Chris Lansdell's Birding & Nature Diary

Costa Rica Day 15, 20 February 2014 - Santa Elena Village

Having been on the go for 2 weeks now our batteries were beginning to run low. So we decided that we'd spend a lazy day chilling at the Arco Iris Lodge and maybe just pop into the village for a wander and a coffee or two. And boy were we lazy!

Luckily a fruiting tree literally a few yards from our cabin provided some good birding entertainment on and off through the day and even a day such as this gave me 2 lifers - Golden-browed Chlorophonia and Blue-crowned Motmot. Also visiting the tree and immediate vicinity were a pair of Emerald Toucanets, Baltimore Oriole, 2 Blue-grey Tanagers, 2 Masked Tityras, loads of Clay-coloured Thrushes, 2 Yellow-bellied Elaenia, 2 Yellow-throated Euphonias, Paltry Tyrannulet, Buff-throated Saltator, and a Yellow-faced Grassquit while Boat-billed Flycatchers were noisily everywhere. Around the village the usual Black and Turkey Vultures and Blue & Black Swallows circled over, Tropical Kingbirds perched up and Wilson's Warbler, Yellow Warbler and Tennessee Warbler also put in an appearance.

Golden-browed Chlorophonia (female)

Golden-browed Chlorophonia (male)

Blue-crowned Motmot

Emerald Toucanet

Paltry Tyrannulet

Buff-throated Saltator

Costa Rica Day 14, 19 February 2014 - Santa Elena Reserve and Village

A visit to the Santa Elena Reserve was something I'd been really looking forward to and it certainly didn't disappoint. It sits at a higher altitude than the Monteverde Cloudforest Preserve and gets many less visitors. For this reason I much preferred it here.
After an early breakfast at the Arco Iris Lodge we made our way straight to the reserve to find only about 4 cars on the carpark and thus some nice quiet trails - bliss!

Birds were everywhere right from the start and the first couple of hundred yards took ages to walk because there was so much to look at - Tufted Flycatchers, Black-faced Solitaires, 2 Streaked Xenops, Grey-throated Leaftosser, Purple-throated Mountain-gem, loads of Common Bush Tanagers, Spangle-cheeked Tanager, Three-striped Warbler, Slate-throated Redstart and c4 Ruddy Treerunners. Barred Becard was also and great find.

We walked several of the trails finding a couple of nice feeding flocks containing Brown-billed Scythebill, Lineated Foliage-gleaner, Spotted Barbtail, Ochraceous Wren, Smoky-brown Woodpecker, Yellow-thighed Finch, Golden-winged Warbler, Collared Redstarts, 2 Red-faced Spinetails, Mountain Thrush, Tennessee Warbler and several more Three-striped Warblers. 2 Black Guans also made up having missed one on day 1 at Savegre!

Brown-billed Scythebill

Common Bush Tanager

Three-striped Warbler

Black Guan

I reluctantly left the reserve and once back down in the village we made a beeline to a coffee shop just outside the main village where we had a great cappucino and chocolate-orange brownie! Even better were the fruit feeders out of the back of the shop. In a very short space of time I'd had mind-blowing views of Hoffmann's Woodpecker, Baltimore Oriole, loads of Red-legged Honeycreepers and Yellow-throated Euphonias. Then a strange hummingbird flew in to feed actively on the flowers and I managed to get a few shots before it departed. Examining them later it was very obviously a Canivet's Emerald, totally unexpected and a lifer to boot!

Hoffmann's Woodpecker

Yellow-throated Euphonia

Red-legged Honeycreeper

Baltimore Oriole

Canivet's Emerald

Back at the Arco Iris Lodge and around the village there were good birds too with Yellow-bellied Elaenia, Steely-vented Hummingbird, 2 Brown Jays, c5 Baltimore Orioles, Blue-grey Tanagers, Paltry Tyrannulet, 2 Grey-breasted Wood-Wrens and 2 Emerald Toucanets. Common around the village were Clay-coloured Thushes, Boat-billed Flycatchers, Blue and Black Swallows, Southern Rough-winged Swallows and both vultures were constantly in the air.

