Blue Eyed Birder: Costa Rica for Bird's Wildlife & Nature - Day 11

An early start was planned at Savegre for our hunt for Resplendent Quetzals but none of us were expecting a dry start and even a hint of blue above! Our spot was slightly off piste about a mile back up the valley and after a short walk we were in position and watching several fruiting avocado trees and within a few minutes a female flew in, briefly perching on one of the mossy photography log before entering the tree.

A male soon arrived and over the next forty minutes we watched two of each sex drift in and out of the fruiting trees and given us all wondrous views. It was another one of those emotional moments for the crew. I completely get it. They had just seen one of those iconic birds that they had only ever dreamed of seeing.

Resplendent Quetzal

Resplendent Quetzal - the female - just to prove they are actually Trogons

Resplendent Quetzal

There were momentary distractions when a gang of Sulphur-winged Parakeets sped through just above our heads and a party of Band-tailed Pigeons even perched although they were a long way up but at least we could see that far for a change! The walk back to the bus added our first Mountain Elaenias although I think everyone was pre-occupied with shades of shimmering green.

Mountain Elaenia

Breakfast time and then a short while to get ready for the truck up the hill. While waiting for the crew to assemble we watched the Hummers with Scintillant, Heliotrope Volcano, White-throated Mountain Gems, Violetears, Stripe-tails and Talamancas while the Slaty Flowerpiercers were teaching a dowdy youngster how to poke holes in the correct place. Two Sulphur-winged Parakeets perched up above the chalets for a while.

Flame-coloured Tanager

Sulphur-winged Parakeets

Mountain Elaenia

Talamanca HB

Scintillant HB

Stripe-tailed HB

Stripe-tailed HB using Flowerpiercer hole

Rufous-collared Sparrow - the juveniles were delightfully streaky

Scintillant HB - he would just not turn into the light

Tennessee Warbler

Soon we were bundling into the back of one of the Jeeps for the bumpy ride up into the forest. The earlier sunshine has gone leaving us up in the cloud once again but at least to start with it was not actually raining. We walked a little further up than the platform before following a loop that took us back down to the main track once again. Unfortunately we did not get to do the stream loop as it was just far too violent and we could hear it thundering off through the trees.

We were lulled...

Ethereal

We found several foraging flocks of mixed species mostly made up of Ruddy Treerunners and Sooty-capped Chlorospingus but we also found Spot-crowned Woodcreepers and a fantastic Buffy Tuftedcheek which is definitely one of my favourite Furnarids. Grey-breasted Wood-Wrens and Ochraceous Wrens were found and both Black-billed and Ruddy-capped Nightingale-Thrushes fed along the paths fairly unconcerned by our presence.

Ruddy Treerunner

There were Rufous-crowned Brush-finches and Legwarmers (sorry, Yellow-thighed Finch – even Jose slipped up!) and a party of Spangle-cheeked Tanagers as well as super sexy Flame-throated Warblers which have that strange black triangle in the blue-grey back, Wilson’s and Black-throated Greens.

Yellowish and Northern Tufted Flycatchers were feeding quite low and Black-cheeked Warblers put on an unusually co-operative show. I am not sure I have seen this species that well before. A Barred Becard sang but did not come closer and we could hear Ruddy Pigeon (a variation on the ‘who cooks for you?’ of Short-billed Pigeon) and cackling Acorn Woodpeckers in the towering White Oaks above us.

Northern Tufted Flycatcher

Black-cheeked Warbler

Yellowish Flycatcher

The rain arrived and the view from the lookout was not quite as good on the way down! There were still birds to be found with White-collared Swifts powering through and a couple of Red-tailed Hawks and amongst another feeding flock we came across a Black-faced Solitaire and then a Collared Trogon.

White-collared Swift

Black-faced Solitaire

It was sort of heads down as we came down the hill in the rain and we retreated to our rooms well before lunch. It was just too heavy. It vaguely let up before it was time to eat so I went through the gardens to get there as my lodge was up the top. Frustratingly I got superb views of Long-tailed Silky, Black-capped and Yellowish Flycatchers, Black-faced Solitaire, Grey-breasted Wood-Wrens and some feeding Spangle-cheeked Tanagers! Thankfully all would be forgiven by the end of the following day!

Spangle-cheeked Tanager

Black-faced Solitaire

Long-tailed Silky-Flycatcher

Yellowish Flycatcher

After lunch we drove down to the end of the road so that we could search for Dippers, Tyrannulets and forest birds. There were neither of our targets – the river was just too violent but we did find an adult Fasciated Tiger-Heron which came up off the river and flew to a branch about ten metres above our heads. Turning around we spied a beautifully barred juvenile still hunting until it saw us and flew to the bank. A few minutes later it appeared in the middle of the path in front of us as it cut across to a babbling streamlet. These were my first sightings away from Arenal and Tenario.

adult Fasciated Tiger-Heron

juvenile Fasciated Tiger-Heron

juvenile Fasciated Tiger-Heron - a few pics but what a bird!

A flock of small stuff included the usual Ruddy Treerunners but the Chlorospingus here were Common and not Sooty-capped. Yellow-winged Vireos joined Flame-throated and Black-cheeked Warblers before the rain once again forced a retreat.

Ruddy Treerunner

No one really fancied more wet walking – it is decidedly cooler up here too and so we diverted to a local lodge that had some Hummer feeders alongside the raging river and we sat there drinking hot chocolate and eating cookies while the gleaming sprites danced between the rain drops in front of us. Despite the shelter we were all cold and wet and called it a day with warming up being the priority.