Bird watching in Costa Rica - December 2024

OK, it has come to my knowledge that we have senior citizens visiting my web page. How hard can it be? So it's not very easy for them to see the blue coloured links to the next page.

Jiffy (also jiff)

noun [in SING.] informal a moment: we'll be back in a jiffy.

ORIGIN late 18th cent.: of unknown origin.

So as you understand, in a jiff pretty much depends on your internet.

So I put a “Next” button here and I hope that there isn't any problem to understand how to use that one. So just CLICK the “Next” button on your left hand side and you will be on the next page in a jiff!

Marunong ka mag-tagalog? Walang problema! Magpunta sa kabilang pahina pindutin ang “NEXT” button sa itaas

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Farla parla l'italiano? Non problemi! Per vedere la prossima pagina lo scatto per favore giusto Il bottone “Next” sopra

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คุณพูดภาษาไทยได้ไหม ไม่มีปัญหา ถ้าคุณต้องการไปหน้าถัดไป ให้กดปุ่ม “Next” ข้างบนนี้

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E ni Svenskar och inte förstår Engelska så ska ni skämmas. J och Björn, med det menar jag inte att alla mina stavfel ska ältas varje gång vi träffas.

Well, the flag of Skåne, just a BONUS flag.

December 2024

Day 2

Sunday 22 ^nd of December 2024 and my Guide is here to pick me up at 5 o'clock. I open the door to the car and he tells me that he is not here for me.

He is here to pick up 5 other passengers going to look for the Resplendent Quetzal. There will be another Guide coming to pick me up as I have paid for a private tour. She is working when my Guide is fully booked and she arrived two minutes later.

She got out of the car, pitch dark, only the light from the cars, but that was enough forme to see that it was a very beautiful girl. I have not seen such a beautiful girl for a very long time.

I am 60 years old and I see a beautiful girl, maybe once a year. Yes, you are getting old, back when I was 20 all the girls were beautiful and you turned around looking atevery girl in town, falling in love several times per day.

60 years old, and now it almost never happens, but today was a different story.

The group took off in the van, they were going to an area along the road and me and my guide would go to a private area at Savegre Hotel.

We arrived to the area and it was still dark. The owner of the Savegre Hotel had planted wild avocado here 15 years ago, the only thing the Resplendent Quetzal is eating. So, they have set of perches for the bird.

So, this area is the best for taking pictures. The bird are picking the fruit “hummingbird” style and then sit on a perch swallowing the avocado. They regurgitate the pit/ seed and go for another avocado and they repeat the whole thing until they are full.

regurgitate

verb [with OBJ.] bring (swallowed food) up again to the mouth: gulls regurgitate food for the chicks.

So, this is the moment you can get nice pictures, and the bird is not scared and do not care about people. We were standing the waiting for day light and the birds.

- What the
I could see a long line of people coming up the hill and it was a huge group coming to see the bird. And there were people coming all the time and it got crowded.

It is getting crowded

It is getting crowded

But no sign of the birds and my Guide think that it might be because of a raptor or something in the area. She calls the other Guide to see if they have had any luck.

They have one male and one female and we leave to go check out the area along to road. It takes 5 minutes or so to get to the area where they have spotted the birds.

Arriving and we can see that there are a lot of bird watchers on the road. I turn on my eBird app and I discover that the area is an eBird hotspot: Savegre Valley- Vuelta del Gato

There are plenty bird watchers on the road

Black-faced Solitaire

Listen to the Grey-breasted Wood-Wren

Sound from www.xeno-canto.org

Remarks from the Recordist

Recorded with my mobile phone using a JBL microphone with the Merlin app. High Pass Filter applied with Audacity.

Recorded along the road when looking for the Resplendent Quetzal.

We join the group and we can see the birds flying in and out from a tree, but not possible to take any pictures. We spot one Black-faced Solitaire, way too far away for any pictures, but I give it a try so I can add a picture to my eBird report.

But still no sign of the Resplendent Quetzal perching. Flying in and out and it is very hard to see where it lands. We can hear one Grey-breasted Wood-Wren and I try to get a recording.

Suddenly, and the bird watchers are getting excited, one female Resplendent Quetzal perching in the tree. Far away and is the dark so impossible to get any pictures. I take one just for ID purpose for my eBird report.