Yellow-bellied Elaenia

Boat-billed Flycatcher

Costa Rica Day 13, 18 February 2014 - Arenal area & Bajo del Tigre Childrens Eternal Rainforest

Today was the day we left the Arenal area to travel to the Santa Elena/Monteverde area. Despite looking close on the map it's not possible to drive the direct route due to there being no roads! Instead it has to be a long drive along the north shore of Lake Arenal and then around the west end and then south west, a drive of about 3 hours. As we left Arenal Observatory Lodge I made one final look at the river bridge and this time the Fasciated Tiger Heron was actually there - perseverance pays off! The gardens of the lodge had already revealed Short-billed Pigeon, Black-striped Sparrow and Smoky-brown Woodpecker so it was a happy car as we made our way past the Arenal Dam (which had 4 Amazon Kingfishers perched together, Great Blue Heron and Great White Egret) and began our winding long drive.

Fasciated Tiger Heron

Stopping for coffee and cake in Nuevo Arenal it rained pretty much all the way as we eventually hit the dirt roads for the final 15 miles to Santa Elena village where we'd booked 4 nights at the Arco Iris Lodge. The initial impression of the village wasn't great, very busy and noisy with constant roadworks and high winds and cold drizzle! After checking in and having some lunch in a restuarant in the village we decided on a walk around the nearby Bajo del Tigre Childrens Eternal Rainforest reserve and leave the 2 big reserves for the following days. This nice reserve has a mixture of dry and wet forest but in the first hour or so the high winds made the birding extremely difficult. Eventually the birds started to appear and first up was a White-throated Thrush quickly followed up with an incredible male Long-tailed Manakin, then Ruddy-capped Nightingale Thrush, 2 Lesser Greenlets and an Ovenbird running around on the path. 2 Violet Sabrewings, Wood Thrush and Spotted Woodcreeper followed before I got onto 4 Black-breasted Wood-Quails. We finished up with a lovely and very distinctive White-eared Ground Sparrow on the final loop before heading back to the small visitor centre.

Long-tailed Manakin

Black-breasted Wood-Quail

Costa Rica Day 12, 17 February 2014 - Arenal Hanging Bridges, Arenal NP & Observatory Lodge

A visit to Arenal Hanging Bridges had been on our trip to do list and this morning we went for it - and wished we hadn't! This is the type of place I hate - coach loads of noisy tourists with little real interest in natural history being herded around the trails shouting and whooping and very hard to get past on the narrow paths. I loathed pretty the whole time we were there which was spent trying to avoid people to stand any chance of seeing some birds. Eventually I managed to find White-necked Jacobin, a couple of Swallow-tailed Kites and a welcome Orange-billed Sparrow. A Dusky Antbird then showed briefly but in the end we were just glad to leave.

We'd heard rumours of free public hot springs in the area but hadn't been able to find out where. We had noticed cars parked along a particular stretch of road though and upon investigation of a stream we found it was running hot - bingo! We had a great time wallowing in the the water with the added glow from having not forked out the exhorbitant prices the tacky resorts charge for the same water and plastic rocks! Into the bargain a Scaly-breasted Hummingbird was at the entrance to the track and 2 flying Muscovy Ducks had me doing a double-take!

During the day we also spent time around the lodge gardens and they came up trumps again with a superb Black-crested Coquette and Golden-hooded Tanagers amongst many of the same species as already seen there. Outside the lodge grounds along the entrance track we scooped with a mega Black-and-yellow Tanager high in trees, 2 Melodious Blackbirds, Grey-headed Chachalaca, 4 White-throated Magpie-Jays, Chestnut-mandibled Toucan and 2 Passerini's Tanagers.

