REGUA, Atlantic Forest, Brazil: 9 July

Another busy day at the screen so this post is merely a notebook entry. A few notables logged in the lodge garden throughout the day - 1f Chestnut-bellied Euphonia coming to the bananas (my first record for the lodge garden) along with 1m Purple-throated Euphonia, 5 (2m, 3f) Violaceous Euphonia, 4 (1m, 3f) Brazilian Tanager, several Golden-chevroned Tanager, lots of Blue Dacnis (both sexes) and Maroon-bellied Parakeets. Also around the garden were 1+ Rufous-tailed Jacamar and a Planalto Tyrannulet.

An evening walk around the wetland to photograph bats produced several species, and birds noted include 1 Capped Heron and lots of Cattle Egret coming into roost.

REGUA, Atlantic Forest, Brazil: 8 July

Spent a couple of hours this morning paddling around the wetland in the research canoe checking out the progress of the replanted Tabebuia cassinoides - a slow growing swamp-loving climax tree species that once covered many lowland areas in the Atlantic Forest. The trees are doing very well but I am a little concerned that the Cattle Egret roost has partially moved to the tabebuia, which could threaten their survival.

From the canoe had nice views of the male Sungrebe (although it was not very tolerant of the canoe and so there is no chance using it to get close to photograph it), along with 2 (1 ad and 1 imm) Rufescent Tiger-Heron, 2+ Striated Heron, 1 Snowy Egret, 1-2 Anhinga, 3 Muscovy Duck, 1 Amazon Kingfisher, 1 Ringed Kingfisher, 2 Brazilian Teal, 2 Broad-snouted Caiman, and plenty of Capybara.

In the lodge garden a Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl posed nicely for photos late morning, and 3 (1m, 2f) Flame-crested Tanager, 3+ Chivi Vireo and 1m Yellow-backed Tanager showed at very close range from the lodge tower early morning.

Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl Glaucidium brasilianum, lodge grounds, REGUA, 8 July 2016

Spent a couple of hours after dark photographing at least 5-6 Bokermann's Nectar Bats Lonchophylla bokermanni that were drinking sugar water from the lodge hummingbird feeders. I'm quite pleased with these pics considering this was my first attempt.

Bokermann's Nectar Bat Lonchophylla bokermanni, lodge garden, REGUA, 8 July 2016 (taken using a torch - no flash)

Bokermann's Nectar Bat Lonchophylla bokermanni, lodge garden, REGUA, 8 July 2016 (taken using a torch - no flash)

Also found a nice Hypsiboas semilineatus tree frog hoping around on the veranda. Amazingly variable this species - compare this individual to one I had at REGUA in 2014.

Hypsiboas semilineatus, lodge garden, REGUA, 8 July 2016

REGUA, Atlantic Forest, Brazil: 7 July

Another day of working on the Portuguese REGUA website in the office (nature conservation work comes in many forms). Got out to the wetland late afternoon until dusk where 1m Sungrebe photographed near dusk in very low light (still no sign of the female seen a few weeks ago), 1 Anhinga, 2 Slaty-breasted Wood-Rail, 34 Neotropic Cormorant (a new personal highest site count), 1 Snowy Egret, 1 Great White Egret and 1 Ringed Kingfisher were noted. Notables in the lodge garden were 1 Rufous-tailed Jacamar, 5 Channel-billed Toucan, 2 Scaly-headed Parrot and 4 Brazilian Tanager (1m, 1 imm. m, 2f). Hope to get out more over the next few days.

Record of the male Sungrebe Heliornis fulica, REGUA wetland, 7 July 2016 - the third record for REGUA (my second) and a very rare
bird in Rio de Janeiro state

REGUA, Atlantic Forest, Brazil: 6 July

Spent most of the day building the new Portuguese REGUA website today and so very little time for birding. Had a very quick look around the wetland in the morning. Highlights were 2 Limpkin (surprisingly scarce here), 1 Anhinga, and yet more forest interior bird species noted (on the shortcut trail) included 1 White-necked Thrush, 1m Yellow-legged Thrush (both in a small flock with Pale-breasted Thrush and Creamy-bellied Thrush), and 1H Grey-hooded Attila. Also noted were 2 Scaly-headed Parrot over, 1m White-bearded Manakin, 3 White-barred Piculet, 1 Channel-billed Toucan (with another 3 in the lodge grounds), 1 Southern Beardless-Tyrannulet, 5 White-faced Whistling-Duck (numbers are very low at the wetland at the moment), 1H Lemon-chested Greenlet.

