The Parque Estadual (State Park) do Ibitipoca, 50km northwest of Juiz de Fora, is reached by a rough road that must be impassable in wet weather to anything other than four wheel drive vehicles. The park is situated at an altitude of 1400m and consists of a strange high altitude cerrado, with trees covered in old man’s beard, montane grassland and rocky hillsides. The scenery is spectacular and the park is popular with hikers. In March there was not much bird activity but we did see blue-winged macaw Propyrrhura maracana, Hellmayr’s pipit Anthus hellmayri, stripe-tailed yellow-finch Sicalis citrina and heard maned wolf Chrysocyon brachyurus, which is apparently a common scavenger around the camping site. Below the park there are forest remnants with typical Atlantic Forest species. Interestingly, we found both golden-crowned warbler Basileuterus culicivorus and white-bellied warbler Basileuterus hypoleucus together. On the outskirts of the small town of Conceição de Ibitipoca there is a marsh with plenty of bird life, including the wetland form of red-eyed thornbird Phacellodomus ferrugineigula - a redent split - at the north limit of its range.
The Pousada Tangará is excellent.
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This is another attractive site that is fun to bird but does not offer anything special for listers. The colonial town itself is beautiful and a popular tourist destination. Avoid it at the weekend. The Serra de São Josá rises up to the north of the town and conceals a quiet and peaceful valley of cerrado which can be reached on foot from the town. Walk west from the town centre and after about 1km, at a small triangular cobbled "praça", there is a gate with a no admittance sign and a smaller entrance to the left of it. The trail up the serra starts here.
On the way to the start of the trail you will pass the Pousada Arco Iris, run by two ladies who provide comfortable accommodation and two breakfasts, a good one at 5:30 am and a superb one after birding.
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Nothing much has changed since Forrester’s day. To get there, drive north from Linhares along the BR 101, pass through the town of Sooretama, pass the entrance to the Reserva Natural da Vale do Rio Doce and after a few more kms turn left at a sign to IBAMA, Reserva de Sooretama (this is not the IBAMA post beside the BR 101 where it cuts through the forest). In December 2004 a gate was installed at the beginning of the road across the reserve to restrict access to the day time, from 6:00am to 6:00pm. I do not know whether it is possible to get permission to go in outside this period.
You need permission to visit the reserve and recently this has not always been forthcoming or is subject to conditions and restrictions. Write to Sr. Eliton Lima, Diretor da Reserva Biológica de Sooretama, at eliton.lima@bol.com.br or rebiosooretama@hotmail.com. There is no longer accommodation available in the IBAMA compound.
For further information on this site see John van der Woude's site notes and maps.
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Reserva Natural da Vale do Rio Doce ("Linhares")
Since the Companhia do Vale do Rio Doce (CVRD) was privatised it has invested heavily in this reserve. There is a visitors’ centre, a hotel and more than 100km of good tracks through the forest. The CVRD has also taken over the administration of Sooretama. Rooms at the hotel cost from R$110 (US$38) per double room with air conditioning but without private bathroom to R$220 (US$75) for a very comfortable double room with private bathroom (both prices include full board for two people). The cheaper rooms are only available for groups. There is an additional charge of US$30 / person / day to enter the reserve, in your own vehicle with a guide, whether you are staying at the hotel or elsewhere. If you decide not stay in the CVRD hotel you will find cheaper accomodation in the town of Linhares, 30 km to the south.
Birding is better at Linhares than Sooretama because of the much better access to the forest and because poachers are kept out. In three visits to Sooretama I have never seen the Red-billed Curassow Crax blumenbachii but have had it regularly at Linhares. However, some birds, such as Plumbeous Antvireo Dysithamnus plumbeus and Striated Softtail Thripophaga macroura, are easier to find at Sooretama. Write to rnvhotel@cvrd.com.br (tel. (27)-3371-9797 or 3371-9799) for accomodation or permission to enter the reserve.
For further information on this site see John van der Woude's site notes and maps.
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Santa Tereza ("Nova Lombardia")
To get permission to visit the reserve send an e-mail to the Diretor, Reserva Biológica Augusto Ruschi (the new name of the reserve) at eduardomignone@gmail.com or rbaruschi@hotmail.com or just turn up at at the admin building ("Warden’s house" on Forrester’s map) and chance your luck at getting permission on the spot. This has worked for me. Forrester’s directions to get to the reserve are a little inaccurate: replace "take the Colatina road out of town" by "at the end of the one-way street through town (in the Colatina direction), where it becomes two-way, turn right up a cobbled ramp behind the bus station and…". There is no longer a humming bird reserve at Ruschi’s house. The feeders were transferred to the Museo Mello Leitão, in town, but the last time I saw them they were not being filled regularly. In December 2000 there was a disastrous flood in Santa Tereza and the situation is probably even worse now.
The reserve is a good place to see Wied’s tyrant-manakin Neopelma aurifrons, from which the Serra do Mar tyrant-manakin Neopelma chrysolophum has recently been split.
For further information on this site see John van der Woude's site notes and maps.
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Conceição do Castelo
The only way to see what appears to be the last surviving population of six cherry-throated tanagers Nemosia rourei is to visit the Fazenda Pindobas IV with the two biologists employed there, Ana Cristina Venturini and Pedro Rogério de Paz. They charge US$200 per day plus expenses, and will pick you up at Vitória airport. Write to them at originalisnatura@originalisnatura.com.br. The tanagers are becoming increasingly difficult to find. So far most people have seen the birds on the first day, one group saw them on the second, and in January 2001 we didn't see them at all. There are a number of other interesting Atlantic Forest species in these forest remnants, particularly cinnamon-vented piha Lipaugus lanioides.
