Igarapé Arauazinho and Ilha Trindade
Saturday, August 8th: We awoke with the boat tied up at the mouth of Igarape Arauazinho. Some pre-breakfast listening turned up Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl, Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, and Ladder-tailed Nightjar. After breakfast, we got into the canoes and headed up the creek.
Igarapé Arauazinho (6° 18' S, 60° 22' W)
As we motored up the Arauazinho, several flocks of White-eyed Parakeet flew over, as did numerous Amazonian Yellow-rumped Caciques. One tree held a few Olive Oropendolas. We saw a White-necked Jacobin visiting some flowers. A couple of Green Ibis were perched in a tree. We finally caught up with a couple of parrots we had been hearing during the trip. We got decent looks as some flyover Kawall's Amazons, and ok looks at some Bald Parrots. Some Muscovy Ducks took off when they noticed us coming. A couple of Roadside Hawks were perched, as was a Greater Yellow-headed Vulture that we got a good look at. Another hummer visiting flowers turned out to be a Green-tailed Goldenthroat. We also saw a perched Spotted Puffbird. We got excellent views of two King Vultures hanging out with a Black Vulture. Finally, I saw some flyover Golden-winged Parakeets.
We then started up an old logging trail. We started birding in a clearing just up the bank, and most of the birds we saw were around that clearing. They included Paradise Jacamar, White-lored Tyrannulet and Ruddy-tailed Flycatcher. One particularly productive fruiting tree had Red-headed Manakin, Short-billed Honeycreeper, and White-bellied Dacnis. An Amazonian Trogon called behind us, and we soon had it in view. A Chestnut-winged Hookbill was very busy, and allowed us good views. Noisy White-fronted Nunbirds were present and a Yellow-throated Woodpecker flew in. Jay flushed a Blackish Nightjar from the ground. We finally saw a Slaty-capped Shrike-Vireo, and a pair of Snow-capped Manakins worked the fruiting tree.
We then headed into the forest. a Whiskered Flycatcher flitted about. We got a good look at a Spot-winged Antshrike. We had been playing Gould's Toucanet earlier, then heard one calling. It eventually came into view. The stunning Black-bellied Gnateater put on a good show. Not only did we have good binocular looks, but we also saw it through the scope. This is the fourth gnateater species I have seen, all in Brazil. Finally, we added Uniform Woodcreeper to our list.
Junior and some of the crew had seen an Amazonian Manatee further upstream. Unfortunately, we didn't have time to look for them and headed back to the boat.
Ilha Trindade (6° 10' S, 60° 12' W)
For our afternoon outing, we headed downriver to Ilha Trindade. We walked a trail along the edge of the island while our crew cut a trail to an interior lake. Some Red-throated Caracaras noisily objected to our presence on the island while we got a Green-tailed Jacamar in view. We also saw Straight-billed Woodcreeper again. As a barbet was moving around in response to the tape, a Chivi Vireo was heard scolding it. We finally saw the Lemon-throated Barbet. Both Great Tinamou and Amazonian Umbrellabird were heard. The latter's call somewhat reminiscent of a distant cow. We got a poor look at a Yellow-crowned Elaenia and eventually saw Pheasant Cuckoo through the scope. Then we returned to the boat for dinner.
Today was very productive. I ended the day with 55 bird species including 10 lifers. This brings the trip total to 230, including 61 lifers.
Aboard Tumbira, Ilha Trindade (6° 10' S, 60° 12' W)