Costa Rica recap

WildBird offers its readers a really neat opportunity in every issue. The magazine poses to two questions in each issue, readers can respond to one or both, selected replies appear in a future issue, and one of those respondents receives prizes from Swarovski Optik and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt -- and the chance to win a Swarovski binocular and a trip to a birding hotspot as Birder of the Year. We've been fortunate enough to offer a trip to Costa Rica for three years, and the 2009 Birder of the Year recently returned from her trip.

As 2009 Birder of the Year, Dianne Patterson of Columbus, Miss., received a Swarovski 8x32 EL binocular and an expenses-paid five-day trip for two to Costa Rica with Swarovski and WildBird hosts. She also received a Swarovski squall jacket as well as “Peterson Field Guide to Birds of North America” from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Dianne, her husband Jim, Clay Taylor of Swarovski Optik and I flew to Costa Rica in late May to bird with Clay's Costa Rican colleague, Alex Villegas. Aided by our driver, Rafael, we covered a fair bit of ground starting May 27.

Here, all together, are photos of where Dianne and Jim went and what they saw during their first trip to a cloud forest and a rain forest.

Thursday: 1, 2, 3, 4
Friday: 1, 2, 3
Saturday: 1, 2, 3

Birder of the Year: Costa Rica, Saturday 3

Background info: WildBird offers its readers a really neat opportunity in every issue. The magazine poses to two questions in each issue, readers can respond to one or both, selected replies appear in a future issue, and one of those respondents receives prizes from Swarovski Optik and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt -- and the chance to win a Swarovski binocular and a trip to a birding hotspot as Birder of the Year. We've been fortunate enough to offer a trip to Costa Rica for three years, and the 2009 Birder of the Year recently returned from her trip.

As 2009 Birder of the Year, Dianne Patterson of Columbus, Miss., received a Swarovski 8x32 EL binocular and an expenses-paid five-day trip for two to Costa Rica with Swarovski and WildBird hosts. She also received a Swarovski squall jacket as well as “Peterson Field Guide to Birds of North America” from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Dianne, her husband Jim, Clay Taylor of Swarovski Optik and I flew to Costa Rica in late May to bird with Clay's Costa Rican colleague, Alex Villegas. Aided by our driver, Rafael, we covered a fair bit of ground starting May 27.

Click on an image to see a larger version.

After our morning walk, the group enjoyed breakfast on the lodge's patio and watched familiar birds coming to the feeders. Then we noticed another visitor with an eye on the platform feeder's cut fruit. Moving very slowly and blending into the leaves, the emerald basilisk appeared intent on securing a meal...

Clay Taylor/Swarovski Optik Digiscoping.
Created with a Swarovski Optik STM 80 HD scope
with 20-60x eyepiece and Pentax K-x D-SLR with 50mm lens

but it eventually retreated from the feeder and into the leaves. This species (Basiliscus plumifrons) can grow up to 3 feet long.

After admiring him for a bit, we started walking toward the sugarwater feeders located deeper into the forest. The easy-to-follow path...


led our group into this lush and noisy environment...



Someone's keen eyes -- was it Cali? or Alex? -- spied two birds hidden well in the dense leaves. Everyone got to gaze on their still and stern visages, and then the photographers (from left: Cali, Alex and Clay) went into action.



The object of their attention: Crested Owls perched side by side. We didn't hear them call, but listen to the second recording here. Kinda cool.

Clay Taylor/Swarovski Optik Digiscoping.
Created with a Swarovski Optik STM 80 HD scope
with 20-60x eyepiece and Pentax K-x D-SLR with 50mm lens

Further along the trail, we reached the hummingbird feeders, which were being guarded by a Bronze-tailed Plumeleteer. (Is that a great name, or what?) The 4-inch hummingbird has pinkish-red feet and used to be known as Red-footed Plumeleteer. We also got to see a Green Thorntail, one of the cutest little hummingbirds with a white rump band.

Amazing what you see while walking through the rainforest. Doesn't this look like an alien?