Female Resplendent Quetzal

Collared Redstart

Male Resplendent Quetzal

Male Resplendent Quetzal

Male Resplendent Quetzal

Male Resplendent Quetzal

My Guide take a picture through the binoculars

Long-tailed Silky-flycatcher

Walking back to the car and we spot 4 Long-tailed Silky-flycatchers sitting in a tree, again, bird watching in the forest and the birds are always too far away for any pictures.

We drive back to the hotel and I will go for my second birding tour at 8 thirty. We drive along and I spot one raptor sitting on a fence next to the road. Too late and we flush the bird.

Turns out the be a Broad-winged Hawk, the same bird we flushed back in Panama when it was sitting on the road. We were lucky today, the bird landed in a tree next to the road. The bird stayed when I got out of the car to take pictures.

Broad-winged Hawk

Broad-winged Hawk

I had ordered breakfast when I came back to the hotel and on my way back to the room, I had a few pictures of the Scintillant Hummingbird in the nest. I was going in to my room when I heard a bird in the tree outside my room.

What bird is it? I could not see the bird in the tree but I started my recording. I spotted the bird and it was an Rufous-collared Sparrow singing in the tree.

My recording was rolling when the Waiter came to ask if I wanted scrambled or fried eggs.
- Sunny side up, I said

I stopped the recording and I took a few pictures before going to put my camera in my room before going for breakfast.

Scintillant Hummingbird

Scintillant Hummingbird

Scintillant Hummingbird

Rufous-collared Sparrow

Rufous-collared Sparrow

Rufous-collared Sparrow

Listen to the Rufous-collared Sparrow

Sound from www.xeno-canto.org

Remarks from the Recordist

Recorded with my mobile phone using a JBL microphone with the Merlin app. High Pass Filter applied with Audacity.

Sitting in a tree outside my room

I made an eBird report for the Rufous-collared Sparrow and the Scintillant Hummingbird and I had both pictures and a sound recording to add to the report.

I had my breakfast, scrambled egg, well, scrambled eggs “SUNNY SIDE UP”. I was out on the parking lot trying to get pictures of the Scintillant Hummingbird

It is one of the birds nesting in the tree and it was taking off to enjoy the sunshine and to preen in the tree. And I got a few pictures and I was happy.

Scintillant Hummingbird

Scintillant Hummingbird

Scintillant Hummingbird

Scintillant Hummingbird

My driver arrived taking the curve on two wheels with the van. I had not even time to say hell.
- Hurry the duck up, get in to the car!! There is one Northern Emerald-Toucanet

I do not have any target species when I go birding. But the Northern Emerald-Toucanet is the bird I really want to see so I threw myself in to the van and we took off with screamin' and smokin' tyres.

I could see the Northern Emerald-Toucanet perching already from when I got out of the car. A gorgeous bird and it was not scared. I could approach while taking pictures.

Northern Emerald-Toucanet

Northern Emerald-Toucanet

The bird was sitting ther for several minutes before it took off. I had already started to take pictures of other birds by the time it left. The Northern Emerald-Toucanet was a new LIFER for me. And I was in a good mood to have seen the bird.

I was soon seeing my second LIFER, the beautiful Silver-throated Tanager. The area is still not open to the public as they are still doing some construction on the bird feeding area.

But the bird has come and we are looking for some special species, among them the White-naped Brushfinch that we were lucky to see. But as it is a very shy bird the pictures left a little to wish for. But it is good enough for my eBird report.

Tennessee Warbler

Tennessee Warbler

Silver-throated Tanager

Silver-throated Tanager

Green-crowned Brilliant

Common Chlorospingus

Common Chlorospingus

Green-crowned Brilliant

Fog is coming in over the mountains

Acorn Woodpecker

Acorn Woodpecker

Listen to the Acorn Woodpecker

Sound from www.xeno-canto.org

Remarks from the Recordist

Recorded with my mobile phone using my JBL microphone with the Merlin app. High Pass Filter applied with Audacity.

There were three of them in the area.

Silver-throated Tanager

Blue-grey Tanager

Blue-grey Tanager

White-naped Brushfinch

White-naped Brushfinch

eBird Report

San Gerardo de Dota--Suria Lodge, San José, CR
Dec 22, 2024 8:39 AM - 9:33 AM
Protocol: Stationary
17 species (+1 other taxa)

Lesser Violetear 1
Green-crowned Brilliant 1
Talamanca Hummingbird 2
White-throated Mountain-gem 1
Scintillant Hummingbird 3
American Black Vulture 2
new world vulture sp. 12 Soaring over the mountain. Too far away for proper ID
Northern Emerald-Toucanet 1
Acorn Woodpecker 3
Clay-coloured Thrush 2
Common Chlorospingus 1
Rufous-collared Sparrow 3
White-naped Brushfinch 1
Baltimore Oriole 2
Tennessee Warbler 1
Flame-coloured Tanager 2
Blue-grey Tanager 3
Silver-throated Tanager 5

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S206202779

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)

We leave the feeding area and we get in to the van. We will stop to walk along the Rio Savegre to see if we can get any forest birds. forest, no good light and the birds are too far away for any pictures, at least any good pictures.

