Tour-leading
Since 1992, I have led bird tours in the following countries, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Israel, Jamaica, Mexico, Turkey and Venezuela, and am available to act as a birding guide anywhere in the Neotropics or the Middle East. However, I prefer to limit my guiding to countries wherein I have particular expertise, especially Brazil, Cuba and Turkey. In each of these my field experience is extensive, having visited all of the major birding areas, usually many times. My fieldwork can be counted in years in all three countries, namely over one year in Cuba, over two years in Turkey, and almost six years in the field in Brazil. Relatively few of the guides working with the main tour companies can match these levels of experience.
I prefer to work with individuals or small groups, preferably of fewer than six people. This makes for a more enjoyable experience all round, most importantly for you, the client. I can tailor trips to visit sites at your request, based on ‘wants’ lists, or provide you with a pre-set itinerary to cover a certain country or region, or in some cases a mix of the two, in the interests of maximum flexibility and providing you with the best service. Hotel bookings and other costs can, in many cases, be tailored specifically to your requirements and ‘pocket’.
I have a good track record in finding some of the hardest bird species in all of the regions that I work regularly. My focus is always on finding endemics and globally threatened species.
At present, I have been contracted to organise photographic trips throughout the Americas for an ongoing project to the birds of the world (see my Projects page, and trip reports below). This makes it highly advisable to contact me as far as possible in advance to organise your trip, although the nature of my work means that in some cases I can be available to lead at very short notice.
My rates are flexible and are based on the number of people in your group, but are highly competitive compared to those of the main tour companies, given my experience.
I am also available to assist you with planning your own self-guided trip, and in Brazil I can also assist by booking accommodations and arranging permissions to visit sites. However, please note this is a professional service, though I endeavour to make my rates sensible. Please ask (GMKirwan@aol.com).
Above, left to right: Harpy Eagle Harpia harpyja in the Serra dos Carajás, Pará, Brazil, December 2005, © Guy Kirwan; male Black-and-tawny Seedeater Sporophila nigrorufa, Vila Bela de Santíssima Trindade, Mato Grosso, Brazil, August 2007, © Will Price (www.pbase.com/tereksandpiper); and Black-headed Wagtail Motacilla flava feldegg, South Van Marshes, eastern Turkey, May 2006, © Guy Kirwan. (All of the photos on this site were taken during tours that I have led.)
Some recent trip reports are posted below.
Others are available as PDFs, as follows: Turkey (1999), SE Brazil (2000), Carajás (2004) and Northern and Central Peru (2008).
See the following link, http://www.birdwatchingbreaks.com/Carajas_TripReport07.htm for another Carajás report.
Muyuna Lodge, dpto. Loreto, Peru: Wattled Curassow and more…
Guy Kirwan & David Beadle
As part of Hadoram’s Shirihai’s photographic work for his birds of the world book with Hans Jornvall, between 26 September and 1 October 2008 we visited this comfortable lodge on the Río Yanacayu, approximately three hours by boat south of the department capital Iquitos. (Transfer times vary, depending on the state of the river.) The Río Yanacayu is a south-bank tributary of the Amazon. We set up the visit through Ultimate Voyages, as part of a much longer trip throughout northern Peru, but it would be possible to book the lodge direct. Especially if you elect to make the booking yourself, it would be important to state that you are there to bird and nothing else, and to explicitly request the services of local guide Moises, who knows exactly where to find the Wattled Curassow, as well as some of the other specialties of the area. (Few birders seem to visit as yet, unlike the better known, for birds, north-bank lodges, such as Explornapo.) Timing can be important. Our visit coincided with the relative height of the dry season; December to April is the wet season, when it would be impossible to visit the curassow’s habitat except by boat.
As already intimated, the main target of a birding trip to Muyuna is Wattled Curassow. The only other accessible sites in the world are in Bolivia and Brazil, and that in the former country involves a long journey to reach, whilst at Mamirauã, in Amazonas, Brazil, the birds can be difficult to see. On our first morning Moises took us on a hour or so-long hike along a mosquito-infested creek to an area where we encountered up to about ten of the curassows feeding in the trees.
Most of the easily accessible forest at Muyuna is várzea, and there are at least a couple of long trails through such habitat within easy distance of the lodge. The other key species to search for in this habitat is the beautiful Black-tailed Antbird, practically a northern Peru endemic (until its recent discovery on the Brazilian side of the Rio Javari, at Palmarí Lodge), but other ‘goodies’ include Várzea Schiffornis (rather common by voice), Rufous-capped Nunlet, and Grey-chested Greenlet. Mixed flocks include Scaled Spinetail, Orange-fronted Plushcrown and many others. Boat trips along the river, either to and from the trails and the lodge, or dedicated afternoon trips, yielded typical species of the relevant habitats and region, such as Slate-coloured Hawk (common), Sungrebe, Short-tailed and Festive Parrots, and Red-and-white Spinetail. Much more surprising was a flock of c. 20 White-chested Swifts that we saw one morning whilst on the river; this species is still regarded as hypothetical in Peru.
There is also a reasonably extensive network of trails through palm-dominated terra firme immediately behind the lodge. We didn’t cover this particularly well, but one morning in this habitat produced Rufous-necked and Chestnut-capped Puffbirds (Moises informed us that Collared is actually the common puffbird there), Spot-throated Woodcreeper, Point-tailed Palmcreeper, and a reasonable array of antbirds. We invested very little effort in night birding, although evening excursions along the river are a regular feature of lodge activities, but Long-tailed Potoo is possible and we recorded Spectacled Owl and Boat-billed and Zigzag Herons.
The lodge itself is comfortable without being luxurious (rooms have their own private bathrooms, unlike at Explornapo) and early breakfasts can be made. There is no tower, but the specialties of this lodge do not really demand one. Anyone planning a trip to the Iquitos area would be well advised to consider Muyuna in their plans, as its south-bank location and extensive access to várzea forest provide an excellent complement to the north-bank situation, terra firme and river islands available at Explornapo.
Cuba in a week, March 30—April 6, 2008
I had to visit Cuba at short notice for just over three weeks during the spring. Fortunately, a client (Nick) also wanted to do a short trip to the island following a family holiday on nearby Jamaica. The following is a short account of the tour. This was my first trip to Cuba for several years, but my fifteenth overall and was approximately the tenth tour I had led there.
I booked the necessary accommodation and car through Havanatour UK. As Nick’s time was very limited (six full days and two half days), I’d originally thought to skip one of the regular sites but Andy Mitchell quite rightly ‘egged me on’ into attempting to get all the regularly seen endemics in the week. Having in the past regularly managed just that with (sometimes large) groups in nine days, I figured it shouldn’t be too much of a challenge. Furthermore, Nick was keen not to miss out on anything without good reason. Thus, apart from the good as ‘impossible’ Zapata Rail and the Cuban Kite (last definitely seen, to my knowledge, when Mike Flieg and myself videotaped at least two and perhaps three birds in January 2001 at a site in eastern Cuba), we were set fair for all the endemics.
