Costa Rica Birding, Day 4 - Birding to the Hilt

All our bags were packed, we're ready to go. We will leave the hotel for the airport at around 8 am but we wanted to do some more birding before that. We even requested for a packed breakfast since we wouldn't be availing of their regular morning buffet.

At 6 am we did a quick foray into the Suenos del Bosque trail. Finally I saw the Spangle-cheeked Tanager but our photos were still not up to par. We also had better views of the aptly named Yellow-thighed Finch.

An hour later, we were by the stream hoping once again to see the American Dipper. Guess what? We dipped again! However, as a consolation, I got photos of two more lifers - both totally unexpected. The Brown-capped Vireo,

and the Spot-crowned Woodcreeper.

Then it was time to go. We asked Alexander, our driver (and son-in-law of the hotel owner), that if we saw a Sooty Thrush, could he stop so we could take pictures of the bird. When Alexander picked us up from the airport 5 days ago, we saw quite a number of this species along the zigzag road going to the hotel. We dared not ask him to stop so we can take pictures for two reasons: 1) It was already getting late and understandably, our driver wanted us to be at the hotel before it got dark, and 2) we assumed (incorrectly, we later discovered) that the Sooty Thrush would be as common at the hotel grounds as it was along the road.

Thankfully, Alexander agreed. Apparently we were not the only ones who made similar requests to him. It was Cynthia who first spotted the bird. We stopped but the thrush flew off. My wife saw some movement on the hillside next to her and took a photo. Good thing she did as we were to discover much later that it would be another lifer for us, the Black-billed Nightingale Thrush.

We moved on. As expected, Sooty Thrushes were common along the road and after several stops we finally were able to get pictures of a very angry bird.

That was the closing chapter of our wonderful trip to the Savegre River in the cloud forests of Costa Rica. It was an exhilarating experience to see so many beautiful birds in such natural surroundings. We had barely settled back in our home when I noticed Cynthia googling for other birding places in that beautiful Central American country. I smiled.

Costa Rica Birding, Day 3 - Hummertime

Cynthia and I just finished our breakfast and mulling on which route to take for our next birding venture. Perhaps he read out thoughts because Marino who was about to lead a group on another tour asked us if we have seen the Torrent Tyrannulet. 

"The what?" I asked. 

"Torrent Tyrannulet," he patiently repeated, "a small grayish bird that can always be found by the stream."

We thanked our angel and proceeded towards the tyrannulet playground. Along the way, I got distracted by a Blue-and-white Swallow picking up some nesting material on the ground.

My wife, on the other hand, was taking photos of another lifer, the Dark Pewee.

As soon as we arrived by the stream, a tiny speck of grey flew from a boulder to some dead branches. Then we realized that there was actually a pair of Torrent Tyrannulets diligently hunting for insects by the gurgling brook.

Having had our fill of the grey-feathered dynamos, we again tried for the American Dipper. And dipped once more. There was nothing there but those oh so common Resplendent Quetzals.

Lunch time. We were in the middle of enjoying the delicious buffet when through the window I saw some flying raptors. Among them were some Swallow-tailed Kites! Although we've seen this species before in Florida, we were not able to get any pictures then. I grabbed my camera, bolted out the door, and managed to fire off a few documentary shots before the kites flew farther away.

After lunch, we were too stuffed to do some walking so we decided to concentrate on the hummingbirds just outside the restaurant. We did not pay much attention to them when we first arrived here since we wanted to explore the area and get as many lifers possible. They were always there anyway. Now it's hummer time and the birding was easy.

Grey-tailed Hummingbird

Magnificent Hummingbird

Stripe-tailed Hummingbird

At around 3pm, we tried the path towards the Canto de la Aves once again. In the garden next to some of the cottages we saw something new. Only to realize that it was a female Rose-breasted Grosbeak, which was not a lifer since we've seen it in the U.S. already.

Other than that, what we saw were the usual species that were quite common here. We returned to our cottage earlier than usual because we have to start packing for our 8 am departure tomorrow.

Costa Rica Birding, Day 2 - Dream Walking

This was what dreams were made of - walking in a forest trail and getting lifer after lifer. Was it because the trail led to a place called Sueno del Bosque (Dreams of the Forest)?

After an early breakfast Cynthia and I headed to the trail behind our cottage. After passing by some compost area which interestingly smelled of coffee, we passed by a small grove of trees and immediately we noticed some avian activity. What at first I thought was a nuthatch because it was acting like one, turned out to be a Grey-breasted Wood Wren.

