An early rise saw us heading to the watch point. A Racoon ran across the track in front of us along the way but otherwise it was back to sitting and waiting whilst seeing the clear starry night sky and the distant flashes of lightning and hearing stories of Turtles coming up onto the beach during the night on other shifts. Let’s see what happens... At just after 4am the faint glow of the sun light started to appear over the horizon and this transitioned into an awesome sunrise which is the perks of being on the ‘late’ shift. The dawn chorus consisted of the thundering noise of Howler Monkeys and a nearby tree held 4 preening White-napped Wrens. Yellow-crowned Night-herons flew back towards their roost as streams of Brown Pelicans left theirs. A Peregrine was hunting over the sea as was another unidentifiable sea bird. Above: One of the Yellow-crowned Night Herons heading into roost Above: Rufous-napped Wrens I decided that since I was up and it wasn’t unbearably hot I would go for a walk along the beach in order to explore. The first row of trees I came to had not one but at least 5 Howler Monkeys sat in it preening each other before they all headed off as a pack deeper into the forest. That was awesome to final put what is a harrowing call to such a small monkey. A White-throated Dove sat on the wire here and a Bare-throated Tiger-Heron was also stalking through the vegetation. Moving on and further along the coast I encountered 2 more Tropical Kingbirds along with 2 Orange-fronted Parakeets sat up in the tops of the trees. Above: 2 of the 5 Howler Monkeys Below: White-winged Dove Above: Bare-throated Tiger-heron A Royal Tern out at sea was new for the day list as was an incredibly tame Spotted Sandpiper. The first proper parrot of the trip was seen with 2 White-fronted Parrots. I then headed into a nature reserve and found the mouth to a river. 2 Spotted Sandpipers were feeding here but it was way too tempting to ignore. Above: White-fronted Parrots Below: Spotted Sandpiper Above: White-fronted Parrot Below: Variegated Squirrel Above: an incredibly Camouflaged Butterfly. Above: Spotted Sandpiper I decided to head a little way up the channel and thankfully I was in luck as a Green Kingfisher appeared on one of the branches in front of me. This was soon joined by a second. It was an incredible sight and something that I had hoped would happen on this trip. I have to admit that when I first saw it I nearly lost my balance and ended up in the water as I jumped for joy. Above: if you look carefully on the right hand side of this photo you can actually see the American Green Kingfisher sat watching the water, it hadn't spotted me and I hadn't spotted it (yet!) Below: Perhaps one of the best birds of the trip.... The American Green Kingfisher Above: yep if you look closely that is a Crab in the tree.... Not sure of the species but still really cool. After spending several minutes watching the Kingfisher i decided to wander a little further on. A Rufous-napped Wren appeared on a branch in front of me holding some food and watched as it visited the nest that over hung the path. Further along 2 Hummingbirds flew past me and so I stopped as I watched them sparring over the path. They were soon joined by at least 5 others before two of them tangled with each other and flung themselves to the ground where this intense battle continued. I had never seen anything like this before and watched as this battle continued on the ground just centimetres from my feet. After a while booths birds flew up and into a nearby Bush revealing their perfectly coloured blue chests. This also thankfully revealed the species to me which was blue-throated Goldentails. The third hummer of the trip. Above: Rufous-napped Wren Above: Blue-throated Goldentail After this I then headed back for breakfast via the White-fronted Parrots showing incredibly well. Just before I got to the sanctuary, I noticed a pile of fruit had been dumped on the side of the road. This had attacked a lot of opportunistic birds into feed including the incredibly tame American Black Vulture and also a Bare-throated Tiger-Heron. A surprise find was a juvenile Yellow-headed Caracara. When I arrived at the turtle sanctuary a Spotted Sandpiper was at the mouth of the river as were at least 2 juvenile Yellow-crowned night-herons. Some Great-tailed Grackles were sparing on the road outside so I decided to record the square up. Above: Interesting to see how the light changes the colouring of the American Green Woodpecker. Below: Lizard Sp Above: White-fronted Parrot Below: Variegated Squirrel Above: Great-tailed Grackles Below: Yellow-headed Caracara Above: Bare-throated Tiger Heron Below: American Black Vulture Above: Turkey Vulture Below: American Black Vulture After breakfast it was back to