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"Northeast Brazil” encompasses a vast area, larger than the countries of Colombia or Venezuela, for example. Finding (almost) all of the resident birds of an area this size in 3.5 weeks of birding is a major challenge, to say the least, but this year we again met it head-on, and our congenial group of birders came away with good views of just about all of the special birds of Brazil’s northeast. Of necessity we covered a lot of ground and visited many different habitats and reserves, requiring several days of long drives, but in each of those cases, the hoped-for birds cooperated and the ultimate reward was worthwhile. Also very much on our side this year was the weather. Most days had sufficient cloud cover to keep temperatures comfortable, especially mornings, and the few hard rains we experienced did not last so long that we missed seeing any of the birds we were after. The most disappointing aspect of the trip was certainly the Murici Reserve, where the several local rarities we have seen on many past tours have, over just the past few years, all but disappeared, such as Alagoas and Orange-bellied antwrens, and Alagoas Tyrannulet (and Novaes’s [Alagoas] Foliage-gleaner was recently declared extinct). We did manage to see the distinctive subspecies taunayi of Plain-brown Woodcreeper, and the pernambucensis subspecies of White-backed Fire-eye. Happily however, not far away, in Pernambuco state, the Frei Caneca and Pedra D’Anta reserves were quite productive. We saw Orange-bellied Antwren and Willis’s Antbird very well, and also Pinto’s Spinetail, Alagoas Tyrannulet, Seven-colored Tanagers, the rare Forbes’s Blackbird, and a fine assortment of hummers, including Long-tailed Woodnymph. Unfortunately, White-collared Kite got away “heard only” this time around, as a bird responded to playback of the song a couple of times, on two different days, but refused to show (it was likely on a nest, sitting tight).

The next several days of our tour found us birding a north-south transect of the far-northern state of Ceara. The Serra de Baturite, an isolated range of verdant, forest-cloaked hills, was home to Ochraceous Piculet, Ochre-backed Woodpecker, Ceara Gnateater, Ceara (Rufous-breasted) Leaftosser, Buff-breasted Tody-Tyrant, and Band-tailed Manakin. Continuing south, we were delighted to find some White-browed Guans, and stops to scope the rather few ponds we saw along the way south turned up a single Masked Duck and one flock of 10 Southern Pochards (alas, nary a Comb Duck to be found). By this time, we had entered the “caatinga”, an indigenous, (Tupi) descriptor for “white forest”, because the tall deciduous forest of this region (now essentially ALL gone) looked starkly white in the dry season. The birding was exciting! A few of the characteristic species that appeared in those early stops included Silvery-cheeked Antshrike, Black-bellied Antwren, Pearly-vented Tody-Tyrant, dapper White-naped Jays, Red-cowled Cardinal, and White-throated Seedeater. A couple of action-packed days in the southern part of the state at Chapada do Araripe were highlighted by excellent views of Tawny Piculet, Caatinga Antwren, Ash-throated Casiornis, Red-shouldered Spinetail, and (yip yip yip!) Great Xenops! Special accolades go to the fabulous, recently described Araripe Manakin, which performed so beautifully – that adult male bird was calling like crazy, really fired up!

We swung back into far-western Pernambuco state for a couple of days birding the caatinga out of Petrolina, a fairly large city on the bank of the Rio Sao Francisco. Among the prizes there were day-roosting Least Nighthawks, Cactus Parakeets (perched, finally!), a handsome Stripe-backed Antbird that eventually showed itself to great advantage, Spot-backed Puffbirds, Caatinga Cachalote, both Greater and Lesser wagtail-tyrants (excellent comparison, one right after the other), Suiriri Flycatcher, an impressive Long-billed Wren, and several brilliant Campo Troupials. But the most-appreciated sighting (high-fives all around) went to the Small-billed Tinamou we coaxed into showing itself remarkably well, right down to the glowing red legs and scalloped flanks!

