Brazil - Manaus - eventually....!!!!

I'm jumping to Brazil right now, as I flew there from Uganda.... Unfortunately I missed the first 1.5 days when the guys got Rufous and white-winged Potoo amongst other things...

So I finally caught up with my group after a protracted journey from Uganda and missing my connecting flight to Manaus from Sao Paulo resulting in a 2.30am arrival at the lodge near Novo Airao. Breakfast at 5am hurt a bit but we were scheduled for a morning boat excursion inside Anavilhanus National Park along the massive Rio Negro. With a beautiful red sunrise and Band-tailed Nighthawks all around we turned off the main river into a side channel where we spent most of the morning, notching up a delightful selection of Amazonian and more widespread species. Our excellent driver manoeuvred our boat with such skill between trees as we traversed through flooded varzea forest all morning and it was a real treat to be able to see so many excellent birds. We began in a more open area with a brief Sungrebe, followed by a flurry of activity very close in front of us with Spotted Tody-Flycatcher, Amazonian Inezia, Black-crested Antshrike, Cherrie’s Antwren, Blue-tailed Emerald, Red-capped Cardinal, Slender-footed Tyrannulet, Short-crested Flycatcher, Striped and Long-billed Woodcreepers, Greater Ani, flyover Plumbeous Kite, Festive Parrots, and numerous Yellow-rumped Caciques. 

Cherrie's Antwren

Black-crested Antwren

We’d already seen our first of several Pink River Dolphins before moving to another area just inside the forest where a stunning Green-tailed Jacamar was posing beautifully, and where we saw the key endemic target Klage’s Antwren, as well as Leaden Antwren, Crested Oropendola, Black-chinned Antbird, Zimmer’s Woodcreeper, Spot-breasted Woodpecker, Blackish-grey Antshrike, a superb Common Potoo, Cinnamon Attila, Ash-breasted Antbird, and a flighty Varzea Schiffornis. 

Common Potoo

Moving across into a different section of flooded forest, we came across the delightfully named Snethlage’s Tody-Tyrant close by and just before entering the arena of displaying Wire-tailed Manakins. These stunningly beautiful birds were all around us and looked for all the world like tiny red and yellow light bulbs in the gloomy forest. 

Brown-throated Sloth

Snethlage's today-Tyrant

Wire-tailed Manakin

A Brown-throated Sloth provided some non-avian distraction at the same spot, and our excellent local guide Pablo called in a Speckled Spinetail here also. Nearby we visited a lek of Streak-throated Hermits that took some time for everyone to see well enough before we returned to the main channel, seeing a real wild Muscovy Duck and we followed this with several Plumbeous Kites and a Great Black Hawk overhead before returning to our waiting minibus. Amazingly it was 10.30am when we returned to the lodge, lunch was at 11.30am and we departed for our afternoon boat excursion at 3pm, leaving several hours for a sleep and a little birding in the large gardens. 

Ivory-billed Aracari

Some decent birds were seen in the gardens, with pride of place going to a flock of Orange-fronted Yellow Finches, but there was also Variegated Flycatcher, Silver-beaked, Palm and Blue-grey Tanagers as well to keep the hardy amongst us busy. The afternoon was a little quieter as we searched for a couple of greenlets without success. But there were many other trip ticks and decent birds beginning with Swallow-wing Puffbird, White-winged Swallows were numerous, both Grey-breasted  and Brown-chested Martins, Short-tailed and Band-rumped Swifts, a few Ringed Kingfishers, Hook-billed Kite, Swallow-tailed Kite, Orange-winged Parrots flew over, a group of Black-fronted Nunbirds provided quite the cacophony, Screaming Piha perched high up, Blue Dacnis, Squirrel Cuckoo, Green-backed Trogon, Yellow-headed Caracara, White-throated Toucans, Orange-cheeked Parrots, another Amazonian Inezia, a pair of Paradise Jacamars, a group of 3 Ivory-billed Aracaris and a Bat Falcon hunting along the main river. We ended with many Band-tailed Nighthawks cruising by to end the day as we had begun and with a stunning sunset as well. What a day!