PO
Box 9021, Wilmington, DE 19809, USA E-mail: font@focusonnature.com Phone: Toll-free in USA 1-888-721-3555 or 302/529-1876 |
A
focus on Nature Tour
in
SOUTHEAST Brazil
for birds, butterflies,
mammals, and other nature
including thE
Atlantic
Forest
in the hills
at Itatiaia and REGUA
With an OPTIONAL EXTENSION
to
IGUAZU FALLS
In
Southeastern Brazil,
there's an assortment of avian specialties & rarities,
including many birds either endemic to Brazil
or nearly so,
and an equally exciting assortment of butterflies,
including those endemic or nearly so.
The Brassy-breasted Tanager,
in southeastern Brazil,
is endemic to the country.
September
3-11, 2016
(tour:
FON/BR-4, '16)
With the extension
to Iguazu Falls:
September
11-15, 2016
(tour FON/BR-4A)
Tour to be led by Armas Hill, who has birded in Brazil many
times,
during 50 visits to the country.
Links:
A
4-Part List, with some Photos, of Brazilian Birds,
noting those during previous FONT tours:
Part #1: Tinamous to Doves
Part #2: Macaws to Flycatchers
Part #3: Antshrikes to Woodcreepers Part
#4: Vireos to Grosbeaks
List of Birds in Southeast Brazil Rare & Threatened Birds of Brazil (with some photos)
Butterflies of Brazil & Argentina, including those at Iguazu Falls (with some photos)
Brazilian Mammals & Other Wildlife (with some photos)
Highlights of Some Previous FONT Birding & Nature Tours in Brazil
Itinerary (price follows):
Sat, Sep 3: Arrival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. From the airport, travel, not far, only about a couple hours, to a region in southeastern Brazil that is excellent for birds, butterflies, and other nature.
A Yellow-fronted Woodpecker
photographed during a FONT tour in southeast Brazil,
a colorful bird with more than yellow in its plumage.
(photo during a FONT tour by Rosemary Lloyd)
Sun,
Sep 4: Regua will be a great
base for us for this portion of our tour. We'll spend 4 nights there, with 3
full-days in that area.
There will be many species of birds. Among the "better birds"
possible in the area, there are these:
Masked Duck, Giant Snipe, Russet-winged Spadebill, Pin-tailed Manakin,
Eastern Striped Manakin, Salvadori's Antwren, and Elegant Mourner. (The Elegant Mourner has been called the Shrike-like
Cotinga.)
At the grounds of the lodge, feeders will be attracting tanagers, euphonias, a
chlorophonia, and hummingbirds. Many of them.
In the gardens, in addition to parrots, species of birds such as: Crescent-chested
Puffbird, Blond-crested Woodpecker, White Woodpecker, Channel-billed Toucan,
Chestnut-backed Antshrike, and the Long-billed Wren.
The puffbird and the wren are among the birds endemic to southeast Brazil.
After dark, in addition to the Ferruginous Pygmy Owl, these other nocturnal
birds: Tropical Screech Owl, Tawny-browed Owl, and Short-tailed Nighthawk.
Also after dark, we'll make an effort to see a good assortment of moths, some
which will be big or boldly patterned. Some will be both.
At the lodge, and near there, we'll have local guides with expertise relating to
the nature - not just the birds, but also the butterflies and
moths, amphibians
and reptiles, mammals, and plants.
There will be a major emphasis during this tour on the butterflies. About 600
species of butterflies have been found in the area, and about half of them have been found on
accessible land at Regua.
There is a link at the top of this itinerary to a list and photo gallery of
butterflies in the area noting, with codes, those occurring in southeast
Brazil and at Iguazu Falls (another butterfly-rich place to be visited during an
extension to this tour).
The month of May is one of the best times of the year for butterflies in
southeast Brazil.
Overnight at Regua.
Mon & Tue, Sep 5 & 6: Two more
full-days with birds, butterflies, and other nature, in the areas of the
Serra
dos Orgaos National Park. the Tres Picos
Park, and Regua.
Both overnights at Regua.
In addition to the nature already mentioned, another hint as to the richness of
the local fauna of the area, is that the number of Odonata species in the
region, that is the dragonflies and damselflies, is as many as 185, and that is,
as well as known, the "world record" for such species in such an area.
264 species of mammals have been found in the area of Regua,
many of them bats. But also in the area, in the forest, some larger
mammals are Brown-throated Three-toed Sloth, Brown Howler Monkey, and the
Brown Capuchin.
Especially noteworthy in the area is the critically endangered Southern
Muriqui, about the largest and rarest of the New World Monkeys.
The Northern Muriqui has been seen during FONT tours further north in
Brazil, in Minas Gerais. See the Brazil Mammal list, reached by the link
at the top of this itinerary.
Mammals after dark that can be outside the lodge at Regua include the
Lowland Paca and the Crab-eating Fox.
Below are some photographs of just a couple of the many butterflies that
have found at Regua.
These two
butterflies are both skippers.
Above, in the subfamily Pyrrhopyginae,
the Epimochia Glory.
Below, in the subfamily Pyriginae,
the Veined White Skipper
(both photos by Jorge Bizarro)
Wed, Sep
7:
After our last morning at Regua, we'll drive west, about
3 hours, to one of the best birding places in southeastern Brazil, the Itatiaia
National Park.
Birding along the way, and upon arrival at Itatiaia,
in the hills in a different region of the Atlantic Forest.
Again, this area contains a number of birds that
are either Brazilian endemics (or nearly so), or specialties of the
southeast. The first of two overnights in a nice hotel, nestled in the hills, in
the national park of Itatiaia.