Next morning we racked up some goodies (Rufous-sided Crake, Stripe-backed Bittern, and Black-backed Water-Tyrant) before traversing a rather desolate stretch of northern Bahia en route to the little town of Canudos. A late-afternoon foray into well-developed, arboreal caatinga gave us a fabulous adult male Ruby Topaz and our only Stripe-breasted Starthroat of the trip, an adult male that showed briefly but well, along with exceptional views of Tawny-crowned Pygmy-Tyrant. Canudos is the gateway to the Raso da Catarina, world stronghold of the rare Indigo (Lear’s) Macaw. Following a very early breakfast, spirits were running high as we piled into the Biodiversitas 4x4s for the one-hour drive into the remote Raso, a labyrinth of ancient redrock, sandstone cliffs and canyons. Fortunately, the roads and tracks were quite dry. Unfortunately, the headlights on one of the vehicles had gone out, but our experienced driver/guide didn’t let that stop us, and we barely ran off the track a couple of times as we barreled around some curves (who needs a second cup of coffee with an adrenaline rush like that?). We made it to the stopping point as “rosy-fingered dawn” was barely lining the eastern horizon, a deep, starry sky twinkling overhead. Our guides had us wait for a while, so as not to approach the cliffs before the macaws had begun to stir. Soon came the first, distant cries of the macaws, such a wild sound(!), heralding great reward for the considerable investment of time required to be here. We now had just enough light to hike toward the cliffs without headlamps/lights. Some 15 minutes later, as we neared the main canyon, the first pair of Lear’s Macaws flew over us, imperfectly visible against the still-dark sky, but what a thrill it was! Settling ourselves just back from the canyon rim, the din of waking, gabbling, flying Lear’s Macaws was absolutely all around us. Some 30-40 birds, almost all in pairs, a few in trios (adults with a youngster from the previous year’s nesting) blasted past us, some high, others below eye-level, many wheeling around as they prepared to depart on the commute to feeding areas some 40 miles to the east. Other pairs were closer to nesting, taking advantage of this relatively good season of rainfall. Some 20 birds remained in their canyon fortress all morning, several of them investigating cavities in the steep cliffs, a few pairs engaging in lengthy, animated bouts of copulation. It was such a wonderful privilege to be there, to behold that primordial scene. Be sure to check out the photos and videos, below (and from previous year’s triplists, as every year brings a somewhat different experience).

Getting to the Raso da Catarina is a milestone; getting anywhere else after that is a stony bunch of miles. And that’s exactly what we did, pedal to the metal for the rest of the day (happily, nowadays, all on good paved highways). But there was one other important stop on our docket – we needed to find Pectoral Antwren. This dapper little northeast endemic used to have a wide range across the semi-humid (mostly evergreen) woodlands that have now been cut and burned to near oblivion; only scattered pockets, mostly quite small, persist across most of its former distribution, and there is darned little of it left anywhere near the roads we would have to use on our route. Thus, with little room for error, err we did not: the reliable pair we scrounged up several years ago was still there and looking great (whew!). Hard on the heels of those feats came a narrow window to cross paths with the rare Fringe-backed Fire-eye, which has an even smaller world range. Next morning, it took us a while to find them, but we finally walked away with great views of a pair of birds under our belts (not literally). Before we finally located the fire-eyes, I had decided to take a significant risk, and devote precious time to trying to call a Variegated Tinamou across the road as Marcelo and the group kept watch. The risk, of course, was starting this process, which (to do adequately) might require 20-30 minutes, and which would be unlikely to actually work. But, the bird had called fairly close at hand, so we went for it – and, by gum, the bird, and its mate(?) did finally sneak across – wowee!! We celebrated the last several days of resounding successes with a to-die-for (or at) “rodizio” (never-ending, served-to-the-table) lunch at a famous Brazilian BBQ with a half-football field of salad bar. Waddling out the door, and in the absence of a dozen hammocks to snooze in, we tipped our seats back and footrests up for the long drive west, due west, to our final birding venue, the dramatic Chapada Diamantina. I tell you, it was sooo nice having that big bus with two seats for each of us, standing room in the center aisle, on-board bathroom and fridge, plate-glass windows, good AC, and our truly professional (and more-than-jovial) Marcondes at the wheel. Oh yes, and all the ice cream stops!!

Having attained the fabled fields and buttes of the Chapada, we caught our second (or was it third?) wind, staying in a couple of lovely hotels close to excellent birding. The wide variety of habitats in the Chapada Diamantina makes for a diverse birdlife. We birded “cerrado” savannas with a sparse, fire-adapted woodland and scrub (Collared Crescentchest, Rufous-sided Pygmy-Tyrant, Gray-backed Tachuri, White-banded Tanager, Black-throated Saltator); enclaves of semi-humid forest (Diamantina Tapaculo, Gilt-edged Tanager); bizarre, Vellozia-dominated chaparral-like valleys and escarpments (Hooded Visorbearer, Brown Violetear, Sincora Antwren, Copper Seedeater, Pale-throated Pampa-Finch); and finally, another sector of arboreal caatinga west of the Chapada that produced an incredible Broad-tipped Hermit, our first male Ultramarine Grosbeak, and a bottom-of-the-ninth home-run with a flock of Scarlet-throated Tanagers.

