(we recorded 340+ spp. at the Rio Azul during this visit, increasing the lodge list to 408)
Itinerary:
October 1: Arrival in Cuiabá, late flight to Alta Floresta.
October 2: birding in Alta Floresta and transfer to Pousada Rio Azul
October 3 – 8: Pousada Rio Azul
October 9: birding at Rio Azul, transfer after lunch to Cristalino Jungle Lodge
October 10-11: Cristalino Jungle Lodge
October 12: transfer to Alta Floresta, onward flights to São Paulo
Blow-by-blow:
October 1st:
RAD, JAD, and ARD arrived in Cuiabá with their TAM flight from São Paulo and Brasilia. The plane had waited for them in Brasilia, as the São Paulo flight left late. We headed to the Diplomata Hotel, where Big J and I had a room, to rest up and exchange books. A large dinner was had at the Chopperia Zero Grau, including a massive plate of spaghetti bolonhesa for Rolph and pizza buffet for Andrew, Bradley, and Jessica. Afterwards we went to the airport to catch our night flight with BRA to Alta Floresta. This flight was delayed and we were not settled into our hotel, the Floresta Amazônica, until 1 AM.
October 2nd:
Breakfast was scheduled for 06:00, but Brad and Andrew managed to pick up a few birds from the back balcony between 05:30 and 06:00. After eating, the boys headed out into the 240 hectare forest fragment behind the Floresta Amazônica, birding the Carapanauba trail as far as the viewing point for the old Harpy Eagle nest site. The nest has now disappeared entirely, and it will be interesting to see if the pair decides to use that site again in the future. It is likely that they have an alternate nest somewhere else in the fragment, and seems probable that they would use that site in consideration of the disturbance the last nest received. BJD played tape a couple of times, thinking that perhaps the juvenile would come to the nest site in hopes of being fed. After a couple of minutes Andrew spotted the young bird as it flew into the right hand side of the nest tree, a large Parkia. Scope views ensued, and we all watched the bird for a few minutes as it called several times, begging, before he (it appears to be a male) flew away out of the tree. A nice start to things. Few other birds were seen on the trail, so we headed to the fish ponds behind the hotel where we saw a handful of birds, including a surprising Sungrebe. We returned to the rooms by 09:15, and deciding against a visit to the nearby orchid gardens, headed to the supermarket and then lunch at the Café Mostarda (after a short rest, of course). We left Alta Floresta in our cramped hired transport by 13:10, headed for the Pousada Rio Azul, where we arrived late thanks to our driver not actually knowing the way, getting there in the dark at 18:25.
October 3rd:
Our first day at the Pousada Rio Azul. In fact, the first day for any birding group at the Pousada Rio Azul. Breakfast was at 05:00, and we were birding the entrance road by 05:30. This track crosses a habitat continuum from tall terra firme forest to low white-sand campina over a distance of less than 1.5 kilometres. We birded the entrance track until 10:20, before finishing off the morning birding at the riverside by the boat landing area (‘barranca’ from now on) and on a short loop trail along a small stream in igapó and transitional forest back to the lodge. Psittacids stole the show in the morning, with hundreds of birds of 11 different species seen flying over the campinarana and campinas. Highlights included more than 50 Scarlet Macaws, smaller numbers of Blue-and-yellow, Chestnut-fronted, and Red-bellied Macaws, hundreds of White-eyed Parakeets, and many Orange-winged Amazons. A pair of coveted Bald Parrots flew low over the campina, giving what would turn out to be our best views of the trip. Also of note was a pair of the recently described (in 1989) Kawall’s Amazon. Hummingbirds also featured highly in the low campina vegetation, much of which had recently begun to take flower – highlights were numerous Green-tailed Goldenthroats and a handful of Amethyst Woodstars. Several species restricted to the stunted vegetation along this track co-operated for good views, including Natterer’s Slaty-Antshrike and White-fringed Antwren, while the Pale-bellied Mourner was evident by voice but refused to show. In tall forest closer to the lodge we watched a trio of Black-girdled Barbets chasing one another in the crown of a tree at the edge of the road, and eventually had decent views of a pair of Spix’s Warbling-Antbird foraging in lower growth.
In the afternoon we tried to take a boat trip on the Rio Azul (or São Benedito II), but only managed an unproductive hour in windy and threatening conditions, returning to the barranca just before a storm hit.
