Chapada dos Guimarães National Park; a small Brazilian surprise

By the time this post is published, I'll be just about on my way out of Australia for the first time in four years, both nervous and excited. Unsurprisingly to many of my readers we'll be heading back to the Neotropics, and specifically to Costa Rica to run a tour that we had to cancel - and didn't we all have to cancel?! - three years ago. Accordingly my mind is on the Neotropics now, so this post will take us back there, which I know won't please everyone, but who can? ☺ Needless to say I'm pretty distracted at present, so this might be shortish, or at least somewhat spare on detail. Hopefully you can enjoy the scenery and birds anyway.

Sandstone outcrops, which are typical of the Chapada dos Guimarães landscape.

Most natural history people who visit Brazil (and it's a fabulous destination, especially now that some of the worst of the ugliness of the past few years has been swept away) are likely to head for the Amazon, Pantanal and Iguazú Falls, and quite rightly. However if you're going to the Pantanal - and you really should! - please build in a couple of days to take in Chapada dos Guimarães National Park, just to the north. You're likely to fly into Cuiabá, a surprising high-rise city of over a million people in the plains, and Chapada dos Guimarães is not too far away - in fact they are visible from each other, though about 60km apart.

Cuiabá, capital of Mato Grosso state, bigger than NSW,
in the hazy distance from Chapada dos Guimarães NP.

The nearby pleasant small town of Chapada dos Guimarães is a good base from which to explore both the park and as a jump-off point for the vast wetlands of the Pantanal. The park itself is valuable as one of the very few in the Cerrado, a vast area of moist savanna woodland and grassland in central Brazil, covering more than 20% of the country. It has been vastly undervalued by governments and most of it has been cleared for agriculture, despite its enormous biodiversity values as one of the richest tropical savannas in the world. Doubtless the rugged rocky nature of Chapada dos Guimarães is the major reason for it being spared.

The extent of the Cerrado, as defined by the World Wildlife Fund. The green
cross marks the Pantanal, and Chapada dos Guimarães is just to the north of it,
in the purple. Bolivia is immediately to the west, and Paraguay to the south.
The Cerrado just extends into both.

My first impression of the rocky wildness of Chapada dos Guimarães reminded me of the Blue Mountains, but on reflection the red sandstone and the tropical climate is more redolent of the Top  End and Kakadu sandstones in the Northern Territory. Here are some more sandstone vistas and features.

Though there are other explanations for the name to be found on the internet (most of them
simply copying each other) chapada in Portuguese means a high plain, or plateau,
according to my dictionary. Guimarães is a historic city in Portugal, perhaps the
home town of the person who named the landscape here; I can find no
reference to this.

And with plateaux like this there are bound to be waterfalls. Here is the most famous and most visited of them.

Véu de Noiva (ie Bridal Veil) Falls, above and below. I'd love to know how many of these
there are in various languages around the world. In Australia I can think of five Bridal Falls
(two in NSW, and one each in Queensland, Victoria and Tasmania) and I'm sure there'll be more.

The Cerrado vegetation is by and large tough and scrubby, though in some sheltered situations there are pockets of moister forest. Here are some roadside examples in the park.

The structural resemblances to Australian tropical savannahs are obvious, though the plants are
very different.

Here are few specific plants in flower, some of which I'm reasonably sure I know and a couple that I don't, but which I float here in the hope that someone like you might be able and willing to help me!

Feathery Acacia Senegalia lowei (formerly Acacia plumosa), one of several South American acacias.

Byrsonima crassifolia, Family Malpighiaceae. The small fruits which will form from these
flowers are valued by humans, and doubtless other animals.

Jacaranda decurrens. We were very surprised to see a jacaranda growing as a small shrub.
In Australia we are familiar with the widely-planted tree J. mimosifolia and it didn't occur
to us that there might be other species with other forms. There are in fact 49 species,
all belonging to the tropics and subtropics of America.

This species and the next I'd love your help with, if you're able.
The families look frustratingly familiar, but I can't be sure of that.

The rest of the post consists of a series of birds (and one reptile), with brief comments on each for those who want them. The first two were taken along the road from the Cuiabá airport to our very nice little lodge in Chapada dos Guimarães.

