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

Brazil - The Atlantic Rainforest - June 2025 - Day 3 - Intervales State Park - Lajeado Trail

Trilha do Lajeado

Another early breakfast, another early start. Today we were going to bird the Lajeado trail, one of the best spots in the park for the hard to find Russet-winged Spadebill. It's a long trail, mostly downhill along the contours of a hillside, crossing a stream and then continuing further into the forest. About 3km in is the house that Betin was born in, now a ruin. It was dense and shady, and actually rather quiet. Perhaps the birds knew that rain was on the way? As we reached the end of the trail, or at least about as far as the house was, it began to rain. It was only 9am, the weather app had promised that it wouldn't rain until the afternoon. Weather apps in rainforests are useless, I probably should have known that. So at the far end of the trail and as far from the car as we could be, we faced an 3.5km uphill slog on a slippery track in the rain with no birds. Excellent. The perils of birding. However after my experiences in Colombia I now always bird in the tropics with a small umbrella, and this came to my rescue. Mick had left his umbrella in the room...

That said, the walk down - lack of Spadebills aside - had actually been pretty good, and over a couple of hours we had seen upwards of 40 species. These included Surucua Trogon, Lineated Woodpecker, White-browed Woodpecker, Streak-capped Antwren, White-shouldered Fire-eye, four species of Woodcreeper, five different Foliage-gleaners, a splendid Red-ruffed Fruitcrow, Wing-barred Piprites, Grey-hooded Flycatcher, Sao Paolo Bristle-Tyrant, Red-crowned Ant-Tanager and Brown Tanager. No photos, too dark and too wet.

We reached the car just as it stopped raining. Or perhaps it continued to rain along that particular ridge and we were simply now clear of it? Whatever, it was a shame that it had rather curtailed the morning's birding, and had meant the Spadebill had not shown (another visiting birder went down the same track in clear weather the following day and had great views!). We were assured by Bruno that we had another chance at Legado das Aguas.

The park entrance

Rufous-collared Sparrow

White-throated Woodcreeper

With time to kill before lunch we spent the rest of the morning around the buildings near the visitor centre. Around the corner from where we had seen the Red-and-White Crakes earlier in the trip was another small gap in the reeds. This was the feeding station for Rufous-sided Crake, and it wasn't long before one appeared for a meal. It was very shy indeed, and at one stage was chased away by a Red-and-White Crake! Close by we found a Southern Yellowthroat and a Violaceous Euphonia, a White-throated Woodcreeper and the usual cast of Saffron Finch, Hornero,  Rufous-collared Sparrow, Masked Water-Tyrant and Rufous-bellied Thrush.

At the village we scoffed down some food to maximise time at the feeders. Earlier in the morning after breakfast we had reconfigured the perches with a new mossy branch we had found and it was apparent that the birds didn't seem to mind it. Their focus was exclusively bananas, mossy branches were irrelevant. Indeed the biggest problem was that they barely spent any time on the branch at all as they were so fixated on gorging themselves on fruit. In short it was wonderful, with Olive-Green Tanager, Black-goggled Tanager, Ruby-crowned Tanager, Brazilian Tanager, Sayaca Tanager, Azure-shouldered Tanager, Golden-chevroned Tanager, Palm Tanager, Burnished-buff Tanager and Green-headed Tanager all visiting. Brown Tanager came into the tree but never down to the fruit. Variable Oriole were in the Araucaria, and we finally had good views of Campo Flicker.

Olive-green Tanager

Azure-shouldered Tanager

Golden-chevroned Tanager

Black-goggled Tanager

Green-headed Tanager

Brazilian Tanager

Ruby-crowned Tanager

We stopped on the road between the village and the park briefly as it was a good spot for Grey-bellied Spinetail. These were duly persuaded to pop out of the bushes, and we also saw our one and only Fawn-breasted Tanager here, a pair of Grey-headed Elaenia, and a Mottle-cheeked Tyrant.

