June 14-29, 2025 with Bret Whitney
June, 2025, marked a fine run of our Rio Roosevelt tour. Everyone arrived on the same flight with all their luggage, which is always nice. The rainy season had been normal to wetter than average, leaving the Rio Madeira unusually high, then shut off about 3 weeks before the tour start. Our first evening, sunset boat cruise on the Madeira didn’t feature many birds (as is usually the case), but we did enjoy great views of several Amazonian River Dolphins and, at dusk, about 30 big Bulldog Fishing Bats. Last year, when the Madeira was extremely low, we saw only the smaller Tucuxi (Gray River) dolphins (interesting). A mild frente fria (southern cold front, friaje in Spanish) moved in over the initial days of the tour on the west side of the Rio Madeira, and it even rained a quarter/half-inch on a couple of evenings, which shut us out of one of the best birding roads near Humaita (mud too risky to navigate). I put out well-appointed picnic breakfasts our first three mornings, which helped us get into the field a little before first light. The natural campos near Humaitá were lush and green, and we managed to see Ocellated Crake and Russet-crowned Crake, White-eared Puffbird, a pair of Sharp-tailed Tyrants, a Black-masked Finch, and a feeding concentration of about 30 “Ibera” Seedeaters, all in full “eclipse” (non-breeding) plumage. Not a single Long-tailed Ground-Dove was to be found, in stark contrast to the several we saw and heard on the super-dry 2024 tour. Forest birding was exciting, producing good views of Amazonian Pygmy-Owl, Curl-crested Aracari, Western Striolated-Puffbird, Brown-banded Puffbird, White-fronted Nunbirds, Needle-billed and Reddish hermits, Bonaparte’s Parakeets, Point-tailed Palmcreeper, Bar-bellied, Cinnamon-throated, Ocellated, and Inambari woodcreepers in quick succession, Predicted Antwren, Sclater’s Antwren, Silvered Antbird, Manu Antbird (an immature male singing an immature(?) song in the same spot we’d had an adult male in 2023, and none present in 2024), and an Inambari Gnatcatcher that came in unusually low and close. An Undulated Antshrike came in close several times, but it was hard to see well in a dense palm thicket. Finally, on a hot, sunny late-afternoon, bottom of the ninth with two outs, we hit a walk-off homer with Azure-naped (Campina) Jays, for a big win!
As we have done the past three years, we devoted a morning to try for Rondonia Bushbird out of Porto Velho. The spot we’d birded previously burned extensively in late 2024, but friends in Porto Velho had found another place for it, so I checked it out just ahead of this year’s tour. There was plenty of bamboo, and the dead stuff definitely showed evidence of bushbird foraging (splits about a half-inch wide and 4 to 16” long). Most unfortunately, though, one side of the narrow dirt road through good habitat had been cut back to install a new power line shortly ahead of the tour. We had a very nice morning of birding there (especially Eastern Striolated-Puffbird, Black-girdled Barbet, and Chestnut-tailed Antbird), but not a whiff of the bushbird despite us getting back inside the bamboo and using playback with lots of patience. That afternoon, after a mega-churrascaria lunch in Porto Velho, we transferred to a little, family-run pousada on the east side of the Madeira about an hour below Porto Velho, for a two-night stay. This gets us access to both várzea and terra firme forest. Best there were a very close Green-and-rufous Kingfisher, Cream-colored Woodpecker, comparisons of Straight-billed, Zimmer’s, and Striped woodcreepers, Glossy and Amazonian antshrikes, Blackish Antbird, Leaden Antwren, Rondonia Warbling-Antbird, Band-tailed Manakin, and -- truly shockingly -- a calling, then singing, Rufous-tailed Attila! This attila breeds in the mountains of southeast Brazil from late October through March, then migrates into Amazonia to essentially disappear for the rest of the year; there are few and scattered records of it anywhere away from the breeding grounds, when it is practically silent. A group of 10 Swallow-tailed Kites came in to roost in a tall tree standing alone in a pasture, and they put on a show at dawn the next day, swirling around before taking off. These would be migrants from the breeding population in southeast Brazil.
We had to leave the pousada very early to make it to the Porto Velho airport for our charter flight to the Rio Roosevelt. We loaded the van by 04:45, they had a great 05:00 breakfast ready for sit-down, and, fortunately, everything worked to perfection. We took off at 07:45 on a calm, sunny morning, viewing the mighty Madeira off starboard (wait, is that only for boats?). Our plane was a 9-seat Cessna Grand Caravan, with wings up over the windows for great viewing from all seats. I had them clean the outside surfaces of the windows for us before take-off. As always, it was thrilling to come down low over miles of untouched forest to do a couple of wide swings over the Rio Roosevelt, seeing the pousada and monstrous Santa Rita rapids below. We landed a little after 09:00, and the team from the Pousada Rio Roosevelt was there to meet us, firme e forte. While our luggage was driven to the pousada, we walked down the dirt airstrip to view the rapids. The river was about 2 feet higher than average for this time of year, which was a welcome sight, especially in comparison with the very low level on the 2024 tour. As we walked the trail and boardwalk from the airstrip to the pousada, along the portage path opened by the Roosevelt-Rondon crew over 100 years ago (1914), we paused to reflect on the hardship those men had had to endure, day after day, for months, not having any idea of where they were, or what the next day would bring.