Black-throated Saltator Saltatricula atricollis. This is actually a tanager but until recently
they were included with the cardinal family. There's a lot of that sort of thing in the Neotropics,
as taxonomies are sorted out. This one is virtually a Cerrado endemic.

Narrow-billed Woodcreeper Lepidocolaptes angustirostris. Widespread in drier habitats
of eastern South America, probing bark crevices for insects.

The next few were in the town of Chapada dos Guimarães, mostly either in the grounds of our lodge or on the wires in the street outside.

Barred Antshrike Thamnophilus doliatus on the garden wall. Anything beginning with 'ant' in
South America is likely to be extremely skulking and frustating - but not this one!

Double-collared Seedeaters Sporophila caerulescens (yet another tanager-called-something-else)
and Ruddy Ground Dove Columbina talpacoti on the lodge feeder.

Rufous-bellied Thrush Turdus rufiventris. This is a common and much-loved bird
(mostly for its song) which has been declared the national bird of Brazil.

Pale-vented Pigeon Patagioenas cayennensis, another familiar and widespread species,
including in suburbia as long as there are trees remaining.

Masked Tityra Tityra semifasciata, a member of a small family (45 species) of South
and Central America species, including quite a few formerly regarded as - and still known as -
flycatchers. This one is very widespread.

And the rest of these birds were all in the national park; we didn't spend a lot of time there (much of it is inaccessible, especially to vehicles such as our little bus) but it was time very well spent. These are roughly in taxonomic order.

White-tailed Hawk Geranoaetus albicaudatus. This large and very handsome hawk is found
throughout much of eastern South America and scattered in central America.

Burrowing Owls Athene cunicularia, found in open land in every South American country
and a fair bit of North America, always delight me. I still can't get used to seeing owls
standing sternly at the mouth of a burrow, and in the daytime!

Ferruginous Pygmy Owl Glaucidium brasilianum, a mini-owl only 15cm high, found from the
far south of the US south to most of South America east of the Andes. A fierce little hunter,
it operates by day (taking insects, scorpions, lizards and birds as large as thrushes and doves)
as well in the dusk and dawn.

I love it that it apparently has eyes in the back of its head, presumably to deter
its own predators, and perhaps the many other birds that regularly mob it.

 

Peach-fronted Parakeets Eupsittula aurea roosting and quietly preening in the heat of the day.
A lovely little parrot found in open country throughout north-eastern South America.

White-eared Puffbird Nystalus chacuru, one of 37 species found throughout South and
Central America. They are perch-and-pounce predators with big heads and bills, mostly
patterned in browns or greys or blacks, some with fluffy plumage (hence the group name).
This one is found in the dry forests of the Cerrado, and a little beyond.

As mentioned earlier the antbirds and their kin - ancient South Americans, found
nowhere else (save for some that have spread into Central America) - tend to be
shy and often notoriously hard to see. Fortunately some can be tempted into
the open, such as this female Large-billed Antwren Herpsilochmus longirostris.
A Brazilian endemic, it is largely restricted to the Cerrado.

Male Rusty-backed Antwren Formicivora rufa, a very handsome little bird when seen
up close. Similarly found across the Cerrado, it also crosses the borders of some
neighbouring countries.

Suiriri Flycatcher Suiriri suiriri (though some recognise this subspecies as a separate species,
Chapada Flycatcher). This is a member of the 'other' great group of old South American
passerines, the tyrant flycatchers.

Helmeted Manakin Antilophia galeata. I love manakins, mostly brilliantly coloured
(the males anyway) little Neotropical birds which display in dark forests. This one deserved
a better portrait than this, but this was the best I could do in the conditions. Another Cerrado
endemic, and almost restricted to Brazil.

And the remaining five species I have for you are all tanagers - or in one case, a 'tanager'. And a couple of the real tanagers are actually called 'finches' (based on past misunderstandings). This is my favourite Neotropical bird family, after the hummingbirds, a whirlwind of colour and activity, which readily come to fruit feeders at many lodges. All these however were very much 'in the wild'.

White-rumped Tanagers Cypsnagra hirundinacea prefer grassy areas with few trees,
unlike most of their relatives. Limited to the Cerrado.

