Brazil Birding Experts

02/10/2024

Discover the Birds of Southeast Brazil!

Have you ever wondered what it's like to walk through the rich forests of Southeast Brazil, surrounded by the calls of unique and rare birds? We’ve captured the magic of this incredible region in our latest video, and we’d love for you to join us on this journey.

In this episode, you’ll encounter extraordinary birds like the Red-billed Curassow and the Brazilian Merganser, along with other hidden gems that call this vibrant region home. It’s an invitation to slow down, connect with nature, and experience the beauty that surrounds us.

📽️ Watch the video and let yourself be transported into the heart of one of Brazil’s most biodiverse regions. Whether you’re new to birdwatching or a long-time enthusiast, there’s something for everyone.

👉 [ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaY-2jF58AI&t=46s ]

We’d love to hear your thoughts: Which bird species would you love to see in Southeast Brazil?

Embark on a journey through Southeast Brazil, covering São Paulo, Minas Gerais, Espírito Santo and Rio de Janeiro. This video takes you through diverse ecosy...

19/08/2024

Welcome to Northeast Brazil with Brazil Birding Experts!

With over 20 years of experience and more than 200 tours operated in this region, in this video we present to you a quick review of one of our most popular tours in all of Brazil, the one and only Northeast Brazil Popular Tour. This trip could be done in 16 to 18 days.

Check out our website for more information: https://brazilbirdingexperts.com/

Link to YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPuNNVeCFKc

26/07/2024

It is with great delight that we share with you Brazil Birding Experts' first YouTube video!

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIx-LUW3V40

From now on, we will have monthly posts on YouTube related to BBE and Birdwatching in Brazil.

Your feedback is, as always, greatly appreciated by us and we would love to see you on YouTube sharing your thoughts with us.

Follow us to receive the latest news: https://www.youtube.com/

O Brasil é um verdadeiro paraíso para observadores de aves. Com quase 2000 espécies, das quais 293 são endêmicas, é um dos países mais ricos em diversidade d...

09/07/2024

Hello there,

Once again, Brazil Birding Experts will be at the Global Bird Fair!

Tati, Joanna and Ciro are ready to depart. It will be a pleasure to meet all our old and new friends. We will be at Stand N27 in the Nightingale Marquee.

See you soon!!

02/03/2024

🌟 Exciting Updates from BBE! 🌟

Hey everyone! Last week, the BBE team came together for our annual meeting, and let me tell you, it was an incredible experience! We kicked off with a dynamic 3-day Outdoor Leadership Course followed by a 2-day immersion session to craft our action plan for 2024/2025.

One of the major decisions we made is to migrate our checklists to IOC, a choice backed by our valued clients. Additionally, get ready for some thrilling news—our team will be embarking on scouting trips to unexplored birding areas, promising unique adventures for our community. Plus, stay tuned for the unveiling of fresh tours and itineraries, designed to elevate your birding experiences to new heights!

Don’t miss out on any updates—subscribe to our Newsletter today on our website and be the first to know about all the exciting news coming your way.

25/01/2024

Boa Nova Tapaculo!!

Congratulations and Mateus Gonçalves!

Press rewind and let’s go back about 20 years. In article published in 2005 (Cotinga 24), Fernando Pacheco, Bret Whitney, Pedro Develey and Luís Fábio Silveira reported a new species of Scytalopus from the Serra das Lontras–Javi montane complex in the state of Bahia, Brazil. It was only in 2014 that this cryptic species was finally described to science. Ever since, this name has resonated in the ears of passionate world birders who usually enquire:

“What about the Boa Nova Tapaculo?”

As the English name suggests, Boa Nova Tapaculo is restricted to a few sites in southeastern Bahia, northeastern Brazil (including the municipality of Boa Nova), where it forages on or near the ground in humid montane forest. Like any other typical Scytalopus, the Boa Nova Tapaculo is secretive and is heard much more easily than it is seen.

Ciro Albano has seen it only very few times in Boa Nova. For the first time still in 2008, before it was even described to science, and then, after that, very few times until 2016, year of the last documented record in Boa Nova.

