SANTO AMARO area
BRAZIL
region (near), (Compass)
Lat:00o00´S/00o00´W ha topography msl
Protected/registered status
Best Time for visit (5th & 7th November, 2006)
Birding Site Guide
Forest near Santo Amaro harbours the endangered endemic Fringe-backed Fire-eye. I birded 2 days in the area as day trips from Salvador. It takes about an hour and a half to the site by bus from the terminal in Salvador which makes it a little difficult to get there early and staying in Cachoeira or Santo Amaro might be a better option. The birds I found though were more vocal in the mid-morning so there is no need to be there too early. Santana buses leave Salvador at 5:30, 6:30 and 7:30 and cost about R12 (you may have trouble explaining where you want to go when you buy your ticket). If you don't mind paying a bit extra, just buy a ticket to Sao Felix. The site is about 10km passed Santo Amaro (1hr 10) and takes about another 20 minutes. You could also catch a bus to Santo Amaro or Bom Jesus and get a minibus or moto-taxi further along.
The difficult part is knowing where to get off. About 3-4kms from the terminal you pass a big paper-making factory on the right. A short distance after this there is an obvious left turn. Continue straight along here and after a few more kms look out for a big concrete pull-out. A short distance after this there is a gravel track leading to the left. This area has lots of planted bamboo but you can see the forest on a hill behind. This track comes to a gate which is wired shut. This is private land belonging to the IBP paper company so you should probably ask permission to enter, although you will almost certainly not come accross anyone there. After passing the gate, you come to an open area where caustic soda is dumped. On the right of this area is the start of an overgrown trail. Follow this along passed a couple of stagnant streams. This area ia all planted with bamboo and the idea is to walk up through the bamboo between the streams to the forest edge. It is on this edge that you can find the fire-eyes. Playback is needed although I forgot my machine and still managed to see them. I made the mistake of going up into the forest but actually saw the birds on the bamboo side of the edge. Further along the road are other patches of forest worth exploring. Where the road goes up, I explored along a trail to the left which led to a patch of forest with 4 manakin species including Striped.
I saw 57 species including 5 lifers
Species seen
- Black Vulture Coragyps atratus
- Turkey Vulture Cathartes aura
- Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture Cathartes burrovianus photo'd
- Roadside Hawk Buteo magnirostris
- Zone-tailed Hawk Buteo albonotatus
- Crested Caracara Caracara cheriway
- Yellow-headed Caracara Milvago chimachima
- Common Moorhen Gallinula chloropus
- Pale-vented Pigeon Patagioenas cayennensis
- Ruddy Ground-Dove Columbina talpacoti
- Scaled Dove Columbina squammata
- White-tipped Dove Leptotila verreauxi Heard only
- Brown-throated Parakeet Aratinga pertinax
- Blue-winged Parrotlet Forpus xanthopterygius
- Squirrel Cuckoo Piaya cayana Heard only
- Smooth-billed Ani Crotophaga ani
- Gray-rumped Swift Chaetura cinereiventris Possibly seen
- Rufous-breasted Hermit Glaucis hirsuta photo'd
- Reddish Hermit Phaethornis ruber
- Golden-spangled Piculet Picumnus exilis
- Little Woodpecker Veniliornis passerinus Possibly seen
- Rufous Hornero Furnarius rufus Possibly seen
- Sooty-fronted Spinetail Synallaxis frontalis Heard only
- Thrush-like Woodcreeper Dendrocincla turdina Possibly seen
- Wedge-billed Woodcreeper Glyphorynchus spirurus Possibly seen
- Buff-throated Woodcreeper Xiphorhynchus guttatus
- Plain Antvireo Dysithamnus mentalis Heard only
- White-fringed Antwren Formicivora grisea photo'd
- Fringe-backed Fire-eye Pyriglena atra Endemic Critically endangered
- White-bearded Manakin Manacus manacus
- Blue-backed Manakin Chiroxiphia pareola Heard only
- Red-headed Manakin Pipra rubrocapilla photo'd
- Eastern Striped Manakin Machaeropterus regulus Endemic photo'd
- Common Tody-Flycatcher Todirostrum cinereum
- Cattle Tyrant Machetornis rixosus
- Brown-crested Flycatcher Myiarchus tyrannulus Possibly heard
- Great Kiskadee Pitangus sulphuratus
- Boat-billed Flycatcher Megarynchus pitangua
- Tropical Kingbird Tyrannus melancholicus
- Gray-breasted Martin Progne chalybea
- Southern Rough-winged Swallow Stelgidopteryx ruficollis
- Moustached Wren Thryothorus genibarbis Heard only
- House Wren Troglodytes aedon
- Pale-breasted Thrush Turdus leucomelas
- Rufous-browed Peppershrike Cyclarhis gujanensis
- Bananaquit Coereba flaveola
- Hooded Tanager Nemosia pileata
- Brazilian Tanager Ramphocelus bresilius Endemic
- Sayaca Tanager Thraupis sayaca
- Palm Tanager Thraupis palmarum
- Violaceous Euphonia Euphonia violacea
- Red-cowled Cardinal Paroaria dominicana Endemic
- Buff-throated Saltator Saltator maximus
- Blue-black Grosbeak Cyanocompsa cyanoides
- Shiny Cowbird Molothrus bonariensis
- Epaulet Oriole Icterus cayanensis
- House Sparrow Passer domesticus Intro Seen Santo Amaro
Other Fauna
A total of -- species of mammals.
There are -- recorded species of amphibians and reptiles.
Flora
Author: Charles Hesse
www.birdingsiteguide.com
