The night before we had been given a brief by Ron informing us of our next accommodation. It was said to be very basic and we were to expect the worse, sleeping outside on the floor seemed feasible at this time. Anyway, with open minds we left Caiman Lodge at a respectable time and once again headed out into the savannah returning back to the main road. We stopped at a wetland where large flocks of Jabirus were present, and Nick G somehow found a head of a Pinnated Bittern that then thankfully started moving to allow everyone else to see it. Our only Roseate Spoonbills of the trip also flew through. Heading back towards the main road a White-naped Xenopsaris was found, and then it was straight across the main road and into the unknown yet again heading for Karasabai. The track was extremely rough and Maraissa done her best to keep me awake, which she duly did. Another wetland area was watched but little was present, although seeing a Common Tody-Flycatcher again was nice, and a Zone-tailed Hawk went over.
Now close to Karasabai, Brazil was in touching distance. Our accommodation was found and we settled in with the owner knowing we were coming and it all seemed really nice, including electricity and a shared bathroom. It was extremely hot and we rested for sometime before driving into a nearby valley to find one of the top targets of the trip, the Sun Parakeet. This species has been decimated by the cage-bird trade but is now legally protected, though no doubt are still threatened. We stopped at a regular sight but there was no sign. Driving slowly on Marissa at the wheel shouted Sun Parakeets and to our right in a tree were six bright yellow birds feeding. We all jumped out and called back the front vehicle and for maybe 30-seconds enjoyed lovely views of certainly the most favourite Parakeet to date. They soon took flight calling as they went. We birded the valley up until dusk finding a couple of Laughing Falcons, Green Aracari but no more Parakeets. In fact, these were the only Parakeets we saw during the whole time in Karasabai, very lucky.
Highlights from the day are:
Pinnated Bittern
Roseate Spoonbill
Crane Hawk
Zone-tailed Hawk
American Gallinule
Sun Parakeet - 6
Burrowing Owl
Green Aracari
Common Tody-Flycatcher
Mouse-coloured Tyrannulet
Scrub-Flycatcher sp.
Lesser Elania
White-naped Xenopsaris
Brown-chested Martin
Yellow-hooded Blackbird
Red-eyed Vireo
Jabiru - no doubt South America's equivalent of Africa's Marabou Stork
Crested Caracara
Yellow-hooded Blackbird
Sun Parakeets - certainly a trip highlight
approaching an area that very few tourists have set foot, those that have are mainly birders hoping to see the Sun Parakeets.
Sun Parakeet valley
sunset looking into Brazil
