2026 | The Ovenbird Blog

#3 Hotel Quelitales and the Sunbittern

by Ellen Horak | Apr 18, 2026 | 2026

After leaving Paraiso Lodge the second time with my Apple wallet secured in my travel pouch we headed down the mountains from 9,000 feet to about 4,000. feet. Costa Rica traffic is slow but almost everyone is patient. The roads are narrow with almost no shoulders and sometimes only wide enough for one car where the downward traffic has to yield to all the upcoming traffic. The roads are used by large transport trucks, cyclists, motorcycles and then random dogs and people. The speed is usually between 40-60km but seldom do you hit the 60 to be honest. Because of the slow speeds people pass at curves, hills and under what I thought were insane situations – 4-5 cars all passing 2-3 cars or trucks at the SAME TIME WITH CURVES! But the expectation is the opposing traffic is also going slow and will stop or at least slow down. There were a few hair-raising moments but we did not witness any accidents.

Our planned stop was to see Tropical Screech Owls in the local park in Paraiso but when we arrived all the streets appeared blocked. We realized that Saturday is market day and the park was packed with tents and people, music playing and no parking within blocks of the park. We had our suitcases with us so we opted to not stop and leave our car far from the park unattended. We have another opportunity on Monday when we have to come back through to get to our next Lodge. The next planned stop was at the Ruins in Ujjarra a nice ebird hotspot to add some new birds. The parking had two security guards so we felt fine leaving our stuff although Jerry still brought the backpack containing our laptops. Apparently we are fine with all our clothing being stolen but electronics and camera stuff are never left.

As soon as we got out of the car Merlin reported a Yellow-green Vireo. We listened and quickly had no problem locating the song – it is almost identical to our Red-eyed Vireo song and also looks the same. We spent 10 minutes looking for the bird and never seeing it. This has been the frustrating part – so many birds we are able to ID correctly to species with Merlins help but then not able to find them even when the song is repeating in front of you. Dense leaves and tall trees are the reason. But, darn it – we want to SEE the bird!

We moved on and added Common Tody Flycatcher which I saw first but then Jerry saw it later in another part of the park and got pictures. We also added Variable Seedeater, Montezuma Orpendola, Scarlet-rumped Tanager and Yellow-olive Flatbill. We spent a lovely few hours wandering the park and listening to birds before being driven out by a worker using a leaf-blower. I detest leaf blowers and after a few minutes the noise just makes me have to leave. So we never had a second chance to see the Yellow-green Vireo.

Our last stop was at the Cachi Dam 10 minutes away where a Bat Falcon pair were known to nest. It was a one lane road over the bridge with food tents on either end for tourists to stop and see the dam and have something to eat. We stopped on the far side with just one tent and parking on that side. We paid the man $1 to watch our car and walked over the bridge. There was a raptor sitting on a pole down by the dam and we were very excited thinking it was the Bat Falcon and took some pics and video and then left. But both of us were thinking that the bird we saw just did not look like a falcon and the colouring was not right for a Bat Falcon. maybe it was a female or juvie? We would have to check it later. This trip has not left me with time to research birds before we go for them and so we rely on what we remember from going through the birds before we left and really that is not much. Sure enough, that evening we checked pictures and the bird we photographed was a Gray Hawk, a lifer but still, no Bat Falcon. What a rookie mistake, the excitement , the tiredness, all compounds to make your brain switch off from asking the questions to verify a sighting. Anyway we will not dwell on it. We have another opportunity to try for the Falcon on our way back out from the lodge. We did see our first Palm Tanager at the dam as well.

We were only 10 minutes further to our lodge and the last few hundred meters were over a ridiculous rough road. See the attached video. A local explained to us that keeping the roads rough ensures that the people visiting really want to be there. If everything is readily paved and available then it will quickly be over run with “those” kinds of tourists. LOL We had to laugh that they were actively working against having too many tourists but there is some truth to the matter. There are many places world-wide experiencing too many tourists and too many problems from the overcrowding. It was nice to see that greed was not part of the equation, making a decent living was what it was all about and all the lodges we stayed at were family run.