Back in the park we birded around the Casa de Pesquisa. Unicoloured Antwren showed nicely, as did Lesser Woodcreeper, and a Laughing Falcon was perched in a dead tree. A Brown-breasted Pygmy-Tyrant showed very nicely after a short while, as did White-browed Foliage-gleaner, and several Long-tailed Tyrants perched on the wires near the house but never anywhere for a nice photo. 

Southern Lapwing

Back at the site where we had seen the King Vulture the previous evening we burned another half hour or so on a recalcitrant Mouse-coloured Tapaculo. There were actually two here, very very close to the road but we could see neither. A tough gig. Good views were had of Planalto Woodcreeper and Streaked Xenops though. So a bit of a mixed day, with rain and Tapaculos taking the honours, but the session at the feeders had been just what we had wanted. We still had the following day to eke out a few more species.

Back to brown

A short interlude from lovely bright things to rubbish browny black things. No, not Tapaculos. Wanstead. I've always struggled to get back into local birding after a trip away, it just seems so unsatisfying. This is magnified when returning from the neotropics. So much so that I simply hid my binoculars when I got home from Brazil and it was only as recently as the end of last week that I finally dug them out again and faced the inevitable.

The patch.

My last proper visit was in mid-May when it was green. It is now brown and parched, and as some of you may have spotted in the news, burned and blackened. A familiar story each summer. This time it was over near Alex where the crack dens are, no surprises what happened. Bob and I strolled over there on Thursday morning to take a look. Of course this area has been burned to a crisp several times before, and in fact the Corporation has vastly reduced the amount of cover there in an effort to, er, smoke them out. Still, there remained enough to create a fire of sufficient size to require ten fire engines and 70 firefighters....

The patch news does not end there though. On the banks of Alex, wader-free as always, Bob and I put up a Grey Wagtail. This was actually a year tick and so very exciting. I've been somewhat half-hearted in my pursuit of patch ticks this year, and after a few abortive trips to the stables and the Old Sewage Works earlier in the year I had given up knowing full well that several Grey Wagtail would fly over my head on the Flats in the autumn. So it's a fraction early but I'll take it.

Then on Friday I went for a short bike ride on the patch, through the Park and then across to the Flats. I was minding my own business next to Alex, thinking vaguely about counting the Geese even though I'd pointlessly counted them all on Thursday. Listlessly I scanned the Gulls. Oh, an adult Yellow-legged Gull. Par for the course in late summer and, just like that, another year tick. 

I'm off for a lie down.

YLG. Phone shot. Mmmm mmmm.

Brazil - The Atlantic Rainforest - June 2025 - Day 2 - Intervales State Park - Carmo Road

We drove down to the village for breakfast in the dark. A Slaty-breasted Wood-Rail crossed the road in front of the car, this is how all birding days should begin. Sure enough a light was on, coffee was made, and food laid out. Here we were also introduced to Betin, our local guide during our stay. He had been born in the park and what he didn't know about the wildlife here was likely not worth knowing. Off we went, a short drive slightly further into the park, headed for the start of the Carmo Road, a narrow track that drills about 40km into the forest for reasons unknown. Possibly it was originally for research purposes for it does not lead anywhere and isn't shown on maps. Were it not for the eBird track I could not even have found it.