Vargem Alta / Caetês
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The Hotel Fazenda Monte Verde, 31 km north of the town of Vargem Alta, has a steep 4 km trail through good Atlantic forest.
A few kms from here a second site has recently been discovered for Cherry-throated Tanager Nemosia rourei in forest at Caetês. Keith and Marlis Sneden have provided the following instructions on how to get there:
In the village of Castelinho, located 6.2 km south of the Hotel Monte Verde, going south, turn off to the right onto a dirt road. A public telephone is located at the turn-off. The dirt road veers downhill to the right, goes across a wooden bridge and passes by a sawmill before it goes uphill along the right side of a valley and enters forest. Follow the dirt road until you see a locked gate on the right, immediately before a bridge over the river, approx. 2.5 km from the paved road [note that about 100 m before this gate there is another gate with a house at the end of the driveway]. A track behind the locked gate passes through forest for about 3 km. The gate mentioned for the site for Cherry-throated Tanager is about 2 km from the locked gate. There is nobody at the site whom one can ask for permission to enter but be warned there have been reports of birders having unpleasant altercations and even being threatened with violence by people who, though not the owners, believe they are entitled to limit access.
There is an interesting article on this site on the Neotropical Bird Club website.
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Teresópolis - Parque Nacional da Serra Dos Orgãos
You can enter the park between 8:00 and 17:00. In July 1999 the cost for six people to camp one night on the Trilha da Pedra do Sino, leaving the car at the barragem (dam) was R$70 (US$35).
The road up to the dam (about 2km) runs through good forest. Leave the car at the dam (altitude 1100m - 3,600ft). The walk to the first camp site at 1900m (6,200ft) takes three hours, without stopping. The second camp site is at 2100m (6,900ft) after a further 1 1/2 hours. There is excellent forest all the way up to the first camp site, the trees becoming lower as you get higher. Near the second camp site you get above the tree line.
Hooded Berry-eater Carpornis cucullatus occurs up to about 1500m, Black-and-Gold Tijuca atra and Swallow-tailed Cotinga Phibalura flavirostris from 1500m to 1800m, and Gray-winged Cotinga Tijuca condita from 1800m upwards. Recently the most reliable place for Gray-winged Cotinga has been on the hillside opposite the first camp site.
The lower part of the park is also open to visitors, the entrance being on the right about one third of the way up the "serra" from Rio to Teresópolis. The habitat is good but the trails are short and there is a lot of noise from the road. The avifauna here is lowland, very different from that of the high elevations of the park.
For further information on this site see John van der Woude's site notes and maps.
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Teresópolis - Garrafão
The place where Ricardo Parrini and a few others saw the kinglet calyptura Calyptura cristata in 1996 (no one has seen it since) is just before you get to Teresópolis, coming up the serra from Rio. 200m after the "Garrafão" petrol station, at a sharp left curve, turn right off the main road onto a rough track. Wind down the hill for about 500m. The calyptura was seen at a fork where the main track goes straight ahead and a paved track goes steeply down the hill to the right. This latter track goes through some good forest where there is a dusky-throated hermit Phaethornis squalidus lek.
For further information on this site see John van der Woude's site notes and maps.
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Carmo is a reliable site for three-toed jacamar Jacamaralcyon tridactyla and Rio de Janeiro antbird Cercomacra brasiliana. Take the road from Além Paraiba (on the Rio de Janeiro / Minas Gerais state border, where the BR 116 crosses the Rio Paraíba do Sul) to Carmo. Just as you get to Carmo, there is a petrol station on the left. Take the dirt road to the left, beside the petrol station. After 2.5km, when you get to a place with forest on both sides of the road, look for the jacamars. A good way to see them is by walking along the track to the right, just after the patch of forest, playing a tape to them from the hillside.
5.2km further on there is a wooden gate on the left. Rio de Janeiro Antbird can be found in the thick vegetation just before the gate and the jacamar is here too.
The two species can also be found at Sumidouro.
For further information on these sites see John van der Woude's site notes and maps.
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Reserva Ecológica de Guapi-açu - REGUA
REGUA (Reserva Ecológica de Guapi Açu http://www.regua.co.uk – there is a bird list on the website) is a non-governmental conservation project with a mission to save the forests in the catchment of the Guapi Açu River basin. There is another website possibly more directed to birders at http://www.guapiassubirdlodge.com/index.html. Being only about 2 hours drive from the airport in Rio de Janeiro (where you can usually arrange to be picked up by a vehicle from the reserve if you do not have your own vehicle), REGUA is a good point to start a trip to Southeast Brazil, especially for anyone who is unfamiliar with the avifauna. The reserve supports a wide variety of Atlantic forest birds, including rarities such as Golden-tailed Touit surdus and Brown-backed Parrotlets T. melanonotus, Salvadori’s Antwren Myrmotherula minor, White-bearded Antshrike Biatas nigropectus and Spotted Bamboo-wren Psilorhampus guttatus (though some of these are difficult to find).