Hotel Quelitales is in the Highlands complete with a waterfall on the property with gardens and trails to search for the many species of birds that reside there. Our cabin, the Orpendolas, was large and beautifully appointed. They also had a few covered blind areas and a covered hummingbird viewing area. We dropped our suitcases off and headed back out to explore the property.

There were now many birds that we had already seen at the last lodge so we concentrated on seeing or hearing something new. We added Dusky-capped Flycatcher, White-breasted Wood Wren, White-throated Thrush, Yellow-throated Euphonia and Yellow-bellied Elaenia. Yes, the names are often difficult and intriguing, leaving us to wonder where they came from? We walked down the road to the waterfalls and checked out the one blind and then headed to the Hummingbird blind where we sat for a bit through a rain shower and added another 4 hummingbirds to our life list.

We took another walk back to a small pond for the bird we really wanted to see, the Sunbittern, a heron with a gorgeous wing pattern in flight. We had checked the pond when we first went out but nothing was there so we went back just before dusk. Jerry saw something move into a small canal past the pond but thought it was a Green Heron. I thought nothing of it and we continued to hang there for another 20 minutes adding a Sulpher-bellied Flycatcher to our life list. We decided with the light fading to head to dinner when Jerry saw something further down the canal. A closer look revealed it to be the Sunbittern!! It was the “Green Heron’ he had seen and we almost missed it. Crazy how silly we can be sometimes – we really should have checked it the first time he saw it. Anyway, we at least get to add it to the list and hopefully we will get good photos of it over the next two days. The photo everyone wants is with its wings spread.

Another delicious dinner followed at this new lodge, not included but reasonably priced. We are not on the birding diet of one meal a day with this trip. We are eating full breakfasts and full dinners every day. It gets dark early in Costa Rica – every day is 12 hrs of sun being so close the the equator – 5:30 am to 5:30pm.

It rained a bit during the night so the morning was wet and humid and Jerry had difficulty with his camera steaming up for the first hour or so but it did finally clear as the sun came up. Immediately outside our cabin, Merlin started reporting numerous birds to us but of course we could not see them. We started systematically trying to match the calls with birds we were seeing in the trees. This got a bit frustrating as we often cannot find the bird to confirm and so we at least try to confirm the call or song. We do not add all the species that Merlin tells us it hears, if we did we would probably have another 20-30 lifers already. Our rule remains that we must hear the bird after Merlin alerts and then confirm later with ebird that it is indeed the right call for that bird. We headed in the general direction of the Sunbittern to get better pics and picked up some lifers along the way. The Sunbittern was happily feeding and Jerry got some nice shots but the crisp wing shot remained elusive for him. We worked the area around the lodge for a few hours, met up with the owner who shared some stories of the lodge and showed us some new birds as well.

Breakfast turned out to be continual birding as we bounced up to watch Montezuma Oropendolas feast on fruit while we did the same and then later an Elegant Euphonia made a brief appearance. Birders with cameras moved to open windows to catch the next beauty that showed up.

We spent the next 3 hours walking the roads again and then taking a few trails into the forest. We scanned trees high and low and listened for calls that Merlin alerted us to and we found a number of lifers on our own with each one giving us a thrill. Crimson Collared Tanager, Bay-headed Tanager, Golden-hooded Tanager, Red-faced Spinytail were awesome and we got better looks at other birds we had already seen. Jerry attempted pictures in between the leaves or over great distances but it was not easy. It was cooler in the forest and very hot and humid out on the road.

At noon we headed to our cabin for showers and a few hours to catch up on photos, figure out what birds we had seen and just rest. Jerry was feeling like a cold was coming on or maybe just some allergies. In the evening we went back out for more pictures of the Sunbittern and then walked the road again adding 4 more lifers in the same stretch we had walked 5-6 times during the day. There seems to be always something different flying through. We had our first views of Keel-billed Toucans at a distance but then they flew over us for a bit of a closer look.

