Day One, Friday, July 2: Lagoa da Pampulha & Serra do Cipó
By midday the group had assembled in Belo Horizonte, missing only Rolph, and as the rest of us awaited his arrival, we took the opportunity to visit Lagoa da Pampulha. The water level was the lowest I had ever seen it, and the concentration of birds on the exposed flats was high. Great Egrets, Neotropic Cormorants and White-faced Whistling-Ducks numbered in the hundreds; there were also impressive numbers of Southern Caracara (40+) and Limpkin (30); and of greater interest 6 Roseate Spoonbills and 4 Southern Pochards (a specialty of the lake). We picked up Rolph shortly after 14:00 and left the city for Serra do Cipó.
Thinking first of the campo endemics, we drove directly to the summit area known for the Cipó Canastero. Bird activity here was less than usual, although a Gray-backed Tachuri was very cooperative and a few typical species (Peach-fronted Parakeet, White-throated Hummingbird, Pale-vented Pigeon, Wedge-tailed Grass-Finch) were seen for the first time on the trip. As we returned downhill and arrived at our pousada at dusk, a Laughing Falcon was calling from the woods nearby.
We began the day with a dawn walk around the grounds of the pousada, observing many species that would become familiar during the upcoming days, such as: King Vulture (first of many), Roadside Hawk, Yellow-headed Caracara, Yellow-chevroned Parakeet (50+), Scaly-headed Parrot, Cattle Tyrant, Masked Water-Tyrant, Boat-billed Flycatcher, Rufous-browed Peppershrike, Blue-and-white Swallow, Chalk-browed Mockingbird, Pale-breasted Thrush, Blue Dacnis, Sayaca Tanager, Palm Tanager, Yellow-bellied Seedeater, and Chopi Blackbird. The Laughing Falcon called again from the woods but did not materialize.
We spent most of the morning in montane campo, in the vicinity of a marshy area beside a large statue of a local peasant named Juquinha. He was known for teaching visitors about the plants and animals of the mountains, and when he died the local municipality honored him with a statue. At first the only species in evidence was White-vented Violetear – several males singing. We split into two groups to cover both sides of the marsh simultaneously, looking mainly for seedeaters and Red-winged Tinamou. Within a few minutes, a tinamou-sized bird flushed.
To my surprise, Steve lunged forward into the tall grass and emerged with the bird in his hands: a Giant Snipe. Apparently he had noticed that the bird faltered as it tried to fly, and he instinctively pounced on it. The bird may have been injured, or just waterlogged – its problem wasn’t obvious and we didn’t want to endanger it any further with an invasive inspection. We took a few photos and released it.A while later, on drier ground nearby, we flushed a pair of Hellmayr’s Pipits that allowed for a close study.
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© Russell Fraker 2004 |
We ate lunch en route to the summit where the local endemics can usually be seen. Once again this area was abnormally quiet – although we did find three more Gray-backed Tachuris and one Hyacinth Visorbearer – so we left a little earlier than planned and spent the remainder of the afternoon along the spur road to Nacentes das Aguas Claras (Clearwater Springs).
Our driver Jose let us out at the top of a long slope and waited for us at the bottom – an energy-efficient way to cover ground on foot. This worked extremely well and the Clearwater Springs area proved quite productive. Horned Sungem and Cinereous Warbling-Finch were the highlights of our walk here; we also saw commoner species such as Glittering-bellied Emerald, Common Thornbird, Narrow-billed Woodcreeper, Southern Scrub-Flycatcher, Yellow-bellied Elaenia, Cliff Flycatcher, Crested Black-Tyrant, Cinnamon Tanager and Gray Pileated-Finch.
Next we drove two or three miles down the road to the general area where I had previously seen Checkered Woodpecker. We picked our stopping point arbitrarily – because of some tall termite mound-like formations that Katie wanted to photograph. A small flock of Peach-fronted Parakeets flying in drew our attention to a nearby hillside. We put the scope on them and never looked away – birds just kept appearing on and over the hillside right up until dusk, when we left. New for the trip were: Guira Cuckoo, Great Dusky Swift, Swallow-tailed Hummingbird, White-eared Puffbird, White Woodpecker, Checkered Woodpecker, Campo Suiriri, Southern Beardless-Tyrannulet, Swainson’s Flycatcher, White-rumped Tanager, Hepatic Tanager, Burnished-buff Tanager, Grassland Sparrow, Black-throated Saltator and Blue Finch. We named the place Termite Ridge – inaccurately, as the formations were not actually termite mounds.
