Costa Rica for Bird's Wildlife & Nature - Day 4 - 7th November 2024

Another early rise saw a couple of Pauraque on the Celeste Mountain Lodge driveway and Crested Owls singing off down the road but there was no special sunrise and the cloud was already low. 

We soon set off on our pre-breakfast walk down into the jungle across the road. Seeing anything was tricky and quite frustrating and we heard Nightingale, Bay and the two other regular Wren species along with Northern Bentbill and Collared Forest Falcons.  Tody Motmots were in song but only gave us tantalising glimpses before dropping from view but Wood Thrush and a young Long-billed Hermit did linger long enough to get bins onto. They zipped around at light speed with only the sharp call and white tail tips visible. An Alfaro’s Pygmy Squirrel was a great find although as usual it did not stay around long to be admired!

Long-billed Hermit - Neil Colgate

Both Toucans were vocal and we found them in the canopy with Collared Aracaris but of Yellow-eared Toucanets there were no sign. The undoubted highlight was a pair of Dull-mantled Antbirds that gave fantastic close views alongside the track.  It is a very poorly named species and in fact has a white patch in the middle of the back and we were treated to the male showing off to his partner by tilting towards her and flaring out that patch that then shone in the dark understorey.  It was a special encounter. A Nightingale Wren started up in the same area and snuck across the path. 

Dull-mantled Antbird

Dull-mantled Antbird - my pic is pants but you can see how the white patch glowed

With breakfast looming we retraced our steps finding a male Slaty-tailed Trogon and Black and White Warbler on the way and as we neared the top Ramon raised his finger to his ear and said ‘Blanco’. Seconds later a White Hawk appeared back across the valley and even landed in full view for us to put the scopes onto. Good to see one perched for a change.

White Hawk - Neil Colgate

Breakfast as usual involved birds with Yellow-throated Euphonias, Black-cheeked Woodpeckers, Baltimore Orioles and various Tanagers on show while in the overly manicured shrubbery below were singing Black-striped Sparrows and House Wrens and dapper little Morelet’s Seedeaters. Social and Grey-capped Flycatchers squabbled over perches with the Tropical Kingbirds and outside a male Black-cowled Oriole was repeatedly returning to a car wing mirror and I think he was after spiders rather than admiring his reflection.

Black-cheeked Woodpecker - Neil Colgate

Black-cheeked Woodpecker - like that 'nana!

Yellow-throated Euphonia

Social Flycatcher

Grey-capped Flycatcher

House Wren

House Wren & Rufous-tailed HB showing how small the latter is

House Wren - Neil Colgate

House Wren - Neil Colgate

Black-cowled Oriole

Afterwards we headed back down the dark jungle track.  It is always the toughest walk of the whole trip but the potential rewards are great.  We started well with a Blackburnian Warbler along the driveway before setting off on the same path as before but this time we conducted the full circuit.  It was similarly difficult and frustrating at times and those pesky Tody Motmots again refused to linger for more than a second.  However we did find a mixed pair of Keel-billed and Broad-billed Motmots building a nest in the path side bank. They showed exceptionally well. I have seen them before in mixed pairs but never an obvious hybrid. I think that they colour-morph theory for these ‘two’ species is gaining ground.

Keel-billed Motmot

Keel-billed Motmot - Jose Pablo Castillo

Keel-billed & Broad-billed Motmots - Jose Pablo Castillo

Keel-billed Motmot - Neil Colgate

Broad-billed Motmot - Neil Colgate

A Northern Schiffornis was heard and was found interacting with a Wood Thrush.  This was exactly the same spot that I first heard the species back in 2022 and after my brief Arenal views it was good to watch this elusive bird. Yellow-throated Vireos ‘squelched’ above us and we picked up the usual two Manakins (and heard Long-tailed), Scale-crested Pygmy-Tyrants, Ochre-bellied Flycatcher and Black and White Warblers along with good views at last of White-breasted Wood-Wren.  Wedge-billed Woodcreepers did their thing but a female Blue-Black Grosbeak was trickier to pick up. There was Antbirds too with Spotted, Dull Mantled and Chestnut-backed although we saw none of them.  As we emerged once again we heard Brown-headed Parrots overhead but I had hopes of seeing them the next morning.

Baird's Tapir poo on the path

One of the many wild Avocado species

Tropical Mockingbirds and Dusky-capped Flycatchers joined us for lunch and a Grey Hawk was sat up surveying the gardens.  

Passerini's Scarlet-rumped Tanager

Passerini's Scarlet-rumped Tanager

Dusky-capped Flycatcher - Neil Colgate

Tropical Mockingbird - Neil Colgate

 Ruddy Ground-Dove - Neil Colgate

Rufous-tailed HB - Neil Colgate

A Dragonfly I rescued from my room

and one of those Hawkmoths with the Hummingbird white tail bar

Rufous-tailed HB

Yellow-throated Toucan on the drive down to Bijuaga

After lunch we headed for Finca Verde in nearby Bijagua and we were greeted by some obliging Mantled Howlers in the Cecropias. A huddle of stripy Tent-making Bats (Uroderma bilobatum I think) were found under a palm leaf but unfortunately almost as soon as we started walking the rain started. We could see it coming from the west and the skies steadily darkened and thunder rumbled.

Mantled Howler

Mantled Howler

Mantled Howler - Neil Colgate

Tent-making Bats

A Cabanis’s Wren was singing loudly and Streak-headed Woodcreepers were noted but it felt like the birds knew what was coming. A Brown-throated Three-toed Sloth seemed to pull everything in further and become more ball-like just before the heavens opened.  Leaf-cutter Ants dropped their cache and scarpered as the paths quickly flooded. We pressed on but the Tody Motmots were, shall we say, somewhat difficult to pin down. 

Brown-throated Three-toed Sloth 

With the deluge only worsening we waded back to the café area and were grateful of the coffee provided and opted to sit there and wait to see if it let up which it eventually did so we donned our wet gear once more and gave it another try but it was now just too dark in amongst the trees and we aborted mission and headed back to the Celeste Mountain Lodge to wring ourselves out before dinner.

mega-monster coffee

We kept smiling!