Nova Olinda (5° 30' S, 60° 24.5' W)
Monday, August 10th: We woke up with the Tumbira near Nova Olinda. After our usual 5:30 breakfast, we walked up the steps to the small community of Nova Olinda. Bret has been coming here for almost 15 years, and knows a number of the people here. Michael Reigner (Mika), a college student who is serving as an assistant guide has also spent time in the village. We had early seen a clip of him playing soccer here. We saw quite a few above and around the houses.
Nova Olinda (left bank)
Festive Amazons and Yellow-headed Caracaras flew overhead. A Lesser Kiskadee was perched nearby. A few Short-crested Flycatchers worked the tree. Crested Oropendolas and a couple of Southern Caracaras flew by. Common Ground-Dove was seen and a Crane Hawk cruised along the river. We got a good look at a Cinnamon-throated Woodcreeper. Some Silver-beaked Tanagers were feeding in a fruiting tree, as was a White-winged Becard. I noticed a Barred Antshrike in some brushy vegetation at the edge of the bluff, a bird we had previously heard but not seen. Turquoise Tanagers were found in the fruiting trees. I spotted a ground dove with reddish body and gray heard, a Ruddy Ground-Dove. A Southern Beardless-Tyrannulet called. One tree contained both White-throated and Channel-billed Toucans. A Great Kiskadee was calling its name. A Wing-barred Seedeater was a lifer. This bird has been split from the Variable Seedeater, which I have seen in Central America and in Panama. Some Chestnut-eared Aracaris flew in. We managed to coax a Plain-crowned Spinetail out of the brush so we could see it. The action in the trees continued, with Epaulet Oriole, Palm Tanagers and Piratic Flycatcher making an appearance. A White-necked Jacobin buzzed by. One tree contained Purple Honeycreeper, Lesser Elaenia, Black-faced Dacnis Red-headed Manakin, Yellow-browed Tody-Flycatcher, Spangled Cotinga, and Small-billed Elaenia. The drab elaenias were a contrast to the other flashy birds. Another hummer came by, this time a Blue-chinned Sapphire. Blue-gray Tanagers were in one tree, while a Yellow-tufted Woodpecker landed in a bare tree. We coaxed a White-fringed Antwren out, and a Red-necked Aracari put in an appearance.
We headed into the forest. We were told that he path Bret had previously used was not recommended as they were preparing the field there for planting manioc. Instead, a local teenager, Ricardo, led us on a detour. Some of the villagers were headed out the same trail to collect some Acai berries. They gave us demonstration of how they climb the Acai Palm. We later saw them on the way back. It turns out that the berries had already been eaten!
In the forest, we added a number of other birds. We started with Black-bellied Cuckoo and Red-necked Woodpecker, soon followed by Black-throated Trogon. An understory flock included Cinereous Antshrike, Ocellated Woodcreeper, Pygmy Antwren Red-crowned Ant-Tanager, Sclater's Antwren, Gray Antwren, Olivaceous Woodcreeper, Bar-breasted Piculet (which I had missed yesterday) and White-necked Thrush. Later, we found Aripuana Antwren and Roosevelt Stipple-throated Antwren. On our way back, we encountered an army ant swarm. We had high hopes of an antbird flock, but there were none. The ants weren't kicking up many arthropods, which may be the reason there weren't any birds following them.
Nova Olinda Again
We returned to the boat for lunch and a break. Later, we returned to the village to look for Dwarf Tamarins. We were unsuccessful with the tamarins. We did find a pair of Golden-bellied Euphonias. I don't understand the official English name. Most euphonias are golden-bellied. The thing that makes this bird different is that the lores are white, as reflected by its other name, White-lored Euphonia. We also found a pair of Dot-winged Antwrens and a pair of (Southern) Tawny-bellied Screech-Owls. One of them stayed in their hole. The other was apparently perched nearby, and came at us in response to the call. It was quite a sight to see it come in with wings spread and briefly land right overhead.
Bret invited some of the villagers to dinner. We had a barbeque on the upper deck.
I ended the day with 60 bird species including 4 lifers. This brings the trip total to 269, including 67 lifers.
Aboard Tumbira, near Nova Olinda (5° 30' S, 60° 24.5' W)