Swallow Tanagers Tersina viridis on the other hand are found throughout much of
northern South America - and what stunners they are (shining even through this
dull day)! Tanagers never fail to surprise, and this one, as well as eating fruit like most tanagers,
also catches insects on the wing, hence the name.

The attractive Red Pileated Finch Coryphospingus cucullatus is really a tanager (ie a member
of the Family Thraupidae). It's another bird of the dry forests and shrublands, but ranges
well south of the Cerrado, deep into Argentina. There are also some far-flung outlying
populations, including around Cusco in the Andes of southern Peru!

Coal-crested Finch Charitospiza eucosma, another 'finch' that's really a tanager!
This handsome bird is limited to the Cerrado and I was very happy to see it.

And finally, the 'tanager' which is actually a cardinal. The misunderstandings surrounding tanagers and related families is finally being resolved with the use of more and more sophisticated biochemical tools, but the past confusion leaves a legacy of a web of muddled common names which could hurt your head if you let them. They're all lovely birds though which ultimately is what matters.

Pair of Red Tanagers Piranga flava (male on the right). Flava means yellow, but a glance at
female explains this one at least. (Yet further confusion results from the inclusion of the
species by some people in the very widespread Hepatic Tanager
- another hangover from the past.)

And to wrap up this not-so-brief-after-all introduction to the wild places of Chapada dos Guimarães, a token reptile - not its fault, or even mine, but it was the only one I recall seeing there.

Chaco Spiny Lizard Tropidurus lagunablanca; I'm almost sure this is right, and if
you could either correct me or reassure me, I'd be grateful. Very handsome in any case!

If you get to Brazil - and it's worth it - try and fit in a couple of days at least in Chapada dos Guimarães, you won't regret it. Meantime, thanks for helping me indulge in some nice memories.

I'll be back here in August, with material for another exotic posting or two!

NEXT POSTING THURSDAY 10 AUGUST

 

I love to receive your comments and in future will be notifying you personally by email when a new posting appears, if you'd like me to. All current subscribers have been added to this mailing list and have already been contacted. This will mean one email every three weeks at the current rate of posting. I promise never to use the list for any other purpose and will never share it.
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The Road to Titicaca; Peru's high southern Andes

Hello and welcome to my first posting of 2023! I know a couple of readers who'll roll their eyes at another non-Australian post, but the truth is that it's more than six months since the last one, and that was from Africa. With one thing and another it's been a long time since we felt able to go overseas and I'm feeling nostalgic so, dear reader, you can either bear with me or come back next time, when I'll welcome you just as warmly!

However 'warmly' is not a word I'd apply to the fabulously wild and rugged Andean highlands of far south-eastern Peru, where Peru and Bolivia meet in the middle of famed Lake Titicaca. 'Lake Titicaca'.... one of those near-fabled places that I'd always wanted to see. 

The red arrow indicates Lake Titicaca; even at this scale the size of it is evident.

Our route began at Arequipa, bottom left of the map, passed through the mighty Salinas and
Aguada Blanca National Reserve and took us to Chivay, the detour to the north-west.
Thence east on the approximate route shown to Puno on the shores of Lake Titicaca.

Arequipa is Peru's second-largest city, but with a million people is a village alongside Lima's 11 million plus. At 2300 metres above sea level it is equivalent to the highest point of Australia, but of foothill status compared with the elevations we were going to - and indeed to the volcanoes which provide its setting. Its city centre, a blend of colonial and indigenous architectural styles, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. 

Volcano Chachani from Arequipa; more than 20km away, it is over 6000 metres high.

From here we drove through the superb Salinas and Aguada Blanca National Reserve, which includes Chachani. This is an enormous reserve of nearly 370,000 hectares, protecting puna or altiplano landscapes on a dry cold high plateau between two branches of the Andes, in northern Chile and Argentina, and in Peru. The area is sparsely inhabited by traditional communities who herd alpacas and llamas.

Alpacas in a typical Aguada Blanca landscape.

Largely barren hillslopes in the national reserve.

There are virtually no trees and the plants that do occur here must be really tough, like the harsh grasses that the Alpacas rely on, and these cacti.

