Throughout this tour you will be based at a comfortable and beautifully located eco-lodge, situated in the 57,000 hectare Tres Picos State Park only a relatively short distance from Rio de Janeiro. Here you will explore the numerous mosaics of trails around the lodge grounds and take short drives to explore several other habitats and elevations surrounding the reserve. You will also visit the nearby Serra Dos Orgaos National Park that holds a number of special birds.
Some of the avian gems that will be sought during this tour include Three-toed Jacamar, spectacular Swallow-tailed Cotinga, Saffron and Spot-billed Toucanets, Green-crowned Plovercrest, Saw-billed Hermit, Black-billed Scythebill, Giant, Tufted & White-bearded Antshrikes, Blond-crested and Yellow-eared Woodpecker, Black-and-gold and Grey-winged Cotinga and Brazilian Laniisoma. The area is also home to a massive variety of endemic tanagers and the beautiful Brazilian, Rufous-headed, Red-necked, Green-headed, Gilt-edged, Brassy-breasted, Golden-chevroned, Azure-shouldered and Olive-green can all be seen on this tour. Plenty of rarer and difficult to see endemics and specials are also found in this area and possibilities include Slaty Bristlefront, Spotted Bamboowren, White-breasted Tapaculo, Variegated Antpitta, Rufous-tailed and Cryptic Antthrush and Blue-bellied Parrot.
This will be a very comfortably paced tour with no long drives! On some days you will have packed lunches, while on others you will return to the lodge for lunch. There will be ample time to unwind and to enjoy birding from the lodge grounds or even while relaxing by the natural swimming pool. Fruit trays and hummingbird-feeders placed throughout the grounds attract a variety of parakeets, hummingbirds and tanagers and are also excellent an excellent place to see Dusky-legged Guan. Birds are confiding and photographic opportunities are excellent. This tour captures the best of Brazil’s Atlantic Rainforest endemic bird species, and after a week of birding you can expect to have seen around 250+ bird species, including around 80 Atlantic Rainforest endemics!
*2024 Prices are estimated and dates may change*
Three-toed Jacamar, Swallow-tailed Cotinga, Saffron Toucanet, Green-crowned Plovercrest, Saw-billed Hermit, Black-billed Scythebill, Giant, Large-tailed, Tufted, Spot-backed & White-bearded Antshrike, Blond-crested and Yellow-eared Woodpecker, Grey-winged & Black-and-gold Cotinga, Brazilian, Green-headed, Red-necked, Olive-green, Brassy-breasted, Gilt-edged, Azure-shouldered, Rufous-headed, Diademed, Fawn-breasted and Golden-chevroned Tanager,Brazilian Laniisoma, Dusky-legged Guan, Blue-bellied Parrot, Sharpbill, Serra do Mar Tyrant-Manakin, Pin-tailed Manakin, Hooded Berryeater, Bare-throated Bellbird, Serra do Mar Tyrannulet, Mouse-colored and White-breasted Tapaculo, Spotted Bamboowren, Slaty Bristlefront, Black-cheeked Gnateater, Variegated Antpitta, Cryptic and Rufous-tailed Antthrush, White-bibbed Antbird, Spot-breasted Antvireo, Sharp-billed & Pale-browed Treehunter, White-collared Foliage-gleaner, Orange-eyed Thornbird, Itatiaia Spinetail, Plain and Maroon-bellied Parakeet, Buff-bellied Puffbird, Surucua Trogon, Brazilian Ruby, Black Jacobin, Slaty-breasted Wood Rail, Spot-winged Wood Quail and Red-legged Seriema
Brown Howler Monkey, Black Capuchin, Guianan Squirrel
rainforest trails, grasslands, Cerrado woodlands, rivers and wetlands
warm to hot and humid
8 with 1 local birding leader
relaxed pace, undemanding walks, short drives
comfortable lodge
easy
250+
hummingbird feeders and bird fruit trays at the lodge
excellent
We had an unbelievably great tour. ALL the guides were extraordinary and fun to be around. They went out of their way to provide us non-birders with very interesting, novel activities. We all enjoyed seeing all the wildlife - it was beyond expectations. The 50th anniversary surprise was an unexpected, delightful treat. We don't know how the tour could have been any better.
