SOUTH EAST BRAZIL

Brian and Pat Wetton joined the Birdseekers trip to Serra dos Tucanos in the Atlantic Rain Forest of South East Brazil in October 2009. We combined the trip with one to the Pantanal. Our guides were Andy Foster who owns the lodge at Serra dos Tucanos and Birdseekers leaders Steve Bird and Gina Nichol. Other members of the tour were Dave Carr and Jude Rutherford , Maurice Ewart, Alan Fordham, Harry Keble, Mike and Julie Lockyear, Malcolm Pittam and David Todd. Serra dos Tucanos is an excellent centre for birding the area and provides good accommodation. Andy is a first class guide and the domestic arrangements are well run by his wife Cristina. We personally saw 251 species of birds and heard a further 11. We also saw 5 species of mammals. All this in a week with several days of heavy rain!

Itinerary: 

   6th Oct        Heathrow to Sao Paulo (via TAM)

   7th Oct        Sao Paulo to Rio de Janeiro (via TAM) and onward via Guanabara Bay to Serra dos Tucanos

   8th Oct        Portao Azul in Tres Picos State Park

   9th Oct        Serra dos Orgaos National Park

   10th Oct      Jacamar Trail via Nova Friburgo, Duas Barras, Murinelli and Soumidouro

   11th Oct      Trails at Serra dos Tucanos and the nearby C.E.D.A.E. Trail

   12th Oct      Pico de Caledonia and Theodoro Trail

   13th Oct      REGUA Reserve at Guapiassu  and transfer to Rio de Janeiro for a flight the next morning to Cuiaba

Site Profiles:

Guanabara Bay (GB): coastal mudflats en route from Rio de Janeiro.

Serra dos Tucanos (ST): situated on the edge of the Tres Picos State Park some two hours drive from Rio de Janeiro, the lodge has garden with feeders, a fast-flowing stream, restored plantation and a hillside of Atlantic Rain Forest with a network of trails.

Portao Azul (PA): this is a broad trail traversing both forest and open grassland just over 1000m in the Tres Picos State Park west of Nova Friburgo.

Serra dos Orgaos National Park (SO): provides trails at different elevations in the montane Atlantic Forest - a lower  trail from the main car park at the National Park Centre and a higher trail with a boardwalk further up the road which transects the Park. On our visit it rained almost all day.

Three-toed Jacamar Trail (JT): this is a 200km vehicular trail from the lodge via Nova Friburgo, Duas Barras, Murinelli and Soumidouro. It comprises several areas of marshes, open pasture and other grasslands and small woodlands. It was drier being in the lea of the coastal range. Our group set a new record for the highest number of species seen in a day on the trail  (123).

C.E.D.A.E. Trail (C): only 15 minutes by car from the lodge is a broad trail which descends from the road to the river and provides another opportunity for forest birding in the locality.

Pico de Caledonia (PC): the highlands of Pico de Caledonia north-west of Nova Friburgo are part of the Serra do Mar and provide an opportunity to reach higher elevations by a track leading up to a transmission mast. Habitats include montane forest, heath and scrub. Access by vehicle is dependent on the track not being too slippery. We did not get to the top where there are steps leading even higher.

Theodoro Trail (T): the trail leads off the main road to Nova Friburgo where there is an old surfaced track leading into the forest. The track is of easy gradient but had suffered some small landslides when we visited so we had to clamber over fallen trees.

REGUA Reserve (R): at Guapiassu is the Reserve Ecologica and its lodge. Here have been created a patchwork of different habitats including woodland, open grasslands and an extensive series of lakes and marshes.

Mammals recorded:

Tufted-eared Marmoset, Brown Howler Monkey, Brown Three-toed Sloth, Guianan Squirrel and Capybara.  


Please click on Photo Gallery to view some of the photographs taken by Pat Wetton