October 4th:
The plan for today was to bird “Trail B”, an old path once used to transport boats upstream around a set or rapids. However, rain until 06:30 threw us for a bit of a loop. Singing Pectoral Sparrow and Yellow-browed Antbird near the lodge clearing enticed us to first try to ‘quickly’ pick up these species before heading to Trail B. We ended up spending nearly three hours after these birds and a fiendish Black-faced Antthrush along the boat loop trail, getting the sparrow, the antthrush and a bonus Ringed Antpipit, but the antbird was only seen very briefly by BJD. From 09:20 to 12:30 we birded igapó forest along the C trail, returning via the taller transitional forest of the A trail. Highlights on the latter part of the morning included Gray Tinamou, a pair of Gold-fronted Piculets, Amazonian Barred Woodcreeper, Spix’s Woodcreeper, White-bellied Tody-Tyrant, White-crested Spadebill, a male Rose-breasted Chat in the scope, and a pair of Fulvous-crested Tanagers.
After lunch, BJD went to the Fazenda Rio Azul to try to confirm reports of Hyacinth Macaws, but came up empty. From 16:24 to 17:57, we successfully managed to stay dry on our boat ride, but once again did poorly bird-wise, though a Red-throated Piping-Guan was a useful addition.
October 5th:
A ‘late’ breakfast scheduled for 04:45 but not served until 05:00 saw us in our boat by 05:40, heading downstream for the Fazenda Santa Ineza, but not before we picked up a co-operative pair of Silvered Antbirds near the barranca – confirming for all the delights of Sclateria. In short order, Brad heard our first target species, the Crimson Topaz, and we moored on a large rock to look for them. Three birds were seen hawking insects at the river’s edge, and we had 5 in total on the day. Several Hoatzin at marshy margins and a Brazilian Tapir swimming in the river were further highlights. We reached the first set of rapids by 06:30, where the birders went ashore to pass them on foot while Natal took the boat through. By 07:10 we had arrived at Estrada A, in my opinion the best birding site at the Pousada Rio Azul. Since my last visit to the Rio Azul, Natal had cut a short trail into the extensive Guadua bamboo in this area, and that trail was our destination for the morning. A pleasant surprise was the first 50-100 metres of the new trail, which go through good forest where we had excellent views of Chestnut-belted Gnateater and Musician Wren, and heard White-throated Tinamou, Pavonine Quetzal, and Tawny-throated Leaftosser. In the bamboo itself we called in a pair of Striated Antbirds, but things were fairly quiet overall. Brown-banded Puffbird, Chestnut-winged Hookbill, and Large-headed Flatbill remained heard only, but more luck was had with a responsive Dusky-cheeked Foliage-gleaner. In forest edge at the end of the trail we found Manu and Gray Antbirds together. The open areas along the old logging roads on this fazenda make for excellent canopy viewing, and we had scope views of a number of nice birds here including eight Paradise Jacamars, Black-girdled Barbet, White-browed Purpletuft, Purple-throated Cotinga, and a preening Tooth-billed Wren. A Laughing Falcon was admired as it tore the head off the snake it had just caught. We returned to the river’s edge by 10:30 or so, it was already quite hot, expecting to board the boat and make our way back to the lodge. However, a massive mixed flock had other ideas. The action was fast and furious from the undergrowth up to the subcanopy, and major players included: Yellow-throated Woodpecker, Rufous-tailed and Chestnut-winged Foliage-gleaners, Long-tailed and Lafresnaye’s Woodcreepers, Cinereous Antshrike, Pygmy, Sclater’s, Long-winged, Gray and Rufous-winged Antwrens, White-crowned Manakin, Yellow-margined and Gray-crowned Flycatchers, Rufous-tailed Flatbill, Long-billed Gnatwren, Gray-chested and Dusky-capped Greenlets, Rose-breasted Chat, White-winged Shrike-Tanager, Paradise and Green-and-gold Tanagers, Rufous-bellied Euphonia, and perhaps best of all, a singing male Slate-coloured Seedeater. We didn’t make it back to the lodge until 12:56.
After lunch and naps, Andrew and I headed off with Natal along the B trail to look for Flame-crowned Manakin. Unfortunately, the birds happened to be on the other side of the river today and did not show well, mostly just calling back at us. The highlight of the afternoon was an Amazonian Royal Flycatcher seen rather briefly with a mixed flock. The weather was once again threatening (and more importantly, quite dark inside the forest), so we returned to the lodge by 17:25. The day totals revealed that we recorded 170 species today!