work with moving sand from the beach into the turtle sanctuary to prepare it for more nests. After this I headed back to the room adding both Broad-winged Hawk and Grey-breasted Martin’s to the day list. After this I decided to head out for another walk adding White-throated Magpie-Jay to the day list as they showed incredibly well. A Magnificent Frigatebird soared high over my head, while two tiny Inca Doves feed in and amongst someone’s Chickens. I then headed back to the centre for lunch to see a bird with an extremely long tail fly over me and land in the canopy of the tree beside along with a second. After staying hidden for several minutes they eventually revealed themselves to be a pair of Squirrel Cuckoos. Above: Assorted Butterfly's Below: Cinnamon Hummingbird Above: Squirrel Cuckoo Below: White-throated Magpie-Jay Above: Variegated Squirrel Below: Black-Spiny Tailed Iguana Above: Bare-throated Tiger-Heron Below: White-throated Magpie-Jay Above: Inca Dove Below: Black Spiny-tailed Iguana Above; Dragonfly sp Below: Magnificent Frigatebird After lunch a siesta was in order before this afternoons adventure but this didn’t stop a Coati adding itself onto the trips species list as it wandered through the hotel garden. Above: My first views of a Coati Below: Black Spiny-tailed Iguana After this a group of us headed back out to the nature reserve I found this morning and went to explore the channel and head further up stream. The Kingfisher were unfortunately no where to be seen. Until a very brief view of one perched on a rock however out Tree Crab was still present. However the best find was a Blue-tailed, Steely-vented Hummingbird that was busily feeding on the flowers at the waters edge. Just as we were about to head down I noticed what I thought was a Tortoise under a nearby rock however it turned out that it was actually a Fresh Water Turtle which is pretty awesome. Above: White-faced Capuchin Below: Fresh Water Turtle We then headed back along the beach after this bit of exploration and found a massive dragonfly stranded in the waves. Which I picked up and placed on a nearby rock for it to dry itself off. We then decided to call it a night and headed back to have dinner before having a final shift on the Turtle Sanctuary, before our ridiculously early departure in the morning. Another night shift done with only a tarantula and some geckos for company and so we decided to call it a night. Above: Tarantula sp
Below: House Gecko
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Today was a day for exploring. However species wise it was very similar to yesterday. On the walk to Breakfast a new species was added to the trip list in the form of a female Summer Tanager. (Pictured Below) After Breakfast we headed back to the room before helping to move logs on the beach in order to protect the turtle sanctuary after it was damaged in a recent storm. After releasing some Turtles it was good to have some free time before lunch. Bare-throated Tiger-Heron and Yellow-Crowned Night-heron were added to the day list along with a Bobbing Spotted Sandpiper. A Walk into town saw plenty of Tricoloured Squirrels showing incredibly well. Alongside another Hummingbird of which the identity will have to wait until I get back as it was merely a silhouette in the trees. (At this stage you can start to tell that the combination of the night shifts and the travelling had already knocked the life out of me. This comes across in my writing as I can't lie I was already extremely tired.) Above: Lizard sp Below: Rufous-tailed Hummingbird (I think) Above: The local race of Variegated Squirrel Below: Bare-throated Tiger-heron Above: Juv Yellow-crowned Night Heron Below: Adult Yellow-crowned Night Heron Above: Black Spiny-tailed Iguana Below: I believe this to now be a Cinnamon Hummingbird Above: Black Sea Turtle. We found this one in the rubble that was piled up at the back of the beach, it was still alive so we moved it down the beach in order to give it the best shot at survival. It had potentially been in that rubble for several days before we found it. A short pre lunch walk saw Great Kiskadee and Tropical Kingbird added to the list. Magnificent Frigatebirds, Pelicans and both species of Vultures soared above us as a Rufous-tailed Hummingbird added itself to the list. Some 50 odd species of Butterfly were around as well, but without an ID guide i am struggling to identify them all. Grey-breasted Martin’s were high flying along with my first White-collared Swifts of the trip which made for a good addition to the day. Above: Male Great-tailed Grackle Below: Female Great-tailed Grackle Above: Variegated Squirrel Below: Black Spiny-tailed Iguana Above: I have to admit that I am now slightly leaning toward Boat-billed Flycatcher for this one rather