Brazil, one of the most biodiverse countries on the planet, is a dream destination for any naturalist – and especially so for a birding tour! During this remarkable and thoroughly rewarding adventure we will be birding the celebrated Pantanal, the planet’s largest tropical wetland, encompassing 96,500 square miles (250,000 square kms) of emerald forests, savannas, swathing rivers and shallow lagoons; as well as exploring the scenic Chapada dos Guimarães with its Cerrado habitat full of local specialties. Our journey will expose you to the superb birding that this region is famous for, as well as some of the best mammal watching in South America! For those wishing to maximise their time spent in Brazil, we have also created an Amazon Rainforest extension set amongst thousands of acres of pristine forest and an extension to the incredible Iguazú Falls on the Brazil and Argentina border.
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Top Birds Hyacinth, Red-and-green & Golden-collared Macaw; Bare-faced Currasow; Chestnut-bellied Guan; Chaco Chachalaca; Zigzag & Agami Herons; Red-legged Seriema; Greater Rhea; Southern Screamer; Jabiru; Maguari Stork; Sunbittern; Sungrebe; Black-collared Hawk; King Vulture; Nanday Parakeet; Yellow-faced Parrot; Nacunda Nighthawk; Horned Sungem; Swallow-tailed Hummingbird; White-eared & Caatinga Puffbirds; Toco Toucan; Campo Flicker; Pale-crested Woodpecker; Great Rufous Woodcreeper; Grey-crested Cacholote; White-lored & Chotoy Spinetails; Black-bellied Antwren; Mato Grosso Antbird; White-rumped Monjita; Rufous Casiornis; White-naped Xenopsaris; Chapada Flycatcher; Band-tailed & Helmeted Manakins; Collared Crescentchest; Purplish & Curl-crested Jay; Fawn-breasted Wren; Shrike-like Tanager; Coal-crested Finch; Scarlet-headed Blackbird; Black-throated Saltator; Blue Finch.
Top Mammals Jaguar; Giant Anteater; Giant River Otter; South American Tapir; Capybara; Marsh Deer; Grey Brocket; Black Howler Monkey; Bearded Capuchin; Black-tailed Marmoset; Tapeti; Azara's Agouti; Yellow-toothed Cavy; Crab-eating Fox; South American Coati; Greater Bulldog Bat.
Habitats Covered forest trails, grasslands, rivers and Pantanal wetlands, dry Cerrado scrub, deciduous forest.
Expected Climate warm to hot and humid
Max Group Size 12 with 1 Rockjumper leader & local birding leader
Tour Pace & Walking moderate pace, undemanding walks
Accommodation comfortable lodges
Ease of Birding easy but with numerous challenging species
Number of Species Expected +-300
Other Attractions Jaguar search by cruising the waterways of the Pantanal, night spotting for birds and mammals, scenic waterfall, visiting the Geodesic centre of South America.
Photographic Opportunities excellent
Overall we were very pleased with the trip. We have been to the tropics in various places in SA but hadn’t really experienced the heat of the Amazon. At first I was concerned about the siesta in early afternoon and the loss of bird time but by the third day I looked forward to it!! The lack of ant swarms, foliage-gleaners and mixed foraging flocks was disappointing. Some of the key target species had not been seen by local guides for several months to over a year. We hope it is not an on-going trend due to climate change but it may be. We felt fortunate to have had the opportunity and hope that others can continue to have this experience. We were pleased with the “tag-team effort” by Tuomas and Bradley. They worked well together with making sure the logistics flowed, everyone had their needs met as much as possible, and kept the pace moving. We were fortunate to have 8 people that had all travelled in groups before and were tolerant of various personalities and their strengths and weaknesses. Both Tuomas and Bradley were patient and talented in getting everyone (usually) in the group to see the target species. I will be giving a presentation to the local Audubon Chapter in November and will be recommending Rockjumper and their various trips to the group.
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.
Amazing trip! Wonderful birds, great accommodations and outstanding guides. Leo is an exceptional guide who is very personable and ensures everyone gets a chance to see even the hard to find birds.
Rob Williams was helpful above and beyond the call by going out of his way to make it an enjoyable tour.
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.