Our second dinner was just as good as the first and we filled up on yummy bread and soup to start. We are finding ourselves falling asleep really early – Jerry at 8:30-9 and me just past 9 which inevitably means we are both awake at 3:30-4am. We then have a bit of time to still catch up on pics and blog notes and figure out what birds we might see or should be looking for. Jerry is already behind by a few checklists. It is daunting work when you take hundreds of pictures and you need to also figure out what bird it is you saw. Merlin is helping a lot with that although it is also not foolproof so we usually double-check with ebird pictures and I’ve used Cost Rica Bird ID Facebook to help us as well.

We were out early for our last morning and only added one lifer before breakfast, the Buff-rumped Warbler. It was only heard as it was in the next yard behind a gate and we could hear it singing and singing but no visual. Hopefully, we will get a view of one somewhere else. We had a larger turquoise and green bird flush when we walked into the blind by the small pond and wondered what it might have been. We spoke with the owner and a guide later and we all came to the conclusion it was likely a Northern Emerald Toucanet. We had heard them but not seen one yet and that view was still not very satisfactory as we did not see the bill, just the back as it flew away. Another one we hope to eventually get good views of.

We headed into breakfast and then while Jerry went to check out I finished putting things in the car and then heard a different song, I pulled Merlin out and it reported Cinnamon Becard. A lifer – I quickly scanned the trees around the car and saw a cinnamon coloured bird with its back to me. I grabbed my camera knowing that Jerry would want me to get a pic. My camera is set on automatic so focusing is a problem when trying to get a bird in a tree of moving leaves but I snapped away and also took a video just in case. Woohoo! Somehow I managed to get a picture of it! We left the hotel with plans to make stops at the Dam and the Park for the Falcon and Owl we missed on the way in.

Birding stop and Hotel Quelitales 55 more species seen 44 of them lifers

#2 Paraiso Quetzal Lodge and the Hunt for a Quetzal

by Ellen Horak | Apr 15, 2026 | 2026

We left Hotel Bougainvillea after breakfast and headed for our first birding stop of the trip – Casa Dowii. This little restaurant/bird-viewing spot is known for its great views of Tanagers and the Buffy- crowned Wood Partridge and Buff-fronted Wood Quail. The distance was only 52km but it took 1.5 hrs because of the mountainous, twisty roads. Generally we were traveling at 50-60kms. We arrived at Casa Dowii as another group was leaving so we had the whole viewing area to ourselves. You pay $20/person to see the birds whether they arrive or not. They even had a wall of windows in the bathroom so you would not miss a bird while on the toilet! Of course I also must mention the “weird” thing about bathroom etiquette in Costa Rica. No toilet paper in the toilet! It is deposited in a covered bin beside the toilet. A bit of getting used to as we are programmed to drop it in the toilet and a bit of an “eewwww” factor but like anything else you get used to it. Jerry has suggested we implement it at home to “save” our septic system but I’m saying NO very strongly on that one.

Within minutes of our arrival they restocked the feeders and the Tanagers arrived. Spangled-cheek, Silver-throat, and Flame-coloured Tanagers entertained us as they came in and out to feast on the fruit. It was lovely to get great views of these birds with them being so close.

We added more lifers as Common Chlorosphigus, Yellow-thighed Bushfinch, Chestnut-capped Bushfinch and Mountain Thrush also visited the feeders.

We waited for an hour or so, had a hot chocolate when we had taken enough pictures and kept waiting hoping for the Quail or Partridge. Nothing, even though we kept the windows closed and were absolutely quiet. Early mornings, of course, are best to see these species but you can only be in one place every early morning so this will likely be a recurring story of our trip.