But even here there is animal life too, and among the things I'd most wanted to see were wild Vicuñas, the apparent wild ancestors of the Alpacas, not easy to see in the wild, though numbers have rebounded reassuringly from the 1970s when indiscriminate hunting brought numbers down to about 6000 in all of South America. They are slender, weighing less than half as much as the lower elevation Guanaco (ancestor of the Llama). Their fine wool is highly prized; when the Incas ruled, only royalty was permitted to wear garments made from it.

Wild Vicuñas Lama vicugna in Salinas and Aguada Blanca, above and below.

Once a year the herds are captured and shorn by the communities, then released; in times past
they would simply have killed them and taken the wool.

Variable Hawk Geranoaetus polyosoma on the roof of a roadside service centre in
the midst of the puna. This species is widespread along the Andes.

Most of the obvious life here though is associated with the bofedales, the high swamplands. Here are a few roadside examples.

Andean Lapwing Vanellus resplendens, a high altitude plover found along the Andean
chain as far south as northern Argentina.

Andean Geese Chloephaga melanoptera,which are found only in the southern Andes
above 3000 metres. For more on the South American 'geese' see here.

A Giant Coot Fulica gigantea on its huge nest, which comprises vegetation piled
up until it is resting on the bottom in up to a metre of water. The bird itself is also
huge (at least for a coot), weighing up to 2.5k. They are found at high altitudes (nearly always
above 3500 metres, but up to 6500) primarily in southern Peru and Bolivia.

From here we continued north-west to Chivay and the amazing Colca Canyon, but I've already featured that before; you can read about it here, where you'll find lots more photos and information about the puna habitat and many more of its birds and plants.

However I am going to mention again the extraordinary Abra Patapampa (abra is a pass), reputedly the highest pass in all of South America that is accessed by a sealed road. At 4900 metres above sea level it is way above the tree line, and the scenery is like nothing I've seen, vast and unimaginably bleak and rugged. I'm fortunate enough not to be unduly troubled by altitude, but this is the highest I've ever been with my feet on the ground. The short walk to the lookout platform (Mirador de los Andes, or Mirador de los Volcanoes - mirador is a lookout) was enough to wear me out! I wouldn't have missed it though, gazing over an apocalyptic landscape to distant volcanoes. Needless to say, the women selling home-made souvenirs were untroubled by the thin air, and of course they had walked to get here.

Looking back to the south across the rock and sand landscape to Volcano Chucure.

Out to the west, we were gazing at (from the left) Volcanoes Ampato (6300m),
Sabancayo (6000m) and Hualca Hualca (6000m).

Nor is all the vapour in the air just cloud; here is a plume of volcanic smoke arising
above the cloud from the active vent of Sabancayo.

From here the road descends in all directions; ours is to the east.

Mountain Caracara Phalcoboenus megalopterus by the roadside approaching Lake Titicaca.
Caracaras are atypical scavenging falcons; this one is found along the Andes south
from the top of Peru.

You may be getting impatient to actually get to Lake Titicaca by now, but there was just one more exciting roadside sighting before we arrived at Puno. 

Short-eared Owl Asio flammeus watching us from a fence post. This is not of itself
particularly unusual - it is found across most of the northern hemisphere and southern
South America, and is sometimes cited as the having the widest range of any bird species on earh.
However our very experienced local guides had never seen one in this
part of the world. In Peru it is found mostly (but still rarely) on the north coast.
I gather it caused quite a stir when our guides reported it.

And so to Puno, a city of 150,000 people on the shores of Lake Titicaca, crowded into a narrow plain and now sprawling up the mountainsides. This is a hard cold landscape

The flat icy land outside of Puno, photographed from the bus on the morning
of our departure.

Puno and the nearby city of Juliaca are notoriously restive and, while we were there, agitated demonstrations were taking place all around our hotel, apparently relating to some unionists who'd been arrested and were being held nearby. We kept as clear as we could and didn't feel threatened. On a darker note we heard some grim stories about organised crime violence based on smuggling across the lake from Bolivia. 

 

As I write this the area is the subject of a declared state if emergency following riots connected with the ousting of President Castillo; last week at least 17 people were killed in Juliaca in clashes between demonstrators and police. This is not the place to argue the rights and wrongs, and I'm not the person to do it, though it is topical to this posting.