We began the day with another walk around the pousada. Some additional birds found in the area were: Laughing Falcon (finally seen, after having been heard at least twice already), Scaled Dove, Squirrel Cuckoo, Amethyst Woodstar, White Woodpecker, Great Antshrike, Gray-breasted Martin and Bananaquit. The previous afternoon’s frenzy was fresh in our minds, so we eagerly returned to Clearwater Springs and Termite Ridge (in so doing, we dropped the main park entrance area from our agenda).
We walked the downhill stretch to Clearwater Springs and found some new birds there – Black Jacobin, Green-barred Woodpecker, Campo Flicker, Crimson-crested Woodpecker, Plain-crested Elaenia – also another Amethyst Woodstar, Blue Finch and Horned Sungem. Termite Ridge was devoid of birds – which was shocking considering the numbers and diversity there only sixteen hours earlier. We explored a little farther down the road to some riparian woods where we found some activity. New additions to the trip list here were Short-crested Flycatcher and Golden-crowned Warbler.
By late morning we were on our way to Serra da Canastra, a long drive we had planned to break up with a short stop in Contagem, the industrial sister city of Belo Horizonte. I had previously seen the Three-toed Jacamar pair that was known to inhabit a city park, Fernão Dias, and thought this rarity would be worth the short detour. The jacamars failed to appear at the nest site, and the crowds were larger than we would have hoped. (For these reasons, future tours will substitute another stop for the jacamar.) Still, we found good numbers of birds in the ravine area where the jacamars have nested, including Little Woodpecker, Mouse-colored Tyrannulet, Planalto Tyrannulet, Chestnut-vented Conebill, Hooded Tanager and Common Waxbill, as well as several species seen elsewhere.
We finished the drive to our hotel at São Roque de Minas with no more leisure stops. From the van we saw a King Vulture in a low kettle of Blacks and Turkeys near Dionisio, then after dark, crossing the road between Piumhi and São Roque, a possible Hoary Fox.
The main body of Serra da Canastra park is on a plateau; below the escarpment is an area of mixed agricultural land and gallery forest. The Rio São Francisco, the longest river entirely within Brazil, begins on the plateau, then falls down the 1,000’ cliffs at a place called Casca d’Anta and flows along the base of the escarpment. The upper and lower areas cannot feasibly be visited in one day. On this day we went to the lower area.
We ate breakfast before dawn and left just afterward. At first light, before we left the hotel, a few birds appeared, including a female White-tailed Goldenthroat and flocks of White-eyed Parakeets. We drove through some very rich crop fields and pastures toward the Casca d’Anta area. On the drive we saw hundreds of birds, mostly Picazuro Pigeons, Ruddy Ground-Doves, Smooth-billed Anis and Southern Caracaras, but also such novelties as Whistling Herons, Red-legged Seriemas, White-rumped Monjitas, a Streamer-tailed Tyrant, and a Yellow-rumped Marshbird (which turned out to be the only one of the trip – surprising for this usually common species). I also saw a White-bellied Seedeater perched on a fencewire, but there was no way to stop for it – unfortunately, the only one of the trip.
We went first to Boteco Ra, the spot where the exceedingly rare Brazilian Merganser has most regularly been seen in recent years. This is a very good area for birds in general, a quiet bend in the river with a farm on one side and some undisturbed woodland on the other. Muscovy Duck, Planalto Hermit, Stripe-breasted Starthroat, Green Kingfisher, Red-breasted Toucan (4), Toco Toucan (10), Streaked Xenops, Sooty Tyrannulet, Gray-capped Tyrannulet, Common Tody-Flycatcher, a pair of Sirystes, Tropical Parula, Magpie Tanager (6), a pair of Guira Tanagers, and Green-winged Saltator were some of the more interesting birds seen along the river here. Pigeons – mainly Picazuro, but also Pale-vented and Plumbeous – were abundant here. Scaled Doves, Black-throated Saltators, Rufous-collared Sparrows, Saffron Finches and Crested Oropendolas were also very numerous.
We saved half of the morning for the walk to the Casca d’Anta waterfall; this trail gives the best access to gallery forest interior. Among the birds seen here were: King Vulture (4), Great Dusky Swifts (150), White-collared Swifts (30), Rufous-tailed Jacamar, Variable Antshrike, Plain Antvireo, White-shouldered Fire-eye, Highland Elaenia, more Sooty Tyrannulets, a pair of White-throated Spadebills, Velvetry Black-Tyrant, Crested Black-Tyrant, a female Helmeted Manakin, a male Pin-tailed Manakin, Red-ruffed Fruitcrow (fleetingly, flying away), White-bellied Warbler, Black-goggled Tanager, and a flock of eight or more Gilt-edged Tanagers.
