Tour Dates:
10th – 17th July, 2022
11th – 18th September, 2022
Tour Price (Per Person): USD 2220.00
Tour Type: Easy birding and bird photography
Description
This is a shorter version of our 11 day trip to SE Brazil, and here we concentrate our efforts to visit great places for bird photography, especially hummingbirds and tanagers. There is also good general birding. The idea was to create a trip one could do between two weekends and still get most of the SE Brazil endemics, as well as get excellent opportunities for photographing birds.
Although, this is marketed as a bird photography trip, it is also a birding trip, because of the excellent infrastructure with feeders at the lodges, and local guides who know both how to photograph birds, how to get them close and recognise their songs and calls, this tour will make both photographers and a more traditional birders happy.
Many of the main meals outside of the lodges are in self service restaurants. Excellent value, either as much as you can eat, or you pay per weight of the food. There are ample options for vegetarians or people with special diets.
Arrival in Sao Paulo
Those who come early can make arrangements through us to do some bird-watching or bird photography in the afternoon. Night in Guarulhos close to the airport.
Day 1: Drive to Campos do Jordao. Vinaceous-breasted Parrot, Rusty-barred Owl
Drive to Campos do Jordão, a pleasant village in the hills some 3 hours from Sao Paulo. After checking in we shall start exploring the surroundings. Swallow-tailed Cotinga, Araucaria Tit-Spinetail and Aplomado Falcon are among the targets.
The Araucaria forest is great for Vinaceous-breasted Parrot which comes to roost at dusk. After sunset we start a spectacular night birding session with for example Tropical Screech-Owl, Rusty-barred Owl, Stygian Owl and Long-trained Nightjar. Here is a checklist for the Campos do Jordao areas. Breakfast included.
Day 2: Campos do Jordao. Swallow-tailed Cotinga and Black-and-Gold Cotinga
Morning near Campos do Jordao for Rufous-tailed Ant-thrush, Golden-rumped Euphonia, Surucua Trogon, Bay-chested Warbling-Finch and Diademed Tanager. If we are lucky also Black-and-Gold Cotinga.
In the afternoon we drive to Itatiaia and do some general birding of wetlands and fields for Streamer-tailed Tyrant, Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture, White-tailed Hawk, Firewood-gatherer and White-rumped Monjita and Slaty-breasted Wood-Rail. Shooting distance may vary. Night in Night in Itatiaia, just outside the park. Breakfast included.
Day 3: Itatiaia NP. Frilled Coquette and Tawny-browed Owl
Bird photography all day in the Brazil’s first National Park Itatiaia. At the Hotel Ype there are wonderful feeders and flowering bushes which attracts Scaly-throated and Planalto Hermit, Frilled Coquette, Black Jacobin, Violet-capped Woodnymph, Versicolored Emerald, White-throated Hummingbird and Brazilian Ruby, Saffron Toucanet, Magpie, Olive-green and Burnished-buff Tanager, Dusky-legged Guan, Surucua Trogon, Red-breasted Toucan, Pileated Parrot, Velvety Black-Tyrant, etc.
We have an excellent lunch at Hotel Ype. In the afternoon we may explore Tres Picos Trail and the grounds of the old Hotel Simon and do some birding like activities with views Bat Falcon, White-bearded Antshrike, Star-throated Antwren, Ochre-rumped and White-bibbed Antbird, Plain-winged Woodcreeper, Sharp-tailed Streamcreeper, Grey Eleania, Pin-tailed Manakin and White-browed Warbler. Others may just want to stay shooting birds at the hotel. At dusk, we shall try for Tawny-browed Owl near Hotel Ype.
Night in Itatiaia, just outside the park. Breakfast and lunch included.
Day 4: Agulhas Negras and Drive to Ubatuba.
In the morning we shall check the highland Agulhas Negras road in Itatiaia National Park, with good chance of seeing Green-crowned Plovercrest and passerines like Black-capped Piprites, Diademed and Brassy-breasted Tanager and Rufous-tailed Antbird. Here is a checklist for Itiatia NP including Agulhas Negras road. In mid-morning we continue to drive the long way to Ubatuba. We shall look for Toucans and Bare-throated Bellbird en route. Night in Ubatuba. Breakfast included.
Day 5: Ubatuba Fazenda Angelim and Casa Jonas, Folha Seca
At Fazenda Angelim we shall work with playback. There are many birds to photograph from the road and the clearing including Buff-throated Purpletuft.
In the afternoon at Folha Seca there are feeders with lots of hummingbirds. Festive Coquette, Violet-capped Woodnymph, Saw-billed Hermit, Brazilian Ruby, Swallow-tailed Hummingbird, Sombre Hummingbird, Versicolored Emerald, Glittering- throated Emerald and White-chinned Sapphire.
Other birds include Ruby-crowned, Brazilian, Azure-shouldered, Green-headed and Red-necked Tanager, Blue Dacnis, Green Honeycreeper and Violaceous and Chestnut-bellied Euphonia. Breakfast included. Here is a checklist for the Ubatuba areas.
Day 6: Ubatuba-Los Tucanos
After additional bird photography in Ubatuba, we drive most of the day back to Sao Paulo and on to Los Tucanos Lodge south-west of São Paulo. Breakfast and dinner included.
Day 7: Trilhas dos Tucanos all day
Fantastic set-up for bird photography with many species of hummingbirds, including Festive Coquette, tanagers, toucans and aracaris. Here is a checklist with all species recorded from Trilhas dos Tucanos. All meals included
Day 8: Trilhas dos Tucanos to Sao Paolo
Los Tucanos in the morning and transfer to Sao Paolo for flights in the evening or the next day.
Also check out our Pantanal and Rio de Janeiro/Iguazu Falls programs.