Cristalino Jungle Lodge – Rich Hoyer’s Last Days and Bird List Totals

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by Rich Hoyer on October 18, 2011 · 8 comments

in Birding Neotropics

My last days of this two-month stay at Cristalino were anything but relaxing. But who wants to relax in the Amazonian rainforest?

I wasn’t guiding my last four days, but with my next WINGS tour here not until next August, I wanted to make the most of my time. On one of the days, Tayler Brooks and I walked the Castanheiras Trail, a few kilometers upriver from the lodge. One of the highlights from this morning was the first Rufous-necked Puffbird either of had seen this trip (we had each heard it).

We also found a Chestnut-tailed Antbird, quite a scarce bird here.

I managed a poor shot of a Buff-throated Woodcreeper – dark birds in dark understories are really hard to photograph!

A lowlight was bumping into this wasp nest, and one nailed me on the thumb. Later I was stung on the back by a honey bee that had wiggled in under my shirt hem. It turns out that honey bees are more painful, with a more lasting throbbing.

We then had a relaxing hour and half paddle back to the lodge, just in time for lunch. On the way we had a spectacular view of this Black-and-white Hawk-Eagle soaring over the river – we thought of our friend Bodders who missed it during his three months here.

A low pass over the kayak by an adult Bicolored Hawk was also impressive.

It was a more relaxing afternoon, which I spent around the lodge clearing and the secret garden nearby. Amazingly, the daily list amounted to 180 species!

On the next day I finally walked the Cacau Trail just across the river from the lodge – a trail I hadn’t managed to walk yet this year. Alas, this day I managed only 161 species. But remember this is all on foot and includes almost no water birds. Getting close to this pair of gorgeous Rose-breasted Chats was a highlight from the day.

I also had a nice mixed flock that included this Yellow-throated Woodpecker.

And finally on my next-to-last day, on a short walk down the trails from the lodge was this female Black-capped Becard building a nest right over the trail. After just four days of birding, I had seen and heard 274 species – all by foot or boat.

So how did my 2 months add up? I was at Cristalino Jungle Lodge for 68 days. The farthest I ever birded from the lodge was 7.3 kilometers – and just within that area I tallied 444 species. The five trips into Alta Floresta for internet access added another 20 species (mostly water birds and those of open country), a total of 464. The graph below shows how the species accumulated over the 68 days. Note that on day 22 I had already reached 400 species. Does this make Cristalino Jungle Lodge the birdiest spot on the planet?

Photo at top: A montage of the many highlights from Rich Hoyer’s 68 days at Brazil’s Cristalino Jungle Lodge.

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Tagged as: Black-and-white Hawk-Eagle, Black-capped Becard, Buff-throated Woodcreeper, Chestnut-collared Puffbird, Chestnut-tailed Antbird, Cristalino Jungle Lodge, Rich Hoyer, Rose-breasted Chat, WINGS birding tours, Yellow-throated Woodpecker

Article by Rich Hoyer

Rich Hoyer is first and foremost a birder whose subconscious registers and identifies every bird he hears, even when he isn't birding. But he actually started keying out wildflowers , catching reptiles, and raising butterflies before he discovered birding at age 14, and has since branched out to enjoy photographing and identifying dragonflies, grasshoppers, spiders and almost anything else alive. For the past 13 years he has been leading birding and natural history tours for WINGS. Among his regular destinations are Bolivia, Brazil, Peru, the Galapagos, Costa Rica, Mexico, and Jamaica. Originally from Oregon, he currently lives in Tucson, Arizona.

Rich has written 79 awesome articles for us.

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