Wordless Wednesday 4/7/10

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Costa Rica, Day 6 - Rancho Naturalista & Tuis River

Something else that was nice about this trip was that every morning there was good coffee waiting for you when you woke up.  Well, maybe not when I woke up, as I rarely woke later then 4:30am, but usually by the time we were up and out each morning - the coffee was there and waiting.
On our first morning at Rancho Naturalista, we spent some time admiring the little winged jewels that came to visit the feeders for their first of many visits that day as we enjoyed our coffee, and then wandered over to the bug sheet.  Like many places that cater to naturalists, Rancho also set up a sheet with a light at night to attract bugs and moths.  (Which also attracted birds in the morning!)  This particular morning, we got to see some neat birds like Buff-throated Foliage-gleaner, Plain Antvireo, and Red-throated Ant-Tanager - not to mention a familiar bird that was very confiding - a Wood Thrush.  We wandered back towards the main building and the where we dined, where the feeders were, and for the view from the veranda - which this morning including smoke billowing from the volcano on the other side of Turrialba.

We also spent a little bit of time checking out the flowering shrubs where the Snowcap typically visited - and were rewarded with some nice looks at this beautiful little hummingbird. These photos (and I do recognize they are poor to begin with) simply cannot convey their color which I can only describe as a coppery-purple with the eponymous snow-white cap.

We enjoyed a wonderful and filling breakfast (did I mention that every breakfast also has some of the most delicious fresh fruit I've ever eaten?) and got ourselves together for a trip down to the Tuis River, with a few of the other guests.  It was noted by the guides that it looked like a good morning for raptors - and moments later we were all getting spectacular looks at Black-hawk Eagle and  Barred Hawk as they soared near the mountain's ridge.  There were also Swallow-tailed Kites, Broad-winged and Zone-tailed Hawks, as well as the ever present Turkey Vultures.  But the main reason for coming down to the Tuis River is to look for the relatively reliable Sunbittern here.  We stopped and looked at several locations along the river with no luck.  A couple of small mixed flocks produced some nice birds, including Red-legged and Green Honeycreepers, Scarlet-thighed Dacnis, Bananaquits, Bay-headed, Golden Hooded, Blue-gray, Palm and Crimson-collared Tanagers.  Finally, at one opening to the river, we had a Sunbittern fly in, land on the opposite bank, and after less than a minute disappear into the foliage.  Even with waiting it out for quite some time, it did not reappear.  Pamela and I continued upriver a little further with Daniel to see what other birds we might find, as well as another chance for possibly better looks at a Sunbittern.  No luck with the birds, but Daniel did dart off the trail for the moment and came up with a sizable and aggresive snake that managed to get a few bites in.

He obviously knew that it wasn't a poisonous one, and even with a few bites, was happy to pose with it.  As we rejoined the group we decided to keep checking river openings.  Lucky for us, one of the other guides spotted another Sunbittern along the river, and as he tried to signal to us where it was, it flew downriver - right towards us, then banked showing off the really cool wing pattern, then landed, where I was able to get off one shot before it went deeper into the shadows.

Happy with the great looks we had at both flying and walking birds, (and getting into the hot part of the day) we headed back to the van and then the lodge.  After lunch Pamela and I decided to walk the trails again on our own in hopes of finding Rufous Motmot.  We struck out on the motmot, but did turn up some other nice birds like Violaceous Trogons, a Rufous-tailed Jacamar, Tropical Parula, Silver-throated Tanagers nestbuilding, Common Tody-Flycatcher nestbuilding, and several pairs of Band-backed Wrens nestbuilding.

Birding in the forest on our own, it was obvious to me that a guide would be great help, and we decided that we'd try to see if we could get Danial  for at least the morning on the next day.  We then headed back to relax and cool off again on the veranda.   Feeder stations like these are rarely boring - even the common feeder species are fun to watch.

