Brazil: Atlantic Forest

We will meet as a group for dinner where we will discuss the birding adventure ahead.

After breakfast we will drive to Itatiaia National Park. The drive will take approximately 3 hours. We will spend the afternoon and next 2 days birding in this area. Itatiaia is one of the most famous destinations for birding in southeast Brazil. Itatiaia National Park, comprising 28,000 hectares ranging from 600 to 2800 meters of altitude, was the first NP of the country, created in 1937. This altitudinal gradient provides a variety of environments, from humid Atlantic Forest in lower elevations to Mountaintop Grasslands in higher elevations, ensuring a rich avifauna. We will be exploring different altitudinal gradients ensuring great endemics of the Atlantic Forest and many bamboo specialists.

We will spend the next 2 days birding in Itatiaia National Park. One of the most special birds here has the National Park name; the Itatiaia Spinetail, a typical mountaintop bird. On the way to the mountaintops we will have the chance to see other highland birds such as Rufous-tailed Antbird , the magnificent Black-and-gold Cotinga with its remarkable voice, Green-crowned Plovercrest, Bay-chested Warbling-Finch, Buff-throated Warbling-Finch , Mouse-colored Tapaculo, Araucaria Tit-Spinetail, Great Pampa Finch, Velvety Black-Tyrant, Blue-billed Black-Tyrant, Serra do Mar Tyrant-Manakin, Thick-billed Saltator, Rufous-tailed Antthrush and more. In the lower elevations some of the targets include Gilt-edged Tanager, Brassy-breasted Tanager, Ochre-rumped Antbird , Ferruginous Antbird, White-collared Foliage-gleaner, Frilled Coquette, Surucua Trogon, Spot-breasted Antvireo, Eared Pygmy-Tyrant and many more.

Ubatuba is an ocean paradise with a mix of surf culture, weekend city escapees and a relaxed local scene. Aside from a beach atmosphere, this coastal zone has a wilderness feel, being backed by a magnificent, forested mountainside: the Serra do Mar. This steep-sided range is chock-full of endemic birds.

We’ll leave Itatiaia and head for the coast at Ubatuba over the sinuous roads on the upper part of Serra do Mar. En route we’ll witness the impact that farming has had upon the once-lush hillsides, but the closer we get to the coast, the more pristine rainforest we’ll encounter. It is indeed impressive. In fact, the Serro do Mar State Park encompasses 332,000 ha of protected jungle, much of it difficult to access.

Bird species in Ubatuba we will look for include: Fork-tailed Pygmy-Tyrant, Sao Paulo Tyrannulet, Ochre-breasted Foliage-gleaner, Black-cheeked Gnateater, Chestnut-bellied Euphonia, Red-necked Tanager, Green Honeycreeper, Slaty Bristlefront, and Rufous-capped Antthrush.

At feeders we could see Saw-billed Hermit, Black-throated Mango, Brazilian Ruby, Sombre Hummingbird, Glittering-throated Emerald, Versicolored Emerald, Black Jacobin, Scale-throated Hermit, Festive Coquette, White-chinned Sapphire and more.

Since this area holds some of the world’s most beautiful beaches, we should have a chance to dip our toes in the sand at some point.

We will begin the morning birding around Ubatuba to try to pick up any birds we haven't seen yet. We will then transfer to Salesópolis. This is one of the very few places in the world where you can see the critically endangered Marsh Antwren, described to science in 2014. The species is restricted to preserved wetlands surrounded by Atlantic forest.

Of course, a few other goodies are possible anywhere we stop, and in this case might include: Bertoni’s Antbird, Orange-breasted Thornbird, Drab-breasted Pygmy-Tyrant, Gilt-edged Tanager, Red-and-white Crake and Spix’s Spinetail. We’ll keep an eye out for Pileated Parrots flying overhead, and in the understory, the bamboo-loving Blackish-blue Seedeater. Night in Salesópolis.

After a morning birding around Salesópolis, we continue on a half-day drive beyond the city to the southwest, for a couple of days at the most diverse birding site in the entire Atlantic rainforest: Intervales State Park. As a UNESCO Natural World Heritage Site, it is a critical parcel of protected mid-elevation rainforest. We will be sleeping and eating practically inside the forest, so in “resting hours” we can explore the surroundings at ease.

The area is excellent for birds, mammals, reptiles and botany. Some of the avian delights we might encounter here over four mornings include Variegated Antpitta, Short-tailed Antthrush, Spot-billed Toucanet, Squamate Antbird, Long-tufted Screech-Owl, Chestnut-backed Tanager, Chestnut-crested Puffbird, Oustalet’s Tyrannulet, Ornate Hawk-Eagle, Pearl-breasted Cuckoo, Hooded Berryeater, Red-ruffed Fruitcrow, Ash-throated Crake, Black-fronted Piping-Guan, Long-trained Nightjar and Blue-bellied Parrot. Two rare species we have a chance of seeing are Helmeted Woodpecker and Russet-winged Spadebill. Jaguar, tapir, peccary, monkeys and three species of brocket deer are found in this vast forest, along with other mammals.

We will spend our last morning birding in Intervales. After lunch, we will drive (~4.5 hours) to the airport in São Paulo, where you can catch your evening International flight home.