Brazil - The Atlantic Rainforest - June 2025 - Day 8 - Sao Paulo - Ibirapuera Park

The flight left at 3.30pm and we needed to be at the airport at 1pm latest. It could take one hour to get there, it could take three. We banked on two and made plans to leave at 11am. That meant we could afford to spend about three hours in the Parque Ibirapuera, Sao Paulo's equivalent of Central Park in New York. It is not that large, but the set up is the same with gazillions of joggers and cyclists out for their early morning exercise. We got into trouble straight away when one of the officials at the gate said we needed a permit for our cameras. Luckily the place to get the permits was right in the middle of the park, and so of course we made straight for it. Very slowly and indirectly, so slowly in fact that we never got there. 

Crested Caracara

We walked in a large clockwise circle, concentrating mainly on the two lakes - the southern one is much better. Waterfowl consisted of White-faced Whistling-Duck, Black Swan, White-cheeked Pintail, American Moorhen and Pied-billed Grebe. On the margins were lots of Striated Heron, Black-crowned Night Heron, Snowy Egret, Great White Egret and a single Green Ibis. We also found an Amazon Kingfisher down one of the narrower channels.

White-faced Whistling-Duck

Green Ibis

Black-crowned Night Heron

Snowy Egret

Striated Heron

Neotropic Cormorant

Southern Lapwing

The southern area was good for Woodpeckers, with Lineated and Blond-crested at one point in the same tree, and a Green-barred Woodpecker fed on a banana near the lake. We also added a new Woodcreeper - Narrow-billed Woodcreeper, and a new Parrot, Turquoise-fronted Amazon. As a final birding session it was pretty decent, surpassing expectations. No doubt there was a lot more there than we saw, but this deep into a trip it didn't feel like there was much to add. In the event Sao Paulo had added ten species to the overall tally, so not a great deal but it had meant more birding in Peruibe plus a unique chance to catch up with some relatives.

Green-barred Woodpecker

Blond-crested Woodpecker

Lineated Woodpecker

Rufous-bellied Thrush

Rufous Hornero

Narrow-billed Woodcreeper

Turquoise-fronted Amazon

Great Kiskadee

We returned to the hotel for 11am, sorted ourselves out, packed, and took a taxi to GRU which in fact only took just over an hour. This meant a fair amount of time in the airport but we chilled in the Admirals Club before getting on board. I slept virtually the whole way which was excellent, and which meant that I was in fine fettle for the party in Hampshire that evening. I was beaten to the position of 'furthest travelled to get there' by someone who had come from Singapore, but I felt it had been a very decent effort and it was great to catch up with some old friends from my time in Montpellier in 1997. 

One small part of Sao Paulo

Brazil - The Atlantic Rainforest - June 2025 - Day 7 - Peruibe

Today the plan was to bird around Guarau and Peruibe until lunch, and then depart for Sao Paulo. We had originally been scheduled to fly today at 3.30pm, which would have meant leaving the Peruibe area at around 9am on Thursday, i.e. with only a short time available for birding, but a month or so before we travelled I had extended the trip by a day in order to give us more time on the coast, but also to visit a family member in Sao Paulo. Those of you who have been reading these pages for a while may recollect the American connection. This is one of those, from New York via Ohio to Brazil. Having come so far it would have been odd not to, so the plan was to bird the entire morning, and for Bruno to then drop us not at Guarulhos but instead more or less in the middle of the city. We could then meet up with John and his family that evening, get some birding in in Sao Paulo the following morning, and then fly on Friday afternoon. I had a Saturday evening engagement in Hampshire, but with the benefit of the flat bed on the plane reckoned that I would be just fine provided the plane left on time.

We started the day back at the beach, at the Parque Municipal da Restinga do Guarau. Mainly this was so that Bruno could have another go at the Mockingbird, but equally it is the main hotspot in the area and Fabio had loads of species earmarked at specific points very nearby. It was a fabulous morning, and being on that beach at sunrise was perhaps one of the highlights of the trip.