March 30. Nick’s flight was late arriving from Jamaica, so it wasn’t until after lunchtime that we’d completed all the formalities and were on our way west towards Viñales and a site for Cuban Grassquit. On arrival the grassquits were exactly were they’d been a few days before, so without much ado we were then en route to La Güira National Park. A week or so before I’d had some incredibly tape-responsive Olive-capped Warblers that had come right down to eye-level in the roadside bushes. They weren’t quite as cooperative for Nick, but the views were certainly not to be complained about. A Cuban Solitaire proved equally obliging, and having bagged our first views of some other endemics (Cuban Green Woodpecker etc.), it was time to hit the road back to Havana, where we arrived at our hotel, the Saratoga, just about opposite the Capitolio (not for the budget-conscious, but jolly nice).
March 31. Today was going to be mainly a driving day, east to Cayo Coco, and so no need for a pre-dawn start. I also wanted to have a quick check of the skies around the hotel for a Cuban Martin. We didn’t luck out with the latter, but we made good time along the autopista (detained only by some Cave Swallows and a pretty trashy lunch stop) and arrived at our hotel, the Melia on Cayo Coco, in good time for some birding. I figured we’d try the Cueva del Jabalí, which had been ‘hopping’ with migrant warblers a couple of weeks before and, more importantly, to try for Key West Quail-Dove. However, we arrived at more or less the same time as BirdQuest, led by my old friend, Derek Scott. ‘Being British’, I decided to give them the free run of the trail. Two lots of people trying for a quail-dove would probably just ensure that no one saw anything. We went off to try Zapata Sparrow, but didn’t have any luck (it was still pretty hot and más amenos nada was singing). Oriente Warblers and Western Spindalis kept Nick’s spirits up, and we closed the day off with a quick run into a neighbouring hotel to check out the West Indian Whistling Ducks. At first the lagoon seemed deserted, but then I realised that the silly ducks were perched on the roof of someone’s room, rather than swimming about on the water!
April 1. A pre-breakfast start at the Zapata Sparrow site produced the goods, although there were again very few migrants around. Following a leisurely breakfast, we headed off to Cayo Paredón Grande, pausing en route only to soak up some nice looks at Cuban Black Hawk (a fairly recent, but well-supported split). Our walk from the lighthouse produced the expected Cuban Gnatcatcher and Thick-billed Vireo, but the Clapper Rails would only sing back and refused to come out of the mangrove. Again migrants were in short supply, but a pair of Eurasian Collared Doves was a first record for the island! Back at the hotel for more free alcohol and too much food, we found a raft of West Indian Whistling Ducks right outside our rooms (so we needn’t have bothered running the gauntlet of the security at the other hotel after all). Our afternoon target was Bahama Mockingbird on Cayo Guillermo, which also proved typically easy, leaving us time to check out the shorebirds and other waterbirds. American Golden Plover, Stilt Sandpiper and Short-billed Dowitcher all joined the list, but Clapper Rail was heard-only again.
April 2. Another pre-breakfast start, this time back to the Cueva del Jabalí, where patience at the drinking pool was well rewarded with a pair of Key West Quail-Doves, though migrants were still in somewhat short supply. We made time for an ample breakfast, this being our last taste of immodest Western excess on the trip, checked out (the Cuban Emerald nesting above the reception still on eggs!) and drove down to Camagüey (a pale-phase Arctic Skua as we crossed the causeway back to the mainland being the one surprise of the journey). After one false start, we eventually found the hotel, the Colón, which I’d never used before. (The Gran had failed to accept our reservation, and Havanatour had steered me towards this as next choice. With hindsight, if not staying at casa particulars, I think I’d go for the Hotel Camagüey, which has had a facelift in recent years, and has the advantage, for anyone self-driving, of being on the edge of town and well sited for the birding, as well as much less difficult to find.) The last hour or so of the day was spent checking off most of the specialties of the nearby Sierra de Najasa: Giant Kingbird, Cuban Parrot, the two crows, and Eastern Meadowlark. Just the parakeet was left for the morrow.
April 3. Another leisurely breakfast, then a brief pause at the cathedral to pick off a Cuban Martin or two, before returning to the Sierra de Najasa. A Gundlach’s Hawk buzzed across the road as drove to the area. After an hour or two stomping about picking off a few warblers (there were more migrants here than on the cays) and a couple more pairs of Giant Kingbirds, we eventually found a small nesting colony of Cuban Parakeets. Nick having soaked up the views he wanted, we then hotfooted ourselves to Zapata. (Given the high-speed nature of our trip, we didn’t even have time to pop in and see Pedro Regalado, sadly.) A stop at La Boca produced some great looks at Fernandina’s Flicker, some Cuban Orioles (another recent split) and more Cuban Martins, and then at Punta Perdiz we put Cuban Pygmy Owl to rest. We arrived at our hotel, at Playa Girón, simultaneously with a large group of French Canadian birders and sometime later Derek Scott and BirdQuest arrived too. It was also good to see my old partner in crime, Arturo Kirkconnell, who’d agreed to join up with us for the last couple of days. The evening was spent chasing the resident Stygian Owls around the grounds, but sadly the only views were very distant.
April 4. A rare pre-dawn start saw as at the entrance to the Bermejas reserve to tape out the last singing Cuban Nightjar of the night. Following reasonable looks, we got into position for Blue-headed Quail-Dove. However, this was to prove the first bird to ‘misbehave’ on the trip. Group after group had been ‘ticking them off’ recently, but we had no luck all day. That there were upwards of 30+ other birders searching too probably didn’t help any of the different groups, but that’s birding. There were plenty other things to see. Cuban Parakeets were buzzing around, several Bee Hummingbirds and a pair of Fernandina’s Flickers were showing nicely by the ‘car park’, a Bare-legged Owl did his or her thing, and Grey-headed Quail-Doves were proving just about impossible to miss.
April 5. We were anxious to keep trying for Blue-headed Quail-Dove, but also mindful of two other important endemics, so early morning was spent at Turba, where after one false start with a wren that failed to show we got decent looks at both Zapata Wren and Red-shouldered Blackbird, whilst Spotted Rails were heard but not seen. The rest of the morning was spent travelling back towards Playa Girón, stopping en route at just about every potential Starnoenas locality that Arturo and I could think of, Los Sábalos, Molina etc. etc., but all drew a blank, other than near-bucket loads of Grey-headed Quail-Doves and another Bare-legged Owl. The afternoon was spent hammering away at Blue-headed, but there was still no joy, and Nick even managed to miss the only Indigo Buntings of the trip (which, given he’d not been birding the States, was more of a ‘miss’ than it might otherwise have been). In the evening, however, the Stygian Owl was at last ‘playing ball’ being perched for sometime in a large tree right by the swimming pool.
