Minas Gerais
The Parque Estadual (State Park) do Ibitipoca, 50km northwest of Juiz de Fora, is reached by a rough road that must be impassable in wet weather to anything other than four wheel drive vehicles. The park is situated at an altitude of 1400m and consists of a strange high altitude cerrado, with trees covered in old man’s beard, montane grassland and rocky hillsides. The scenery is spectacular and the park is popular with hikers. In March there was not much bird activity but we did see blue-winged macaw Propyrrhura maracana, Hellmayr’s pipit Anthus hellmayri, stripe-tailed yellow-finch Sicalis citrina and heard maned wolf Chrysocyon brachyurus, which is apparently a common scavenger around the camping site. Below the park there are forest remnants with typical Atlantic Forest species. Interestingly, we found both golden-crowned warbler Basileuterus culicivorus and white-bellied warbler Basileuterus hypoleucus together. On the outskirts of the small town of Conceição de Ibitipoca there is a marsh with plenty of bird life, including the wetland form of red-eyed thornbird Phacellodomus erythrophthalmus ferrugineigula – a certain split – at the north limit of its range.
The Pousada Tangará is excellent.
This is another attractive site that is fun to bird but does not offer anything special for listers. The colonial town itself is beautiful and a popular tourist destination. Avoid it at the weekend. The Serra de São Josá rises up to the north of the town and conceals a quiet and peaceful valley of cerrado which can be reached on foot from the town. Walk west from the town centre and after about 1km, at a small triangular cobbled “praça”, there is a gate with a no admittance sign and a smaller entrance to the left of it. The trail up the serra starts here.
On the way to the start of the trail you will pass the Pousada Arco Iris, run by two ladies who provide comfortable accommodation and two breakfasts, a good one at 5:30 am and a superb one after birding.
Take the road from Itacarambi to Manga and +/- 3km from Itacarambi turn right, signposted “Porto da Balsa para Mocambinho”. The road after the ferry is through degraded caatinga with plenty of birds, including white-browed guan Penelope jacucaca, Bahian nighthawk Chordeiles vieilliardi (beside the river at dusk) and greater wagtail-tyrant Stigmatura budytoides. 7.8km from the ferry there is a bridge on the left over the main irrigation canal, leading to the town of Mocambinho. Continue along the right side of the main canal and at the third sluice / concrete block, 1.4km after bridge, turn right and follow the small branch canal. After 4.1km cross the canal and continue along the right bank. After a further 0.6km you reach the forest. Turn left and after 0.8km there is a trail through the forest, with a longwinded No Entry sign (white-browed antpitta Hylopezus ochroleucus, great xenops Megaxenops parnaguae, ash-throated casiornis Casiornis fusca and San Francisco sparrow Arremon franciscanus).
Others have found Brazilian black-tyrant Knipolegus franciscanus and Snethlage’s woodcreeper Xiphocolaptes franciscanus in dry forest at Fazenda Olhos d’Água, near Itacarambi, owned by Sr. José de Paula, one of the owners of the tomato extract plant on the right, just before Itacarambi. José de Paula sold most of the fazenda and retained a small part and the name Fazenda Olhos d’Água. The part with forest is now called Fazenda Nossa Senhora Aparecida and is owned by Sr. José Roberto. Coming from Januária, the entrance is on the left, 1km after a sign saying “Itacarambi 5km”. Open dry forest with very little understorey and not many birds. We had yellow-billed cuckoo Coccyzus americanus and Snethlage’s woodcreeper, but not Brazilian black-tyrant.
Parque Nacional Cavernas do Peruaçu
About 40km from Januária and 15 km from Itacarambi, turn left to Fabião I and continue up a very rough dirt road through a valley. At first there is excellent semi-deciduous forest with Snethlage’s woodcreeper Xiphocolaptes franciscanus, ash-throated casiornis Casiornis fusca, Reiser’s tyrannulet Phyllomyias reiseri and San Francisco Sparrow Arremon franciscanus. On emerging from the valley there is good caatinga. On the path to right, just where the forest changes to caatinga, we had great xenops Megaxenops parnaguae and San Francisco sparrow, with the other more common caatinga species. Unfortunately, in February 2002 we found that this recently created national park is now closed to the public. The local IBAMA manager, who found us inside the park, told us that permission to visit is obtainable only from IBAMA in Brasília.
If you get permission to visit Peruaçu, it would be more convenient to stay in Itacarambi, where one or two hotels have recently opened, than in Januária.
The bridge over the rio São Francisco is a convenient place to see Bahia nighthawk Chordeiles vielliardi at dusk. From the north end of the bridge a road runs upstream along the left bank of the river, through riverine vegetation mixed with farmland.
Minas Gerais tyrannulet Phylloscartes roquettei can be seen between Pirapora and Várzea da Palma. Just after the Km 11 sign, turn left onto a dirt road that leads to a sand dredger (”draga”) at Rio das Velhas. After 5km road the road crosses a small stream (Córrego dos Ovos). Look for the tyrannulet in the canopy of trees near the bridge and rufous-capped nunlet Nonnula ruficapilla and chestnut-capped foliage-gleaner Hylocryptus rectirostris in the adjacent gallery woodland. Continuing along the same road, there is a farm yard (where the Minas Gerais tyrannulet was also found in February 2002). Fork left after the farm to some wetland. Fork right to get to the river. At dusk there are Bahia nighthawks Chordeiles vieilliardi along both these tracks.
