Brazil - The Amazon - June 2026 - Day 5 - ZF2 Tower and transfer to Novo Airão

I can't remember what time we got up but it was pretty brutal. Bags packed in advance and we off - south on the only road towards Manaus. We probably had just over an hour in the car before the ZF-2 tower turnoff, after which it is a futher 10+ miles west along a track into the forest where the research tower is situated. It's 53m tall, quite staggering, and protrudes well above the canopy. Right at the top are a load of scientific instruments and because of these you have to be accompanied by Amazonian Institute staff. This needs to be organised in advance and a disclaimer signed. There is no lift....

Impressive!

So very early in the morning, still dark, we pulled off the main road and waited for our minder. A big 4x4 pulled up but it was not who we were waiting for, instead it was another guide and two birding clients. Shortly after that the 4x4 we were waiting for arrived and the driver of this got out and got in our car and we got in his - somewhat beefier than our own - and headed a bit further down towards the tower with our original car following us. But only for a short while until the road got a bit wider and there was space for one car to pull over. The slight sticking point was that the driver was scared of the jungle and being left alone in it. I mean the guy lives in Manaus? Anyway Brad bigged him up, said it would OK, gave him a hug and said not to get out or whatever, and off we went.

Excitement was building as it started to get light. The track to the tower is not a good one, I could see why we had swapped vehicles, and the final stretch was essentially a small river. It had clearly been raining a great deal, and the signs for more were rather ominous. At the base of the tower stood a small shelter, and underneath this were the occupants of the first car, two Australian birders on a mega world tour, months and months I seem to remember. Retirees huh. My time will come. Hopefully.

After a bit of coffee and fruit we could wait no longer and started to climb the steps. On and on and on, exhausting for an old guy like me who takes lifts. And then what should happen on the penultimate level? A huge squall blew in is what, and sent us scurrying all the way back down to the bottom to take shelter. Ugh.

I estimate we lost an hour to this storm, but eventually it passed through and we were back on. The second ascent was no less draining than the first but this time we made it to the top and what a view awaited us! The Amazon rainforest to the far horizon in all directions. Words and pictures can't adequately describe it, it is monumental. And it is a long way down!

Selfie king

Five Band-rumped Swift were moving above the canopy, and a large distant blob with two smaller blobs turned out to be our second Harpy Eagle of the trip. The smaller blobs were White-throated Toucans, themselves not exactly small. Huge, it had its wings partially stretched out as it dried off after the rain. It was exciting birding but hard work, birds in the Amazon are not as omnipresent as you would expect. We saw our first Channel-billed Toucan and although not as numerous as White-throated Toucan we ended up seeing four. A lot of the birding was about distant blobs, some of which were variously Black-and-white Hawk-Eagle, White Hawk, Spangled Cotinga and Purple-breasted Cotinga, the latter two we would have liked to have seen a lot closer but the scope views were ok. Occasionally a feeding flock would pass through trees closer to the tower, and these contained at times Black-capped Becard, Glossy-backed Becard, Olive-green Tyrannulet, Amazonian Elaenia, Todd’s Sirystes, Yellow-throated Flycatcher and Slaty-capped Shrike-Vireo. Knocking all of these into a cocked hat rarity-wise, if not on looks, were a pair of Guianan Gnatcatcher which per eBird hardly anyone ever sees. Mega. Various Parrots did flybys, Dusky Parrot, Blue-headed Parrot, Mealy Amazon, Red-fan Parrot, Golden-winged Parakeet and Scarlet Macaw.

White-throated Toucan

Spangled Cotinga

Guianan Toucanet. My mate Claude, or one of his mates, has had a go at this, removing lots of branches. It is scarily fascinating what AI can do - to be covered in another post. This is the only photo I've massaged so far on this trip report.

