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| The first view. Beyond epic actually. |
This morning was epic! Beyond epic actually. We had made the decision the previous evening to try for the Harpy again even though this meant losing a couple of hours of early morning birding (as we would have driven to our first destination in the dark and started at first light). It seemed a worthwhile trade off, especially when we arrived and walked down the short trail to see the bird's self-appointed guardian with a broad grin on his face. Up there, he pointed, physically maneuvring us into a spot where we could see through a gap. Wow. I mean, wow. It was gigantic, sat in a large tree above the canopy peering down at us like a goofy kid. Ooof, what a bird! Exceedingly dangerous if you're a small or even medium-sized mammal, but there was something comical about it, almost cartoon or muppet-like. You don't think that twitching birds will be a thing when you come to South America but we had lucked out here and with the Agami Heron earlier on. Also at this site were Yellow-tufted Woodpecker, Yellow-green Grosbeak, Screaming Piha, and a Paradise Jacamar.
After a good while soaking up this unexpected and literally enormous bonus we returned to plan A, heading east. Before we turned back onto the main road we stopped for some Black-necked Aracari in some trees, and also present were four Giant Cowbird and a Chivi Vireo. A little further on, at a palm swamp, we found a Red-bellied Macaw, Great White Egret, several Greater Yellow-headed Vulture, a White-throated Toucan, Palm Tanager and a Point-tailed Palmcreeper calling unseen from dense vegetation.
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| Red-bellied Macaw |
Even with our little detour we still arrived at the Cachoeira da Neblina before 8am. This is the start of a long track down to a swimming area and a waterfall, though how anyone ever gets that far I have no idea as it was lethally slippery and anyone actually wanting to get the end would fall over half a dozen times before getting anywhere near any water. Two White-necked Jacobin were recorded with a Long-tailed Hermit and the start of the track where we left the car, as well as Grey-breasted Sabrewing and various other things in the trees and more open vegetation. As it was one one long eBird list it is quite hard looking back now to remember what was where but I recall Flycatcher central before we started, with two Swainson’s Flycatcher, two Rusty-margined Flycatcher, two Yellow-throated Flycatcher, a Piratic Flycatcher, a Tropical Kingbird, and also Rufous-browed Peppershrike and Slaty-capped Shrike-Vireo.
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| Piratic Flycatcher |
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| Cachoeiro da Neblina |
Heading into the forest we found one our main targets, a Great Jacamar along with a Paradise Jacamar and a pair of Black Nunbird. As ever we concentrated on trying to get views of skulkers, which generally means things with "ant" in the name. So along this track we recorded Ash-winged Antwren, a Mouse-coloured Antshrike, Northern Slaty-Antshrike, Dusky-throated Antshrike, Cinereous Antshrike, Long-winged Antwren, Grey Antwren, a Spot-backed Antwren and a Rufous-throated Antbird. I don't think I was able to get a photograph of any of them - it is dark in the forest and my lens is f6.3. I am seriously considering splashing out on a f2.8 of some kind, especially as I now have a camera that could really take advantage of it - more on that another time. The camera I had on this trip is not one that is really suitable for any kind of birding other than the most mundane. The Amazon is not mundane....
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| Grey-crowned Flatbill |
A Double-toothed Kite was seen briefly through a gap, and we had good views of Black-tailed Trogon and Green-backed Trogon, and then heard but could not get on a Guianan Violaceous Trogon. Progress was slow, mainly so as to avoid falling over. In a more open area Brad heard another of our targets, a Guianan Red-Cotinga. We managed to see it, but only really as it shot between trees. I think I managed half the bird perched at one point, but this was a fiendishly difficult bird to see properly. Better views were had of a noisy group of four Red-billed Pied Tanager, a seriously cool-looking bird but one that stayed very high up. Other Tanagers were represented by Flame-crested Tanager, Fulvous-crested Tanager, Silver-beaked Tanager, Blue-grey Tanager, and yet more colour from Black-faced Dacnis, Blue Dacnis, Green Honeycreeper and Bananaquit. Somewhere along the track, or possibly just outside as we emerged, I managed to photograph a Grey-crowned Flatbill.
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| We were driving along the road when we stopped for this Pale-throated Three-toed Sloth. Another driver also stopped and carried it back into the forest. |
We had lunch booked at Aldeia Marí Marí (where we had been the previous evening for the White-winged Potoo) and so shortly before midday we returned to the car and headed back towards Presidente Figueredo. During the morning we had gone less than half a mile into the forest in over four hours!
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| Aldeia Mari Mari |
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| Greater Yellow-headed Vulture |
We parked at the top and descended the long steps down to the restaurant which is by the stream. Buff-throated Saltator and Mouse-coloured Tyrannulet were seen from the table, as well as various Flycatchers. After a very satisfying lunch of fish we headed into the low dry forest. This was amongst the most unpleasantgly hot and humid afternoons of the trip, but we had no choice - this is where the Guianan Cock-of-the-rock lek was located and we needed to see them. And what a treat this was - crazy birds. This is the sister species of the Andean Cock-of-the-rock that we had seen in Colombia, and together they make up the genus Rupicola. There were six birds together in the current lek, and a lone bird in what had been the old lek that had refused to move with the times - this was the bird I was able to get stupidly close to.
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| Guianan Cock-of-the-rock |
Also seen in the forest were Ash-winged Antwren, Pygmy Antwren, White-flanked Antwren, three Spot-backed Antwren, a Guianan Warbling-Antbird, Saffron-crested Tyrant-Manakin, a Whiskered Flycatcher and a McConnell’s Flycatcher.
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| Black Nunbird |
After we emerged from the forest we spent the final hour of light at the top of the hill where there was a good selection of birds on the forest edge. White-lored Tyrannulet, a couple of Pied Puffbird, three Black Nunbird, four Swallow-winged Puffbird, two Bronzy Jacamar and a Paradise Jacamar were seen well, and Plumbeous Euphonia was I think new for the trip at this spot. As the light dimmed Parrots started commuting, with Red-bellied Macaw, Blue-and-yellow Macaw, and Red-and-green Macaw observed. As the light fell futher a Short-tailed Nighthawk was seen with two late Band-rumped Swift.
Marí Marí is pretty close to the Calango Azul so we did not have far to go to reach a refreshing Caipirinha. Only one though as we had a ridiculously early start to head south from Presidente Figueredo to the famous ZF-2 Tower. It's a two hour drive towards Manaus and we needed to meet our guides there before dawn. Alarms set for 3.45am!