The lodge at REGUA is extremely comfortable, and has an excellent bird library, including ten volumes of HBW. It overlooks a wetland where a good selection of waterbirds occur, including Giant Snipe Gallinago undulata (though not easy to see) and Masked Duck Nomonyx dominica. Striped Owl Rhinoptynx clamator inhabits the woodland nearby, and Tawny-browed Owl Pulsatrix koeniswaldiana can be found easily around the lodge and office. Whilst there is regenerating forest nearby, the best trails are those that go to the waterfall (green trail) and the elfin forest trail (the red trail, which goes up steeply off the green trail, to c.950m). You need transport to reach the beginning of these trails, which is provided free by the reserve if you are staying there (or you can drive yourself). The green trail passes through regenerating forest but supports a great variety of species, including many Atlantic forest endemics. It is also an excellent place to find Shrike-like Cotinga (Elegant Mourner) Laniisoma elegans. To do the red trail properly, you need to plan for a whole day since it is a long, tough walk. However, the walk is well worthwhile since there are many mid to higher altitude species, including Blue-bellied Parrot Triclaria malachitacea.
REGUA can also arrange excursions using their vehicles to visit birding sites in the vicinity to look for species such as Gray-winged Cotinga Tijuca condita and Itatiaia Thistletail Oreophylax moreirae (Caledonia peak, which can only easily be reached by 4WD), Three-toed Jacamar Jacamaralcyon tridactyla and Rio de Janeiro Antbird Cercomacra brasiliana (near Sumidouro) and Restinga Antwren Formicivora littoralis (near the coast). Instead of hiking up the red trail to look for higher altitude species, you can arrange to visit forest at 1200m around the house of David Miller, an orchid expert. Here you find Black-and-Gold Cotinga Tijuca atra, Giant Antshrike Batara cinerea, Rufous-backed Antvireo Dysithamnus xanthopterus and many more. You can arrange for a guide from REGUA to accompany you on your trips.
TO GET TO REGUA from Rio de Janeiro City. Either go over the Rio-Niteroi bridge, passing Itaboraí on the road to Nova Friburgo. At the Schincariol brewery (on left) turn sharp left at a police check point onto the road to Guapi Mirim. After 2km, at Funchal, immediately before a petrol station turn right. Or, if you come straight from the airport, follow the directions to Petropolis, then left to Teresopolis and finally at Guapimirim-Parada Modelo turn right and follow the sign for Cachoeiras de Macacu. At Km 32 by the disused petrol station (on right) turn left. Follow this all weather dirt road for 11.3km and at a fork with a number of signs pointing right to Guapi Açu and a Hotel Fazenda, bear left, cross a river bridge and continue along the road, turning 90deg to the left instead of straight on where there is an obvious junction 600 meters after the bridge. After another 500m along this straight section of road, you cross a small bridge. Turn right immediately after this bridge, passing a gate. This is the road that leads up to the lodge, first passing the REGUA office (on the right) and the houses where some staff live (also on the right). To make enquiries about staying at the reserve, contact Nicholas Locke, the reserve manager, at aregua@terra.com.br (0055) 21 2745 3998 or 22 2533 3603.
[we are grateful to Frank Lambert for writing these notes]
I can add little to Forrester’s coverage of this site. For a time the Maromba ("Jeep") trail was overgrown and practically impassable but it is now reported to be cleared. You need written permission to walk it. The Hotel do Ypê is the best place the stay, though a little expensive, and they will obtain the permission required for the Maromba trail. Gail Mackiernan recently recommended the Hotel Donati which is also well located and may be cheaper. In any event, stay at a hotel in the park; there is cheaper accommodation in the town but you will have to pay each time you enter the park and may have difficulty getting in before 8:00 am.
Shrike-like Cotinga Laniisoma elegans has been seen along the access road to the Hotel Repouso. Red-and-White Crake Laterallus leucopyrrhus (not on Forrester’s list) has been found in the marsh just above the town (outside the park).
If you want to visit the Agulhas Negras road only, it is closer and cheaper to stay in the Hotel Thomaz in Itamonte than in Itatiaia.
For further information on this site see John van der Woude's site notes and maps.
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This attractive colonial town (with excellent restaurants) lies between Ubatuba and Perequê. The birds are similar to those found in Ubatuba.
There is interesting lowland forest at Patrimônio, a village on the road from Ubatuba, about 14km before Parati. Turn right up a steep hill, signposted to Condomínio Laranjeiras and Trindade and at the top of the hill fork left to Laranjeiras. Just before the gatehouse of this millionaire beach development there is a dirt road to the left. This is one of the few places in the area that is fairly reliable for Salvadori's Antwren Myrmotherula minor. Cinnamon-vented Piha Lipaugus lanioides is fairly common.
The upper part of the road over the Serra do Mar from Parati to Cunha is unsurfaced and may be difficult in wet weather. It passes through good montane forest.
There is a bird list for Parati in Cotinga 24.
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Parque Nacional da Serra da Bocaina
This fairly new national park has some excellent montane habitat but much of it is occupied by small holdings and pine plantations and has been seriously degraded. The Casa da Bocaina http://www.casadabocaina.com.br/, however, is set in pristine primary forest and is well worth a visit. The pousada is simple (no electricity) but comfortable and the couple who run in, Walter and Luciana, are most hospitable. The pousada is open intermittently, usually at long weekends, and is an hour and a half’s drive over rough roads from Barra Mansa, on the motorway from Rio to São Paulo.
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The best site for the black-hooded antwren Formicivora erythronotos is near the town of Perequê, between Paratí and Angra dos Reis. Turn inland off the BR-101 into the town of Perequê (first town west of the nuclear power station). Drive up the main street till the end of the asphalt (1.4 km) and turn right. Continue for several blocks and turn left immediately after the football pitch ("Campo da Gringa") on the left (1km). Drive along a dirt road for 2.1km where there is a gate set back on the right hand side. 20 meters past this Rick Simpson found a pair of antwrens in Jan 2009 [Two singing males March 2009 plus white-bellied seedeater Sporophila leucoptera and orange-eyed thornbird Phacellodomus erythrophthalmus]. 1.3km further on, just after the river bends away from the road, he found another pair. Gunnar Engblom saw this pair again a few days later.
