Costa Rica, Day 1, 6 February 2014 - Alajuela and San Gerardo de Dota

The least said about day 0 of the trip the better with delayed flights, a mad dash at Newark airport to catch our connection and a very late arrival at our hotel near the airport in San Jose! So I'll skip the details and go straight to the following morning when we awoke to blue skies at the Santa Maria Inn in Alajuela and waited for our lift to Savegre Mountain Lodge at San Gerardo de Dota. The garden of the guesthouse yielded the first birds of the trip and the first ticks - a showy Rufous-naped Wren on a rooftop air-conditioning unit, Red-billed Pigeons and a flock of 15 Red-lored Parrots plus Inca and White-winged Doves, a fly-over Great Blue Heron, the only Northern Rough-winged Swallow of the trip as well as what were to become the common birds of the following weeks - Black and Turkey Vulture, Great-tailed Grackles, Tropical Kingbirds, Blue-grey Tanagers and Great Kiskadees (I won't be mentioning these again!)

Rufous-naped Wren

Red-billed Pigeon

 

Our lift arrived at 10.00 and 2 and a half hours later were were dropping down off the Pan American Highway into the beatutiful valley of San Gerardo de Dota and the Rio Savegre. It was all I could do the drag my eyes away from the hummingbird feeders outside the reception at the Savegre Mountain Lodge to check-in! Within a few minutes I'd identified Green Violet-ear, Magnificent Hummingbird, Scintillant Hummingbird, Volcano Hummingbird, White-throated Mountain-Gem and Purple-throated Mountain-Gem!

 

 

Scintillant Hummingbird

Green Violet-ear

White-throated Mountain-Gem (female)

White-throated Mountain-Gem (male) 

Magnificent Hummingbird

Volcano Hummingbird

 

After a quick buffet lunch in the lodge restaurant we decided on a walk upstream along the Rio Savegre on the waterfall trail. On the way out it was difficuly to get going with showy Slaty Flowerpiercers, Ruddy-capped Nightingale-Thrush and Flame-coloured Tanagers which were to become daily birds. A Sharp-shinned Hawk whizzed through the grounds and a superb Long-tailed Silky Flycatcher sat high in a tree - wow! The walk itself was beautiful and adorned with good birds for the Costa Rica first timer - Collared Redstarts, 2 Tufted Flycatchers, Black-faced Solitaire, c6 Yellow-thighed Finches, 2 Black Phoebe, 2 Ruddy Treerunners and plenty of Sooty-capped Bush Tanagers. Even wintering yank warbler Wilson's Warbler was a tick! The river itself held American Dipper and Torrent Tyrannulet.

 

Flame-throated Tanager

Ruddy-capped Nightingale-Thrush

Slaty Flowerpeircer

 

Ruddy Treerunner

Sooty-capped Bush Tanager

 

Black-faced Solitaire

    

On the walk back we bumped into a couple of British birders who, it became apparant during the conversation were the friends of some friends from back home - Pat and Gill Finch. What a small world. The best was yet to come in bird terms because as we walked past the trout farm something called behind us. I legged it back to be greeted by a male Resplendent Quetzal flying across the path and landing in a tree!! Back at the lodge White-throated Mountain-gem showed beautifully along the entrance road.

 

 

Resplendent Quetzal

Resplendent Quetzal

White-throated Mountain-gem

 

My appetite was well and truly whetted for walking some of the local trails tomorrow...   

Last blast before hols. Sizewell and Kessingland, 2 February 2014

 A free Sunday and good weather so it was off the coast to clean up on a few bits and pieces before we head off to warmer climes in a couple of days.

First up was Sizewell and buoyed by the carpark being free in winter I headed off up the beach. Sadly my joy was short lived because there was no sign of the Iceland Gull offshore. Only a couple of juv Kittiwakes and a distant Gannet livened things up before I turned my attention to Black Redstarts between the 2 power stations behind me. Within minutes I'd found both birds with the male being a real cracker. It was nice to catch up with a British pair of these beauties because the vast majority of birds I've seen in recent years have been migrants. They look settled too with both birds frequently using a low hole in a metal 'wall' inside the power station - nesting or prospecting? Turning round for another scan of the gulls I then picked up the Iceland Gull straight away! After legging it down onto the beach it then decided to have a fly up and down just offshore so I managed a few shots of it before it promptly disappeared again to the south.

Iceland Gull, Sizewell

Iceland Gull, Sizewell

Black Redstart, Sizewell

Black Redstart, Sizewell

Black Redstart 'habitat', Sizewell 

 

After grabbing some lunch on the go in Leiston it was off up the A12 to Kessingland. After a while trudging around the sewage works area (during which time 2 Marsh Harriers flew south within a minute of each other) I found 1, then 2 Firecrests and with a little gate-hopping got some really close views. Photography was another matter though with just a couple of lousy record shots (see below!). While there I flushed a Woodcock and also had a brief Chiffchaff amongst the common stuff.

 

Firecrest, Kessingland Sewage Works

 

On the way home I stopped by the road at Beccles where 3 Bewick's Swans were with 20 Mute Swans and a hunting Barn Owl finished the day off nicely.

