Blue Eyed Birder: December 2024

I was awoken in the dark at about 0430 but duetting Black and White Owls outside and was soon up, ready and out looking. Priscille joined me while it was still dark and we managed to find one staring down at us from the towing pines before leaving it to its morning business.

Down at the platform we stood as the first glow revealed the towering Arenal whose cone was blotting out the stars. Spectacled Owls could be heard off in the jungle and the first Mantled Howler troops were awake and communicating across the green.

The Great Curassows started to walk in from the surrounding forest before flying up to the already fruit laden feeding ‘tree’ and the White Nosed Coatimundis soon appeared around the bottom. We could here the Crested Guans stirring and unlike their bigger cousins, they flew in to feeder directly and were followed by the much smaller Grey-headed Choco-lattes.

Great Curassows

Great Curassow

White Nosed Coatimundis

The zip of early Hummers disturbed the air but it was still too dark to see them properly but very soon the jungle became green and the sky took on some blue. With the whole crew assembled we watched the sun rise with Tanagers (including our first Bay-headed) and Honeycreepers, Montezuma Oropendolas, Melodious Blackbirds, Scarlet-thighed Dacnis and Black-cheeked Woodpeckers having breakfast while Purple-headed, Rufous-tailed, Ruby-throated, Black-crested Coquettes and shining Blue-throated Goldentails got their early morning nectar fix just below us.

Golden Hooded Tanager

Black-crested Coquette - Neil Colgate

-Blue-throated Goldentail - Neil Colgate

Blue-throated Goldentail - Neil Colgate

Ruby-throated HB

Purple-headed HB

Red-lored Amazons headed out to feed and singing Black-striped Sparrows revved up their stuttering mopeds from the top of the hedges. A pic of two Accipiters overhead gave us the nod for Bicoloured Hawks from Jose when he joined us and his arrival was also time with the troop of Spider Monkeys swinging their way enthusiastically through the trees behind the lodge and off into the forest to forage.

Black-striped Sparrow - tail-less and taking a break on a lounger

Black-striped Sparrow

Spider Monkey

Bicoloured Hawk - Neil Colgate

Black-cheeked Woodpecker - Neil Colgate

A small fig tree by the buildings got us off to a good start with Tropical Parulas, Wilson’s Warblers and a duo of Rufous-winged Tanagers before we continued up the road past the lodges towards the towering Rainbow Eucalyptus trees where Monty’s were singing and Red-lored Amazons glowed in the sunshine already reaching the tops.

Montezuma Oropendola - Monty to you and me - Neil Colgate

Montezuma Oropendola - in display- Neil Colgate

Red-lored Amazon

It was an exhausting assault on new Costa Rican senses and everyone did well to keep up with the constant calls of new birds. There were plenty of flycatchers with Kiskadees, Tropical Kingbirds, Boat-bills, Social, Grey-capped, Mistletoe and Dusky-capped along with Rufous Mourners, Cinnamon Becards, Masked Tityras but most birds perched up long enough for a look! Yellow-throated, Tawny-capped and Olive-backed Euphonias were searching for berries and Trilling Gnatwrens were in the tangles. It was magic.

Great Kiskadee with Anole

Great Kiskadee

Boat-billed Flycatcher - Neil Colgate

Grey-capped Flycatcher - Neil Colgate

Dusky Capped Flycatcher - Neil Colgate

Passerini's Scarlet-rumped Tanager - Neil Colgate

Orange-chinned and Finsch’s Parakeets zoomed over and White-crowed Parrots noisily flew through. A mixed group of Short-billed and Pale-vented Pigeons were feeding in a treetop and Collared Aracari and Yellow-throated Toucan were briefly seen. A couple of Coatis and a Mountain Squirrel were on the lawns.

Two diminutive Accipiters hurtled out of the trees and chased each other around for a short while – Tiny Hawks! A real bonus bird and never on the even ‘vaguely hoped for’ list! Ramon was especially pleased being a lover of all things raptorish. White-breasted Wood-Wrens sung from the margins where Swainson’s and Wood Thrushes lurked and in the tree immediately above a male Gartered Trogon did that weird staring down at us thing that they do before flying closer just to makes its point. Gleaming yellow eye rings. A Squirrel Cuckoo joined it and bounced around flashing that pied tail. Scaly-breasted Hummers sung in the bushes where Passerini’s Tanagers were feeding and a pair of White-ruffed Manakins were after the same small black berries.

White-ruffed Manakin

Gartered Trogon

Gartered Trogon - Neil Colgate

Squirrel Cuckoo - Neil Colgate

Squirrel Cuckoo

A type of Ginger

Named after its resemblance to Rattle Snake tails

Angel's Trumpet

A tiny red Orchid

Rumbling tummies suggested that breakfast was required and we had to tear ourselves away – albeit for a short while.

Off again and through the gardens where the various Hummingbirds gave us some awesome views in the banks of Verbena and a couple of Mistletoe Tyrannulets (they sound like the ‘pluiip’ of Ringed Plover) gave good views while behind us a Yellow-throated Toucan at last sat still.

