Brazil - July 2024 - Day 3 - Chapada dos Guimaraes and transfer to the Pantanal

As we were packing the car at obscenely early hour a Common Potoo called in the garden of the Pousada, and we got nice views as it sat on top of a pole. The previous evening we had heard Common Pauraque calling so this was a decent double act of nocturnal birds. It was our final morning in this area before heading back south through Cuiaba and to the start of the Transpantaneira.

We started on the edge of the plateau, the view above, picking our way down to the forest edge from the road. Scaled Pigeon and Picazuro Pigeon flew over, and as we descended we could hear the barking call of a Barred Forest-Falcon. At times this seemed to be directly in front of us but try as we might we could not see it. Only when it moved did I catch a glimpse, but Richard and Bob would give me so much shit if I counted it that I have not. I may yet, it was a crap view but there was no doubt given the calls. We also had our one and only Planalto Hermit down here, as well as the briefest glimpes of a Glittering-bellied Emerald.

We birded for much longer at our next stop, Para o Peba, a long straight dusty track through prime Cerrado habitat. Here we added Spot-backed Puffbird, five White Woodpecker (as flyovers as we approached the turn-off), Rufous-winged Antshrike, Rusty-backed Antwren, Fulvous-crowned Scrub-Tyrant, Black-faced Tanager, Cinnamon Tanager, Burnished-buff Tanager, and Blue Dacnis. Somehow many of them posed for photographs as they tried to work out where our whistling Owl mimicry was coming from. This was our last visit to this habitat and we were still finding new species. Imagine if you spent a week here! In actual fact we were squeezing two trips into one, as most tours would spent much longer in the Pantanal as well as more days in the Cerrado, but this was a custom tour designed to see as much as possible in just a week. Brad knew both areas exceedingly well and was happy to accomodate. We didn't see everything of course, but we saw a good portion of our most wanted birds.

Red-crested Finch

Lesser Elaenia

Black-faced Tanager

Swallow-tailed Hummingbird

Blue Dacnis

Plain-crested Elaenia

 Burnished-buff Tanager

Glittering-throated Emerald

Blue-tufted Starthroat

Spot-backed Puffbird

Rufous-winged Antshrike

By 9.30am we were back in the shaded Vale da Bencao. We started at the opposite end to our first visit and started seeing good birds almost immediately. By far the best of these and almost a dream bird to see so well, was Pavonine Cuckoo, tracked down on call and then amazing found sitting tight on an obscured branch. It is described as "fiendishly hard to see" so I am not sure what we had done to so please the Birding Gods. We also found Swallow-winged Puffbird here as soon as we stopped the car, and in the forest itself a good selection of Woodpeckers included Little Woodpecker and White-wedged Piculet. Sibilant Siryestes - what a name! - was finally seen, a bird we had heard a few times but never set eyes on.

Pavonine Cuckoo

We had an early lunch at the usual spot before heading off on the journey south to the Pantanal. It had been a fantastic few two and a half days around Chapada dos Guimaraes, and well worth fitting it in even if it meant fewer days in the Pantanal itself. We had seen 163 species by this point, many of which were unique to this habitat and that we wouldn't see in the wetlands. To say we were delighted and also hugely enthused by what was to come would be a huge understatement.

Piuval entrance track

Once through Cuiaba we started seeing signs for the Transpantaneira, even though the road itself did not officially start until after Poconé, where there is entrance gate known as the Portal. Roughly speaking the Transpantaneira is a 140km long dead end road linking Poconé with Porto Jofre. It is all unpaved and almost entirely straight, drilled across the Panatanal via over 100 bridges in various states of repair. Some are fine, others are very rickety, some are being replaced with more durable structures, and some have been washed away in the wet season and you have to drive around them. This is perfectly possible in the dry season, but in the wet season the road is simply unpassable for regular vehicles and often has to be repaired on the fly. In birding terms the road is divided into three stretches; the northern part (0-60km), the central section (60-120km), and the final stretch (120-Porto Jofre). And at various points along it are wildlife lodges for people like us, a whole industry built on wildlife watching - the Jaguar density here is off the charts.