April 6. ‘Last-chance saloon’ for Blue-headed Quail-Dove and the last ‘seeable’ endemic to get! I wasn’t in the best of sorts as somehow the ridge of my glasses had broken in the night, which meant I had to wear my sunglasses even in the pre-dawn darkness. As Nick had to be at the airport by just after midday, we had limited time to spend at Bermejas. Once again nada. We walked back to the car somewhat disconsolately, when suddenly two pigeon-like birds on the track were, after all, not just more Zenaida Doves or Grey-headed Quail-Doves, but a pair of Starnoenas. We soaked them up for the best part of ten minutes before one of the birds flew up into a tree and the other eventually walked off into the undergrowth. Arturo and my immediate thought that the bird had flown to a nest proved correct when we walked down the track to check it. A beautiful day for Nick. However, what happened next was perhaps even more surprising. Even though it was sunny, I was getting a bit sick of having to walk around like Bono with sunglasses permanently on, so Arturo took me into Bermejas where he found a guy with some piece of kit that was probably an artefact from the 1950s. Museum piece or not, it did the trick, and Mr Fix-it wanted all of a peso for his trouble. Needless to say I gave him 10 CUCs and felt I’d still gotten a bargain. Despite a puncture through having driven over too many crabs (this is the season of their migration to and from the shore across a ‘busy for Cuba’ road; it’s almost worth getting a puncture just to see how the resourceful Cuban tyre mechanic fixes it…with condoms, I kid you not), we still managed to arrive at the airport in good time for Nick’s flight. Job done!Obviously, with more luck on Blue-headed Quail-Dove, the really time-challenged birder could probably shave another day off the week we spent. However, I have to say that Cuba’s got more than enough going for it, other than the birding, to make a longer stay well recommended.
I haven’t posted any photos with this report, but I spent some time with my friend, Will Price, prior to doing this trip and you can see photographs of a great many of the endemics on his web space at http://www.pbase.com/tereksandpiper. I’ve also posted a few notes on sites, taxonomy and conservation to accompany his pics.
Central Brazilian Amazonia, 6—23 December 2007 Following October in southern Brazil, November and the first days of December in Ecuador, we took the early-morning TAM flight from Rio de Janeiro to Manaus on the morning of 6 December, arriving around lunchtime. This was my third trip to the Manaus region, but Hadoram’s first photographic trip to the area. We visited three main areas, one of which have only just come ‘on tap’ to birders (Tupana), and another (Anavilhanas Jungle Lodge) that offers an alternative means of accessing the Anavilhanas archipelago (in the ‘old days’ it meant several nights on a boat). We flew back to Rio on 24 December, spent Xmas there, and then continued to north-west Argentina in the New Year. Anavilhanas Jungle Lodge (6–12 December) This recently (2007) opened lodge lies immediately opposite the Anavilhanas archipelago, on the right (west) bank of the Rio Negro, close to the village of Novo Airão. The lodge provides transportation from Manaus, which is c.3 hours away by road, as part of its package. Accommodation is spacious and relatively luxurious, with good food to boot, and being close to a small town it has a constant electricity supply. There is even a swimming pool! Birds right around the lodge include the pallens form of Snethlage’s Tody-Tyrant Hemitriccus minor (probably a good split), Yellow-crested Manakin (common) Heterocercus flavivertex, White-winged Potoo Nyctibius leucopterus and Spectacled Owl Pulsatrix perspicillata. The very pleasant owner, Augusto, is keen to attract birders and plans to construct a tower in the not too distant future. Despite only having been open a few months, at the time of our visit, the lodge was receiving plenty of non-birding custom, so it would certainly be advisable to book in advance. The lodge, of course, makes a fine base to visit the Anavilhanas archipelago and virtually all of the key specialties (e.g. Zimmer’s Woodcreeper Xiphorhynchus kienerii, Ash-breasted Antbird Myrmoborus lugubris, Leaden Myrmotherula assimilis, Klages’ M. klagesi and Cherrie’s Antwrens M. cherriei, etc.) of the islands can be found on a relatively short boat ride from the lodge. In addition, by boat one can also visit várzea forest in an igarapé on the west bank of the Negro, c.15 minutes downstream of the lodge. Andrew Whittaker has discovered Chestnut-headed Nunlet Nonnula amaurocephala in this area, but we were unsuccessful in finding it, despite using playback. We did see several Fiery Topazes Topaza pyra. Birding the sandy-belt terra firme on the road into the lodge, and surrounding trails, despite appearing somewhat ‘scrappy’, is also worthwhile. Rio Negro Gnatcatcher Polioptila facilis and Spot-backed Antwren Herpsilochmus dorsimaculatus are regular constituents of mixed flocks, Pompadour Cotinga Xipholena punicea is frequently seen along the entrance road, Brown-banded Puffbird Notharchus ordii can be found close to the first igarapé downstream of the lodge, we had a couple of sightings of Bar-bellied Woodcreeper Hylexetastes stresemanni, whilst hordes of Festive Parrots Amazona festiva overfly the area at dusk. A reasonable selection of understorey Thamnophilidae includes White-cheeked Gymnopithys leucaspis and Yellow-browed Antbirds Hypocnemis hypoxantha (the latter positively abundant). White-crested Spadebill Platyrinchus platyrhynchos was obvious at the time of our visit. At least 300 species have been found in the area to date, despite very few ornithological visitors. We spent five full days and two half days at the lodge. Those purely on a birding trip, with no photographic agenda, could certainly see the key birds in a shorter time period. Note that a visit in July / August is liable to be best. Presidente Figueiredo (13–16 December) We had a lot of rain during our time here, which undoubtedly affected our photographic success. Like most if not all visitors, we stayed at the Iracema Falls Hotel, a few km north of the town, and which is probably the best accommodation, despite its unprepossessing appearance. The on-site is adequate, if not exceptional, and the staff were keen to get off home early while we were present, which meant that we frequently ate earlier than we wished to. One night we went into Presidente Figueiredo, but the only half-decent restaurants that I could remember were all shut! There is good birding in the morning along the hotel driveway; we looked unsuccessfully for Dusky Purpletuft here (the species is regularly present along here in July / August). We had a very showy pair of Plumbeous Euphonia Euphonia plumbea, which we photographed, close to the entrance itself. The trail off to the left immediately beside the chalets is also a good area for birding; we saw Grey-winged Trumpeter Psophia crepitans and Olive-green Tyrannulet Phylloscartes virescens along here, as well as plenty of antbirds and other interesting species. However, in general, the birding was definitely slower than on other visits I have made to this area in August. Guianan Cock-of-the-Rocks