We went and walked the small trail next to their building where we picked up another 3 lifers but they were “heard only.” As long as we hear the songs/calls numerous times and identify them with Merlin and ebird help we will add them to our lists now and hope that we see them at some point on the trip. There are many birds in Costa Rica that will prove difficult to see staying hidden high up in the canopies or secretive in the dark shrubbery at ground level and so our list will likely have a number of heard only birds this trip. Jerry is already finding it a challenge to get on birds that are not coming to a feeder. It is frustrating to not see a bird that is singing so beautifully and apparently close but we are constricted to trails and the birds are not.

Unfortunately, the Partridge and Quail did not make an appearance after we walked the trail so on to our next destination just another 30 minutes away.

Casa Dowii 14 more different species seen 12 of them lifers

We were a bit early for checkin so we drove a few kilometers further to check out Quetzals National Park. We spent only about 15 minutes in the parking lot and managed to add a couple of lifers – Wrenthrush (HO), Black-capped Flycatcher and White-throated Mountaingem, a hummingbird. We drove back down the road and checked in to Paraiso Quetzel Lodge. The staff were so friendly and welcoming. We had a small cabin with a view over the gardens and cloud forest. It was lovely.

The first time I have been in a hotel that offered hot water bottles! It does get cold in the cloud forest at 9,000ft. The forecast was for 5C overnight! and there was only a small table heater to take the chill off. When I checked the bed I was surprised to see 4 fleece blankets on our bed too!

We settled in and then headed out to the hummingbird deck for the event of a lifetime. The birds were whizzing past, almost landing on us, circling around us and allowed us to be inches from them without stopping their feeding. I took way too many videos and Jerry took many, many pictures. The Fiery-throated Hummingbird was fantastic to see with its colours showing.

Once we had most of the hummers Identified, six lifer species, we turned our attention to the forest around us and suddenly Jerry yelled Quetzal, we both watched this iconic large bird land quite a distance away but not far enough to not recognize that very long green tail. Jerry managed a few poor record shots and just like that we had a Resplendent Quetzal without going on the tour we had booked for the next day. So much for a hunt LOL. I had read stories on FB about people trying for days on end and not seeing any.

Yes, there is a Resplendent Quetzal in that tree – check out that looong tail!!!

We birded along the forest trail for a bit and then made our way back to our room for a quick beer but were interrupted by seeing birds in the garden so ran down the paths to see them better and take pictures. The beer sat for another hour while we followed the many birds until a light rain shower chased us back to our porch. We added lifers with Sooty-capped Chlorospringus, Large-footed Finch, Black-billed Nightingale Thrush, the Black-and-Yellow and Long-tailed Silky-flycatchers, and a favourite, the Slaty Flowerpiercer. This bird uses a hook on its beak to pierce the flower at its base to suck the nectar out of the flower.

Dinner was included and a varied menu was offered only we were asked to decide our dinner during the day and the time we wanted to eat so when we arrived at the appointed time our meal was quickly brought out. The food was even better than the last hotel. It had gotten chilly once the sun went down and we were happy to have the little heater going and the extra blankets. I opted not to use the hot water bottle. We were plenty warm with the extra covers.s

We were up at 4:30am and before we put the lights on I saw this dark spot on Jerry’s pillow when I sat up. I kind of did a swipe at it to brush it off the pillow, not really thinking it was a bug but of course it WAS! and it jumped down beside his body instead of the way I was swiping – away from him. He jumped up, I jumped up. It wasn’t in the bed but it was down his tshirt! We were no longer quiet now, as we scrambled around in the dark. He danced around while quickly taking off his T-shirt and ended up shaking the bug outside the room. UGGGH! We never saw it close up to see what kind of bug it was which was probably a good thing! We had a good laugh about it all but Jerry insisted that I should not try to “save” him by swiping at anything on his pillow in the future LOL. I have no idea why I tried to brush a bug off like that – call it “not quite awake yet” as I would never do that at home! I’d be on the other side of the room.