We met a group who had been birding the area much earlier than we did. They informed us that there were some quails near the cottages of the Sueno del Bosque Resort. We thanked them and headed towards that direction. Only to be distracted by what we eventually discovered as the most common species in this patch of the woods - the Ruddy-capped Nightingale Thrush.

Near the cottages we heard a loud, as in extremely loud, call. Then came a covey of Spotted Wood Quails running behind the bushes. These birds were so quick on their feet that we had difficulties taking  their pictures.

As I chased after them, Cynthia turned her attention to a colorful bird fighting against its image on a car window. Unfortunately the light wasn't so great that she only got a documentary shot of the Spangle-cheeked Tanager.

On the other hand, after the quails had gone deep into the woods, I turned around to follow my wife only to be stopped by another colorful bird that flew in front of me and perched  just a few meters away. It was a Collared Whitestart. 

While I was distracted by this bird, Cynthia got another beauty - the Flame-throated Warbler.

The flame-throated warbler was already gone when I joined her. As we walked towards the restaurant area we saw several brown birds alight on a tree. We could tell from the general shape and behavior that it was some kind of a dove. Checking our field guide we learned that it was a Ruddy Pigeon.

Other than that, the area did not seem promising bird wise, so we returned to the trail going back to our cottage. Along the way, aside from the common Ruddy-capped Nightingale Thrushes, we saw some Scintillant Hummingbirds.

Foraging on a tree trunk was a very active Ochraceous Wren.

Just before reaching our cottage, we heard some scratching on the ground next to a small waterway. Below were a pair of Chestnut-capped Brush Finches searching for insects in the leaf litter.

We stopped by our cottage because Cynthia needed to use the bathroom. I sat near the glass wall of our room facing the forest. I saw what appeared to be a big bird perched on a short stump. Looked like a quetzal - greenish but without the long tail. I looked through my long lens and almost fainted when I realized that it was an Emerald Toucanet! I took several shots (behind a glass wall, take note) at a dark bird some distance away. Footballers would call it a "hail mary" shot. When I looked at the result that night, I was glad that the photo turned out to be not so bad at all.

That afternoon was spent just around the premises of the restaurant and nothing new was added to our list. We were still thankful, of course, for what we saw that morning. It was like walking in a dream.

Costa Rica Birding, Day 1, Part 1 - We better Quetzal we're ahead

Birders all over the world come to Costa Rica to see a magnificent bird of the Trogon family - the Resplendent Quetzal. When we were planning a trip to this Central American country, we chose a place where sightings of the famed Quetzal would be guaranteed.

It was a long, tiring trip from Los Angeles to our final destination: the Savegre Nature Resort and Spa in the town of San Gerardo de Dota arriving there at around 6 pm. Having left California a little past midnight, we were understandably plastered and fast asleep as soon as we checked in into our room.

Bright and early the following morning, we were awakened by the song of the aptly named Melodious Blackbird. Interestingly, this species do not show up in any of the bird lists of this area. According to Wikipedia, prior to 1989 there was only one record in Costa Rica. Yet now, this became our regular wake up call every morning. They are actually quite common in the premises.

Another "trash" bird is the Rufous-collared Sparrow. They are everywhere just like the Eurasian Tree Sparrow in the Philippines and the House Sparrow in the U.S. This one is a bit more colorful though.

Around the restaurant and the office were feeders - both for the hummingbirds and for the fruit-eaters. We saw 6 different kinds of hummers, 5 of which were lifers. The non-hummingbird feeders attract a variety of birds - most common being the Tanagers: Flame-colored, Silver-throated and Blue-grey. Occasionally, a migrant, the Tennessee Warbler would also drop by.

Tennessee Warbler

Costa Rica's national bird, the rather drab looking Clay-colored Thrush is, next to the Rufous-collared Sparrows, another common bird. These thrushes are more adaptable in terms of habitat as they can be found near human habitation or in the forests as well.

Our hotel offers various birding tours which would take visitors to the different areas around San Gerardo de Dota. One of these tours was for Quetzal sightings. However, while having breakfast that morning, a couple dining next to us gave us a tip. "Take the road going out of the hotel and look for a sign nailed to a tree trunk that says 'no lance la basura' (don't throw garbage). Look across the stream from that place and you will see the nest (a hole in the tree trunk). The parent Quetzals are always there."

