NE Brazil Day 11: Serra Bonita

Left at 6am and drove for almost 5 hours to the lowlands of Serra Bonita Reserve, where for the past couple of months some fruiting palm trees have been playing host to some Banded Cotingas, one of the rarest endemics in Brazil. We bowled up in the heat of the day and after a short wait a superb male flew in for a brief time before being ‘buzzed off’ by some White-eared Parakeets. This spot was pretty good with a Silver-breasted Tanager (split from Opal-rumped Tanager) sat on a nest, a group of Yellow-rumped Caciques and a few Red-rumped Caciques, Grey-rumped Swifts flying over, Grey-crowned Flycatcher, a few beautiful Yellow-fronted Woodpeckers, the endemic Sombre Hummingbird and we also had some distant endemic Golden-capped Parakeets in the scope.

We had two 4-wheel drive vehicles to take us up to the lodge in the mountains and upon arrival we dumped our bags into the rooms and then had lunch. The feeders here enticed some Maroon-bellied Parakeets, both Red-necked and Green-headed Tanagers, Purple and Green Honeycreepers, and a pair of Wied’s Black-tufted Marmosets. At least 2 endemic Frilled Coquettes fed on some flowers in the garden as well. 

Frilled Coquette - endemic

Walking back to the rooms along the mountain road found us a Blue Manakin sat on a nest over the road, a pair of Pin-tailed Manakins, Greyish Mourner, Grey-capped Tyrannulet and a Green-backed Trogon. 

After an hour’s siesta we set off walking along the mountain track again but hadn’t got far when a Surucua Trogon was found. A viewpoint really got our pulses racing when Ciro exclaimed he had found a pair of endemic Buff-throated Purpletufts, and amazingly they flew in to some nearby trees to check us out. 

Buff-throated Purpletuft - endemic

Walking on there was Blue-naped Chlorophonia, endemic Pale-browed Treehunter, Plain-winged Woodcreeper, Yellow-throated Woodpecker, and anotherTufted Antshrike. 

Yellow-throated Woodpecker

Tufted Antshrike

We also tracked down a singing endemic Rufous-brown Solitaire and a calling White-eyed Foliage-Gleaner, as well as spotting a King Vulture circling overhead. 

We spent the remainder of the late afternoon staking out an area where we could see some Pink-legged Graveitero nests but there was no sign of their occupants so returned to the lodge for a shower before dinner.