Rain forced us down again after about an hour, you could see it rolling in from the south-west in good time, but the stoppage was shorter and whilst it meant we had to go all the back to the ground and then back up again we didn't lose that much birding time. Other birds here during the two sessions were Black-eared Fairy, Fork-tailed Woodnymph, Yellow-tufted Woodpecker, Yellow-throated Woodpecker and amazing views of a close Lineated Woodpecker. And last but not least we got excellent views of Guianan Toucanet which was one of the birds that we really needed to see from this tower. What remained of the morning passed all too soon and it was time to go. In fairness activity had really tailed off, but it was already 11.15am and we had a very long drive ahead of us - back to Manaus, over the Rio Negro, and then west unti the road runs out at Novo Airão. By leaving the tower before lunch we could get an hour or so later on in entirely different habitat. We lucked out on the drive back out to the main road with six Grey-winged Trumpeter crossing the access track.

Lineated Woodpecker

Guianan Gnatcatcher. Mega!

It was indeed a long drive, albeit punctuated by a quick buffet lunch near Manaus airport. I am not sure we stopped at all other than that and it was probably a good thing we didn't dally. The road from Manaus to Novo Airão deteriorates quite badly at some stages, and there is probably a 40km stretch with stupid numbers of dangerous potholes that you have to slalom around and that takes ages. Nonethess by about half past four we pulled off the main road at the Ramal da Sombrinha Cor de Rosa to start our first Terra Firma birding.

Duida Woodcreeper and Dwarf Tyrant-Manakin were both new species, as were Gilded Barbet, Black Caracara and White-fronted Nunbird. Actually there was more cross-over than I had been expecting with Black-eared Fairy and Fork-tailed Woodnymph amongst other species we had seen quite a few of north of Manaus. As the day drew to a close we managed to see a pair of Black-tailed Tityra, and two Yellow-rumped Cacique and over 70 Red-rumped Cacique headed off to roost. And we did too, to the Amazoniaa Park Suites. A long day, but a good one.

Brazil - The Amazon - June 2026 - Day 4 - Guiana Shield birding around Presidente Figueredo - Cachoeira da Neblina and Aldeai Mari Mari

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.

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.

Piratic Flycatcher

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....

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.

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!

Aldeia Mari Mari

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.

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. 

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!

Brazil - The Amazon - June 2026 - Day 3 - Guiana Shield birding around Presidente Figueredo - Tucumanduba and Ramal do Bacurau

We were on the road well before 6 having had a very early breakfast at the lodge. All good wildlife lodges recognise the need for early starts and the Calango Azul was no different. We were headed east, along the road to Balbine, constructed as I understand it in order to create a dam on the Uatuma River. We stopped well before this at the Ramal do Tucumanduba, passing a Variable Chachalaca en route as it exploded across the road. Luckily we missed it.

We were to spend over five hours walking just over mile along the Ramal do Tucumanduba, this is how intense the birding is. It's a reasonably wide track, enough space for two cars to pass in certain places, and also with spots to pull a car off to allow another to get by. I guess we drove a certain distance down it before continuing on foot, possibly a fallen tree had something to do with this but such is the passage of time (this was in late June, it is now September) I cannot now recall.

