6 Sept 2001
Ah, the irony. For the last few days I have photographed Mata Atlântica birds not in natural forest, but in a bottlebrush tree (Callistemon) native to Australia. Planted extensively around the Intervales compound, its nectar-rich red flowers are a magnet for hummingbirds, tanagers, and others just curious about what's going on. Of the 12 species I've seen in
the bottlebrush, the most common is Blue Dacnis, a
relative of tanagers that enjoys nectar in additon to insects and fruit. The day is
overcast, but these restless, chickadee-sized birds can be photographed with flash and my
large 500mm lens. Much easier are the Sayaca Tanagers, who come to banana that I
have put out near the Casa. They are quite at home in partial clearings
like Intervales.
Happy 32nd wedding anniversary, Charlotte.
10 Sept 2001
Most of last week was dark and rainy. It
is still winter here, and this is a rainforest. Yesterday I found a nice patch
of wild maracuja, passsionflower, that was visited by a hummingbird, the
Scale-throated Hermit. I set up the blind and camera nearby, but so far the hermit
has been too shy to visit "my" flower.
11 Sept 2001
The cold, windy weather continues. It has
rained off and on most of the day - the blind is soaked and still I have no photos of the
hummingbird. Poor me!
12 Sept 2001
Another dark rainy morning, made all the more
depressing by news of the horrific events in the U.S. A Brazilian woman who is
studying amphibians and reptiles here came to my table at breakfast and in broken English
relayed the news. It seems too terrible to believe, but the São Paulo TV
station confirmed it tonight, as near as I could tell. How depressing to be in a
beautiful, tranquil place like Intervales, and to see the hatred and violence that humans
inflict upon each other.
Travel Diary <previous page next page>