Although there are other recent reports on eBird for Boa Nova, we believe that none of them are credible without proper evidence (photo or recording). We say this because there have been many occasions where solo birders send us a recording of a possible Boa Nova Tapaculo that turned out to be Plain-winged Woodcreeper (95%), Sombre Hummingbird (4%) or another (1%). And since the disappearance of the Tapaculo in Boa Nova, Mateus Gonçalves, a great naturalist and ornithologist from the region has set out on journeys searching for this secretive and rare species in Boa Nova and neighboring cities, with no success. Therefore, without proper evidence, it is hard to confirm the veracity of these recent records in Boa Nova. Even more because the “wet forest” that birders usually visit in Boa Nova does not have the “ideal habitat” for the species and Ciro has tried a few times in the place where it used to be seen, and, also, without any success.
…continue in comments…

25/01/2024

Boa Nova Tapaculo!!🤘🏼😎

Congratulations Ciro Albano and Mateus Gonçalves!

Press rewind and let’s go back about 20 years. In article published in 2005 (Cotinga 24), Fernando Pacheco, Bret Whitney, Pedro Develey and Luís Fábio Silveira reported a new species of Scytalopus from the Serra das Lontras–Javi montane complex in the state of Bahia, Brazil. It was only in 2014 that this cryptic species was finally described to science. Ever since, this name has resonated in the ears of passionate world birders who usually enquire:

“What about the Boa Nova Tapaculo?”

As the English name suggests, Boa Nova Tapaculo is restricted to a few sites in southeastern Bahia, northeastern Brazil (including the municipality of Boa Nova), where it forages on or near the ground in humid montane forest. Like any other typical Scytalopus, the Boa Nova Tapaculo is secretive and is heard much more easily than it is seen.

Ciro Albano has seen it only very few times in Boa Nova. For the first time still in 2008, before it was even described to science, and then, after that, very few times until 2016, year of the last documented record in Boa Nova.

Although there are other recent reports on eBird for Boa Nova, we believe that none of them are credible without proper evidence (photo or recording). We say this because there have been many occasions where solo birders send us a recording of a possible Boa Nova Tapaculo that turned out to be Plain-winged Woodcreeper (95%), Sombre Hummingbird (4%) or another (1%). And since the disappearance of the Tapaculo in Boa Nova, Mateus Gonçalves, a great naturalist and ornithologist from the region has set out on journeys searching for this secretive and rare species in Boa Nova and neighboring cities, with no success. Therefore, without proper evidence, it is hard to confirm the veracity of these recent records in Boa Nova. Even more because the “wet forest” that birders usually visit in Boa Nova does not have the “ideal habitat” for the species and Ciro has tried a few times in the place where it used to be seen, and, also, without any success.

In 2022, Alec Hopping saw and documented the Boa Nova Tapaculo in the general area it was first reported, Serra das Lontras National Park. Before Alec’s recent sighting, our response to fellow birders would always be the same: “it has gone missing! The population in Boa Nova hasn’t been seen since 2016 and the possible area in Serra das Lontras NP is difficult access for a birding trip”.

After Alec saw the species in Serra das Lontras, our response changed to “we know it is there (pointing to the mountain range as we drove by), but we haven’t tried it yet and still have to study the logistics and possibilities to insert this into a tour with responsibility and safety”.

Ever since Alec came to Brazil in 2022, Caio Brito maintained contact and had it all planned out for his next journeys to the Northeast in November and December 2023. In the meantime, as Caio was preparing for his November tour, our good friend and partner Mateus set on the mission to find the Tapaculo. He ended up finding the Tapaculo in the same general area but in a much closer territory. As Caio constantly keeps in touch with Mateus, he was psyched with the possibility of trying this ultra-rare species but, unfortunately, in both groups that Caio was leading there were participants with some mobility difficulty which made the undertaking impossible.

But now the time has come, and no one deserves this moment more than Ciro Albano! He has done it in the past and has done it again: the Boa Nova Tapaculo is now, once again, a realistic opportunity for birders who are willing to add an extra day to the Northeast Brazil Tour and endure a long and strenuous hike to give this special, discrete, and rare little bird a try. Congratulations Ciro Albano and Mateus Gonçalves for making this possible and congratulations to Gerlinde, Graham and Peter that agreed to undertake this challenge.

Thank you for sharing your excellent photo, Peter Los!

Important note: Serra das Lontras is a National Park and any plans to visit this area should involve proper and formal communication with the authorities.