We went through the gate and abandoned the car after a short distance to proceed on foot. There were birds everywhere, the forest was alive with sound. Sound that we could not identify, but this is why Bruno and Betinho were here, and boy were they competent. The full list can be seen via the link above, but over the course of a five and a half hour walk of no more than 3km 90 species were recorded. Mick and I managed to see 69 of them. Bruno was doing the eBirding, and very kindly annoted his heard onlys so that we could dump them off. A bit sad but them's the rules. Or my rules anyway. Highlights on the Carmo Road were Blue-bellied Parrot, Mantled Hawk, Rusty-breasted Nunlet, Spot-billed Toucanet, Ochre-collared Piculet, White-bearded Antshrike, Squamate Antbird, White-breasted Tapaculo, Black-billed Scythebill, Swallow-tailed Manakin, Green Schiffornis, Sharpbill, White-throated Spadebill, Large-headed Flatbill, Grey-hooded Attila and Black-goggled Tanager. Although I carried my camera the whole way photography was essentially impossible in the dark tangled understory. Either that or the birds were way up the canopy. I soon gave up and concentrated on seeing and listening. Both Bruno and Betin had green laser pens and used the tried and trusted method of firing the dot at a nearby leaf or branch and giving directions from there. How they pick up these things in the canopy and the dense foliage I have no idea. Practice I suppose, but in some instances it appeared to be pure sorcery. We also saw a monkey and a snake, which I think having researched it could be Wagler's Snake (Xenodon merremii). At the time I remember Bruno and Betin initially being worried it was venemous and then saying it was not but looked like one that was, and Wagler's Snake can be confused with a species of Pit Viper. Maybe an ophiologist will come along and correct me.

Green-backed Trogon

Spot-breasted Antvireo. 1 billion ISO.

Back at the village for lunch we investigated the feeders and flowering shrubs for the first time. This more than compensated for the lack of photography in the forest. Betin has a log feeder set up behind one of the houses and restocks it with bananas very frequently to attract a scrum of mostly Tanagers - Azure-shouldered and Green-headed Tanager for the most part, but also Olive-green Tanager, Ruby-crowned Tanager, Sayaca Tanager, Chestnut-backed Tanager, Rufous-headed Tanager, Burnished-buff Tanager, Brazilian Tanager and, briefly, a Blue-and-Yellow Tanager. Blue Dacnis, Chestnut-bellied Euphonia, Saffron Finch, Rufous-bellied Thrush and Golden-winged Cacique made up the rest of the roster. Blue-and-White Swallow flew over the village, Hooded Siskin sat on the wires, White-spotted Woodpecker were in the Araucarias and Social Flycatcher and Great Kiskadee sallied from various perches. It was hard to tear ourselves away and go birding for the afternoon.

Chestnut-bellied Euphonia

Violet-capped Woodnymph

Blue Dacnis - female

Blue Dacnis - male

Chestnut-backed Tanager

Green-headed Tanager

Back into the park (this is literally two minutes from the village) we parked by the gate and enjoyed a pair of Tropical Screech-Owl that regularly roost in the palms there, and then dipped Tufted Screech-Owl that supposedly roosted regularly near the now defunct restaurant. A fruiting tree here was overflowing with birds and we added White-necked Thrush and Pale-breasted Thrush to the list, along with good views of a Sharpbill. In the forest margins were a Dusky-tailed Antbird and several Planalto Tyrannulet. 

Tropical Screech Owl

Planalto Tyrannulet

Our next stop was the Palmito Trail which starts near the pousadas. This is extremely dark and leads to a ground-feeding station known for Spot-winged Wood-Quail. There were none there but to our great surprise a Solitary Tinamou was patiently waiting for corn. Betin duly provided. It's an extraordinary looking bird, a big fat blob with a tiny pin of a head on short slender neck, and it's normally very difficult to see. Indeed shortly after inhaling a load of corn it vanished, melting away into the forest and despite visiting the area a few more times we never saw it again.

Solitary Tinamou. 1 trillion ISO

We spent the final part of the day along one of the internal roads in the park, Guipiara road. Our first stop was incredibly fortuitous, or seemed so anyway, with a Rufous-capped Antthrush on one side of the road running around like a miniature chicken, and then directly opposite it a Slaty Bristlefront that showed extremely well which was a large surprise to all of us. Further up the road we were given the runaround by an ultimately invisible Mouse-coloured Tapaculo (spoiler, final score 5-0 to the Tapaculo) but enjoyed good views of Lesser Woodcreeper, Rufous-breasted Leaftosser, and best of all a King Vulture as dusk was approaching. After dark, back near the village, we found a pair of Rusty-barred Owl in some large pines. It had been a huge day, highly satisfying - the neotropics are what it is all about. 

