Rick Simpson Birding Services

Looking through my apartment list the other day I realised that I had somehow forgotten to add Plain Parakeet! This cheerful, endemic, little parrot is a common bird here and I see or hear it almost every day, an incredible omission. So, having realised I didn’t have it on the list I thought I’d wait until I next saw one, typically I had to wait three days, but now the blighter is on my list. The list now stands at 86.

Plain Parakeet.

Photograph © Rafael Fortes.

Anyone familiar with Brazilian birds will know that the Rufous Hornero is a common enough bird over much of its range in the southern half of Brazil. Not so in our part of the world. It seems that few have made it onto our stretch of coast. There are a few open areas like Cambucá where they can be found along with the even less common Wing-banded Hornero, but here in Ubatuba itself they are, or rather were, absent.

The other day I thought I heard one calling but couldn’t find it, nor did it call again. Assuming I was hearing things I forgot about it; until today that is. Whilst looking at a pod of dolphins in the bay from the balcony, I heard the unmistakeable sound of the hornero again. This time I employed playback, and sure enough the Rufous Hornero flew into view, the first I have seen in nearly three years here! Maybe every telegraph pole in Ubatuba will soon have its own pair of horneros with their distinctive mud nests. On the other hand, if there is only one, maybe he’ll be out of luck and move on leaving us bereft of their noisy presence again.

Clearly this is a new bird for the apartment list, whizzing me on to 85.

Rufous Hornero.

Photograph © Tommy Pedersen.

Finally a long overdue species hits the apartment list. Saffron Finch, a common enough bird around here and I have often seen it here in town very close to the apartment block, but never within the rules of the list. The other day as I was driving out of the garage there in front of me, on the grassy square was a fine male with a whole bunch of females and immatures. So now the list stands at 84.

Male Saffron Finch. Copyright Arthur Grosset.