Sincere Wishes - Brazil

6/2/2026 - 6/13/2026

If this is the first post you have read in this series, the short version is that my other plans for the year never really worked out, and some friends of mine let me tag along on a trip they had booked to visit Brazil. We are visiting several areas in the Atlantic Rainforest; specifically around the Sao Paulo area.

In my first post, I talked about how all idle time should be consumed by birding. This is the way. This lead us to some downtime birding in a Sao Paulo park and not one, but two, day-trips to Macuquinho Lodge. The second post covered our time on tour in Cananeia and Intervales State Park. In between those two locations, our tour stopped at Trilha do Tucanos. This post will cover that stop. This really is not a "best for last" type post or anything, things just balanced better to cover this place separately. On the other hand, Trilha dos Tucanos was my most-anticipated stop on the tour.

It was a pleasant but long drive up into the mountains to get to the lodge from Cananeia. We managed to arrive in time for a late lunch and were greeted with an impressive buffet lunch. The layout was extensive for such a small place, and the food was incredible.

I am just going to get this out of the way, now. This place had the best food of the trip. I do not know who the chef was that made the passionfruit chicken dish, but it was one of the most incredible things I have ever eaten in my life. Nearly every day here was a treat. Visit this place. Eat their food. See their birds. Soak in the beauty of the place. Ask for the passionfruit chicken. Have cake for breakfast. You owe it to yourself.

So, back to birding. Our timing here was a bit off. The place is named Trilha dos Tucanos for a reason. They have toucans. Not just one or two species. In the right time of year (and this was the right time of year), you can find four species of toucans: Saffron Toucanet, Red-breasted Toucan, Spot-billed Toucanet, and Channel-billed Toucan. I am not sure how many of these come to the feeders, but the first three are all possible. We had our best luck with Saffron Toucanet, but we only had one day with the Red-breasted Toucan. The others we did not see here at all. This may be because they have moved the feeders. They are re-doing the back balcony and moved the feeders to the top of a hill. The feeders are in the open. I am not sure how this affected things. Other birds, like Blond-crested Woodpecker and Tufted Antshrike, were absent from the feeders, too. That aside, the hilltop is not really ideal for photos. The sun comes up about 90 degrees to the main feeder, and it makes lighting tough. We were begging for an overcast day but did not get one until the day we left.

Regardless, this was my favorite place on the trip; it is just ahead of Macuquinho Lodge. Not just because of the food, but everything. The feeders still pull in a number of good species. The trails were nice, but we had just as much luck birding along the roads. There were hills, but they were not the long slogs that Intervales has. We also had a lot of fun. I feel like the group did its best birding together here.

After lunch, we had our midday break. I headed up to check out the feeders. Busy, but the light was way too harsh. We did an afternoon walk on the trails. I was really hoping for Atlantic Royal Flycatcher, but it is the wrong time of year. They tend to disappear until about September. I did not know that at the time. Activity was low along the road. We started the hike at 2:45, and I think it was still a bit too warm out. My sole photo of the afternoon was a cute Rufous-capped Spinetail. These guys are energetic.

We got back, got cleaned up, and had dinner. After dinner, I heard one of the staff mention that the tapir would be in around 6:30. I really did not know what that meant. So, I am hanging out after dinner talking to Chris and Amy when I see this large animal stroll down out of the forest and into the parking lot. It is just staring at the door of the lodge. Honestly, it felt a little creepy. It is dark, this large "beast" is standing in the dim light at the edge of a security light, and it is just staring at us. A minute later, a guy pulls up in a truck and starts chucking bananas to it. The animal is a South American Tapir. Its name is Bella. Bella is one of four tapir that come by some nights to be fed. We just had Bella this night, but Bella and her mother showed another night I was not there. Once Bella was where they wanted her, they invited people over to photograph and feed her. You can feed her by hand, but if you are not careful, you will get your hand glopped with saliva. Widest angle I had on the camera was 200mm. It was a little too much lens. The "nose" (proboscis) is strange the way it extends and contracts.

The next morning, we headed to the bug light. I was super excited; as I love the birds these things bring in. When we got there, nothing was there. No bugs. It is winter here, and maybe that is not surprising. It was disappointing. A few birds came in to the light. Black-goggled Tanager and Planalto Woodcreeper, mostly. There were some Green-headed Tanager and a Sibilant Syristes in the palms nearby, and Rene suggested we move to the top of the building nearby. It doubles as an observation tower. He warned that the steps up would be slick, and they were very slick. We got good looks at the syristes, and a small flock of Buff-throated Purpletuft even came by. Super cute little birds, and a lifer. We were heading down the ramp to go to the feeders, and things went bad. I had a hold of the railing and was inching down sideways. I was holding the rail with my left hand when I slipped. The slip jerked all my weight against my left shoulder and pulled it out of socket. For a moment, I was trapped; as I could not move the arm, and it was holding all of my weight. I got some pressure off of it, and the shoulder pulled back into place. It is far from the first time this shoulder has been out of socket, but it is not pleasant. Thankfully, it went in with little issue. It would just be tender and of limited use for the next couple of days.

