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

Faites vous parlez le français? Pas de problème! Pour arriver à la page suivante faites s'il vous plaît un déclic le bouton “Next” ci-dessus!

Haga usted dice el español? No hay problema! Ver la siguiente página sólo hacer clic el botón “Next” encima!

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

Sprechen sie Deutsch! Kein problem! Wenn Sie die folgende Seite sehen wollen gerade klicken der Knopf “Next” oben!

คุณพูดภาษาไทยได้ไหม ไม่มีปัญหา ถ้าคุณต้องการไปหน้าถัดไป ให้กดปุ่ม “Next” ข้างบนนี้

Вы говорите по-русски? Просто нажмите синюю кнопку "Next" с левой стороны и Вы моментально переместитесь на следующую страницу!

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 7

Bird watching at Arte de Plumas Birding Lodge

Friday 27 ^th of December 2024 and my alarm went off at 4 o'clock and I snooze. I do not know what happened, but the alarm never got off again after the 15 minutes snooze.

Lucky that the bird is wake me up so I make it in time for the birding.

Listen to the Yellow-faced Grassquit

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.

My alarm was set to go off at 4 o'clock. I snoozed and I did not wake up until 5 thirty when this bird woke my up or I would have missed the birding tour. I will ask the staff at Arte de Plumas Birding Lodge for the ID when I go for the birding tour.

Turns out that the bird is a Yellow-faced Grassquit and I hopeto wake up to this sound again. It is the same driver that brought me here that will take us for bird watching.

We will buy a pair of glasses for me as I lost one pair of reading glasses at the top of the mountain a couple of days ago. Hydrocortisone cream for my mosquito injuries. And we will buy avocado when we pass the town.

We stop on the way to look for the Sunbittern, but we have no luck. But I get to see the Yellow-bellied Elaenia and a very beautiful Blue-grey Tanager.

Yellow-bellied Elaenia

Yellow-bellied Elaenia

Blue-grey Tanager

Blue-grey Tanager

We did not see the Sunbitterns and we went back in to the car and we spot two Blue-and-white Swallow when we leaving for town. I interrogate my Guide and the Driver about restaurants in tow.

They know one place with steaks and I invite them for lunch when we are ready with the bird watching. I was already delirious by anticipation and I was drooling in the back seat.

I spot one Cattle Egret on top of a tree in a far distance and I ask the Driver to stop. I take a picture knowing that it is too far away, but this is for my eBird report.

Now I have the Cattle Egret, Feral Pigeon and the House Sparrows. Can be seen all over the world and I just keep the record for the future when I want to see in what countries I have seen the birds. Well, I really don't know, but it might be interesting in the future to have the records.

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Western Cattle Egret

We continue and our first stop is the CATIE-Turrialba (Campus y lago) an eBird hotspot. We pay the entrance fee, well, I have to pay, the Guide and the Driver gets in for free.

The boom opens up and we enter the area. We stop at a parking and we spot one Grey-capped Flycatcher sitting on a lamp post getting out of the car. I go to try to get a picture.

We leave the Grey-capped Flycatcher and I get out on the lawn trying to get pictures of an Northern Jacana. We are soon spotting an adult Northern Jacana as well.

There are Western Cattle Egrets flying in and out from the forest. We walk down towards the pond and we see one more Grey-capped Flycatcher sitting on a wire. And the bird do not bother about us and we can come close.

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Grey-capped Flycatcher

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Grey-capped Flycatcher

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Young Northern Jacana

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Young Northern Jacana

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Young Northern Jacana

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Young Northern Jacana

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Adult Northern Jacana

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Adult Northern Jacana

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Grey-capped Flycatcher

Walking across the lawn and we see three Yellow-headed Caracara sitting in the top of the trees, each in one three. In the top of two the trees we have some parrots.

One of the Yellow-headed Caracara start calling and I am quick to start a recording. We continue towards the pond and we spot three more Northern Jacanas, one juvenile with an adult.

Another Northern Jacana is approaching and the first jacana puff up itself displaying the wings. Photo or recording? I chose recording so I never got any pictures of the puffed-up bird.

I got one MYSTERY BIRD on the same recording and I split the recording in to two, maybe someone can ID the bird at xeno-canto.

Listen to the Yellow-headed Caracara

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.

Sitting in a tree in front of us.

Listen to the Great Kiskadee

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.

Got this one on the recording when recording the Northern Jacana. Will send to xeno-canto forum for help with ID.

Thanks to Scott Tuthill at xeno-canto for the ID

Listen to the Northern Jacana

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.

One adult and one juvenile. The adult blow up its wings when another adult approach.

Coming down to the pond, there is a tree with berries and we expect a lot of birds. The first birds we see is the Western Cattle Egrets, about 60 of them in a tree full of nests.

There is also one Purple Gallinule that I take a picture of before we explore the tree next to us.

We spot a gorgeous blue bird, the Scarlet-thighed Dacnis and we are soon seeing the female Scarlet-thighed Dacnis as well. And they are munching on the berries.

