It’s our second time here. We did a great tour last time,
but it poured rain, so it wasn’t as fun as it could have been. (Cumbuco beach
in dune buggies and a city tour)
This time I set up a private birding tour with Thieres
Pinto. He met us at the port and we discussed our plan for the day based on
types of birds to see, weather, distance and safety. It had been raining for
days so many areas were flooded.
We started at Floresta do Curio' an urban park with a lot
of natural areas. We saw quite a few birds here including Tody Flycatchers with
a nest, Purple Throated Euphonia, Little Woodpecker, Ochraceous Piculet
Woodpecker which is the smallest woodpecker, White-fringed Antwren, Pale-breasted
Thrush, Pearly-breasted Cuckoo, Sayaca Tanager and more. We also saw 3 bats on
a tree trunk, and quite a few White-tufted Marmosets, (small monkeys) and a
Crab-eating Fox with a young one. The action was slowing with the birds and
Thieres said we should leave and drive to the mountains during the slow part of
the day. We did see a few more birds on our walk back. Thieres had made us
lunch so we wouldn’t waste time at a restaurant. He had grilled ham &
cheese with tomato and the cheese was a locally made variety that is only found
in this area. He had drinks and cookies that we enjoyed on a bench in the park.
We then drove to the foot of the Serra da Aratanha (nearby
mountain) about an hour away. It was a beautiful drive and the area that we
went to was on private property where he had permission to bird. It was a
lovely forest. We saw quite a few birds there.
We crossed a small stream that had more water than I cared
to wade through, but wade through it I did. It started to rain a little and we
took cover on the porch of an abandoned house. It really only sprinkled, and we
resumed our walk. We birded all the way to a waterfall and our guide said he
had never seen so much water flowing. It has been raining for days here. We
turned around to bird our way back and it started to pour. We had our rain
jackets with us, but our pants got soaked. Then, we had to cross that same
stream that was now much fuller, and I couldn’t see the rocks as well as when
it wasn’t raining. I took a step and went in almost knee deep. We made it back
to the car and Thieres asked if we wanted to wait to see if the rain would stop
or go back to the ship. Soaked to the bone we said lets just call it a day. We
had seen a lot of birds and it was late afternoon anyway. We did see Rufus-tailed
Jacamar, Reddish Hermit, Ochre Backed Woodpecker, Black-bellied Antwren,
Glittering Throat Emerald Hummingbird, Green-backed Becard, Pale-breasted
Thrush, Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, Blue-capped Trogon, White-naped Jay,
Pearly-breasted Cuckoo, Straight-billed Woodcreeper and more. We saw a great
number of species and 1round 17 of them were new.
After leaving the mountain area it was completely dry and
sunny all the way back to the port. The rain had smeared the windows, so I
didn’t take any photos on the drive, but we saw a huge hog just walking along
side of the road, carts being pulled by horses or people and just lots of local
color.
It was a great day and there were a couple of vendors in
the port building and I spent off my last few Reis on a souvenir for Scott
& Sonya. I’ve picked up very few things along the way since in some ports
we have very little time or limited local cash to shop.
We debated eating upstairs or going to the dining room, but
we quickly showered and made it in time. After dinner the evening entertainment
was the comedic magician with a new show and he really is entertaining. It’s
silly, but it did make us laugh.
Now, for 4 days at sea. Maybe I can get caught up on
photos. I’m only to Cape Town, but have previous ones done enough to upload. (I
will finish deleting and organized after we get home)
Fortaleza, Brazil https://photos.app.goo.gl/YovW1T8wKNF24jzz5
No comments:
Post a Comment