Male and Female Passerini's Tanagers

Montezuma Oropendola

Social Flycatcher

Grey-headed Chachalaca

Black-cheeked Woodpecker

And, of course, the hummingbirds are wonderful.  I don't know a single birder - no, I don't think I know a single person that doesn't enjoy hummingbirds, and especially when there are so many of them feeding so close.

Green-crowned Brilliant

Violet Sabrewing

And really, who doesn't like trogons?  I know I've already posted other pics of Violaceous Trogons, but here's another that was taken from the comfort of the veranda...

After another scrumptious dinner, we retired to our room for the evening.  I really wanted to get out one evening to listen for owls and check out the bugs, but I kept waking so early in the mornings that I was just so beat after dinner that I never got beyond taking notes from the day and filling out checklists in the evenings.

Bird Photography Weekly #84

Collared Aracari - Pteroglossus torquatus

PS - as always click on the photos to see larger versions!



To see some great bird photos from around the world, check out:

Costa Rica, Day 5 - Selva Verda to Rancho Naturalista

We woke to our last morning at Selva Verde much the same way as the previous two mornings - with the exception of a little sadness of knowing it would be our last morning here.  This would prove to be a trend with almost all the places we stayed in Costa Rica - a little sad to be leaving such a cool and beautiful place, mixed with the excitement for the next location.  Before going to sleep early the previous night, we were pro-active about having our clothes picked out for the day and having our bags packed already so that we could squeeze out every last moment here.  We headed over for our morning coffee at the dining room and to check the feeders, which although slow, did provide us with some nice looks at Bright-rumped Attilla, then we joined the morning birdwalk with one of the on-site naturalist/guides.  We saw quite a few Masked Tityras, as well as a pair of Violaceous Trogons, a few Streak-headed Woodcreepers, Social Flycatchers, and Short-billed Pigeons.  The highlight of the morning had to be the three Great Green Macaws that made a few passes over us.  Even though we saw them the other evening, we had even better looks now.  The guide explained to us that there are only an estimated 300 birds in Costa Rica.  It was bittersweet to know that we just watched 1% of the population fly by.  These big (up to 36" from beak to tail) beautiful endangered parrots suffered population declines from deforestaton, but it is good to hear that the county is putting forth great efforts to conserve so much land, and and working with private landowners to reforest and reconnect fragmented land to create an larger and better eco-system.  (Sorry - still no photos.  I just couldn't tear my eyes away from these birds to grab the camera.  I am a birder first, and knew I didn't want to lose a moment of viewing in the short time I figured I would have.)  We enjoyed some last looks at some of the Howler Monkey's that we awoke to every morning, then headed back for breakfast.

After another delicious meal, we headed back to our room to get our stuff, check out, and meet our driver for our trip to our next destination.  On our way out, one of the last birds we passed was one of the first we saw on the way in (and did not see at all during the interim) a Grey-necked Wood-Rail:

Our next destination (as if you hadn't guessed by the title of the post) was the famous (to birders at least) Rancho Naturalista lodge.  Everybody that I spoke to when we were talking about going said that we HAD to spend some time there, and many said that if they went back, that they'd probably just stay there, and I certainly understand why - but I'm getting ahead of myself.  The ride itself from from Selva Verde was enjoyable, mainly because we got along so well with Erik, who drove us there.  His English was excellent, and he had no problems helping me with my pronunciation and translations of signs in Spanish that we passed along the way.  We all talked about where we were from, education, and work.  His father owned the company that he drove for and was based in Turrialba near Rancho Naturalista, and they regularly drive Rancho guests to/from other locations.  He was genuinely pleasant, proud of his country, and loved to talk about it, share information, point out places along the way, get our opinions, etc - I really cannot say enough good things about him.  And, knowing that we were birders, he had no problems stopping to check out a bird if I even looked for a moment longer than usual at something.  Along one highway, he pulled over and backed up so that we could get great looks at a Grey Hawk that was perched on a wire beside the road.

