CLASSIC BRAZIL – Atlantic Forests & The Pantanal.

Dates: 14  – 27 August 2010 (from São Paulo).

Brazil is arguably one of the world’s top destinations for a birding tour and Toucan Birding Tours will take full advantage of the best it has to offer during this tour. Our Classic Brazil tour treats us to a “taster” of Atlantic Forest birding, introducing country endemics and us to a good selection of regional over a wide range of bird families.

Tragically only about 7% of the original Atlantic Forests remain in Brazil, inevitably resulting in near extinction for many species. However about 500 species of birds have been recorded at our first destination near Ubatuba, about 40 of them endemic to Brazil. Buff-throated Purpletuft is just one of the rare birds occurring here and we’ll scan the canopy for this tiny rare cotinga as we listen for the calls and songs of other regional endemics like Black-cheeked Gnateater, Fork-tailed Tody-Tyrant, Spot-backed Antshrike and Red-necked Tanager.

We’ll be reluctant to leave Ubatuba for the foothills but our journey will take us to the site for the recently rediscovered Black-hooded Antwren before we leave the coastal plain. Red-eyed Thornbird and Spotted Bamboo-Wren are also possible in this rather unpromising looking habitat that is surprisingly good for birding.

Our next locality, Itatiaia National Park presents us with a new suite of birds and easy access to high elevation Atlantic Forest where the Black-capped Piprites, Black-and-Gold Cotinga, Auracaria Tit-Spinetail and Black-breasted Plovercrest may be found. Our hotel is situated in the heart of the park and surrounded by cloud-enshrouded forest with Atlantic Forest endemic species right outside our hotel dining room!

Although departing from Itatiaia will be difficult the blow will be softened by the prospect of the Pantanal and its Hyacinth Macaws in the last chapter of our Brazilian adventure in Mato Grosso. The spectacle of large numbers of water birds will be enough but we’ll also spend some time in gallery forest in search of Helmeted Manakin, Pale-crested Woodpeckers and much more before our finale at the spectacular tablelands of Chapada dos Guimaraes where Cerrado birds take centre stage. White-rumped Tanager, White-banded Tanager, Collared Crescentchest, White-eared Puffbird and Horned Sungem are just a few of the exciting birds to be found at Chapada.

Easy to moderate walking. Expect warm weather with the chance of showers. Good standard of accommodation throughout the tour.

Group size: Limited to 8 participants.

Price: £2790.00 per person from São Paulo.

Single room supplement: £310.00.

Includes: All transportation and transfers with the group in Brazil, accommodation from day 1 to the night of day 14, all meals from lunch on day 1 to breakfast day 14, services of Toucan Birding Tours leader and local guides, gratuities to local guides, drivers.

Not included: International airfare, airport departure tax, overnight accommodation near Guarulhos prior to the start of the tour, beverages with meals, drinks (water will be available on the bus), and gratuities to hotel staff, phone calls, and items of a personal nature.

Tour Leader: Eduardo Patrial.

ITINERARY
Day 1. Arrival at Guarulhos São Paulo International Airport where we’ll be met and taken to Ubatuba. Participants arriving in São Paulo the previous evening can be collected at the nearby Panamby Hotel (please contact the Toucan Birding Tours office for details). We’ll check in to our hotel near Ubatuba before heading out into the field for our first taste of birding in Brazil.

Days 2 & 3. We’ll be starting our tour here in Atlantic Forests – a rapidly diminishing habitat due to the rampant deforestation of southeast Brazil during the last century. “Pockets” of Atlantic Forest are nevertheless excellent for birding as they offer a haven for restricted range species and we can hope to see Scaly-headed Parrot, Saw-billed Hermit, Black Jacobin, Violet-capped Woodnymph, Sombre Hummingbird, Spot-billed Toucanet, Spot-breasted Antvireo, Star-throated Antwren, Scaled Antbird, Black-cheeked Gnateater, Blue (Swallow-tailed) Manakin, Eye-ringed Tody-Flycatcher, Yellow-lored Tody-Flycatcher, Grey-hooded Attila, Red-necked, Golden-chevroned, Green-headed, Brazilian and Ruby-crowned Tanagers and Black-throated Grosbeak. Bare-throated Bellbirds “sing” from the treetops but these white birds can be difficult to see in the canopy. Our main target species here will be the diminutive Buff-throated Purpletuft though and we’ll be frequently scanning the treetops for this attractive cotinga during our time at Ubatuba.

