Rick Simpson Birding Services

Heading for our daily grind at the UBWC (tough life, but someone has to do it!) we stopped at the beach (see what I mean about a tough life!). We had expectations that the storm would have brought down some migrant shorebirds, or even brought in some seabirds. The latter were represented by Brown Boobies and Royal Terns, in good numbers, but no unusual species. Along the shoreline however we found a couple of American Golden Plovers.

American Golden Plovers - Itaguá beach.

They were finding plenty to eat among the flotsam and jetsum along the tide line.

Juvenile American Golden Plover eating a cockroach.

I believe this to be an adult bird, its tertials are well worn.

Adult American Golden Plover - winter plumage.

This bird is probably a juvenile, its plumage is much neater and cleaner spotted.

Juvenile American Golden Plover.

In this picture you can see the four projecting primaries that help identify this species.

Note four projecting primaries visible.

All photographs on this page copyright Rick and Elis Simpson.

"Anyone seen a rest-room around here!?"

The other day we were at the UBWC when it started to rain, not unusual in itself for Ubatuba, especially so close to the mountains. The difference was the force and volume of the rain and the length of time the downpour continued. Really heavy rain like that rarely lasts for more than a few minutes, but this time it went on for about an hour and a half. Everywhere was under water, streams formed on the lawns, small rivers swept across the car parking area and down into the river itself which swelled rapidly to an impressively forceful torrent, rising in level by about a meter and a half in a short space of time.

Torrential rain and lawns beginning to flood.

We were trapped, the only access and egress from the property is via a normally benign ford, this was now shoulder deep in thundering muddy water.

River in full flood.

We had to wait it out. Eventually the rain subsided, it never actually stopped, but it became tolerably light, and the river began to subside too. It took about an hour for the hills to drain sufficiently for us to get our car out through the ford again.

The river and ford crossing in a more friendly mood.

Whilst we were waiting for the river to lose its fury, we noticed some birds were still out and about despite the deluge. It was amazing to see how hummingbirds coped in the rain. Some sat with their beaks pointing skywards on open perches presumably to minimise the impact of the raindrops. We tried to imagine what one of those raindrops must have felt like to a creature that weighs less than a coin.

Sombre Hummingbird sits the storm out.

Some valiently fed on at the feeders.

All photographs on this page copyright Rick and Elis Simpson.

Saw-billed Hermit.

Glittering-throated Hummingbird.

The weather has been pretty horrible here in Ubatuba whilst I have been away in sunny Minas Gerais, (more on this later) and this may be the explanation for a couple of rare sightings. American Purple Gallinule is not a common bird down here, there being a notable lack of habitat for them, but this didn’t stop our friend Odette finding not one, but two of them in as many days.

The first she found as she was leaving Rancho Pica-Pau having finished her stint at the Ubatuba Birdwatching Centre. It ran across the road in front of her, but she managed to get a couple of photographs of it before it disappeared into the bushes.

American Purple Gallinule, Rancho Pica-Pau.

The second was even more bizarre, it was found amongst the bicycles under her apartment block in the town centre! Here is a photo of it shortly before it was released into some nearby suitable habitat.

American Purple Gallinule, Ubatuba town.

Either there has been a movement of these birds and the weather has forced them to seek shelter in unusual places or there has been an influx of them for other reasons. Either way, those of you birding the region in the near future should keep a look out.

All photos on this page copyright Odette Gonçalves de Araujo.

At the Ubatuba Birdwatching Centre there is a pair of Purple-throated Euphonias, the male of which looks a little washed-out. The yellow part of the plumage is as bright as it should be, but the purple colour is a kharki green. I suppose that this just goes to show that looks aren’t everything when it comes to the nuptials of this species.

Purple-throated Euphonia with washed-out colouration. Photo copyright Rick and Elis Simpson.

I’ve recently spent some time in the company of three birders from the US, Mark Mulhollam, Jim Sipiora and Steve Greenfield who sent me this picture of the Long-trained Nightjar we saw at Intervales.

Long-trained Nightjar. Photo copyright Steve Greenfield.

This bird seemed captivated by one particular spot on the road, always returning there after its short flights. It always faced the same way with its beautiful ‘train’ resting in the damp grass as this picture shows.

Buff-breasted Sandpiper number one. Photo copyright Rick and Elis Simpson.

On our way to start our first day at the now opened Ubatuba Birdwatching Centre, Elis and I stopped to have a look at a passing tern, this turned out to be a Cayenne Tern and nothing more unusual. As we got back into the car Elis noticed a shorebird on the grass verge near to where we had parked, this turned out, on the other hand, to be very much more interesting, it was a Buff-breasted Sandpiper.

As we watched and photographed it, a second bird arrived and chased the first off, it didn’t go far however, and as I watched it I noticed a third in the background behind it. Sadly the three were never close enough to photograph together. This is an Ubatuba and Brazil tick for me, so very gratifying.

Buff-breasted Sandpiper number two crossing the parking area. Photo copyright Rick and Elis Simpson.

Buff-breasted Sandpiper number three. Photo copyright Rick and Elis Simpson.

Phil recently let me know that he has added another bird to his garden list. This time it was a Tropical Screech owl, it was a heard only record relieving me slightly of my guilty feelings about having a heard only on my list, namely the Striped Owl… Oh! And the Striped Cuckoo of course.

This puts Phil on 78. Still two behind my apartment list here in Ubatuba.

Well this news has given me the opportunity to post another photo that Elis took of a pair here in Ubatuba.

Tropical Screech-Owl. Photo copyright Rick and Elis Simpson.

I bumped into Nick Athanas of Tropical Birding the other day in a local restaurant, and he told me he had seen, that morning, no less than a Shrike-like Cotinga at Folha Seca!

Elis and I rushed over but failed to find it, didn’t even hear it calling.

We braved the drizzle for an hour or so, had the frustration of meeting a local teacher who had seen the bird in the morning when Nick was there, and felt doubly depressed when she said she had absolutely no interest in birds at all!

Ah well, you win some and you lose some.