Be aware that the only way from the upper to the lower part of the park is through São Roque de Minas. There is no trail from the top to the bottom of the Casca d’Anta waterfall.
In recent years the Brazilian mergansers Mergus octosetaceus have been found more often along the river below the Casca d’Anta than above the waterfall. Carefully scan every stretch of the river visible from the road upstream from Vargem Bonita or from tracks down to the river. The mergansers have also been seen from the bridges over the larger tributaries of the Rio São Francisco. The Brasilia tapaculo Scytalopus novacapitalis is a cinch if you have a tape. One appeared within seconds when we played back at Forrester’s “G” and we heard it often in clumps of vegetation in the upper park. The rare ochre-breasted pipit Anthus nattereri is found in the upper park alongside Hellmayr’s pipit Anthus hellmayri. Care must be taken not to confuse these two very similar species.
There is a wetland area before the ferry on the road from Passos to São João Batista do Glória. In May 2001 this had white-faced whistling-duck Dendrocygna viduata, Brazilian duck Amazonetta brasiliensis and masked duck Oxyura dominica. From São João an extremely rough but scenic road leads over the Serra de Babilônia to Casca d’Anta and São Roque de Minas. The longer route through Piumhi is much easier and quicker.
An updated and annotated version of Forrester’s list has been published by Luís Fábio Silveira in Cotinga 10.
For further information on this site see John van der Woude’s site notes and maps.
Serra do Cipó
4km after Hotel Chapeu do Sol there is a rough trail up the hill. Look for the Cipó canastero Asthenes luizae among rocks on the plateau. Hyacinth visorbearer Augastes scutatus and pale-throated serra-finch Embernagra longicauda and stripe-tailed yellow-finch Sicalis citrina are readily found here.
For further information on this site see John van der Woude’s site notes and maps.
Three-toed jacamar Jacamaralcyon tridactyla can be seen easily in the Parque Estadual Fernão Dias. Coming from Belo Horizonte, turn right off the Rodovia Fernão Dias (the main road from BH to São Paulo) in Contagem (15km from BH), immediately before the Carrefour hypermarket. Follow the road up and then down hill, with several curves. About 500m, after a Shell station on the left, bear left at a roundabout, towards some eucalyptus trees. The park entrance is immediately behind the PUC-MG building (if you get lost, ask for the PUC). Inside the park entrance, take the road to the right to a children’s playground and then follow the road to the left down to the bottom of the hill and then, almost immediately, take a steep path to right. The birds are in trees above the earth bank in a gully, to the right.
[Seven jacamars were there in March 2009].
Comment from Bob French Dec 2009: I visited the Contagem site in early July 2009. First, I had a hard time finding the park. (Never found the Shell Station). As noted, asking for the PUC does work, but as my Portuguese is limited even this took a while. The park was closed, with a sign saying it was only open on weekends and holidays (I think it said for security reasons). I don’t know if this is seasonal. [However I was able to gain access]. The childrens playground seemed overgrown and derelict. I THINK I found the correct road down the hill, but there was no obvious path at the bottom of the hill. I eventually found a short path about halfway down the road (halfway to where it joins another road going back up to the other end of the park) This path went steeply down a short distance to a “T” which sort of looked like a place birders may have stood and looked for jacamars. I don’t know if this was the spot, but in any event saw no jacamars, but I didn’t stay too long as I was afraid of getting locked into the park as it was near 5PM.
Fred Tavares from Belo Horizonte has commented: One important detail about the area is that it is not safe there, as it is located very close to a favela and there are not enough people working in the park to guarantee your safety… even the park staff advice you not to go to some areas because it is not safe. And the Jacamar site is in one of those unsafe areas.
If anyone can add anything to these site notes, or clarify the details, then please let Rick Simpson know: rick@rick-simpson.com
I visited the Contagem site in early July 2009. First, I had a hard time finding the park. (Never found the Shell Station). As noted, asking for the PUC does work, but as my Portuguese is limited even this took a while. The park was closed, with a sign saying it was only open on weekends and holidays (I think it said for security reasons). I don’t know if this is seasonal. The gate was shut but not locked so I sneaked in. The childrens playground seemed overgrown and derelict. I THINK I found the correct road down the hill, but there was no obvious path at the bottom of the hill. I eventually found a short path about halfway down the road (halfway to where it joins another road going back up to the other end of the park) This path went steeply down a short distance to a “T” which sort of looked like a place birders may have stood and looked for jacamars. I don’t know if this was the spot, but in any event saw no jacamars, but I didn’t stay too long as I was afraid of getting locked into the park as it was near 5PM. I had no trouble with any of the other directions on this really useful website, so maybe this particular entry could use some clarification. Thanks!