Intervales State Park, São Paolo: September 29-30, 2012
Brazil is loaded with Important Bird Areas located in a wide
variety of regions, including the Amazon, the Cerrado, and the Pantanal, but no
region is as unique as the Atlantic Forest.
Indeed, with an astounding number of endemic bird species present, the
Atlantic Forest must be the center around which every birding trip to Brazil is
structured. The coastal region from
Rio Grande do Sul to Rio Grande do Norte is geographically isolated from the
rest of the country by a series of mountain ranges and arid plateaus, and
despite being densely populated and severely deforested, still contains several
good humid lowland and montane forest reserves. I’ve had the opportunity to visit a few sites
in this region, and while my previous trips to Reserva Ecológica de Guapiaçu
and Serra dos Orgãos National Park were both excellent, they were surpassed by
a short but highly productive visit to Intervales State Park.
Without any extensive vacation time, my approach to birding
Brazil beyond the Cerrado sites near Brasília has often involved taking
advantage of work-related trips to other parts of the country. Sneaking time off the job in Acre, I was
recently able to bird the bamboo rich forests of Southwestern Amazonia, for
example. Likewise, once I learned at
work that I would be headed to São Paolo, the country’s booming business
capital, I started researching the best birding sites outside the metropolitan
area, which now includes over twenty million people. Almost all of the trip reports I read came to
the same conclusion, that no other site in the Atlantic Forest tops Intervales
for birds, atmosphere, and economy. The
trip there would involve working all week and then getting on a plane, renting
a car, and driving for four hours, only to sleep a few hours before getting up to
bird all day, but from everything I had read, the site was worth it.
Nick Athanas, Tropical Birding guide and photographer
extraordinaire, whom I crossed paths with on the trip, likes to joke about
seeing the Big Five of the Atlantic Forest at Intervales in his trip reports. Not to be confused with the lions and
leopards of the Big Five of sub-Saharan Africa, the five endemic antshrikes can
all be found within park’s boundaries, including the Spot-Backed, Tufted,
Large-Tailed, White-Bearded, and Giant Antshrikes. These strange and stunning birds no doubt
prove a greater attraction to birders than do buffalos, and I was anxious to
tick off a few more myself, considering I had only seen the Spot-Backed
Antshrike previously. Of course, there
are plenty of other avian attractions, ranging from tanagers to tinamous, with
the endemic and endangered Black-Fronted Piping-Guan no doubt at the top of the
must-see list.
Setting up the logistics of the trip proved to be
painless. Reservations at one of the
small guesthouses within the park can be made through the website (birders
prefer the Pica-pau Lodge, R$105, for its fruit feeder, but they’re all within
walking distance of each other), and three meals a day are available in the
restaurant (R$7-15), which serves a simple but hearty Brazilian buffet. It’s best to reserve the services of one of
the three resident birding guides in advance (R$100 per day), without one of
which you will only have access to the area around the headquarters and two
relatively short trails. A birding guide
will open up access to the reserve’s many kilometers of forested tracks and
other trails, and as always their local knowledge of bird territories will give
you a much greater chance of finding the site specialties. Finally, given how restricted access is to
national parks in the country, which typically only open at 8am, I was blown
away to also learn that I could arrive anytime afterhours, even at 3am, if
necessary.
With my GPS in hand, I managed to escape the megacity of São
Paolo without too many wrong turns or traffic jams (the city is notorious for
having some of the worst traffic in the world).
It’s worth noting that Congonhas, the domestic airport, is certainly the
better of the two to leave from, if you’re headed to Intervales. Grabbing a late dinner at one of the
well-accommodated rest stops along the SP-270, I swapped my suit for my field
clothes in case I felt up for doing some night birding as I neared the reserve
later. I’ve notice that birders like to
be prepared for anything at anytime, and I’ll freely admit to wearing
binoculars around my neck at lunch during birding trips and always carrying my
spotlight in my backpack, regardless of the hour of the day. My preparation would prove worthwhile in a
few hours when I came across several male Long-Trained Nightjars in the
road. Stunned by the car’s headlights,
they allowed me to approach on foot within several meters before lifting off
the ground effortlessly, their marvelous tails feathers trailing behind.
