Brazil - The Atlantic Rainforest - June 2025 - Day 4 - Intervales State Park and transfer to Legado das Aguas

We started the day with another attempt at Variegated Antpitta on the trail near the restaurant, the Trilha da Barra Grande. Betin knew of a bird there that he hoped to coax out. The bird was present, correct, and uncoaxable. I've forgotten the exact score but we were several down already and it wasn't even half time. Leaving the Antpitta to play hide and seek with itself we continued a bit further and were rewarded with a pair of Hooded Berryeater, very hard to see in the canopy but eventually one stayed still long enough to get a good view. This was one of the key birds we 'needed' to see here. There were also two Rufous-capped Motmot on the trail in the half-light.

We popped in to the ground feeders to see if any Wood-Quail were around, but it was quite quiet other than a....Variegated Antpitta calling from the track a short way below the feeders. We gave this bird half an hour standing silently in the forest as it called from our left, then our right, then our left again, without ever giving itself up. This is the way. Good views however of another Green-backed Trogon and a Red-Ruffed Fruitcrow.

Bruno taking the same photo I did - it became the trip report header

Betin looking out at Helmeted Woodpecker landscape

The rest of the morning was spent on the Carmo Road. This time we drove further down, even managing to get the car underneath the fallen tree, which meant we got further away from humanity. The habitat appears the same, but I suppose that the deeper into the forest you get the more cohesive it becomes. This was certainly the case as we had not been gone from the vehicle long when Betinho called a Helmeted Woodpecker. Bruno was a short way behind us and came running - when a veteran bird guide starts running you know you are onto a good thing. It showed fantastically well for a bird we had virtually no chance of seeing. Bruno had not seen one for an eternity, and even Betin had had a blank year in 2024. This is a bird that even the people who spend days and days here hardly ever see. It came in from down the slope and then crossed the track to call from some tall trees above us. Two Black-fronted Piping-Guan were in the same tree.....I love it when a plan comes together. We also had excellent view of many Ant things - Spot-backed Antshrike, Tufted Antshrike, Plain Antvireo, Ferruginous Antbird, Ochre-rumped Antbird, Streak-capped Antwren and Squamate Antbird. A feeding flock of Tanagers contained another new one, Brassy-breasted Tanager, and we were also treated to two pairs of Magpie Tanager and several Cinnamon-vented Piha were in the same area. A very vocal Least Pygmy Owl played the Antpitta role.

Helmeted Woodpecker

Black-fronted Piping-Guan

Late morning we returned to the Pousada to pick up our stuff and gave the ground feeders one more go. Guess what? Bruno could tell we were itching to get back to the feeders at the village so we did not linger. Who needs Wood-Quail anyway?

Dusky-legged Guan

At the village Mick outdid himself with a spectacular new perch complete with air plants, we almost decided to skip lunch. As ever it was a Tanager-fest, although perhaps not with the breadth of species that had been there the day before. The overall list, by this stage at 180+, was augmented by a Ringed Kingfisher, a Ruddy Ground Dove and a Cliff Flycatcher, and I also finally managed to see Red-rumped Cacique, a bird that everyone else had seen daily but I'd always been looking in the opposite direction. I love feeders.

Rufous-bellied Thrush

Brazilian Tanager, female

Brazilian Tanager, male

Blue Dacnis, male

Red-rumped Cacique

Green-headed Tanager

Olive-green Tanager

Social Flycatcher

Azure-shouldered Tanager

It was time to leave. Intervales had been fantastic, surpassing my expectations. We had birded every day from first light to the early evening and sometimes beyond. We gave the fantastic Betinho a small parting gift and headed out the way we had come - there is only one road. There was one more bird to try for though, and a few miles later we stopped at a known locality for Grey-throated Warbling Finch. One duly obliged - this is at the northern limit of their range. And then it was time to drive. Legado das Aguas lay to the east about four hours away. It does not seem that far, but the dirt entrance track is a full 30km long and takes well over an hour. I amused myself by eBirding from the car, trying to populate as much of the Sao Paulo grid as our route would allow.

Slaty-breasted Wood-Rail

We arrived at the reserve headquarters just before 5pm with just enough time to enjoy last knockings at the feeders on the balcony. The reserve has an interesting history, one that I found quite surprising. Back in the 1940s or 50s a Brazilian industrial conglomerate called Votorantim purchased a vast area of the Atlantic Rainforest in order to build a series of small hydroelectric dams to supply its factories. This does not sound especially like a conservation story at this point, however although the dams flooded a portion of the forest, the remainder was preserved as a natural reserve and is now one of largest areas of privately protected land in the State, with a role in education (we encountered a raucous school visit!), a huge nursery dedicated to propogating rainforest species, and research. The result is this huge area around a series of lakes and dams that is essentially untouched. Right in the middle there is a research station with a number of - it has to be said - quite spartan cabins, a canteen, and the nursery. And that's it - the Legacy of the Waters. We finished off the day with some well-deserved Caipirinhas as the sun went down over the Mata Atlantica.

Legado das Aguas