Day 4. After breakfast we’ll leave for Itatiaia National Park but before heading into the mountains we’ll make a birding stop before leaving the coastal plain. We have been most fortunate to find the rare Black-hooded Antwren on all our tours and the rather uninspiring secondary habitat has proved extremely rewarding with increased effort. Red-eyed Thornbird, Half-collared Sparrow, Spotted Bamboo-Wren and Rufous-capped Antthrush are just a few of the quality birds we’ve seen here whilst searching for the antwren. Arriving late afternoon in Brazil’s oldest national park, we may have time for some birding near the hotel in Itatiaia. Dusky-legged Guans, Yellow-fronted Woodpecker and Saffron Toucanet often attend the feeding stations and with luck Tawny-browed Owls may be present near the hotel in the evening. Overnight in Itatiaia.

Days 5 & 6. Itatiaia offers many possibilities for the visiting birder. We will bird one day with a good picnic lunch up on the high pass to maximise our chances of getting all the special birds. These include Black & Gold Cotinga, Rufous-tailed Antbird, Brazilian Antthrush, Rufous-backed Antvireo, Black-capped Piprites, Black-breasted Plovercrest, Itatiaia Spinetail, Shear-tailed Grey Tyrant, Velvety-black Tyrant, Serra do Mar Tyrant-Manakin, Serra do Mar Tyrannulet, Brown-breasted Bamboo-Tyrant, Araucaria Tit-Spinetail, Brassy-breasted and Diademed Tanager, Great Pampa-Finch, Mouse-coloured Tapaculo, and Slaty-breasted Wood-Rail.

We’ll search the extensive bamboo stands for White-bearded Antshrike and Fork-tailed Bamboo-Tyrant and endangered Atlantic Forest for its special birds including Giant, and Tufted Antshrikes (both seen in one day along Tres Picos trail on our last tour), Cryptic Antthrush, White-bibbed, Ferruginous, Bertoni's and Ochre-rumped Antbirds, Saffron Toucanet, Channel- billed Toucan, White-browed Woodpecker, Rufous-tailed and Grey-hooded Attilas, Golden-chevroned, Green-headed, Magpie, Chestnut-headed and Rufous-headed Tanagers and Planalto Woodcreeper. Tawny-browed Owl can often be found after dark on a trail near our hotel. Hummingbird feeders will be checked to see the incredible show of gems including Black Jacobin, Frilled Coquette, Violet-capped Woodnymph, Brazilian Ruby, Glittering-throated and Vesicolored Emerald and Scaly-throated Hermit. All nights in Itatiaia.

Day 7. We’ll leave Itatiaia today transferring to the airport for our flight to Cuiaba in Mato Grosso. We’ll have time to search for any birds we may have missed in the park and take a look in the scrub and more open pasture just outside Itatiaia for species not present higher in the forest. Brazilian Tanager and Toco Toucan are possible today. Overnight Cuiaba.

Day 8. We leave Cuiaba this morning but we’ll be in no hurry to get to our lodge. Our journey will take us into the Pantanal and we’ll have plenty of excuses to stop on the way. Any pools of water will be worthy of inspection as we have seen Southern Screamer, Brazilian Teal, Muscovy Duck, Jabirus, Roseate Spoonbill and Plumbeous Ibis not far from Cuiaba. Birds are seemingly everywhere in the Pantanal with Snail Kites on most fence posts and White Woodpeckers and Campo Flickers prolific in the borders of the fields. We shall be alert for the raucous calls of the magnificent Hyacinth Macaw as we near our lodge as they are quite common in this area. Small birds will not go unnoticed though as the roadside ponds are good places to find Chotoy and Yellow-chinned Spinetails whilst scanning across the tall vegetation may reveal the presence of the superb Scarlet-headed Blackbird. We may get time to look for Tropical Screech-Owl or Great Horned Owl in the evening.