Then we came upon a huge fig tree, full of activity and a mixed flock. Because of the experienced eyes in our group picking out movement and calling out locations, we got to see Wedge-billed Woodcreeper with its upturned lower mandible; Spotted Woodcreeper; Tropical Gnatcatcher; Golden-crowned Warbler (known for its whistle that ends on an up note; listen to the third recording); Ochre-bellied Flycatcher; Lesser Greenlet, a vireo that looks and acts like a wood-warbler; and Scale-crested Pygmy-Tyrant, a 3-inch flycatcher that's barely bigger than its name. What an excellent tree.

After the flurry of activity, Jim and Dianne updated her list...


and we walked out of the forest and into an orchard that's returning to nature. A delightful stroll took us back to the lodge, where we enjoyed its hospitality before departing to San Jose. A seat on the patio gives you a view of the birdbath and the valley below; wouldn't you like to be there?

Birder of the Year: Costa Rica, Saturday 2

Background info: WildBird offers its readers a really neat opportunity in every issue. The magazine poses to two questions in each issue, readers can respond to one or both, selected replies appear in a future issue, and one of those respondents receives prizes from Swarovski Optik and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt -- and the chance to win a Swarovski binocular and a trip to a birding hotspot as Birder of the Year. We've been fortunate enough to offer a trip to Costa Rica for three years, and the 2009 Birder of the Year recently returned from her trip.

As 2009 Birder of the Year, Dianne Patterson of Columbus, Miss., received a Swarovski 8x32 EL binocular and an expenses-paid five-day trip for two to Costa Rica with Swarovski and WildBird hosts. She also received a Swarovski squall jacket as well as “Peterson Field Guide to Birds of North America” from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Dianne, her husband Jim, Clay Taylor of Swarovski Optik and I flew to Costa Rica in late May to bird with Clay's Costa Rican colleague, Alex Villegas. Aided by our driver, Rafael, we covered a fair bit of ground starting May 27.

Click on an image to see a larger version.

After our visit to the moth tent at Rancho Naturalista, we began birding at the front of the lodge. The trees overhead and surrounding vegetation drew Cinnamon Becard, a White-breasted Wood-Wren and other species. We continued walking down the road, decorated with cecropia leaves.


By the way, I can't recommend the rain boots in the photo above highly enough. The Chooka boots' soles provided great traction on the slippery surfaces encountered during our trip, and they kept my feet warm and dry. In fact, our guide, Alex, asked me about them because he wants to buy lightweight rain boots with good traction.

The sun continued its ascent, casting more of the terrain in bright light...


but we remained in the shadows, admiring the dense life that grows on anything and everything, like a concrete barrier on a small bridge.


We sought a White-collared Manakin, one of eight manakins that live in the Neotropics and eat mainly fruit. The male of this species makes a loud "snap" with his wings, which you can hear in some of these recordings. Alex used two rocks to replicate the sound, and his efforts eventually drew a male within view of our group. Such a dapper-looking fellow in the shadows.


The manakin's admirers, from left: Clay, Dianne, Alex, Debbie, Grace, Jim and Cali (sp?). After finding the treasure of our scavenger hunt, we returned to the lodge for breakfast, enjoying good looks at multiple Slate-throated Redstarts along the way. They make beautiful little songs, and I didn't know that it's a wood-warbler and in the same family as one of my favorites, Common Yellowthroat. That was the last of our sightings before enjoying a delicious breakfast at the lodge.

Birder of the Year: Costa Rica, Saturday

Background info: WildBird offers its readers a really neat opportunity in every issue. The magazine poses to two questions in each issue, readers can respond to one or both, selected replies appear in a future issue, and one of those respondents receives prizes from Swarovski Optik and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt -- and the chance to win a Swarovski binocular and a trip to a birding hotspot as Birder of the Year. We've been fortunate enough to offer a trip to Costa Rica for three years, and the 2009 Birder of the Year recently returned from her trip.