WOW – this was an entirely different trip than the main trip. The Pousada facility was a little more rustic than some of the other accommodations but nothing we couldn’t handle. It was certainly better than a hammock at the guard headquarters which Bradley indicated was the only thing available prior to Pousada. This portion required what seemed like a lot more walking and climbing over tree falls than anywhere else on the trip. It seemed that more of the birds were skulkers but then we were focusing on “ant-somethings” which are notoriously secretive. Again, it was disappointing there was not a single ant swarm and the mixed flocks were generally small and moved away from the trails fairly quickly. It was also frustrating that the best of the three trails (Capelinha) in the park was not available to us due to an on-going mammal-use survey. But, none of these things were within the control of Tuomas, Bradley, or our local guide. They were pros at adapting and modifying to take advantage of the trails that were available to us. By my count the main trip list was about 446 and we gained 81 sp on the extension, however, 40% of those were lifers, so worth the effort and expense, in my opinion. Our local guide, Gilberto, was indispensable. His recent knowledge was invaluable to know where to go for the target species.
The tour was fantastic and both of our guides were excellent. We enjoyed traveling with Lev. He is so enthusiastic! He is an excellent birding guide and also very knowledgeable about the natural history of the animals we saw. That made the experience even more enjoyable. He worked very hard to enable us to see some of the trickier birds, like the Zigzag Heron that was hiding in the trees. It turns out, he even speaks 'zigzag', as he carried on a 10 min conversation (back and forth calls) with the heron, trying to coax him into a better view. It was wonderful having a local guide, Leo, on this trip as well. He added a lot to the birding experience, was essential for dealing with logistics, and had a wealth of knowledge about the history of Brazil and the places we visited, that made it an even more interesting trip. Well Done Rockjumper!!
A fantastic inaugural tour of the Manaus area. As usual, rainforest birding presented its challenges, especially all those skulkers, the names of which invariably begin with ant-! However, our brilliant leader, Forrest Rowland, and his equally brilliant offsider and local guide, Brad, showed endless patience trying to get everyone to see as many species as possible - with almost 500 spp seen in 17 days! We visited a variety of habitats in addition to terra firme forest, including varzea, campinarana and riverine islands, each with a different suite of birds. The trip went off without a hitch with efficient van and boat transport, comfortable accommodation and delicious local food.
I had the very best time on tour with Stephan. He is an excellent leader and a lovely, kind human being. In terms of his technical ability as a birding leader, his eyesight and hearing skills are excellent, which coupled with his first class fieldcraft and ID skills, meant that we saw/heard over 500 species during our tour. He also gelled well with the local guide Caio , so that in terms of finding, IDing and showing the birds to the group, we were treated to splendid views of our target species plus many many 'bonus birds' too. Stephan was also very patient with group members, some of whom for a variety of personal reasons, were less able to see the birds than the majority of the group-so that wherever possible-every group member who wanted to, had the opportunity to see every bird.
07 Oct 2023 - 14 Oct 2023 (8 days)
GBP2,195 - 2 Spaces Available
Tour Leader: Local Leader
Tour price (Per person): GBP2,195 * USD2,666 * EUR2,524 * AUD4,179
Single Supplement: GBP340 * USD413 * EUR391 * AUD647
14 Jan 2024 - 21 Jan 2024 (8 days)
GBP2,395 - No Spaces Available
Tour Leader: Local Leader
Tour price (Per person): GBP2,395 * USD2,909 * EUR2,754 * AUD4,560
Single Supplement: GBP350 * USD425 * EUR403 * AUD666
06 Oct 2024 - 13 Oct 2024 (8 days)
GBP2,395 - Spaces Available
Tour Leader: Local Leader
Tour price (Per person): GBP2,395 * USD2,909 * EUR2,754 * AUD4,560
Single Supplement: GBP350 * USD425 * EUR403 * AUD666
12 Jan 2025 - 19 Jan 2025 (8 days)
GBP3,000 - Spaces Available
Tour Leader: Local Leader
Pricing notes : *Prices are estimated and dates may change*
Tour price (Per person): GBP3,000 * USD3,644 * EUR3,450 * AUD5,712
05 Oct 2025 - 12 Oct 2025 (8 days)
GBP3,000 - Spaces Available
Tour Leader: Local Leader
Pricing notes : *Prices are estimated and dates may change*
Tour price (Per person): GBP3,000 * USD3,644 * EUR3,450 * AUD5,712
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