than a Great Kiskadee. Above: Tropical Kingbird After lunch the butterfly fest continued and 2 Hoffman’s Woodpeckers. The pair of Rufous-naped Wrens were in the same place as yesterday and a young Cinnamon Hummingbird was sat in the trees near us and was briefly joined by its parent In the tree. A Broad-winged Hawk was new for the list as we all prepared for the afternoons hike. Above: Rufous-napped Wren Below: Hoffman's Woodpecker Above: Jesus Christ Lizard/ Common Basilisk Below: Rufous-napped Wren Above: Prey Mantis Nymph Below: Hoffman's Woodpecker Above: Rufous-napped Wren Below: Cinnamon Hummingbird Above: When we got back to the hotel we were in for a surprise as there were Black Spiny-tailed Iguanas everywhere including one laid right across the front door. We headed up to the trail route which was a lot harder than I expected. A Green Heron was the only species I saw but a slip and a fall nearly resulted in a smashed camera. That battered my ankle and aggravated the injury I had obtained last week in football. We finally made it to the waterfall after seeing another one of those massive blue butterflies. Whilst at the waterfall flocks of Vultures passed over along with a few Broad-winged Hawk. Above: Turkey Vulture Below: Broad-winged Hawk Along the way back we saw very little again. However it was awsome to see a young Bare-throated Tiger Heron sat in the trees above the main road. Iguanas were everywhere and another White-faced Capuchin was seen. Above: young Bare-throated Tiger-heron in the nest Below: Green Iguana Above: I don't know why but I just love this... Why not park your horse next to a coach...! (Oh and yes that's the coach we used for the whole trip) The rest of the afternoon I decided to spend walking up the road towards the turtle Sanctuary slowly trying to take in as much as possible. A Male Summer Tanager sat in one of the trees near the turtle sanctuary centre which was awesome to see and a little further up the road a Northern-Beardless Tyrannulet was sat on the power lines. Little else was seen, but my guess is that its partially to do with the searing heat and kind of sums up the trip so far. It seems that very few birds can cope with the intensity of the heat and humidity. On the way back 12 Orange-fronted Parakeets were sat in the trees near the turtle sanctuary. But best of all was the prehistoric looking Jesus Christ Lizard. Yep that’s its name. Apparently they can walk on water but this one didn’t and was just sat on the bank of the river. Above: Orange-fronted Parakeets Below: Tropical Kingbird Above: Male Summer Tanager Below: Juv Yellow-crowned Night Heron Above: Northern Beardless Tyrannulet Below: Lizard sp Dinner was had and then an early night was decided as the late shift was the one that my group had tonight from 2am till 6am.
A nice early start to get the ferry led to little birding time before getting on the coach, however Tropical Kingbird, White-winged Dove, Great-tailed Grackle, and Great Kiskadee were all seen. The coach journey out east took us through the central valley along the 24 and took us through some stunning scenery with mountain slopes visible on each side. Much nicer than being in the city. Birds were frequently encountered but hard to ID. Swallows, Swifts and Martin’s were numerous along with plenty of other unidentifiable silhouettes. There were however plenty of low flying Vultures that were easy to ID with both American Black and Turkey encountered. About half way through the journey we were briefly driving side by side with a Black-mandibled Toucan which was incredible and hopefully a sign of things to come. One thing I will say though is that they are massive. I have to admit though the most frustrating thing about the coach journey was the amount of unidentifiable things from Flycatchers to a probable Macaw. Although I have to admit if I was driving myself we would be constantly stopping and not getting anywhere. This place is like a birdwatchers paradise. The thing I am learning from this journey is the bigger the bird the easier it is to identify as at one of the toll booths a Crested Caracara was sat perched on a Lamppost. Its is also obviously an American Black Vulture day today as in places the sky was full of them with. Many more unidentified telephone wire sitting Kingbirds and Flycatchers later we arrived at the Pacific coast. Immediately I could see Magnificent Frigatebirds Everywhere and they were massive. Not quite what I had expected when I saw them in the book, Incredible! Vultures were everywhere here as well many perched in palm trees or on Lampposts making for quite a surreal scene. Hummingbirds and Woodpeckers got in on the unidentifiable act just as 2 of the Frigatebirds got up to soar with the flock of incoming Vultures. They were