But it is nice to walk in the forest and we walk along the Rio Savegre and there is a chance to see the American Dipper and the Torrent Tyrannulet.

Rio Savegre

The Savegre River (Spanish pronunciation: [saˈβeɣɾe]) is a river in Costa Rica that flows to the Pacific Ocean. The source is at Quebrada Providencia in the Cerro de la Muerte, Cordillera de Talamanca, at 3,491 m above sea level, and after receiving the Division River, it travels 41 linear kilometers of rugged topography to flow into the Pacific Ocean.

Its basin covers 590 km2 and runs through four cantons: Dota, Tarrazú, Pérez Zeledón and Quepos.

It is considered one of the cleanest rivers in the country. Its basin is one of the most eco-diverse regions of Costa Rica: 47 different ecosystems have been identified in it, of which 9 are natural, 15 semi-natural and 23 cultural, for what most of the basin is protected by the Los Quetzales National Park and the Manuel Antonio National Park.

On June 14, 2017, the Savegre river basin was declared a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO.

We run in to another group of bird watchers and we go to see what they are looking at. There are several birds flying around among the trees and I was chasing it with my camera.

Small stream feeding the Savegre river

Poor picture of an Rose-breasted Grosbeak

Tufted Flycatcher

Black-throated Green Warbler

Ruddy Treerunner

Tufted Flycatcher

Yellow-winged Vireo

Tufted Flycatcher

There was a lot of birds and exactly zero good pictures. We spend a lot of time trying to get a picture of the Tufted Flycatcher. It was flying around all the time and perching high up in the trees too far away for any pictures.

And not only are the birds perching high up in the trees, there is also a lot of branches and leaf’s covering the birds.

We give up and we are leaving to continue along Savegre River and when we are about to get out on the gravel road, we hear one Yellowish Flycatcher and I record the bird.

I found the bird and it was sitting in a bush at eye level and I tried to get some picture. Lucky me, the bird was not scared and I got a few pictures.

Yellowish Flycatcher

Yellowish Flycatcher

Yellowish Flycatcher

Listen to the Yellowish Flycatcher

Sound from www.xeno-canto.org

Remarks from the Recordist

Recorded with my mobile phone using my JBL microphone with the Merlin app. High Pass Filter applied with Audacity.

We can hear Rio Savegre in the back.

Crossing Savegre River

Crossing Savegre River

Bird watching along Savegre River

We continue along the Savegre River until we reach a fish farm. we turn around and walk back to the van. we had not seen any American Dipper or Torrent Tyrannulet spo we continued along the Savegre River.

I spot one Torrent Tyrannulet sitting on a rock in the Savegre River and I ask my Guide to stop. I get out of the van to take a few pictures.

Torrent Tyrannulet

Torrent Tyrannulet

We make a U-turn and we drive back to Hotel de Montaña Suria and I spent the rest of the day in my room resting my left foot. The toeas are getting much better and I went to book some birding tors in the afternoon.

I had dinner in the restaurant and the day came to an end, yet another day with a lot of LIFERS. 14 of them and I was satisfied with today's bird watching.
• Torrent Tyrannulet
• Yellow-winged Vireo
• Yellowish Flycatcher
• Tufted Flycatcher
• Ruddy Treerunner
• Silver-throated Tanager
• White-naped Brushfinch
• Common Chlorospingus
• Northern Emerald-Toucanet
• Collared Redstart
• Long-tailed Silky-flycatcher
• Black-faced Solitaire
• Grey-breasted Wood-Wren
• Resplendent Quetzal

And my Yoga Teacher is also watching birds by the looks of the pictures she sent me. Looks to be Brown-headed Gulls in Thailand.

Gulls in Thailand

Gulls in Thailand

My plan is to stay at the hotel area tomorrow. I have booked a tour up the mountain on Tuesday to look for mountain birds. But tomorrow, bird watching around the hotel. Click HERE to find out if I see any birds.

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