Ubatuba Birdwatching Centre

Once again this year we had the pleasure of taking the UBWC to the British Bird Fair. Taking part in this international event is such a privilege. The atmosphere is one of friendliness and co-operation, mostly manned by volunteers, everyone is there for one reason only, to support the birds and wildlife of the world and all profits from the event go towards a chosen conservation project. This year it was to support projects to protect the migration flyways where so many birds face many dangers both natural and man-made. That is why the front cover picture is of the European Turtle Dove Streptopelia turtur by Robert Gilmore

BBF programme front cove: cover design by Robert Gilmore © British Birdwatching Fair

The event is always well attended with 30,000 odd visitors to the event, it is a great chance for people in ‘birding’ to showcase their particular involvement; tour companies, many of which like Rick Simpson Birding Services use part of their profit to support conservation projects; book sellers specialising in wildlife; optical firms and camera manufacturers compete for business in this lucrative market; artists, sculptors and photographers presenting their work and of course conservation bodies large and small, international and local like the UBWC are there to gain support for their cause.

Part of the huge gathering of bird mad people © Elis Simpson

This year, as last year, the stand was paid for by Rick Simpson Birding Services, and we were assisted by two well known and popular Brazilian birders and biologists, Milena Corbo and Arthur Macarrão and from time to time Paulo Boute of Boute Expeditions.

Rick and Elis Simpson with Milena and Arthur © Elis Simpson

In addition we shared the stand and costs with ‘those nice people from REGUA.’ Sadly Nicholas and Raquel were unable to come to the fair but they were ably substituted by Lee Dingain and Rachel Walls, with the inestimable support of Alan Martin, and volunteer Richard Richardson.

Rick, Elis Rachel, Alan and Lee © Elis Simpson

We were greatly pleased with the response from everyone we talked to. In the economic climate that prevails it is hard to know where small projects like ours are to find reliable support and funding; but you know, when you genuinely have your heart in what you do, present a professional image and above all actually know what you are talking about, it shines through and people dig deep to help.

The stand was always busy © Elis Simpson

We held a raffle, drawn by Milena, the first prize of which was the book A Birdwatching Guide to South-East Brazil by Juha Honkala, donated to the UBWC by Juha himself, for which we are obviously very grateful.

Milena shows the winning ticket, N°57 © Elis Simpson

The winner of this splendid little book was John Muddeman who was on his own stand Spainbirds when he received his prize.

Elis presenting John Muddeman with his prize © Rick Simpson

Second prize went to Linda Ireland who, with her husband John, is an ex-client of RSBS. She received a copy of Tomas Sigrist’s Field Guide to the Birds of Brazil by Avis Brasilis, Third prize Birds of Greater São Paulo 1st edition donated to the UBWC by Edson Endrigo of Aves & Fotos Editora, went to Delia Stretton who won a book from us last year! Fourth prize a £25 book voucher from Natural History Book Shops donated by them and provided by REGUA went to Mr. and Mrs. Horton. Congratulations to our winners, and our thanks to all the generous donors of the prizes and of course to the public who supported the draw. The proceeds from the draw were shared with REGUA.

Milena presenting Linda with her prize on the stand © Elis Simpson

Among the many visitors we had to the stand were our volunteer from this July Oliver Simms who has been successful in gaining a place at Durham University, congratulations and good luck to him with his studies there…

Oliver in Brazil © Elis Simpson

… and television personality, author and old friend, David Lindo, The Urban Birder.

Rick and Elis with David, shamelessly showing off our signed copy of David's new book © Elis Simpson

Last year we produced a small magazine called Guira which was sponsored by Rick Simpson Birding Services, this year we produced Issue 2, again sponsored by RSBS.

Here are the pages:The front cover is of Green-headed Tanagers feeding on a banana, taken by Elis at Folha Seca.

The following two pages describe the current projects of the UBWC; page 2 reports on the long-standing Brincando com Aves project working with a community close to the forest, and Aves na Escola, working with a school to bring birds in to the daily lives of children. On page 3 we talk about the CNAA and Worldwide Wader projects to which we subscribe with the intention of letting our birding contribute to science and not just to our lists and enjoyment, we talk about the bird list for Ubatuba that has just been published on the RSBS site, see the home page there for details www.rick-simpson.com . We also talk about some of the rare birds we have found in the region in the last 12 months.

Page 4 tells the story of the pioneering study of the Brown-backed Parrotlets that we were privileged to carry out, and the assistance given to visiting birders by the UBWC at Brazil’s first twitch. Page 5 talks about some of the places that RSBS takes people on its birding tours in the region and what birds can be found there.

Pages 6 an 7 continue the theme including Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro states. Rick says it took him ages to train those egrets to fly in that formation!