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Purple Gallinule

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Female Scarlet-thighed Dacnis

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Female Scarlet-thighed Dacnis

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Female Scarlet-thighed Dacnis

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Female and the back of a male Scarlet-thighed Dacnis

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Female Scarlet-thighed Dacnis

Listen to the Boat-billed Heron

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.

I do not know if I see the bird. I have pictures of one bird in the vegetation, but I do not know if this is the bird making the sound.

One of the birds we came to see is the Boat-billed Herons and we could hear them and I got a recording. We will go to have a look for them later on, but first I want to go have a look at the Cattle Egrets sitting in the tree.

And I was confused, looked like they were in winter plumage, all white, a wee bit of orange in the plumage. And they birds were obviously sitting on nests, flying in and out with nest material. My Guide saw chicks being feed as well.

When I discovered the nests, I did not want to disturb so I never saw the chick. But I got a picture and now I could see that the bill was in full breeding colour.

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Western Cattle Egret

We can see the breeding coloured bill

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Western Cattle Egret

We can see the red legs

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Western Cattle Egret

Non breeding and the breeding plumage in the back

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Western Cattle Egret

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Western Cattle Egret

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Western Cattle Egret with nests

Listen to the Western Cattle Egret

Sound from www.xeno-canto.org

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.

In a three with about 60 birds having nests.

We leave the Cattle Egrets and I was very happy, now the WESTERN and EASTERN cattle egrets is quite clear for me now. At least when they are breeding.

We will go have a look for the Boat-billed Heron and we passed the fruit tree again. We keep an eye out for the Green Honeycreeper, a beautiful bird that we had spotted in the tree coming here but we went t othe egret tree instead..

Not easy to get pictures of the birds in the tree, but we will give it another chance. We spotted the bird and the Green Honeycreeper is a gorgeous bird. Sitting high in the tree between me and the sun so the pictures leave a lot to wish for.

But the picture is good enough for the eBird report. We also spotted the Golden-hooded Tanager.

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Golden-hooded Tanager

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Palm Tanager

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Grey-capped Flycatcher

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Green Honeycreeper

We have to get out in the wilderness to look for the heron

We have to get out in the wilderness to look for the heron

Boat-billed Heron

We asked the driver to go get the car and we walked along the road to go check out the Boat-billed Heron. We had to go in to the wilderness and the birding turned in to an adventure.

My Guide managed to find one Boat-billed Heron but it was almost covered by the vegetation, but the picture is good enough for my eBird report.

We get in to the car and we are soon passing two Green Ibis foraging on the lawn. We stop and I get a few pictures. A few minutes later and we stop to take pictures of the Groove-billed Ani.

HA! This is the bird I want to have on picture as I thought it was a Smooth-billed Ani when I saw it the other day. But it was a LIFER and I need a picture.

Green Ibis

Green Ibis

Green Ibis

Groove-billed Ani

Groove-billed Ani

Groove-billed Ani

Roadside Hawk

Roadside Hawk

Roadside Hawk

We see two Roadside Hawks and we had seen 22 species at CATIE-Turrialba when we are back on the road. CATIE-Turrialba turned out to be a great place for bird watching.

7 new LIFERS and the day have just started.
• Green Honeycreeper
• Scarlet-thighed Dacnis
• Scarlet-rumped Tanager
• Grey-capped Flycatcher
• Boat-billed Heron
• Green Ibis
• Northern Jacana

eBird Report

CATIE-Turrialba (Campus y lago), Cartago, CR
Dec 27, 2024 07:50 - 09:09
Protocol: Traveling
3.56 kilometer(s)
22 species

Groove-billed Ani 2
Purple Gallinule 1
Northern Jacana 5
Anhinga 1
Green Ibis 3
Boat-billed Heron 1
Western Cattle-Egret 60
American Black Vulture 2
Roadside Hawk 2
Keel-billed Toucan 2
Yellow-headed Caracara 1
Social Flycatcher 1
Grey-capped Flycatcher 3
Tropical Kingbird 3
Montezuma Oropendola 1
Great-tailed Grackle 5
Summer Tanager 1
Scarlet-rumped Tanager 1
Palm Tanager 1
Golden-hooded Tanager 2
Scarlet-thighed Dacnis 2
Green Honeycreeper 1

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S206746644

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

Today's track at CATIE-Turrialba (Campus y lago)

Turning off the eBird app when we are back on the road. We will visit a lake and that area is also an eBird hotspot: La Angostura Florencia (entrada Hospital)

We drive along and suddenly; I spot some ducks in a canal when we approach Hospital William Allen Taylor and I ask the driver to stop. Me and my Guide get out of the car and we spot 8 Muscovy Ducks in the Canal.

A new LIFER for me, and it is also a LIFER for my Guide, we have only seen them as ornament birds in parks.

Muscovy Ducks

Muscovy Ducks

Muscovy Ducks

Muscovy Ducks

Muscovy Ducks

Southern Lapwing

We leave the Muscovy Ducks behind driving past the hospital and we stop to report one Southern Lapwing to eBird before we continue towards the eBird hotspot: La Angostura Florencia (entrada Hospital) that are just a few minutes away.