As 2009 Birder of the Year, Dianne Patterson of Columbus, Miss., received a Swarovski 8x32 EL binocular and an expenses-paid five-day trip for two to Costa Rica with Swarovski and WildBird hosts. She also received a Swarovski squall jacket as well as “Peterson Field Guide to Birds of North America” from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Dianne, her husband Jim, Clay Taylor of Swarovski Optik and I flew to Costa Rica in late May to bird with Clay's Costa Rican colleague, Alex Villegas. Aided by our driver, Rafael, we covered a fair bit of ground starting May 27.

Click on an image to see a larger version.

Lest you think that we focused solely on hummingbirds while at Rancho Naturalista, please allow me to disabuse you of that notion. We did, in fact, notice and delight in other species on Friday, among them: Gray-headed Chachalaca, Passerini's Tanager...

Clay Taylor/Swarovski Optik Digiscoping.
Created with a Swarovski Optik STM 80 HD scope
with 20-60x eyepiece and Pentax K-x D-SLR with 50mm lens

Streak-headed Woodcreeper...

Clay Taylor/Swarovski Optik Digiscoping.
Created with a Swarovski Optik STM 80 HD scope
with 20-60x eyepiece and Pentax K-x D-SLR with 50mm lens

Common Tody-Flycatcher...

Clay Taylor/Swarovski Optik Digiscoping.
Created with a Swarovski Optik STM 80 HD scope
with 20-60x eyepiece and Pentax K-x D-SLR with 50mm lens

Blue-gray Tanager, Social Flycatcher and Orange-billed Sparrow. That sparrow's bill appears so bright that it seems as if it contains a lightbulb. Bay-headed Tanager -- with its reddish-brown head and turquoise breast -- also blew me away.

The variety of hummingbirds, however, didn't end with the species mentioned in an earlier post. The roster also includes Green-crowned Brilliant, Violet Sabrewing, Brown Violet-ear, Violet-crowned Woodnymph and Green Hermit. All those species... appeared in a few hours... while we sat on the patio or rocked on the veranda. How cool is that?

After an incredible afternoon and very nice evening, some of us woke early Saturday to explore the grounds further. With the moon and the slowly wakening birdlife for company ...


Alex led Dianne, Jim, Clay and me along a path that gave just a hint of the rancho's habitat...


and brought us to what I considered a moth tent. The dark tarp housed a white sheet, a bright light to draw insects, two benches for viewers, and a buffet for birds.


Standing a few feet from the sheet, we could see birds as they foraged on the ground and in the plants around the tent. We enjoyed great looks at Red-throated Ant-Tanagers, Tawny-chested Flycatcher, Plain Antvireo (What a fun song it has! The tail end of it reminds me of a bouncing pingpong ball.) and Buff-throated Foliage-gleaner.

The moths also claimed some of our attention. Who can tell me the names of these species? (I gave away the Costa Rica butterfly and moth field guide.)

1.

2.

3.

4.

UPDATE: Protambulyx strigilis, also known as Streaked Sphinx;
with thanks to Rich Hoyer

5.

6.

Birder of the Year: Costa Rica, Friday 3

Background info: WildBird offers its readers a really neat opportunity in every issue. The magazine poses to two questions in each issue, readers can respond to one or both, selected replies appear in a future issue, and one of those respondents receives prizes from Swarovski Optik and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt -- and the chance to win a Swarovski binocular and a trip to a birding hotspot as Birder of the Year. We've been fortunate enough to offer a trip to Costa Rica for three years, and the 2009 Birder of the Year recently returned from her trip.

As 2009 Birder of the Year, Dianne Patterson of Columbus, Miss., received a Swarovski 8x32 EL binocular and an expenses-paid five-day trip for two to Costa Rica with Swarovski and WildBird hosts. She also received a Swarovski squall jacket as well as “Peterson Field Guide to Birds of North America” from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Dianne, her husband Jim, Clay Taylor of Swarovski Optik and I flew to Costa Rica in late May to bird with Clay's Costa Rican colleague, Alex Villegas. Aided by our driver, Rafael, we covered a fair bit of ground starting May 27.

Click on an image to see a larger version.

After feasting our eyes on the Resplendent Quetzal, we continued the drive away from Savegre Mountain Hotel and San Gerardo de Dota. Rafael piloted the bus north and east toward our next lodging: Rancho Naturalista, located east of San Jose and Turrialba.

