIL: Chapada dos Guimaraes.

Last bit of the tour was at Chapada dos Guimaraes in the tablelands. Top picture shows the view from Veu de Noiva where we watched Great Dusky and Biscutate Swifts coming to roost. Bottom pic shows Chapada Flycatcher named after the type locality (we saw it near Brasilia on this trip).

BRAZIL: Hyacinth Macaw and Greater Rhea.

We headed south from Pouso Alegre to the Rio Pixaim where we stayed another couple of nights. Another bird-filled afternoon with Sunbitterns, Scarlet-headed Blackbirds and Nacunda Nighthawks on the way down and then some quality birding in the gallery forests the next morning (Mato Grosso Antbird, Buff-bellied Hermit, Large-billed Antwren, etc). In the afternoon we wnet out on the river in the boat seeing Agami Heron, Boat-billed Herons, Sungrebes and Giant River Otters. Great place!

BRAZIL: Great Potoo.

The Pantanal is rightly famous for its waterbirds and macaws, but the woodlands have plenty to offer too. We did a bit of nightbirding for Tropical Screech-Owl (successfully) and also saw this Great Potoo by day too. Other goodies in the dry forests included Planalto Slaty-Antshrike, White-naped Xenopsaris, Rufous Casiornis, White-wedged Piculet, Red-billed Scythebill and Pale-crested Woodpeckers.

BRAZIL: The Pantanal.

"Stage 3" of the tour to Brazil took us to the famous Pantanal. From Carajas we connected with a flight to Brasilia and on to Cuiaba where we arrived late and stayed the night in a hotel. Early rise the next morning for our journey into the Pantanal and we stopped for birds pretty soon after hitting the Transpantaniera near Pocone with our first Southern Screamer. We hit on a lot of birds on our first day here including the iconic Hyacinth Macaw (left), but their thunder had been stolen by a pair seen in Carajas (where they are very rare, funny enough). We spent our first night in the Pantanal at Pouso Alegre Lodge where we feasted on some great birds the following morning like Chestnut-bellied Guan, Plumbeous Ibis, Jabirus, Grey-crested Cacholotes, Great Rufous Woodcreepers and loads more.

BRAZIL: White-browed Purpletuft.

So Carajas is a great place to see Cotingas then. But there's lots more to see in the form of antbirds, woodcreepers and confusing flycatchers too to keep everyone happy. We birded mainly in the Salobo, Aguas Claras and Rio Parauarebas areas as these trails seemed to have the desired birds according to recent reports on Carajas. Other notable species we picked up not mentioned previously included Opal-crowned Manakin, Blue-cheeked Jacamar, Chestnut-belted Gnateater, Cryptic Forest-Falcon, Para Foliage-Gleaner and Natterer's Slaty-Antshrike. I look forward to returning next year to say the least.

BRAZIL: Bare-faced Curassow.

Carajas is a great place for sure! Amazonian birding with the comfort of staying in a hotel with air con' can't be bad. Highlights are too numerous to mention (I'll have a report on www.ToucanBirdingTours.com soon) but special mention for White-tailed Cotinga, Guianan Red-Cotinga, Black-bellied Gnateater, Black-chested Tyrant, Purple-breasted Cotinga, Jandaya Parakeet and Brigida's Woodcreeper. Plenty to keep everyone happy here.

BRAZIL: Red-legged Seriema.

On to the Amazon then but with a stop-over in Brasilia. By the time TAM got us to the capital we only had a short time to explore Brasilia NP but we made the best of it with Red-legged Seriema, Helmeted Manakin and White-bellied Warbler.
The following day we were able to explore some Cerrado on the edge of the city finding some good birds like Chapada Flycatcher, Spot-breasted Puffbird and Rufous-winged Antshrike in Parque Ecologico Dom Bosco. We later took a flight to Carajas and were birding in the Amazon in the afternoon.

BRAZIL: Spot-billed Toucanet & Three-toed Jacamar.

Atlantic Forest near Guapi Assu Bird Lodge.

Spot-billed Toucanet (above) at Guapi Assu and Three-toed Jacamar in the Soumidouro Valley.

Long time no blogging! Two great trips to South America in quick succession leave little time at the computer except for work. The first trip wa to Brazil with a head-spinning combination of Atlantic Forests, the Amazon and the Pantanal. An optional add-on took us to the Cerrado of Chapada dos Guimaraes. To be honest Guapi Assu (or REGUA, as it is also known), was a little quiet. Maybe the dry conditions didn't help but we still managed to get a decent haul including many Atlantic Forest endemics like Rufous-breasted Leaftosser, Bare-throated Bellbird, Itatiaia Spinetail, Blue Manakin and Pin-tailed Manakin. A nice (if lengthy) trip out to see Three-toed Jacamars was worthwhile too. Best of all (for me at least) was the pre-dawn excursion for Giant Snipe. Great views of a bird on the deck on our last morning was a fine way to end our short stay there.