Crested Caracara

Scaly-breasted HB

Black-crested Coquette

Yellow-throated Toucan - Neil Colgate

Crested Guan - Neil Colgate

Crested Guan

A Long-tailed Skipper sp

Bamboo Orchid

Gold Rim Swallowtail - Neil Colgate

Julia - Neil Colgate

We dropped down into the jungle and followed the trails in a loop around towards the Frog Pool with many stops on the way as we bumped into birds on the way. We found both Plain and Streak-crowned Antvireos and Slaty Antwrens and White-collared (Lemon Meringues) and White-ruffed Manakins along with, unsurprisingly, some new flycatchers too. There were Sulphur-rumped Myobious, Ochre-bellied Fly and Scale-crested Pygmy-Tyrants and we got good views of all of them. Golden-crowned Warblers fed in the understorey with Chestnut-sided up above and Stripe-breasted and Bay Wrens joined the White-breasted Wood-Wrens. It was the crews first taste of proper jungle trail birding.

White-collared (Lemon Meringues)

A very toxic to the touch berry that inconveniently dangled over the path

Mountain Squirrel

Middle American Ameiva - Neil Colgate

Anole sp - Neil Colgate

Surprisingly the only Woodcreeper seen was Wedge-billed but we did find a gang of Carmiol’s Tanagers crashing through the lower foliage. We found Broad-billed Motmot again but although we heard Rufous-winged and Pale-billed Woodpeckers we did not see either. Up above we got the odd glimpse of Vultures through the canopy but a vocal Ornate Hawk-Eagle remained out of view – again. Our first Collared Peccaries crashed off although they did leave a very piggy smell behind them.

Crown shyness where the great trees meet

Pondhawk sp

Tarantula Hawk Wasp -

In terms of scale, the wasp's sting is rated near the top of the Schmidt sting pain index, second only to that of the bullet ant.

Summer Tanager

A large Weevil sp

Somehow it was almost lunchtime and we looped back up to the restaurant. Did we stop birding during food time? No… A pack of Collared Swifts swept through along with a few Vaux’s and the Collared Aracaris came in for a snack requiring the abandonment of lunch for a few minutes of ogling time. There were raptors too with Short-tailed Hawks and my first Costa Rican Great Black Hawk illuminated against the slopes of Arenal.

House Wren

Baltimore Oriole - Neil Colgate

Collared Aracari

Collared Aracari - Neil Colgate

Black and yellow Tanager in Furcraea longaeva in full seedling mode. If only my 14 year old one had survived the Kentish frosts two winters ago.

Collared Swifts

We reconvened back up where we finished our pre-breakfast walk and started on the river walk. The fig tree at the top was full of birds (seems this way every time!) and a family of Bay-headed Tanagers showed at eye-level along with Lesser Greenlets and Honeycreepers.

Chestnut-sided Warbler - Neil Colgate

Golden Hooded Tanager - Neil Colgate

Lesser Greenlet - Neil Colgate

Bay-headed Tanager

A large Fawn-throated Foliage-Gleaner appeared right next to us as it poked through the leaves – technically a new species for me as I had seen it previously out west where it is now Chiriqui FG. The list is always evolving. Thicket Antpitta sang and we also heard Ocellated and Dull-mantled Antbirds but they were off in the jungle and not following army ants. Pale-vented Thrushes were found with Wood and Swainson’s and a Grey-chested Dove came up off the path with another ‘whooo’ing off up the slopes. Tawny-faced Gnatwrens were seen trackside actually feeding on the ground along with Golden-crowned Warblers and Slaty Antwrens once again.

Ochre-bellied and Olive-streaked (fka Olive-striped – now split) Flycatchers were round and we even found a Tawny-capped Euphonia in a mossy domed nest. A slight diversion off trail saw us with a flock of feeding birds and with a White-throated Shrike-Tanager in the front we tried our best to stay with it. Surprisingly they found a good foraging area and the Leader stopped and just sat there in full view for five minutes. My best views ever.

White-throated Shrike-Tanager

It gave us the chance to focus on the other birds moving around and amongst the Golden-crowned Warblers and Slaty Antwrens we picked up Spotted and Wedge-billed Woodcreepers, Plain Xenops, Broad-billed Motmots, Squirrel Cuckoo, Euphonias and even both Yellow-throated and our first Keel-billed Toucans. There was even another new species of Ant-thingy for me with Checker-throated Stipplethroat.

Keel-billed Toucan

As we turned to walk back a Spotted Antbird started to sing close to us and soon appeared all decked out in chestnut, grey, black and white as he bounced between near vertical stems close to the ground. The walk back produced a few extras with a pack of 23 Coatis across the path and a couple of Great Curassows actually striding along in front of us. A Buff-rumped Warbler wagged his tail from side to side as he fed on the trail with only his glowing rump suggesting he was still there.

Coatis

Owl Butterfly - Neil Colgate

A quietly sitting Rufous Motmot gave itself up and a Collared Trogon sung in the distance. As dusk fell the two Toucan species started up their evening duets and as we neared the top a Nightingale Wren started up and we stood in silence and listened to this most mournful of songsters welcoming in the evening. He was only a few feet away but eluded our eyes but not our ears.

Rufous Motmot

Tiger Beetle - Neil Colgate

I was pleased to hear from Jose that Nightingale Wren encapsulates for him the sound of the jungle. It is haunting, off key and simple and yet encapsulates in one moment everything it means to be out in the forest in Costa Rica. I have only been three times but have always felt the same. I do not need to see it. I can close my eyes and feel it, bringing with it the scent of the forest floor, the dark nooks and tangles and the fleeting glimpses of birds barely seen.

Dinner and then time for a night walk down to the Frog Pool which apart from me ‘falling off’ the path was a great success with seven amphibians and a few cool Moths, Katydids, Mantises and Dobsonflies on the illuminated sheet. It is quite difficult to beat a Red-eyed Tree Frog.