We returned to Boteco Ra for a late lunch and another chance at the merganser. Many of the morning’s birds were still in evidence, although the duck was not to be found. Rolph turned back earlier than the rest of us and was rewarded with a fly-by Long-winged Harrier. On the drive back to São Roque we were stopped by a pair of Aplomado Falcons, first of the trip, perched at close range.
This day was dedicated to the upper section of Serra da Canastra National Park. As visitors are not admitted through the entrance gate until 08:00, we began with in the farmland en route to the park. This area produced most of the common brushland species we had been seeing, with the addition of Rufous-winged Antshrike.
The Canastra plateau is a wide-open space strikingly reminiscent of the American high plains. The broad, rolling, grassy hillsides are interrupted here and there with riparian brush or rocky outcroppings. Our first stop was the well-known site for the Brasília Tapaculo, a tiny little mouselike bird that endemic to riparian brush at a handful of locations in the Brazilian interior. Tape playback produced one bird calling and hopping into view at a distance of about six feet from the road and another responding vocally from a hundred feet or more. Evidently these birds are very localized.
Next we stopped at the source of the Rio São Francisco, a plot of land that the park confiscated from our hoteliers’ family. Birds were not much in evidence here, although we did find Spix’s Spinetail, our first White-rumped Swallows, a flock of Curl-crested Jays, and a nothura that could not be relocated for conclusive identification, but was probably Spotted. We continued to the site of an old corral, where we found White-tailed Hawk, Firewood-gatherer, a pair of Gray-backed Tachuris, and a flock of Plumbeous Seedeaters.
Our farthest destination on the Canastra plateau was the Casca d’Anta waterfall, this time on its upper end. This is a beautiful spot where the small river goes from meandering through the grass to tumbling through rocky rapids to its precipitous drop off the cliff. On our approach to this spot we found two small flycatchers that are more or less restricted to intact natural grasslands of the Brazilian interior: Cock-tailed Tyrant and Sharp-tailed Grass-Tyrant. We ate lunch at the start of the rapids, where we found a Sharp-tailed Streamcreeper (George was particularly pleased), a pair of Green Kingfishers, and a Bat Falcon that most of us mistook for an Aplomado. Only the two who looked through the scope correctly identified it – the rest of us, who were engrossed in our lunches at the time, later regretted our probability-based assumption. A short walk brought some of us to the Casca d’Anta overlook, a dizzying precipice with a big view. Here we saw four King Vultures – probably the same four seen below the previous day, but now at much closer range, eye-level at times.
We devoted most of the afternoon to the vicinity of the Rolinhos waterfall, another stretch of river where the Brazilian Merganser has often been found. On the drive there, we flushed another nothura. We succeeded in relocating this one, although once again it could not be seen well enough to confirm the species, Spotted or Lesser. As we were looking for the nothura we came upon a Giant Anteater skeleton, which was interesting, although we were hoping for a live specimen. A little farther down the road, Bradley spotted two Greater Rheas, which had been high on our list of target species for the day. Knowing that the mergansers had been seen downstream of Rolinhos, we divided up for an intensive search of the likely habitat. Our effort here was solid and we certainly would have found them if they had been there – but they weren’t. However, three more King Vultures brought our daily tally to seven, an unexpectedly high number for this species.
Rolling grassland and riparian habitat on the Canastra plateau.
© Russell Fraker 2004
© Russell Fraker 2004
We lingered around the hotel grounds for a couple of hours, watching birds come to the many feeders and exploring the woods along the river. Most notable were Gray-necked Wood-Rail, Gray-fronted Dove, Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl, three species of kingfisher, a pair of Rufous-tailed Jacamar, eleven Toco Toucans, and a pair of Neotropical Otters.
We finished our time in Serra da Canastra with a visit to a private reserve close to town. During a brief stop at a roadside marsh we found Buff-necked Ibis, Streamer-tailed Tyrant, Black-capped Donacobius, Lesser Seed-Finch, among many more familiar species. The preserve, Cachoeira Cerradão, has an impressive waterfall accesses by a path through good patch of dense cerrado. Most of the group remained within the first hundreds yards of the trailhead. Those of us who ventured farther found a female Helmeted Manakin. Back at the trailhead, some of the more interesting birds included King Vulture (the fifth consecutive day we had seen this species), Red-legged Seriema (at very close range beside the parking lot), Rufous-winged Antshrike, Bran-colored Flycatcher, Hooded Siskin and a female Chestnut-backed Tanager. (Presumably this species. Black-backed is also conceivable as females of the two are indistinguishable. They are sometimes considered conspecific. Chestnut-backed is far more likely, as it is migratory, numerous, and occurs widely across inland areas, with at least one previous Canastra winter record – while Black-backed is a rare resident of coastal foothills.)