Amazonian Pygmy-Owl

In short it was excellent birding the whole way along. Collared Forest-falcon was heard early on, and one of the first birds we saw was a Marail Guan, a new species for this family for me. It is hard for me now to remember what came when, and whilst it would be easy to type out a long list of birds (or get my mate Claude to do that) I will just pick a few highlights. I think we saw 58 species, with Brad adding a further 13 or so, so really quite a birdy walk. The big target here was Blue-backed Tanager, a really difficult bird that few people see and one of our most wanted species. Brad picked it up on call and managed to track it down. Pretty sure there was only one bird, but we ended up seeing it several times. Other notablebirds included Screaming Piha, White-throated Manakin, White-fronted Manakin, White-crowned Manakin and Paradise Jacamar. A Pompadour Cotinga was great, but a female so we missed the full pomp and circumstance - they all count though! Black-spotted Barbet showed well, and Antpeople were represented by two Cinereous Antshrike, a Brown-bellied Stipplethroat, two White-flanked Antwren, two Grey Antwren, two Spot-backed Antwren, two Black-headed Antbird, and a Rufous-capped Antthrush. Whilst these were all shades of charcoal grey, a contrast of riotous colour was provided by Flame-crested Tanager, Fulvous-crested Tanager, Fulvous Shrike-Tanager, Silver-beaked Tanager, Blue-backed Tanager, Spotted Tanager, Black-faced Dacnis, Blue Dacnis, and Green Honeycreeper. Most of the this action seemed to happen high above our heads and the trees in the Amazon are particularly tall - we used neck muscles that rarely get a look in and it was very tiring.

Blue-backed Tanager

Brad

Brad also noted that this was a good spot for Blackish Nightjar and sure enough he found one perched close to the edge of the track. Another bird recolated to the track itself which made for a much nicer photograph - it is amazing how close you can get if you are slow and steady. I no longer lie down to take photographs, especially not in countries that host unfavourable Ants, but had I done so the images could have been epic.

Blackish Nightjar

Blackish Nightjar

Hummingbirds were represented by Straight-billed Hermit, two Black-eared Fairy, a Grey-breasted Sabrewing, a Fork-tailed Woodnymph, a Versicoloured Emerald and a Rufous-throated Sapphire. Alas my Sony 200-600mm lens at f6.3 is basically too slow to get anything decent, this is one of those situations where I wished I still had the Canon 500mm f4. What a lens that was. Then again I would likely have left it in the car, towards the end I hated carrying that thing. There were so many other good birds it is hard to know where to start. I really liked the Yellow-billed Jacamar and Paradise Jacamar, but equally the Black-spotted Barbet, Green-backed Trogon and Guianan Violaceous Trogon were pretty sensational as well. This is just what birding in South America is like. If like me you spend much of your birding life wandering round a lifeless inland patch in the UK, birding in South America can almost be too much, you almost can't believe it can be as good as it is and you end up questioning your life choices. Greyish Mourner is less spectacular, but you have to work so hard to actually find it despite being able to hear it that it becomes much more exciting than it fact is. The same can probably be said of Bright-rumped Attila, another fiendishly difficult bird to track down. There were many more birds seen but I'll spare you - have a look at the eBird checklist instead. You can also see the extra list of birds that Brad heard or saw, and that we were too deaf/slow to get on. He did all the eBirding, and so each night when he submitted them we went through the painful task of deleting everything that we had missed!

Tried very hard but didn't find any of these

We returned to Presidente Figueredo for lunch at Urubiu. Tambaqui anyone? To be fair it was really good at this restaurant, expertly grilled right on the street. The place was hugely popular, no doubt because it was the weekend and the swimming area nearby. After lunch we burned half an hour to try and see a sub-adult Harpy Eagle that had been reported close by but not joy. At some point we had mentioned wanting to try for this species, but with no real expection of being able to, and this is not a bird you see soaring over the forest. Brad had his ear to the ground though and put in a phone call to a guy who looked after a nest - inactive now, but the bird occasionally returned and had done so that morning. When the nest had been active a year or so ago and so had been a pretty popular spot for birding tours - indeed the local who had found the nest and turned it - for those in the know at least - into a little side hustle. The bird had unfortunately disappeared however the guy who met us there suggested it was probably still in the area as the parents had left food for it. Food for thought for us..... We then returned east to a site close to our lodge, the Ramal do Bacurau. The main draw here was a Capucinbird lek, I suspect one that is not generally advertised. There were perhaps five birds making the strangest of sounds, a cow in agony or something along those lines, and when you managed to set eyes on one you realised that they looked even odder than they sounded which is quite saying something. Unfortunately they were very high up and mostly obscured by foliage so I don't have any sparkling photos so that you can see what I mean.