The back cover carries information about RSBS and contact details for this and the UBWC with a photo of a pair of Yellow-fronted Woodpeckers taken by Elis Simpson.

The magazine was well received and stimulated much discussion and interest in our work.

The calm before the storm © Elis Simpson

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Our volunteer from the UK, Oliver, has mostly been helping out with admin. and statistics since being with us, largely due to the cold weather. Of course we have done a fair bit of birding but today he helped us with the Brincando com Aves group.

Oliver helping some of the children to identify what they have seen © Rick Simpson

We met as usual at Palmito na Brasa and went for a bird walk first. We saw some interesting birds, many of which were new for Oliver, possibly the best was the Yellow-throated Woodpecker, a bird we seldom see in Ubatuba. It was found by Thiago the most promising observer of the group.

Thiago (left) and his brother Rafael looking at a male White-bearded Manakin © Rick Simpson

Afterwards we returned to the restaurant where the kids busied themselves with drawing, Oliver helped out and even joined in.

Oliver helping Rafael and Thiago with plumage details © Rick Simpson

Oliver trying his hand at a bit of artwork © Rick Simpson

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On the 4th of July Rick and Elis Simpson plus volunteer Oliver Simms from the UK conducted the Wetlands bird survey for July 2011.

At Mogi das Cruzes they counted a total of 114 individuals of only 7 species, the most interesting among them being the 3 Blackish Rails. Moving on to Salesópolis they recorded 125 individuals of 15 species. Here the star bird was Southern Pochard, but the 2 Little Blue Herons were of interest having not been recorded on the count before.

Blackish Rail © Elis Simpson

On the 5th of July the trio went to Paraty and counted the saltmarsh and bay area for the first time. 260 individuals were included in the count of 14 species, the most interesting being Roseate Spoonbill, 18 ‘wintering’ Semipalmated Plovers, Yellow-billed Tern and of course the Rufous-chested Dotterel eclipsed them all.

Roseate Spoonbill © Elis Simpson

Yellow-billed Tern © Elis Simpson

Rufous-chested Dotterel © Elis Simpson

At the beginning of May this year we started a new project working with a school here in Ubatuba. We have seen that many school visits are one-off affairs, the children’s interest is piqued fleetingly and then all is forgotten; so instead of trying to reach all of the children and engage them superficially, we decided to set up a pioneer project to bring birds into the daily lives of the school and its children, engaging them more profoundly. At the end of April, the school, Colégio Dominique, held an inauguration ceremony to jointly open a new aeronautical club NINJA and announce the Aves na Escola (Birds in school) project.

Inauguration of the joint projects Ninja and Aves na Escola © Colégio Dominique

Rick, Elis and Cláudia Oliveira started giving regular lessons to all the students from Infants to the age of 11. The feedback has been overwhelming and the enthusiasm of the children is infectious.

Rick answering questions from the class © Elis Simpson

Elis talking about the UBWC © Rick Simpson

Cláudia telling a story to some of the younger students © Colégio Dominique

The standard of the work being done reflects the interest that children of this age have in the environment, and by providing continued input and reinforcement of ideas, the message is hitting home.

Renata proudly showing off her homework © Elis Simpson

We have set up a feeding station which will be maintained and monitored by the children and staff, the excitement was palpable when the first bird, the impressive Brazilian Tanager, appeared at the feeders.

Some of the children keeping an eye on the feeder, even the national pastime football took a back seat for a while! © Colégio Dominique

On the eve of Dia das Mães, (Mothering Sunday), Rick and (especially) Elis helped the children at the Brincando com Aves project to make some Mothering Sunday cards with a bird theme.

An industrious bunch! © Rick Simpson

They used two methods, some cut pictures from magazines and calendars whilst others with a more artistic bent drew and coloured their cards. The results were great and we’re sure the ‘mums’ would be delighted.

So ensued much writing... © Rick Simpson

... and drawing... © Rick Simpson

... and more writing...

... and cutting... © Rick simpson

... and more cutting... © Rick Simpson

... and more drawing... © Rick Simpson

... and sticking! © Rick Simpson

The results... © Rick Simpson

... speak for... © Rick Simpson

... themselves! © Rick Simpson

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Nicholas and Raquel have been working for the last 10 years to build a preservation area and more importantly a restoration area of precious lowland Atlantic forest. The Reserva Ecológico Guapiaçu, or REGUA as it is better known, is testament to their dedication and tenacity.

The lodge at Guapiaçu © Elis Simpson

We at the UBWC know only too well how complicated and frustrating trying to set up something of this nature can be, endless bureaucracy and hurdle jumping and there are always those with a personal agenda, a ‘me first’ attitude, where the heart is not in what they are doing, but what they appear to be doing and egos get in the way of what is really important. Nicholas and Raquel have overcome these and many other obstacles along the way, and surely will face many more, but they can be justly proud of what they achieved.