As we were approaching the lodge, he also spotted a Northern Jacana in a field with chicks, and pulled over to help us see them. (Still have no idea how he spotted them!)  Then we pulled off the paved road onto the steep entrance dirt road that led up to Rancho Naturalista - I tell you, there is no speeding here!
Rancho Naturalista is unlike anyplace else that we have ever stayed, in that things seem to be very laid back in some regards.  For instance, there isn't really a front desk where you check in.  I don't know if this has been anybody else's experience, but when we arrived, Erik called over to a few women that were doing some work nearby, discovered what room we were staying in, and then helped bring our bags up.  That was it.  Nobody in particular greeted or welcomed us, which felt a little odd.  The room was large and comfortable with doors that opened right onto a veranda with a beautiful view of the valley and Turrialba in the distance.  I wandered out and greeted a young man who was sitting there.  He introduced himself as Daniel, and it turns out that he was one of the guides there, and confirmed that we were indeed expected, that we were in the correct room, and then the lunch bell rang - "that's lunch" Daniel said, and we headed downstairs for the first of several excellent meals here.  (Warning - I will become repetitive here, as every single meal was excellently prepared and delicious!)  At lunch we met several other couples - some from England, some from Quebec, all of whom had been there for at least a day or two and had wonderful things to say about their stays, and some of whom we'd see regularly throughout the rest of our trip.  Also, many had also booked their trips via Costa Rica Gateway and had excellent things to say about them too.  We talked about what we'd seen and then were told about the large group of photographers that had been there earlier to photograph Rancho Naturalista's star attraction - the Snowcap hummingbird.  Everyone was pretty taken aback by the methods that were used by this group.  The birds usually visits some small flowers that are near the lodge, and very rarely the feeders - but apparently this was not good enough for the cadre of a dozen or so photographers.  They set-up a feeder in the same area, (apparently also having the audacity of moving the lodges feeders!), put up a muted green "background" behind it, set up lighting, then waited for the bird to show, not even paying attention to the any of the spectacular nature around them.  Now, I don't want to knock nature photographers - I know several wonderful nature photographers that are naturalists as well and are just as (if not more) respectful of their subjects as any birder - nor do I wish to spark any photographer/birder feud like those that pop-up on the birding list-servs, but it seems to me that this kind of nature photography is simply beyond the pale of acceptable behavior.  The only way the photo could be more 'staged' would be if they had a dead stuffed bird on a string.  All this just is to say how disappointed I was by this kind of behavior, and frankly, my understanding is that it did have some affect on the birds, as for the next day or so, it did not seem to visit as often as it apparently had before this 'media-blitz'-like event. I wonder if any one of the photographer's that were on that tour felt like any of it was too much, or if they all are just happy that they got "the shot."  Anyway...
We spent the afternoon checking out the feeders, and exploring a little bit of the trails.  The environment here was completely different than at Selva Verde, as we at a much higher elevation, so there were quite a few different birds here.  (Which was part of the plan for the trip - to visit a few different areas with different species in each.)
Right from the veranda, one of the first birds to catch my eye was one of the many hummingbirds that visit the feeders there - Violet-crowned Woodnymphs were regular visitors to the feeders (and even better for photos, they perched on exposed branches on a bush next to the veranda)

The banana 'feeders' in the small yard below the veranda had some regulars as well, including both Hoffman's and Black-cheeked Woodpeckers:

There were also many Passerini's Tanagers that came to the platform feeders as well as Montezuma Oropendolas:

We also did make an effort that afternoon to see the aforementioned star of Rancho Naturalista, the Snowcap, we only got very brief looks as it quickly checked out some flowers and then zipped back into the forest.  Another hummingbird we did get brief looks at (and I was surprised that I got an identifiable photo of upon reviewing my pics) was a Brown Violet-ear - not a rare bird, but certainly one I didn't see as often as some of the others there.