Black-crested Coquette

Melodious Blackbird

From mid-afternoon we decided to pay the entrance fee to Arenal NP and walk the trails to the 1993 lava flow. The first part of the walk is boring and birdless through thick bamboo but nearing the lava flow viewpoint 3 Great Curassows showed amazingly well but in dense vegetation and in our extended walk we eventually saw a total of 8 of these beauties including several males. Long-billed Hermits were also pretty common and vocal while we also had 2 Crested Guans.

Great Curassow

Long-billed Hermit

Crested Guan

Lynford Arboretum, 24 March 2014

Nothing to do with Costa Rica this time!

With a day off and only a few chores to do in Diss and Norwich I grabbed the opportunity of a quick trip to Lynford Arboretum this morning. On the way a Red Kite was being mobbed by Rooks over the A143 at Rushford and Fieldfares hinted that winter hasn't quite departed yet. To my delight a small group of birders were already watching Two-barred Crossbills in the larches on the edge of the arboretum on my arrival and within a few minutes I'd got some cracking views of a male and a female. Later on I also had what I'm sure was another different male. With Nuthatch calling, Chiffchaffs, Marsh Tits, Siskins, Lesser Redpoll and c6 Common Crossbills in the sun it was shaping up to be a very pleasant morning. 2 singing Firecrests finished things off nicely, 1 near the folly and another on the edge of the carpark.

On my way into Norwich 2 Common Buzzards were in display near Shipdham.

Two-barred Crossbill, Lynford Arboretum

Siskin, Lynford Arboretum

Apart from a quick nip out after work last week to see a summer plumaged Red-necked Grebe at an undisclosed location this was my first birding since coming back from hols!

Costa Rica Day 11, 16 February 2014 - Arenal Observatory Lodge and Arenal NP

As well as several looks at the lodge gardens today we walked some of the more open trails and farm tracks that are only accessible to lodge visitors/residents. These included a loop of the Waterfall Trail and the Danto Hanging Bridge.
After that we headed out along the dirt access road and did a little exploring along the rough dirt road that connects the Arenal NP reception to the Arenal Dam.

Around the lodge gardens and along the steep access road during the course of the day we clocked up several Bananaquits, Melodious Blackbird, the only Scarlet-thighed Dacnis of the trip, Olive-backed, Tawny-capped and Yellow-throated Euphonias, Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, Crested Guan, Green and Red-legged Honeycreeper. Hummingbirds were represented by Rufous-tailed Hummingbird, Violet-headed Hummingbird and a superb if rather brief White-necked Jacobin. 3 White-crowned Parrots flew through, 2 Black-striped Sparrows showed very well in the flowerbeds whilst amongst the more common daily tanagers we also got 3 new ones for the trip in the form of a gorgeous couple of Emerald Tanagers, a Bay-headed Tanager and a pair of Hepatic Tanagers. That gave us a daily total of 10 tanager species! Other surprises were a White-throated Thrush in bushes at the rear of the garden, a Golden-olive Woodpecker in a dead tree and a mega Black-throated Wren eventually seen well by a viewpoint down the access road by some more of the lodge accommodation blocks. Also along the access road were Grey Hawk and a photographable fly-over Swallow-tailed Kite

Scarlet-thighed Dacnis

Red-legged Honeycreeper

Olive-backed Euphonia

Tawny-capped Euphonia

Emerald Tanager

Tooth-billed Tanager

Black-striped Sparrow

Violaceous Trogon

Yellow-bellied Flycatcher

Swallow-tailed Kite

Grey Hawk

Our main walk of the day was around the Waterfall and Danto Hanging Bridge trail. This goes through a mixture of woodland, pastures and farmland with almost an alpine feel at times. Birds were a little thin on the ground but nevertheless Cinnamon Becard, 2 Grey Hawks, Black Phoebe and in an area of overgrown pastures c8 Thick-billed Seed Finches, 2 White-collared Seedeaters and several Yellow-faced Grassquits are not to be sneezed at!

