Birding in the Northeast, Jan-Feb. 2009


	Those who have read previous narratives of my travels in Brazil are no doubt asking yourselves, “why another one?!” Good question, but it’s easy to answer. Brazil is huge, the 5th largest nation in the world, and it correspondingly contains a high level of biodiversity. There are over 1600 species of birds in Brazil! That’s a lot of mileage and a lot of feathers to cover, as I quickly learned on my first trip, which focused on the vast wetlands of the Pantanal. The second trip revealed the delights of the remnant Atlantic Rainforests. So for this trip, by contrast, I concentrated on the arid and semi-arid habitats of the northeastern states of Pernambuco, Alagoas, Ceará and Bahia. What I discovered there was yet another aspect of the vast beauty and biota that is Brazil.	States of NE Brazil
	A Carnaval welcome at Recife!	Having connected through Sao Paulo, where I met up with my best birding friend, Virginia, I flew up to Recifé (“heh-see-fay”), capital of Pernambuco, with a population of about 3 million. Our greeting there included a quick preview of Carnaval, laid on right in the airport by the Chamber of Commerce.
	Developed in the 17th c., Recifé was the first port to export sugar cane, and was a major port for the arrival of African slaves to work the fields. Its miles of beautiful beaches today make it a popular tourist destination, though sugarcane is a resurgent and key industry thanks to its use in biofuels. Brazil is energy-independent, and biofuels play a large part in that circumstance. However, there is a price to pay for that, as you will see.	Sugarcane fields with forest fragments
	Baia Branca Resort, Tamandare, Pernambuco State	Our group of seven, plus leader, Bret Whitney, met at the Recife airport and headed out with high expectations the next day. We were not disappointed!>br> There are endless miles of sugarcane fields in Pernambuco, and on the first leg of our Field Guides trip we drove through them for nearly 3 hours to reach our accommodations, in the lovely Baia Branca Beach Resort at Tamadaré.
	The rooms, the ocean breezes and the beach were delightful, but as usual on birding trips, there was little time wasted in heading for the birds, inland. Of course, that meant dry and hot (with a chance of downpours at this time of the year), but the very special birds we saw there were well worth it. The White-collared Kite, for instance, has probably been seen by less than 50 birders worldwide. Until quite recently it was known only from 4 specimens in museums, so seeing it live, both perched and flying, was quite exciting! It was thanks to a young Brazilian researcher and friend of our leader that we were able to see this extremely rare bird. I could not find a single photo of this bird perched.	White-collared Kite
	Seven-colored Tanager (A. Grosset photo)	In this area we had our first, best views of the gorgeous Seven-colored Tanager. I’m not sure I can quite count 7, but the 6 I saw, and their iridescent shades, qualify them well.
	This Three-toed Sloth was also spotted, barely moving through the trees, as usual.	Three-toed Sloth (B. Sorrie photo)
	Hotel Remanso da Serra, Ceara State Gould’s Toucanet male Ruby Topaz Hummingbird male Band-tailed Manakin	After two nights on the coast and environs, we flew to Fortaleza, capital of Ceará State, our most northerly stop and also the most generally arid. We drove south to the range of hills known as the Serra de Baturité, which an area of semi-deciduous forest. Our hotel, the Remanso da Serra, was at an elevation which gave us comfortably cool mornings, especially on overcast days, and featured some excellent birds and trails right on the grounds.
	My favorite encounter here was with a pair of Spot-winged Woodquail. The ringing calls of these shy, forest dwelling birds were heard long before we saw them, but once we were properly still and quietly positioned on the hillside just above them, we were able to watch as they foraged contentedly through the leaf litter. Eventually, becoming aware of us, they froze in place, deep within a vine-y thicket, and we were able to creep slowly closer to enjoy their intricate feathering and bright orange facial skin.	Spot-winged Woodquail
	Red-cowled Cardinal (B. Sorrie photo) Masked Water-tyrant	The Red-cowled Cardinal is far more easily seen around the hotel pools and buildings, along with the Masked Water-tyrant, which was quite a common bird throughout the trip.