We left here and headed up to the feeders. We had good morning sunlight. As we arrived, a raptor flew by. White with huge bulging secondaries. It looked a bit like a flying semicircle. Like that, I had my lifer Mantled Hawk. We got into the feeder area, and I spotted the only low Red-necked Tanager I would see this trip. There were a few on a feeder, but they left as soon as we got in. We stayed up here for a while. Things at these feeders worked in waves; birds would ebb and flow through the area. There would be a steady stream of the regulars: Black-goggled Tanager, Bananaquit, Azure-shouldered Tanager, Blue Dacnis, etc. Then the Olive-green Tanager would come in. A lot of them. They tended to travel in packs of 10 or more. The Saffron Toucanet would come in for a quick banana raid. There would be 2 to 6 of them at a time. They would take out, and them maybe the parrots would come in. This was always a raucous madhouse. There would be dozens of Plain Parakeet and Marron-bellied Parakeet that all came in at once. They would swamp the feeders. Sprinkle in some Yellow-fronted Woodpecker and maybe a quick dash of Magpie Tanager, and be sure to mix up all the arrivals and departures, and you get an idea of what it could be like up here. It could also just be a bit of sitting and waiting. We had all of that and a bit more this first morning. It is a bit disappointing to not list Saffron Toucanet as the bird of the morning, but this was the only morning that we had Red-breasted Toucan show. I was about as far from the bird as you could be up here when it came in. I only had time for a few shots. Most of them with the bird looking crazy - maybe it always looks that way.

Of course, I was really happy to see Saffron Toucanet, too! It is the whole reason I wanted to come here. We even added a day here because of it.

There are hummingbird feeders and porterweed/verbena bushes up here, too. I did not pay much attention to them this morning; other then to get a shot of my lifer Sombre Hummingbird. The morning went well, and we were busy running from feeder to feeder to try and catch what came in next. It would be our best morning here.

Rene offered us a short hike before lunch, and we pried ourselves from the feeders and followed him. It took a bit of bushwhacking to get to the trail he had in mind. Not the easiest for me, at this point. It was a nice short hike, but the trail was super narrow with a lot of big steps up and down. The highlight was Crescent-chested Puffbird. A very charismatic bird. Adam spotted one just sitting in a tree. A little later, one flew in and tick-tocked his tail back-and-forth while watching us watch some Streak-capped Antwrens flit around in a tree. We also had White-throated Spadebill, Large-headed Flatbill, Rufous Gnateater, Spot-backed Antshrike, Star-throated Antwren, and Ferruginous Antbird on this little hike.

We took a midday break after lunch, and I took a nap. I felt incredible after I woke up. We were going to bird the road this afternoon. Things were not overly birdy, but I got a couple of shots. The walking and viewing was easier on the road than the trials. Everyone was in a good mood and chatty. It made for a nice afternoon. The easier viewing meant we all finally got so see the male Pin-tailed Manakin we had been hoping for. Rene noted that they were usually not so hard to see. Easier viewing or not, I still missed out on a Black-billed Scythebill. That would have been nice to see. Pictures were of a Long-tailed Tyrant (we saw a few of these) and one of a pair of Red-crowned Ant-Tanager.

The next morning started with another slow morning at the bug light. More bugs this time, but still not much in the way of birds. Riverbank Warbler posed for a shot or two. Masked Water-Tyrant also popped up for a couple of shots. Other than that, same suspects as the day before. We did not go up the tower. I would not have chanced it anyway.

We moved from here to the feeders, again. We had a much-anticipated new visitor this morning. Black-throated Grosbeak is a beautiful bird. I am not sure which I like more, the male or the female. Both are great in their own way. The light was low and flat when they arrived. The birds initially stuck to the sunflower feeders and away from any perches. With some patience and a good deal of luck, I finally got good shots of both (female on the left).

About that "flat" comment above. The sun was not quite over the mountains when we arrived, but it came out for some really beautiful light while we were here. Let me illustrate what I mean.

This shot is in good, flat light. You can see the horizon in the bird's eye. No highlight (catch-light/glint) from the sun, though. The sun is not above the horizon yet. It is bright out, but everything is indirect lighting. This is good light. No harsh shadows. Things are well lit. But, it is "flat" lighting. You are not getting a lot of brilliance out of this shot, and there is no way to make it that way. This is why photographers hope for an overcast sky in the middle of the day; at least you can still shoot.

Same subject, about 45 minutes later. The sun is up. I am standing with the sun directly behind me; so, it is lighting the bird evenly. The sun and I are essentially on the same level as the bird. No harsh shadows. Good, directional, bright light. It is early morning, which means the sun is also not at its strongest. This is the light you really want all day long.