The remainder of the day was spent driving to Pirapora. On this drive we recorded several Savanna Hawks and a considerable number of Red-legged Seriemas. (Note: future versions of this tour will not incorporate Pirapora, but instead will include it as part of an extension – paired with Cavernas do Peruaçu National Park. So the two longest drives of the 2004 trip, those on July 7 and 10, will not be repeated.)
Our focus in Pirapora was the pursuit of two highly range-restricted endemics: Minas Gerais Tyrannulet and Plain-tailed Nighthawk. Both are known from an area southeast of the city, near the confluence of Córrego dos Ovos and Rio das Velhas. We began by visiting the publicized site for the tyrannulet and found the area to be very productive. In the riparian woods we found Pale-legged Hornero, Minas Gerais Tyrannulet, Pearly-vented Tody-Tyrant, Fuscous Flycatcher, and Buff-breasted Wren, along with many more widespread species. Two of us also saw what was apparently an unusual Gray-hooded Flycatcher – with the typical pattern and behavior but the upperparts rich olive and underparts bright yellow. This sighting was brief, but at very close range, and remains a mystery for the present. At the pond area nearby there was a good selection of waterbirds, including Least Grebe, Bare-faced Ibis, Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, Comb Duck and Pied Plover. In the surrounding brush we added White-bellied Nothura, Blue-winged Parrotlet, Burrowing Owl, Spot-backed Puffbird, Vermilion Flycatcher, Red-cowled Cardinal and Campo Troupial.
In the mud and sparse vegetation of the immediate shoreline, we saw a spinetail that we still have not identified despite a fairly close study. By habitat, shape and behavior, it was most similar to Rusty-backed or Yellow-chinned (both of which occur in the area) although its plumage was very different from these two similar species. By plumage alone, the closest species would be Stripe-crowned, although the crown stripes on this bird were less distinct than on illustrations of this species – and its nearest populations are 900+ miles away. Sulphur-bearded is also a fairly close match on habitat, behavior and plumage, although it too would be about 1,000 miles out of its known range – entirely in the temperate zone. We wonder if this bird belongs to an unreported disjunct population of Stripe-crowned or Sulphur-bearded, an obscure or aberrant plumage of Rusty-backed or Yellow-chinned, or an as-yet-undescribed Cranioleuca-type spinetail.
Deviating from our normal schedule, we took an afternoon break at the hotel, then returned to the field in the late afternoon. We walked a disused road through some cerrado, where we found a fairly cooperative flock of Caatinga Parakeets that flew in and perched in view. Our main reason for returning had been to spend dusk along the Rio das Velhas looking for nighthawks. We had to wait until the very last light of the day, at which point we had multiples of both Least and Plain-tailed nighthawks. As we walked back, within fifty feet of the van, a Common Pauraque sat on the road allowing a close study for those who wanted one.
This day had been reserved for exploring new sites northwest of Pirapora; however, we decided that these areas would have entailed too much driving. As an alternative, we began on the main road northeast of Pirapora and looked for promising areas. A wooded hillside some distance from the highway caught our eye and we found a road that led to it. The site was dry deciduous forest on the western slope of the northwesternmost extension of the Serra do Cabral, just outside a village called Porteiras. Within ten minutes a pair of Minas Gerais Tyrannulets appeared and lingered at close range. A third individual turned up about twenty minutes after the pair had departed. This location is approximately 25km north of the known site for this critically endangered species. Other species found in the same habitat included Black Jacobin, Glittering-throated Emerald, Stripe-breasted Starthoat, Little Woodpecker, Pale-legged Hornero, Planalto Slaty-Antshrike (3 pairs), Silvery-cheeked Antshrike (2 pairs), Pearly-vented Tody-Tyrant, Fuscous Flycatcher, Rufous-browed Peppershrike, Flavescent Warbler, Purple-throated Euphonia, and Gray Pileated-Finch (about 15 – the commonest bird in the woods). In the dry scrub at the top of the hillside we saw a flock (family?) of five or more Roadside Hawks, Plain-crested Elaenia, Southern Scrub-Flycatcher, Brown-crested Flycatcher and Black-throated Saltator.