Rupicola rupicola were nesting in the usual area close to the small waterfall, and we got good photos of both sexes. In the past I’ve seen Collared Puffbird Bucco capensis and some other interesting species in this area, but it’s best not to come here at weekends, when the area is packed with day-trippers from Presidente Figueiredo. Although it has appeared closed for some years, it is still possible to visit the Parque Ecológico Lajes, which lies just south of the hotel on the left-hand side of the road if travelling towards Presidente Figueiredo. However, it is best to ring the owner in advance or visit a day or so in advance of when you wish to actually bird there. Willis’s Antbird Cercomacra laeta can be seen in the undergrowth right by the road outside the parque’s perimeter and the Mauritia palms have Sulphury Flycatchers Tyrannopsis sulphurea in attendance. The rocky campina inside the park can produce species typical of the habitat such as White-naped Seedeater Dolospingus fringilloides, but I’ve failed on both my visits, and on this trip we were completely ‘wiped out’ by rain on the day we visited the area. However, one of the highlights of the trip (for me) was identifying several White-chinned Swifts Cypseloides cryptus, amongst a large flock of other swifts at the entrance to the park one afternoon. This species had only recently been discovered in Brazil, by Andy Whittaker, in the same general area. As Andy and his son have found a breeding colony, future observers should clearly be on the lookout for the species. Due to current access difficulties, we didn’t visit the INPA ZF2 tower or the same organisation’s reserves north of Manaus, but Hadoram got perfect photographs of Point-tailed Palmcreeper Berlepschia rikeri at one of the many suitable palm groves between Presidente Figueiredo and Manaus. The reserves (and the tower) are certainly well recommended, although Crimson Fruitcrow is much harder in this area than it perhaps used to be. Tupana Lodge (17–22 December) Situated in the Madeira–Purus interfluvium, south of the Amazon, Tupana Lodge offers relatively basic but not inexpensive accommodation at the edge of the agricultural frontier on the road from Manaus to Porto Velho. It takes roughly four hours to reach the lodge from Manaus, including ferry crossings. The accommodation is simple but clean and adequate; power is supplied by a generator. An interesting feature is the ‘upstairs deck’ above the rooms and dining area, which permits reasonable views of the surrounding canopy. Early-morning watches, especially, produced reasonably regular sightings of Kawall’s Amazon Amazona kawalli, Scarlet-shouldered Parrotlet Touit huetii, Short-tailed Parrot Graydidascalus brachyurus, Chestnut-capped Bucco macrodactylus and White-necked Puffbirds Notharcus hyperrhynchus, many tanagers (including the rare Dotted Tanager Tangara varia), White-browed Purpletuft Iodopleura isabellae, Chestnut Celeus elegans jumana and Scaly-breasted Woodpeckers C. grammicus, a pair of White-browed Hawks Leucopternis kuhli at a nest (previously undescribed; paper published in a recent volume of Ornitol. Neotrop.), Curl-crested Aracari Pteroglossus beauharnaesii, as well as two undescribed species, one a new Hemitriccus (set to be described by Mario Cohn-Haft), the other a Herpsilochmus (and also set to be described by Mario, and different to that originally discovered in Rondônia during the Field Museum expeditions in the 1980s). Black Antbird Cercomacra serva and Peruvian Warbling Antbird Hypocnemis peruviana are also common around the lodge clearing. The lodge has a very long trail system covering many tens of kms, although there are only a handful of different trails that you can easily cover. December is probably a relatively quiet time, compared to July or August, in terms of song, but large mixed-species flocks, which frequently contained Citron-bellied Attila Attila citriniventris, were regularly encountered fairly close the lodge (as at Anavilhanas Jungle Lodge, there are plans to build a tower at this locality). Obligate ant-following antbirds are a major feature: White-throated Antbird Gymnopithys salvini seemed common in terra firme with many small palms, as was an ‘unscaled’ form of Scale-backed Antbird Willisornis poecilinotus griseiventris. Less frequently encountered were Sooty Antbird Myrmeciza fortis and Hairy-crested Antbird Rhegmatorhina melanosticta. Elegant Woodcreeper Xiphorhynchus elegans was very common, and Bar-bellied Woodcreeper Hylexetastes stresemanni was seen a couple of times during our six-day visit. Pearly Antshrike Megastictus margaritatus was a reasonably common constituent of the midstorey, especially in areas with palms, but the vocally different form of Undulated Antshrike Frederickena unduligera here never came to playback (always singing from some distance off). Andrew Whittaker (Andrew@birdingbraziltours.com) is preparing a bird list for the lodge; please contact him with your sightings should you visit the area.
Female Ocellated Poorwill Nyctiphrynus ocellatus, Cristalino Jungle Lodge, Mato Grosso, Brazil, August 2007, © Will Price(http://pbase.com/tereksandpiper)
Golden-headed Lion Tamarin Leontopitheceus chrysomelas, Una Biological Reserve, Bahia, Brazil, October 2004, © Jonathan Price
Brazil, 28 October November 2006: to photograph 600 species of birds in a month
This was a private tour that I arranged for Hadoram Shirihai, as part of his work on a new and ongoing project with Hans Jornvall on the bird of the world. It was the first serious photographic trip that Hadoram had made in South America and unofficially we had set ourselves the target of him photographing 600 species.
28 October. Hadoram had arrived in Brazil the night before and we'd met up at his hotel in the Zona Sul. Typically he'd reached the hotel first, despite my leaving my house in São Conrado at the same time his plane was due to land; the Friday night traffic was typically atrocious (I always manage to forget how bad it can be). On the Saturday, the day dawned wet and windy (a somewhat inauspicious start, rather like Hadoram's first, non-photographic, visit to Brazil some years back when I don't think it stopped raining for the first two weeks!). Nevertheless, we set off for Serra dos Órgãos National Park hopeful that the weather might clear up, and by the time we stopped to get some salgados on the climb up to Teresópolis the sun was out, allowing Hadoram to make an impromptu start to his photographic task (we'll gloss over the fact that the first bird was a Tropical Kingbird; you have to commence somewhere). We decided to bird the lower entrance to the national park, which is usually quieter at weekends, and within a couple of hours or so we'd racked up 20 or so species photographed, amongst them neat species such as Saw-billed Hermit, Star-throated Antwren, Grey-hooded Attila, Rufous-capped Motmot and Eye-ringed Tody-Tyrant. However, things then really started to slow down, so we decided to hotfoot it back to Rio and spend the last part of the day at my local patch, Tijuca National Park. This was pretty quiet too, but we did eventually manage some nice work with the nominate race of Long-billed Wren, which was the main target, as well as Spot-breasted Antvireo and Yellow-lored Tody-Flycatcher.