New to the site, I immediately felt comfortable. The friendly staff put us at ease, the main house looked wonderful, the patio offered the perfect location to eat and watch birds -- and did we watch birds!



From that patio and the upper veranda, we enjoyed close looks at gobs of species, drawn to the foliage, the fresh bananas and orange halves supplied by the lodge's staff, and the many sugarwater feeders strung along the veranda.



These two images give you an idea of the enticements that lured the birds into view. The two manzanita feeders held lots of cut fruit, as did two platform feeders in the yard. A ground-level birdbath provided some fun moments, and the bougainvillea growing along the veranda served as a perching station for many hummingbirds.



Here's a quick peek at the hummingbird action at one feeder -- one of seven hanging along the veranda. Can you identify the various species, including the female Green-breasted Mango?



Did you catch her? Clay captured a female with her tail feathers spread and her dark median stripe in full view. Her underparts look considerably different from the male of the species.

All photos by Clay Taylor/Swarovski Optik Digiscoping.
Created with a Swarovski Optik STM 80 HD scope
with 20-60x eyepiece and Pentax K-x D-SLR with 50mm lens

Here's a male mango. Note his dark bill and the maroon look of his tail. Those field marks help us distinguish Green-breasted Mango...


from Rufous-tailed Hummingbird, which also shows a green back and breast but has a lighter bill and a -- surprise! -- rufous tail.


In the video above, you likely noted the hummingbirds with rufous tails as well as the ones with white tails, often flared. Those little dynamos, White-necked Jacobins, might've been the numerous hummers in my view. Although we saw them mainly at the feeders, they also catch insects in mid-air, according to Richard Garrigues.

Birder of the Year: Costa Rica, Friday 2

Background info: WildBird offers its readers a really neat opportunity in every issue. The magazine poses to two questions in each issue, readers can respond to one or both, selected replies appear in a future issue, and one of those respondents receives prizes from Swarovski Optik and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt -- and the chance to win a Swarovski binocular and a trip to a birding hotspot as Birder of the Year. We've been fortunate enough to offer a trip to Costa Rica for three years, and the 2009 Birder of the Year recently returned from her trip.

As 2009 Birder of the Year, Dianne Patterson of Columbus, Miss., received a Swarovski 8x32 EL binocular and an expenses-paid five-day trip for two to Costa Rica with Swarovski and WildBird hosts. She also received a Swarovski squall jacket as well as “Peterson Field Guide to Birds of North America” from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Dianne, her husband Jim, Clay Taylor of Swarovski Optik and I flew to Costa Rica in late May to bird with Clay's Costa Rican colleague, Alex Villegas. Aided by our driver, Rafael, we covered a fair bit of ground starting May 27.

Click on an image to see a larger version.

We left Savegre Mountain Hotel in San Gerardo de Dota soon after finishing a good breakfast, but we didn't travel far on the gravel road up the valley before our driver stopped per Alex's directions. Alex had heard about a nest visible from this stretch of the road -- a Resplendent Quetzal nest. Could we find it and see a quetzal or two?

This is where we hoped to see the trogons with the special name that like to eat avocadoes. The quetzals measure 14 inches long, but the males sport some incredible uppertail coverts that grow up to 30 inches longer than the square tail. Contrary to popular belief, the flamboyant feathers aren't true tail feathers, according to Richard Garrigues.



Soon, Alex spied the nest hole in a tree fairly close to the road, and then he located a male Resplendent Quetzal. Distant and visible through dense leaves, the bird appeared to have food in its beak -- which the spotting scope confirmed.

All photos by Clay Taylor/Swarovski Optik Digiscoping.
Created with a Swarovski Optik STM 80 HD scope
with 20-60x eyepiece and Pentax K-x D-SLR with 50mm lens

Aren't those uppertail coverts extending to the bottom of the photo just incredible?! That shade of green looks so flashy in contrast to his deep-red belly. Who could resist the visual appeal of this trogon? No wonder the Guatemalans named their currency after this species.