	We drove back to Fortaleza after two nights and flew on to Juazeiro do Norte, where we hoped to see the critically endangered Araripe Manakin.	Araripe Manakin
	Great Xenops (A. Grosset photo) White-browed Antpitta	This bird, too, is a recent discovery, though it is difficult to believe that this striking species could have been overlooked! It is only seen in moist canyons along the base of the Chapada (plateau) do Araripe, of which the only really accessible canyon happens to be in the midst of a large water park. Strange, but true, so we headed out after closing time and were able to see the bird quite easily with no-one else around. The following day we explored the drier top of the chapada, seeing endemics such as the Great Xenops and White-browed Antpitta. Both put on excellent, lengthy shows for us.
	Traveling SW from Juazeiro do Norte, we crossed the border into Pernambuco once again, headed for Petrolina. While the city is on the banks of the third largest river in Brazil, the Sao Francisco, it is still in the midst of the driest, scrubbiest caatinga habitat. It is also land that has been heavily over-grazed, by both goats and cattle, and thus is constantly burned and cleared.	Over-grazing by goats is a common sight
	< Black Vulture near Petrolina Barrel Cactus in bloom	However, it does have its own beauty, and at the beginning of the rainy season, the foliage was beginning to green up all along our route. Here too there are special birds to be seen.
	A birding stop just outside of town on 25 Jan. produced my 5,000th life bird, in the form of 3 male Scarlet-throated Tanagers which obligingly took time out from their fly-by to swoop down in response to Bret’s tape of their calls. They perched beautifully for us and as they are an endemic species, made an especially satisfying number 5K!	#5,000! Scarlet-throated Tanager male
	Spot the bird!	I should add here that while this means that I have seen approximately half of the world’s birds, it has never been about just numbers for me. I value the opportunity to see a bird well and at length far more than a “tick” on a checklist, and hope that I always will! As we birded an area the following morning that very much reminded everyone of Arizona, Virginia nearly stepped on a Least Nighthawk - it was hard to tell who was more startled! And now you can see why - can you spot the bird in this photo?
	No? Well, here’s the close-up shot of this very confiding bird, which roosts on the ground during the day, and flies, hunting for insects, at dawn and dusk. The Spot-backed Puffbird is another caatinga resident seen several times on our trip.	Least Nighthawk - blends in well! Spot-backed Puffbird
	Lear’s Macaws feeding in Licuri Palm tree Lear’s lookin’ at you!	On the 27th of January we headed for another anticipated highlight of our trip, the habitat of the highly endangered Lear’s Macaw. There are only about 500 individuals of this splendidly blue macaw left in the wild. It isn’t difficult to understand that their numbers have been decimated by the cage bird trade. Their remaining stronghold is in the hot, dry canyons of Bahia’s interior, where they nest and roost, emerging during the day to fly as many as 50 miles to and from feeding areas with sufficient numbers of Licuri Palms, whose nuts are their staple food. It was a long, long way to Tipperary, as the song goes, but we made it just at the right time of day to see these smashing indigo-blue birds, feeding and flying majestically around us.
	It was a hot and dusty trip, but we celebrated that night with Caipirinhas (a favorite drink in Brazil made with Cachaça, sugar and fresh limes) made with freshly-picked cashew fruits, in other words, Cajurinhas! These were the joint production of both Bret and our super driver, Marcondes, and though perhaps most preferred the lime version to the cashew, none of either went to waste.	Cashew Fruit (nut grows below)
	Cattle graze on hills below forest fragments, Murici, Alagoas State Cattle drive at Murici, Alagoas State	Leaving Bahia the next day, we drove through rolling hills dotted with cattle, clearly cattle country, with horses and mules much in evidence to work the herds. Our destination was the Murici Reserve, a dwindling patch of humid forest in the small state of Alagoas. This state is no doubt far better known for its beaches, which is too bad as it is home to a handful of highly endangered birds endemic to the state itself. As the reserve has been more or less abandoned by the government, the birds, not surprisingly are becoming very scarce. Clearing for cattle continues to encroach on the forest here.
