BRAZIL – The Southern Pantanal and Emas National Park.
This is an exciting tour with the spectacular wetlands of the Pantanal with its Hyacinth Macaws and Jabirus combined with Cerrado birds of Emas National Park. There is a chance of seeing some of the larger mammals of the open grasslands as well as some endemic and range-restricted bird species (including Cone-billed Tanager, White-winged Nightjar and Blaze-winged Parakeet) during this trip so there’s something for everyone!
This tour may be combined with:
CENTRAL BRAZIL – Brazilian Merganser and Cerrado specialities.

Dates: 26 June – 6 July 2010.

Group size: Limited to ten participants.

Price: £2225.00 per person from São Paulo.

Single room supplement: £210.00.

Includes: All services from Guarulhos International Airport in Sao Paulo on day 1 until returning there on day 11, meals from lunch on day 1 to breakfast on day 11, transport, accommodation, drinking water on bus, services of tour leader and local guide, gratuities to drivers and local guides.

Not Included: International airfare to Brazil, airport departure tax, transfers to Guarulhos International Airport prior to commencement of the tour, beverages with meals, drinks (water will be available on bus), phone calls and items of a personal nature.

Tour Leaders: Colin Bushell and Fred Tavares.

ITINERARY.
Day 1. Arrival in São Paulo early in the morning and flight to Campo Grande. Afternoon transfer to Fazenda San Francisco in the Southern Pantanal. We should have time for some birding this afternoon.

Days 2 – 4. We’ll spend all our time in the vicinity of the farm in search of the key birds of the Southern Pantanal. Parrots are numerous here and the largest in the world, the Hyacinth Macaw is of course one of the most important species. These splendid macaws thrive here and are common around the farm but we’ll be particularly keen to find the Blaze-winged Parakeet, a species much harder to find further north. Nandey (or Black-hooded) Parakeet is another special bird of this region and we’re bound to see the noisy Blue-fronted Parrot as they gather before roosting and maybe even the attractive Golden-collared Macaw if we are lucky. The Pantanal is a haven for wetland birds and birds we should see include Southern Screamer, Jabiru, Whistling Heron and Capped Heron but we’ll also have to scan the open areas for the strange Red-legged Seriema as it struts across the plains or the huge Greater Rheas. The roadside may see peal Kite and Great Black Hawk perched and Snail Kites are obvious as they look for huge snails.

Open country birding will prevail in the Pantanal but the scrub and wooded borders will not be ignored, as there are plenty of good birds in this habitat too. White Woodpeckers and Narrow-billed Woodcreepers sometimes use posts as a “makeshift tree-stump” and with luck a Bare-faced Curassow will emerge from cover before scurrying away again. Spot-backed Puffbird can sometimes be seen on the exposed perches belting out its strident notes and Grey-crested Cacholotes burst into song as they leap to the top of a small tree to claim their territory. Chotoy Spinetails, Rufous-fronted Thornbirds, Great Antshrikes and Rusty-backed Antwrens can be found in the edges of the forest with Red-billed Scythebill, the immense Great Rufous Woodcreeper and Pale-crested Woodpecker creeping up the taller trees.

As the day closes to an end the Nacunda Nighthawk takes to the wing and we’ll go in search of nocturnal species like Great and Common Potoos, although we may well find these at a daytime roost anyway. Scissor-tailed Nightjars can sometimes be found on the tracks and Tropical Screech-Owls sing from the woodlots. The Pantanal is a good place to see mammals and Black Howler Monkey, Brazilian Tapir, Marsh Deer and Crab-eating Fox are possible. With luck we may find a Giant Anteater or even an Ocelot or Jaguar!

Day 5. Today will be a travel day as we transfer from San Francisco to Chapada does Céu near Emas NP. We’ll check in to our comfortable hotel and discuss plans for the next five days over dinner.

Day 6 – 10. During our stay at Emas NP we’ll be concentrating on the birds of the Cerrado; a mosaic of savanna and woodland. Our main target bird here will of course be the recently rediscovered Cone-billed Tanager but we’ll see many other Cerrado birds during our search including Curl-crested Jay, Horned Sungem, White-eared Puffbird, Rufous-winged Antshrike, Collared Crescentchest, Chapada Flycatcher, Cock-tailed Tyrant, Sharp-tailed Tyrant, Rufous-sided Pygmy-Tyrant, Coal-crested Finch and Black-masked Finch. Many of these are endemic to Brazil and White-wedged Piculet and Planalto Foliage-gleaner will further enhance the quality of the birds seen in the Cerrado in small patches of forest and Chestnut-rumped, Marsh and Capped Seedeaters that occur seasonally at Emas. Scanning the open ground we may find Aplomado Falcon, Long-winged Harrier or King Vulture and if we are really lucky a Crowned Eagle may grace us with its presence. Tinamous are usually difficult to see but both Spotted and Lesser Nothuras occur at Emas and Red-winged Tinamou should be a little easier to find. Red-shouldered and Blue-and-Yellow Macaws may be seen flying across the Cerrado from time to time. Come dusk we’ll look for the rare White-winged Nightjar and there’s always a chance of mammal sightings at this time like Maned Wolf, Hoary Fox, Pampas Deer or Brazilian Tapir.

Day 11. Transfer back to Campo Grande. Flight to São Paulo.

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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