I was woken by the early rumbling of thunder and the
flashing of the seemingly perpetual storm across the Tarcoles sky.
There was a glimmer in the sky but no more than that but the Mantled
Howlers were already up and about, the Pauraques were still loudly singing
along with the Ferruginous Pygmy Owl but they were joined by a duetting pair of
Collared Forest Falcons cawing in the trees around me.
Breakfast was a rerun of the previous with a the same
excellent selection of species but with a couple of additions with a pair of
Cabanis’s Wrens below the view while a Ringed Kingfisher flew high over the
canopy en route to some unknown feeding area.
A Common Black Hawk was our first seen raptor of the day.
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| I do like the Stripe-headed Sparrows |
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| Streak-backed Oriole once again |
A quick breakfast and then the bus was packed up and we were
on our way on the long but exciting route that would take us all the way from
sea-level Pacific to the top of the Cerro de la Muerte at a little under 12,000
feet.
We began along the coast and once passed Jaco (and its
circling Frigates) we rejoined the coast and stopped to scan the roads below
for that slim chance once again of a Wandering Tattler. Amazingly we found two slowly working their
way around the tidal pools as the waves sloshed in and out. I think most people felt the same way that I
did the first time I saw one – it is just one of those bird names that they
would have heard of and just wanted to see.
South through the Palm Nut plantations where we picked up
random Short-tailed, Roadside and Grey Hawks before pulling off at Dominical to
have a look at the River Baru. Fito was
disappointed that the tide was in as he was hoping for a few more waders but
the habitat along the river was superb and we quickly picked up a few birds
moving through a big tree alongside us with Tennessee, Chestnut-sided and
Yellow Warblers and a female Euphonia was amazingly a lovely green
Thick-billed.
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| Pale-vented Pigeon |
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| Roadside Hawks |
The flock moved to the other side of the track where we
could look across rather than up and we found several Hummers on the blooms
with Sapphire-throated Goldentail and Crowned Woodnymph battling it out but
there was more to come with a smoky blue grey and yellow Mourning Warbler, a
creeping Northern Waterthrush and then a flash of Woodpecker.
It landed on a palm and we realised that we had – not a
Black-cheeked but a male Golden-naped Woodpecker. I can’t say that this species had ever been
on my radar on previous trips and we enjoyed watching them swap at the nest
hole. Short-tailed and Broad-winged
Hawks circled above us.
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| Golden-naped Woodpecker - female |
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| Golden-naped Woodpecker - male |
On and up to lunch overlooking the valley before San Isidro
where a storm broke while we ate. Cherrie’s Scarlet Rumped Tanagers were in the
beds below us – the females are just so different to the Passerini’s. House Wrens were collecting food and a pair
of Red-crowned Woodpeckers were also taking food to a nest nearby.
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| Storm in the distance |
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| Cherrie’s Scarlet Rumped Tanager |
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| Cherrie’s Scarlet Rumped Tanager |
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| Cherrie’s Scarlet Rumped Tanager |
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| Great Kiskadee |
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| The tourist trap unfortunately snagged Fito too and I had to negotiate for his release. The others had to do their own pleading |
From here we started to head steadily up into the hills and
through San Isidro where the sewage works gave us the expected breeding Least
Grebes along with a few loafing Blue-winged Teals and Black-bellied Whistling
Duck. Green Herons lurked in the corners and Southern Lapwings and Spot Sands
were on the banks.
A RRS in traffic as we left the city behind gave us a
Streaked Saltator on a driveway! What a
quality way to get a life tick! We
stopped again at Mirador Valle del General for a coffee with a view and some
birds too. The cloud rolled up the valley while we were there but it did not
stop the Violet Sabrewings from glimmering as the male battled over feeding
spots. Green Crown Brilliants were disappointingly
the only other species seen but there were other rewards with a pair of Lesson’s
Motmots tail wagging in the garden below along with our first rather splendid Speckled
Tanager that kept to the leaves unlike the glossy black Cherrie’s Scarlet
Rumped Tanagers. As we left, a
Swallow-tailed Kite came to in investigate and circled low and two Short-tailed
Hawks came and went in the cloud below.
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| Lesson’s Motmots |
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| Cherrie’s Scarlet Rumped Tanager |
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| Cherrie’s Scarlet Rumped Tanager |
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| Speckled Tanager |
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| Violet Sabrewing |
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| Violet Sabrewing |
From here on it was the proper climb up to the Cerro de lo
Muerte. Luckily we went through the
cloud and drizzle and although not a lovely blue sky at 11,500 feet, it was not
wet and windy and our walk around the Paramo quickly gave us the hoped for main
target bird – Volcano Junco. Several
were seen on the road and in the heathers where their beady orangey eyes peered
out. They always look angry! They are quite confiding and some good close
views were had of this very range restricted little bird. The species palette up here is quite small
but we did see Sooty Thrushes with their equally striking almost pale blue
eyes, Black-billed Nightingale Thrushes, Sooty-capped Chlorospingus and both
Black-throated Green and Wilson’s Warblers.
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| Sooty Thrush |
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| Sooty Thrush |
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| Volcano Junco |
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| Volcano Junco |
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| Volcano Junco |
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| Volcano Junco |
It was very cool and the cloud was creeping back around us
and it was raining as we hit the main road once again and dark by the time we
wiggled our way down the countless bends to Savegre – our base for the next few
nights.
New Birds:
* World Lifer
** Costa Rica tick
1: Thick-billed Euphonia *
2: Golden-naped Woodpecker *
3: Streaked Saltator *
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