Costa Rica Bird Challenge: Day 5, (16 Oct 2017)

Quetzal Time!

This autumn, Costa Rica had lived through a big storm that actually affected the mountains more than the coast, and so this day had been rejigged, so we get some of those mountain birds that were now cut off from us at their more traditional Talalamanca Mountain haunts (i.e. Savegre). Instead, we traveled to Irazu National Park, making our first stop for a tiny hummingbird perched on a wire that materialized into a gorgeous male Scintillant Hummingbird once we had our ‘nocs on it. A wonderful opening. This was followed not long later with a highland classic, a group of Long-tailed Silky-Flycatchers, which brought excitement all round; it’s a bit of a looker! We steadily added highland species that we knew well today provided our only access too; playing a Costa Rican Pygmy Owl tape failed (as usual), with said owl, but did bring in the rather handsome Fiery-throated Hummingbird, my real intention of playing the call! 

Playing this call also irritated some of the local Flame-throated Warblers, which were only too thrilled to see, a powder blue warbler with a glowing ember where its throat should be! A pair of Black-capped Flycatchers also showed in the same area. As we continued climbing the road and making short stops, we added some tame Sooty-capped Chlorospinguses, and then were met with the sight of the other team buses parked at the side of the road in the fashion that implied something big had just gone down; and it had. The front driver had spotted the emerald form of a male Resplendent Quetzal and brought traffic to a halt, while our cameras and brains went into overdrive at seeing one of the World’s most beautiful bird forms. 

After admiring this scintillating male, with its wispy emeralds green feathers lifting up gently in the wind behind him for a while, we set off for the crater at the top, which held two species in particular only possible there – Volcano Junco, which was waiting by the parking lot for us to arrive, and a pair of feisty Timberline Wrens bounced around the thicker scrub surrounding the enormous crater at the apex of Irazu, which afforded some scenic shots of note, and also led us to another regional endemic, the strangely named Large-footed Finch. 

We also tracked down our first Sooty Thrushes there too, and too time out from all things avian (honestly I can do that), to admire the incredible views at the top...

(Team Tucan Ticos post-Quetzal and Junco, which I was proud to be part of)

After a fortuitous meeting with a local birder that German knew, we dropped back down on news of a Costa Rican Pygmy Owl having been not only seen, but photographed at close range moments earlier. This gentleman (sorry, I do not know his name), kindly drove us straight to the bridge, where team two, the Redstart Wranglers were already there, but were not aware of the recent owl sighting. A short period of playback later, and the rusty colored owl flew in and landed for all to see. Mission accomplished for one of the highlands more difficult species. Yellow-winged Vireo, some confiding Acorn Woodpeckers and Spot-crowned Woodcreeper, were all also seen during the morning.

 

Following lunch, we had another lengthy drive to somewhere entirely different, we dropped down onto the other side of the mountains and then up to a lodge in the Pacific lowlands, Macaw Lodge, as it lies within the heart of the range of the Scarlet Macaw. The journey time allowed for few stops on the way, once in the Pacific lowlands, but we did add Tawny-winged Woodcreeper, a glowing Lesson’s Motmot lurking in the understorey, and Black-hooded Antshrike, before arriving at the lodge. A post-dinner walk, to look for Spectacled and Black-and-white Owls failed on both fronts.

Next stop Carara…

#visitcostarica #costaricabirdchallenge #costaricabirding #futuropa 
#ict #birdwatchingrepublic

Costa Rica Bird Challenge: Day 1, part I (12 Oct 2017)

Raptors and Hummingbirds Shine in an Explosive Opening…

Following a brief 5am tea (no coffee for this traditional Englishman) and cookie, we hit the road from downtown San Jose (from the Hotel Aurola Holiday Inn) and headed up into the mountains on the edge of Poas Volcano. Once in the shadow of the volcano, we got straight into some montane species right off the bat, with a fleeting stop at Freddo Fresas, Poasito. The hummingbirds were the main attraction here, with a male Volcano Hummingbird appearing right on cue, competing for our attention with Lesser Violetears (formerly known as Green, before this was spliced into two species recently), Purple-throated Mountain-Gems, and Green-crowned Brilliant. A glowing male Flame-colored Tanager also lent some colour to proceedings. Another short search of some cloudforest led us to a perfectly positioned Hoffman's Two-toed Sloth. 

Another stop beside a stunning, thundering waterfall near the volcano brought us a rush of new species, with some stellar ones among them, such as local specialties like Golden-bellied Flycatcher and Sooty-faced Finch proving remarkably easy at this scenic spot. Better was yet to come though, as, after scoring a very tame Torrent Tyrannulet, an Ornate Hawk-Eagle circled above us in the blue skies overhead. An unexpected, and striking pre-breakfast bird, which made us forget our hunger for just a little while, before this majestic eagle drifted effortlessly out of view.

The next stop was also hummingbird related, but food-related too, as we tucked into a hearty breakfast of traditional Gallo Pinto, while surrounded by birds-mainly hummingbirds at the feeders that included the Coppery-headed Emerald, a country endemic (of which there are only six), and a regional endemic following a visit from one of the local White-bellied Mountain-Gems, a bird that made its lone appearance on this bird race during this breakfast at Cinchona, a bit of a legend amongst birders, and especially bird photographers. It was impossible not to also appreciate the conspicuous beauty of the visiting male Violet Sabrewings, a bold and delightfully common montane hummingbird species in Costa Rica. Silver-throated Tanagers also appeared at the fruit feeders, as did Costa Rica’s shamefully dowdy national bird, Clay-colored Thrush, an appalling choice (considering all the colour on offer among the avian community), in this megadiverse tropical country for this prestigious title.

Following an opening that largely centered around hummingbirds and feeders, we switched to some “real” birding with a visit to Virgen del Socorro, where its most emblematic species, the White Hawk appeared early and calmed nerves quickly. The deserted dirt road allowed us to walk both down and up the valley, steadily adding to our bird list for the day, which included species like Bay-headed Tanager, a couple of Scale-crested Pygmy-Tyrants, a dinky Black-headed Tody-Flycatcher, (akin to a dink frog with its incessant calling nature), a smashing Crimson-collared Tanager, and a steady stream of migratory American warblers (Black-and-white, Tennessee, Blackburnian, Yellow, Canada, Wilson’s, and Chestnut-sided Warblers), showing that they had made it safely through a particularly challenging storm and hurricane season this year, to reach their normal wintering/migratory stopovers in country. 

While not the rarest bird there, a very confiding Lineated Woodpecker found by team member Tim Appleton was my favourite bird of the site, and the photos probably show why…Remarkably, we had only reached the end of the morning at this point! A busy bird afternoon followed our arrival at our next staging point: Selva Verde Lodge. 

NOTE: This challenge was helped and supported by the tourism board of Costa Rica, and Futuropa, among many other contributors, and so I am including the hashtags here to help connect with these organisations:

#visitcostarica #costaricarules #costaricabirdchallenge #costaricabirding#futuropa #ict #birdwatchingrepublic