October 6th:
A scheduled late breakfast at 05:00, followed by birding around the lodge clearing from 05:30 to 06:10 to pick up a necessary Pavonine Quetzal and a trio of Razor-billed Curassows calming foraging on the entrance track. We then ventured onto the B trail before taking a right on the D trail, which is still little more than a faint machete trail through the woods. Being a bit narrow, the viewing conditions on this trail were tricky and the birding a bit slow overall. Several mixed flocks were heard, but mostly stayed out of sight in the back. A Curve-billed Scythebill was heard and glimpsed by the leader, but got away. RAD and ARD found a nice Black-faced Antbird at close range. Thankfully things picked up a little in an area of somewhat stunted forest with thick vine tangles: the resident Amazonian Antshrikes put in an appearance, and were followed in succession by a showy pair of Scale-backed Antbirds, a perched Brown-banded Puffbird seen in the scope, and a couple of responsive Wing-barred Piprites. Once we re-emerged onto the B trail, mixed flocks took centre stage. In the flocks we found Plain and Slender-billed Xenops, Fasciated, Plain-winged and Spot-winged Antshrikes, White-eyed Antwren, Sepia-capped and Yellow-margined Flycatchers, Black-capped Becard, Tooth-billed Wren, Long-billed Gnatwren, Dusky-capped and Gray-chested Greenlet, Rose-breasted Chat, White-winged Shrike-Tanager, and Green, Purple, and Short-billed Honeycreepers. Later we heard and glimpsed Spix’s Guan, and Natal somehow found a Gould’s Toucanet which was perched quietly against a trunk. Our return through igapó along the river was mostly quiet, aside from tremendous views of first a young male, then an adult male Flame-crowned Manakin. Back to the lodge by 12:00.
In the afternoon we birded a short path from the barranca to a small oxbow from 15:40 to 16:25 to pick up a few river specialists. A pair of Glossy Antshrikes co-operated nicely, followed by Amazonian Antwren, Striped Woodcreeper, and a Cinnamon Attila which initially caused some confusion. A small canopy flock moved through, and we saw Long-billed Gnatwren, Guianan Gnatcatcher, Green-and-gold and Bay-headed Tanagers.
At 16:40 we piled everyone into Carlos’ truck (the Defector!) and headed off to the Fazenda Santa Ineza once again, this time by road. We first birded the reservoir at the ranch, picking up Black-backed Water-Tyrant and Chestnut-belled Seed-Finch as well as excellent scope views of the many Red-bellied Macaws gathering to roost in the dead snags. As dusk neared, we drove back out to the road to hold vigil for our afternoon target. Upon getting out of the truck, Brad heard some deeper macaw croaks that were not immediately familiar, coming from a nearby palm tree. Before he could set up the scope to scan, a pair of Hyacinth Macaws burst from within the fronds and flew toward us, crossing the road for good views. Andrew tracked them to a distant palm where they landed; we put the scope on it, but the birds soon ducked out of sight. Carlos had a distinct ‘I told-you-so’ look on his face. It was dark by the time was reached the entrance track to the pousada, so out came the spotlights – a Great Potoo was adequate reward for all the moths Bradley ate. Back to the lodge by 18:45.
October 7th:
Breakfast on time at 04:30 today, and we were into the Defector again, headed once more for the Fazenda Santa Ineza, which we reached by 05:28. Instead of stopping in the open ranch areas or at the reservoir, we pushed onward to the edge of the forest to the beginning of Estrada A2, arriving at 05:45. We birded the degraded forest and Guadua bamboo along this road until Carlos picked us up at 11:35. Once again, the birding here was excellent and a host of interesting species were seen. Bamboo specialists in attendance included Dusky-cheeked Foliage-gleaner, Striated Antbird, Manu Antbird, Large-headed Flatbill (seen this time), and a nervous Dusky-tailed Flatbill which refused to show for everyone (we caught up with it at Cristalino later). The track has good sightlines, and we saw Spix´s Guan, Red-fan Parrot, Lettered and Red-necked Aracari, Osprey, and Amazonian Oropendola along the first 200 metres. Mixed flocks were diverse, and highlights included Black-girdled Barbet, Rufous-tailed Xenops, Tooth-billed Wren and Slaty-capped Shrike-Vireo. Some tough-to-see canopy flycatchers obliged at forest edge for scope views: Forest Elaenia, Yellow-crowned Tyrannulet, and White-lored Tyrannulet. A Red-necked Woodpecker was watched beside the track and Collared Trogon, Great Jacamar and Broad-billed Motmot all came in to tape or imitations. We were back to the lodge by 12:15.