Thick-billed Seed Finch (male)

Thick-billed Seed Finch (female)

White-collared Seedeater

Black Phoebe

Our afternoon was spent exploring a section of the dirt road that cuts the corner off and joins the Arenal NP HQ with the Arenal Dam. A Squirrel Cuckoo was first up followed by a distant Anhinga on an inlet of the lake. This was quickly followed by some lovely views of a male Lineated Woodpecker and a Long-tailed Tyrant in adjacent dead trees. After that a Dusky-capped Flycatcher was nailed in roadside vegetation close to a Bay Wren, Green Thorntail, 2 Passerini's Tanagers and no less than 4 Black-cheeked Woodpeckers. After grabbing some shopping in La Fortuna the entrance dirt road gave us 3 Grey-headed Chachalacas and a group of White-throated Magpie-Jays. A final stop at the small bridge just before the security gate of the lodge to check for a reported Fasciated Tiger Heron resulted in failure on that score but 2 Green-fronted Lancebills flycatching off rocks in the stream and 2 more Black Phoebes were more than ample recompense!

Lineated Woodpecker

Long-tailed Tyrant

White-throated Magpie-Jay

Grey-headed Chachalaca

Green-fronted Lancebill

Costa Rica Day 10, 15 February 2014 - El Tigre Fields & Arenal Observatory Lodge

Before leaving the area to travel west towards Arenal I wanted to visit a small site mentioned in the Where to Watch Birds book. This being El Tigre Fields, an area of overgrown pasture a short distance south of La Selva. Finding it wasn't too easy but I spotted the entrance beside the main road on our 2nd pass. The gate was locked but with a low wall that was just begging to be climbed we were soon in!

Almost immediately I found a White-winged Kite and then target bird no.1, a superb male Red-breasted Blackbird and in the open habitat the birds followed thick and fast (in stark contrast to forest birding!) - several Groove-billed Ani, 3 Red-winged Blackbirds, several Bronzed Cowbirds, Giant Cowbird, c12 Ruddy Ground Doves and a scattering of Thick-billed Seed Finches. At a wetter reedy area were 3 American Purple Gallinules and Great White Egret. Despite the lack of water Mangrove Swallows were particularly common. With a guy on horseback gesticulating and rattling on in spanish we decided to quit the scene and start the drive to Arenal.

Red-breasted Blackbird

Groove-billed Ani

Ruddy Ground Dove

After a painless drive to La Fortuna near Arenal with White-collared Seedeater bagged on the way we stopped for a coffee before negotiating the 11km dirt road around to the Arenal Observatory Lodge where we were able to check in despite it being early afternoon. The lodge is superbly situated with direct views of the cone of Volcan Arenal, gardens that offer excellent birding and some very nice and varied trails. It does have problems though - the rooms and balconies at the main area look out over a communal area and the restaurant so aren't very private, the restaurant is very over-priced and not great and the reception staff are surly and not very helpful. The lodge is pretty remote too so you have to eat on site in the evenings unless you fancy a 30 minute rough drive to anywhere else.

The entrance track yielded both Roadside Hawk (by the road funnily enough!) and Grey Hawk.

Roadside Hawk

After settling in we decided to walk the River Trail that but it was intially hard to move on from the garden where it was crawling with birds - loads of Montezuma Oropendulas, Violaceous Trogon, Brown Jays, Blue-grey, Palm, Silver-throated, Spangle-cheeked and Summer Tanagers, Red-legged Honeycreeper, Violet-headed Hummingbird and Rufous-tailed Hummingbird.The trail itself is steep and very uneven underfoot, this means you have to keep your eyes down which wasn't very helpful for birding. Once down at the river there were some birds around, notably a small group of Carmiol's Tanagers, Stripe-throated Hermit and Bay Wren On the sweaty walk back up the trail a flock moved through and I was able to get some lovely views of Long-billed Gnatwren, Buff-throated Foliage-gleaner and Streak-headed Woodcreeper. Then, amazingly a female Great Curassow wandered out onto the lodge lawn to feed and at one point had a go at a Long-nosed Coati!