 

 

Bewick's Swans, Beccles Marsh

 

 

Costa Rica here we come!

This may be my last post before we head off to Costa Rica in a few days. I hope to be busy blogging my trip report when we're back in March!

The trip will be my first to Central America. Although some of the species in CR are the same as in Colombia where I have spent 2 weeks and there will be wintering North American passerines I've seen there should also be more than enough for me to get my teeth into.

We'll be away for about 3 and a half weeks in all and our itinerary includes visits to Savegre Mountain Lodge, Poas Volcano, La Selva Biological Station, Selva Verde Lodge, Arenal Observatory Lodge, Monteverde/Santa Elena, Nicoya Peninsular and Carara NP so it should be a varied trip.

As ever it won't be all birding and I don't have a hit list. I'll see what I see and miss what I miss which is a nice relaxed way bird a new place. The following pics are of birds I'd not sneeze at though!

Long-tailed Silky Flycatcher

Resplendent Quetzal

Collared Redstart

  

Where do Siberia and Southern Europe meet? Oulton Broad! 24 January 2014

I spent a very pleasant afternoon at a sunny but cold Oulton Marshes on the edge of Oulton Broad today and was musing on the way home about how lucky we are in the UK to attract rare birds from all points of the compass.

The long-staying Glossy Ibis was seen straight away in almost exactly the same spot as I saw it last month, this time with a Little Egret for company amongst the numerous Wigeon. What I'd really come to see however was Siberian Chiffchaff and with quite a bit of patience I managed some really nice views of 2 birds in the reeds just behind the viewing platform. Most of the time they were very elusive and keeping very low down but they did pop up on some bullrushes 2 or 3 times but trying to get a shot of them was nigh on impossible.Not that I let that stop me trying and once a couple of other birders had left I had them to myself and managed to pish them to within about 3 yards but still they refused to pose! They both looked like classic individuals to me, very grey and white with a prominent bright green wing panels, black legs and bills.

While I was there 9 Whooper Swans flew north, a Cetti's Warbler sang and on the sloppy walk back to the church I had 2 Stock Doves and a Barn Owl.

Earlier in the day while geocaching I had a Nuthatch calling in Nicholas Everitt Park, Lowestoft which I've since discovered is a bit of a local rarity!     

Yarmouth and Lowestoft, 12 January 2014

A beautiful sunny day in the far east of the UK which turned out to be a bit of a photo-fest!

First stop was at Yarmouth North Denes for the 2 Shorelarks that seem to have settled in for the winter. They took a little locating despite directions of them being 'near the pink and blue beach huts' but after the other couple of observers had left I had them to myself. A bit of crawling through the dunes and I managed to get pretty close and enough to nail some half decent pics.

 

Then it was south along the seafront to the beach between the piers. Before I started lobbing bread at them I counted 44 Mediterranean Gulls loafing on the sand and then the fun began trying to photograph them in their bread feeding frenzy! The flock comprised roughly 85% adults, 10% 2nd winters and 5% 1st winters with 5 different ringed birds noted as follows:

Adult, ring E651, black on white - ringed in Belgium or Netherlands
Adult, ring AA20, white on green - ringed in Germany
Adult, ring PNN7, white on red - ringed in Poland
1st Winter, ring 2H20, black on yellow - ringed in the UK
Adult, ring E254, black on white - ringed in Belgium or Netherlands

I'll be submitting these sightings to the relevant recorder to find out more of the history of these individuals.

  

We then had a circular walk at Gunton where several Kittiwakes were offshore together with a single Eider and then a wintering Chiffchaff in Gunton Wood.

Finishing the day with a cuppa in the car at Ness Point, Lowestoft it was decidely wild and windy but it proved to be 3rd time lucky for me here on recent visits with 2, then 8 and finally 10 Purple Sandpipers showing extremely well on the rocks. Plenty of Kittiwakes here too.

 
 

The arse-end of Suffolk! 5 January 2014

Bawdsey and Shingle Street to be more precise! I've always held a strange liking for this isolated corner of Suffolk probably because of its remote location and oddness. Shingle Street is like the land that time forgot!

East Lane Bawdsey let me down badly as the Scaup of the previous few days were nowhere to be seen. Plenty of other wildfowl on the lagoons though with numerous Gadwall, Wigeon, Mallard, Tufted Duck, Teal and Coot plus 2 Little Grebes. A Water Pipit was picked up flying over and then a single Purple Sandpiper flew low past the coastal rocks so the visit was not all in vain.

On to Shingle Street for a walk and a picnic lunch on the beach (yes, even in January!) and on the lane leading into the hamlet I got onto a Short-eared Owl which I leapt out of the car for and promptly lost. After a few minutes I picked it up again on the inland side of the road carry prey and going down into a field. Although not mega close it was close enough to get a shot or two.

The only other birds of note in the remainder of the day was a Common Crossbill in Rendlesham Forest and a pair of Common Buzzards near Wickham Market on the way home.