The "others" that were more common included Rufous-tailed Hummingbird, White-necked Jacobin, Green-breasted Mango, Bronze-tailed Plumeleteer, Violet Sabrewing, as well as an occasional Green Hermit, Green-crowned Brilliant, and even a Ruby-throated Hummingbird.

Before we knew it, the sun was setting, and it started getting a bit darker, so with my flash set to the lowest possible setting to get some fill light, I took my last few photos of the day at the feeders, and waited to her the bell for dinner.

At dinner that evening, we got to meet Kathleen Erb, the owner of Rancho Naturalista with her husband John, and got to hear a little of the history of the place, as well as a bit about her neighbors (some of whom, unfortunately, do not share their ideas and ideals of conservation of the forests in the area, and who seem to be buying some of the land around the area to cut for farming, as well as for less desireable uses.)  Much as they would like to buy and preserve even more land in the area, the economy even affects them in that they've had fewer guests in the last year or two, which means less income.  as far as I can tell though, they've not let this affect how well their guests are treated in any way.  The food and service was absolutely top-notch.

We made arrangements with Daniel and a few other guests to have a guided trip down to the Tuis River in the morning, bid goodnight to the other guests and settled in for our first of three evenings at 'Rancho.'

Costa Rica, Day 4 - La Selva OTS

I won't wax poetic again about waking up in the rainforest - but I do love it.  This morning we were scheduled for a full guided day at La Selva OTS Biological Station.  (OTS stand for the Organization for Tropical Studies.)  I'd heard and read plenty about the birding here and was really looking forward to this day.
Heading from our room to the dining room at Selva Verde, we found a huge moth that I've not been able to identify yet...

I took the photo with my hand in it for a sense of size.  Any help with the ID would be appreciated!

We enjoyed another great breakfast then met our driver to take us the short drive to La Selva.  We checked in at the visitor center and were introduced to Octavio, our guide for the day.  We started the day in front of the visitor center where we were able to see some distant Three-toed Sloths lounging in a tree - unfortunately too far away for a good photo.  Our next stop was only another 30 yards away at a fruiting tree next to the dining room which was very popular.  We saw a few different species of tanagers in this tree including Passerini's and Golden-hooded Tanagers:

Also in this tree were a pair of birds that seem to be a bit of a specialty of this particular location - Crested Guan!

After spending some time enjoying our first looks (and taking photos) of the above species, we continued birding along the entrance road.  Looking skyward, we were treated to some spectacular numbers of migrating vultures, as well as a few nice hawks including nice long looks at a dark Hook-billed Kite.  Next up were some distant looks at a Long-tailed Tyrant, and we spent some time near the parking area where Octavio picked up on a Yellow-tailed Oriole - a species that has apparently declined quite a bit and not always easy to get.  Thanks to him we got some great looks - and a poor pic or two:

We proceeded to bird along the entrance road for the next hour or so, where we managed to pick up some nice tropical species like Green and Shining Honeycreepers, and Blue Dacnis.  And while Octavio worked hard to try to coax a Great Antshrike out of a thicket, I spotted a female Fasciated Antshrike with nesting material, and watched her going to the nest with it while the male attended on a nearby branch.   We then headed into some of the comfortable paved trails for a while, picking up species here and there including a number of wrens, flycatchers, four species of woodcreeper, a Slatey-tailed Trogon, and a pair of Scarlet-rumped Caciques. Two-toed Sloths were another welcome sight.  As the morning progressed it continued to get hotter and hotter, and the number of birds we saw started to dwindle, so we worked our way back towards the dining area.  As we were approaching, we did hear a trogon calling and managed to find a pair of Violaceous Trogons right next to where we began the day.  Here is a photo of the female with her lunch:

Lunch was served buffet style in the dining room, and we ate amongst the students and scientists that were residing there.  Given the heat (and I was really feeling it) I was concerned that the afternoon's birding would be pretty slow.  I needn't have worried though.

