BRAZIL 2011: Birding the hotel grounds in Cuiaba and Alta Floresta

Day 2 / August 12 – We enjoyed a lovely morning birding the grounds of Fazenda Mato Grosso in Cuiaba before checking-out.  We found ample avian activity in the trees at the end of the parking lot, before crossing a raised boardwalk to a large pond where we watched submerged caiman, lounging capybara, and a variety of bird species.

We saw many Rufous-bellied Thrushes (above) compared to the less common Pale-breasted Thrush. Numerous Rufous Horneros, Ruddy Ground Doves and Scaled Doves blended well against the dirt ground.  Thrush-like Wrens that did not sound or look like thrushes made their presence well known with a raucous duet!  Glittering-throated Emerald, Swallow-tailed Hummingbird, and Silver-beaked Tanager fed from a flowering tree near the hotel reception area.

Along the boardwalk we picked out Pale-vented Pigeon, Shiny Cowbird, Yellow-rumped Cacique (above) feeding in a fruiting tree, Epaulet Oriole, Grayish Saltator, Bananaquit, and a handful of Smooth-billed Ani.  Snowy Egret, Cattle Egret, Great Egret, Cocoi Heron, Wattled Jacana and Black-crowned Night-Heron were attracted to the large pond.  A lone Gray-necked Wood Rail stalked along the forest edge, while a flock of Saffron Finches flitted around a shrub on the bank.  White-eyed Parakeet, Yellow-chevroned Parakeet, Wood Stork, Anhinga, Bare-faced Ibis and Aplomado Falcon were all seen flying overhead. Sue and Char found our first Masked Gnatcatcher of the trip.

Our mid-day one-and-a-half hour flight to Alta Floresta sadly revealed a highly fragmented rainforest beneath us, as we flew north on a large prop plane.  This is the southern part of the Amazon, and one would not have known it from the view we had. The once endless sea of green trees has gone!

We disembarked at the small airport to a warm welcome by the staff of the nearby Floresta Amazonica Hotel, who gathered our luggage and drove us to the short distance to the picturesque lodge.

After a brief rest we set out to explore the forest trails around the hotel.  Plumbeous Kite, Swallow-tailed Kite and Greater Yellow-headed Vultures circled slowly in the blue sky.  Amazon and Green Kingfishers traded perches over a pond.  Squadrons of noisy Blue-and-yellow Macaws (below) and a few Scarlet Macaws flew overhead, their brilliant colors flashing in the sun.

The trees at the edge of the woods held Crested Oropendula, Great Kiskadee, Rusty-margined Flycatcher, Variegated Flycatcher, Palm, Sayaca and the gorgeous Turquoise Tanagers. We were eager to see what was inside the forest!

We walked the “Primate trail” for over 2 hours, but it proved to be surprisingly quiet, yielding brief sightings of Buff-throated Woodcreeper, Straight-billed Woodcreeper, Masked Tityra, White-shouldered Tanager and Southern Chestnut-tailed Antbird. On the other hand the butterflies were more cooperative with sightings of Bromfild’s Beauty, Rayed Longwing, Cleopatra Satyr, Lamia Pierella and a Burney’s Longwing (above) which Patty found just off the trail.

A slight detour led us to the Harpy Eagle nest site, but we could only imagine what the bird would look like standing on top of the huge stick nest! Exiting the forest at dusk we found a very vocal Cinnamon-throated Woodcreeper though the light made it tough to pick out any distinguishing feature other than a silhouetted short stocky bill.

The star bird of the day came after dinner, when we tracked down a Crested Owl on the grounds of the Floresta Amazonica, and were rewarded with great views in the spotlight of this majestic owl with long white eyebrows – twice!