Our flight back to Salvador was delayed a couple of times that last afternoon, which caused us to rush our normally relaxed city-tour of Salvador with a stroll and dinner in the old, colonial part of town, Pelourinho (pel-o-REEN-yo). Still, Conor, our indefatigable man-on-the-ground in Salvador, was there to give us an excellent orientation of one of the oldest cities in the Americas, and our walk through Pelourinho punctuated with a wonderful shrimp moqueca (coconut-milk-based stew) was pleasant and highly memorable. That day we also said good-bye to Brad and Steve, who were not continuing for the “Bahia Birding Getaway” post-tour extension.

Now moving on to the extension… to ensure we would have ample time to search for a very important bird -- the Pink-legged Graveteiro -- we altered our plans a bit for the first day. Great luck still at our side, we made it to our venue in good time that afternoon, the weather was fine, and we indeed found the graveteiro! An adult bird was rather stand-offish, but stayed put long enough for scope views (not often the case with this acrobatic little bird!). I reckon it had an active nest not too far away, but we just did not have time to search for it, and made our way south to the little town of Boa Nova.

As always, Boa Nova was fabulous! There are just too many good birds to list here, but suffice to say that all of the “megas” showed well, we picked up an excellent White-browed Antpitta (which we had only heard up to then), and our stalwart Giant Snipes provided all their usual suspense, and thrills. Porto Seguro, at the VERACEL Reserve, was our final stop, and it, too was excellent. Hook-billed Hermit performed perfectly, as did Band-tailed Antwren, Black-headed Berryeater, and Kinglet Manakin, and we also had a nice view of the rare tinnunculus subspecies of Ringed Woodpecker (when split, probably to be called Atlantic Black-breasted Woodpecker). The true icing on the cake, though, was cotinga-flavored. We had spent nearly a half hour watching fruiting trees that we’ve been checking on the tours for years, and there were at least five White-winged Cotingas in them, but that seemed to be about all. Then, just as we were beginning to move on, Libby made a great spot on a male Banded Cotinga sitting quietly in one of the trees – and it stayed there for 10 minutes of great scope-study!! We have missed this rare endemic on most of the tours, so it was a fantastic bird to get – thanks, Libby!

Marcelo and I had a great time birding Northeast Brazil with you all, and we certainly look forward to seeing you again (probably for more of big, beautiful Brazil) when the stars align. When you’re dreaming of coming back to Brazil, don’t forget all of the wonderful food! Meanwhile, stay safe and healthy, and we wish you the best of luck birding wherever your plans may take you.

Com grandes abraços, Bret e Marcelo

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

A nice group shot at Jajedo dos beija-flores (Hummingbird rocky area) at Boa Nova. Photo by guide Bret Whitney.

A nice shot of a male Sincorá Antwren by participant Dave Sedgeley.

What a moment! This Small-billed Tinamou walked in the open for a few minutes. Photo by participant Brian Stech.

The stunning Indigo (Lear's) Macaw, flying against the red rock cliffs. Photo by participant Brian Stech.

The group going back after some great looks at Canudos Biological Reserve, home of the Indigo Macaw. Photo by guide Bret Whitney.

A cloudy (and a little bit wet) morning at Chapada Diamantina NP. Great place and fantastic birding area. Photo by guide Bret Whitney.

Master of camouflage, the Pygmy Nightjar. Photo by participant Brian Stech.

Great bird in NE Brazil area, this is an adult male Scarlet-throated Tanager. Photo by participant Brian Stech.

Participant Dave Sedgeley captured this Lesser Nightjar at RPPN Estação Veracel.

The group at Canudos Biological Reserve. Photo by guide Bret Whitney.

Now the group is in the forest! Photo by guide Bret Whitney.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

Other nice encounters: Cane Toad, Black-eared Toad, Tropydurus sp (small lizard on the rocks), Hammadryias sp (Cracker Butterfly), Anolis sp (nice lizard with a colorful bib, Rhinella margaritifera (leaf frog)

Totals for the tour: 471 bird taxa and 6 mammal taxa