The beautiful lagoon surrounded by forest at the REGUA wetlands © Elis Simpson

REGUA is not just a reserve, it is the whole package, a model for any other similarly motivated institution to emulate. They run international volunteer programmes, they cater to the growing international eco-tourism market, but most importantly they run environmental education programmes in schools and at the lodge, preserve the little standing forest that remains and have spent much time and energy re-foresting huge areas of the area in which they work. They are not however content to rest on their laurels, if there is a possibility to expand and create yet more protected and reforested areas, they will be there to make sure it happens.

The reintroduction of the Black-faced Piping-Guan is just one of REGUAs ambitious projects © Elis Simpson

The UBWC is proud to count this dynamic couple among its friends and we look forward to working more closely with them in the future.

This past weekend Rick and Elis Simpson went to REGUA to meet William Dent, co-founder and Vice-President of Natural Partners based in the USA. It was a successful weekend with much to be positive about, with discussions about a variety of topics and projects for the future.

Nicholas, Raquel, William, Rick and Elis © Rick and Elis Simpson

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Recently João Marcelo of the Reserva Guainumbi had the inspired idea to produce a bird version of the card game ‘Trumps’. Using facts and figures about the birds, such as size, weight, number of states in which the bird occurs etc, he has made learning about birds rather fun!

He generously donated one pack each to all of our children at the Brincando com Aves project and another set for the UBWC to entertain visiting kids, we also have a couple of sets to sell should anyone be interested.

We presented the children with the cards at a recent meeting, and the jolity began.

Smiles all round, good to see © Elis Simpson

Mind you, some of the 'bigger' kids needed things explaining more than once © Elis Simpson

A big ‘THANK YOU!’ to João Marcelo and all at Reserva Guainumbi.

'Thanks João Marcelo!" © Elis Simpson

Once again the UBWC is contributing to the knowledge of the avifauna of Brazil  by being involved in the CNAA (National water birds count) project.

CNAA wetlands bird count, February 2011 © Elis Simpson

We started last July by visiting Cambucá here in Ubatuba, plus Salesópolis and Mogi das Cruzes, nearer to São Paulo.

This year, due to a computer hitch at the PESM state park that administers Cambucá, we were unable to complete our count there in the time-frame alloted, so we were only able to collect data for Salesópolis and Mogi das Cruzes.

Great Egret © Elis Simpson

The count at Mogi das Cruzes produced few species as usual, a total of 9 relevant species were seen, however what was interesting was the large number (39) of Lesser Yellowlegs there. The number of individual birds counted was slightly down from 124 to 114, but the species tally went up one from 8 to 9. This did not however reflect simply the addition of a new species, but some species were missing and others took their place; Cattle Egret and White-faced Whistling-Duck were seen in July 2010 but not on this count, the new species being Cocoi Heron, Lesser Yellowlegs and Solitary Sandpiper.

Salesópolis is always full of surprises and worth a stop if you are passing. The individual count of birds was well down this time compared to July 2010, 427 then and 275 now, but the species total rose from just 15 to 22. Species missing from the last count were;

Roseate Spoonbill © Elis Simpson

Least Grebe,  Blackish Rail, South American Snipe and Black Skimmer. New birds this count were; Cattle Egret, Striated Heron, Whistling Heron, Black-crowned Night-Heron, Rufescent Tiger-Heron, Roseate Spoonbill, White-faced Whistling-Duck, Rufous-sided Crake, Lesser Yellowlegs, White-rumped Sandpiper, Pectoral Sandpiper,

There were big fluctuations in numbers of some species, for example the Brazilian Teal population dropped from 40 to just 8, Least Grebes from 30 to 7, Common Gallinules from 138 to only 24 and most staggeringly Neotropic Cormorants went from 172 to just 3. The number of Southern Lapwings rose from 14 to 65.

The children of the Brincando com Aves group have each been given a fold out identification guide of the birds of the Itamambuca Eco Resort. The resort is very close to the Ranário and so there is a great cross section of the species. This will help them enormously with their continued  growth in the understanding of the birds around them.

Using the new guides in an identification game © Elis Simpson

Our sincere thanks go to Dimitri Matoszko the owner of the resort for donating the booklets to the children.

© Elis Simpson

Following our successful end of year party with the children and families of the Brincando com Aves group at the Palmito na Brasa restaurant in the Ranário neighbourhood, our friend and prolific writer Claudia Oliveira penned a piece for the Vitti magazine which came out in January. Here’s a scanned copy of the half page spread.

The UBWC would again like to thank Cibele and Ernesto, Cida, Eduardo, Gilberto and June, members of the CEO that helped us with donations of food hampers for the families.