After lunch, we continued north toward the town of Ibiaí, looking mainly for wetland areas in the floodplain of the Rio São Francisco. An ill-advised detour up a phenomenally dusty road toward the inaccurately-named Lagoa dos Patos (no lake, no ducks) was redeemed by the discovery of a flock of White-naped Jays. Although this error curtailed our exploration for the day, we did hit upon a couple of marshy oxbow ponds that produced such waterbirds as Brazilian Duck (40), Snail Kite (15) and Limpkin, and in adjacent habitat Aplomado Falcon, Caatinga Parakeet, Greater Thornbird, Yellow-lored Tody-Flycatcher (~150 miles north of its mapped range), Bran-colored Flycatcher, Rusty-collared Seedeater, Campo Toupial and Red-cowled Cardinal.
Meanwhile, part of our group had opted to spend the day more restfully in Pirapora itself, walking to the downtown and across the old railroad bridge over the Rio São Francisco. This was fortunate, as they discovered some urban possibilities we might have missed, such as Large-billed Tern, Yellow-chinned Spinetail, White-headed Marsh-Tyrant, White-rumped Swallow and Swallow Tanager, all within sight of our hotel. The rest of us returned early enough to look for some of these birds before nightfall, with partial success. Other birds of interest found in town that day included Bat Falcon, Burrowing Owl, Common Tody-Flycatcher, Gray Monjita, White-winged Swallow, and Bay-winged Cowbird.
Today we awoke with a sense of mission, as many of us were eager to find the Large-billed Tern before our early departure to Córrego dos Ovos and the day’s drive beyond. Some speed-walked the bridge to look for the tern; others stayed around the hotel for landbirds. Both proved worthwhile. Although the tern was not found again, a better discovery was at least one Black-collared Swallow, milling around the river rapids with the dozens of Blue-and-white and White-winged. (As far as we have yet learned, this is the first report of this species from Minas Gerais. While only one was in view at any given time, it seems likely that more were present: with swarms of swallows and most too distant to identify, this species was noted about five times over fifteen minutes.) Those who remained at the hotel saw Glittering-throated Emerald, Rusty-backed Spinetail, Swallow Tanager, as well as a pair of Orange-fronted Yellow-Finches among the numerous Saffron Finches.
We spent most of the morning in the riparian woodland site where we had first seen the Minas Gerais Tyrannulet. For the third straight day we found the species – this time a pair. In addition to birds already listed here on the 8th, today we found White-wedged Piculet, Henna-capped Foliage-gleaner, Silvery-cheeked Antshrike, Black-capped Antwren, Forest Elaenia, Yellow-olive Flycatcher, Yellow-breasted Flycatcher, Rufous Casiornis, Green-backed Becard, White-winged Becard and Tropical Gnatcatcher, among many others. We knew we were far from exhausting the birds at this spot, but we had a significant drive ahead, so we had to tear ourselves away at 11:00. (As noted earlier, future tour schedules will eliminate the longest drives done on this scouting trip.) We arrived in Ouro Preto at dusk and just five minutes before a rainstorm hit so our timing, by chance, could not have been better.
Andrew and Bradley were up before dawn patrolling the grounds of our pousada, and were rewarded with two male Scissor-tailed Nightjars at first light. As the rest of us joined them, but missed the nightjars, other notables that turned up included Gray-fronted Dove, White-barred Piculet, Pallid Spinetail, Sharp-tailed Streamcreeper (George was ecstatic), Olivaceous Elaenia, White-crested Tyrannulet, Tropical Pewee, Long-tailed Tyrant, Rufous-crowned Greenlet, Orange-headed Tanager, Ruby-crowned Tanager and Double-collared Seedeater.
From 9:00 to 1:00, we took a break from birdwatching to expose ourselves to some of the cultural richness of Minas Gerais. During the boom of the 1700s, when this region reportedly produced 80% of the world’s new gold, Vila Rica de Ouro Preto was the richest city in the New World, with a population of 110,000 (more than double the size of New York and quintuple that of Rio de Janeiro at the time).The art and architecture from this period are extraordinary. The mineral richness of Ouro Preto continues to this day, and it is a prime location for both precious and semiprecious gems and soapstone handicrafts. |
© Russell Fraker 2004 |
The monastery is well-known for the Maned Wolves that visit after dark to take scraps left for them on one of the verandas. In times past, some of these animals became so habituated to people that they were even hand-fed. This has not been the case in recent years and, in fact, it is not always easy to see the wolves. On this evening, many of us arrived promptly after dinner and waited (and waited…) but the wolves did not arrive. People gave up one by one, from about 9:00 until midnight. The next morning we learned that one had eventually taken the food just before dawn, at around 5:00 a.m. It would have been a long wait.
Caraça is the site of a monastery built in the mid-1700s in a bowl valley in the “Alps” of Minas Gerais. Much of the surrounding land belongs to the Catholic Church, which has protected it as a private park. There are trails heading out in several directions – to explore all the major ones would take about five days. The principal options are Tanque Grande, Bocaina, Cascatinha, Capelinha, and Cascatona, each of which can easily be made into a full-day hike. There are additional trails that are either more obscure or more remote.
