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Incredible sunsets were met with full checklists, full (and then empty) caipirinhas, and full stomachs back on our riverboat home, the Tumbira. Photo by guide Tom Johnson.

An extended voyage into remote areas full of amazing birds but infrequently visited by birders? Yes, please! This two-week tour of the Madeira-Tapajos interfluvium (south of the Amazon) was chock-full of birds and lots of adventure in a comfortable setting with fantastic company.

We kicked off this grand adventure in Amazonia in the bustling metropolis of Manaus where we boarded a comfortable and fast speed launch, checking out the meeting of the blackwater Rio Negro and the whitewater Solimoes just downstream from Manaus before blasting off. We shot down the Amazona and then up the Rio Madeira to the riverside town of Borba, cruising past Amazon River Dolphins, Horned Screamers, and Short-tailed Parrots along the way.

Borba was our home for three nights, and we used this frontier base as our hub of land-based exploration of the right bank of the Madeira. This was a location notable for the ornithological collections of Natterer, and an area that Bret has visited repeatedly due to its interesting avifauna. Contrasting with a fire-choked season during the tour in 2015, we were fortunate to bird several excellent forest tracts this without issue - well, our endless stream of replacement VW Combi vans notwithstanding! Fortunately, our team on the ground managed our vehicle problems and we were able to continue birding. We visited a mixture of different mosaics of terra firme forest and a campina patch, and also did some fruitful nightbirding. Bald Parrots, Least Nighthawk, White-winged Potoo, White-browed and Black-faced Hawks, Red-necked Woodpecker, Point-tailed Palmcreeper, and many more birds came through for us here. Bret's advance scouting to help find good trails and request access to private property was invaluable - thanks Bret! We also got to enjoy the culinary concoctions of Portuga and the ladies of Café das Meninas who woke up super early in the morning to make us coffee and eggs and tapioca with palm for breakfast. Mmmm - delicious!

After we wrapped up the land-based leg of the tour in Borba, we boarded the luxurious riverboat Tumbira with its fresh caipirinhas, air-conditioned cabins, and wonderful crew and prepared to travel farther east. The advantages of a boat-based exploration of the area between the Madeira and Tapajos Rivers (interfluvium) became clear as we woke up at different spots each morning and could easily land ashore using motor canoes and bird a variety of super forest trails. We also used Tumbira's upper deck to spot a huge diversity of birds including swifts, parrots, many raptors, and even a few surprises like foliage-gleaners and antbirds.

The boat-based portion of the tour was like a dream as we cruised small rivers that have rarely been birded before, crossing biogeographical boundaries and enjoying wonderful weather (we only got chased away from birding by rain a few times). In the evenings, we were entertained both by some wonderful nightbirding but also by multimedia slideshows from Bret (on Amazonian geologic history and biogeography) and Micah (on primates as well as his masters research on woodcreepers) - fascinating stuff.

Heading east from the Rio Madeira, we traveled the Paraná Urariá as our gateway to several tributary rivers including the Rio Abacaxis and the Rio Paracuní on our way to the Maués-Açu and the Rio Parauarí. After encountering low water levels in 2015, we tweaked the dates and this year, water was high enough that the Tumbira could get us just about anywhere we wanted to go. Though we couldn't find the hoped-for Golden Parakeets, we did visit an impressive variety of forest trails in terra firme forest, and that strategy eventually produced a major army ant swarm with attendant Harlequin Antbirds and Pale-faced Bare-eyes - WOW! We stood and watched in silence for over an hour as the antbirds hopped up on vertical stems and intently stared downward at the forest floor, hoping to snag arthropods flushed by the stampede of army ants. They weren't easy to spot, but we eventually all got to enjoy these fantastic antbirds (and a host of other ant-followers like Hoffmann's Woodcreeper, too).