I couldn’t imagine a better first bird of the trip and
proudly showed off my photos to the guard at the park’s entrance gate. Despite the late hour, he was cheery and
impressed, and he presented me with my room key and wishes for a good trip. A few hours later I was debriefing Luiz
Avelino, my bird guide for the weekend, just what exactly I was hoping to find,
including the region’s fabled antshrikes.
We headed out on foot from the Pica-pau Lodge up the Mirante Trail,
which passes through bamboo-dominated secondary forest. Within a few hours, Luiz was whistling in a
male White-Bearded Antshrike that eventually came in overhead allowing for
uncomfortable but still rewarding views.
Other highlights from this first section of the trail included Bertoni’s
Antbird, Yellow-Browed Woodpecker, Ochre-Collared Piculet, Rufous Gnateater,
Rufous-Capped Motmot, Black-Throated Trogon, and a nesting Brown Tinamou, which
Luiz simply noticed out of the corner of his eye.
Eventually we came into a clearing where activity was a
little livelier. A mixed flock encountered
here included the splendid Red-Necked Tanager as well as Rufous-Headed Tanager,
Chestnut-Crowned Becard, and Pallid Spinetail.
We also noted a pair of Eared Pygmy-Tyrants while trolling for the rare
and difficult Spotted Bamboowren.
Heading up another trail from the clearing, we came upon a well-known
Plovercrest lek, a unique hummingbird that I was fortunate enough to photograph
without too much hassle. Several male
Serra do Mar Tyrant-Manakins were also lekking nearby. The number of heard-only species, such as
White-Breasted Tapaculo, White-Eyed Foliage-Gleaner, Black-Billed Scythebill,
Greenish Schiffornis, and Large-Headed Flatbill was growing fast as I was
focused only on seeing lifers. Returning
towards the lodge for lunch, we picked off a few more good birds, including a
pair of Araucaria Tit-Spinetails foraging in an Araucaria tree. Luiz also showed me three occupied
Swallow-Tailed Cotinga nests in the open areas around the park headquarters; a
male was also noted incubating eggs in one of the nests.
After lunch, I spent some time birding on my around the
Pica-pau Lodge and on the Self-Guided Trail.
My first Diademed Tanager was a revelation, although they’re hard to
miss calling around the lodge. I had
much better looks at, and photos of, the Serra do Mar Tyrant-Manakin on the
Self-Guided Trail. A single roosting
Tropical Screech Owl could be seen under the eaves of the roof of one of the
headquarters buildings, and at some flowering shrubs I watched White-Throated
Hummingbirds, Versicolored Emeralds, and Violet-Capped Woodnymphs all duke it
out in the hot sun. Back at the lodge
there was quite a few photographers staked out around the fruit feeder,
including the Tropical Birding group.
Luiz and I decided to head out on the Carmo Road, where we would have a
better chance for actually seeing the Black-Fronted Piping Guan (we had heard
its wing-rattling display flight several times that morning), as well as
enjoying mixed flocks. The afternoon was
something of a disappointment though, and we saw little else than two distant
Bare-Throated Bellbirds, one fabulous male Pin-Tailed Manakin, and a pair of Bay-Ringed
Tyrannulets.
Near dark as we were slowly driving back to the lodge, we
came across a calling Pavonine Cuckoo, which stopped us dead in our
tracks. It responded to playback only by
flying over our heads a few times, without perching in sight. We also heard a calling Giant Antshrike, one
of my top target birds, in the same area.
