birding...

Bom Jesus / Vacaria

Mostardas

In December 2002 a gale was blowing off the sea and we were able to see a number of normally offshore sea birds from the beach, including Black-browed Albatross Thalassarche melanophris, White-chinned Petrel Procellaria aequinoctialis, Sooty Shearwater Puffinus griseus and Parasitic and Pomarine Jaeger Stercorarius parasiticus and S. pomarinus.

There is a second access to the Lagoa do Peixe further south, the one mentioned by Forrester. Turn left 1.2km south of the centre of Tavares (where the southern access road to Tavares joins the main road); turn right at a pine plantation and then left before a long house; carry straight on to the lagoon. There is no access from here to the ocean beach.

In Mostardas itself if you pass through the town along the main dual carriageway and keep going, the road turns to a dirt track, and gets very slippery when wet, however with care it is possible to reach the beach along this track. At first it passes through uninteresting pine plantations, but becomes more natural woodland then emerges into a marsh area with some extensive reed beds on the left. Here Many-coloured Rush-Tyrants Tachuris rubrigastra can be found along with other reed dwelling birds. Long-winged Harriers quarter the marshes.

You can also get to Mostardas from the south, taking the ferry from Rio Grande to São José do Norte which is 150 km south of Tavares. There is a good ocean beach at São José but you won’t see anything there which you can’t see at Lagoa do Peixe. The habitat is uninteresting and I do not recommend this route. However, of interest is a small group os South American Sea Lions Otaria flavescens that spend much of their time loafing on, and swimming around, the end of a huge protecting wall at the point where the Lagoa dos Patos enters the sea. They appear on the northern arm of the entranceat 32°.18′ 57”S, 52°.07′ 52″W. They are really approachable, but one has to clamber over the rocks and concrete barriers to see them well.

About 13.5 km going north from Tavares at the division between the municipal areas of Tavares and Mostardas, there is a turn to the left signposted to Rincão Farol. Again it is a dirt road and difficult when wet. This road passes through farmland and marshy areas until it reaches Lagoa Mostardas on the left which is well worth a look.

As an alternative to staying in Mostardas there is accommodation in Tavares. In June 2010 Rick Simpson stayed at the Hotel Parque da Lagoa R$70-90.00 per night for a couple; http://www.hotelparquedalagoa.com.br run by Batista who also has a Landrover. He does trips out to some of the places inaccessible by ordinary car, and also knows all the local land owners and has access to places that would be off limits otherwise, however he is not a bird guide. At the time of Rick’s stay he was charging R$400 a day for up to 5 people. If you are alone or a couple this can be quite expensive, but for a group it is well worth the price and you will see more birds without the worry of getting bogged down or stuck in the sand.

São Francisco de Paula

Taim

Uruguaiana

Rick Simpson
rick@rick-simpson.com

Jeremy Minns
(São Paulo)
jeremyminns@uol.com.br

Books, CDs, DVDs etc.

Federação Ornitológica Gaúcha

Projeto Ave Missoes

Universidade do Rio Grande

Universidade Federal de Pelotas

Universidade Federal de Santa Maria

Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul

Aparados da Serra

Estação Ecológica de Aracuri

Estação Ecológica do Taim

Lagoa do Peixe

Parque da Cachoeira

Parque Florestal Estadual do Turvo

1996 [October] - Claudius Feger - North-East of Rio Grande do Sul