On the way to the Portal a flock of Blue-and- Yellow Macaw flew over the car, the only ones we would see as this 'classic' parrot has been decimated by the pet trade. Our first stop was at the Tanque dos Padres area. This was excellent and it was all Brad could do to drag us away. Hooded Tanager, Grey-headed Tanager, Blue-crowned Trogon, Smooth-billed Ani, birds everywhere we looked. But it was 2.30 in the afternoon and although we could not believe it there were better areas! Namely the Pousada Piuval, our base for the next two days. We had a brief stop at the Portal to take the same photos that all visiting birders take (though possibly not of small Panthers), and we soon at the entrance to Piuval. 

Wood Stork

Cocoi Heron

Jabiru

Rhea

Plumbeous Ibis

Southern Lapwing

We had all salivated over the Piuval eBird hotspot prior to travelling and the next four and a half hours completely justified our anticipation. We recorded 70 species, including five species of Nightjar after dark - it was an outstanding session with many new birds. The full list is too numerous to list out, but a few selected highlights included loads of Nacunda Nighthawk sitting out on open ground, Bare-faced Curassow, Chestnut-bellied Guan, White-throated Piping Guan, Scissor-tailed Nightjar, Sunbittern, Jabiru, Whistling Heron, Toco Toucan, Hyacinth Macaw, Chotoy Spinetail, Yellowish Pipit and Giant Cowbird. Oh, and not forgetting the Jaguar chilling out on one of the tracks and a Puma slinking off into the night....We went to bed absolutely buzzing. Exhausted but equally almost unable to sleep given the prospects for the following morning.

Common Pauraque

Nacunda Nighthawk

Brazil - July 2024 - Day 2 - Chapada dos Guimaraes and Rio da Casca/Aroe Jari Access Road

We were birding at first light on the north side of Chapada dos Guimaraes on one of the many tracks off the main road that went through the Cerrado. This one was quite well known, and is a hotspot on eBird known as the Estrada da Caixa d'Agua (Water Tower Track). Our main target here was Collared Crescentchest, a real looker but also a real skulker. Brad heard one after about 20 minutes and we hurried to try and see it but it didn't want to give itself up. However it soon became clear that a second bird was also calling from a more distant location and so we made our way through the brush to try and get closer to it. We were initially peering into the thick scrub, but then Richard found it - amazingly it was actually sat up in a tree and gave sensational views, far better than we had been expecting.

One of the Cerrado tracks

Collared Crescentchest

Plumbeous Seedeater

White-rumped Tanager

White-eared Puffbird

White-banded Tanager

Curl-crested Jay

This was a properly good birding spot, nice and quiet for the most part, and with the sun only just up we really enjoyed it. Swallow-tailed Hummingbird was seen well, and a pair of White-eared Puffbirds showed brilliantly in the same tree as a Narrow-billed Woodcreeper, along with a brief Checkered Woodpecker. The Tanagers here were also excellent, with a Shrike lookalike White-banded Tanager and some duetting White-rumped Tanagers. A short distance away we stopped for around ten minutes to specifically find Coal-crested Finch, and of course there it was sitting on a fence with some Red-crested Finch.

Coal-crested Finch

We spent the rest of the morning stopping in at sites wither in or adjacent to the Cerrado. One track in particular just off the main road east of town was very productive. We had stopped for  a Grey Monjita, but there was a lot more down the road than this, with a Pearl Kite perched in a tree in the paddock, Campo Flicker more or less underneath it, and a pair of Blue-headed Parrot in the next tree along. It was still only 9.30!

Pearl Kite

Blue-headed Parrot

Our next stop was more prolonged, a two hour amble along the Estrada Canions do Jamaca. Leaving the car at the head of the road we enoyed great birding mostly shaded from the sun, and gradually accumulated a good list of new birds - Fork-tailed Woodnymph, White-chinned Sapphire, Blue-crowned Trogon, and a fantastic Southern Antpipit that seemed to be able to change locations without moving, a teleporting ability of sorts. Other Antthings were represented by Planalto Slaty-Antshrike, Plain Antvireo, and Large-billed Antwren, and we had a good selection of Woodcreepers, Flycatchers and Tanagers.

Blue-crowned Trogon

Planalto Woodcreeper

We had lunch at the same place as the previous day before returning to Pousada Cambara for a short break. Needless to say it was impossible not to bird the gardens again, with Mouse-coloured Tyrannulet a new bird, Black-fronted Nunbird and Purplish Jay all giving good views along with Sayaca and Palm Tanagers. Meanwhile a large flock of Wood Stork flew over. I cannot recall if we ever managed a siesta or not.

Chaco Eagle...