We added another Jacamar to our burgeoning collection along this road, Bronzy Jacamar, as well as another Paradise Jacamar, and a Curve-billed Scythebill was a special treat. In a small clearing about to become a lodge was a Grey-breasted Sabrewing, a pair of Corya Wren, and along the track/road we found quite a few birds on the forest edge, usually quite high up, with Fulvous-crested Tanager, a pair of Silver-beaked Tanager, four Opal-rumped Tanager, Green Honeycreeper and Bananaquit. A miniature chicken was also seen, a Rufous-capped Antthrush that stayed deep in cover. There were also some very noisy Variable Chachalaca in a bush that, much like the bird in the morning, exploded out when we passed and kind of ran/jumped higher up into the trees. The only downside to this track was that it was quite busy with cars as it leads to a swimming hole. As the day drew to a close a veritable convoy of vehicles came streaming out, disturbing the birding each time.

Yellow-billed Jacamar

Grey-breasted Sabrewing

Green-backed Trogon

White-throated Manakin

Just before dusk we spent a quick ten minutes at Ramal Comunidade Marcos Freire. Here we noted a Greater Yellow-headed Vulture with four White-throated Toucan, two Rusty-margined Flycatcher, a Variegated Flycatcher, five Tropical Kingbird, and a Silver-beaked Tanager. Quite a birdy ten minutes! Our final stop for the day was at Aldeia Marí Marí. We were here for a really special bird, White-winged Potoo Brad explained that the post they usually landed on, a dead palm trunk, had fallen over in the last year but that he was hopeful that the birds were still present. Sure enough as it became properly dark they started calling and we were able to locate them in trees. Hardly anyone sees this bird apparently, so we had got really lucky - all you need to do is look at the eBird observations, less than 1000. A Great Tinamou was also heard along with a Short-tailed Nighthawk, and a Common Pauraque was on the road as we drove back to the lodge for a bit of food and a beverage.

Variegated Flycatcher

Brazil - The Amazon - June 2026 - Day 2 - Marchantaria boat trip and up to Presidente Figueredo

After the storm at Manaus

An early start saw us take a taxi down the CEASA port in Manaus. Our boatman Herculano was coming across the river to pick us up, but just as we arrived and he might have been leaving the most immense electrical storm blew in from the west. Under the corrugated roof of CEASA the noise was deafening, this was not weather to be out on a boat and we had choice but to wait it out. Just as you thought it could not become more intense it did exactly that. Incredible, and actually quite exciting despite being frustrating. The shed we were in was the loading area for the ferry across the Rio Negro and Amazon to connect with the southbound road. For a road supposed to undriveable there was a lot of traffic but I suppose that most of it wasn't going very far, just connecting to the communities on the south side. There were plenty of small boats too, but everyone was simply waiting as the rain thundered down. The gutters became rivers, then torrents - the ground here is sloped down to the river bank for the roll-on-roll-off ferries - low affairs with no superstructure, just a floating platform really. We spent the time we unexpectedly had to have little breakfast as the skies lightened and the rain and wind began to ease. And of course we started to note birds as well. Short-tailed Swift were over the water, a Black-crowned Night Heron flew by as did a Ringed Kingfisher, Large-billed Tern and Osprey. It was still only just gone six so we had probably only lost half hour. Meanwhile Brad and Herculano kept in touch, both wanting to know what the weather was like on the other side that they could not see.

Team Amazon - Bob, Richard & Brad (L-R)

Leaving Manaus

We were on our way by about 6.20am, heading across the water to the Furo de Catalão, a channel through the river islands to the Amazon proper. What was genuine island and what was floating vegetation was hard to distinguish but there were birds everywhere. Black-bellied Whistling-Duck were on a small island with eight Brazilian Teal, and as we approached Nacunda Nighthawks rose and flew ahead of the boat. Wattled Jacana padded along some floating greenery, with Snowy Egret and a Striated Heron, and a Yellow-headed Caracara was overhead. Even out here you get parrots, with two fly-by White-winged Parakeet, two Chestnut-fronted Macaw, and a pair of Festive Amazon in a tree, most of which was probably underwater. An Oriole Blackbird spotted by Richard showed nicely in the early morning sun.

