Now almost in the middle of our Brasilian winter temperatures are dropping and we are seeing some damper periods of weather, unusual for this time of year as we usually have clear blue skies! If you are due to visit us in the next few months it would be worth packing a couple of layers of extra clothing!

Firstly we are happy to report that a Golden Lion Tamarin Monkey has been recorded in the lodge grounds again! One was observed by the bridge over the river in front of the Lodge this week! These tiny endangered primates are endemic to south-east Brazil with a small population of around 1.500 left in the wild, they can only usually be seen in areas of fragmented forest down near the coast where there are efforts for a breeding and monitoring programme. They are usually found in thick tangles of forest where they like to eat fruit, small vertebrates and insects. Luckily we have been seeing these primates in the lodge grounds on and off for over 2 years now, although this is the first record in over 6 months. Hopefully they will remain in the local area!

Golden Lion Tamarin in the Lodge grounds. copyright Richard Hall.

The feeders are slowly getting busier, especially with the rain at the moment. Regular sightings include Slaty-breasted Wood-Rail, Maroon-bellied Parakeet, Plain Parakeet, Blond-crested Woodpecker, Great Kiskadee, Rufous-bellied Thrush, Pale-breasted Thrush, Bananaquit, Ruby-crowned Tanager, Brazilian Tanager, Sayaca Tanager, Azure-shouldered Tanager, Golden-chevroned Tanager, Palm Tanager, Violaceous Euphonia, Orange-bellied Euphonia, Chestnut-bellied Euphonia, Blue-naped Chlorophonia, Green-headed Tanager, Burnished-buff Tanager, Blue Dacnis and Green Honeycreeper.

Maroon-bellied Parakeets taken from the photo hide. Andy Foster

The hummingbird feeders are getting regular visits from Saw-billed Hermit, Sombre Hummingbird, Violet-capped Woodnymph and Brazilian Ruby.

Out on the excursions we are beginning to see mixed flocks once again, highlights from the some of the excursions are as follows:

Theodoro Trail has seen large numbers of White-browed Foliage Gleaners, really great views of Rufous-capped Spinetail, White-shouldered Fire-eye, good views of Blue Manakin, Star-throated Antwren and Yellow-eared Woodpecker.

The High Altitude Excursions to Pico de Caladonia have given great views of Red-legged Seriema, Black and Gold Cotinga, Diademed Tanagers, Orange-eyed Thornbird and Rufous-tailed Antbirds, Pallid Spinetail, good views of Large-tailed Antshrike that seemed to appear from nowhere but showed well, Black-Hawk Eagle that was at first distant finally gave some better views, Black and White Hawk Eagle on the lower section of the High Altitude Excursion gave good views during a nice long fly past, and as usual Dusky-tailed Antbird gave its usual skulking views!

Serra dos Orgaos National Park. The first part of the day was spent in the Lower section of the park with sightings of Pale-browed Treehunter, Cirilo spotted a Yellow-throated Woodpecker, whilst going after this bird the group saw a Lesser Woodcreeper, and then out of nowhere a Sharpbill popped up and gave good views for around 2 minutes! After the departure of the Sharpbill Cirilo picked up a movement, and the Yellow-throated Woodpecker was on its way up a stump which again gave good views. During this time Yellow-green Grosbeaks were busy calling close by, after some playback on the iPod…bang, they came straight in and gave some good views! Other highlights in the Park were White-throated Woodcreeper, good views of both Rufous-capped Motmot, Scaly-headed Parrot and Surucua Trogon.

Also in the lower park a Brown-throated Three-toed Sloth was seen together with a baby sloth!

Serra dos Orgaos National Park. Andy Foster