With Cindy K. and Alex Mesquita
By. Alejandro Pinto
On this fascinating – 2900km / 1800 miles - trip we travel in the states of Ceará, Pernambuco and Bahia covering two of the main inland brazilian biomes: the Caatinga and the Cerrado. Caatinga is and exclusively Brazilian biome, which means a large parto f it biological heritage cannont be found anywhere else on planet – including several birds! – is the largest nucleus of seasonally dry tropical forest biome located in northeastern Brazil, considered a center of endemism for South american birds; and the Cerrado, the world´s most biodiverse savana, a vast 2 million square kilometers region, being the most extensive vegetation formation on the South american continent.
This trip has been possible because our partnership with Cariama Ecotours and the incredible knowledge of Alex Mesquita.
Tour leaders: Alejandro Pinto and Alex Mesquita
Guaramiranga - Baturite Serranía
Despite the weather - rainy and foggy- we had incredible birds in the area. As soon as we arrive we visited the Aquasis NGO in charged of protect the Grey-breasted Parakeet ( a critical endangered specie) and a secondary old growth forest. The parakeets use the nesting box and the population has been growing up succesfully. We spend good quality watching and photographing there! but also we had great time in the forest and we started to add several endemic species, some of them only could be found in this small serrania and adjacent areas: Ceara Gnateater, Ceara Woodcreeper, Ceara Leaftosser (incredible views for such a hard bird!). ont of the best moments was to spot 3 Gould´s Toucanet and at the same time the Ochraceous Piculet with a Band-tailed Manakin moving very active in the forest!
in our second day we went back to the Grey-breasted Parakeet area, the weather was better and foggy was almost gone, so we were able to get better views and photographs.
Guaramiranga, on the way to Quixadá
after a short transfer we reached the second place of the trip near the city of Quixadá, Hotel Pedra dos Ventos is located in the caatinga dry forest near rocky crops. as soon as we arrive to the area we spotted 3 Pygmy nightjars in the backyard of the property!
But was not the end of the day and during s hort afteernoon walk we saw the endemics: White-browed Guan, White-naped Jay and Black-bellied Antwren, the best moment of the afternoon was the close encounter with the endemic and recently splitted Caatinga Puffbird (aka. Spot-backed Puffbird) whata a beautiful bird! on the way back to the hotel 3 Rock Cavy were in the forest and a Common Marmotset was spotted in a tree nearby. already many endemics birds spotted and it is only the second day!
on the way to Potengi, we spotted several times the Guira Cuckoo and the Red-legged Seriema, several ponds along the road are good places for birding as well!
Sitio Pau Preto and surrounding areas
Deep in the Caatinga, Sitio Pau Preto preserve a 35 hectares (86 acres) of secondary old growth Caatinga dry forest and also they encourage other persons to preserve as a result other 17 hectares (42 acres) not far from Pau Preto has been bought in order to add more endangered caatinga to the conservation program. the feeders and the forest are in really good shape. a quick look in the feeders was enought to spotted: Red-cowled Cardinal, Campo Troupial, Ultramarine Grosbeak, Pileated Finch, Swallow-tailed Hummingbird and Glittering-bellied Emerald.
on the way to the forest we had a very nice views of the White-bellied Nothura - a hard to see bird! - but walking in the forest was very productive and we added several new endemic species to the trip, starting with the beautiful: Silvery-cheecked Antshrike and Caatinga Antwren. but also we got incredible views of the White-browed Antpitta, Red-shouldered Spinetail and Sooty-fronted Spinetail and at the end of the morning one of the most wanted the Great Xenops! and skulking bird.
back in the backyard feeders we enjoyed the Scarlet-throated Tanager and a family of 5 Common Marmotset!
what a place to watch and enjoy many endemics!
During the afternoon a short walk near the lodge was enough to keep watching new species. A couple of Tropical Gnatcatchers with nesting material and the Greater Wagtail-Tyrant. We quickly moved into the forest edge after heard the Stripe-backed Antbird, we waited for a while and little by little came close enough to have perfect views, another beautiful bird! We ended the afternoon with Southern Scrub-Flycatcher, Band-winged Hornero, Campo Troupial, Caatinga Cacholote and the nice looking Striped Cuckoo, in the back the Tataupa and Small-billed Tinamou singing.
many thanks to Bob and Ivet for such a palce all their help and the cozy atmosphere of Sitio Pau Preto.