Having resolved to return at first light, we were standing in the same
spot twelve hours later, and the cuckoo responded perfectly to a brief burst of
tape, coming in just overhead above the road, more or less in the open. It proceeded to preen calmly, its tail
feathers fanned out marvelously as I took a few photos and some video. We left it in the same place and tried for
the antshrike, which didn’t respond.
This proved a good time to sneak looks at the common but furtive
Brown-Breasted Pygmy-Tyrant, before heading down the road on foot. A male Tufted Antshrike came in quickly to
playback, a Hooded Berryeater was seen well foraging low along the road, and a
Sharpbill was noted directly overhead, my first ever looks at this very unique
bird.
Continuing on passing many palms loaded with fruit, we
finally found a pair of Black-Fronted Piping-Guans, by far the most elegant of
the many guans I have seen in South America.
Endemic to the region and also an endangered species, it’s probably the
principle target bird at Intervales, and I could rest a little easier now having
seen it. I reminded Luiz though that I
was still only three for five on the antshrikes, and he promised to take me to
a Large-Tailed Antshrike territory later that afternoon. Pushing along the road a bit further, we failed
to get looks at any of the calling Cinnamon-Vented Pihas, but I did see a
female Squamate Antbird, as well as Planalto Woodcreeper, Black-Goggled
Tanager, and another Tufted Antshrike at a small antswarm. A break in the forest along the road also afforded
terrific views of a large mixed flock that included four Black-Legged Dacnis,
including one distinctive female.
White-Collared Foliage-Gleaner, Wing-Barred Piprites, and Brown Tanager
were a few of the other highlights in the flock.
After lunch, I spent a half hour alone at the fruit
feeder. A series of tanagers and allies
came in one after another, progressing from the Ruby-Crowned Tanager, Blue
Dacnis, Golden-Chevroned Tanager, Green-Headed Tanager, to the exquisite
Chestnut-Backed Tanger. A Fawn-Breasted
Tanager was also hanging around, but I observed it foraging for insects, not
feeding on fruit. To finish out the
trip, we drove down a different road this time, in search of the Large-Tailed
Antshrike, Slaty Bristlefront, and Red-and-White Crake, which could all be
found in the vicinity with some skill and great luck. Walking down a forested road to an open
clearing we had surprise looks at a massive but wary Red-Ruffed Fruitcrow,
another terrific lifer for me on this trip.
In a marshy area, we got a response from the crake but no views. In some scrub nearby we picked up a pair of
Rufous-Capped Antshrikes and had a response from a Large-Tailed Antshrike that
was coming in close when a pair of thrushes chased it off. It took another frustrating hour of playback
and bushwhacking for me just to get a quick glimpse of the male before it dove
out of sight.
A long and quiet hike through good bristlefront habitat
yielded not a single bird. In general,
the two sunny afternoons I spent at Intervales were dead quiet, and I could probably
count the number of birds I saw during those periods on just two hands. We got back in the car and drove slowly
toward the park headquarters at dusk, coming across first a Solitary Tinamou on
the road and then a White-Necked Hawk. After
photographing from the car both of these rare and near impossible birds to see
well, I remarked to Luiz that we should have driven around all afternoon
instead of going birding on foot. Considering
our success in both situations, he couldn’t argue. I dropped Luiz off at the park entrance a
little while later, thanking and tipping him profusely for his hard work. It’s ridiculous to consider how many
excellent birds I saw in just two short days, a reflection of his abilities as
a guide and the park’s veritable bounty of great birds.
Muy completa nota, llena de hermosas especies, algunas de ellas las conozco de Argentina, pero otras no las tengo muy presente, solo de ver las guías, pero son tantas que otras no las recuerdo y ni siquiera había visto en fotos, gracias por compartir Saludos
Muy completa nota, llena de hermosas especies, algunas de ellas las conozco de Argentina, pero otras no las tengo muy presente, solo de ver las guías, pero son tantas que otras no las recuerdo y ni siquiera había visto en fotos, gracias por compartir
ReplyDeleteSaludos