Just for completeness, here is what I mean by harsh shadows. This was shot later in the day. We did our morning hike, and I came back up to the feeders after lunch to shoot and relax. It is approaching winter here, and the light is still somewhat directional (meaning I can position myself and kinda get the bird evenly lit) this time of day. Even getting the sun behind me, you can see the shadows on the bird. I am also just catching a glint in the eye. A little later, and it would not be there. On a bird with a dark eye, the eye would most likely be flat black (or dead-eyed; not a good look). This is not good lighting. It is acceptable lighting. Much later, and it would have been unusable light.

Anyway, that is my take on lighting. Here are the shots I got at the feeders between the morning and the middle of the day. It is not too hard to tell what time of day each was shot at.

The morning walk was not overly productive for photos. We tried the trails again. Nothing of note from the morning. Eared Pygmy-Tyrant, Swallow-tailed Manakin, Gray-capped Tyrannulet, Rufous-capped Spinetail, etc. are all good birds, but we have been seeing a lot of them. If only they would pose for photos. We have seen them a number of times are are IDing them as quick as Rene. I had not even picked up a lifer for the day, yet. Rene had joked about giving a refund if you did not get a lifer every day. This could be the day I get my money back. Not that I really would ask, but it was a fun running joke during the trip. I ended up with a single shot of a Swallow-tailed Manakin from the hike.

Outside the lodge dining area, a Southern House Wren cooperated for a couple of pics, which made him "of note".

Which catches us up to the post-lunch portion of the day. At this point, we have covered the trails around the lodge. At least the ones the guide is willing to take us on. For our final afternoon hike here, Rene gave us a choice of hikes. We chose the road that we hiked yesterday afternoon. It is wide open, and we had some good birding. It started off really well, for some. A raptor zoomed across the road when I was looking the other way. I missed my lifer Black-and-white Hawk-Eagle.

We walked past the area that was covered in army ant the day before. We had to run through them, and we all still ended up with some stuck to us. Luckily, no bites. There were also no ant-things following them then. Today, all that is left is hundreds of dead ants where they had been ran over in the road. We birded up the road and had some really nice mixed flocks. Again, nothing unusual at this point, but we are seeing things, calling them out, and people are spotting them without issue. It has been a lot of fun. We had talked earlier about wishing for birds. The gist was that you could not demand ("need", "want", etc.) birds and hope to have them gifted. It always seems to work in that unintentional, sincere moment where the wish springs from a true moment of hope. This is when the birding gods are listening. We had just finished with a mixed flock and were winding down from the excitement when I think it was Sara said that it would be nice to see a Blond-crested Woodpecker. Amy softly repeats it would be nice to see a Blond-crested Woodpecker. I turn and look at the edge of the road just in time to see a Blond-crested Woodpecker fly up and perch in a tree. I start pointing and yelling that it is "right there!" The group loses its collective mind. It was a mostly joyous moment. This was Chris's most-wanted bird of the trip. He has twisted has twisted his knee, though, and has left his camera back at the lodge to avoid the extra weight on the hike. While he was happy to see the bird, he was not happy about not having his camera.

We finally calm down and are marching back to the lodge. We are still a bit giddy from the woodpecker and joking about me getting a refund - no lifers, today. Rene looks up and says, "look at that hummingbird". There is a hummingbird flying around some bromeliads. Another birds conspicuously absent from the feeders has been White-throated Hummingbird. This bird would be a lifer for me. For whatever reason, it has not been around; until now. There is a White-throated Hummingbird flying around the trees above us. Just as we are joking about it, the birding gods handed Rene a lifeline. It really could not have ended much better.

Pics were of a Sepia-capped Flycatcher and "the" Blond-crested Woodpecker.

The following morning was our last morning. The skies are finally going to be overcast, but we are leaving. There is some time this morning to shoot. I have my room packed and my bags out already. I am skipping breakfast again (did I mention they serve cake for breakfast here?) to try and get some extra time in. I have placed bananas on the main feeder. I am hoping to get some more Saffron Toucanet shots. I am really hoping the Red-breasted Toucan comes in. Apparently I was not wishing well. No joy. I waited as long as I could. I caught up on shots of some of the birds I had been ignoring; mostly the hummingbirds. I had a bit of activity, but just not the ones I was hoping to see. With the cooler overcast skies, my guess is that the toucans were not overly active, yet.

We have done well here, overall. This was the place I most-wanted to see on this trip. It would be nice to come back here some day. If I had the time (felt like I could devote the time), it would be great to spend a week. If I do come back, I am getting the recipe for the passionfruit chicken. Oh, and more toucan photos.

This wraps up the posts for Brazil. I hope you have enjoyed the posts. It was a great trip. I am very thankful to Amy, Chris, Adam, and Sara for letting me come along on their trip. I hope I was a good fellow traveler. I enjoyed my trip and all the birds we saw together. Thank you.

I actually have another small post coming, soon. Part of what delayed these posts was another trip. Shortly after getting back from Brazil, I was off to Aruba with my girlfriend and some other friends. It was a working trip for me, but it was over the holiday weekend; so, I had a few days of fun to go birding.

Thanks for reading,

Mike