We began on the Capelinha trail, which leads up into the hills directly above the monastery. Our first surprise was the amazing quantity of birds in the flowering Eucalyptus trees adjacent to the monastery. Two species predominated: Blue Dacnis and Burnished-buff Tanager – we estimated 100 dacnis (an astonishingly high concentration) and 50 Burnished-buff. Other tanagers were mixed in – Rufous-headed, Black-goggled, Hepatic, Sayaca, Palm, Orange-headed, Brassy-breasted and Gilt-edged – mostly in ones and twos, although there was a flock of about 15 Blue-crowned Chlorophonias. Adding in the Bananaquits, our honeycreeper/tanager count ran to about 200 individuals of twelve species, most of which were seen in less than ten trees over the course of a half an hour. It was like a warbler wave at Point Pelee. Hummingbirds were also present in numbers, although most were too high and moving too fast to be identified; the twenty or more in the grove represented at least six species: Black Jacobin, White-vented Violetear, White-throated Hummingbird, Swallow-tailed Hummingbird, Versicolored Emerald, and Sapphire-spangled Emerald. While we were engrossed in all this activity, a pair of Black-chested Buzzard-Eagles flew in low over the treetops.
We continued up the trail through a small area of open scrub and into a forested ravine with a dense bamboo understory, where Violet-capped Woodnymph, Rufous Gnateater, Hangnest Tody-Tyrant, and Drab-breasted Bamboo-Tyrant were seen for the first time on the trip, along with Variable Antshrike and White-shouldered Fire-eye. Part of our group remained in this area and added Scale-throated Hermit, an unidentified dark tapaculo (probably the yet-to-be-described Scytalopus that has been reported by others from Caraça, said to most resemble Mouse-colored), Southern Bristle-Tyrant and Yellow-rumped Flycatcher. The rest of us walked back past the monastery in the direction of Tanque Grande. We didn’t get far – birds were everywhere. Least Pygmy-Owl, Frilled Coquette, White-barred Piculet, Rufous-capped Spinetail, Pallid Spinetail, Dusky-tailed Antbird, Planalto Tyrannulet, Mottle-cheeked Tyrannulet, Sepia-capped Flycatcher, Gray-hooded Flycatcher, Gray-eyed Greenlet: the frenzy lasted all morning.
After lunch we picked up where we had left off, finding many of the same birds, but with the addition of a pair of Ochre-faced Tody-Flycatchers. We eventually made it to the Tanque Grande trail, which has the best access to tall forest in Caraça. We spent most of the afternoon on this fairly short trail, with the most notable finds being Crescent-chested Puffbird, Red-breasted Toucan, Buff-fronted Foliage-gleaner, Streaked Xenops, Eared Pygmy-Tyrant, Yellow-lored Tody-Flycatcher, White-throated Spadebill, Shear-tailed Gray Tyrant, Blue Manakin, Pin-tailed Manakin, Yellow-legged Thrush, Brassy-breasted Tanager, Gilt-edged Tanager, and a troop of Masked Titi-Monkeys.
In the evening a smaller but more determined group waited again for the Maned Wolf. One of us, walking past a corner of the monastery, spotted a medium-large owl landing in a conspicuous spot. The bird then flew into darkness. A search party was formed and, amazingly, within five minutes relocated the owl in a new spot. The bird was cooperative and posed on two perches, well illuminated by flashlights: a Spectacled Owl. It was a long night for the determined wolfwatchers. We were rewarded with a female Band-winged Nightjar perching and sallying from a ledge on the church between midnight and 1:00, and eventually, at about 3:30 a.m., a Maned Wolf appeared. It seemed nervous and stayed less than a minute, but in full view and good light, at a range of barely twenty feet, a magnificent animal.
Santuário do Caraça.
© Russell Fraker 2004
© Russell Fraker 2004
The Tanque Grande trail continued to hold our attention for another morning. Masked Titi-Monkeys were everywhere – at least four separate troops. New birds discovered on this walk included White-tailed Trogon, Scaled Woodcreeper, Ochre-rumped Antbird, Gray-capped Tyrannulet, Eye-ringed Tody-Tyrant, Serra do Mar Tyrant-Manakin, and Brown Tanager. Manakins were in evidence, with one Blue and three Pin-tailed seen well by most. The eucalyptus trees around the monastery continued to attract large numbers of nectar-eaters: a flock of 20 Blue-naped Chlorophonias was a beautiful sight.