We had booked a guided tour to see the Quetzal on a private farm and we assumed we would have better views then yesterday. It was a very chilly 5C and I had not brought particularly warm clothing – I had a fleece jacket and just my birding clothes. Jerry suggested I wear my Pj’s underneath! What a great idea! I pulled pants, shirts and jackets over my pjs so I looked a bit like a puffball but I was warm. We heard Dusky Nightjars singing as we walked to the meeting spot – another lifer but one we do not expect to see as it is nocturnal. It was a small group of 10 with the guide and we arrived at the farm just after 5:30am. Within minutes we saw the male Quetzal as it flew in to the calls of the guide. The views were still distant but better than we had the day before. Over the next hour we moved as the Quetzal moved and to be honest, I started feeling bad for the bird. It was reminiscent of the Owl chases in Ontario. This bird and its mate had just started nesting and here we, and another 2 tour groups were moving up and down the hills trying to get views of it wherever it perched. I know Costa Rica tries to find the balance between tourism and ethical wildlife management but I was a bit uncomfortable. The nest site was staked out as well, but at a distance and the birds have nested there 3 years so they appear unbothered by humans. We were lucky to see another male arrive in the area so the two males were acting a bit territorial. The guide was telling me that there were often 200 people a day visiting that nesting site.

Once we had seen the Quetzals and taken pictures I turned my attention to the other birds around and really would have liked our guide to listen and tell us about other birds but the other people on our tour were not birders and clearly only interested in seeing the Resplendent Quetzal. I feel we had the possibility of adding a few more lifer birds if we had a different guide on this tour but it is what it is.

We arrived back in time for breakfast and then headed back out to the trails to bird.

I had originally intended to bird at the National Park just 6 km away and maybe visit another well know lodge but we were finding our energy level low and the thin air made hiking up and down trails slow. Or we are just plain OLD! We opted to stay and do the lodge trails and see what else we could find on our own. The bird I most wanted to get before we left was the Golden-browed Chlorospringus, a fantastic neon coloured bird. One of the guides had suggested the area to check at the lodge and so we headed there. We moved around a bit and then came back past the spot and suddenly a male and female flew in. Only a few quick looks before they flew off but what stunning colours!

We added a few more lifers through the afternoon, Ruddy Treerunner, Flame-throated Warbler, Ruddy-capped Nightingale Thrush and took a quick nap before heading back out for a last birding walk before dinner. We walked up the back road and added Yellow-winged Vireo before heading for another delicious dinner.

In the morning we managed to add another lifer on our early morning walk – We heard the continual calling of a Northern Emerald Toucanet. This is a bird we absolutely want to see at some point but it will go on the list now. After a hearty breakfast and a last stop with the hummingbirds we drove off to our next destination at a bit of a lower altitude.

About 10 minutes away from the lodge I suddenly had a thought that I had not seen my little Apple wallet that attaches to the back of my phone. Why this came into my mind I have no idea but thankfully it did. I did a quick look in my pouch were I had my passport and money stashed, the wallet and those items had been in the safe in the room since we arrived. The wallet was not there. I questioned Jerry as he had taken everything out of the safe. He said he had and had ran his hand over the bottom – nothing was in it. We pulled over. I quickly went through pockets and bags but I knew it had been put in the safe and I had not used it the two days we were there. I insisted that we had to go back. I texted the lodge and let them know we were on our way back and what i was missing. We were so lucky that we were not far away. I went back into the room and checked the safe and there was my wallet stuck to the side of the safe! Its magnetic of course so it probably flipped up from the bottom when Jerry took stuff out. In all fairness to him, the lighting was not great in our room either to really look into the safe. Whew! a lesson learned early, and with no repercussions. Safes will be checked carefully the rest of the trip.