almost the same size as the vultures if not bigger which was crazy and felt like something out of Jurassic park. A bit of traffic helped to ID some birds including a Lineated Woodpecker on a telephone pole. Frigatebirds continued to entertain as we sat in the traffic to get onto the ferry. The telephone wires were scattered with Frigatebirds and Brown Pelicans and looking out to see there were tonnes of prehistoric looking brown birds flying and diving over the open ocean. If I wasn’t looking forward to the crossing before i sure am now. Above and Below: Magnificent Frigatebirds Above: Brown Pelican Below: I think if I am correct they should be 2 Blue-and-white Swallow and 4 Grey-breasted Martins. The ferry crossing was immense. With 1000s of migrating Raptors at either end of the ride many were American Black Vultures, however unfortunately the rest were way too high to identify which is a shame. 2 Neotropic Cormorants were a new species as was an Elegant Tern, a Caspain Tern and many Royal Terns. The main species of the crossing were the Brown Pelicans there were literally thousands moving across the water including an island that held several hundred of them. 4 White Ibis were seen flying across the water as were several thousand migrating American Black Terns as they flew past low over the water. A Laughing Gull was the only Gull species seen on the trip. At either end the terminals held several species of Martin and Swallow including Bank Swallow, Purple Martin, Blue-and-white Swallow, and Grey-breasted Martin’s. Above: American Black Tern Below: Unfortunately no country is perfect and I didn't really take enough photographs showing the shear amount of plastic that was on the beaches and in the water. This is most likely from a toilet, if you get what I mean by that. Above: Royal Tern Below: Magnificent Frigatebird Above: Pelican Island Below: Brown Pelicans Above: Laughing Gull Above: Brown Pelican Below: Frigatebird up with the American Black Vultures Above: Grey-breasted Martins After this we all piled back onto the coach for the last leg of our journey to Montezuma. Along the way the sky was again full of vultures however there aren’t as many unidentifiable species on power lines this time. We were now driving through the Caribbean Lowlands and so managed to add some easily identifiable species such as Little Blue Heron and Cattle Egret to the list. One of the flocks of migrating Vultures held some obviously out of place Wood Storks with two soaring with them. I have to admit that it is frustrating that I can’t sit still and try to identify all the Raptors, but hopefully over the coming days this will change. We then arrived at Montezuma where we will be staying for the next 3 nights helping out on the Turtle project here. Upon arrival at the hotel we were greeted by 2 White-throated Magpie-Jay. I then looked up into the tree above me and then laid eyes on the most humongous Black-Spinned Iguana. What an incredible thing it was and eventually it was joined by two much smaller females. The male decided that it wanted some grub so came down to join us and started to eat the fallen leaves. Above: Black-spinned Iguana Below: White-throated Magpie-Jay We then headed down to the turtle conservation centre for lunch passing a tiny Inca Dove along the way. Rice and Beans my new favourite meal was had and then we headed out into the back garden to do the washing up. This brought about some new species in the form of 2 Muscovy Ducks, a stunning Bare-throated Tiger-Heron and a juvenile Yellow-crowned Night-heron roosting in the canopy. Alongside a feeding Hoffman’s Woodpecker. After lunch i decided to have a wonder along the beach to see what we could see. Brown Pelicans and Frigatebirds were everywhere as were the American Black Vultures. Several Crested Caracaras flew past and a Toucan sp as well. In fact the main interest from the beach was in fact the Crabs which littered the beach. They were incredible coming out of their little burrows to feed before retreating to safety. Above: Bare-throated Tiger-Heron Below: butterfly sp Above: Great Kiskadee Below: Cinnamon Hummingbird Above: A Squadron of Brown Pelicans Below: Crested Caracara Above: American Black Vulture Below: Shore Crab sp We then headed back along the beach as it was nearly time for our induction but not before seeing a Peregrine flying quickly along the coast and a pair of Orange-fronted Parakeets flying past. An Adult Yellow-crowned Night-heron was found asleep in the canopy and a Rufous-naped Wren posed for us as did a Cinnamon Hummingbird. We then headed up towards the centre and as we did 4 Capuchins descended from the tree tops. Above: Yellow-crowned Night-Heron Below: Cinnamon Hummingbird Above: White-faced Capuchin Whilst we were given the induction