	Sadly, in fact, the bulk of our target birds here were not even heard, much less seen. Nonetheless, we did have super looks at a pair of displaying Golden-tailed Parrotlets, at eye level and within 25' of us.	Golden-tailed Parrotlet (B. Sorrie photo) Golden-tailed Parrotlet displaying (B. Sorrie photo)
	Fringe-backed Fire-eye	These birds are usually only seen zooming by overhead, so the performance they gave us was truly special! The third 3:30AM wake-up the following day enabled us to return to the reserve for a bit of birding before driving to Maceió for a flight to Salvador, once again in Bahia. At this point in the trip, I was becoming quite good at napping, on buses, planes, in vans - wherever! The state of Bahia is roughly the size of France, which is to say, vast! After a quick night on the coast, we drove inland to the pleasant town of Jequié, a total of about 5 hours on the road. Along the way into southeastern Bahia we rendezvoused with another young Brazilian researcher who is working to attain protection for a private patch of forest which contains another endangered NE Brazilian endemic and a quite spectacular bird, the Fringe-backed Fire-eye. It does indeed have a blazing red eye which was easily visible as it perched up and sang quite cooperatively for us. But its most stunning feature is the lace-like shawl of white feathers on the mantle (upper back) of the male. The bird we saw actually had a far larger and more intricate “fringe” than the photo shows.
	The delicacy of this brilliant white feathering is worthy of any fine Belgian lace-maker. Travels that day took us through endless miles of brown, dry scrub on land long stripped of forest. Acacia, cacti and other thorny foliage predominated, with cattle and goats grazing on minimally supportive land. In the slightly higher areas coffee was being grown, but otherwise there were scattered, simple houses dotting the landscape. Our destination, the town of Jequié, was hopping on this Saturday night, and the praça (plaza) was festive with lights, bands, balloons, play areas for children, dancing and food vendors. Since our hotel faced the praça, we were glad that it all stopped at 10PM. Birding trips do not generally include a lot of night-life, other than night birding, that is! The birding venue in this area is generally known as Boa Nova, featuring a variety of bird-filled habitats within a relatively small area where the southern edge of the dry caatinga habitat adjoins the western edge of the humid Atlantic Forest. We began in the “mata-de-cipó”, a patch of vine-forest, which is aptly named though highly endangered from clearing for agriculture. There are 3 great endemic antbirds to be found here, and we saw them all, very well, and within a remarkably short period of time. This Silvery-cheeked Antshrike is one of the most handsome.	Silvery-cheeked Antshrike (A. Grosset photo)
	Grassland Yellow-finch male	Next up was a large marshy area where I was able to digi-scope this Grassland Yellowfinch male.
	Digiscoping involves holding a camera to the eyepiece of a focused birding scope, and is nowhere near as easy as it sounds! Thanks to Bret, I’m learning, if slowly.	Bret digiscoping
	Bahia Spinetail	In the afternoon we headed to the humid forest where we encountered tons of great birds within just a few hundred yards. The Bahia Spinetail (Synallaxis whitneyi) was named by Brazilian ornithologists in honor of our guide, and so we persevered in seeing this initially tricky, little vine-skulker.
	Later in the day, as I was walking back to the van behind the group, a pair popped up to give me my own private show! I also spotted this Cattle Tyrant, which had chosen a different companion for its roost.	Cattle Tyrant who marches to a different drum
	Blue Manakin male (B. Sorrie photo)	In addition, another blue beauty, the Swallow-tailed (AKA Blue) Manakin posed nicely for us.