29 October. Early start for the airport and our flight to Cuiabá, via Brasília. We reached Cuiabá about lunchtime and then spent more time than we should have done hiring a car and getting through the city (despite the lack of traffic), but eventually we were on our way southeast towards Águas Quentes State Park, which was to be our base the next couple of nights. En route we picked off a number of common birds, and had some time to explore the road down to Barão de Melgaço, but sadly some of the better birds seen today, like Yellow-faced Parrot, Great Rufous Woodcreeper, Nacunda Nighthawk and Tataupa Tinamou, were all missed. (By missed, I mean that they weren't photographed.) We don't reach our lodging in the park until after dark, so we have our evening meal and then turn in early.
30 October. Much to the shock of the old 'gadger' next door, I drag (not literally) Hadoram out, somewhat unsuitably attired, to start the day's work with the Thrush-like Wrens, Pale-crested Woodpeckers and Black-fronted Nunbirds, all of which are to be seen from the door of our chalet. We spend the entire day in the state park, which is a pleasant place to photograph birds; there are few people around, wide trails and a reasonable variety of birds common to the habitat. However, as photographers will know, getting a decent for publication shot even of a common bird can take time and effort, especially as Hadoram's brief is also to photograph distinctive male and female plumages etc. The evening is livened up by the arrival of my friend, Marcos Raposo and two of his students, who are working a nearby area for the Museu Nacional, Rio de Janeiro.
31 October. We spend the morning in the state park, again mainly photographing common birds, before heading back towards Cuiabá and then on towards the Transpantaneira. En route we pick off some good photographic opportunities with a Pearl Kite and a group of Blue-and-yellow Macaws. We spend the last period of daylight on the road through the northern Pantanal 'dealing' with more roadside species, such as Long-tailed Ground Dove, Greater Rhea and a variety of herons. Chances of photographing Upland Sandpiper and Golden-collared Macaw go missing, as Hadoram is busy chasing some Whistling Herons round a field at the time. We are still some way short of our final destination, the SESC reserve near Porto Cercado, when darkness falls, but we are rewarded with a somewhat long-range view of a Jaguar crossing the dirt road en route to the hotel.
1 November. Having persuaded the reserve staff that we can be trusted to go out alone, we are given the run of the nearby boardwalk trail, which is where we commence the morning, racking up a good list of Pantanal passerines photographed: Mato Grosso Antbird (both sexes), Band-tailed Antbird, Grey-crested Cachalote (breeding in the hotel grounds), Plain Tyrannulet, Helmeted Manakin, Red-crested and Yellow-billed Cardinals, Arrowhead Piculet, Ashy-headed Greenlet, White-lored Spinetail etc. A Little Cuckoo is the one miss on the photographic front (two years later and we still haven't managed to photograph this species!), and mammals are led by a Giant Otter in the river. We spent the afternoon birding the dirt road into the reserve, which is excellent for cracids, including the Brazilian endemic, Chestnut-bellied Guan. After our success the previous night, we decide to try a nocturnal drive for cats, and a playful Ocelot is our reward. Both sexes of Pauraque are duly photographed, but a staked out Great Horned Owl and Common Potoo don't make the grade, so we need to photograph these again another time.
2 November. We repeat yesterday's winning combination of a morning on the boardwalk and an afternoon driving the road and using the car as a hide. Photographic successes include: a Stripe-necked Tody-Tyrant (nest building ---- I see that HBW 9 claims that the nest is undescribed; one more job to do!), Chaco Chachalaca, White-eyed Attila, nesting Jabirus (rapidly becoming Hadoram's favourite bird) and Blue-throated Piping Guan, but we miss out on Red-throated Piping Guan and a Veery which I alone see (apparently a first record for the Pantanal ecoregion). By the end of the day, we are already up to almost 120 species photographed.
3 November. After an early morning exploring the riverbank in front of the hotel, which yields a few new seedeaters, as well as both sexes of Unicoloured Blackbird, we head off back towards the Transpantaneira, pausing at some woodland, where even in the heat of the day both sexes of Large-billed Antwren are easily called in for the photographer. We spend most of the rest of the day on the Transpantaneira, taking any photographic chances as they come. The time of year is not the best for waterbirds, but we are picking up most of them as we go along, albeit not in large numbers (but the name of this particular game is only the total number of species). We end the day with a pleasant boat trip, along the rio Pixaim, from our base at Fazenda Santa Teresa. Both Red-throated and Blue-throated Piping Guans are common along the banks, and we also have nice encounters with a family of Bare-faced Curassows (allowing Hadoram to capture all plumages of this species in one photo) and a superb immature Agami Heron fishing oblivious to us at close range.
4 November. We are back on the boat this morning to visit a Great Potoo that our boatmen knows about. En route we get flight photos of Hyacinth Macaws, several Sunbitterns (a bird that it really is impossible to become bored by) and a shy immature Boat-billed Heron. The potoos are, typically, ensconced, but we also enjoy good fortune with a photogenic Rusty-fronted Tody-Flycatcher. Much of the rest of the day is spent along the Transpantaneira, filling in as many gaps as possible. En route back to Cuiabá we finally find a perched Hyacinth Macaw, which proves amenable to having its photo taken.
5 November. We spend the morning exploring some cerrado close to the city of Cuiabá. This doesn't prove exceptionally successful, as the day is uncharacteristically miserable weather-wise, but Hadoram gets some nice shots of Coal-crested and Red-crested Finches, and reasonable images of Curl-crested Jay. The only Guira Tanager of the trip is sadly placed in the rejected folder! We are back at Cuiabá in good time for our flight to Alta Floresta. Getting to the Cristalino takes the rest of the day.
6 November. Up early with our local guide, Jorge, for a visit to the tower. Anyone who's birded the Amazon knows that towers are nigh-on essential to get to grips with some species, but for photography this is even truer. Although our few hours at the tower this morning cannot be deemed classic, they provide the opportunity to photograph both sexes of Black-girdled Barbet, Lettered, Red-necked and Curl-crested Aracaris, White-bellied Parrot, and Spix's Guan. The rest of the morning is spent successfully working on Crimson-bellied Parakeet and Musician Wren. In the afternoon, we take a short river trip that provides stunning views and photographs of Zigzag Heron, a roosting Common Potoo, and less-good photos of a male Bare-necked Fruitcrow.
7 November. Today is spent on the Serra trail and along the river. The latter produces exceptional photographs of a Red-throated Piping Guan on a rock in the middle of river, as well as Ladder-tailed Nightjar, a female Silvered Antbird, and Red-capped Cardinal. The trail is reasonably busy, with Bare-eyed Antbird, Yellow-browed Tody-Flycatcher, Rufous Casiornis and both sexes of Yellow-browed Antbird all photographed. We have less photographic success with Bronzy Jacamar, Golden-crowned Spadebill, Black-spotted Bare-eye and Dusky-cheeked Foliage-gleaner. Back at the lodge, a Blackish Nightjar is roosting on the roof of our bungalow, but a flock of Dusky-billed Parrotlets is less 'helpful'.
