Today was our last day in the terra firme. We had saved one of the best spots here until last, the Ramal do Médico. As was by now customary we had an early breakfast and arrived at first light. We wasted ages right at the start not seeing several birds before climbing over a sandy bund and heading along the track. We probably only went in baerly more than half a mile but it was superb from start to finish with some stonking birds.
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| Apparently Ants live in these hairy pods. |
We finally managed to see Amazonian Violaceous Trogon, the most shy of the Trogons here, we could hear it but as with many birds it took forever to actually pin down, and once it knew it had been rumbled off it went. Good views but a bit stressful! At one stage we dropped everything (not literally) because Brad heard the deep grunt of a Tawny‑tufted Toucanet. Whatever it was we had been trying to see was forgotten and we focussed solely on seeing this bird - under 500 records on eBird. And there it was, high up in a tree, once again requiring the stars to align and a path through the tangle of branches to open up. Another special treat was a Great‑billed Hermit, another bird that was simply unable to spend more than five seconds in any one place. And we finally saw White‑chested Puffbird - this was a bird that we had burned hours on earlier in the week, hearing it clearly and despite tracking it through the forest had never set eyes on. The same story had played out several times. Here, on the Ramal do Medico the same thing happened again, but this time - and to everyone's considerable amazement, Richard very quickly called that he had it! We hadn't even needed to dive into the forest, we were still on the path. What sorcery was this? Careful directions were given, and then there it was!
We also saw another Ringed Woodpecker, several Blue‑backed Manakin really high up, and a Brownish Twistwing nearly caused Bob to have a breakdown. I very nearly missed a Spot-backed Antbird, possibly one of the best looking birds of the trip. I had lagged behind the others mucking about with Snuffi, or taking a photo of a plant or something, possibly both, and when I caught up with the others discovered that they had had point blank views of this most wanted of birds. Brad was in familiar laggard territory though, and whilst the others stood around waiting patiently managed to refind the bird and get me on it. Rather stressful, but we got there, imagine missing it! It was superb!
Other Ant-things on this sensational walk included a Mouse‑coloured Antshrike, two White‑shouldered Antshrike, two Grey Antbird, and a Black‑throated Antbird. We also came across a long-awaited Purple Honeycreeper and Red‑legged Honeycreeper, both in the same flock if memory serves. Rufous‑tailed Flatbill and Dusky‑capped Greenlet were way high up, as was White‑eyed Tody‑Tyrant, and on the walk back out one of my most desired species was found - Musician Wren. Until you hear this bird you can't really comprehend how beautiful it is - a bit like the Nightingale here in Europe, it has been celebrated in verse and song. We had to crouch down very low to see it properly, but once a viewing angle had been established and you could see through to the log upon which it was singing the full miracle of what you were hearing became clear. Wonderful.
We spent nearly six hours on the Ramal do Medico, fully worthwhile. I used my camera precisely zero time, and at almost exactly midday we emerged into the burning heat to head back to the hotel to have lunch and pack up. We had a long drive back to Manaus ahead of us. We tried a few stops along the way but none were especially productive. A few Short‑tailed Swift, lots of American Black Vulture and smaller numbers of Turkey Vulture drifted past. Tropical Kingbird and Great Kiskadee were on the wires, and as we passed some pools I spotted a Snowy Egret but this wasn't really an afternoon for birding - we just needed to get back to the city. We flew out tomorrow.
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