Betinho topping up the feeder

Brazil - The Atlantic Rainforest - June 2025 - Day 1 - Arrival at Intervales State Park

The flight was uneventful, leaving late on Thursday evening and arriving at 6am local time made for a perfect overnight trip and I slept for most of the way. I could bore you about the plane but I won't. Immigration was very quick (no visa needed for UK travellers btw) and with hand luggage only we were out very quickly. Bruno was waiting at arrivals and we were on our way. The first birds were a Chalk-browed Mockingbird and a Cattle Tyrant in the car park. Naturally we were stupidly excited and trying to bird out of the car window as we crawled along through early morning Sao Paulo traffic even though we would see all of these better, and in abundance, throughout our trip. But you always want to get started don't you? It's just what birders do, and so gradually a small list built up, things like Southern Lapwing, Neotropic Cormorant, Bare-faced Ibis, Black Vulture, Crested Caracara, Picazuro Pigeon, Great Kiskadee, and in the channel alongside the road a multitude of Great White and Snowy Egrets.

Eventually the traffic and the city receded. We had skirted around the top of Sao Paulo and were now headed broadly west towards Sorocaba. The first proper bird of the trip was shorty befor Capao Bonito, a quick stop by the roadside after Itapetininga for some Yellow-rumped Marshbird, the only ones we would see. We also added Roadside Hawk, Smooth-billed Ani and Blue-and-White Swallow here. 

One last stop for fuel in Ribeirao Grande late morning and we started to head into more promising habitat. Small fragments of forest started to appear and our stops became more frequent as we sought to build the list. Our first Masked Water-Tyrant at a small pond was accompanied by a Wattled Jacana and a Brazilian Teal. A small field had a White-rumped Monjita and the ubiquitous Rufous-bellied Thrush, and Rufous Hornero started to be seen more frequently. As we got closer to the park we had excellent views of White Woodpecker on a tree, and a Red-legged Seriema nonchalantly stalked past the car on the other side of the road.

Eared Pygmy-Tyrant

The balance between pasture and forest began to swing in favour of the trees, the small plots people had carved out became less frequent, and it wasn't long before we were in the rainforest. We had been on the road for perhaps five hours. As we approached the village outside the park Mick's keen eyes settled on a Hummingbird that neither Bruno nor I could see for ages, Happily it was content to just sit there and eventually we worked out what he was talking about and were treated to a beautiful Sapphire-spangled Emerald. The name should give you an idea of what it looks like. We also found a pair of Red-breasted Toucan in some distant trees, two Rufous-browed Peppershrike, a male Blue Dacnis and a tiny Eared Pygmy-Tyrant.

The lunchtime view

It was 1pm and time for lunch. We had been on the go for seven hours since landing, and despite having done nothing but sit on our backsides we were famished. That said it was almost impossible to eat when there were so many birds around. The park used to have a restaurant but it had closed. Now visitors are catered for just outside the park boundary in small hamlet where there is a small canteen that serves food buffet style, nowhere near as extensive as in the city but nonetheless plentiful with salad a small choice of rice, meat, fish and so on. They can also whip up a mean fresh fruit juice. We would eat here three times a day, and it even opened at 6am so that we could have breakfast in the dark before heading off. Opposite this small establishment the local guides, one of whom we had met briefly as we drove down, had set up some fruit feeders, and these were swarming with Ruby-crowned Tanager, Azure-shouldered Tanager, Green-headed Tanager, Saffron Finch and Golden-winged Cacique. Plain Parakeets fed in one of the palm trees, and some Maroon-bellied Parakeets flew over. We had arrived and it was glorious.