8 November. The morning is spent on the Haffer trail. We soon find a Snow-capped Manakin or two, but despite much effort we still don't achieve a really decent photo. Manu Antbird is heard-only, a pair of Plain-throated Antwrens just refuses to perch in the right place, and a group of Sapphire-rumped Parrotlets belts over without stopping; it's one of those days. Even a big flock at the end of the trail does little to bolster our spirits. However, in the afternoon we try a few stake-outs and pick off Glossy Antshrike, Dot-backed Antwren, Brown Jacamar, Amazonian Inezia and Flame-crested Manakin.
9 November. Our last morning in our whistle-stop trip to the Cristalino is spent back at the tower, but there is not much activity except for a couple of Cryptic Forest Falcons that are 'duetting' close by. Hadoram is nothing if not determined and despite the fact that we have heard this species every day of our time here without a sniff decides that we need to redouble efforts. He's eventually rewarded with good photos of not one but two individuals of this recently described (but widespread) raptor. We finish off our time on the Cristalino with a brief walk along the river, which gets us close, but not close enough, to a pair of Amazonian Razor-billed Curassows, great looks (but rejected photos) of Banded Antbird (there's just not enough light on this overcast day), a too-brief Rufous-necked Puffbird, and one, undisputed, success, perfect photos of that most magnificent of woodcreepers, Nasica, the Long-billed Woodcreeper. It's then onto the boat, back to Alta Floresta and then the plane back to Cuiabá, from where we drive to the Chapada dos Guiramães.
10 November. Early morning on the Água Fria road. We miss out on photographing Rufous-sided Pygmy Tyrant, and Hadoram is occupied with photographing something else when the only Horned Sungem of the morning puts in an appearance. However, many other regular cerrado birds of this locality prove more photogenic: Chapada Flycatcher, White-banded and White-rumped Tanagers, Rufous-winged Antshrike and a variety of elaenias are all 'bagged'. We need to be back in Cuiabá for our next flight, so we are soon on our way again. To get to our next destination, Porto Velho, the capital of Rondônia, we actually have to return to Brasília, so, coupled with a delay, it is not until midnight that we hit the sack in a hotel in Porto Velho.
11 November. It's another wet start to the day, but as we drive to our destination, Guajará-Mirim, on the border with Bolivia, we see that the weather has brought a huge fallout of Purple Martins, a bird not actually mentioned in the literature for Rondônia. We spend virtually all day getting to Pakaas Palafitas lodge on the rio Marmoré although virtually all of the forest is gone along our route, there are opportunities for photographing other species. We also find another first state record, a Semipalmated Plover, a very rare bird inland in South America, which was sharing a roadside pool with a stack of yellowlegs and Pectoral Sandpipers.
12 November. Pakaas Palafitas is a rather unusual lodge, being seemingly almost entirely constructed of wood; all of the other guests seem to be Bolivian. There is a nice boardwalk around the lodge, which provides enough birds to keep us going the whole day. Amongst them are the resident pair of Chestnut (Purus) Jacamars, point-blank views of Tui Parakeets, Golden-fronted Piculet, Bluish-necked Jacamar, Speckled Chachalaca, Zimmer's Tody-Tyrant, both sexes of Amazonian Antshrike, Dusky-headed Parakeet and a pair of Black-throated Antbirds that take a great deal of work to get anything on. A Black Hawk-Eagle, the only one of the trip, doesn't give us a chance for a photograph, but a pair of Zone-tailed Hawks is more cooperative.
13 November. The day starts badly with a female Amazonian Umbrellabird right outside our room, which doesn't give Hadoram chance for a photo. We spend part of the morning at a nearby patch of forest, which proves reasonably rewarding, with both sexes of Rondônia Warbling Antbird and Southern Chestnut-tailed Antbird posing for the photographer, a Ruddy-tailed Flycatcher nest building, our second race of Dot-winged Antwren photographed on the trip, but another chance at Banded Antbird goes untaken, as the bird just won't come in. The rest of the day is spent on the river and the boardwalk. We have no luck photographing any of the three Sungrebes seen, but we have a better luck with a reasonable variety of other species, including a superb male Long-winged Harrier, which is notable for being rather late for an austral migrant.
14 November. We depart the lodge very early for a patch of forest en route to Porto Velho. There is a Southern Tawny-bellied Screech Owl singing right outside the room as we pack-up, but we decide to keep to our plan rather than trying to photograph it. We don't have great luck at the forested area. Another Black-throated Antbird gives us the runaround, without ever 'posing' for photos, we only get long shots at a Red-necked Woodpecker, a Snow-capped Manakin is too brief, and a huge flock with White-winged Shrike Tanager, Black-girdled Barbets and many others is too far away to photograph anything at all! That's about it for Rondônia, as we have to get back to Porto Velho and our flight to Rio de Janeiro.
15 November. Our trusty driver, Eduardo, collects us from our hotel early in the morning and we head off for Praia Seca. Our intention is to photograph Restinga Antwren and then proceed north to Minas Gerais. However, the antwrens are playing hard to get. As ever, there's no problem finding the birds, but getting an acceptable photo of the female proves to be a real runaround, so we decide to work on a few others birds in the local area, and then proceed to Teresópolis to spend the night. In the end we manage to get both sexes of the Formicivora, as well as Sooretama Slaty Antshrike, Chestnut-backed Antshrike and Hangnest Tody-Tyrant. We are behind schedule, but at least the birds are 'done'.
16 November. First port of call is a regular site for Three-toed Jacamar, and these are quickly photographed, along with a Crescent-chested Puffbird and a handful of other common species. Our overnight destination is the Serra do Caraça, so it's another day mainly of travelling, but we have some time towards the end of the day in the forest at Caeté, where a few typical Atlantic Forest birds do pose for the camera, including White-shouldered Fire-eye and Rufous Gnateater.
17 November. First thing in the morning we are busy working on the local Slaty-breasted Wood Rails, when we are surprised to see Andy Whittaker, who is here leading his VENT group. But, he's even more surprised to bump into Hadoram for the first time in about 25 years, when Andy was volunteering in Eilat! We spend the whole day in the vicinity of the monastery, which provides plenty of new birds photographed, amongst them: Pale-throated Serra Finch, Red-ruffed Fruitcrow, Swallow-tailed Cotinga, Serra Antwren, Green-backed Becard, Red-eyed Thornbird, Velvety Black Tyrant, and many others. A highly convivial evening with Andy.
18 November. Following an early morning working on the local tapaculos, White-breasted and Mouse-coloured, we head off north towards Pirapora. Our one main birding stop of the day is near Lassance, where we pick off a number of common birds of this region, including Campo Troupial, Grey Pileated Finch, and the female of the Coal-crested Finch. We spend the night in Pirapora.