...and friend

If you see this car don't get in it!

With the heat of the day more or less behind us we set off east to a good area Brad knew along the access road to some caves just under an hour away. Along the road we were fortunate to find a massive Chaco Eagle sat in a tree which was then dive-bombed by a pair of passing White-tailed Hawk with seemingly nothing better to do. A rare bird here, and not expected at all. Once at the access road the birding was sensational. Guira Cuckoo were everywhere, and we had our first good looks at Greater Rhea with a couple of family groups. Further on we found Burrowing Owl and some fabulous Red-legged Seriema right by the roadside. We spent an hour an half driving slowly down this road picking up loads of good birds such as Wedge-tailed Grass-Finch, Double-collared Seedeater and Black-throated Saltator. Towards the caves themselves we got back in the car after seeing a Blue-tufted Starthroat and when Brad turned it over nothing happened. Completely dead. And no mobile signal either. Oh dear. And with none of us being mechanics we were stuck. But Brad is the man for a crisis. As it was closing time for the caves a trickle of vehicles started to pass, and Brad flagged one down. We carried on birding and he then got a life further up the road to the cave offices where he managed to do several things in short order. One, he organised lifts back to town for all of us in two or three different cars that were heading that way. Two, he organised a replacement vehicle with whoever it was that owned the dead one to be delivered to the Pousada. And three, once back he ordered takeaway Pizza and beers seeing as we didn't have car to get into town that evening. And all with minimal fuss - we just carried on birding while all this just happened. This is the mark of someone you want leading a trip.

Black-throated Saltator

Guira Cuckoo

Red-legged Seriema

Burrowing Owl

Anyway, we all got back to town fine, me in a car with some Brazilian tourists and their guide who had been visiting the caves, and Brad, Richard and Bob in a couple of other vehicles that had spaces. On the way back out to the main road we all saw the same Least Nighthawk flying over the fields, so that was a bonus. Pizza and beers were great, and at some point that evening a new vehicle was duly delivered to the Pousada. I don't think we really lost any birding time at all.

Brazil - July 2024 - Day 1 - Chapada dos Guimaraes - Vale da Bencao and Jacama das Araras

Our LATAM flight from London left at about 9.30pm on Thursday evening allowing a full day at work before heading off. We landed in Sao Paulo right on time at 5am local time and had a couple of hours to kill once we were through immigration. The team this time consisted of Wanstead stalwarts Richard and Bob, proven South American bird enthusiasts. Sadly Dave was missing from this Colombia 2022 line-up, but we very much hope that he will be able to join us on the next one.

It was of course dark when we landed and despite straining out of the window we failed to see any bird from the terminal as we waited. Eventually I think I found a Pigeon - excellent, the Sao Paulo list was off! I supplemented this with Crested Caracara from the plane as we taxied out before taking off to Cuiaba in Mata Grosso, a flight of about two hours into central Brazil. A pair of green parakeets distantly ovver the airfield went unidentified.

Arriving in Cuiaba as domestic passengers and with no suitcases to collect we met Brad more or less immediately and got going. Brad is the proprietor of Agani Nature Tours and although he hadn't initialy planned to lead this tour a double-booking meant he stepped in. We were glad that happened, but the poor guy had had perhaps a day and a half at home since finishing his previous tour. If however he was in any way jaded with birding and being away he did not show it in the slightest, he was on good form.

A typical track in the forest around Chapada dos Guimaraes

We headed vaguely north east along the 251 towards Chapada dos Guimaraes, about an hour away. Our first lifer of the trip became Chopi Blackbird underneath a Policia Militar checkpoint. The real fun began when we arrived at the Vale da Bencao just outside of town. Brad stopped the car and we were surrounded by birds. It was quite overwhelming actually, a whirlwhind of activity and I didn't know where to look. I must have missed loads as there was so much going on, but gradually we all calmed down and started getting good looks at things. My God South American birding is incredible, that first proper list ended up at 57 species in a couple of hours, and Brad heard another 20 which didn't show. Highlights were a Little Cuckoo, two Blue Ground Dove, a pair of Large-billed Antwren, Great Antshrike, Sooty-fronted Spinetail, Planalto Tyrannulet, two Flavescent Warbler, five species of Hummingbird, Brown Jacamar, Black-fronted Nunbird, and a Channel-billed Toucan. The trip had most definitely started. 

Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl

Peach-fronted Parakeet

We had an excellent buffet lunch at the Restaurante Trapiche Regionalissimo, and then checked in at our hotel, the Pousada Cambara. After dumping our stuff we birded the garden here briefly, adding a few common things like Pale-breasted Thrush, Rufous-bellied Thrush and White-lined Tanager, before heading off to the nearby Jacama das Araras and what seemed like a fairly new wildlife watching establishment at the end of a straight track into good habitat. The prize here was Red-and-green Macaw which were known to visit a tree to drink, and a platform hide had been built from which to observe them. This also had views over the valley and we saw several other Parrot species - Yellow-chevroned Parakeet, Blue-headed Parrot, and Red-shouldered Macaw. We spent the rest of the afternoon here, with Rusty-margined Guan underneath the tower, Pale-crested Woodpecker and Yellow-tufted Woodpecker visiting the drinking tree, and Undulated Tinamou coming to corn as dusk fell. As we drove out after dark the eyes of Common Pauraque were lit up by the headlights. Back in town one last treat awaited us, with Nacunda Nighthawk circling above the streetlights near what I think was a sports ground. It had been an excellent first day with 79 species seen, of which 33 were new. 

Pale-crested Woodpecker

Red-and-green Macaw

Red-shouldered Macaw

Undulated Tinamou, ISO 12800, 1/20s!!!

Brazil - The Cerrado and Northern Pantanal - July 2024 - Logistics and Itinerary

 

Logistics

• A nine day guided trip with Bob and Richard, with two and a half days in the Cerrado around Chapada dos Guimaraes followed by six days driving the length of the Transpantaneira road from Poconé to the Cuiaba river at Porto Jofre and back. The drive down is every bit as good as when you get there, but of course the real draw is the boat safaris for Jaguar which are present in high numbers around Porto Jofre.
• Guide: A fantastic guide, Brad, organised through his company Agami Nature Tours. He is an excellent birder, but better than that he is also one of the least flustered and most calm people you could ever wish to meet, and when you are miles from anywhere and there is some kind of problem that is a very good thing. In a crisis, or even just a slight hitch, he is the guy you want. And he is great company to boot.
• Costs: This particular trip is quite a long one, as well as requiring a 4x4 vehicle as the Transpanteneria is unpaved. There were also five lengthy boat trips. I think it was the most expensive birding trip I have ever been on at around $4000 excluding the flights, which equates to £3200 or thereabouts. This is of course all inclusive - guiding services, hotels, meals, and all transport.  Consider however that the big UK-based companies will charge in excess of £7000 (that's pounds!!) for a similar itinerary (albeit including flights) and you will be part of a larger group of people you don't know, and you start to see the price in a different light. This is a small group of friends, the full attention of a guide, and a customised itinerary that can be flexed as and when it needs to be. It was worth every penny! A 30% deposit was required up front, with the remainder due three months before departure.
• Flights: We flew on LATAM from London to Cuiaba via Sao Paulo, which cost around £1150 in economy. We paid over the odds to get a flexible ticket, mindful of recent fun and games during the pandemic. The transatlantic leg left at 9.30pm arriving in South America at 5am local time. We then had a perfectly reasonable transfer time to catch the onward flight to Cuiaba that takes around two hours, so we arrived before 9am local time (you gain an hour between Sao Paolo and Mato Grosso). On the way back we left Cuiaba at 6pm arriving in Sao Paolo at 9pm, and the international flight departed at  midnight arriving in London at 3pm the following afternoon. Everything went like clockwork.
• Transport:  All provided for - we went through several 4x4s over the week so it is a good thing this was all included! We also went on five boat trips.
• Accomodation: All included in the price, the lodges were of a high standard throughout. We shared a three person room everywhere we went, which brought the price down a bit.
• Literature/Resources: Well for starters the day-by-day trip itinerary provided by Agami told us most of what we needed to know, and then for actual literature I brought Van Perlo. We eBirded the whole thing. And of course we had a walking talking encyclopedia of Brazilian birds on hand the whole time.
• Food - Very good food everywhere we went - too good one might say! 