    

2014 begins, Pakefield/Lowestoft, 2 January 2014

In between doing other things today I popped in to Pakefield and down to the beach to try to photograph the flock of Snow Buntings. There were so many dog walkers and teenagers on the beach the flock of c60 birds were constantly being spooked and ranging up and down a big area of beach. With a little patience at what seemed like their favourite spot I managed a shot or 2 and while waiting picked out an adult and then 2nd winter Mediterranean Gull at the north end of the beach.

 



Next I nipped to Ness Point, Lowestoft where I failed dismally to find any Purple Sandpipers despite walking miles north in search. A couple of confiding Sanderlings were some recompense and several Kittiwakes were offshore.

 

 

Alton Water quickie, 29 December 2013

After a country ramble in the beautiful Dedham Vale today (nothing of note except several small groups of Redwings and Fieldfares) we had just enough time for a brief stop at Alton Water before the drive back up the A140. 

Parking up close to the sailing club (and completely ignoring the pay and display machines!) I made my way across the grass to a suitable vantage point and after a quick 2 minute scan had the juvenile Black-throated Diver I'd come to see. A further scan revealed good numbers of Little Grebes, even better numbers of Great Crested Grebes and then a welcome female Red-crested Pochard.

The year's not quite over! 28 December 2013

With a day to myself and cloudless blue skies it would have been a shame not to make the most of it and do some birding. So it was off to the Lowestoft area.

My main aim was to see the Glossy Ibis of the last few days at Oulton Marshes but having never been to the site before I spent ages trying to find where to access the reserve! After much map consulting, scanning for an elusive 'viewing platform' and then a lengthy and muddy walk I eventually found the spot. Luckily the ibis was in view on arrival and showed nicely albeit a little distant. It had a fly round at one point and landed in a spot slightly closer and in better light enabling a bit of phone scoping for a record shot. A lovely male Hen Harrier flew through and both Marsh Harrier and a Common Buzzard circled overhead. On the trudge back a male Bullfinch added a splash of colour to proceedings.

Glossy Ibis, Oulton Marshes

Glossy Ibis, Oulton Marshes

I then drove the short distance to Waveney Forest and walked to the 'viewing mound' where it's possible to gain some height to view a nice vista of Haddiscoe Island. One of the wintering Rough-legged Buzzards (the adult) was perched on a gate in the middle of the marsh with a Chinese Water Deer in close attendance but despite a good look I couldn't find any other raptors at all. The newly created clearfell area in woods yielded a flock of c20 Common Crossbills on the way back to the car.

 

Rough-legged Buzzard (and Chinese Water Deer), Haddiscoe Island

 

 

2013 - The birding year that was

It's Christmas Eve so it seems like a good time to reflect on my birding year.

My British birding has been a little curtailed in 2013 which has been a year in which I think I've finally outgrown the whole twitching and UK listing thing. I've done my fair share of twitching in the past but this aspect of birding has become less and less attractive to me over the last few years. The huge cost of twitching these days and the fact that the vast majority of good birds are turning up in such far flung places have combined to put me off. I was never one to twitch the highlands and islands anyway.

Locally I've been doing bit and bobs when the mood and other time pressures have allowed me. Highlights for me have been the showy Thetford Black-bellied Dipper, the lovely Eastern Subalpine Warbler at Landguard in April, a month where an inland find of a Ring Ouzel on my patch at Weybread GPs got me excited anyway! Nightingales singing on a beautiful spring day in deepest Suffolk also lingers in the memory as does the long staying Red-footed Falcon at Lakenheath. My best find of the year was saved for June when a splendid Black Kite graced the skies over Brockdish. The 'Italian' Sparrow up at Northrepps was probably the biggest poser of the year while I also particularly enjoyed the Ouse Washes Northern Harrier (mainly due to how hard I had to work for it!), Red-flanked Bluetail and Pallas's Warbler on one great afternoon in east Norfolk and finally a dozen Parrot Crossbills up at my old stomping ground of Holt CP.   

Foreign birding was once again to the fore, a trend which looks set to continue in the years ahead. With the cessation of my birding tours it was just 2 personal trips this year - Thailand in February and Georgia in May. The former was amazing and although not a full on birding trip I still managed a trip list of 214 with 132 lifers. Highlights are almost impossible to pick out of the array of great birds I saw but if I had to name a few they'd include Silver-eared Mesia, Mrs Gould's Sunbird, Pied Imperial Pigeon, Pygmy Cupwing, Chestnut-headed Tesia, White-browed Shrike Babbler, White-capped Water Redstart, Giant Nuthatch, Maroon Oriole, Silver Pheasant, Siberian Blue Robin, Large Hawk Cuckoo...

Georgia was also a great birding experience despite missing Guldenstadt's Redstart. With Great Rosefinch, Caucasian Snowcock, Caucasian Black Grouse, Lammergeier, Mountain Chiffchaff etc set against the stunning back drop of the mountains it's hard to complain!

So, what of 2014? Well, 3 weeks in Costa Rica in February is certainly something to look forward to...

Eastern Subalpine Warbler, Landguard, Suffolk 

Ruby-cheeked Sunbird, Khao Sok, Thailand