I've received some really wonderful feedback on these posts from Costa Rica (thank you!), and even though I still have a few more days to go, I think I am going to try and pare things down a bit and try to finish this up in a just a few more posts, so I apologize if it seems like I might me gleaning over or rushing through parts.
On this, our last morning at Savegre, we had arranged to hire a guide again to bring us to some higher elevation areas - especially as there were known nesting sites for Costa Rican Pygmy Owl and Emerald Toucanette. After a quick breakfast, we wandered outside to wait for the guide - and I spent some time watching the Long-tailed Silky Flycatcher nest. A bit of patience was rewarded first with a bird coming to the nest - and feeding chicks!
Then it perched at the top of the tree in perfect morning light:
Even if we didn't see another bird that day, I would've been happy after this. Of course, this is Costa Rica, and there were plenty more birds to see. We soon met our guide, Raoul, who happens to be Melvin's son, (I love that birding and guiding is a family business) and with the others joining the trip discussed what our targets would be. While Raoul stepped away to get a vehicle ready for us, we learned that Melvin and the couple he was guiding would be joining us too - what a bargain - twice the talent for the same price. (5 guests and 2 guides - can't ask for better than that!) We headed up the mountain in search of the owls and the toucanettes. The owls were a no-show, but we got some good looks at the Emerald Toucanettes as the entered and left a nest cavity.
We had good looks... I never said anything about good pics though! While searching for Silvery-throated Jays (heard but never seen) we were treated to several large flights of migrating raptors overhead, as well as some soaring local raptors - including brief but satisfying looks at an Ornate Hawk-eagle. All too soon, it was time to head back, as we needed to gather our stuff and head to the next lodge. On the way back down, we enjoyed additional great looks at species like Mountain Thrush, Ruddy Tree Runner, Golden-bellied Flycatcher, Large-footed Finch, Black-cheeked Warbler, and Flame-throated Warbler.
While waiting for our driver to take us to the next lodging, I passed the time at the hummingbird feeder...
Our next destination was Punta Leona Resort on the Pacific Coast, but the travel time was a few hours. Thankfully we had the good luck to have another great driver - Juan Carlos was friendly, knowledgeable, and considerate (he checked a few times to see if we needed to stop, stretch our legs, etc), and we chatted easily the whole ride, talking about out individual cultures and helping each other out with language and translations. He also offered to stop at in Orotina for the only owl we would actually see on the trip - a Black-and-white Owl that is a regular in a park there. Late in the afternoon we arrived at Punta Leona, checked in and settled into our room as we checked off one more "life bird" - Scarlet Macaws. Large and noisy, it was hard to miss these birds as they were finding an evening roost.
Another fine example of my lack of "in-flight photography" talent.
Surprisingly, it was HOT at this area of the Pacific Coast. For some reason I had expected warm Pacific breezes to keep us comfortable, but this was easily the hottest part of our trip, and that certainly slowed us down a bit to a more leisurely pace. As the sun set, we wandered the resort grounds a bit, checked out the beach, and had a drink at the outdoor bar, before heading to the open-air dining room for a nice meal and then retiring for the evening.
The next morning, we headed out soon after dawn to join the daily morning bird walk at the resort. Stepping out of our room, I immediately heard the distinct "double-knock" of a campephilus woodpecker, and with just a little bit of looking found a nice Pale-billed Woodpecker before it flew deeper into the forest. There were also quite a few Rufous-naped Wrens in the area, and we would be hard-pressed to miss them at any time when we were there.
The morning walk seemed to be aimed more at the more "typical" resort guests. The people that are there to vacation on the coast, that might take a few hours one morning to learn about the common birds that are around the area, as opposed to birders like ourselves that were hoping to maybe find some of the less common birds. All (except one) of the other guests that showed up all shared a pair of pocket bins, and we had a nice easy walk, spotting some nice birds, like Brown Pelicans flying in formation, Magnificent Frigatebirds hanging in the sky, Rose-throated Becards (a nemesis bird for me in the ABA area) and Streaked Flycatchers:
We asked the guide about the best place to see the Scarlet Macaws, (as I definitely wanted to try for better pics that the previous evenings) and we wandered over to a tree where a pair were feeding...
As we were winding up the morning walk near the reception area, the guide caught the notes of two birds - Masked Tityra, which I always enjoy seeing, and a rather quiet Turquoise-crowned Motmot. It remained high in a tree (a perfect digiscoping bird -if I had a digiscoping set-up any more) but was cooperative enough that everyone was able to get pretty good looks at it. (photos were of such poor quality though that I am embarrassed to even post them here.)
As we headed back to our room to cool off before breakfast, we learned quickly that there was no need to worry about getting good looks at Scarlet Macaw - a pair of them seemed to set-up shop in a large tree next to a path that we walked several times a day:
After spending quite a bit of time watching these beautiful birds preening, calling, and just generally showing off, we continued on our way to breakfast. The open-air dining room provided a very comfortable environment, where I think they met their goal of having you feel like you were part of the environment. This was helped by the troop of White-headed Capuchins (aka White-faced or White-throated Capuchin) that were playing and eating nearby.
After breakfast we headed back to the room to change and head to the beach. Yep - not really birding, just going to swim in the Pacific. (In fact, I couldn't see any birds even if I wanted to as I took out my contacts and left my glasses behind.) Given the heat, this was the best possible move we could have made that day.
Our view as we approached the beach:
The rest of the day was spent in the ocean, near the pool, or at one of the outdoor bars or restaurants. Not a bad way to relax and beat the tropical heat. Oh, and we saw these cool, beautiful big iguanas all over the place...
That evening I spent a little more time photographing the Macaws - I mean, come on - how can you not?
WARNING! I may get excessively dramatic here...
That evening before dinner, I had one of the most amazing moments in my birding experience (yes, even more than the Quetzals). Outside of our room, I again heard the distinct "double-knock" and decided that I wanted to try to get better looks and maybe photos of the Pale-billed Woodpecker that made it. Remembering one of my favorite moments from
David Attenborough's Life of Birds series (
where David called in a pair of Magellenic Woodpeckers by using two rocks on a tree to imitate the double-rapping) I found two rocks, and a good solid hollow tree, and did my best at reproducing the sound and speed of the noise I had heard. And guess what - it worked, it WORKED! Holy $#!% -
it really WORKED!!! The Pale-billed Woodpecker flew right to the top of the next tree over and did its double-knock. So I did it again, while watching him - and he did it again. After my third attempt, he was confident that it was only me and I was not threatening his territory and continued on his way. Following him in flight, I spotted another one - this being the female of the pair - quietly foraging on another tree, so I just stood there and snapped photo after photo...
Tearing myself away from these birds was difficult, but I did manage to do so to get back to the room and grab the spotting scope and get Pamela (who had been enjoying an afternoon nap) to join me. With the scope we managed to get wonderful intimate looks of the bird from a distance as it worked it way along the branches, and COOL - it just extracted and ate a huge grub! I simply could not have asked for a better moment with this majestic bird!
I think that this is more than enough for this post. Next up Carera National Park and a boat ride on the Tarcoles River, then we wrap things up and head on home...