I highly recommend Paraiso Quetzal Lodge for any birders heading to Costa Rica. The service was wonderful, the lodge is lovely, rooms are basic and large with fantastic views out over the cloud forest. Our room faced west and the sunset was beautiful. This was also one of the most reasonable priced places -two nights with breakfast and dinners for $286US. The Hummingbird experience alone is worth going but the gardens and trails have lots of birds to see as well and it was not far off the main highway compared to other lodges in the trip. It is only a short distance to Quetzal National Park and the road to the San Gerardo de Dota birding area. Our room was up off the reception area and I would probably take a cabin a bit further into the garden next time as we sometimes could here kitchen staff talking during the day but not an issue as we were not in the room for the most part and it was quick to the parking lot and the restaurant.

Paraiso Quetzal Lodge 29 more species added with 24 of them Lifers!

#1 Hotel Bougainvillea March 10-12

by Ellen Horak | Apr 6, 2026 | 2026

Costa Rica is often the first destination for birders that want to see South American birds. With over 900 bird species reported in this very small country it is easy to see why it is a popular destination for birders. Many week long birding tours see a few hundred species and 21 day tours can see 500-600! Tours allow you not to worry about anything but they are also very expensive. I was hoping to spend half of what a tour for both of us would cost. After 3 years of chasing numbers with the Big Years I was not interested in quantity, and rushing from place to place in an effort to see as many birds as possible. I wanted quality birding. I wanted to immerse ourselves in the country, in the birding. So instead of just booking a tour I made up one for us, loosely based off a 21 day tour but staying longer at lodges and missing some areas of the country. I booked the best known birding lodges for 2-3 days each knowing that we would have guides to help us and then I found birding spots to stop at on travel days between the lodges. I wanted things to be relaxed, so there would be time for birding walks each morning, breakfast at the lodge and then a 2.5-4 hours drive to the next destination with a birding stop or two along the way. That sounded heavenly compared to our Big Year birding with 10-12 hours drives between places.

Car rentals were not easy to figure out – many comments on Costa Rica Travel FB sites warned me of the extra insurance that is often not mentioned in the first booking and you find the price doubles when you pick up your vehicle because of this mandatory Costa Rican insurance. Jerry had booked something and we found out that the cheap price would indeed double on pickup due to the insurance not mentioned and so we canceled and looked for something else.

I found a car from Costa Rica 4×4 Car Rentals with profits going to the Wet Nose Dog Rescue. We are not dog people as many of you know but we are always keen to give back to the local community when we travel rather than the big corporations. Who am I kidding? It was way cheaper! That is the real reason! The cars, however, are 10-20 years old which made me a bit nervous (a lot nervous actually) having never owned a car older than 7 years. But, I figured worse case we could always find another car if something happened. Look at me, being all Pura Vida! before the trip even!

Once things were all booked we focused on familiarizing ourselves with as many of the birds as we could. We spent many evenings going through the illustrated checklist for Costa Rica on ebird and looking at photos, listening to calls and then trying to remember names the next day. Slowly, we became a bit more familiar with a number of the birds we hoped to see.

And suddenly, it was time to pack our bags and head to Toronto…

Our Air Canada flight landed at 10:45 pm in San Jose. We cleared immigration and customs in minutes, the advantage to arriving late at night. I had read stories on FB about people taking 3 hours to get through immigration!! We met Adrian with our car, an 11 year old Toyota Rav 4×4 right outside the airport and signed documents, paid and were on our way to the hotel 20 minutes away. The ride was quick but with no street signs we just turned when Waze told us to and for the most part the streets were empty of people and cars making it a pretty easy drive.

We heard our first two birds of the trip when we checked in just after midnight. Ferruginous Pygmy Owl and Common Pauraque were calling on the hotel grounds but neither of those birds were lifers having seen and heard them in Texas years ago. We fell asleep quickly but I woke up at 4:30 to the strange calls of a bird and just had to put Merlin on to find out it was our first lifer, a Clay-coloured Thrush, which is also Costa Rica’s national bird. Not one of the fantastically coloured birds but this rather drab looking bird with a fantastic, powerful song.