A short visit to Araripe chapada
One of our main targets of the trip is a endemic, critical endangered and only described in 1996. the Araripe Manakin. we did a visit to a park near the city of Crato in the slopes of Araripe plateau, this is the 2.4 million-acre Plateau, which lay beneath an ocean many millions of years ago. Though the salty oceans receded, an ancient freshwater aquifer creates unexpectedly lush pockets of rainforest fed by streams flowing down the steep slopes of the Araripe plateau. here is home of one of the world’s rarest birds, with a population estimated at only about 800 individuals, survives on remnants of its rare habitat, It is known only from a very small area of forest mainly in valleys at the base of the this Plateau in southern Ceará, deep inside of northeastern Brazil. we saw a male flying by as soon as we entered into a small protected area but quickly we hearded more into the forest until we spotted one..two...three males! flying quickly and singing once they perch on high branches. after several minutes we were fortunate to have one male very close at eye level into the forest! it is indeed and striking bird and were feeling so lucky for such a moment. Despite is locally common, is easy to realize that the manakin’s forested breeding habitat is being destroyed or degraded by spreading agriculture and housing developments, crawling up the slopes of the plateau for the growing nearby town of Crato. The bird’s remaining habitat is estimated to be only about 7,000 acres.
other birds of the day includes: Spotted Nothura, White Monjita, Hooded Tanager, Green-barred Woodpecker among others!
now on the way to Canudos!
behind the town of Canudos, the biological station of Canudos, protect 1400 hectares (3450 acres) of a dry plateau, this is one of the only two nesting sites for the critical endangered Lear’s or Indigo Macaw and the site contains about 80 percent of the world’s population of this species. Thanks to conservation measures, since 1994 up today has increased from 140 indivuals up to 2000 (according with the last census).
Early in the morning we drove inside the chapada - sandy, stone and very dry serrania - to the top where we enjoyed spectacular views of this unique birds in their natural habitat. the rocky cliffs serves as a nesting sites and several pair were spotted during the 2-3 hours we stayed around. other birds includes: Blue-crowned Parakeet, Cliff Flycatcher and Swallow-tailed Hummingbird.
Chapada Diamantina área
During the last portion of the trip we visited several spots around and inside this beautiful serranía. The first day we were looking for 3 manakins: Blue-backed Manakin, Helmeted Manakin and Pale-bellied Tyrant Manakin. We spotted the Blue-backed at least 5-6 times during the morning and by late morning the Tyrant Manakin. The silent in the forest was interrupted by the vocalizations of a pair of the endemic and hard to see Blonde Titi Monkeys! (Callicebus barbarabrownae), a critically endangered species, endemic to the Caatinga in northeastern Brazil, and it is estimated that less than 250 mature individuals remain.
In order to get the Helmeted Manakin we visited a different location above the town of Lençois and finally we saw 3 males very active by late afternoon of the first day.
Palmeiras trail ( Trilha palmeiras) during our second day early morning we visited this area, the landscape was absolutely beautiful and also we found grey birds: Pale-throated Pampa Finch, Rufous-winged Antshrike and the very range restricted Sincora Antwren. After a couple of hours we got the rockstar! Hooded Visorbearer! One male was flying around band gong back and forth the same area, we had increíble views. At the afternoon we added the nice looking White-eared Puffbird
Heading to Mucuge, last stop in the Chapada Diamantina
now in the western side of Chapada Diamantina and after a good job on our previous days, we can start targeting some missing birds. during the morning aling the gravel road in the back side of the Chapada in between Palmeiras and Guiné towns, we made several stops and keep adding few more species to our already big list. again the Great Xenops gave us good views but never enough for a photo same with the Sao Francisco Sparrow, who was several times heard but we were not able to watch it. but really great looks of the amazing Collared Crescentchest and Rufous-side Scrub-tyrant. but the best of the morning was about to come. in our last stop of the morning we saw passing by a white colored, long tailed hummingbird...male Horned Sungem! it was flying in circles around us and finally perched right in front of us for about 3 minutes, what a beauty!
in the afternoon we had a glimpse of the Diamantina Tapaculo and Ruby Topaz, we spotted two times a juvenile and a females hooded Visorbearer
last full day in the field, few targets, we have done a good job the last 10 days! we visited bushy areas near the town of Mucuge, the main ecosystem is cerrado which dominates the landscape in central Brazil, we managed to watch a couple f very nice looking tyranids: Rufous-sided Scrub Tyrant and Sharp-tailed Tyrant, also in the bushes the beautiful Collared Crescentchest and the Rufous-backed Antwren, incredible views of a pair of White-tailed Hawk perched along the road.
In the afternoon walking on a sandy and rocky area we heard the distinctive call of the Hooded Visorbearer, males are very territorial and active around some perches. we quickly spotted the perch this amazing hummingbird was using and walked closer to the area, an adult male was chasing a second male, then going back to an exposed perch, singing and displaying, we had an amazing moment and in some point it came to some flowers right in front of us - no more than 10 feet away! perfect way to end our trip.
Many thanks to our local guide Cris Prates, she was very helpfull and all her knowledge was a key factor to get several of the target birds of the area.
TOP 10 BIRDS
1. Indigo Macaw
2. Araripe Manakin
3. Hooded Visorbearer
4. Spot-backed Puffbird
5. Horned Sungem
6. Red-legged Seriema
7. Grey-breasted Parakeet
8. Band-tailed Manakin
9. Silvery-cheeked Antshrike
10.Pygmy Nightjar
Special mentions:
White-browed Antpitta, Caatinga Antwren, Caatinga Cacholote, Ceara Gnateater, Gould´s Toucanet, White-bellied Nothura, Collared Crescentchest.
Non Birds:
Blond-titi Monkey, Common Marmoset and Rock Cavy.
Comments