Brazilian summer part 3

There has been quite a bit of excitement at the lodge this past week, not least when a pit-viper was found right outside our dormitory!  My first guest, a keen birder, got to see five of our seven monkey species and had a wonderful leaving present in the form of an adult Ornate Hawk-Eagle on his way out.  A calling Spectacled Owl kept me awake for most of last night, and this morning's boat ride produced two tapirs, four Giant Otters, plus an adult Agami Heron.  After two weeks here, I've now seen almost 250 species and am still adding new ones each day, although I'm now guiding mainly ecotourists so am unlikely to find any more lifers until I get some days off.

Brazilian summer part 2

I've now been at the lodge for a full week although my first couple of days here were spent mostly in bed since my body didn't like the 30-degree temperature difference between here and the mountains. When I finally felt fit enough to try a short trail, I immediately came across an antswarm with both Dark-winged Trumpeters and Snethlage's Marmoset, both of which are usually difficult to see, in attendance.  A fig tree right next to our dormitory was in fruit, attracting no less than ten species of tanager plus six different euphonias within a couple of hours.  Having seen or heard well over 500 of the 600 or so species recorded in the region of Alta Floresta, the remaining ones are either extremely rare or difficult to find.  I was not expecting to get any lifers, therefore, but have seen two in the past two days! First, I found a Dark-billed Cuckoo amongst vegetation along the Cristalino river, then another guide told me he had located a Rufous Nightjar, which we went to see the following morning.  Not bad for my first week here!

Brazilian summer part 1

I'm back in the Amazon for my fifth summer season of guiding at Cristalino Jungle Lodge. This time, though, I was able to arrange a stopover in Rio to finally get to see some of the Atlantic rainforest and some of its many endemic birds. Together with a Brazilian friend and a local guide, I stayed in a small, private reserve next to Itatiaia National Park at an altitude of 1400m.  We ventured right up to 2100m, where there was frost on the ground and we saw Itatiaia Spinetail, which has an extremely small range.  Other favourites of the many new species I saw include the stunning Black-and-gold Cotinga, Sharp-tailed Streamcreeper, Black-capped Piprites, and the beautiful Diademed Tanager.  Best of all, though, was a patch of flowering bamboo inside the park which had attracted a feeding frenzy of at least 32 different species and kept us busy, as well as somewhat overwhelmed, for over an hour!

Helgoland chronicles part 2

Having been at the northernmost tip of the island until 10pm the previous evening, I was back in place just after 6am to sit and wait for the albatross.  I spent almost 7 hours there during the course of the day, breaking off for meals, and the only things that showed up were a Hooded Crow migrating out to sea together with 5 Jackdaws.  That was it!  There was no other migration whatsoever and even the bushes were quiet.  Weather conditions were the exact opposite of what you want on Helgoland, with overcast, rainy conditions on the mainland preventing anything from leaving there, and clear, sunny skies over Helgoland meaning that anything crossing the German Bight had no reason whatsoever to stop.  Regular Helgo-birders were even talking about leaving the island early as it was so dead!  I had to make do with a nice Pied (as opposed to White) Wagtail, enjoying the antics of the Gannets, and admiring the numerous Painted Lady butterflies.

By my final morning, I'd more or less given up hope on the albatross but someone mentioned it had been seen heading out to sea in our direction the previous evening so I gave it one last try.  I almost had to force myself to check the bushes of Mittelland on the way since they had been so quiet the day before but, as soon as I got to the top of the steps, I was faced with a dilemma.  Across the valley, I could hear a Great Reed Warbler singing, but, down to my left, I could also hear something else I didn't recognise.  I went for the latter and convinced myself it was the Blyth's Reed Warbler, a lifer, I'd missed the day I had arrived but it turned out to be a pale (1st-summer?) Icterine Warbler.  Oh well, at least it was clear there had been an overnight arrival as there was also this nice, male Red-backed Shrike, and I picked up an arriving Hawfinch by its call. 

You couldn't really call it a fall but things were finally getting exciting just as I was about to leave so I reluctantly tore myself away from the valley to give the albatross one last try, just in case.  It never showed, and spent the whole of my Helgoland stay on Sylt instead.  At least I got to see the island, though, with its seals, cliffs and seabird colonies, as well as getting an idea of what migration on Helgoland can be like if the conditions are right.  Probably the best bird of my trip came right at the end as we were approaching Cuxhaven and several Gull-billed Terns from the colony on the nearby island of Neuwerk gave fantastic views as they flew alongside ferry! 

Helgoland chronicles part 1

I'm back from a short trip to the birder's Mecca of Helgoland.  The past two springs, a Black-browed Albatross has frequented the Gannet colony there so I decided to spend a few days on the island, a place I'd always wanted to visit, in the hope it returned again.  This year, however, the albatross has been wandering all over the place and seems to be spending more time on the island of Sylt than on Helgoland, where it was last seen the day before my arrival.
The ferry crossing from Cuxhaven was uneventful, with very few birds until Helgoland harbour came into sight, when I saw the first Gannets and Guillemots.  Once settled in, I made a beeline for the famous Lummenfelsen (above), with its rows of nesting Gannets, Kittiwakes and Guillemots, after which the cliffs are named.  I also located some Razorbill and Fulmars, both of which also nest in small numbers, before completing a loop of the whole island in around two hours.  The next morning, I first explored the bushes of Mittelland close to my accommodation where an immature Common Rosefinch was singing, as was an Icterine Warbler, with a Swift and a Hobby on migration.  I spent a lot of time taking pictures of the extremely photogenic Gannets, some of which are so close you can almost reach out and touch!

In the afternoon, another birder told me the albatross was back on Sylt and was thus expected to return to Helgoland either that evening or the following morning so, after dinner, I held at two-hour vigil at its favourite spot close to the island's trademark stack of Lange Anna (below) waiting for it to arrive.  It didn't, of course, but I did spot my first Shag and watched a Kestrel being harassed by the local wagtails until it headed out to sea.