The ‘traditional’ spot for the antwrens is a further 4 kms along the road. After the third bridge there is an open shed on the right with a dirt track to the left in front of it; the site is 200m further along the main road, through a barbed wire gate on the right, with a big tree on the edge of the road (three different becards nest in this tree). In October 1998 we found six pairs of the antwren here and also a nest of Buff-throated Purpletuft Iodopleura pipra. There are plenty of other good lowland forest species around.
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Restinga antwren Formicivora littoralis is easily found in restinga scrub beside the road that runs parallel to the beach, a little inland from the Praia da Maçambaba, east of Praia Seca (near Araruama). 7km from the edge of the town of Praia Seca there is a marsh and lagoon where a variety of other species can also be found.
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Although some birds can be seen in Ibirapuera Park, the campus of the University of São Paulo and the Guarapiranga reservoir, by far the best place to bird within the city limits is the Núcleo Pedra Grande of the Parque Estadual da Serra da Cantareira, which is situated on the hills to the north, near the Horto Florestal. Unfortunately it is open to the public only on weekends from 8:00am.
The forest in this large park is well preserved and it is, rather surprisingly seeing it overlooks the city, an excellent place for medium elevation Atlantic Forest species. For instance, I have seldom failed to see solitary tinamou Tinamus solitarius, a bird that has usually been hunted out in less well preserved areas, and this is one of the few reliable sites in this part of Brazil for southern bristle-tyrant Phylloscartes eximius. There is a high concentration of brown howler Alouatta fusca and masked titi monkeys Callicebus personatus. The drawback is that the park lies directly under the flight path to the international airport at Guarulhos, which makes the site hopeless for recording.
Another option in the Parque Estadual da Serra da Cantareira is reached through the neighbouring city of Guarulhos (see below). At this site a public road cuts through the park so there is no limitation on access but it is a little tricky to find.
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To get to the Serra da Cantareira via Guarulhos, take the Marginal do Tiete east from the centre of São Paulo and then the flyover to the left signposted to Guarulhos and Rod. Fernão Dias (this is the second of two flyovers and is reached from the right hand lane of the express carriageway; do not take the first flyover signposted Via Dutra which starts in the left hand lane). Take the exit to Guarulhos (not the earlier exit to Av. Guarulhos) and cross back over the expressway. Take the fourth road to the right (Av. Antônio de Sousa), turn left at the end (R. Lídio F. de Santana) and then right onto the Av. Monteiro Lobato. After 1 km turn left at traffic lights onto the Av. Otávio Braga de Mesquita. Follow this for 4.2 km till you reach a square, the Praça Oito de Dezembro. Go round the square and take the Av. Silvestre Pires de Freitas. After 2.6 km take a dirt road to the right, just after a petrol station, with a small sign, Estrada dos Veigas. After a few hundred metres take the right fork. After 5 km you will be in good habitat.
This site is close to São Paulo's international airport at Guarulhos (on
leaving the airport follow signs to Av. Monteiro Lobato and then turn right
onto Av. Otávio Braga de Mesquita). However, be warned: this is a public
area on the edge of a big city and is not 100% safe. Take a minimum of
valuables and if you have any problems hand over everything without question.
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PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS SITE HAS BEEN FENCED OFF BY THE OWNER. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES ENTER THE MARSH FOR THE TIME BEING. RICK SIMPSON rsimbird@msn.com IS NEGOTIATING ACCESS FOR BIRDERS WHO WILL BE WELCOME. NOTE THAT THE AREA IS NOW GUARDED AND THAT THE OWNER IS A MEMBER OF THE POLICE DEPARTMENT. THE ENTIRE AREA HAS BEEN FENCED OFF TO PROTECT IT AGAINST THE UNWANTED ATTENTION OF HUNTERS, TRAPPERS AND CHILDREN WITH THEIR SLING-SHOTS. THERE IS ALSO A LITTLE CONCERN ABOUT THE AMOUNT OF MARSH THAT HAS BEEN TRAMPLED IN PURSUIT OF THE ANTWRENS. THE OWNER IS HOPING TO SET UP AN AREA FOR BIRDERS TO ALLOW THEM TO ENJOY THESE RARE BIRDS. YOUR CO-OPERATION IN THIS IS MUCH APPRECIATED.
This is the site of the discovery in 2004 of what was at first thought to be a new population of Paraná Antwren Stymphalornis acutirostris. It then transpired that there are significant plumage differences between the two populations and the Biritiba-Mirim birds are being described as a separate species.
The site is about an hour’s drive from São Paulo’s Guarulhos International airport. Take the Rodovia Ayrton Senna from the airport towards Rio and exit to Mogi das Cruzes. Follow the signs to Biritiba-Mirim and Salesópolis. As you leave Mogi das Cruzes you will come to a set of lights at a fork in the road, Biritiba-Mirim and Salesópolis to the right, to the left César de Souza. Take the fork to the left. You will pass a set of lights, some rail tracks and then arrive at a roundabout. Turn right here. (About half a mile from the roundabout along this road, you will see some gravel piles and workings on your right. Opposite there is a good marsh which has Rufous-sided Crake Laterallus melanophaius, American Purple Gallinule Porphyrio martinica, Yellow-browed Tyrant Satrapa icterophrys, and Chestnut-capped Blackbird Chrysomus ruficapillus among other common marsh birds.)