Masked Water-Tyrant

Red-and-White Crake

Blackish Rail

Entering the park we drove the short distance to the accomodation and dumped our stuff before setting off on foot to bird around the park buildings. We were on the northern edge of a vast landscape, 100,000 acres of pristine forest. No roads, a handful of tracks, but essentially nothing but rolling green hills. A tiny speck in the context of what there once was, but nonetheless the largest remaining part of the Atlantic Rainforest. Opposite the park headquarters is a small wetland area, and Red-and-White Crake have become habituated to human visitors and come in to cornmeal in a small gap in the reeds. They are tiny! Blackish Rail was called out of the vegetation a short distance later, and some American Moorhen were on one of the ponds. The list of birds from this three hour walk is long and lovely, especially as at that time virtually everything was new. Hummingbirds were represented by Violet-capped Woodnymph and Scale-throated Hermit, Dusky-legged Guan roamed the margins, a male Surucua Trogon watched quietly, and really close views of a Masked Water-Tyrant put us much in mind of a Wheatear. Variable Antshrike, Star-throated Antwren, an Araucaria Tit-Spinetail was seen well in the Parana Pines, there was a seemingly endless procession of various tropical flycatchers and some crazy Diademed Tanagers were just about outshone by some Red-necked Tanagers. It was a memorable afternoon, and yet we were amazed when we were going through the list later on that Bruno had seen or heard a further 20 or so birds, fully 50% more! There had been so much going on, and we were so new to it at this stage, green, that it just hadn't been remotely possible for us to connect with everything that was there. What a place this was, and this had just been the first afternoon. We were seriously excited for the morning.

Brazil - The Atlantic Rainforest - June 2025 - Logistics and Itinerary

 

Logistics

• A seven day guided trip with Mick. Most of the time was spent in the Atlantic rainforest inland from the coast, firstly at Intervales State Park and then at Legago das Aguas reserve. The final guided day was in and around Peruibe for a whole suite of different birds. We added a day in Sao Paulo at the end of the trip principally so that I could catch up with a distant relation who lives in the city, but we were also able to do some birding here on our own.
• Guide: Another fantastic guide from Agami Nature Tours, Bruno. One of the most sociable people you could ever hope to meet, he is an excellent birder but above all he is just great fun and the trip was full of laughter. At Intervales we were fortunate to have the incomparable Betinho as a local guide, and at Peruibe we met up with Fabio who also owned the small birding lodge we stayed at.
• Costs: This was very reasonably priced trip at $2650. As ever it is all inclusive - guiding services, accomodation, meals, and all transport. Agami know the area well and Brad (who had guided me in the Pantanal) constructed a bespoke itinerary for us based on the time I had available. Normally this trip is 16 days long but Brad was happy to do a much shorter trip for us picking the best sites. Naturally it went like clockwork and we saw virtually everything. I can't remember the exact details but a deposit of around 30% was required up front, with the remainder due three months before departure.
• Flights: We flew on British Airways from London to Sao Paulo. Using an Amex 2-4-1 voucher it cost £454 and 100,000 avios each for business class seats. Bring it on. We left after work on Thursday, landing at GRU at 6am on Friday. The return flight departed at 3pm and landed in London at 6am. I slept both ways.
• Transport:  Bruno arrived in a smart and shiny hire car. By the end of the week there was more mud than paint but it did at least keep working!
• Accomodation: All included in the price, the accomodation at Intervales was of a decent standard. Legado das Agaus was somewhat more basic but you are so shattered at the end of each day that you could sleep anywhere. The pousada at Peruibe was very nice.
• Literature/Resources: In addition to a day-by-day trip itinerary provided by Agami I had created lists of targets using eBird. I brought Van Perlo but barely used it as Merlin is in effect also a field guide. Bruno eBirded the whole thing and then shared the lists with us at the end of the day.
• Food - Very good food everywhere we went. At Intervales it was a buffet in the village outside the park, made better by opening at 6am so we could get an early start. At Legado we were the only people staying so instead the chef made us a set meal each night. He also made a mean Caipirinha. Elsewhere we ate in the standard Brazilian buffet restaurants.
• Weather - Colder than you might expect in the mountains, especially overnight, so bring a fleece. We encountered rain only a couple of times, a small umbrella is all you need rather than full waterproofs. Mostly nice and sunny and ideal birding temperatures of around 20-25C.
• Other - I bought an Airalo eSIM but barely used it as there is no phone signal for most of this trip. You can use wifi in the evenings for your all-important eBirding. I took a small amount or Brazilian Real with which I ended up using mostly for drinks and a tip for Betinho. I had wanted to bring more but couldn't get any in time so instead brought dollars which I gave to Bruno.