Rio Negro river community

Matupas on the Amazon

A little further on, at a site called Ponta de baixo, Herculano slowed the boat down and we started to bird the Marchantaria properly, seeking out individual species that live here and only here. The floating vegetation here held numerous Yellow-hooded Blackbird, and amongst these Brad was able to tempt out Azure Gallinule and Purple Gallinule, the former a really tricky species. Things were off to a good start. In a quiet lagoon Herculano stopped the engine and switched to an oar. This proved the ideal way to see birds. We tracked down Green-throated Mango and Olive-spotted Hummingbird here, and close by were some roosting Ladder-tailed Nightjar which we were able to maneuvre quite close to. The real specialities here are the Antbirds and Furnarids, and with Brad clearly working to a mental list we gradually added them all. Black-and-white Antbird, Yellow-chinned Spinetail, Red-and-white Spinetail, White-bellied Spinetail, Dark-breasted Spinetail, Straight-billed Woodcreeper and a Zimmer’s Woodcreeper were all seen in vegetation just above the water. There were also Spotted Tody-Flycatcher, a Little Woodpecker, a Spot-breasted Woodpecker, White-winged Becard and Cinereous Becard. It wasn't even 7am.

Yellow-hooded Blackbird

Azure Gallinule

Oriole Blackbird

Festive Amazon

Black-and-White Antbird

Ladder-tailed Nightjar

As we carried on we passed Horned Screamer on the side of the bank, the only ones we were to see. Out on the river we could see more Large-billed Terns and some Black Skimmer, meanwhile the vegetation had perched Cocoi Heron and Straited Heron. The number of parrots continues to astound in this watery landscape, with Short-tailed Parrot, Tui Parakeet, and White-winged Parakeet. It was around here that I also saw my first Hoatzin, a much wanted bird. More furnarids were seen on the edges of the Ilha Nova, including three Dark-breasted Spinetail, two Yellow-chinned Spinetail, Red-and-white Spinetail, White-bellied Spinetail, and two Parker’s Spinetail in some tall reeds. Also excellent views of Lesser Wagtail-Tyrant.

Red-and-white Spinetail

White-bellied Spinetail

Lesser Wagtail-Tyrant

By mid‑morning we arrived at the innundated Ilha da Marchantaria, but we couldn't even land the boat, there was no point getting off. I think I got as far as putting my wellies on but they were not needed. There were more Hoatzin here, along with five Buff-necked Ibis and Great Black Hawk, Savanna Hawk and a Roadside Hawk. We anchored the boat in the strong current for great views of Short-tailed Parrot and the Hoatzin. Further on we took a narrow channel called the Paraná Xiboreninha, a short cut to where we were having lunch. Along here were our first Chestnut-eared Aracari. Good numbers of Flycatchers here as well, with Yellow-browed Tody-Flycatcher, Olive-faced Flatbill, Southern Beardless-Tyrannulet and Yellow-crowned Tyrannulet alongside the ever present Great Kiskadee and White-throated Kingbird.

Hoatzin

Short-tailed Parrot

We parked the boat at the floating restaurant and walked through the shop to the boardwalk. Our timing was excellent and we had the place - the Parque Ecológico Janauari - to ourselves. Two Great Potoo were noted at the start, and as we went deeper in the birding got better and better with Black-fronted Nunbird, two Spotted Puffbird, Crimson-crested Woodpecker, Cream-coloured Woodpecker, two Long-billed Woodcreeper, Striped Woodcreeper, a Straight-billed Woodcreeper, two Zimmer’s Woodcreeper. At the far end of the boardwalk was sheltered lagoon with Amazon water lily pads - the Victoria amazonica species made famous by English aristocrats in the 1800s, and latterly by Kew Gardens. We had a fine buffet lunch at back at the restaurant, our timing once again excellent as we were just finishing when the first boats of Manaus day-trippers started to arrive.