After eating (and doing a little quick souvenir shopping at the visitor center) we headed towards the suspension bridge that crossed the same river as at Selva Verde - although this bridge was quite a bit wider and more steady (it's not unusual to be passed by a bicycle on this one!).  We stopped a little way onto the bridge as I was watching a Black-cheeked Woodpecker and a Black-striped Woodcreeper.  Pamela, who I am continually thankful for having along with me birding, then says "I have a woodpecker on the other side of the bridge.  This one doesn't have any black on it - it's more brownish with red on the head."  Needless to say I immediately forgot about the birds I was looking at and was thrilled to see my first Rufous-winged Woodpecker.  We got to watch it for a quite a while as it worked it's way around the same area as the Black-cheeked Woodpecker was been.  Again, not a great photo (was still a little shakey on the bridge and I had very slow shutter speed with the dark understory light), but I was thrilled to add a new woodpecker to my life list...

We then continued across the bridge, and before we reached the end, Octavio had us on another life bird - a Broad-billed Motmot - another big target species for me on this trip.  Moments later we were also checking out a Pied Puffbird that was calling from the very top of a tree.  Next up on the exciting bird list was a beautiful male Great Currasow that I guess has become very acclimated to all the people around him, as it never seemed to notice anybody as he worked his way through the grass searching for food and ignoring those that biked by him.  A bird this cool looking just shouldn't be this easy:

Next, Octavio led us into the primary forest trails, to see what we could find there. Along the way we encountered a Semiplumbeous Hawk, which he seemed rather confident would be there, and heard a distant Laughing Falcon (alas, the only one we would encounter on this trip).  A pair of quiet Rufous-tailed Jacamars was a treat to watch, especially as one sallied forth from it's perch to catch an insect.  We found our second Pale-billed Woodpecker of the trip along these trails, as well as the only Tinamou that we'd see on this trip - a Great Tinamou that Octavio spotted early enough that we were able to stay back and quiet to get great looks as it foraged along the forest floor and among the buttressed roots of a large tree.  As the day was getting later, Octavio offered the opportunity to head off to another trail where there was a chance at seeing Bare-necked Umbrellabird, which was very tempting.  He'd not seen one yet this year, but I guess there is a chance in the late afternoon starting around this time of the year.  We'd given it some consideration but decided to leave that one on the table for the next time we come back - the long day, heat and humidity were certainly taking their toll on us.  We did managed to see an agouti as well - our only one for this trip, as well as a new hummingbird species for the trip - a Bronze-tailed Plumeleteer.  Not sure why it was named for it's bronzed tail, when really, one of the great distinguishing features of this bird is its red legs and feet!

Coming back to the bridge, I tried for additional looks at the Broad-billed Motmots that were now calling more regularly (or maybe I was just better able to identify the call once Octavio explained what I was listening to and for), but with limited success, and no photos.  Another time, I suppose.  Crossing the bridge, we were treated to a rather uncommon view, which I think was the highlight of Octavio's day - an otter was out of the water on a rock for a few seconds before it slinked back into the water and disappeared.
We grabbed a few bottles of water and then sat down to tally up the day (about 90 species of birds were seen or heard, as well as a few mammals, butterflies, dragonflies, and the biggest damselfly I have ever seen in my life).  Just as we were about to climb into the van to head back to Selva Verde, the driver mentioned that somebody had spotted a monkey on the bridge.  We asked if he would mind waiting a few minutes so we could see if it was still there and try to get a few photos, and he was more than happy to accommodate.  Sure enough, a Howler Monkey was working his way along the bridge, using every part of the bridge except the part that people walk on...

We arrived back at Selva Verde with enough time to put our stuff in the room, cool off a little bit, then head to the bar for a drink before having our last dinner there. (And at the risk of sounding like a broken record, it was - as delicious as all the other meals we' had there!)

As much as I would've liked to do some more after-dark exploration, we were just too tired, and it wasn't a difficult decision to go to bed early again.