To cut to the chase, we could not find the Mocker. But here was plenty of interest despite the star being missing. Highlights were a Bat Falcon traversing the beach shortly after dawn, and Fabio refinding a roosting Scissor-tailed Nightjar in the magroves. We also saw a White-crested Elaenia, and another new Tanager - Black-headed Tanager, several Bicoloured Conebills, Swallow-tailed Hummingbird, Glittering-throated Emerald, Amazon Kingfisher and Hangnest Tody-Tyrant. Fabio had also staked out both Mangrove Rail and Grey-cowled Wood-Rail.

Scissor-tailed Nightjar

Mangrove Rail

Further back from the beach we wandered around some of the lanes of Guarau and found Buff-bellied Puffbird, Robust Woodpecker, Blond-crested Woodpecker, Squirrel Cuckoo and Flame-crested Tanager amongst other species. 

Flame-crested Tanager

Buff-bellied Puffbird

Squirrel Cuckoo

We spent our final hour before lunch back at Fabio's feeders in the hope that some of the rarer Hummingbirds might visit. We ran out of time before they did, and whilst there were tons of birds the photography set up was not what Mick and I were after - too messy, too many perches. We should be consultants, get paid to advise on the best set-ups. It was nice to be able to sit in the shade and drink coffee and eat cake whilst birding though.

Bananaquit

Blue Dacnis and Bananaquit

We had one last go at the Magroves back at Peruibe, failing once again to connect with any Scarlet Ibis, but finding Green Kingfisher and a Southern Beardless-Tyrannulet which were both new for the trip. After that it was a quick lunch in town and then a two hour drive up a spectacular road to Sao Paulo. This goes through the middle of the Serro do Mar Park, strange in a way, but there is literally no other development other than this one crazy road of viaducts and tunnels. Quite a sight. Traffic in Sao Paulo was much reduced due to a public holiday so there were no holdups at all, and we bade farewell to Bruno and hello to John at a hotel in the Jardim Europa district. Bruno had been great company and a very competent guide, I would not hestitate to travel with him again. Highly recommended.

We confidently identified Plain Parakeet and Sayaca Tanager from our hotel room window

After agreeing a plan for later that evening with John, Mick and I went birding at the Parque do Povo, surprising ourselves by finding 20 species in only a small area, including Shiny Cowbird and Red-crested Cardinal which were both new for the list, as well as Swallow-tailed Hummingbird, Smooth-billed Ani and Guira Cuckoo - these in a city of 20 million inhabitants. That evening we enjoyed the company of John, Cely, Charles and Cristiane. Lovely to finally make the connection after all these years - I had known his father when I was a kid and there was lots to catch up on, stories about my parents and so on, who John had known when they were a lot younger. It is great having family everywhere.

Parque do Povo

Brazil - The Atlantic Rainforest - June 2025 - Day 6 - Legada das Aguas and down to the coast

Day 6 began much as day 5 had done with a casual wander around the buildings and forest margins before breakfast. Today we were moving down to the coast to bird some new habitat, lowland forest and scrub. Given the area was the same, it came as no surprises that the birds were more or less the same. I don't mind seeing more Saffron Toucanets. The Barred Forest-Falcon showed briefly again, with another calling close by, and the early morning Parrot commute included ten Cobalt-rumped Parrotlet, Scaly-headed Parrot and Plain Parakeets at the feeders. Walking down the hill we came across a male Pin-tailed Manakin, three Grey-headed Tody-Flycatcher and a pair of Bay-ringed Tyrannulet. Also our best views of Ferruginous Antbird to date.

Saffron Toucanet

Up on the balcony as we waited for the coffee to brew we enjoyed a last look at the feeders. The Saffron Toucanets were straight back in, as well as all the usual Tanagers and Euphonias. We  spent as long as we could taking photos but we had to pack up - today was a travelling day and we needed to be at Peruibe for lunch. After returning to the accomodation to pack we jammed a Crescent-chested Puffbird by the car.

