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.
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| 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.
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| Violaceous Euphonia - male |
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| Violaceous Euphonia - female |
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| Plain Parakeet |
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| Green-headed Tanager |
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| Olive-green Tanager |
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| Red-necked Tanager |
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| 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.
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| Grey-fronted Dove |
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| 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.
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| Bare-faced Ibis |
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| 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.
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| Azure Jay |
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| Tropical Screech-Owl |
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| Channel-billed Toucan |
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| Red-tailed Amazon |
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| Red-tailed Amazon |
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