BIG Eagle Alert...COSTA RICA (26 Feb)

Just goes to prove the extreme diversity of the tropics, when you visit the same pace just weeks apart and turn up a very different bird list on both occasions. And so we returned to Braulio Carrillo National Park, although this time I was armed with Tayler Brooks and Andrew Spencer, a formidable sound recording team. The bird of the morning was clearly a vociferous raptor which called continually and did everything it could to get noticed. Although, when you look like an Ornate Hawk-Eagle it is hard not to get noticed, frankly. 

We had great loks at the this punky-crested eagle, as it glowered at us and called from the perch of a huge rain forest limb. On top of that we enjoyed a second visit to El Tapir, where Black-crested Coquette and Snowcaps could not have performed better, so the coquette nearly walked onto Andre's life list. We had splendid, eye-level views of this bird preening its exquisite feathers, and buzzing around their beloved Porterweed blooms.

Costa Rica continues soon...