Back to Brazil

Not had the best start to this trip! We finally arrived in Brazil yesterday afternoon rather than Saturday evening as planned, thanks to Iberia delaying our connecting flight in Madrid by 18 hours and shoving us in a crap hotel overnight, and today (31 October) saw very heavy rain for most of the day, restricting birding opportunities. A brief walk around the wetland this morning did, however, produce a REGUA tick in the form of two Grey-necked Wood-Rails. I've only heard them once at REGUA in the past, so this was a welcome addition to the patch list. Other 'highlights' on this rather highlight-less morning were 1-2 Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, 14 Masked Duck, a nice adult Rufescent Tiger-Heron, 2 Capped Heron, 1 Ringed Kingfisher, a Greater Ani, 1 Black-capped Donacobius and a noisy colony of nesting Red-rumped Caciques. This afternoon the lodge garden was also very quiet apart from a fly-over Ringed Kingfisher and good numbers of hummingbirds enjoying the rain: 10+ Black Jacobin, 1 Reddish Hermit and several Rufous-breasted Hermit, Swallow-tailed Hummingbird, Violet-capped Woodnymph and Glittering-throated Emerald. In the evening 2 Rusty-margined Guan appeared on the fruit feeders.

Hummers do love the rain. Black Jacobin is a summer migrant to REGUA and
there's plenty around at the moment.