A bus of British visitors stopped near us, and the men and women marvelled at the Resplendent Quetzal with us. The bird flew to a closer perch, and everyone's cameras clicked incessantly.

Then the quetzal flew to its nest hole, popped inside -- although its green streamers remained outside -- and then emerged without food. He created quite a stir among his admirers, and one rivetted British tourist almost missed the bus as it pulled away.


The dapper fellow flew to a more open perch, sat for a spell and preened while we continued soaking up his magnificence.


We felt quite fortunate to enjoy such good, prolonged looks at this beautiful species, considered "near threatened" by IUCN Red List of Endangered Species and listed in Appendix 1 (the most endangered species, threatened by extinction) by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna.

Given our incredible sightings during the morning at Savegre, how could the afternoon at Rancho Naturalista hope to compare?

Birder of the Year: Costa Rica, Friday

Background info: WildBird offers its readers a really neat opportunity in every issue. The magazine poses to two questions in each issue, readers can respond to one or both, selected replies appear in a future issue, and one of those respondents receives prizes from Swarovski Optik and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt -- and the chance to win a Swarovski binocular and a trip to a birding hotspot as Birder of the Year. We've been fortunate enough to offer a trip to Costa Rica for three years, and the 2009 Birder of the Year recently returned from her trip.

As 2009 Birder of the Year, Dianne Patterson of Columbus, Miss., received a Swarovski 8x32 EL binocular and an expenses-paid five-day trip for two to Costa Rica with Swarovski and WildBird hosts. She also received a Swarovski squall jacket as well as “Peterson Field Guide to Birds of North America” from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Dianne, her husband Jim, Clay Taylor of Swarovski Optik and I flew to Costa Rica in late May to bird with Clay's Costa Rican colleague, Alex Villegas. Aided by our driver, Rafael, we covered a fair bit of ground starting May 27.

Click on an image to see a larger version.

Friday, 5:30 a.m., Savegre Mountain Hotel in San Gerardo de Dota: Dianne, Jim, Clay, Alex and I meet to enjoy the dawn chorus in the cloud forest. Within 90 minutes, at least 17 species graced us with their presence; I say "at least" because there are no doubt other species that Clay and Alex heard or saw that Jim, Dianne and I didn't catch. Isn't this an incredible scene?


Thank goodness Alex provided his expertise to Dianne, Jim and me. By the way, some folks might think it looks odd for a birder to wear a stocking cap, bulky jacket and mittens (below) in Costa Rica, but at that elevation (7,220 feet), the temperatures run to the cool side. In fact, I packed silk long johns based on our Birder of the Year trip in June 2009.


Among the species that we enjoyed before breakfast: Flame-colored Tanager, Rufous-browed Peppershrike, Spot-crowned Woodcreeper, Collared Redstart, Stripe-tailed Hummingbird, Streaked Xenops, Common Bush-Tanager, Spangle-cheeked Tanager, Dark Pewee (endemic and so cute!), Band-tailed Pigeon, Yellow-winged Vireo, Flame-throated Tanager, Acorn Woodpecker, Yellowish Flycatcher, Sooty-capped Bush-Tanager and -- incredibly enough -- Mangrove Cuckoo.

One of the birds that delighted was me was Tufted Flycatcher. The cute 5-inch-long tyrant flycatcher perched often on a long twig and gave a bunch of high-pitched calls. I felt smitten by the little work of art.

Clay Taylor/Swarovski Optik Digiscoping.
Created with a Swarovski Optik STM 80 HD scope
with 20-60x eyepiece and Pentax K-x D-SLR with 50mm lens

While Clay remained snap-happy in the tree-ringed meadow, Alex led Dianne, Jim and me -- plus Shawn, a Boston native going to college in Ohio but doing research in Costa Rica for 2.5 months -- down the gravel path and past the "cabinitas"... where he spied a Black-faced Solitaire. The beak and legs looked luminous in contrast to its sooty feathers, and when it sang... oh my word.

