Brazil with Bird's Wildlife & Nature - 6th June 2023

Dawn chorus at Pousa Alegre was one of the most memorable experiences of the whole trip with the wailing and crane-like bugling of Limpkins, Buff-necked and whistling Plumbeous Ibises, booming Curassows and Rheas and Chachalacas doing their onomatopoeic best.  I wandered around in the dark before the others appeared watching the faintest of pink glows reach up from the horizon.  It never occurred to me that one of the local Jaguars could be sitting just feet away.

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The rest of the crew assembled and a Crab-eating Fox came and quietly sat behind us and as the light improved we could see thousands of Bare-faced Ibises streaming from their roosts while Greater Rheas stood up and became visible before partaking in some mad morning exercises.  Our short walk out into the marsh to a wooded knoll gave us a pied winged Blue-throated Piping Guan, magic views of the ludicrous Red-billed Scythebill, Scarlet Headed and Unicoloured Blackbirds, Solitary Black and Yellow-rumped Caciques and striking Chotoy, Cinerous Breasted and Yellow-chinned Spinetails. 

Crab-eating Fox

Bare-faced Ibises

Bare-faced Ibises

Hyacinth Macaws pre-dawn

Greater Rheas

Plumbeous Ibis

Plumbeous Ibis

Limpkin

Unicoloured Blackbird

Scarlet Headed Blackbird

Scarlet Headed Blackbird

Red-billed Scythebill

Hyacinth Macaws warmed in the dawn sun and we got good views of Crane Hawk, Snail Kites and even a Collared Forest Falcon whilst we stepped around the remains of countless Apple Snails beloved of Kites and Limpkins. Caimen bellowed from the Water Hyacinths and a male Vermillion Flycatcher gleamed. 

Snail Kite

 Crane Hawk

 Great Black Hawk

Hyacinth Macaw and Buff-necked Ibises

Mato Grosso Antbirds, Greater Thornbirds and Thrush-like Wrens were noisy and showy and we had good views of Pale-legged Hornero as it stalked around the damp pools under the trees and all the while Whistling and Muscovy  Ducks and almost every Heron you could imagine moved to and from roost to feeding site except for the Night Herons heading the other way. Red-crested Cardinals were in the tree tops as we made our way into breakfast…

 Greater Thornbird

 Black-bellied Whistling Ducks

 Rufescent Tiger Heron

Night Herons and a Little Blue Heron

Rufescent Tiger Heron

Black Vulture

Mrs Muscovy 

Mr Muscovy 

paullinia elegans

Ruddy Daggerwing (minus one dagger)

Senna alexandrina

Greater Rhea

Yacare Caiman

Red-crested Cardinal

Chaco Chachalaca

Rufous-bellied Thrush

White-tipped Dove

We packed up and left the lodge but did not get too far as the first bridge was littered with Yacare Caimen and Capybaras so we got out for a closer look. A selection of ‘big waders’ included our first Roseate Spoonbill bedecked in shades of pink and there were White-backed Stilts amongst the Black-bellied and White-faced Whistling Ducks but it was the cloud of Nacunda Nighthawks that came up off the marsh that took our breath away. A big species with striking wing patterns and a penchant for having damp feet.  A Large Billed Tern appeared as we were trying to drive away!

Black-bellied Whistling Ducks

Black-bellied Whistling Ducks

Black-bellied and White-faced Whistling Ducks

Nacunda Nighthawks

Wood Stork

Large Billed Tern

Striated Heron

Stopping on the entrance road wood for a couple of forays gave us stunning White Eyed Attila, White-wedged Piculet, beady eyed Hooded Tanagers, gaudy Orange-backed Troupial and a very smart Green-backed Becard.  A Capped Heron perched up briefly in an opening and Greenish Elaenia and Yellow-olive Flatbill joined the Flycatcher tally along with a more obliging Squirrel Cuckoo.

Cereus hexagonus

White Eyed Attila

White Eyed Attila

White Eyed Attila

Capped Heron

Capped Heron

Capped Heron

Green-backed Becard

Great Rufous Woodcreeper

Red-billed Scythebill

Orange-backed Troupial 

Yellow-olive Flatbill 

Rufous Vented Conebill

Red-billed Scythebill

Rufous Fronted Thornbirds chattered in the scrub where Glittering Throated Emeralds danced and both Southern Beardless Tyrannulet and tiny Rusty Fronted Tody Flycatchers zipped in and out before we pushed onto our lodge at Rio Claro.  

Stopping to look at a Jabiru nest just before the entrance also got us some loved up and normally tricky to find, Nanday Parakeets as they went about their mutual preening.

Jabiru

Jabiru

Nanday Parakeets

Nanday Parakeets

Nanday Parakeets - four in a love huddle

Chestnut-bellied Guans and Chaco Chachalacas strutted around the grounds as we chilled before our afternoon boat trip on the beautiful river.  I spent some time in the heat down on the jetty before hand where Lesser Kiskadees were feeding from the Water Hyacinths mid-river and Yellow-billed Cardinals, Great Kiskadees and White-winged Swallows were using the floating platform as a lookout for prey. Caiman snoozed below me and the local Pig family wallowed and munched vegetation in complete disregard to the huge reptiles just feet a way.

White-winged Swallows

Great Kiskadee

Lesser Kiskadee

Yellow-billed Cardinal

Great Kiskadee

Snowy Egret

Snowy Egret

Southern Rough-winged Swallow

Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture

Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture

Black Vulture

Saffron Finches fed around the lodges

Chestnut-bellied Guans

Our slow circuit up and down the local stretch was very tranquil and Black-collared and Great Black Hawks overlooked the waters where the usual three Kingfishers were equally observant.  Sungrebe was a target and a smart female was seen well before it slunk back under the trees and Lesser Kiskadees were seen amongst the familiar Rusty Margined Flycatchers and Turquoise Fronted and a couple of Orange Winged Amazons moved across the river as well as several Blue-throated Piping Guans and Night Herons.  Rusty-backed Spinetails noisily foraged in the overhanging foliage with Yellow-billed Cardinals and a kaleidoscope of Dragonflies were to be seen.

Blue-throated Piping Guan - those primaries look amazing

Black Crowned Night Heron

Black Crowned Night Heron

Sungrebe - the brighter female

Wattled Jacana

Wattled Jacana

Roadside Hawk 

Great Black Hawk

Rufescent Tiger Heron

Rufescent Tiger Heron

Rusty-backed Spinetail

Rusty-backed Spinetail

Rusty-backed Spinetail

Turquoise Fronted Amazon

Ringed Kingfisher

Rusty Margined Flycatchers

As the light fell we nosed the boat into a patch of riverbank in the hope of at least hearing the tiny, cryptic and supremely enigmatic Zig-zag Heron.  Luck was with us and through a haze of Mosquitos the barking male appeared silently twice in exactly the same spot – stared at us and dropped out of view!  The first Pauraques began to appear and hawk around our little boat.

The sun was down with just an orange glow in the sky when suddenly a mass of Snail Kites appeared and drifted silently up river to their roost while dinky Band-tailed Nighthawks flicked and glided between them.   Another day was done.

Snail Kites

Band-tailed Nighthawks