We reach the lake and driving along the gravel road and I start the eBird app when we spot two Great White Egrets. Continuing along the lake and we get out to have a look for birds.

There is one Limpkin next to the Great White Egret. We flush one Snowy Egret and a Tricoloured Heron and I have a lot of birds to report to eBird.

Driving along the lake

Driving along the lake

Driving along the lake

Limpkin

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck

There are two other bird watchers sneaking up on a group of 18 Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks. The bird watchers are far away from us and the Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks are way too far away for any pictures.

The bird watchers approach them slowly and suddenly the Black-bellied Whistling-Duck are flushed and we can count that there are 18 of them. They are flying around the lake and they are soon back to almost the same place they got flushed.

They landed on the water and I tried to get a picture. They were red in eBird so I wanted to have a picture for my eBird report.

My Guide

Our Hero looking for birds

Our Hero looking for birds

Groove-billed Anis

We continue to the end of the road and we stop to take a picture of one Groove-billed Ani sitting next to the road. When we continue, we flush 15 Groove-billed Anis that had been sitting in the grass out of sight for us.

The battery in my camera is running low and the battery indicator is flashing red. I had my camera on the tripod ready for video action and I forgot to charge the battery yesterday.

I told my Guide that we could give up the bird watching for today and we drove back towards the city. We stop to take a picture of two Southern Lapwings sitting on the road.

I ask my Guide about Kingfishers and he tell me that there are Green Kingfishers, a bird that I have never seen. We stop, lo and behold, there is a Green Kingfisher sitting in the tree.

We are driving back towards the town

Southern Lapwing

Southern Lapwing

Green Kingfisher

Green Kingfisher

Green Kingfisher

I had time for a picture before the Green Kingfisher dove to catch a bird that it ate on a rock. We took off and after hundred meters my Guide said STOP. Now there was a Ringed Kingfisher next to the road.

We got out to try to take pictures of the bird. The Ringed Kingfisher was perching in a bad position and it was not easy to get pictures.

Two kingfishers within 5 minutes and we were happy when we left the eBird hotspot.

Ringed Kingfisher

Ringed Kingfisher

Ringed Kingfisher

eBird Report

La Angostura Florencia (entrada Hospital), Cartago, CR
Dec 27, 2024 09:26 - 10:06
Protocol: Traveling
2.62 kilometer(s)
15 species

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck 18
Blue-winged Teal 6 1 pair + 4 females
Groove-billed Ani 15
Purple Gallinule 1
Limpkin 1
Southern Lapwing 4
Northern Jacana 2
Neotropic Cormorant 1
Little Blue Heron 1
Tricoloured Heron 1
Snowy Egret 1
Great White Egret 2
Ringed Kingfisher 1
Green Kingfisher 1
Montezuma Oropendola 5

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S206755197

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

Today's track at eBird hotspot: La Angostura Florencia (entrada Hospital)

We are hungry by the time I turn off my eBird app for the last time. No battery in my camera. Just enough power for “emergency” use in case we run in to a very special bird.

There is a few things I need before going for lunch. We start at the drug store and I get hydrocortisone cream, the mosquitos are like crazy here in Costa Rica.

Next stop is the market to buy avocado and we walk around looking for avocado. They have the small Mexican avocados but we want the big Costa Rican avocados.

Looking for avocados

We find avocados

We find avocados

Cartago

We find an optician

Buying a big bag of Costa Rican and Mexican avocados and we go to look for an optician so I can buy new reading glasses. We see one optician across the street and we go to have a look.

Asking for ready glasses and the girl bring out a big box from under the counter. Getting in to the shop and I was disappointed, no ready-made glasses to be seen so I was relieved when she brought out the box with glasses.

I get a pair of reading glasses and we drive to the restaurant and we take our seats and we get the menu. The have steak and I ask for a filet mignon with avocado only, and of course tea.

The Guide and the Driver get some fruit drink and I ask if they have mango and I am soon sippin' on a mango drink. The food is arriving and it looks very good.

We get a table and some fruit drinks

Mango drinks

The food looks very good

The food was very good, we wanted to have passion fruit mousse, but they were out of it. I asked if they would have some of the passion mousse tomorrow. They would arrange and we will be back tomorrow after the bird watching.

We stop to look for the Sunbittern on the way back to Arte de Plumas Birding Lodge. No luck and we continue back to the hotel where I spent the rest of the day in my room.

No battery in the camera so no bird watching from the balcony, but I could enjoy my tea and avocado on the balcony while looking at the birds.

Avocado to last me for a while

We will be off to look for birds at 7 o'clock tomorrow morning and I hope to be as lucky today. 10 new species and this is very good for me.
• Green Kingfisher
• Muscovy Duck
• Green Honeycreeper
• Scarlet-thighed Dacnis
• Scarlet-rumped Tanager
• Grey-capped Flycatcher
• Boat-billed Heron
• Green Ibis
• Northern Jacana
• Blue-and-white Swallow

You just need to click HERE to find out if I see any new species tomorrow.

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