Clay Taylor/Swarovski Optik Digiscoping.
Created with a Swarovski Optik STM 80 HD scope
with 20-60x eyepiece and Pentax K-x D-SLR with 50mm lens

Black-faced Solitaires create the most amazing sounds. They sound ethereal. Listen to these recordings on xeno-canto, and hear what I mean. (Be forewarned: The third clip has the background of loud rushing water.) Of the eight clips, the seventh song has become my favorite. Some day, I want to hear a Black-faced Solitaire as the ringtone on my cell phone.

After eating another tasty and filling meal, we soaked up more of the hummingbird action around the restaurant and patio. The same size as the Volcano Hummingbird, the 3-inch-long Scintillant Hummingbird sports an equally impressive name, no? Look at how sassy this little guy appears.

Clay Taylor/Swarovski Optik Digiscoping.
Created with a Swarovski Optik STM 80 HD scope
with 20-60x eyepiece and Pentax K-x D-SLR with 50mm lens

Even when clouds obscured the sun, we constantly saw rainbows in the form of Fiery-throated Hummingbirds. Endemic to Costa Rica and western Panama, they look different from Magnificent Hummingbirds because the fiery-throateds have bluish rumps and bluish-black tails.

Clay Taylor/Swarovski Optik Digiscoping.
Created with a Swarovski Optik STM 80 HD scope
with 20-60x eyepiece and Pentax K-x D-SLR with 50mm lens

Birder of the Year: Costa Rica, Thursday 4

Background info: WildBird offers its readers a really neat opportunity in every issue. The magazine poses to two questions in each issue, readers can respond to one or both, selected replies appear in a future issue, and one of those respondents receives prizes from Swarovski Optik and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt -- and the chance to win a Swarovski binocular and a trip to a birding hotspot as Birder of the Year. We've been fortunate enough to offer a trip to Costa Rica for three years, and the 2009 Birder of the Year recently returned from her trip.

As 2009 Birder of the Year, Dianne Patterson of Columbus, Miss., received a Swarovski 8x32 EL binocular and an expenses-paid five-day trip for two to Costa Rica with Swarovski and WildBird hosts. She also received a Swarovski squall jacket as well as “Peterson Field Guide to Birds of North America” from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Dianne, her husband Jim, Clay Taylor of Swarovski Optik and I flew to Costa Rica in late May to bird with Clay's Costa Rican colleague, Alex Villegas. Aided by our driver, Rafael, we covered a fair bit of ground starting May 27.

Click on an image to see a larger version.

Even before eating lunch at Savegre Mountain Hotel in San Gerardo de Dota, we added some hummingbirds with fun names to our day list... but let me back up. At 7,220 feet, Savegre sits in the cloud forest but nestled in a valley next to Rio Savegre. We visited the hotel during last year's Birder of the Year trip, so I eagerly anticipated our return.


The grounds near the office, restaurant, patio and bar have been planted to lure hummingbirds. A sugarwater feeder on the patio creates an ongoing show for fans of the avian Napoleons.



Back to the beginning: Even before eating lunch, we enjoyed better looks at Green Violet-ears, including when the males spar at feeders and flare their ear tufts...

Clay Taylor/Swarovski Optik Digiscoping.
Created with a Swarovski Optik STM 80 HD scope
with 20-60x eyepiece and Pentax K-x D-SLR with 50mm lens

and added White-throated Mountain-gem to our day list. Isn't that a fun name? Hummingbirds south of the United States often sport fanciful names like Green-crowned Brilliant or Violet-crowned Woodnymph or Bronze-tailed Plumeleteer -- all of which we saw before the end of our trip.

After lunch, we birded for a bit, caught a glimpse of an Emerald Toucanet and enjoyed longer looks of Yellow-thighed Finch and Ruddy-capped Nightingale-Thrush:

Clay Taylor/Swarovski Optik Digiscoping.
Created with a Swarovski Optik STM 80 HD scope
with 20-60x eyepiece and Pentax K-x D-SLR with 50mm lens

The hotel added a bar and lounge since our visit in June 2009, and it looked very inviting and comfortable. One aspect that really caught my eye is the stained-glass Resplendant Quetzal.


During our previous visit, we enjoyed very good looks at a quetzal as it masticated and then ate a lizard. Would we be as fortunate this year?