We tried to go back to sleep for a bit and were up again and dressed by 5:30 to head out into the garden that was full of bird sound. It was overwhelming to see and hear birds we had not seen before. I used Merlin to give us the heads up about what was possibly singing and we used that to search out and confirm our identifications. We were surprised by how many we did recognize from all our memory work before the trip. We met a couple from Guelph and we worked on some ID’s together and then passed each other numerous times over the next couple of hours.

Hotel Bougainvillea is a known hot spot for birders and often the chosen destination to start any Costa Rica trip. It has 10 acres of gardens and water features that host a few hundred species of birds. They are not all there all the time obviously but we hoped to use this time to get familiar with the common species. After leaving the drabness of Ontario in March the gardens were a feast for our eyes!

We quickly had lifer Red-billed Pigeon, Social Flycatcher, Melodious Blackbird, Rufous-backed Wren, Crimson-fronted Parakeet, White-fronted Amazon, Hoffmann’s Woodpecker, Cabanis’s Wren, Rufous-tailed Hummingbird and Gray-headed Chachalaca. The bird I had really hoped to see was a Mottled Owl that roosts in the huge bamboo near the pool but despite usually being seen, it was not found that first day. We heard a very sweet song in one corner of the garden, Merlin ID’d it as a Rufous-browed Peppershrike. We listened and kept listening trying to zero in on where the bird was, Heather and Greg from Guelph joined us. Eventually Heather saw it in a different tree but the rest of us did not get on it as it quickly disappeared. We added it to our lifer list because we had actively heard it singing for a significant amount of time and I hope that we will get a chance to see it.

Somewhere in there is a Mottled Owl

By 7:15 we were starving, our dinner on the plane was hummus and crackers so we were ready to fuel up but it was super hard to leave the birds and take the time to eat. The buffet was included in our stay and gave us our first taste of the famous Costa Rican Gallo Pinto, which is basically rice and beans mixed with onion, peppers and cilantro. The breakfast was yummy and we chowed down quickly and then dressed down as it had gotten quite warm and headed back to the gardens.

We had missed seeing a Lesson’s Motmot the first session and we ended up having the experience of the day with one after. I had spotted the first one on a shaded path right above Jerry’s head but the second one was out in the open and this one showed us the wonderful “swinging” of its tail before flying off the branch directly at us and landing on the grass near our feet for the briefest of seconds, (long enough to pick up an insect) and flying back to another branch. I was in awe of the brilliant turquoise colour. Just stunning.

Things were starting to slow down, there were less calls and song as the temperature soared to 27C. By 11:30 we decided to take a break. We wanted to grab some beer and snacks from the supermarket a 10 minute walk away so we did that in the hottest part of the day. After a refreshing cold beer and some chips we took a much needed nap.

We headed back out around 3:30 but things didn’t pick up until 4:30-5:00. We added a couple of lifers, Lineated Woodpecker and White-tailed Kite. We did find 2 more Lesson’s Motmots in the front garden that gave us great views and video. Dusk was coming and night happens swiftly here so we went to shower and dress for dinner.

We were up again just after 4am not being able to sleep more and caught up with more pics and the blog notes before heading downstairs for 5:30. The Mottled Owl we missed yesterday was the bird I most wanted. We headed for the bamboo stand right away and the maintenance staff came out to help us look and quickly found the owl right by the path and in clear view. It was still quite dark but Jerry managed to lighten things on his camera and my phone camera did a decent job considering the low light.

The next agenda item was to see the Peppershrike we heard yesterday but could not find. We heard it sing within minutes but again could not find it before it flew away and sang again from the adjacent property.

We added a few more lifers, Boat-billed Flycatcher and Orange-chinned Parakeet and had better views of some of the other birds. A really good morning and by 7:30 we headed in to have breakfast excited to head out to our next destination.