Day 9. Hyacinth Macaws call noisily as we stir this morning and after early morning coffee we’ll take a pre-breakfast stroll around the Pantanal ranch. The yard of the ranch is a good spot to see the impressive Great Rufous Woodcreeper as well as Grey-crested Cachalote. Greater Rheas strut across the open grasslands and distant flocks of whistling-ducks and Brazilian Teal fly around in the distance.  As we travel to our second lodge Whistling Herons, Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, Snowy and Great Egrets and the giant Jabirus are present on roadside pools and we’ll hopefully locate Southern Screamer, Maguari Stork and Sunbittern during our journey as well. Stopping in any woodlots for any roving passerine flocks we may locate Green-backed Becard, Blue-crowned Trogon, Rufous-tailed Jacamar, the bizarre Pale-crested Woodpecker, Planalto Woodcreeper, Rufous Casiornis, Planalto Slaty-Antshrike and Chestnut-vented Conebill.

Day 10. Using our comfortable lodge as a base we’ll explore gallery forest on foot and take a boat ride along the Rio Pixaim. Black-collared Hawk, Sungrebe, Rusty-backed Spinetail, Mato Grosso Antbird, Rusty-fronted Tody-Flycatcher and the incredible Helmeted Manakin are among our targets today. A diligent search may reveal Red-billed Scythebill, Large-billed Antwren, Fawn-breasted Wren, Band-tailed Antbird or maybe an American Pygmy-Kingfisher. Toco Toucan, Golden-collard Macaw and the scarce Black-hooded Parakeet can be seen in the more open areas and as we cruise along in our boats we may see Common Piping-Guans (both the red and blue-wattled varieties!), Green-and-Rufous Kingfisher whilst Giant Otters are a distinct possibility here (we have seen them on all our previous visits). As we make our way back to the dock Band-tailed Nighthawks can often be seen hunting over the water at dusk. Recent night excursions here have produced Great Horned Owl, Tropical Screech-Owl, Common Potoo, Scissor-tailed Nightjar and Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl. Capybaras are plentiful here and Crab-eating Foxes are often unbelievably tame. Nights in our comfortable Pantanal lodge or hotel.

Day 11. We’ll finish the Pantanal section of our tour today, heading back to Cuiaba. Then it’s off to Chapada dos Guimaraes and the scenery becomes more and more spectacular as we approach the tablelands. Our hotel sits at the periphery of the plateau with a breathtaking view across the Cerrado. We should get time for some Cerrado birding before heading for the viewpoint to watch the pre-roost gathering of Blue-winged and Red & Green Macaws as well as Great Dusky and Biscutate Swifts. Overnight in Chapada.

Days 12 & 13. Two full days to explore the Cerrado and woodlands near Chapada. In the transition between the Cerrado and the Amazon rainforest, the Guimaraes plateau acts as the dividing line between the Paraguay and Amazon River basins. It forms an ecosystem of great ecological interest and fascinating geological formations. The Cerrado is one of the South American lowland endemic centres for birds and we shall spend the first day mostly in this habitat. Some Cerrado specialties here at Chapada include White-eared Puffbird, Curl-crested Jay, Grey Monjita, Rufous-winged Antshrike, White-rumped and White-banded Tanagers, Black-throated Saltator, Coal-crested and Blue Finches. The monotonous song of the Collared Crescentchest will attract us to this charming tapaculo and we will cover the area in search of the tiny long-tailed Horned Sungem. Recently we have found Rufous-sided Pygmy-Tyrant here but these seem to be sporadic in their occurrence at Chapada. The Amazonian influence is evident with our records of Point-tailed Palmcreeper, Swallow-wing and Red-bellied Macaw but understandably these birds are scarce here at the southern edge of their range.

Birding in the semi-deciduous and gallery forest we may be rewarded with Cinnamon-throated Hermit, Yellow-ridged Toucan, Lettered Aracari, Blue-crowned Motmot, Ochre-cheeked Spinetail, Plain Antvireo, Southern Antpipit, Sirystes, Fiery-capped, Helmeted and Band-tailed Manakins, Planalto Tyrannulet, White-lined, Guira and Grey-headed Tanagers, Pectoral Sparrow and Sharp-tailed Streamcreeper. Overnight in Chapada.

Day 14. This morning we’ll take the short journey back to Cuiaba for our flights to São Paulo (GRU) to connect with homebound international departures.

PLEASE DO NOT PURCHASE YOUR FLIGHT TO BRAZIL UNTIL CONFIRMATION OF THIS DEPARTURE HAS BEEN RECEIVED FROM TOUCAN BIRDING TOURS. Thank you.

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