Inland we will search the caatinga woodland for Indigo Macaw. Photo: Rich Hoyer
Among Brazilians Bahia is known as a cultural hotspot celebrated for exotic food, mysterious religions and energetic dance forms. But it’s also a natural history wonderland, encompassing nearly all that Brazil has to offer in its unique habitats. From coastal restinga woodland, to interior caatinga, to the moist mata atlântica of the hilly south, to the extremely localized viney mata de cipó, to the complex mix of habitats at Chapada Diamantina National Park, we’ll make a circuit through this largest of the northeastern states in search of its varied avifauna and local endemic species. We’ll also venture into the much smaller state just to the north, Sergipe, where protected forests harbor an interesting mix of species.
This tour can be taken in conjunction with our tour, Brazil: The Northeast - Alagoas to Ceará.
Day 1: The tour begins this afternoon on arrival in Salvador. Night near the Salvador airport.
Day 2: This morning we’ll bird some of the drier woodland found on sandy soils near the coast north of Salvador, a habitat known as restinga. Hangnest Tody-Tyrant is a local resident of this habitat, along with the more common Peach-fronted Parakeet, Ruby-topaz Hummingbird, Sooretama Slaty-Antshrike, White-fringed Antwren and the stunning Brazilian Tanager. We’ll complete the day by driving north into the small and little-known state of Sergipe. Night in Estância.
Day 3: The protected forest of southernmost Sergipe is rich in species, some of them quite rare. The rarest of all is the Fringe-backed Fire-eye, and we’ll have a good chance of seeing this bird as we work our way through the foothills toward the coast. Red-shouldered Macaw, Golden-capped Parakeet and Golden-tailed Parrotlet are possible in the canopy here, and Blue-backed and White-bearded Manakins, Stripe-necked Tody-Tyrant and Pale-bellied Tyrant-Manakin can be seen at the lower levels. Tuft-eared Marmoset, a tiny monkey with white tufts comically spiking from its ears, is not uncommon. If we have time, we’ll bird the mangrove-lined edges of the nearby coastal lagoons, where we may see Plain-bellied Emerald and Bicolored Conebill along with myriad herons, egrets and shorebirds. Night in Estância.
Day 4: We’ll have another chance to look for Fringe-backed Fire-eye this morning, but our target birds for the day are the more range-restricted and threatened Pectoral Antwren and Indigo Macaw. Both involve a return to the state of Bahia, where we will check humid forest remnants before turning inland to the seasonally dry interior. Indigo Macaw, with a population of a little more than 500 (and slowly growing), is most easily seen on private ranches, where visiting birders have become customary. We hope to arrive in the mid-afternoon when the birds gather and feed on Licuri palm fruits before departing to their distant roosts in the remote interior of Raso da Catarina. Night in Jeremoabo.
Day 5: Today will mostly be a travel day, though as usual our early morning will be spent birding before we hit the road. This will be our first dawn in the caatinga, and it will be alive with birdsong. Cactus Parakeet, Spot-backed Puffbird, Pileated Finch, Barred and Silvery-cheeked Antshrikes, Tawny-crowned Pygmy-Tyrant, Gray-eyed Greenlet and Red-cowled Cardinal could all be contributors to the chorus. On our drive south we’ll make opportunistic stops for roadside birds such as White Monjita, Burrowing Owl and Greater Rhea and for waterbirds at roadside ditches and ponds. We’ll notice the habitat change as we near the foothills, where moist onshore winds and lush hillsides will make our mouths water. Night in Valença.
Day 6: We’ll spend a few hours this morning in the patches of mata atlântica, the wet Atlantic forest that once covered large areas of coastal Brazil. It’s still full of birds, including many of the country’s endemics. Sombre Hummingbird, Blue-chinned and White-chinned Sapphires, White-eyed Foliage-gleaner, Band-tailed and Bahia Antwrens and White-shouldered Fire-eye will be among our many targets this morning. Afterward we will work our way inland, attempting to find the uncommon and enigmatic Pink-legged Graveteiro. Night in Jequié.
Days 7-9: Our hotel is located is just within the edge of the caatinga, inland from where the coastal foothills wring most of the moisture out of the onshore winds, but it will be our home base for reaching two of the most endemic-rich habitats in all of Brazil, the mata atlântica and the mata de cipó. We’ll have three days to explore this area in search of the region’s specialties, some of which, like Narrow-billed Antwren and Slender Antbird, have incredibly small ranges. Oustalet’s Tyrannulet, Rio de Janeiro Antbird, Scale-throated Hermit, Striated Softtail and Chestnut-bellied Euphonia are some of the others we hope to add to our lists during these bird-filled days. Nights in Jequié.
Day 10: Today will bring us back to the caatinga, which up until now we’ve only tasted. The adorable Rufous-winged Antshrike, Glittering-bellied Emerald and Caatinga Antwren are some of the many birds we might see on roadside stops during our drive to the famous Chapada Diamantina National Park. We’ll arrive at our lovely hotel in time for a break followed by a late afternoon hike up Morro do Pai Inaçio for a beautiful sunset. Night in Lençóis.
Days 11-12: The Chapada Diamantina holds many treasures amid its washes, mesas and river groves. This mosaic of habitats, much of it well preserved, offers some of the best birding in Brazil. In the campo habitats are species more widespread to the southwest and at the very edge of their range here, including Curl-crested Jay, Campo Miner and Collared Crescent-chest. The sun-baked, stony tops of the mesas, with tough-as-nails philodendrons and orchids and numerous lizards, are known as campo rupestre, and here we’ll search for Pale-throated Sierra-Finch, Hooded Visorbearer and Gray-backed Tachuri. We’ll also concentrate some birding time on any caatinga specialties we might have missed so far, perhaps White-browed Guan, Spotted Piculet, Great Xenops or Red-shouldered Spinetail. Semi-humid forest occurs in patches in the region and offers a very different set of birds, many near the northern edge of their range, such as Bahia Tyrannulet, Black Jacobin and Surucua Trogon. Nights in Lençóis.
Day 13: Most of this morning will be devoted to our drive back to Salvador for our afternoon flight to São Paulo, where we’ll arrive in time for connecting flights to the United States. The tour ends this evening after our farewell dinner at the São Paulo International Airport.
Updated: 12 September 2007
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Notes
Maximum group size is eight participants with one leader; 14 with two leaders.