After exploring south of Maués, we crossed back to the broad Amazona by way of the Paraná dos Ramos and enjoyed some bountiful island and river edge birding along the way back to Manaus. Red-billed Scythebill, Plain Softtail, Scaled Spinetail, and Varzea Piculet were among the target birds we found here. After the birding, we were even treated to an evening art salon in the dining room of Tumbira - Nancy and Micah shared some of their beautiful art with us. A final stop near Marchantaria Island allowed us to find some last minute specialty birds like Parker's Spinetail and flocks of migrant Stilt Sandpipers arriving from the north. We found our birds with a gorgeous sunset just moments away, and we motor-canoed back to Tumbira at dusk, the plan coming together like a dream.

Bret, Micah, and I would like to thank everyone for joining us on this stylish yet remote adventure into Brazil. You were all wonderful travel companions and your flexibility and adventurous spirits helped the success of this tour immeasurably. Our thanks also go to Junior and the entire crew of the Tumbira who helped to make our travels so enjoyable. I have many satisfying memories of seeing amazing world rarities on forest trails and sipping cold caipirinhas from the top deck of the boat as river dolphins slipped past us and nighthawks danced overhead with the stunning backdrop of incredible Amazonian sunsets.

Muito obrigado!

Tom

PS - there are more photos and videos from the trip on the Field Guides Smugmug galleries.

KEYS FOR THIS LIST
One of the following keys may be shown in brackets for individual species as appropriate: * = heard only, I = introduced, E = endemic, N = nesting, a = austral migrant, b = boreal migrant

This Cryptic Forest-Falcon glared down at us during a break in its morning duet with its nearby mate. Photo by guide Tom Johnson.

Two Bald Parrots landed in nice sunlight and let us admire their funky bare orange heads and excellent plumage. We were fortunate to see these unusual parrots on many days of the tour. Photo by guide Tom Johnson.

Our Flame-crowned Manakin was right out in the open, and its white throat was initially the most striking part of the bird - until we got our binoculars up! Photo by guide Tom Johnson.

An Amazon River Dolphin shows both its head, beak, and oddly-shaped dorsal fin all in one view. Oh, and it's PINK! Photo by guide Tom Johnson.

The distinctive form of Least Nighthawk that we saw near Borba has a barred undertail covert patch, setting it apart from other Least Nighthawks. Photo by guide Tom Johnson.

Shortly after the photo was taken, this adult Paradise Jacamar delivered its spicy meal to a begging juvenile nearby. Photo by guide Tom Johnson.

This snethlageae Red-billed Scythebill gave us the royal show in riverine forest on one of our final tour days. Photo by guide Tom Johnson.

A large flock of hundreds of austral migrant fusca Brown-chested Martins took a break in a riverside treetop as we cruised by. Photo by guide Tom Johnson.

Guide Micah Riegner climbs back into a canoe after negotiating with the local youth brigade in Novo Jerusalem. Photo by guide Tom Johnson.

We had a couple of opportunities to find the wildly unique Point-tailed Palmcreeper in Mauritia palm swamps. What an interesting Furnariid! Photo by guide Tom Johnson.

The magnificent Tumbira was our home for the majority of the tour: air-conditioned cabins, a beautiful dining room and bar on deck two, and that entire top deck that became a mobile cotinga-/swift-/raptor-/parrot-/antbird-/dolphin-watching platform whenever we needed it. What a wonderful vessel! Photo by guide Tom Johnson.

We had to work for it, but our nocturnal views of this rather placid Rufous Potoo were simply stunning. Photo by guide Tom Johnson.

Micah helped us track down an awesome Rufous-necked Puffbird, which then sat in plain view in our scopes for over ten minutes. This is an uncommon and tough-to-find species. Photo by guide Tom Johnson.

When Guianan Red-Cotinga is on offer, everyone gathers around Bret! Photo by guide Tom Johnson.

We had some lovely experiences with Pavonine Quetzals near Borba. Photo by guide Micah Riegner.

Nancy Spahr painted this riverside scene with watercolors and gouache. She shared some of her work with us during an evening art salon on one of the final evenings of the tour.

This Amazonian Pygmy-Owl stared us down from the subcanopy. Photo by guide Tom Johnson.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

Totals for the tour: 424 bird taxa and 16 mammal taxa