Thu, Sep 8: Our first morning at Itatiaia
lshould be a splash of color, at the feeders with quite an assortment of tanagers
and toucanets, euphonias and chlorophonias. And, oh yes, the hummingbirds.
And that's just for starters. Throughout the day, in the forest, there will be
much more, with trogons, motmots, and various flycatchers, furnariids,
and antbirds. Mixed flocks in the forest will provide a number of
interesting species. Overnight at Itatiaia.
Tanagers & Chlorophonias photographed at a feeder
during a FONT Tour in Southeast Brazil
(photo by Dan Coleman)
Fri,
Sep 9:
There's so much birding at Itatiaia that this day will be filled with more. Our
overnight will again be at Itatiaia, but at a different hotel "on the other
side of the mountain".
Sat, Sep 10: This day at Itatiaia
we'll be birding on that "other side of the mountain" -- the side, at
a higher elevation, with the Black-and-gold Cotinga, two species of warbling-finches,
and another cast of avian characters of antbirds, furnariids, and the
like. Among the latter, the Itatiaia namesake, the Itatiaia Thistletail.
And the Black-and-gold
may not be the only Cotinga, as the Red-ruffed Fruitcrow occurs.
Overnight again at our second hotel at Itatiaia.
Sun, Sep 11: This morning we'll have another opportunity for birding along the
Aguilas Negras Road (where we were the previous day), with early morning
giving yet another chance to see some skulkers, such as: 2 species of anthrushes, an antpitta, and a tapaculo.
Later in the day, we'll
head to the international airport in Rio de Janeiro, two hours away.
From there, departure
for home will be on an overnight
flight, either to North America, or wherever home is.
(Arrival back in North
America would be the morning of Monday, Sep 12.)
Or, for
those who wish, an Optional Extension to Iguazu Falls for Birds &
Butterflies:
Iguazu Falls, along the
Brazil-Argentine border,
is a spectacular place,
and the national parks on both sides of the falls
are great for birds, butterflies, and other nature.
Sun, Sep 11: After
a late-day flight from Rio de Janeiro to Foz do Iguazu,
the first of 4 overnights at Iguazu, at a fine hotel with pleasant
grounds, good for enjoying nature, adjacent to the national park.
Mon, Sep 12 thru Wed, Sep 14: In the area of the
spectacular Iguazu Falls, there will be some
wonderful nature for us, including birds, butterflies, and mammals, in the national
parks on both sides of the river in Argentina
& Brazil.
We'll also, during a portion of one day, visit Paraguay,
where there would be a different habitat with some different birds and other
nature.
In the area of Iguazu, numerous birds are to be seen, including toucans,
trogons, and tanagers of various sorts. Some notable other birds
inhabiting the forest would include the Ruff-ruffed Fruitcrow and
Robust Woodpecker. Swarms of Great Dusky Swifts occur at the
falls.
Regarding the butterflies, some to be see are noted in the caption below.
Iguazu Falls is one of the best places anywhere for the observation
and photography of butterflies.
Three more nights (Sep 12, 13, 14) at Iguazu.
Some butterflies photographed during
FONT tour at Iguazu Falls,
above: the Turquoise Emperor
and below: the Spotlight Catone
and an "88", Diatheria clymena.
Among butterflies seen at
Iguazu Falls,
during previous FONT tours, have been these:
Polydamas Swallowtail, Androgeus Swallowtail, Black Swallowtail,
Southern Dogface, White-angled Sulphur, Cloudless Sulphur, Large Orange Sulphur,
Two-spotted Prepona, Small Beauty, Orion Cecropian, Red Rim, Red Cracker,
Florida Purplewing, Ruddy Daggerwing, Spotlight Catone,
"88" Diatheria clymena, Malachite, Rusty-tipped Page, White Peacock,
Bordered Patch, Gulf Fritillary, Julia Heliconian, Erato Heliconian, Zebra
Heliconian,
Variegated Fritillary, Monarch, Morpho anchillides, Magnificent Owl Butterfly
Thu Sep 15: After a final morning at Iguazu, an afternoon flight to Sao
Paulo connecting to the international flights for home.
(Arrival in North America would be the morning of Sunday, Sep 16.)
Price for the Southeast Brazil Sep 3-11 Tour:
US $2,395 per person,
based upon double-occupancy.
Single supplement
(when applicable): US $295.
Price for the Southeast Brazil Tour with Iguazu Falls, Sep
3-15:
US $2,995 per person, based upon double-occupancy.
Single supplement (when applicable): US $425
Price for the Iguazu Falls Extension only, Sep 11-15:
US $1,325 per person, based upon double-occupancy.
Single supplement (when applicable): US $225
Prices
include:
All overnight
accommodations.
All meals.
Ground
transportation in Brazil.
Admissions to national parks.
Services of the FONT birding tour leader.
Prices do not include:
Drinks and any other
items of a personal nature.
Gratuities.
International
flights to/from
Brazil. Or flights within Brazil.
(Within the Southeast Brazil tour there are no Brazilian internal flights)
"Focus On Nature
Tours" can arrange air travel,
and would seek the best possible fares.
A deposit of US
$500 is required to register for the Sep 3-11 tour.
A deposit of US $600 is required to register for the Sep 3-15 tour.
Above: a Saffron Toucanet at a feeder
Below: a Black-tufted Capuchin
(both photographed during previous FONT tours
in Southeast Brazil, by Dan Coleman)
And both the Saffron Toucanet and Caphuchins
have been seen during FONT tours in both Southeast Brazil
and at Iguazu Falls
Also during FONT tours
in Southeastern Brazil and at Iguazu
have been the Robust Woodpecker
and the Morpho butterfly, Morpho anchillides.
(in the photographs below)