As soon as we finished our morning repast we hied over to the directions given us. It didn't take us long to find the sign. And there, as our new friends assured us, was the female Quetzal. While taking pictures of the Mom, I noticed that there were birders on that side of the stream - which, of course, was much nearer to the bird! So, there we went also. Indeed the view was definitely closer. With only the female there, most of the birders left the area leaving just me and Cynthia and another bird photographer. 

We were scouring the boulders on the stream hoping to find an American Dipper (which had been seen sporadically here) when the male Quetzal appeared near the tree where their nest was. However its perch of choice was slightly covered by some branches and leaves. Despite that we still got busy taking its picture. Then, as if summoned by a higher power, the male flew to an open branch where it can now be better viewed and much closer than before.

After taking hundreds of shots (unusual for me to do) it was us, unbelievably, who gave up. Imagine that we got this incredible opportunity and didn't even have to shell out the $75 (per person) tour fee. Exhilarated, we returned to the area near the restaurant to take a breather from all that excitement at seeing the star bird of Costa Rica that close and that open! I jokingly told my wife that we better quit now while were ahead with our target birds. However, nature has a funny way of dealing with us people. As soon as I said that joke, the Long-tailed Silky Flycatcher, another gorgeous Costa Rican bird, flew in and perched at about 5 meters away from us as if to say, hey, there are other beauties here than those quetzals! They were so close that I at first I could only manage head shots. Thankfully I had a zoom lens and was able to change my setting from 600mm to 350mm just so I can get the full body in the frame. 

All these and it's not even 10 am!

Costa Rica Birding, Day 1, Part 2 - Keener Garden

After a short breather, having just seen and photographed the Resplendent Quetzal out in the open (please see my previous blog) Cynthia and I decided to try the "Canto de las Aves" (song of the birds) trail. As we approached the trailhead, we first heard, then saw, a flock of parakeets fly by. This happened several times as the green birds flew back and forth until my wife's sharp ears informed her that the parakeets had stopped flying and were now screeching their hearts out not that far from where we were standing. As we turned a corner we came upon an apple orchard on a hillock.

"There!" my wife whispered as she pointed to several green objects gorging on some ripe apples. At first I had no clue as to what species we were looking at. Later that day we bought an illustrated guide to the highland birds of Costa Rica. 

What we saw were Sulphur-winged Parakeets!

It was nearing noon and as we rounded the corner on our way back, we encountered a Sooty-capped Bush Tanager and a Yellow-faced Grassquit by the wayside.

Sooty-capped Brush Tanager

Yellow-faced Grassquit

After lunch, we were approached by Marino Chacon, one of the owners of the hotel and an excellent guide, and offered to take us to the "Photography Garden" at a rate of US$10 per person. We agreed to meet up before 2 pm. At 2pm, we were at the garden sitting on the portable chairs brought by Marino and looking at some Blue-grey Tanagers.

"I'll leave you here and pick you up at around 4:30, OK? Enjoy the birds!" said Marino.

Indeed there were birds all around us, you just need to have some keen hearing and eyesight to see them. The highlights here were the tiny Volcano Hummingbird

and the constantly moving Slaty Flowerpiercer.

female

male

Here also we had better views of the Silver-throated Tanager.

One intriguing species we saw was the Large-footed Finch. Looking at the bird, we noticed that the feet were not really that exceptionally large. What's more is that this is not really a finch but actually a sparrow!

At around 4, Marino came with another birder, Mike Steffes. Marino asked if we had seen the Mountain Elaenia and we replied in the negative. "There it is!" he said pointing to a non-descript olive-brown bird. But it flew before we could even take its picture. "There!" Marino once again pointed at a bird in a different place. This happened several times until we finally got a shot. Reviewing our photos later that night, it turned out that we have already seen (and photographed) the Elaenia earlier. It was quite common, as a matter of fact.

"There's a White-naped Brush Finch down there," our enthusiastic and keen-eyed guide told us. We looked and saw nothing. Not even Cynthia's usual spotting ability was able to distinguish the bird from its surroundings. Marino then asked for Cynthia's camera and took several shots. Then he took my camera and made several shots as well. As we reviewed the photos he took we were now able to pinpoint the whereabouts of this seemingly invisible bird.

At 4:30 all four of us returned to the hotel. Cynthia and I rested a bit then had dinner at 6:30. It had been a remarkable first full day of birding for us in Costa Rica. The Resplendent Quetzal right off the bat. Imagine that!