For context. Brazil is vast.

Itinerary

• Day 1 - Early morning arrival into Sao Paulo where we were picked up by Bruno, followed by a four hour drive west via Sorocaba and Capao Bonito to Intervales State Park, arriving for a late lunch. Afternoon spent birding the trails close to the visitor centre, great views of Red-and-White Crake and Blackish Rail in the wetland close to the visitor centre.
• Day 2 - Intervales State Park. Morning birding Carmo Road with Bruno and the local guide Betinho, followed by a good session around the feeders in the village over lunch. In the afternoon we birded the Palm Trail and other areas of the reserve. Owling after dark around the park boundaries. Overnight in the park.
• Day 3 - Intervales State Park. Morning birding down the long Lajeado Trail made harder in the rain and curtailed. Late morning around the visitor centre and another great session around the feeders after lunch. Afternoon birding various spots around the park. More Owling and overnight in the park again.
• Day 4 - Intervales State Park. Most of the morning on the Carmo Road again where we struck gold with Helmeted Woodpecker. More birding in the village and more fun around the feeders during lunch. We then moved to Legado das Aguas which took most of the afternoon. There was just enough time left in the day to enjoy the feeders on the balcony at the canteen. Overnight in the reserve accomodation.

• Day 5 - Legado das Aguas. Birded around the buildings before breakfast and then took the circular Cambuci trail to the top of the gully.  Afternoon at the ground feeder hide just outside the park. Overnight in the reserve accomodation again.

• Day 6 - Legago das Aguas. Birded the Copaiba Trail after breakfast, a very elusive Variegated Antpitta gave us the runaround for at least an hour without ever showing itself. Then we drove out of the reserve and down to Peruibe on the coast, meeting Fabio at a local restaurant before birding the mangroves at Rio Preto. Dumped our stuff at Fabio's pousada in Guarau, then birded the beach area for a short while before heading north-east up the coast to Itanhaem for Red-tailed Parrots and other birds of the coastal lowlands. Overnight at Mochileiros Pousada.

• Day 7 - Guarau and Peruibe. Morning at Restinga Park and the beach, then around the village followed by an hour or so at Fabio's feeders. Back to the mangroves briefly before lunch and an afternoon transfer to Sao Paolo. Brief afternoon birding at Parque do Povo before meeting some relations on my Mum's side for dinner.

• Day 8 - Early morning birding Ibirapuera Park in central Sao Paulo. Then a taxi late morning to the airport for our mid-afternoon flight home.

Building up to it...

I am gradually building up to a large trip report, I can't quite take the plunge. I cannot believe that is has nearly been a month since I travelled but there it is. Part of the delay is due to the vast numbers of photos I have been unable to cull. Back in the day it used to be the same, but I have got used to birding trips where my photos are a load of old rubbish, or even nonexistent as I couldn't be bothered to lug the camera around. This new Sony stuff - cheap Sony stuff - is a game-changer. Whilst the Canon was nearly twice as heavy it was also four or five times more expensive. At the time it was what everyone used so I used it too. The pros like the great Arthur Morris published reams about it and I learned a ton. It was great, wonderful even, and it set me up on a lifetime journey. But things move on and I am now using a camera that can sit on top of my mobile phone and still has space around the edges. The lens is a mid-range consumer(ish) zoom which lets in about half as much light as the Canon prime did and would comfortable fit inside it were it hollow. The whole lot easily comes in at under 3kg and in Brazil I carried it all day every day without really noticing it. The Canon was over 5kg and in its latter years was carted across the Atlantic only to stay in the car. The whole premise is completely bonkers. 

Anyway, I am the world's greatest bore and nobody cares. It is all about the birds, always has been, and you will rarely find anything else on these pages. Here is a quick Bananaquit as it has just gone 7am and I am itching to get down to the greenhouse.

Bananaquit