Itinerary

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Sep 16th – Arrival to Sao Paulo, Brazil.  Most flights arrive in the morning, we will pick you up at the airport and head off to our first destination near Salesopolis.  The feeders here are good for Brassy-breasted, Brazilian and Green-headed Tanagers.   Accommodation: A nice hotel in Salesopolis.

Sep 17th – We will do some multi-flash hummingbird today.  White-throated Hummingbird and Brazilian Ruby and other species come to the setups.  They have corn and mealworm feeders which attract difficult birds like Red-and-White Crake, Brown Tinamou, White-breasted Tapaculo and White-shouldered Fire-Eye.  Walks on the trails can produce special birds such as the Sao Paulo Antwren, this is the only spot in the world where it can be seen.  Accommodation: A nice hotel in Salesopolis

Sep 18th – Morning photography at the feeding station followed by check out and 3 hour transfer to Espinherio.  Afternoon photography at the feeding station there.  This is a good location for Red-necked Tanager and Scaly-throated Hermit.  Accommodation: A nice hotel nearby. 

Sep 19th – Morning at Espinherio.  The Chestnut-bellied Euphonia and Blue Dacnis (sometimes in large numbers) are reliable here and sometimes we get Blue-naped Cholorophonia and Black-legged Dacnis.  Then we have a 3.5 hour transfer to our next location at Petar.  Petar has had a pair of Ornate Hawk Eagles nest there every year for the past several years.  It is close enough to allow for good photographs.  Accommodation: A nice hotel in town nearby.   

Sep 20th – We will spend the full day at Petar, it’s a good location for multi-flash hummingbird photography.  Some of the species we should get on the multi-flash include Versicolored Emerald, Black Jacobin, and Violet-capped Woodnymph.  This is a good location for the amazing Festive Coquette.  They feed antpittas here and Royal Flycatcher can sometimes be found in the forest.   Accommodation: A nice hotel in the town nearby.  

Sep 21st – We spend the morning at Petar which also has a feeding station for rarely seen tinamous.  Then we transfer to Intervales State Park.  At Intervales some elusive birds come in to a feeder including Solitary Tinamou, Spot-winged Wood Quail and crakes.  We may have a look for the endangered Southern Wooly Monkey here. Lodge: Intervales State Park. 

Sep 22nd – This morning we look for 2 species hummingbirds which have leks here, the gorgeous Violet-capped Plovercrest and the Dusky-throated Hermit, then we check out and head to our next lodge, Toucan’s Trail.  Afternoon bird photography at the very active fruit feeders. Lodge: Toucan’s Trail.

Sep 23rd-24th- 2 full days of bird photography at Toucan’s Trail.  Their feeders attract up to 4 species of toucans, beautiful tanagers, Blond-crested and Yellow-fronted Woodpeckers, Plain and Maroon-bellied Parakeets and more.  The birds are so tame here that if you hold up a banana, many tanagers will land on your hand, we also had 2 species of toucan and Blond-crested Woodpecker come to our hands here.  There are trails to explore in the forest with the guide as well.  Mammals such as the Brazilian Tapir often come to the feeders at night.  Lodge: Toucan’s Trail

Sep 25th – We will spend the morning photographing at Toucan’s Trail, then we will transfer to to Pousada Fazende, a lodge north of Sao Paulo in the dry forest.  2 of the special hummingbird species here are the Stripe-breasted Starthroat and the Planalto Hermit.  Lodge: Pousada de Fazenda

Sep 26th – We will try some multi-flash photography at this lodge.  Other hummingbird species present here include  Swallow-tailed Hummingbird, White-vented Violetear, Gilded Saphire, Amethyst Woodstar and Sapphire-spangled Emerald.  Lodge: Pousada de Fazenda

Sep 27th – Morning photography at Pousada de Fazenda followed by transfer after lunch back to the Sao Paulo airport for your return trip home.  Most flights leave in the evening.  If anyone wants to arrive a day early or needs to stay an extra night we can arrange a nice hotel near the Sao Paulo airport for you.

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Northeast Brazil Extension

The extension visits a spectacular location, Boa Nova, in Bahia State for photographing hummingbirds as well as visiting an area where rare monkeys such as Golden-headed Lion Tamarin can be photographed. 

Cost:  $2,950 with a $400 single supplement, nonphotographer spouse/companion $2,650.  This includes internal flight, all lodging, meals, transportation, guiding. 

Itinerary:

Sep 27th – We will stay in a nice hotel near the Sao Paulo Airport

Sep 28th – Morning flight to Ilheus, Brazil.  Then lunch and a 4-to-5-hour transfer to Boa Nova area.  A nice hotel there.

Sep 29th and 30th – Two full days of photography at a feeding station and reserve near Boa Nova.  This is one of the best locations in the world to photograph the stunning Ruby-topaz Hummingbird.  There is abundant natural light at the feeders here so we don’t do any multi-flash, we are able to get high shutter speeds to stop them in flight with ambient light.  Many other species of hummingbirds are here including the spectacular Stripe-breasted Starthroat and Rufous-breasted Hermit.  The area supports many other interesting species including difficult birds such as Slender Antbird and Silvery-cheeked Antshrike as well as stunners such as Campo Troupial.  A nice but simple hotel in Boa Nova.

October 1st – We will do a bit of morning bird photography at another dry forest location nearby then gradually work our way back to the coast of Brazil, eventually reaching our hotel near the beach about an hour south of Ilheus. 

October 2nd – Today we will spend the day looking for and photographing the range restricted Golden-headed Lion Tamarin, Yellow-breasted Capuchin and Maned Three-toed Sloth.  We will also be on the lookout for birds such as Golden-capped Parakeets and Margareta’s Hermit.  A nice hotel on the beach. 

October 3rd – A bit of morning photography followed by transfer to the airport for mid-day flight back to Sao Paulo.  You can then head home on an evening flight, or we can book an extra night for you near the Sao Paulo airport.