After thunder showers during lunch and in the early afternoon, we decided to bird around the lodge clearing and along the entrance track, which we did from 15:30 to 17:45. A small canopy flock held a single Guianan Gnatcatcher which stayed at the forest edge for some time, allowing scope views for all. A recent termite hatch attracted some activity in the canopy, and we watched a pair of Spangled Cotinga plucking insects from the air in front of them, without budging from their perches. Little else of note was seen amongst the many birds attending the termite buffet. Just before dusk we managed to call in a couple of Little Tinamous along the entrance track, though they didn’t show very well.
October 8th:
Our final full day at the Rio Azul. Before breakfast Brad decided the best way to see Black-banded Woodcreeper would be to play tape before the bird started its dawn song. Sure enough, the woodcreeper came right into the lodge clearing and sang, eventually seen by all in the spotlight. We birded the entrance track again from 05:25 to 07:45, since we were still missing Pale-bellied Mourner, Black Manakin and Plush-crested Jay. Once again we had flyover views of Bald Parrot, but no better than on the first day. Some speculative tape use in tall campinarana forest eventually brought in a pair of Bronzy Jacamars. Otherwise there was no luck with the aforementioned target species, though Pale-bellied Mourner was once again heard all morning. The only birds of any interest in the low campina were a Xenopsaris and a couple of Black-faced Tanagers. We returned to the lodge via the A trail, arriving by 12:30. Despite being on our 6th full day at the lodge, we still found a number of new species, the most exciting of which was a responsive Cinnamon Neopipo (Manakin-Tyrant). Other good sightings included prolonged looks at Fiery-capped Manakin, a Flame-crowned Manakin near a dry streambed in stunted forest, and a nice migrant Black-whiskered Vireo.
While some of us napped, ARD went about putting peepers to the Yellow-browed Antbird, a nemesis bird with a penchant for singing daily at the edge of the clearing just after lunch. He was successful, but didn’t manage to show it to RAD after. A quick walk down toward the barranca yielded the expected Blue-necked Jacamar, after which we headed back to the entrance track once more. All was quiet, and we added little from 16:25 to 17:45. The only new bird was, however, a lifer for our leader. As we waited at the edge of the campina, hoping for Plush-crested Jay to wander through, Natal spotted a raptor perched at the edge of the tall forest. Once in the scope, the bird resolved itself as a massive Black-and-white Hawk-Eagle! Brilliant. The leader snuck the first scope views, uttered some foul language, and was wholly unprofessional throughout.
October 9th:
The final morning at the Rio Azul. Once again we chose to walk the entrance track, this time getting a ride to the end of the track in the truck and walking back to the lodge. Amongst 13 species of parrots on the morning were good views of Red-fan Parrot in a small stand of Mauritia palms near the gate, and a rapid and uncharacteristically low fly-through of Scarlet-shouldered Parrotlets in the lodge clearing itself. A Black-bellied Thorntail was seen feeding in the canopy in the lodge clearing, and the new Phaethornis hermit fed at lower levels beside the restaurant. Old friends putting in their farewells included Red-throated Piping-Guan, Pavonine Quetzal, Brown-banded Puffbird , Curl-crested Aracari and Spangled Cotinga. We proved that persistence pays off, finally getting good views of two different Pale-bellied Mourners, a bird that had been more than frustrating on earlier dates. Other new birds included Grassland Sparrow, Lined Seedeater and Black-billed Thrush. After a final hearty lunch and farewells to our hosts, we packed up and piled into the truck to head off to our second destination.
The drive from the Pousada Rio Azul to the landing on the Rio Teles Pires where we were to meet Sebastião to take us up the Rio Cristalino should have taken no more than about four hours. Some torrential rains slowed things down a little, but more annoying was a locked gate and the possibility that no one had been advised of our arrival. However, soon Claudio of the Cristalino Ecological Foundation happened along and let us in; Sebastião was indeed waiting for us, and soon enough we were up the Rio Cristalino and settled into our bungalows for a short stay at the Cristalino Jungle Lodge.