	More species of antbirds, manakins, hummers and others made for a knock-out afternoon (and a day well-exceeding 150 species) This was SuperBowl Sunday, Feb. 1st. It was a fine day for the birders too! Even the butterflies were nifty.	< Crescent-chested Puffbird Green Honeycreeper male (B. Sorrie photo) Heliconia Butterfly (B Sorrie photo) Butterfly
	Pink-legged Graveteiro	Our next goal was to see one more of Brazil’s recent contributions to the world’s list of species, the Pink-legged Graveteiro. The last part of the name means twig or stick-gatherer, and certainly applies to the nest of this unusual bird. Bret knows it well having contributed much to the early research on the bird. Though it is largely gray and black, this bird does indeed have stout, very pink legs, which enable it to forage and probe along the underside of branches, much like one of our nuthatches. It is generally found in the uppermost branches of the tallest trees, and most probably lived in the Amazonian rainforest edges. Today, however, it is restricted to a few remnant canopy trees which serve to shade the spreading cacao plantations in southern Bahia. The exact status of this species as to its scientific classification is still an open question. This photo was shot through the scope, hurriedly, as the bird seldom stays still for long!
	A short-cut which turned out to be very, very long put us at our hotel after 8 that night, but upon awakening the next morning, this is a lovely scene that greeted me at the comfortable Canto das Águas Hotel. We were in Lencois, a town of 10,000 founded in the mid-nineteenth century when diamonds were discovered in the area. Today it is, understandably, a destination for tourists seeking the hiking and natural beauty of the area.	Colorful buildings in Lencois (B. Sorrie photo) Breakfast view, Canto das Aguas, Lencois
	Chapada Diamantina, late afternoon Chapada Diamantina	We were positioned to bird in the Chapada Diamantina for the next 2 ½ days, and it was to be a splendid ending to our NE explorations.
	It is truly a spectacular region of buttes and valleys with unique plants on the tops and semi-humid forests lower down, and thus a wonderful mix of birds, such as this Hooded Visorbearer, one of the coolest hummers I’ve seen!	Calliandra species, of which red are the favorite flower of the Hooded Visor-bearer (B. Sorrie photo) Hooded Visorbearer
	Sincora Antwren male (B. Sorrie photo) Pale-bellied Serra-finch	While the Sincora Antwren and Pale-throated Serra-finch may are not as flashy, they are two more northeastern endemics which cannot be seen anywhere else in the world.
	Lots of the plants were eye-catching, such as these two different species of Passionflower.	Passiflora species (B. Sorrie photo) Passiflora species (B. Sorrie photo)
	Black-chested Buzzard-Eagle	I am way overdue in giving my special thanks to fellow NC resident and botanist Bruce Sorrie, who graciously agreed to share his superb photos and allow their use here. While I took shots of many of the same things, his are vastly superior! Thanks are due, as well, to Ciro Albano and Arthur Grosset for allowing their fine work to be shared here. Our days in the Chapada Diamantina were long and full of great birds, both high and low. There were two birds seen which were not new for me, but both of which gave spectacular views. This Black-chested Buzzard-Eagle was perched at eye level about 15' from our van. I had previously only seen them in flight.
	The Collared Crescent-chest was also not a new bird for me, but to see two of them foraging within 8' (too close to use binoculars!) was a 10 minute interval I will not forget!	Collared Crescent-chest (B. Sorrie photo)
	Vila Gale room with a view, Salvador coast	Our drive back to Salvador included a few productive stops for birding and for a delicious churrascaria lunch, of which we had enjoyed many. The food throughout was delicious, with fruits and veggies fresh and varied and, best of all, totally safe to eat. One of my life fruits was the Umbu, a small green fruit which grows on trees in the driest areas, but which is refreshing and tastes a bit like lime. I even got to try an Umburinha at one point!
