Rick Simpson Birding Services

Some winter visitors have been much in evidence recently. (Hardly surprising since it’s winter I suppose!) We usually get a smattering of Brassy breasted Tanagers and Blue-naped Chlorophonias that have come down from higher ground. They brighten up any birding trip, nine of the latter appeared together in a fruiting tree in Elsie’s magic garden, as has the rare (but regular in the magic garden it would seem) Black-backed Tanager that is a migrant from the south.

Brassy-breasted Tanager © Rafael Fortes.

Blue-naped Chlorophonia © Elsie Rotenberg.

Black-backed Tanager in "Elsie's magic garden" © Elsie Rotenberg.

Another altitudinal migrant is the Tropical Pewee. It nests on higher ground and is only seen here at sea level during the winter months. A rather more surprising visitor was a female Surucua Trogon. Here in Ubatuba they are very rare, being seen higher up the slopes. I have recently seen two orange-bellied females, or one twice, at Itamambuca and Fazenda Angelim which are quite close to each other.

Tropical Pewee, adult with young © Rafael Fortes.

Female Surucua Trogon © Rafael Fortes.

A rather more exciting find was on a day out with Dutch birder Teus Luijendijk where both White-collared Foliage-gleaner (which I have only ever seen down here once before) and Sharp-billed Treehunter (which I have never seen down here before) were seen.

Sharp-billed Treehunter © Tommy Pedersen.

Other interesting records were a Hook-billed Kite over the Rancho Pica Pau and my first record for Ubatuba of Ash-throated Crake which was heard at the end of the track at Folha Seca in the company of Elis and Björn Anderson from Sweden.

Hook-billed Kite © Rafael Fortes.