Lake Titicaca is the largest lake in South America by volume, and disputedly by area (I must say that Lake Maraicabo in Venezuela does seem to have a stronger claim there). It is 177km long with an average width of 56km. The main western basin has an average depth of 135 metres, fed by five major river systems and many smaller one. It contains 41 islands. In Bolivia the Rio Desaguardero flows out of it and feeds other lakes. With large waterbird populations, many endemic fish species, the famous flightless Titicaca Grebe and the huge Titicaca Water Frog (up to 50cm long and weighing a kilogram) it has been a Ramsar site of international wetland significance since 1998. 

I find that, like the ocean, a large lake is hard to meaningfully photograph!
These attempts were from a hill on Taquile Island.

The Uros or Uru people originated in Bolivia, where many still live on the lake shore. Many of them now live on floating 'islands' of bundles of giant sedges near Puno, where they rely heavily on visiting tourists. The sedges are also used to make boats.

The floating island that we visited, above and below, during our lake excursion,
which is pretty much mandatory! They are anchored to the lake bed with eucalyptus poles.

Reed boat, made of bundles of the giant sedge Schoenoplectus californicus.

However, this is a natural history blog, so I'll end with a few of the animals - mostly birds - that we encountered on and by the lake, starting with the one I was most looking forward to seeing.

Titicaca Grebe Rollandia microptera, whose stubby little wings (even by grebe standards)
render it completely flightless. While Lake Titicaca is the core of its range,
it is also found on some other nearby high altitude lakes. It is sadly Endangered,
and numbers are dropping steadily and worryingly, now down to only about 2000
birds. The widespread use of fixed fishing nets seems to be the main problem.

The two ducks that follow are much more widespread.

The Andean Duck Oxyura ferruginea is found along almost the entire
length of the Andes from Colombia to Tierra del Fuego (with an odd
gap in northern Peru). A diving duck, it is closely related to, and very similar to,
the Australian Blue-billed Duck O. australis.

The attractive Cinnamon Teal Spatula cyanoptera has an even wider range,
through large parts of the Americas. They dabble rather than dive for their dinner.

Wilson's Phalarope Spatula cyanoptera. Despite them being waders, I generally think of
phalaropes as seabirds (though I've hardly ever seen them) but this is a
Southern Hemisphere perspective. They are very odd among waders in spending the
non-breeding season at sea, and that is when see them (or not) in Australia.
In the breeding season they frequent lakes and marshlands.
They spin in the water to create an eddy, and capture small prey drawn into it.

Once out in the deep water there were virtually no birds to be seen.

American Kestrel Falco sparverius over Taquile Island.
This little falcon has a huge range over the entire Americas,
except for the rainforests and the frozen far north.

Before embarking on our boat trip on the lake we spent some productive time by the reed beds at the edge, where we saw a couple of reed specialists that I'd previously enjoyed elsewhere but never managed to lay lens on. They both have convoluted English names and between them represent the two huge primitive families of passerines that dominate South America (but nowhere else in the world).

Wren-like Rushbird Phleocryptes melanops is found in western Peru, and
throughout the southern cone of the continent wherever there are rushes and
reedbeds in marshes and on lake shores. This is one of the ovenbirds, or funariids.

    

Many-coloured Rush-tyrant Tachuris rubrigastra has a similar distribution
and habitat to the rushbird. This is one of the numerous South American
tyrant flycatchers.

And while we watched the reedbeds, we were delighted when these little characters emerged to graze, though they were shy and wouldn't let us approach.

Common Yellow-toothed Cavies Galea musteloides.
They are fairly closely related to Guinea Pigs, though belong to another genus,
and probably didn't contribute genes to the modern pets (and, in the Andes, food animals).

So perhaps a fairly random posting, but aren't they all? I hope you found something of interest here, but if you're just hanging out for more Australian subject matter, please come back next time.

 

I hope that 2023 is being kind to you so far, and naturally wonderful! 

NEXT POSTING THURSDAY 9 FEBRUARY

 

I love to receive your comments and in future will be notifying you personally by email when a new posting appears, if you'd like me to. All current subscribers have been added to this mailing list and have already been contacted. This will mean one email every three weeks at the current rate of posting. I promise never to use the list for any other purpose and will never share it.
Should you wish to be added to it, just send me an email at calochilus51@internode.on.net. You can ask to be removed from the list at any time,or could simply mark an email as Spam, so you won't see future ones.