From November 18 to December I stayed at the new Parque do Zizo, located in the Serra da Paranapiacaba, Sao Paulo State, Brazil. This small, well-preserved park, run by the family Balboni, lies in the heart of the last great remnant of Atlantic Forest that we may still enjoy. The Serra da Paranapiacaba holds arguably the finest rain forest of the once enormous expanse that straddled the eastern coast of Brazil. In this mountain range one may still find most large mammals such as Spider and Howler Monkeys, Jaguars and Tapirs. Parque do Zizo also holds most of these species.

Logistics

Parque do Zizo can be reached from the small town of Sao Miguel Arcanjo, which itself lies about two hours from Sao Paulo. With a four-wheel drive jeep, the leg from Sao Miguel takes about an hour, the last bit of which can be quite adventurous in the rainy season.

Accomodation

There are two main cabins that make up the small camp, with a third just along the road hundred meters away. They are well equipped for a lengthy stay, with hot showers, bunk beds, and clean sheets every three days.
There is a proper kitchen with a gas stove and a fire place; big blocks of ice, brought in from the city every week, provide ample cooling to refrigerate meat and fruit throughout. Food was excellent. Breakfast buffets included bread, jam, ham and cheese, coffee and fruit juice. For lunch and dinner, the staple was rice and beans, with an ever-changing assortment of meats, and salades, or pastas with broccoli for instance. An extra oven to bake bread is currently being built.
Parque do Zizo does not have electricity at this moment, but car batteries may be provided. New supplies such as normal batteries may be bought in Sao Miguel Arcanjo.The park guards travel between Zizo and Sao Miguel once or twice a week, so there need not be any shortages of supplies.
The environment

Parque do Zizo's 300 hectares are entirely covered with lush rain forest. The main features include tree ferns, large emergent trees, many large and understory palm species, and plenty of bamboo. With altitudes ranging from around 550 to 700 meters, there are many streams and small rivers, and a number of fine cascades. The terrain is quite wet in places, and there are innumerable frogs and toads, of some 35 species. The paths are well cleared and easy to navigate, but not unnecessarily wide. There are about 10 km of paths to all habitats. Hiking is mildly strenuous.

Weather is temperate to tropical. During my stay I had temperatures between 15 degrees Celsius (on a rainy day) and 30 degrees (on a nice sunny one). I would advise long sleeves and long trousers at most times, and rubber boots, since there are many snakes in the area. Insectlife is abundant but not overly annoying. I mostly wore two shirts - one long-sleeved and one short-sleeved - to keep the horse flies away. The area is full of all kinds of ants, including army ants and leafcutter ants.

Birdlife

I visited Zizo at the start of the rainy season, but was lucky and got only three days of rain and drizzle. This is also the nesting time for many species, which meant birds were very active and there was plenty of singing activity, especially in the sheltered valleys (hardly anything on the more exposed tops). Among the species I saw actively performing courtship displays, building nests, or attending brood were Tawny-browed Owl, Bay-ringed Tyrannulet (two nests), Ochre-collared Piculet, Crested Becard, Red-rumped Cacique, Rufous-breasted Leaftosser, Yellow-olive Flycatcher and Sharp-tailed Streamcreeper.
Many of the great endemics from the Atlantic Forest can be found in Zizo, such as Sharpbill, Hooded Berryeater, Cinnamon-vented Piha, Black-fronted Piping-Guan, Rufous and Black-cheeked Gnateater, Spotted Bamboowren, and so on. I had wonderful views of two fledgling Tawny-browed Owls, shaking their wings, and mewing to their parents. Cinnamon-vented Piha was quite common at this site, as was Sharpbill with nearly daily sightings. Black-cheeked Gnateater was seen once very well, during a long territorial display. A pair of Spot-billed Toucanets was the first for a long time at this lodge. At camp there is a feeder with which many great birds can be attracted, such as Magpie, Sayaca, Azure-shouldered, Green-headed, Ruby-crowned and Olive-gray Tanagers, Blue Dacnis, Yellow-fronted Woodpecker was very common, as were Saffron Toucanets. There is a nice colony of Red-rumped Caciques at a small pond next to the lodge, which also harbours many flycatchers.
After two and a half weeks of birding and sound recording, I had seen about 160 species. Given my personal lack of experience with the Atlantic Forest, I would expect the total list for this park to grow to around 220 or even 250.

Trip list


Bob Planqué is one of the creators of www.xeno-canto.org, a growing community database of Neotropical Bird's Songs and the records made by Bob Planqué in Parque do Zizo are available in Xeno-canto
Photos by Bob Planqué