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Southern Brazil

Sites of interest

Top target birds

Red-spectacled and Vinaceous-breasted Amazons (flocks of thousands in Apr-May)
Chestnut-backed and Black-backed Tanagers
Black-capped Piprites
Scaled Chachalaca
Creamy-bellied Gnatcatcher
Blue-bellied Parrot
Crested Doradito
Saffron-cowled Blackbird
Long-tailed Cinclodes
Kaempfer's Tody-tyrant
Sickle-winged Nightjar
Marsh/Parana Antwren
Canebrake Groundcreeper
Helmeted Woodpecker (tough)
Atlantic Yellow-nosed and Black-browed Albatrosses?
Swallow-tailed Cotinga (austral summer)

Other targets

South American Sea Lion

Practical reasons for interest

Not heavily visited, but highly-regarded by regional experts
- Per Bradley Davis:
  
  Over the course of our tours throughout Brazil, I am often asked by clients about my favourite birding area in this vast country...Without reservation I responded that the trips I tend to enjoy most are our itineraries visiting Brazil’s southernmost states. Aside from a good selection of lovely endemics and range-restricted species, the south of Brazil offers some of the country’s most enjoyable birding due to its excellent infra-structure, good food and surprising wines, hospitality, and the varied range of habitats one can visit and bird. Relatively few tour companies visit the south, and most of those that do neglect to include the coastal plain and vast wetlands of Rio Grande do Sul, the country’s southernmost state. This is a tremendous shame, as the Lagoa do Peixe National Park is one of Brazil’s greatest wildlife reserves, and the diverse marshes surrounding the cities of Rio Grande and Pelotas host an impressive diversity and bird concentrations that simply boggle the mind.
High diversity of species and habitat, high abundances too
Fairly easy driving
Affordable car rental
Good cheap food at roadside stops
Good accommodations available throughout
Friendly people, fun to try learning Brazilian Portuguese
Flights far cheaper than for Bahia

Concerns

Very few independent reports
- eBird hotspots and tour company reports are somewhat general/vague, may not be clear how to access specific sites. Plus usual trade secrets on places to stay, eat, etc.
Few notable endemics/specialties compared with other regions, high diversity of somewhat widespread subtropical species
Possibly/likely open-jawed (Curitiba and Porto Alegre), will have to pay accordingly for car rental and flights
Perhaps not much hiking or elevation involved, especially compared with options elsewhere in Brazil like Bahia
Mosquitoes/flies at Volta Velha, at least in March (per Jansen) and November (per Patrial/Birdquest) respectively
Scenery not particularly notable
Rainy season: May-Oct
- Prime time: Sep-Dec
- Still good: May-Aug + Jan
- (So avoid Feb-Apr?)

Itinerary thoughts

Consider north-to-south, to begin in diverse Atlantic Forest, and spend as much time there as desired before moving onwards.

Fly into Curitiba (CWB)
Curitiba and Antonina
Volta Velha
Joinville
Rio dos Cedros
Urupema
Vacaria
São Francisco de Paula
PN Lagoa do Peixe, ferry across river
Surroundings of Pelotas and Rio Grande
Fly out of Porto Alegre (POA), return home

Note that Porto Alegre (POA) and Florianópolis (FLN) have direct flights to Panama City, saving a stop versus Curitiba which only links with Sao Paulo and Lima. But flights arrive at midnight.

Should I consider a cheap 1-hr flight between Florianópolis and Porto Alegre? Would save 5+ hours of driving, with added flight and car rental costs

Southern Brazil driving times