Follow this road for a couple of kms until you reach the site. You will recognize it as it is just after a sharp left hand bend (with a track leading off to the right) and the first house on the left has a wall and entrance being built (Jan 2009) (if the asphalt turns to dirt you have missed it!). Look for the antbirds in the typha (cattails or bullrushes) in the marsh opposite the house. They respond readily to playback of the song of Paraná Antwren Stymphalornis acutirostris.
The track from the bend is good birding; there are Red-eyed Thornbirds Phacellodomus ferrugineigula, Dusky-tailed Antbirds Drymophila malura, Orange-headed Thlypopsis sordida and Cinnamon Tanagers Schistochlamys ruficapillus, Rufous-capped Thamnophilus ruficapillus and Large-tailed Antshrikes Mackenziaena leachii and much more besides.
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At less than two hours drive from the centre of São Paulo, the restinga forest along the coast makes a good day trip. Take the Rodovia dos Imigrantes and/or the Via Anchieta down the Serra do Mar escarpment towards Santos and at the bottom take the dual carriageway southwest to Itanhaém and Peruibe. After about 50km the road crosses the river Itanhaém. 9km after the bridge turn off to the right at a signpost to Jd. Bopiranga / Jd. S. Fernando and drive inland along a sandy road for about 5km, when you get to two small bridges, where there is good birding. Although the forest along the road is somewhat degraded by smallholdings, the area is quiet and has a wealth of lowland species. Dante Buzzetti, whose local patch this is, has had over 230 here.
At the end of the road turn right onto a rather bigger but still unsurfaced road. After a few hundred meters you come to a small group of houses on the left with one house opposite. A track runs into the forest along the left hand fence of this last house, as you face it.
If you turn left at the end of the sandy instead of right, after 2km there is a private road off to the right with a locked gate. On the right hand corner there is a school and opposite the school a small shop and bar. The shopkeeper has the key to the gate and will open it with a little persuasion (we drank a few bottles of his beer). Drive along the private road till you reach a marshy area and a bridge over a small river. A number of red-tailed parrots Amazona brasiliensis roost here regularly, arriving in the early evening.
Estação Biológica de Boracéia
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This is the University of São Paulo’s field station, mentioned by Forrester under "Serra do Mar". In the past it has been fairly simple for birders to get permission to visit the reserve but recently, since August 2006, the university has required that requests by birders be supported by a "recognised professional ornithologist" and "adequately explain the purpose of the proposed visit." I do not know anyone who has done this and I suspect that permission will not easily be forthcoming. The person to approach is Prof. Dr. Mario de Vivo, Museu de Zoologia, Universidade de São Paulo, tel (11) 6165-8146, mdvivo@usp.br .
If you do get permission, the accommodation is fully furnished and equipped and you need only take sleeping bag, towel, food and drink.
From São Paulo city or airport take the Rodovia Ayrton Senna (NOT the Via Dutra) towards Rio de Janeiro. Take the exit to Mogi das Cruzes. In Mogi follow the signs to Salesópolis. 3km after Biritiba Mirim (22km from Mogi), turn right onto the dirt road to the São Paulo Water Board (SABESP) treatment plant at Casa Grande. After 22km you get to the SABESP barrier, where you leave a copy of your authorisation, and after a further 9km you arrive at the reserve headquarters.
This site is at an altitude of 825m at the top of the Serra do Mar. It lies in SABESP’s water catchment area and the forest is undisturbed and quiet, with practically no road traffic but the occasional plane as it lies under the route from Rio to São Paulo. Bird the main road, the side road to the right just after the second bridge and the forest trails behind the bunk house. There is also a trail along the power pylons directly in front of the bunk house. This is the best site that I know for russet-winged spadebill Platyrinchus leucoryphus and hooded berryeater Carpornis cucullatus. The site list, prepared by Doug Stotz, has purple-winged ground-dove Claravis godefrida, golden-tailed parrotlet Touit surda, blue-bellied parrot Triclaria malachitacea, nine different tyrannulets, brown tanager Orchesticus abeillei and many other good things.
Campos do Jordão
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A resort town in the mountains of the Serra da Mantiqueira, 2 ½ hours drive from São Paulo by the Rodovia dos Trabalhadores and Rodovia Carvalho Pinto. From Rio take the Via Dutra till just past Taubaté and then follow the signs.
There are two excellent birding sites here: the road to the Pedra do Baú and the Horto Florestal. For the former, drive to the end of the dual carriageway through the centre of town and then look for a sign to the left. The Pedra do Baú, a rocky mountain, is 25km from Campos. The last 10km of the road are dirt and the habitat is similar to the lower part of the Agulhas Negras road at Itatiaia with the same species. Araucaria Tit-Spinetail Leptasthenura setaria and Black-capped Piprites Piprites pileatus are much more common here than at Itatiaia. Hellmayr's Pipit Anthus hellmayri is readily seen on the grassy hillside when the Pedra do Baú first comes into view.
To get to the Horto Florestal carry straight on through the centre of town and follow the signs for about 10km. On the way you pass the Hotel Vale Verde (fax (12) 262-3123) which is reasonably priced and comfortable. Ask for Dona Regina.
There is a small entrance fee to the Horto. In the open park vegetation it is fairly easy to see montane species such as Araucaria Tit-Spinetail Leptasthenura setaria, Sharp-billed Treehunter Heliobletus contaminatus, Scaled Woodcreeper Lepidocolaptes squamatus, Black-capped Piprites Piprites pileatus and White-crested Tyrannulet Serpophaga subcristata but the main attraction is the flocks of Vinaceous Parrot Amazona vinacea which gather here in the evening. Red-ruffed Fruitcrow Pyroderus scutatus is also seen regularly in the Horto Florestal.