Not many photo opportunities today, but 2 Saffron Finch did allow close approach (this open country species is not as common at the wetland as it once were now that the reforested areas are maturing).

Male Saffron Finch Sicalis flaveola, REGUA wetland, 6 July 2016 - one of several open country bird species gradually being
squeezed out of the wetland area at REGUA as the reforestation matures

REGUA, Atlantic Forest, Brazil: 5 July

Got quite of lot of work to get done at REGUA on this trip and therefore I won't have a huge amount of time for birding. Managed to catch up with one of the Sungrebes at the wetland this morning (the male) - the second I've seen at REGUA, and it's very noticable how birds associated with mature forest are becoming more regular at the wetland - a testament to the success of the reforestation work we have been carrying out over the last ten years, with 2 Black-goggled Tanager, 1H White-necked Thrush and 12 Azure-shouldered Tanager (over towards the lodge) all being my first records at the wetland.

Other birds seen on a walk around the Wetland this morning with Rachel, Sue and Adilei include 1 Fuscous Flycatcher, 1 Swallow Tanager N, 1 Anhinga, 17 Neotropic Cormorant, 3-4 Black-capped Donacobius, 6 Greater Ani, 1 Wing-banded Hornero, 1 Amazon Kingfisher, 1 Ringed Kingfisher, 2-3 Southern Lapwing, 2 White-faced Whistling-Duck, 2 Blue-winged Parrotlet, 2 Scaly-headed Parrot over, 1 Capped Heron, 2 Rufescent Tiger-Heron (1 ad, 1 imm), 1 Great White Egret, 1 Striated Heron, 2 (1 ad, 1 imm) Black-crowned Night-Heron, 7+ Muscovy Duck, (only) 2 Brazilian Teal, 2 Yellow-chinned Spinetail, 1H Lemon-chested Greenlet, 2 Purple Gallinule, lots of Wattled Jacana, Common Moorhen, 1 Southern Caracara, 1m White-headed Marsh Tyrant, 3 Masked Water-Tyrant, 1 Southern Rough-winged Swallow, 1 Broad-snouted Caiman, and lots of Capybara.

The Forest Trail was very busy with bird activity and again, several species associated with mature forest were noted including 2 Ruddy Quail-Dove, 1 Grey-hooded Attila, 3 Black-goggled Tanager, 1m Surucua Trogon, 2 Yellow-throated Woodpecker, 4+ (3+m, 1f) Yellow-legged Thrush, 1 Greyish Mourner, and best of all a female Sooty Grassquit - only my second record at REGUA and my first in the lodge area. Also along the Forest Trail were 1+ Green-backed Becard, 1 Chestnut-crowned Becard, 1m White-winged Becard, 1 Rufous-browed Peppershrike, 2 (1m, 1f) Orange-bellied Euphonia, 1 Lesser Woodcreeper, 1H Plain-winged Woodcreeper, 1 Yellow-eared Woodpecker, 1 Sepia-capped Flycatcher, 1 Moustached Wren, 1f White-bearded Manakin, 1f White-flanked Antwren, 1m Yellow-backed Tanager, 1H Bananaquit, 1H Yellow-olive Flycatcher, 1H Channel-billed Toucan. 2 Brown-throated (Three-toed) Sloth were seen along the trail, but no sign of the 2 Red-ruffed Fruitcrow reported by a visiting birder two days before.

A quick try for Shrike-like Cotinga along the tower hide loop failed to produce any, but 1m Sooretama Slaty-Antshrike (good to know this scrub-loving species is still here despite the forest maturing), 1 Grey-hooded Flycatcher, 1 Grey-hooded Attila, 2 (1, 1f) Unicoloured Antwren, 1m White-flanked Antwren, 1H White-eyed Foliage-gleaner, 1H Plain Xenops, and 1H Euler's Flycatcher were noted.

Spent the afternoon giving a demonstration on the new REGUA website and working on building the Brazilian site. Hopefully I can complete the essential pages of the Brazilian site before I return home.

REGUA, Atlantic Forest, Brazil: 4 July

So exciting waking up at REGUA for the first time on a trip. This morning I awoke to the sound of Rufous-capped Motmots calling at dawn from the forest outside our window of the luxurious room 1 at the lodge! Highlights of a quick look at the lodge garden this morning were a Rusty-margined Guan on one of the feeders at dawn, 1 Blond-crested Woodpecker on the feeders, 1 Yellow-eared Woodpecker, 2 (1m, 1f) Chestnut-vented Conebill, 1 Rufous-breasted Hermit, 1 Palm Tanager and several Blue Dacnis.

