Brazil - July 2024 - Day 1 - Chapada dos Guimaraes - Vale da Bencao and Jacama das Araras

Our LATAM flight from London left at about 9.30pm on Thursday evening allowing a full day at work before heading off. We landed in Sao Paolo right on time at 5am local time and had a couple of hours to kill once we were through immigration. The team this time consisted of Wanstead stalwarts Richard and Bob, proven South American bird enthusiasts. Sadly Dave was missing from this Colombia 2022 line-up, but we very much hope that he will be able to join us on the next one.

It was of course dark when we landed and despite straining out of the window we failed to see any bird from the terminal as we waited. Eventually I think I found a Pigeon - excellent, the Sao Paolo list was off! I supplemented this with Crested Caracara from the plane as we taxied out before taking off to Cuiaba in Mata Grosso, a flight of about two hours into central Brazil. A pair of green parakeets distantly ovver the airfield went unidentified.

Arriving in Cuiaba as domestic passengers and with no suitcases to collect we met Brad more or less immediately and got going. Brad is the proprietor of Agani Nature Tours and although he hadn't initialy planned to lead this tour a double-booking meant he stepped in. We were glad that happened, but the poor guy had had perhaps a day and a half at home since finishing his previous tour. If however he was in any way jaded with birding and being away he did not show it in the slightest, he was on good form.

A typical track in the forest around Chapada dos Guimaraes

We headed vaguely north east along the 251 towards Chapada dos Guimaraes, about an hour away. Our first lifer of the trip became Chopi Blackbird underneath a Policia Militar checkpoint. The real fun began when we arrived at the Vale da Bencao just outside of town. Brad stopped the car and we were surrounded by birds. It was quite overwhelming actually, a whirlwhind of activity and I didn't know where to look. I must have missed loads as there was so much going on, but gradually we all calmed down and started getting good looks at things. My God South American birding is incredible, that first proper list ended up at 57 species in a couple of hours, and Brad heard another 20 which didn't show. Highlights were a Little Cuckoo, two Blue Ground Dove, a pair of Large-billed Antwren, Great Antshrike, Sooty-fronted Spinetail, Planalto Tyrannulet, two Flavescent Warbler, five species of Hummingbird, Brown Jacamar, Black-fronted Nunbird, and a Channel-billed Toucan. The trip had most definitely started. 

Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl

Peach-fronted Parakeet

We had an excellent buffet lunch at the Restaurante Trapiche Regionalissimo, and then checked in at our hotel, the Pousada Cambara. After dumping our stuff we birded the garden here briefly, adding a few common things like Pale-breasted Thrush, Rufous-bellied Thrush and White-lined Tanager, before heading off to the nearby Jacama das Araras and what seemed like a fairly new wildlife watching establishment at the end of a straight track into good habitat. The prize here was Red-and-green Macaw which were known to visit a tree to drink, and a platform hide had been built from which to observe them. This also had views over the valley and we saw several other Parrot species - Yellow-chevroned Parakeet, Blue-headed Parrot, and Red-shouldered Macaw. We spent the rest of the afternoon here, with Rusty-margined Guan underneath the tower, Pale-crested Woodpecker and Yellow-tufted Woodpecker visiting the drinking tree, and Undulated Tinamou coming to corn as dusk fell. As we drove out after dark the eyes of Common Pauraque were lit up by the headlights. Back in town one last treat awaited us, with Nacunda Nighthawk circling above the streetlights near what I think was a sports ground. It had been an excellent first day with 79 species seen, of which 33 were new. 

Pale-crested Woodpecker

Red-and-green Macaw

Red-shouldered Macaw

Undulated Tinamou, ISO 12800, 1/20s!!!