We rose early for our flight from Cuiaba back to Sao Paola, from where we had a long transfer to our next accommodation at Trilla dos Tucanos in the Atlantic Rainforest. Although we had visited this forest before, this was a completely different area, and an opportunity to find new species, and hopefully to also find some we had failed to locate on our previous visit.
The journey out of Sao Paolo took some time, with heavy, slow moving traffic, plus we stopped for a long lunch en route, so it was late afternoon before we finally arrived at the hotel. Straight away, it was obvious at the feeders we were going to have great views of some rather special birds, and it was difficult to tear ourselves away to be shown our rooms. In my case, I dumped my case and returned immediately to feast my eyes on the wonderful array of birds.
A Saffron Toucanet munching on fruit was a superb tick, and a bird we had sought in vain on our last trip. Good numbers of Green-headed Tanagers were not new, but with a bold patchwork of vibrant colours, they were beautiful to behold at such close range. A large Yellow-legged Finch joined the feast, then a group of Goggle-eyed Tanagers, the males sporting a striking flame coloured crest.
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| Saffron Toucanet |
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| Green Tanager |
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| Yellow-legged Finch |
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| Goggle-eyed Tanager |
The birds continued to appear thick and fast - Red-crowned Tanager, Masked Water Tyrant, then two new species for the trip, Chestnut-bellied Euphonia and Violaceous Euphonia, both striking birds. Next up were Olive-green Tanagers, rather less showy, followed by Azure-shouldered Tanagers, a familiar species from our previous holiday in the Atlantic rainforest. White-lined Tanagers appeared next, but were completely outclassed by a stunning Red- breasted Toucan which flew into a tree beside the track. And finally a Violet-crowned Woodnymph appeared on the flowers, to conclude a fantastic viewing session.
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| Chestnut-bellied Euphonia |
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| Violaceous Euphonia |
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| Olive-green Tanager |
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| Red-breasted Toucan |
By now I was feeling cold, with the temperature at this higher altitude quite cool, and it soon became clear I was succumbing to the bug which had spread around the bus over recent days. I shivered beneath the blankets, so opted to skip dinner and dosed myself up with paracetamol, hoping to sleep it off ready for birding the next day!
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