19 November. We spend the whole day along the road to the rio das Velhas, south of Pirapora. At least 30 new species are photographed during the day, which is something of a recent record. Highlights include: Minas Gerais Tyrannulet, Scarlet-throated Tanager, Henna-capped Foliage-gleaner, Rusty-breasted Nunlet, White-striped Warbler, Black-capped Antwren, and Planalto Slaty Antshrike. Almost ten new species are photographed in one 'flock' of birds responding to my Ferruginous Pygmy Owl! Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, we are unable to photograph Forbes's Blackbird or Plain-tailed Nighthawk, both of which are also seen. Night in Pirapora.
20 November. Early morning is spent along the road to Lagoa dos Patos, but we are driven back to town by heavy rain. Although we do manage a few new species, amongst them the local race of Chotoy Spinetail, Dark-billed Cuckoo, the north-east Brazilian race of Barred Antshrike, and the endemic Stripe-breasted Starthroat, others such as Stripe-backed Antbird and Tawny-crowned Pygmy Tyrant will not perform properly. Having done well the previous day, we decide to head south to the Serra do Cipó, where we arrive in time to spend some time photographing swifts (White-collared and Biscutate) at the foot of the serra in the nice evening light. We are able to ignore the Henna-capped Foliage-gleaner singing behind us.
21 November. Our efforts at the birds on the top of the serra are somewhat dashed by poor weather. Although we manage reasonable images of Hyacinth Visorbearer and perfect photos of Grey-backed Tachuri, most of the other specialties that we still need will not pose for photos in the strong wind and heavy rain showers. We have a 'go' lower down, but even here it is very windy and none of the Horned Sungems I find stays, whilst a Yellow-billed Blue Finch does not hang round to have his portrait taken. The rest of the day is spent driving (through the rain) back to Teresópolis.
22 November. We've decided to give the national park another go and this proves a reasonable plan. Other than a break for lunch in town, we spend most of the day walking the road inside Serra dos Órgãos National Park. The Giant Antshrikes, Sharpbill and Black-and-gold Cotinga won't come in, but birds that do 'play ball' for photos include Pin-tailed Manakin, White-collared Foliage-gleaner, Uniform Finch, Bicoloured Hawk, Large-headed Flatbill and Yellow-eared Woodpecker. We spend the evening in Rio, enabling Eduardo to say hello to his wife and us both to catch up on e-mails.
23 November. Hopeful of better weather, we drive along the coast to Mambucaba to try our luck with Black-hooded Antwren. Just like the Restinga Antwrens a week ago, finding the birds is not difficult, but getting good photos takes time, and in the end we only come away with a male (in fact we see very few females and wonder whether most might be on nests). (Typically, we returned to the site in 2007 and photographed a female easily, albeit a month or so earlier in the year!) Night in Parati.
24 November. The morning is spent at Fazenda Santa Maria, Trindade. Typically we get rained out and this proves to be the only time I've ever visited this site and neither seen nor heard Salvadori's Antwren. Neither will any of the regular pairs of Spot-backed Antshrikes perch long enough for a decent photo! Indeed, there are few compensations, but we do see and photograph the only Spot-billed Toucanet of the trip (a female). The final site of the trip is going to be Itatiaia and as we are going past, we decide to give Mambucaba and the female Black-hooded Antwren another go, with the same result. Nenhum foto! Coisa chata!
25 November. We spend the whole day on the Agulhas Negras road. However many times one spends on this road in the high part of Itatiaia National Park, it always produces exciting birding. With reasonable weather, we do pretty well for photographs---Black-capped Piprites, Large-tailed Antshrike, Serra do Mar Tyrant-Manakin, Itatiaia Thistletail (I just can't think of this bird as a spinetail), Plovercrest, Rufous-backed Antvireo, Brown-breasted Bamboo Tyrant, Serra do Mar Tyrannulet and Sharp-tailed Streamcreeper (which has a nest in the same place it always seems to) are all successfully worked on. Many others go down on the seen or heard list (which passed 800 on the entire trip), but don't count as they are not photographed.
26 November. We wake to steady, but not quite torrential rain. The great thing about the Hotel do Ype is that even when it’s raining, you can still bird from the terrace, watching the birds coming to the feeders. Of course, we prefer not to photograph really wet birds or individuals actually on the feeders... So, no surprises but a steady number of new birds photographed, and after the usual handsome lunch the rain's eased off enough to give the Hotel Donati trail a crack. We pick up a number of new birds, although the light is too bad to get a shot of any of the regular pairs of Fork-tailed Tody-Tyrants, which are too high and too heavily obscured in the bamboo. The biggest surprise is a Black-capped Piprites down at 950 m so late in the year; I'd expect them to be all up high at this time, but a male Stripe-breasted Starthroat feeding at flowers in the grounds of our hotel is also pretty unusual, being c.300 m above its usual altitudinal range.
Male Black-and-gold Cotinga Tijuca atra, Itatiaia National Park, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, October 2005, © Guy Kirwan
27 November. Our final morning is spent back on the Agulhas Negras road, working on Rufous-tailed Antbird, which gave us the runaround two days ago. It's not much better today, although Hadoram eventually gets something on a female. There are plenty of Uniform Finches around, and we both see a male Blackish-blue Seedeater for a short period but too quick for a photo sadly; this is a rare bird that it's a shame to miss. True to form the Speckle-breasted Antpitta won't give us a real chance for a photograph either! Come lunchtime and the birding has slowed down; we look at each other and admit we're both knackered and ready to call it day. Our final total of species photographed was a little way off our pre-trip target, but at 547 species photographed to publication quality, this was still pleasing.
Ornifolks in Carajás: September 2006
In picking over the many highlights, let’s get a couple of the disappointments out of the way; first, the Harpy Eagle nest I found back in December 2005 had been abandoned a couple of months before our arrival, and, secondly, a Crested Eagle in the same area of forest remained, frustratingly, a heard-only. The ‘frustration’ list also numbered two encounters with Peruvian Recurvebill, neither of which offered a perfect look, or to all. Compensations were, however, multifarious. Black-chested Tyrant, of which we had perfect views of a pair on our first morning in the field, did not even feature in most participants’ top five birds of the trip! Families that rarely disappoint at Carajás are woodcreepers and antbirds. We logged an incredible 16 species of Dendrocolaptidae and a summed total of 35 Formicariidae and Thamnophilidae. Amongst the latter, the Banded Antbird that came in for the stunning looks we craved, after one false start; several encounters with Sclater’s Antwren (not only a new bird for the region and a neat range extension, but also apparently a vocally quite different population; they also vary across the Madeira); and that simply ‘pumping’ Amazonian Antpitta (we could see the blood vessels in its neck expanding and contracting as it sang), were some of the principal highlights.