Caught up with our good friend Adilei (REGUA's quite frankly bloody awesome bird guide) who drove us to see one of his friends in the nearby village of Estrieto who has built a huge and quite remarkable bird feeder from an old plastic crate, lots of branches and a thatched roof. Located at an elevation of 186 m, the feeder here was attracting a slightly different suite of bird species to the feeders in the lodge garden at REGUA (43 m), including a small flock on Olive-green Tanager (generally rare at feeders and certainly the best views of this species I've ever had), a few Azure-shouldered Tanager, several Blue-naped Chlorophonia, several Green-headed Tanager, 2+ (1m, 1f) Chestnut-bellied Euphonia, along with 1m Yellow-backed Tanager, several Violaceous Euphonia (both sexes), several Blue Dacnis (both sexes), a small flock of Maroon-bellied Parakeets, a Buff-throated Saltator and a Sayaca Tanager.

Olive-green Tanager Orthogonys chloricterus, Estrieto, 4 July 2016 - bonkers views of this Atlantic Forest endemic today

A couple of hours night-birding at dusk at an area of pasture and scrub near REGUA produced 2 Giant Snipe (1 in flight and superb views of another in torch-light on the ground down to about four metres (that I might add we didn't flush despite approaching so close), 1 Scissor-tailed Nightjar, 1 Common Potoo (with another probable, very distant), 1 Tropical Screech-Owl, 2 Burrowing Owl, 1H Spot-tailed Nightjar, 2 Chalk-browed Mockingbird, 1H Blackish Rail, a few H Ash-throated Crake, and 1H Striped Cuckoo. A magic end to the end complete with a dramatic backdrop of the Milky Way blazing across the night sky - fantastic!

Giant Snipe Gallinago undulata, near REGUA, 4 July 2016 (no flash) - this difficult nocturnal species is 20% larger than Eurasian
Woodcock Scolopax rusticola

REGUA, Atlantic Forest, Brazil: 3 July

Arrived at REGUA this morning, Rachel and my home away from home and foreign patch, in the Atlantic Forest of south-east Brazil - our first visit since March 2014. 2 Roseate Spoonbill on the estuary by the airport seen from the minibus are my first I've seen here, and the usual Magnificent Frigatebirds were also seen from the bus around the airport area.

Spent most of the day at REGUA catching up with of good friends Nicholas and Raquel Locke. Lots of bird activity in the lodge garden today (the lodge garden is usually busier during the austral winter, when temperatures are lower and many species move to lower altitudes) including a new species for the lodge garden - a male House Sparrow on the veranda! This only my second record at REGUA - the first being at the conservation centre. Also coming to the feeders in the lodge garden were 2 Buff-throated Saltator, 1 Squirrel Cuckoo, 3 (2m, 1f) Purple-throated Euphonia, 2 (1m, 1f) Violaceous Euphonia, 1+ Channel-billed Toucan, 1f Brazilian Tanager, Golden-chevroned Tanager, 1+ Red-rumped Cacique, lots of Blue Dacnis (males and females) and Maroon-bellied Parakeets, Swallow-tailed Hummingbird and Glittering-throated Emerald.

An afternoon walk around the wetland with Rachel Walls, Sue Healey, Nicholas and Raquel to see the changes (including the beginning of the construction of the tapir reintroduction pen) produced 1 Anhinga, 1+ ad. Rufescent Tiger-Heron, 3 Striated Heron, 2 Capped Heron, several Black-crowned Night-Heron (Amanda's Hide), 6 Muscovy Duck, 2 Brazilian Teal, 1H Rufous-sided Crake, 13 Neotropical Cormorant into roost (my highest count at the REGUA wetland), 1m Rufous-tailed Jacamar, 1+ Ringed Kingfisher, 1 Amazon Kingfisher, 4 Broad-snouted Caiman and lots of Capybara.

Heard a Tropical Screech-Owl while walking up the lodge drive at dusk, and I've got the MV at moth wall on but I'm too tired to stay up so I'll check it in the morning.

Capybara Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris, REGUA wetland, 3 July 2016 - the world's largest rodent. The animals at REGUA appeared
naturally after the wetland was created. I've eaten Capybara - it tasted worse than they look!