200-300m before you get to the Horto a dirt road turns off to the right. This road climbs up to 2000m and is good for Rusty-barred Owl Strix hylophila and Long-trained Nightjar Macropsalis creagra, though lately the latter has been more difficult to see. Lesser Grass-Finch Emberizoides ypiranganus is sometimes found on the hillside.
South-East Brazil Site Index
Turn inland at Praia Dura (km 69 on the Rio / Santos road, c.30 minutes from Caraguatatuba and 25 minutes from Ubatuba, 900m west of the two bridges (side-by-side, one closed) over the Rio Escuro). After 400m fork left, keeping on the asphalt. After about 3km the road drops down a hill and there is a longish straight. Half way along the straight (3,8km from the Rio / Santos), turn right onto a dirt road at a sign "Caminhada ao Pico" with exhortations against leaving litter, etc. (in October 2000 the sign was no longer there, though the post still was).
Leave your car at the bridge over the river. Take the second track to the right after the bridge, signposted "propriedade privada; não entre". After about 500m there is a ford and then an open area with scattered trees which is surprisingly good for forest edge species. On the right side, in the bamboos along the river, there are 2-3 pairs of fork-tailed tody-tyrant Hemitriccus furcatus. A track along the left side of the open area enters secondary forest; fork left after 200m, cross a natural earth bridge over a stream, between bamboo clumps, and cross the other branch of the stream. The trail winds through forest for about 300m and then crosses the river. In the next stretch of forest, c.200m after the river, I have had russet-winged spadebill Platyrinchus leucoryphus and others have had royal flycatcher Onychorhyncus coronatus.
The trail up to the Pico do Corcovado starts 100m before the ford. It crosses the river and then a small stream and goes through good primary forest. The hike to the top takes 3-4 hours. Russet-winged spadebill can be found just after the only steep climb downhill, near the beginning of the trail.
For further information on this site see John van der Woude's site notes and maps.
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Folha Seca
Turn inland at Praia Dura and instead of forking left to Corcovado after 400m, fork right along the dirt road. Pass the camping site, cross a bridge and fork left at a small bar and shop now being demolished (June 2009). Continue straight ahead, passing a number of houses and one cross road and then some open fields. The road gets much worse, with a steep hill to the right and secondary forest to the left. Where the road leaves the hill, about 3km from the bar, there is a disused earth quarry (Spotted bamboo-wren Psilorhamphus guttatus here in the glaechenia bracken). A very rough trail starts at the quarry and leads to a xuxu (squash) patch (Fork-tailed Tody-tyrant). Continuing along the road from the quarry you pass through a short patch of good forest (Slaty Bristle-front Merulaxis ater and forest birds in general).
Before you reach the quarry you will see on the left a house with a sign "Sítio Capigaba Obiru – Folha Seca". The owner, Jonas d’Abronzo, maintains several feeding bottles and bird tables. He has had twenty two species of hummingbird at the feeders and when Arthur and I were there for the first time recently we saw Saw-billed Hermit Ramphodon naevius, Black Jacobin Melanotrochilus fuscus, Festive Coquette Lophornis chalybeus, Violet-capped Woodnymph Thalurania glaucopis, White-chinned Sapphire Hylocharis cyanus, Glittering-throated Emerald Amazilia fimbriata and Sombre Hummingbird Aphantochroa cirrochloris at the feeders and Reddish Hermit Phaethornis ruber in the road outside. A pair of Black-legged Dacnis Dacnis nigripes was there in September. Jonas welcomes visiting birders. Black Jacobin Melanotrochilus fuscus is a common summer visitor as is Black-throated Mango Anthracothorax nigricollis. Brazilian Ruby Clytolaema rubricauda and Versicoloured Emerald Amazilia versicolor are regular residents. This winter (2009) there has been a regular Rufous-breasted Hermit Glaucis hirsutus visiting the flowering shrubs in the garden, this is at the southern limit of this bird's range.
For further information on this site see John van der Woude's site notes and maps.
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Sertão das Cotias
1km east of the two bridges over the Rio Escuro, up a hill, there is a turning inland with a large signpost "Rio Escuro / Sertão das Cotias". Drive along this road for 5.8km, passing a sign "Sertão das Cotias". The road then climbs up through good forest (Bare-throated bellbird Procnias nudicollis) before dropping down to Ubatuba, meeting the Taubaté road beside the Elektro sub-station, 800m from the Ubatuba roundabout. The forest is 5km from the Taubaté road.
Trilha do Rio Ipiranga
South-East Brazil Site Index
To bird here you need authorisation from the director of the park, Sr. João Paulo (0xx12-3671-9159). (Do not enter the trail without permission; you will certainly be picked up by the guards and possibly handed over to the police; you will also make it difficult for others to get permission to bird there).
At the top of the serra from Ubatuba to Taubaté turn right to the Parque Estadual do Serra do Mar, Núcleo Santa Virginia. The trail starts at a locked gate by the bridge over the Rio Ipiranga. Pick up the key at the park headquarters, 2km after the bridge. After 3-4km of good secondary growth the trail enters excellent primary forest. I have never reached the end of it. You see a lot of birds here at 900m which are found at Itatiaia at much higher altitudes (for example, brown-breasted bamboo-tyrant Hemitriccus obsoletus, golden-winged cacique Cacicus chrysopterus, diademed tanager Stephanophorus diadematus).