	We arrived back in Salvador to enjoy a late afternoon tour of this fascinating city, one of the oldest in the Americas. Today the 4th largest city in Brazil, it was the first capital and remained so for 200+ years. It is colorful and festive, bubbling, with music in the streets both day and night. We could only imagine what Carnaval might be like here, observing the heavy-duty construction of viewing stands along the streets throughout, with huge amplifiers being prepared for strategic placement. That night our Bahian-style dinner (a moqueça, with lots of shrimp, coconut, onion and other delicious goodies) was a fine ending to a wonderful trip.	Salvador street food with a smile Salvador pedestrian plaza with colonial buildings Baroque church facade, Salvador Salvador night scene, historic section (B. Sorrie photo)
	< Picture this bird with a brilliant, large white wing patch	The following morning three of our group headed home, leaving just four of us and Bret to move on, flying to Porto Seguro, a charming beach-side town in the southernmost part of Bahia. Our goal here was to explore 3 neighboring reserves a short distance inland. It was very hot here, at least 95°F at mid-afternoon, so we headed out a bit later in hopes of enjoying some night birding. And so we did! Over the course of the two nights there, we and heard several species, of which the White-winged Potoo was the most exciting. Bret had thought that this bird should be present as the habitat was appropriate, and yet, but for one museum specimen collected a century or so ago, it had only been seen once here. This Potoo is known, instead, from the Amazon, which could make any found in the vastly different habitats of Bahia a possibly new species! This is a bird for which I could find no photo at all, so you’ll have to use your imagination a bit.
	After having heard it call quite clearly the first night, we returned the second night and nailed it in our spotlight as it perched atop a tall snag for its nightly insect-snatching sallies. Wow, Bret, you did it again! One of the reserves in this area is home to the Pataxo tribe, which is encouraging visitors to their lands in hopes of preserving their forests while attracting and educating tourists about their culture and traditions. This lovely, soft-spoken woman presented a brief but very interesting talk about the Pataxo.	Pataxo lady
	Rusty-breasted Owl (A. Grosset photo)	We flew on to Sao Paulo and drove SW in pouring rain to our final stop, Intervales State Park. We were once again in the Atlantic Rainforest, so this 3 day stay would be quite different to the rest of the trip in terms of flora and fauna, as well as weather - i.e., more rain. However, I think everyone truly enjoyed this beautiful, well-maintained park, where we stayed in our own pousada, each room with a private bath en suite, and situated right in the forest. The first night there I fell asleep to the calls of a Rusty-barred Owl. The next night, we spotlighted it perched right outside my window!
	Our small group saw and heard more than 150 species of birds that first day, amongst which this Black-legged Dacnis was a special treat. It is restricted to a narrow band of Atlantic Rainforest in this area, and we were lucky to see it in its nest, which is a brilliantly camouflaged ball of lichen. Once again, no photo to be found, but you’ll get the idea I think!	Please imagine this bird with black legs! (A. Grosset photo)
	Checklists can be fun! (B. Sorrie photo)	The last big challenge of the trip was this Such’s Antthrush, a skulking, forest-floor dwelling bird which can strut like a little chicken and which belts out an increasingly powerful song of more than 100 evenly ascending notes. I knew it quite well by the time we’d climbed a wall of mud and stood on the hillside for 20 mins. or so, only to have it cross the track below us in full view of the one group member who stayed behind having seen it before. Not to be deterred, we continued to search for it across the grassy track as it sang in the forest below us. But again, as we stared into the dark shadows, it crossed behind our backs! That was it, we weren’t going to miss this bird! Thanks to Bret’s patient tape work, we finally saw it walking on a mossy log, going away. Whew! This bird is so difficult that I could not find a single photograph of it, but you can listen to its song. And so we headed back to Sao Paulo, and from there home after one last checklist over caipirinhas at the airport hotel. It had been a super trip, with a group of experienced, keen-eyed birders. That always makes for lots of great sightings, and I personally ended up seeing 495 species, of which 83 were life birds. More than that, though, I discovered a whole new face of Brazil, and had a wonderful time doing it. I can’t wait to return, next time to the Amazon. If you can stand another of these epistles, there will be another one coming your way eventually!
	Just a few more birds -	Hooded Berryeater Rufous-tailed Jacamar Giant Antshrike
	Melastome species Wild lilies at Intervales Terrestrial bromeliad in bloom (Encholirion spectabile)	And flowers –
	And I can’t forget the critters!	Moth Wet beetle on the forest floor Tarantula at Saltinho Reserve, Pernambuco State Brown Howler Monkey at Intervales (Giant) Yellow-eared Toad