October 10th:
The first order of business was Neomorphus. Two months prior, Jessica and I had spent a very trying six hours chasing this mythical creature – only to come away with decent tape recordings and a heartbreaking story. Worse, I had been informed that a guide from the Pantanal had come up with some tourists and managed to see the bird using the recording I had cleaned up on my computer and left with the local guides. So we headed out bright and early, up the Cristalino river by boat a short distance to the head of the Serra and Cacau trails. We tiptoed past a camp of sleeping Dutchmen and onto the Cacau trail. It was immediately obvious that things weren’t going to be easy. This dawn had come hot and humid, and appeared to lack a chorus. Of course there was no sniff of the ground-cuckoo, and some of the other targets were conspicuously absent while others could not be coaxed in (partly due to playback equipment failures). We did however pick up some new birds including Plain-throated Antwren, Chestnut-crowned Foliage-gleaner and Band-tailed Manakin. An antswarm got my hopes up for the ground-cuckoo, but instead held only Plain-brown Woodcreeper, Scale-backed and Bare-eyed Antbirds – the latter a huge relief. At the end of the trail we were met by a boat to ferry us across the river back to the lodge, from which we had Dusky-billed Parrotlets and a White-throated Kingbird. Upon our return, Sebastião was waiting and asked if we wanted to head upriver to look for the family of Giant Otters that had been seen by another group in the morning. So we piled back into the boat and drove a short distance upstream, eventually finding and watching the otters for a while. The ride back to the lodge produced spectacular views of a Black Hawk-Eagle perching at mid-levels by the edge of the river – Andrew’s 2000th bird!
After lunch Andrew and I took a short walk in the quiet mid-afternoon. We saw little, worked on some Saturnine Antshrikes for quite some time without very much success, and eventually had to hurry back for our scheduled afternoon boat trip.
Sebastião took us upstream past the Haffer trail, as we were looking for Brown Jacamars which ultimately did not show. However, we still found plenty of new and interesting birds including Boat-billed Heron, Green-and-rufous Kingfisher and Ladder-tailed Nightjar, while Cryptic Forest-Falcon and Cream-coloured Woodpecker remained heard-only.
October 11th:
This morning we headed to Cristalino’s showpiece, the 50-metre canopy tower. After breakfast we scoped Ringed Woodpecker in the bungalow clearings before walking the 15 minute trail to the tower. We stopped briefly at the middle platform (30 metres) to rest, but on my urging moved quickly to the upper platform where the sightlines are by far the best. The activity up top was never overwhelming, but we had a steady stream of birds to keep us busy during the hot but overcast morning. A calling White-browed Hawk was perched nearby, giving good views of this scarce forest raptor. King Vulture, Gray-headed, Hook-billed, Swallow-tailed and Plumbeous Kites patrolled the skies above us. Amongst more than a dozen species of parrots the most interesting were a pair of Blue-winged Macaws that flew past the tower a little below eye level. Excellent scope views of both White-necked and Striolated Puffbirds were had, in addition to other goodies such as Scaly-breasted Woodpecker, Lineated Woodcreeper, Yellow-browed Tody-Flycatcher, Tooth-billed Wren, Red-billed Pied-Tanager and Golden-bellied Euphonia.
In the afternoon we took a quiet walk on the Rochas Trail, where very few birds were heard, and even fewer seen. Curve-billed Scythebill, Black-spotted Bare-eye and Blue-backed Manakin all refused to show for the entire group (the manakin in a haunting reprisal of our 2005 trip to Mato Grosso and Pará), and despite a long wait at the saleiro no Crimson-bellied Parakeets came in.
After the evening meal the lodge staff filed into the restaurant with a beautiful cake and we all sang a happy 65th for Rolph. It was a shame we couldn’t get him a Blue-backed Manakin though...
October 12th:
No birding first thing, as we packed up to head back to Alta Floresta for flights onward to São Paulo. We made a brief stop at a small river island in the Rio Teles Pires to look for Amazonian Tyrannulet. The birds are rather used to birders, and often come in even when a tape is not used, as was the case this time. We also watched a large flock of Wood Storks squabbling in the shallow water and making an awful racket – too bad the recording gear was safely packed away! We made a token stop to listen for Point-tailed Palmcreeper and Sulphury Flycatcher on the drive back to Alta Floresta, but neither bird was immediately apparent and we had a schedule to keep. Just outside of town we picked up White-faced Whistling-Duck and Red-breasted Blackbird at a small pond.
After lunch with Jessica and Marina and her family, we taxiied over to the airport where Wilson of TRIP told us the flight had been delayed. It turned out to be a delay of not more than an hour, and we made our onward connection to São Paulo by a shoestring (they actually held the flight up waiting for us to arrive...)