Fazendas Capricôrnio and Angelim
South-East Brazil Site Index
Turn left off the road to Paratí, 4.1km after the roundabout on the Ubatuba / Taubaté road, signposted to Bairro Taquaral (in April 2001 this sign had disappeared; the turn-off is just before a large sign "Ônibus de Turismo a 200 metros" and then a roundabout signposted to "Perequê-Açu"). Turn right after 100m to Fazenda Angelim; go straight ahead and after 1.1km fork right to Fazenda Capricôrnio. Both fazendas are overgrown cacau plantations and are good places for seeing canopy species like São Paulo tyrannulet Phylloscartes paulistus and buff-throated purpletuft Iodopleura pipra in the tall trees scattered among the cacau. Salvadori's antwren Myrmotherula minor is also there. If you fork left at the Fazenda Capricôrnio the road winds through forest / secondary growth for at least 2km (a tree stopped me when I went there) and looks promising.
For permission to visit the Fazenda Angelim contact the owners, Edna and Paul Grandjean Thomsen, tels. (11) 4727 4075 (home) and (11) 4727 1444 (office), fax (11) 4727 1281 and e-mail paul@palle.com.br.
For further information on this site see John van der Woude's site notes and maps.
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About 20km east of Ubatuba the Rio / Santos crosses the Rio Prumirim. 500m before this bridge there is a dirt road inland. You can drive about 2km along this road and then continue on foot along a trail which leads through the forest and eventually gets to an Indian village.
Fazenda Cambucâ
South-East Brazil Site Index
10km after Prumirim, just after the power lines cross the road, turn left onto a dirt road. Follow this for about 3km, bearing right at any fork, until you get to a large, semi-abandoned fazenda. Good for open area and wetland species. There is a trail up the serra from here to Cunha but I have never done it.
South-East Brazil Site Index
Caraguatatuba
Hípica as Gaivotas
About 40 km from Ubatuba on the road to Caraguatatuba, just after the Polícia Rodoviária and the resort development at Costa Verde Tabatinga, you come to the Praia da Mococa. On the right there is a gate leading to the Hípica As Gaivotas, (in March 2008 a sign saying "Hípica Mococa" was erected by the entrance gate - Rick Simpson) a horse riding establishment set in a large area of well preserved lowland forest. The gate is locked at night and to get in early you have to make arrangements with the man in charge who is eccentric but will let visitors bird the place. His son keeps the refreshment stall by the gate and also has a key. I have had fork-tailed tody-tyrant Hemitriccus furcatus and red-eyed thornbird Phacellodomus erythrophthalmus here. Spot-backed antshrike Hypoedaleus guttatus is common.
South-East Brazil Site Index
This state park is situated on the Serra do Mar, the 1,000m high escarpment that runs along the coast of southeast Brazil. The park is one of a complex of four adjacent reserves with a total area of more than 1,200km2 and is of great significance as it contains pristine forest over an altitudinal gradient from 20m to 1,095m. Only the upper part of the park is open to the public.
To get there take the Rodovia Castello Branco out of São Paulo and exit at Tatuí, continuing to Itapetininga and Capão Bonito. From here follow the signs to Parque Intervales, the last 25 km from Ribeirão Grande being on an all weather unpaved road. Accommodation is available at the park in four scattered buildings in the central area of the former "fazenda" and may be booked by telephone (015-3542-1245) or fax (015-3542-1511). In October 2003 the cost was R$57 (US$20) per day including meals at the restaurant run by an independent cooperative.
The central area (the "Sede") is surrounded by forest and has a short trail, the Caminho dos Lagos, through secondary growth. There is plenty of good birding here and the following species are all present: Rusty-barred Owl Strix Hylophila, Buff-fronted Owl Aegolius harrisii, White-breasted Tapaculo Scytalopus indigoticus, Giant Antshrike Batara cinerea, Large-tailed Antshrike Mackenziaena leachii, Red-eyed Thornbird Phacellodomus erythrophthalmus ferrugineigula, Swallow-tailed Cotinga Phibalura flavirostris (in October 2003 there were two active nests between reception and the restaurant), Red-ruffed Fruitcrow Pyroderus scutatus, Azure-shouldered Tanager Thraupis cyanoptera, Golden-chevroned Tanager Thraupis ornata, Olive-green Tanager Orthogonys chloricterus and Black-legged Dacnis Dacnis nigripes (in October 2003 we watched this species on three successive days in the banksia bushes near the restaurant).
All visitors leaving the Sede must be accompanied by a park guard at a cost of R$50 per day. When you make your reservation say that you are a birder and ask for Luiz who knows the birds well and where to find them.
There are two main birding areas, Carmo and Barra Grande. The road to Carmo and beyond is a 20 km long dead end, with good forest all the way. At Carmo, about 9km away and 200m lower down, there is a small base for researchers. Two trails lead away on either side of the road, on one of which a group of Woolly Spider Monkey Brachyteles arachnoides is regularly seen. Birding along the road is excellent and provides a better view. The road continues after Carmo through superb forest for about 10 km. As far as Carmo it is passable without four wheel drive, when dry. After Carmo it deteriorates.
To get to Barra Grande one drives along 10 km of good dirt road outside the park. 3 km from the Sede there is a stake-out for Long-trained Nightjar Macropsalis forcipata. At Barra Grande there is another long track (four wheel drive often necessary) which peters out after 10-15 km (I have never been to the end), mainly through primary forest but with patches of secondary growth. The first part is especially good.
