After returning from a fabulous birding trip in Brasil in the fall of 2022, life settled into the routine of family, work and winter birding. These snowy trips offer a variation from the more ‘normal’ outings of our region but with the approach of Spring and warmer weather, the thought of another international trip was appealing. Offers were about for trips to Central and South American again, even in Africa. But, an intriguing possibility was to consider working again with our guide at the beginning of the Brasil trip, Marcos Eugênio.

I reached out to Marcos about the concept and his response was an enthusiastic yes! Dave and I wondered about the possibility of visiting new regions though without enormous amounts of travel. In short order he came up with suggestions of itineraries that would visit the drier cerrado environments of Minas Gerais but would also include some segments in the Atlantic Rain Forest. After several exchanges, we settled on August for two reasons: it is the beginning of Spring in SE Brasil when birds will be singing while the weather is still fairly cool and is one of the drier months; and, it is a slow time in the Pacific Northwest after breeding has mostly wrapped up but birds have not yet started their winter migrations.

Our route would involve a couple of long driving days (but with no need to fly between locations). The effort would take us to areas of the country we had yet to explore, with promise of several new birds to see.

In an effort to keep costs reasonable, Marcos arranged lodging at nice hotels in the regions we would visit but which only served breakfast. We would be on our own for other meals. And he found a comfortable, small SUV that was perfect for the terrain we would encounter.

Although we did bring physical field guides on the trip, our go-to resource for almost all identification needs was the Merlin app that we had used in our more recent trips. Actually, Cornell has done a wonderful job of updating the app for utility in the field. The team that is managing the database of bird vocalizations has begun adding species from beyond the US borders. We were pleasantly surprised in many instances when Merlin Sound ID could identify many of the singers we encountered.

However, it is not possible for an app of this sort to include all birds nor all sounds. But, that is why we had a guide, and Marcos, with an ability to recognize vocalizations of well over 1000 birds, was a treasure. And a patient tutor.

The following parts of this blog will relate our experiences in the many locations we visited. As expected, the weather cooperated–except for a spell in the cloud forest at Itatiaia, we had no precipitation. In fact, temperatures were considerably warmer than usual for this time of year, a mixed blessing. Subsequent chapters will relate details of the birds and the places we visited during our 2 weeks in Brasil.

• São Jose dos Campos
• Paraty and Mambucaba
• Itatiaia
• Lavras
• Serra da Canastra
• Serra do Cipó
• Caraça

My list of birds seen (not as many as Marcos!) was just over 380 birds, about what I expected given the habitat and the fact that we visited really only two biomes. I was hoping for a few more lifers but was still happy with 70 new birds. Even more satisfying was that Marcos was able to check off 13 lifers as well. Not a bad outing when you can help your guide. “Pé quente“, as they say.

Out of 35 families of birds we saw, flycatchers were the most abundant, not surprisingly. Here is a list of families with the most species we observed.

• 65 Tyrant Flycatchers
• 48 Tanagers
• 25 Ovenbirds
• 22 Antbirds
• 19 Hummingbirds
• 14 Herons and Ibis
• 13 Vultures and Hawks
• 12 Parrots and Parakeets
• 11 Pigeons and Doves
• 11 Woodpeckers
• 10 Blackbirds

Hope you enjoy the blog; let me hear what you think. If you don’t want to wade in, you can always review our eBird trip report for a list of species and checklists. And note that clicking on most bird images will take you to the corresponding Brasil 2023 Flickr album for larger views.