talk we could hear the sound of Thunder as well as Howler Monkeys. And incredible background noise. With no rain where we were we headed to the hatchery in order to help excavate some nests and help the remaining turtles get to the sea. Whilst we were doing this Brown Pelicans loafed offshore and a Tricoloured Squirrel sat watching in the tree above us. Once the Turtles had successfully made it to the sea we headed back to the centre for some dinner while 8 Yellow-crowned Night-heron left their roost and headed down the coast. More Rice and Beans were on offer tonight and while we were eating we could see the glow of fireflys lighting up the nights sky. We then headed back to our rooms for a rest as we have the middle shift tonight from 10 till 2. Above: Northern Beardless Tyrannulet Below: Green Sea Turtle release (Known locally as the Black Sea Turtle as the race that breeds on the beaches here is completely Black. They used to be considered separate species, however recent genetic research has proven that the Black Sea Turtle is more likely to be a sub-species than a full species.) The 10 till 2 shift was actually rather interesting with a Tamandua (ant eater) feeding under one of the Lamposts near the watch point. The shift itself didn’t have too much in the way of Turtle action, however there was plenty of other thing to keep us entertained including fireflys, a lightning storm off in the distance. A Racoon was seen coming off the beach at one point as well as plenty of Bats under the street lights. The beach itself was covered in the days second species of Crab with tonnes of hermits scattered across the sand. The nights sky was incredible as we sat and waited and the shear amount of stars on display was mind blowing. I don’t think I have ever been in a place with less light pollution than this. What an incredible way to spend an evening.... I wonder what awaits us in the morning...?
Day 1: Well I have to admit that at the best of times I don’t like flying and I especially don’t like having to do it more than once in a day. But when I left home at just gone midnight on the 31st I knew that there was going to be a reward at the end of the journey. A rather sleepless coach journey to Heathrow, followed by an equally sleepless flight from Heathrow to Paris. It was good to be able to catch up with some sleep in the airport whilst we waited to board the final leg of the journey an 11 hour flight to San Jose. Some window birding took place in the French capital but unfortunately only a Magpie, a few Carrion Crows and tonnes of Feral Pigeons were about. I did however have my Costa Rican bird book to hand so I decided to fumble through the pages talking to my friends about the aimless possibilities of the birds that we (I) might see. Not long to go now before we take off and the excitement is ever building. Here’s to a good 10 days of new birds, stunning landscapes, and Conservation projects. We arrived an hour ahead of schedule into San Jose but by the time we had gotten our bags it was now near 7 and it was dark. Another Shortish drive to the hotel gave us a sense of Costa Rican life which feels something like a cross breed between North America and Asia. With large roads and tonnes of little vehicles zipping in and out of the traffic. We are now checked in for the night in the centre of the city and I don't actually have too much hope of any birding tomorrow, but we shall see. Perhaps a day of recovering might be the most sensible thing to do... Day 2: Well, well, well. What a day. Now if every day of the trip is going to be like this its going to be an amazing 9 more days. It started off with waking up with the sunrise at 5am and attempting to head back to sleep several times with varying degrees of success and so at just after 7, I got up and headed outside to the garden. As I arrived the gardener was just putting breakfast out for the local birds and no sooner had he done that the first new bird of the trip to ID had descended. It was a White-winged Dove which isn’t actually that different from our Collared Dove. It sat eating the fresh fruit and was soon joined by plenty of Costa Rica’s national bird the Clay-coloured Thrush. On the other table a Red-billed Pigeon was eating and a few Great-tailed Grackles were sitting around in large groups waiting to descend on the third table. Above: White-winged Dove Below: White-winged Dove with a Clay-coloured Thrush Soon I started to notice more species coming to the feeders. Blue-gray Tanagers started to appear and they are absolutely stunning birds with bright blue wings and a pale underside. Another bird now appeared called a Greyish Saltator which had a white eye stripe and white chin. I then noticed a bird fly catching from the top of one of the trees and it then proceed to