Great Potoo

Black-fronted Nunbird

Striped Woodcreeper

Spotted Puffbird

Tui Parakeet

A Spintail, probably Striped....

We made a quick stop at the Meeting of the Waters, where the black Rio Negro meets the white water Solimoes to become the Amazon. For many miles the northern water remains black, the southern side a muddy brown, they are quite different temperatures as well. Gradaully they blend into one to form the mightly Amazon.

The Meeting of the Waters

Herculano dropped up back at the port shortly after midday and we returned to the hotel to pick up our stuff and pack the vehicle for the trip north to Presidente Figueredo. But first came the big twitch. Agami Heron. I forget how much time we spent, fruitlessly, searching for Agami Heron in the Pantanal - and this is the bird Brad's company is named after!! It was stinking hot in Manaus, and as we made our way to the National Institute of Amazonian Research at the Bosque da Ciência. There is only one pond here and after a quick look at some Amazonian Manatee in a tank we headed straight to it, Richard striding ahead as always when a 'big' bird is in the offing. I don't think we were really expecting it to be there, but surely this was it, under a rock on the left hand side. I casually pointed it out, directions deliberately a little vague to see how many expletives I could get out of him. I wasn't entirely sure myself to be honest, it was under an overhang but for a supposedly invisible bird was essentially out in the open and the only obvious bird in sight although later we would also pick up Black-crowned Night Heron, a Striated Heron and a Cocoi Heron. Richard stayed reasonably calm in the circumstances but nonetheless it was good to see a bit of classic behaviour. The bird stayed in the same spot the entire time we were there, an overhanging rock on a tiny ornamental island the only habitat that, to the bird, felt like a dark cool forest. What it was doing there I have no idea, but juvenile birds presumably disperse and work their way down streams and rivers, and occasionally, like this one, hit civilisation. We tried to work out where we could best photograph it from but the answer was nowhere. A sudden squall forced our retreat to the car, my umbrella helped a bit, but no amount of actual dampness could dampen our high spirits after this unexpected success.

Agami Heron. Look at that bill!

We hit the road at about 3pm for the drive north out of Manaus. Brad made good time, and so at about 4.30pm we pulled into a petrol station on the outskirts of Presidente Figueiredo. These places don't scream birds, but anywhere where you are near the edge of forest is going to be good around here and so it proven. Swifts overhead were Band-rumped Swift and Fork-tailed Palm Swift, and on the southern edge Hummingbirds fed. The star of the show was a Crimson Topaz, but Long-tailed Hermit and Black-eared Fairy were pretty cool too, The real prize here is Point-tailed Palmcreeper, and there were a number of the correct palms in the neighbourhood. We could hear the bird calling, but Brad said the only time we would likely see it would be as it flew between the crowns. How odd then to find it in a bare-branched tree some way from the relevant palms - we got amazing scope views before it flew towards us and vanished into a palm crown before creeping up the top of a frond. Another bird then followed it - excellent! Also here were Yellow-tufted Woodpecker, Lineated Woodpecker, Chivi Vireo, Variegated Flycatcher, Sulphury Flycatcher, Yellow-bellied Elaenia, Small-billed Elaenia and Fulvous-crested Tanager.

Point-tailed Palmcreeper

We pulled into our lodge, the Pousada Paraiso do Calango Azul at around 6pm in a habitat totally different to that we had birding in the morning, with a whole new set of birds. This was the Guianan Shield, and we had two full days in which to try and do it some kind of justice. In the meantime Caipirinhas all round.