Itinerary

• Day 1 - Early morning arrival into Sao Paulo with a two hour connection before an onward flight to Cuiaba in Mato Grosso. Brad picked us up at 9am local time and we were birding the fantastic Vale do Bencao by 10am. Afternoon birding at Jamaca das Araras. Overnight at Pousada Cambara on the outskirts of Chapada dos Guimaraes.
• Day 2 - Early start at the Water Tower track north of Chapada dos Guimaraes for our first taste of the Cerrado, and in particular to track down Collared Crescentchest. The rest of the morning and early afternoon at other spots around the town, and then in the afternoon a trip south-east to the Rio da Casca where we suffered our first car breakdown. Overnight at Chapada dos Guimaraes.
• Day 3 - With a new vehicle we went back out to an area we had attempted to visit the previous morning but had been stymied by road works. Successful here we crossed town again to mop up of some final Cerrado targets before a short final visit to the shady Vale de Bencao. We had an early lunch and then drove south through Cuiaba and to Poconé, the start of the Transpantaneira into the Northern Pantanal. We had enough time that afternoon for a mega birding drive around Pousada Piuval continuning until well after dark. We saw our first Jaguar as well as a Puma. Overnight at Piuval.
• Day 4 - All day at Piuval, but also high drama involving Ants and an emergency trip to a clinic in Poconé to avoid a full-blown anaphylactic incident. It turns out I don't like Fire Ants. This rather destroyed our afternoon birding plans but I had recovered sufficiently by the evening to go out on a nocturnal birding expedition. Overnight at Piuval again, and we also exchanged our new car for the now repaired old one.

• Day 5 - Early morning at Piuval before carrying on south to the Hotel Pantanal Mato Grosso at Pixaim (just under the half-way mark) via Rio Bento Gomes. Afternoon boat trip on the Rio Sararé where somehow Brad and the boat driver pulled a Zigzag Heron out of the bag. Overnight at the the aforementioned hotel.

• Day 6 - The car broke down again, albeit with a different problem, so we spent the morning birding on foot along the river until a new one showed up from Cuiaba. We then had a slow and very birdy drive down to Porto Jofre at the end of the Transpantaneira. The habitat was amazing all the way down, in particular the marshy area known as Campos do Jofre just before you reach the river.

• Day 7 - All day on the Cuiaba river in a high-powered boat with a break for lunch.  The principal aim was seeing Jaguar but of course the birding is absolutely sensational. There are lots of boats on the river and tributaries and they all stay in contact with each other so that when a Jaguar is seen they all converge. Despite the wacky races element that this inevitably created this was an amazing day of birding. And luckily we did see Jaguar! Overnight at the Hotel Pantanal Norte. 

• Day 8 - Early morning birding around the hotel, and then back up the road to Rio Claro via the amazing Campos do Jofre. Afternoon boat trip from Rio Claro looking for Agami Heron and other birds. Overnight at the Pousada Rio Claro.

• Day 9 - Another boat trip from Rio Claro in the morning, lunch at Aymara lodge, and then back to Cuiaba for an early evening flight.

Hello 2025

Well here I am again.... A warm welcome from these parts to wherever you may find yourself reading from. Another year beckons, indeed has now arrived. Remarkably as one year transitioned into the next I was invited to a party - this never happens. Even more remarkably I managed to stay up until gone midnight which also never happens. I think we got home at 2.30am having ticked about ten Robins singing under street lamps on the walk back. Needless to say I did not go birding on New Years Day. The weather was disgusting anyway, very unconducive to being outdoors in it. Some brave local souls gave it a good go and were rewarded with a Bullfinch in the Old Sewage Works, a bird I've not seen locally for what seems like an age. I must potter over there at some point.

So far I've managed to look out of the window for approximately eight minutes and so my yearlist is now 15 species. It includes a Redpoll though which is pretty good for the garden. Just a flyover of course, but they all count. Broadly the plan this year is to do the same as last year - I had my usual mix of being here and being away but still ended up on 117 species locally in 2024 which is actually one of my higher totals. If it ain't broke don't fix it. Birding abroad will continue to feature but perhaps not as strenuously as last year. I have no lofty four figure aspirations, I scratched that itch last year. 

Talking of birding abroad I have devoted a few quiet moments to finally writing up my epic trip with Bob and Richard to Brazil in July last year. I had forgotten quite how many photographs I ended up taking and it has taken an age to work through the first few days whilst remembering  exactly what was seen where. With so many different birds this has been very taxing. I am making good progress though and in a few days I'll start to inflict them on you as the usual day by day blog posts. Sorry not sorry. For now here is a bit of a South American taster, with a Ringed Teal that decided to visit Wanstead last Sunday. Pretty sure it didn't arrive directly from Argentina....