This tour is designed for people who enjoy a slower-paced trip based in just two excellent lodges, both of which cater to the needs of birders. We’ll spend four nights at Guapi Assu Bird Lodge, located at the base of the Serra dos Órgãos mountains in a large 18,500 acre (7400 ha.) nature reserve. Many trails pass through rich forest, and the restored wetlands here have quickly garnered a reputation as being the finest in the region; they are always teeming with birds. The other three nights will be spent at Vale das Taquaras in a beautiful forested valley high up in the mountains. This is a charming new lodge that has easy access to some great birding sites.

Day 1: Rio de Janeiro to Guapi Assu. The tour starts at 10:00am in Rio airport, and we’ll drive two hours northeast to Guapi Assu, where we will spend the next four nights. We’ll start by birding around the wetlands near the lodge taking in some easy waterbirds like Brazilian Teal, White-faced Whistling-Duck, and Masked Duck. The regenerating woodland nearby has neat birds like Long-billed Wren, White Woodpecker, Rufous-tailed Jacamar, and Wing-banded Hornero. During some of our evenings here, we can stay out after dark to watch for hulking Giant Snipes displaying, handsome Scissor-tailed Nightjars hawking insects, and owls such as Striped and Tawny-browed.

Day 2: Guapi Assu. We’ll walk along a fairly easy trail that climbs gradually through the rainforest to a scenic waterfall. Taking it slowly, we´ll check out territories along the way for the handsome Gray-hooded Attila, the gaudy Spot-billed Toucanet, cute Pin-tailed and Swallow-tailed Manakins, skulking Scaled Antbird, Southern Antpipit, and Rufous-capped Antthrush. Higher up the trail, we reach stakeouts for one of Guapi Assu’s star birds, the Shrike-like Cotinga. Nowhere else is it easier to see, and with the help of some sharp-eyed rangers, we stand a good chance of finding one. Mixed species flocks up here can also be good, with Sharpbill, Yellow-green Grosbeak, and a whole suite of tanagers possible. A picnic lunch at an impressive waterfall will be arranged before heading back to the lodge.

Day 3: Guapi Assu. On our second full day in the lowland forest, we will (weather permitting) take a 4WD up to a slightly higher altitude sector of the reserve. By birding a clearing at an abandoned farm that provides good views of the surrounding trees, we’ll watch for Plain and Maroon-bellied Parakeets, Channel-billed Toucan, Green-headed and Ruby-crowned Tanager, Long-tailed Tyrant, and other canopy birds. With a bit of luck, we might also spot an immaculate white Bare-throated Bellbird “bonking” from a distant treetop. As the morning heats up, we’ll work some trails for Eared Pygmy-Tyrant, White-bibbed Antbird, Streak-capped and Rufous-winged Antwrens, Crescent-chested Puffbird, and a variety of woodcreepers and foliage-gleaners. On the way back to the lodge, we’ll check out a lek of Eastern Striped Manakin.

Day 4: Atlantic Coast. A two-hour drive will take us to the Atlantic coast where we target the critically endangered Restinga Antwren. This bird is restricted to the rapidly vanishing coastal scrub east of Rio. We search for this bird right alongside a magical ocean setting, where we may also see Brown Boobies, Magnificent Frigatebirds, and a few terns. A nearby salt lagoon usually has rafts of White-cheeked Pintails and a selection of shorebirds. We return to Guapi Assu for lunch and spend more time around the wetlands in the afternoon, trying for shy and skulking rails like Rufous-sided and Ash-throated Crakes and Blackish Rail.

Day 5: Sumidouro. Requiring an early start, we head north to some drier habitat on the far side of the Serra dos Órgãos range, passing the iconic Dedo de Deus, or “God’s Finger” mountain en route. Forest patches support small populations of the endangered Three-toed Jacamar along with a great selection of other birds like Gilt-edged Tanager, Sooretama Slaty-Antshrike, Sooty Grassquit, and Yellow-eared Woodpecker. The area also holds a selection of distinctive open-country species like Red-legged Seriema, Firewood-gatherer, Streamer-tailed Tyrant, Whistling Heron, and Gray and White-rumped Monjitas. We’ll arrive at Vale das Taquaras Lodge late in the afternoon, our base for the rest of the tour.

Day 6: Vale das Taquaras. Birding starts right on the doorstep, where we’ll work the roads and easy trails for some cracking Atlantic Forest gems like Brassy-breasted Tanager, Ferruginous and Ochre-rumped Antbirds, Hooded Berryeater, and Bare-throated Bellbird. Later in the day, we’ll take a short ride up a 4WD track to a small patch of forest that is loaded with even rarer species like White-bearded Antbird, Spotted Bamboowren, and Half-collared Sparrow. Some super-cool nightbirds also occur nearby including the ominous Stygian Owl and outrageous Long-trained Nightjar.

Day 7: Pico da Caledônia. This 7200 ft (2200 m) peak is the highest in the area, and we'll make use of a 4WD to get near the top of a very steep cobblestone road. The treeline forest is home to one of the world's rarest birds, Gray-winged Cotinga, as well as other high elevation birds that we won't see elsewhere, such as Rufous-tailed Antbird, Serra do Mar Tyrannulet, Diademed Tanager, Plovercrest, and the endemic Itatiaia Thistletail. Once the fog rolls in, we’ll return to Vale das Taquaras, stopping for Dusky-tailed Antbird along the way.

Day 8: Return to Rio. Most international flights leave Rio quite late, giving us most of the day to keep on birding. We’ll keep our plans flexible so we can target anything in particular we might need. We could revisit one of the sites, or try somewhere new like Serra dos Órgãos NP, looking for some of the montane species we may have missed, such as Brazilian Antthrush and Mouse-colored Tapaculo.


Tour Info:

CLIMATE: Warm to hot in the lowlands, cool or even cold in the mountains. Some rain is likely.

DIFFICULTY: Moderate. While the trip requires a fair amount of walking, most of it is not strenuous. There is one walk of about 3 miles (5 km) roundtrip at Guapiassu on a slightly inclined trail, and Pico da Caledonia requires walking up a steep but short cobblestone road and some stairs.

ACCOMMODATION: Excellent lodges, but two of the rooms at Guapi Assu and one room at Vale das Taquaras do not have attached bathrooms, though they are not shared