The great thing about this trip to Brazil was that despite some really long travel days in the van, we always made some good stops along the way and bagged new birds almost every time we did. Day 7 was spent repositioning from Sitio Pau Preto to Rio de Pedras in Canudos or somewhere near there so we could be ready to hit up the famous Lear's Macaw preserve at first light the next day. This was a 7 hour drive day, the route below says less than that but keep in mind we didn't always take the fastest route.
Even one of the first gas station stops had me get some better photos of a species I had only briefly seen before.
Sick's Swift - similar to the other Chaetura swift in the area, the Gray-rumped Swift but this one has a brown rump.
Fork-tailed Palm Swifts were also circling in the same area.
Our first real stop for the day was a national forest reserve in Barbalha County in Ceara State.
Chivi Vireo
Rufous-breasted Leaftosser! This was the bird we tried to coax a couple days earlier but couldn't get a photo of. This time it sat still, even if it was buried in deep foliage, so I was able to keep moving until I had a passable shot.
We didn't stay in this forest long as we had a date with the most important bird of the whole trip, the Araripe Manakin! The Araripe Manakin (Chiroxiphia bokermanni) is a critically endangered species only discovered in 1996 which is mind-boggling considering that it is a flashy bird that looks like no other. However, when you see it's range map you can start to understand why...
Its kind of strange, but the place where we were to see this amazing bird is literally an Amusement Park - Arajara Park in Barbalha. We had to check in at the ticket booth for a huge park that looks like a typical theme park in the US, but the underlying theme for this park is the Manakin which lives smack dab in the middle of the park. At one point the population of this bird was thought to be about 50 individuals, but estimates are now much higher although certainly less than 1000 birds.
While they processed our passports, this Reddish Hermit was enjoying the abundant flowers lining the entranceway.
Araripe Manakin! It didn't take long to find this striking male along the trail the park maintains specifically for the Manakin.
This female on nest was a little trickier to find.
Another male further along the trail.
We only had a couple of hours at the park so it was a little bittersweet but we had plenty of good looks. Maybe I will go back some day for a proper crushing of this beautiful bird and then go on some rides!
Orange-fronted Yellow-finch - this was a planned gas station stop for a bird that has a wide distribution over South America but is not necessarily common. At least we only saw it this once.
Our last step of the day was at Rio de Pedras to watch for an evening roost of Blue-winged Macaws.
Blue-winged Macaws - again, this is a relatively wide-spread species in south central South America but we only saw them once on the whole trip.
Southern Scrub Flycatcher
Least Nighthawk! Unfortunately it just flew by and didn't allow for a crushing.
We had dinner is a small town before making the last push to the ranger's property at the Lear's Macaw Preserve. This was a rustic property with open air rafters that are exceptional at capturing the breeze which made air conditioning not needed. That was fortunate because there was none. Next post is all about the Lear's Macaw or the alternate name of Indigo Macaw as captured in eBird.