In the afternoon, the group divided by interest and energy-level, with some remaining on the monastery grounds, some heading down the more difficult Cascatona trail into denser forest, and some taking the Cascatinha trail through open scrub. Highlights of the Cascatona trail were a lek of six displaying Hyacinth Visorbearers, as well as a pair of White-eyed Foliage-gleaners, and both Gray-eyed and Rufous-crowned greenlets. (These two forms were formerly considered conspecific, so sympatric occurrences are noteworthy.) The Cascatinha trail was disappointingly quiet, although a Tawny-throated Leaftosser was a good discovery, while a Lined Seedeater was an unexpected find at the monastery.
After dinner, a short owling excursion around the monastery grounds failed to locate any birds but did produce an exciting encounter with a Maned Wolf away from the animal’s familiar stage. The wolf initially did not notice us, walked up to well within 50 yards, then looked up, startled and retreated into the darkness from which it had come. To our surprise, it attempted to outflank us although the topography of the hillside brought it even closer than before – to about 30 yards – as it continued past us. The wolf was not seen at the monastery steps that evening.
Our last morning at Caraça. The youngest participants returned to the Cascatona trail, with its seemingly higher potential for forest birds, while the bulk of the group opted for the Capelinha trail that had been so productive on the first day. This time we continued to the Capelinha itself, a remarkable old church high on the hillside that must have been extremely difficult to build. For reasons unknown, the exceptional activity level seen on Monday had dwindled considerably. Most of the common species already recorded were seen again, but nothing new. The Cascatona trail yielded a large a number of birds, including Surucuá Trogon, Fork-tailed Woodnymph, Brazilian Ruby, Buff-browed, Buff-fronted and White-eyed foliage-gleaners, Large-tailed Antshrike, Gray-hooded Attila, and Yellow-legged and White-necked thrushes. While the rest of us were negotiating these more difficult trails, George wisely revisited the Tanque Grande trail, where he found a flock of ten or more Swallow-tailed Cotingas, along with the Violet-capped Woodnymph, Rufous Gnateater and Ruby-crowned Tanager he had been trying to find. After lunch we departed for our next location: the small industrial city of Timoteo capital of Minas Gerais’s “Valley of Steel” and gateway to Rio Doce State Park.
Rio Doce State Park has been cited as the largest remaining fragment of intact lowland Atlantic Rain Forest. It is intact in part because much of it is impenetrable, so naturally access is an issue. There are two ways into the park: the recreationally developed area behind the main entrance at the southwest end and a public road that bisects the park on its northeast side. We began with the latter, an area little visited by foreigners although it is a regularly traveled route between towns. As with many rain forest sites, observing birds in this habitat is challenging. By walking a few sections of the road and exploring side-trails where possible, we managed to find a good number of the species we anticipated: Blue-winged Macaw, Blue-headed Parrot, Reddish and Minute hermits, White-tailed Trogon, Rufous-tailed Jacamar, Black-necked Araçari, Channel-billed Toucan, Yellow-eared and Blond-crested woodpeckers, Sooretama Slaty-Antshrike, Plumbeous Antvireo, White-flanked Antwren, Eared Pygmy-Tyrant, Grayish Mourner, Red-ruffed Fruitcrow, Moustached Wren, Yellow-backed Tanager. Mammals we encountered included three Red-rumped Agoutis, a Tayra (large neotropical weasel), and two troops of Brown Capuchins. As the noon sun suppressed most of the bird activity we found a new pastime in butterflies which swarmed at certain flowering trees in numbers and diversity most of us had never seen before.
For our last full day in the field, we decided to see both sides of the park. We started by returning at first light to the area that had seemed most productive the previous day. This turned out to be a good decision as we happened onto a lek of Red-ruffed Fruitcrows. One bird called from an exposed perched just beside the road, booming like a grouse, while others answered from deeper inside the forest. At least three were seen and an additional two or more only heard. The display of this species has reportedly been witnessed only rarely, so we were very fortunate. In addition to most of the previous day’s finds, we added Laughing Falcon, Least Pygmy-Owl (miraculously spotted high in the canopy by Steve), Violet-capped Woodnymph, Rufous-capped Motmot, Yellow-fronted and Yellow-throated woodpeckers (making four yellow/blond woodpecker species in one morning), Sooty-fronted Spinetail, Black-capped Becard, Flame-crested Tanager. A male Black-legged Dacnis was probably the rarest bird of the day. This Atlantic Forest endemic is uncommon and sporadic in its limited range. We were surprised to find Tayras once again, with a family of three crossing the road.
