Ilha do Quadro Area (7° 9' S, 60° 42' W)

Ilha do Quadro

Thursday, August 6th: We are now as far upriver as we will get. We started the day by birding the Ilha do Quadro. We soon had a Red-stained Woodpecker in view, while a Buff-breasted Wren called from a nearby thicket. We would hear several wrens on the island, but were unable to see them. We continued along a trail our guys had cut, finding Zimmer's Woodcreeper, Amazonian Antshrike, and Blackish Antbird. Then we encounterd a Yellow-olive Flycatcher. These are likely to be split in the future, in which this may eventually be a lifer. Kawall's Amazons screamed overhead. We worked on a pair of Band-tailed Manakins for a while. I saw the female first (I seem to see the drab female manakins more easily, I don't know why). At least she had the tail band so there was no doubt about the ID. Eventually, I got good looks at the male, who is quite flashy. We found another Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl, and a Glossy Antshrike pair before finding a Long-billed Woodcreeper. Later on, we found a pair of Crimson-crested Woodpeckers. At a wet area, we called in an American Pygmy Kingfisher. We continued on to an interior lake, hoping for Zigzag Heron, which we never found. We did find Spot-winged Antshrike, a pair of Gray-headed Tanagers, Euler's Flycatcher and Striped Woodcreeper before turning back. On the way back, we added Hauxwell's Thrush and Black-capped Becard. Just before getting to the path downward to the boat, Bret heard another bird. We walked down to a relatively open area and were able to get excellent and prolonged looks at a Rose-breasted Chat. This bird was once thought to be a warbler, but DNA has shown it is actually in the cardinal family.

Right Bank Trail

Our afternoon birding was along a very short trail on the right bank. It was a very hot climb up to the ridge top. We had our first bug issues of the trip, blackflies. Liberally applying repellent took care of them. We finally saw some monkeys. The only ones I saw were Bare-eared Squirrel-Monkeys, but Brown Capuchins, Common Woolly Monkeys, and White-fronted (White-bellied) Spider Monkey were also present. I only added two birds, Yellow-browed Antbird and Golden-green Woodpecker. I missed the Bicolored Hawk. We made it back to the boat shortly before sunset.

I ended the day with 24 bird species including 6 lifers. This brings the trip total to 196, including 45 lifers.

Aboard Tumbira, Ilha do Quadro (7° 9' S, 60° 42' W)