After a little time to settle into our chalets, our homes for the next week(!), we enjoyed our first scrumptious lunch, with a graviola (guanabana, or soursop) mousse for dessert. Later on that hot, sunny afternoon, we explored the main trail behind the pousada, which goes to the subcanopy tower. We picked up Red-necked Aracaris, Gould’s Toucanet, and Great Jacamar along the trails, then went up the tower. It proved to be very quiet up there, but we did manage to see a singing Zimmer’s Tody-Tyrant (which often gets away as “heard only”). Because there had been a little rain recently, and our guides reported that the “saleiro” (clay lick) was attracting good wildlife activity, we decided to go there on our first morning. That would be the farthest downriver we would venture during our stay on the Roosevelt. We traversed Gloria rapids just as the sun was cresting the horizon on a gorgeous, clear morning – and what a thrilling ride it was! Along the way, we spotted the first of several Red-throated Piping-Guans we would see on the tour, the only close Chapman’s Swifts of the tour (swifts were inexplicably very scarce), and we also had our best view of Black Spider Monkeys, a family that was just waking up in the crown of an enormous Angelim tree. Nearing the saleiro, we idled the motors and quietly got out of the boats to walk a short distance to the clay lick. There were thousands of animal footprints in there, mostly peccaries and deer, but also lots of Tapir and at least one Jaguar. Birds were quiet at first, but soon began to vocalize as the sun penetrated into the undergrowth. Our guides spotted a Tapir moving through some dense palms, but we saw only a vestige of it. Watching carefully, and with much patience, I eventually spotted a Tapir across a narrow opening, and motioned for everyone to remain absolutely still. The Tapir was looking in our direction, and I feared it would run… but it started walking directly toward us. We watched breathlessly as it came into the open, then kept coming, to stop a mere 15 away! I had my iPhone recording, and got the whole scene pretty much perfectly, as the Tapir finally stopped, sniffed for a moment, seemed to think twice, then bolted across the saleiro to stop on the other side. It then relaxed and commenced eating clay, staying around for at least 15 minutes. At the same time, we could hear at least two other Tapirs crashing around and making wheezing and whistling sounds – it was all very exciting! Meanwhile, several gorgeous Orange-cheeked Parrots and Crimson-bellied Parakeets had come in to perch overhead, waiting for us to clear out so they could come down to the moist clay. We could hear the raucous calls of Kawall’s Parrots in the distance, but they soon flew away (we ended up missing views of Kawall’s for the first time on this tour). Before we left, we had nice views of Amazonian Streaked-Antwren, a very cooperative Aripuana Antwren, a Speckled Spinetail with a nest, a fine adult male Rose-breasted Chat, a Buff-cheeked Tody-Flycatcher, and both Moustached and Buff-breasted wrens. We revisted the saleiro briefly on our last full morning at the Roosevelt, in hopes of Kawall’s Parrots and another mammal or two, but it was very quiet so we didn’t stay long. It would be really cool to be there at night, but it’s not practical because the rapids require daylight to navigate.
Our 6 full days on the Roosevelt were overall very good, and we even had two rains (one nighttime for a couple of hours, the other coming out of nowhere at 11:00 am to drench us for a half hour). That certainly helped quiet down our walking in dry leaves, but I must say, birding was generally tough: Amazonian forests, especially those closer to the Brazilian Shield (as is the Roosevelt) appear to be experiencing heightened dry seasons and perhaps reduced populations of some understory birds. Nonetheless, highlights were many: Razor-billed Curassow twice, once high in trees, the other in the trail at dusk; a Pavonine Cuckoo that didn’t stay put for quite long enough; Sunbittern (but not a single Sungrebe, which continues a jinx bird for Randy); an adult Tiny Hawk perched in a distant treetop; Collared Puffbird and Rusty-breasted Nunlet, to bring our puffbird list up to 11; Blue-cheeked and Bronzy jacamars; Pearly and Saturnine antshrikes; Manicore Warbling-Antbird, Rufous-faced Antbird and a remarkably close Ferruginous-backed Antbird, Black-breasted Gnateater (a recent split from Chestnut-belted), a superb woodcreeper list including Spot-throated, Long-billed, Hoffmann’s, Uniform, Elegant, and Dusky-capped; several foliage-gleaners, Blue-backed and Flame-crowned manakins, Chico’s Tyrannulet (at the last minute, whew!), a very close Slaty-capped Shrike-Vireo, and great looks at several flashy tanagers and honeycreepers in a good fruiting tree along the airstrip. This year’s tour coincided with a completely dark moon, and nightbirding was generally unproductive. We did manage to get vocal responses from a very distant Rufous Potoo, and also a pair of Nocturnal Curassows. On the other hand, mammals, especially primates, were the best we’ve had in a few years: Common Woolly Monkey, Black Spider Monkey, Buffy Saki Monkey, Red-nosed Bearded Saki Monkey (three times!), and also Prince Bernhard’s Titi Monkey on the left bank of the Roosevelt and its undescribed sister (dark tail tip) on the right bank – all seen well. For the first time in a while, we saw no small primates or squirrels on the Roosevelt, and the relatively high river levels led to our first-ever miss of Giant Otters.
Finally, a special experience was catching three big Peacock Bass (tucunaré) for lunch after our morning at the campina. Dan Combs caught two of them and took the prize for the largest, which weighed close to 5 lb. Our able guides and river pilots cleaned and grilled them up for us, and we had vinaigrette made fresh on-the-spot, potato salad, aioli, limes, rice, and farinha to go with the fish – it was a fantastic lunch!
Thanks so much to all of you for choosing to come on our Rio Roosevelt: Birding the River of Doubt tour; I was delighted to be your guide, and certainly hope to see all of you again on another wonderful tour in Brazil!
You can see my complete trip report on eBird at this link: https://ebird.org/tripreport/396489
You can download a combined PDF of this page and the eBird report at this link: https://fieldguides.com/triplists/roo25TRIPLIST.pdf
-- Your trusty guide, Bret