Male Black-chested Tyrant Taeniotriccus andrei, Serra dos Carajás, Pará, Brazil, September 2006, © Will Price (http://www.pbase.com/tereksandpiper)
Then there was the Amazonian Pygmy Owl that came bounding into the tape, only to be mobbed by a Dot-eared Coquette; a couple of a really neat sightings of Yellow-shouldered Grosbeak; a surprise Xenopsaris (one of two new species for Carajás found in the space of minutes, and another range extension); a Russet-crowned Crake atop a bush in the cerrado on the same morning (unfortunately only Hemme and I got to savour that one); great looks at a group of White-crested Guans parading on the road at dusk; so many perfect sightings of Bare-faced Curassow that we were almost sick of them (really!); a couple of missile-like views of the recently described (but proven widespread) Cryptic Forest Falcon; several 'scope views of the rare and endemic Pearly Parakeet; five species of jacamars and eight puffbirds, including Rufous-capped (Grey-cheeked) Nunlet and a couple of brief sightings of the rare Rufous-necked Puffbird; lots of ace woodpeckers including four species of Celeus; three different day-roosting Great Potoos (always a crowd-pleaser); that surprise Slate-headed Tody-flycatcher whilst we were lunching on our last full day; a very tape-responsive Black-and-white Tody-Tyrant; a couple of nice looks at the generally rare, but seemingly easy here, Blackish Pewee; several magical male Opal-crowned Manakins; stacks of cotingas; a Point-tailed Palmcreeper that, at first, held out on us then did its ‘thang’ and, finally, as we had to work so hard for it (compared to usual), that Black-bellied Gnateater that eventually played for us so nicely, after seemingly innumerable heard-only and non-tape-responsive individuals.
I mustn’t forget the mammals either (at least 13 species), and those of you fortunate enough to see the Puma that was on the road in front of us one morning as we rounded a tight corner will certainly not! But there were also two superlative daytime encounters with Brazilian Tapir and those 15 minutes spent up-close and personal with the Southern Tamandua remained one of the trip highlights for me; I just love that animal!
Out of diversity springs success, I try and remember to convince myself. Due to an airline error, we had an unscheduled day in Rio during which we visited Tijuca and Serra dos Órgãos national parks, took our total species list for the trip well over the 400 mark, and saw a bunch of neat Atlantic Forest endemics and significant others, from the rare and diminutive Unicoloured Antwren to the gigantic show-off Giant Antshrike.
Brazilian Tapir Tapirus terrestris, Serra dos Carajás, Pará, Brazil, September 2006, © Will Price (http://www.pbase.com/tereksandpiper)
Campamento Junglaven, southern Venezuela, December 2006
During 23 December 2006, I arranged a trip for myself and four colleagues to Campamento Junglaven on the middle río Ventuari, Amazonas state, Venezuela. The trip formed part of my third visit to the country, following two long trips there in the 1990s. We recorded several species apparently new for the area based on the lists presented in Zimmer & Hilty’s (1997) paper in Orn. Monographs 48 (Studies in Neotropical ornithology honoring Ted Parker), the range maps in Hilty’s Birds of Venezuela (2003), and Dave Sargeant’s privately published list (c.1994), though bird tours (notably Sunbird and Birdquest) continue to visit the area and may well have recorded some of these before. One of the personal highlights was acquiring some neat field experience with Cinnamon Neopipo in reasonably tall terra firme on white-sand (having finally tracked down the beast at Alta Floresta, Brazil, and gotten some experience with the voice helped). The purpose of these notes is simply to draw birders’ attention to the area, once again, and to provide some practical advice to those considering a trip to the region. Additional information can be found at: http://www.birdingpal.org/BBS/viewtopic.php?t=87&sid=301b42aefb93b7c0128acfc565152aa0.
We booked our trip through Chris Sharpe of Birding Venezuela (www.birdvenezuela.com), who set things up perfectly. Rather than taking a scheduled service down to Puerto Ayacucho, we flew direct from Caracas Charallave airport to Junglaven in a six-seater private plane, which provided an amazing appreciation of the country’s landscape, almost skimming the tops of tepuis and putting up Jabirus in the llanos (OK, a slight exaggeration).
There are two camps at Junglaven, the Campamento Junglaven and the Campamento Camani. We flew into the latter and departed from the former. The condition of Camani is superior to Junglaven in terms of the accommodation, but both were acceptable. Electricity is, needless to say, supplied by a generator and there were thankfully no breakdowns during our stay. One recent trip report mentioned how the staff disappeared to the nearest village on a Christmas drinking binge, leaving them somewhat in the lurch for meals etc. We came mentally prepared for the worst. Fortunately, the lady (Nancy) in charge of cooking did not perform a bunk (though the rest of the staff did) and we pulled through without having to draw lots for who got eaten! The food was generally quite acceptable (the soups indeed were excellent) and Nancy did her level best to make meals as varied as possible. Captain Lorenzo, the 80+-year-old owner of Junglaven and a born raconteur, suggested to us that he would in future not open over the Xmas / New Year period because of such problems, but Chris Sharpe will be able to let you know the latest. I didn’t have any problems with biting insects and rarely even needed to apply any spray or cream to ward the beasties off.
I’d recommend to birders that they plan to stay at both camps, rather than just visiting Junglaven, as Camani provides immediate access to some of the 
best savanna areas (one can get most of the cotingids, Pale-bellied Mourner etc. right there at the camp), as well as being a much shorter boat journey to reach some of the better várzea forest replete with Amazonian Black Tyrant, Blackish-gray Antshrike, Spot-backed Antwren and Cherrie’s Antwren, amongst others. Junglaven camp, of course, is far better for accessing the terra firme and the lagoon areas (with Agami and Zigzag Herons virtually ‘on tap’). Some white-sand birds like Black Manakin were common around both camps, but other specialities like Yellow-crowned Manakin (Camani) and Brown-headed Greenlet (Junglaven) appeared to be common only around one or the other. The terra firme forest is too far to comfortably access from Camani camp (as we found), especially if Lorenzo’s truck breaks down (as happened to us), but you can reach tall forest in just five minutes from Junglaven itself. Lorenzo proffered the information that he thought curassows were now rarer than they had been in the past, and likewise primates, because of hunting. I can’t comment on the veracity of that statement, given no previous knowledge (other than what I had read), but we saw the Mitu only twice and likewise the Crax just twice, with one encounter with the Pipile and a couple each with the Ortalis and Penelope. Others talk of seeing tinamous regularly, but we saw one very briefly (and I missed that).
In sum, we recorded c.290 species including quite a few heard-only. Undoubtedly, my having spent a lot of time in Amazonian Brazil recently ensured a higher trip list than might otherwise have been the case. A week at some Amazonian sites in the latter country would produce 50 more species than we recorded at Junglaven, but for those keen on their Venezuela lists or searching for an accessible site to see the Imeri endemics then Junglaven is a great experience, however be prepared for at least one thing to go wrong during your stay. This is Amazonia not Europe or North America.