In addition to the species mentioned above, the following Atlantic Forest endemics and other interesting species occur in the upper part of the park: Solitary Tinamou Tinamus solitarius, Mantled Hawk Leucopternis polionotus, Black-fronted Piping-Guan Pipile jacutinga, Blue-bellied Parrot Triclaria malachitacea, Silky-tailed Nightjar Caprimulgus sericocaudatus, Rusty-breasted Nunlet Nonnula rubecula, Crescent-chested Puffbird Malacoptila striata, Saffron Toucanet Baillonius bailloni, Helmeted Woodpecker Dryocopus galeatus (rare), the southern form of Slaty Bristlefront Merulaxis ater, Tufted Antshrike Mackenziaena severa, White-bearded Antshrike Biatas nigropectus, Star-throated Antwren Myrmotherula gularis, Scaled Antbird Drymophila squamata, Squamate Antbird Myrmeciza squamosa, Such’s Antthrush Chamaeza meruloides, Speckle-breasted Antpitta Hylopezus nattereri, White-collared Foliage-Gleaner Anabazenops fuscus, Pale-browed Treehunter Cichlocolaptes leucophrus, Grey-capped Tyrannulet Phyllomyias griseocapilla, Oustalet's Tyrannulet Phylloscartes oustaleti, Brown-breasted Bamboo-Tyrant Hemitriccus obsoletus (common at Barra Grande), "Atlantic" Royal Flycatcher Onychorhynchus coronatus swainsoni, Pin-tailed Manakin Ilicura militaris, Serra do Mar Tyrant-Manakin Neopelma chrysolophum, Hooded Berryeater Carpornis cucullata, Cinnamon-vented Piha Lipaugus lanioides (common at Carmo), Bare-throated Bellbird Procnias nudicollis (abundant), Brown Tanager Orchesticus abeillei, Buffy-fronted and Temminck's Seedeater Sporophila frontalis and S. falcirostris (both abundant when the bamboo is flowering) and Golden-winged Cacique Cacicus chrysopterus.
South-East Brazil Site Index
This private reserve is located at 700 m in excellent primary Atlantic forest, about 50 km from Intervales. The park has only recently been discovered by birders and the preliminary bird list is shorter than that of Intervales but there seems to be no reason why the species found at Intervales at higher elevations should not be found at Parque do Zizo. 26 Brazilian endemics have already been recorded, including Crescent-chested Puffbird Malacoptila striata, Salvadori's Antwren Myrmotherula minor, Unicolored Antwren M. unicolor, Ochre-rumped Antbird Drymophila ochropyga, Squamate Antbird Myrmeciza squamosa, Black-cheeked Gnateater Conopophaga melanops, White-breasted Tapaculo Scytalopus indigoticus, Pale-browed Treehunter Cichlocolaptes leucophrus, Oustalet's Tyrannulet Phylloscartes oustaleti, Hooded Berryeater Carpornis cucullata, Cinnamon-vented Piha Lipaugus lanioides.
The park was established by the Balboni family as a memorial to their brother Luiz who was killed in 1969 when he took up arms against the military dictatorship. There is comfortable accomodation and excellent food, prepared personally by Francisco Balboni, one of the owners. To visit the park you must reserve in advance by email to guto@avistarbrasil.com.br.
To get to the park take the Rodovia Castelo Branco out of São Paulo and exit to the motorway to Sorocaba. Follow the signs to the Rodovia Raposo Tavares, and take this motorway round Sorocaba. Take exit 102B to Salto de Pirapora, Pilar do Sul and São Miguel Arcanjo. At the roundabout at the entrance to São Miguel Arcanjo turn left. Follow this asphalt road for 7 km and bear left when it turns to dirt. Follow this dirt road for 13 km, keeping always to the main drag, and then turn off it to the left (marked by a stone pillar). After a further 1.5 km you come to some charcoal burning ovens (carvoaria) on the right where you leave your car. Francisco will meet you here and drive you the final 6 km to the park. Detailed instructions to get there are available and it is worth getting a copy of these and taking them with you. The distance from São Paulo is 200 km and takes three hours. By arrangement Francisco will pick visitors up in Sorocaba or Itapetininga (reachable by bus from São Paulo) or in São Paulo itself. All birding at Parque do Zizo is done on foot. You can learn more about the park at www.parquedozizo.com.br.
There is a report on a quick visit to Parque do Zizo on Charlie Moore's blog.
This is a cerrado site, just north of Rio Claro, 2 ½ hours drive from São Paulo. Leave your car at the toll station on the road from Itirapina to Brotas, walk back 200m, climb through the fence on the north side of the road and then walk through slash pine plantations for 20 mins [April 2009 Alan Greensmith reported that the pines had been cut down]. This unpromising beginning brings you to an open area with a railway line passing through it. The railway embankment gives good scope views over the surrounding cerrado and although the area is not large and traffic noise from the road is disturbing, the site has produced a number of interesting birds. As well as the usual cerrado species, lesser nothura Nothura minor, giant snipe Gallinago undulata, Stygian owl Asio stygius, bearded tachuri Polystictus pectoralis, ochre-breasted pipit Anthus nattereri and black-bellied seedeater Sporophila melanogaster have been seen here or nearby.
South-East Brazil Site Index
The town is located on the channel between the Ilha Comprida and the mainland. It is a reliable place for Red-tailed Parrot Amazona brasiliensis which can be found on Ilha Comprida or flying over the town in the evening. The nearby Ilha do Cardoso has excellent forest and is a a good site for species such as Black-headed Berryeater Carpornis melanocephala, Restinga Tyrannulet Phylloscartes kronei and Black-backed Tanager Tangara peruviana.
South-East Brazil Site Index