After lunch on the road we arrived at the main park entrance at mid-afternoon. It was the heat of the day and we feared that the crowds of recreational park-goers would drown out any bird activity. The fear was unfounded, as we saw not a single visitor besides ourselves. Birds were not particularly numerous either. Two vultures circling the visitor center (which was closed) turned out to be Marsh Vultures and to our surprise actually perched on the roof right in front of us, allowing for ideal views. A Rufescent Tiger-Heron in the marsh provided five minutes of excitement, or however long it stayed perched above the reeds. Otherwise, Yellow Tyrannulet was the only other species added to the trip list in the southern portion of Rio Doce. However, we left some significant avenues of exploration unpursued, so there is certainly more a lot more potential to be unlocked on future visits. Mammals were more observable than at most places, with a very cooperative troop of Tufted Marmosets and Red-rumped Agoutis that stayed in the open even at a range of 15 meters.
© Russell Fraker 2004 |
Our last stop night and morning were at Sitio Bandeira, a country house in a pastoral setting near the town of Rio Casca. Flight schedules allowed only a few hours to explore the surrounding countryside. Still, this was enough for the group to record some interesting sightings.A group of three Black-necked Araçaris frequented the papaya trees by the house and Blue-winged Macaws flew over often. Anhinga, Purple Gallinule, Greater Ani, Band-tailed Hornero, Chestnut-backed Antshrike, Yellow-browed Tyrant, Dubois’s Seedeater, Chestnut-capped Blackbird and Shiny Cowbird were all last-minute firsts for the trip.
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One of the most rewarding aspects of birdwatching in Brazil is the frequent opportunity to make new discoveries. Field coverage by ornithologists and recreational birdwatchers, and thus their accumulated knowledge, is a tiny fraction of that in North America – and the avifauna is much larger, so there is more to be known overall. These factors combine for a high frequency of unexpected bird sightings that ultimately contribute to the base of knowledge of Brazilian birds.
On our July 2004 trip to Minas Gerais we observed three birds that may belong to as-yet-undescribed species. A spinetail studied at the margin of a pond outside Pirapora bore a strong resemblance to two species (Stripe-crowned and Sulphur-bearded) in the genus Cranioleuca that each occur only about 1,000 miles away. While the individual may represent a disjunct population or accidental record of one of these, each seems highly unlikely. In Caraça recently visitors have been reporting a small dark tapaculo similar to Mouse-colored but with a different voice. Two participants on our trip saw a tapaculo fitting this description. In addition, an apparent color variant of Gray-hooded Flycatcher (olive-green and rich yellow versus brown-orange) seen by two of us near Pirapora was highly unusual and conceivably a new species or subspecies.
- Cranioleuca spinetail, probably undescribed population or taxon (Córrego dos Ovos)
- Silvery-cheeked Antshrike – outside published range (Córrego dos Ovos & Porteiras)
- Rufous-tailed Antbird – outside published range (Caraça)
- Scytalopus tapaculo, probably undescribed taxon (Caraça)
- Forest Elaenia – outside published range (Córrego dos Ovos)
- Minas Gerais Tyrannulet – new site for critically endangered species (Porteiras)
- Serra do Mar Tyrannulet – outside published range (Caraça)
- Yellow-lored Tody-Flycatcher – outside published range (road to Ibiaí)
- Gray-hooded Flycatcher – yellow version, outside published range (Córrego dos Ovos)
- Yellow-breasted Flycatcher – outside published range (Córrego dos Ovos)
- Red-ruffed Fruitcrow – lek (Rio Doce SP)
- Black-collared Swallow – first state record? (Pirapora)
- Tropical Gnatcatcher – outside published range (Córrego dos Ovos)
- Blue Dacnis – very high concentration (Caraça)
- Black-legged Dacnis – first local record? (Rio Doce SP)
- Chestnut-backed Tanager – outside published range (Cachoeira Cerradão)
- Blue Finch – outside published range (Nacentes das Aguas Claras)
The following sightings were highlights due to the rarity and/or localized distribution of the species.
- Southern Pochard (Lagoa da Pampulha)
- Giant Snipe (Serra do Cipó)
- Plain-tailed Nighthawk (Córrego dos Ovos)
- Minute Hermit (Rio Doce SP)
- Hyacinth Visorbearer (Serra do Cipó & Caraça)
- Plumbeous Antvireo (Rio Doce SP)
- Henna-capped Foliage-gleaner (Córrego dos Ovos)
- Brasília Tapaculo (Serra da Canastra NP)
- Minas Gerais Tyrannulet (Córrego dos Ovos)
- Dubois’s Seedeater (Rio Casca)
- Cinereous Warbling-Finch (Nacentes das Aguas Claras)