Violaceous Euphonia - male

Violaceous Euphonia - female

Plain Parakeet

Green-headed Tanager

Olive-green Tanager

Red-necked Tanager

Crescent-chested Puffbird

We spent until late morning on the Copaiba Trail, a different track on the way to the alternative way out of Legado das Aguas. A Variegated Antpitta was tantalisingly close to the path, singing from some way up a slope. It turned out to be in a tree and was completely invisible despite not moving and singing continuously for about half an hour. Our last chance - along with the Mouse-coloured Tapaculo we tried for three times, probably the most annoying bird we encountered! Other birds seen on this trail included Saw-billed Hermit, Star-throated Antwren, another Pin-tailed Manakin, Chestnut-crowned Becard and Grey-hooded Attila.

Mid-morning we drove east. It was a further half an hour before we exited the reserve, this really brings home the size of the protected area. From there it was perhaps just under two hours down to Peruibe. We stopped just once when we saw a lot of Swifts in the air. These turned out to be White-collared Swift, a species we had missed up until now. A bonus Black Hawk-Eagle flew over.

We met Fabio at a restaurant in Peruibe at about 12.30pm. As well as being a bird guide Fabio is also the owner of the Mochileiros Pousada where we would be staying. After another great lunch we headed to the mangroves at Rio Preto on the south edge of town. This being brand new habitat for the trip the new birds came thick and fast - Spotted Sandpiper, Magnificent Frigatebird, Yellow-crowned Night Heron, Little Blue Heron, Cocoi Heron, Common Waxbill and Wing-banded Hornero. 

After driving around the mountain to Guarau we dropped our stuff off at the pousada and headed to the beach. We noted that Fabio's back garden was full of feeders, and in five minutes saw about a dozen species coming in, albeit nothing new. 

Grey-fronted Dove

Rio Peto, Peruibe

The beach was an near-empty vast arc of sand with vegetation all the way around, a small village in the centre, and various small islands offshore. Over one of these several hundred Frigatebirds circled, and our first Kelp Gull were on some rocks. A Vermillion Flycatcher perched near the car. In a way this was a twitch for Bruno, as an out-of-range White-banded Mockingbird had been in the area for several weeks. Sadly for Bruno we dipped it.

The target for the afternoon was the range restricted Red-tailed Parrot, present only in this narrow coastal strip. To reach a good spot we had to drive back through Periube and along the coast. Scanning from the car picked up more Kelp Gull, Sandwich Tern, Royal Tern, Semipalmated Plover and some nesting Burrowing Owl on the short grass between the road and the sand. 

Bare-faced Ibis

Burrowing Owl

We arrived at Itanhaem at around 4pm, just in time for the evening roosting of the Parrots. Walking down a short track we added Azure Jay and several Yellow-fronted Woodpecker. Grey-headed Tody-Flycatcher and Common Tody-Flycatcher were near the car, as was a roosting a Tropical Screech-Owl. Fabio put on a "mobbing" tape and all of sudden birds were everywhere - Social Flycatcher, Chestnut-bellied Seed-Finch, Bananaquit, Violaceous Euphonia, Chestnut-bellied Euphonia, Red-rumped Cacique, Tropical Parula and all sorts of Tanagers. Back on the road we heard the first Amazons, that loud guttural squak seemingly common to all the family. Whilst most were flying over we did manage to see a pair feeding in a tree. A short distance away we picked a spot on the flyway to watch the Red-tailed Parrots come over. Rusty-margined Guan was a surprise here, as was a Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl. We stayed here until dusk and then drove back to Peruibe, the final tally of Parrots 92. Our final guided day was nearly upon us, these trips go quickly as you are so busy.

Azure Jay

Tropical Screech-Owl

Channel-billed Toucan

Red-tailed Amazon

Red-tailed Amazon