sit on the par sole above the seat I was sitting in and then onto the building revealing a Tropical Kingbird. This is an absolutely stunning bird with a yellow under side and greyish crown and as i watching it a flock of 20 or so Barn Swallows flew over with an odd one out which unfortunately isn’t identifiable from my photos. Above: Blue-Grey Tanager Below: Tropical Kingbird Above: North American Race of Barn Swallow Below: Red-billed Pigeon Above: Clay-coloured Thrush with a Greyish Saltator Below: Tropical Kingbird I then noticed something small dart into the bushes beside me and so I headed over to have a look at it. What I found was a Rufous-coloured Sparrow feeding its spotty little youngster. Then off to my left I noticed something with a large tail land in the tree and to my delight what I found staring back at me was a Blue-crowned Motmot. What an absolutely incredible thing and how evolution ever made something with a tail like that is beyond me. After watching it for a while I noticed a new bird on the bird table. A small Black and white striped Woodpecker with a yellowy Brown Head, a Hoffman’s Woodpecker. A Variegated Squirrel was also briefly seen feeding in one of the palm trees that over looked the garden. After this I decided to head inside and go and grab some breakfast. Which was as our meals had been so far a traditional Costa Rican buffet. (Rice and Beans) Above: Hoffman's Woodpecker Below: Clay-coloured Thrush Above: White-winged Dove Below: Variegated Squirrel Above: Great-tailed Grackle and Hoffman's Woodpecker Below: Greyish Saltator and Clay-coloured Thrush Above: Rufous-coloured Sparrow Below: Blue-crowned Motmot Above: Hoffman's Woodpecker and Blue-Grey Tanager After breakfast I headed back into the garden to see what else was about and to my surprise one of the lecturers had found a Hummingbird. They hadn’t seen it for a while but eventually it came back and showed extremely well for over half an hour. It was a Rufous-tailed Hummingbird and amazingly tame. As it sat preening itself right in front of us. I was surprised to see it take off and start to fly catch before heading back to drinking nectar from the large flowers at the top of the plant. What an incredible bird and it drew quite a crowd as well. Above: Rufous-tailed Hummingbird That wasn't the only new species for the day while we were out here until just as we were heading inside to our lecture I noticed something fly into the tree above me. A Great Kiskadee. Another incredible flycatcher with yellow underside merging into its brown wings. Incredible! Above: Great Kiskadee Below: The first Dragonfly of the trip. I am still working on the ID for most of the Butterflies and Dragonflies that we saw... There are just so many to sift through. After this we had a lecture on the issues surrounding conservation in Costa Rica which was both interesting and thought provoking and included case studies on the Blue-sided Frog and the Scarlet Macaw which both nearly went extinct in Costa Rica. After this we then headed into the city centre in order to grab some lunch at an authentic Costa Rican Restaurant. The town centre reminded me of the sort of things you see on programs about Asian countries with the hustle and bustle of life. Feral pigeons were all over the place as were Great-tailed Grackles. In fact it was interesting to learn that this species only colonised the country due to the deforestation of their favoured mangrove forests. After lunch we were given some time to explore the city. My group decided to go through the local parks looking for more wildlife. We eventually stumbled upon a roost of close to 500 Crimson Fronted Parakeets near to the Cathedral along with several hundred White-winged Doves. A few Blue-grey Tanagers were seen as we a few fly catching Tropical Kingbirds. A low lying Warbler was unfortunately unidentifiable as was a distant Vulture circling over the city. However we did encounter a few clocks of Blue-and-white Swallows which were thankfully identifiable. Above: Crimson-fronted Parakeets After this we headed back to the hotel and so I headed out into the garden just in time to witness not one but five Common Pauraques flying around hawking insects along side the bats. Also in the garden the creaking of Frogs could be heard, however seeing them was impossible and so we decided to call it a night as we have an early start in the morning in order to catch the ferry.
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AuthorI have been a birder since I was 8 however only really started to be able to go out to places by myself in Summer 2016 (Blame the parents) My blogs will be from all over the place, but mainly from RSPB Rainham Marshes and Totteridge Valley! Photography done by Samuel Levy aged 19. ArchivesCategories |