Blue-gray Tanager

I am glad we decided to stay at Hotel Bougainvillea, it was a nice beginning to our trip, the grounds and gardens always hold new surprises each day. It is a gated hotel with security on the street 24/7. The rooms were comfy, the food was delicious and the staff very friendly. Jerry lost a camera battery on the grounds and a British birder picked it up and gave it to the front desk so when we asked on the off- chance it had been found the staff were happy to hand it back to him. It is popular and can be pricey if you have to take a more expensive room, as we did, so I can understand why people might hesitate to stay and in our case we paid for a “night” that we were only there from midnight on. I would probably skip this on a return trip and find something cheaper and closer to the airport before heading to other destinations. But it was a great introduction to some of the birds. We opted to stay at the much cheaper Holiday Inn right beside the airport the night before our flight back.

Hotel Bougainvillea – We saw 43 species of birds with 24 of them Lifers

March 1 The End of Pajama Days

by Ellen Horak | Mar 1, 2026 | 2026

After my last blog February 8 we continued to only bird on nice weather days. We opted to drive into Hamilton on a sunny but cold day to traverse the Lake in hopes of Scoters and some Owl species. It has been a strange year with Lake Erie almost completely frozen and Lake Ontario with huge areas close to shore frozen. Standing at the lake you can hear loud “KRACKS” as the ice cracks along the shore. We had our best views of Black and Surf Scoters because the ducks were in small areas of open water surrounded by ice which meant no waves! Usually our views are far out and glimpses in the scope between waves. They were still quite a distance for Jerry’s camera but he did manage some recognizable shots and the looks through our scope were lovely.

After checking all the openings to the Lake we eventually ended up at 50 Point, the known spot for owls in the winter. We walked the usual area but did not find any Saw-whet owls and so headed to another area. Carefully scouting pines and spruce we checked for any visible lumps. Jerry found a carcass of a rabbit and a medium size owl flushed from a nearby tree. A Long-eared Owl. Margaret texted to ask about owl sitings and to let me know she was at 50 Point so we quickly spoke and met up. We continued along the path and another birder alerted us to a Long-eared Owl and as Jerry moved closer to the tree to see if he could see the Long-ear on the other side he came face to face with a tiny Northern Saw-whet Owl! Two owls in the same tree. We quickly backed away and quietly managed a few pictures before leaving it in peace. Angela and Michael also joined us at Fifty Point so they got to see the Saw-whet too. These owls are seen by a lot of people – there exact where-abouts are not posted on Discord and many people hide their lists on ebird but it is a known park for photographers, birders and just locals that like seeing nature. The owls return year after year and despite the popularity of the place we have not witnessed large gatherings of people disrupting the owls. Hopefully, like us, they snap a bad pic and then go on their way.

We met up with Angela and Michael the next day to see the celebrity Virginia Rail at F.W.R. Dickson and had quick looks, but no pictures as it scurried out to grab a peanut we had just brought to help it through the continuing cold. We then headed to Brant Park but only a bit of the main road was plowed and it was really tough going through the softening deep snow on some of the more popular paths. There were few birds and no owls and as we headed out a small snowstorm arrived so we opted to call it a day and head out for dinner.

On the Family Day weekend a rare Barrow’s Goldeneye was reported in Cambridge only 15 mins away from us so we had to take a look at it. We were heading to Keira’s for a family dinner but my food was ready to go and we had an hour before we needed to leave. We arrived at the Blair Lookout where birders had it in their bins so I got the scope out and after some time managed to get on it as it constantly dove for food. Eventually, everyone had good scope looks and Jerry walked down the road to access the river at another spot to get some pictures. While we were there an Iceland Gull flew by so we added 2 birds to the year list. I am interested in just how birding like this will pan out in real numbers, no chasing great distances but just waiting for the birds to show up close to us or by accident when we are out seeing other things. We had parked down a bit of a slope in some snow and with the warmer temps the snow was super slippery so with our “seasonal” tires we could not get back out onto the main road – it was super silly, not even that much of a hill. After repeated tries we needed a helping push from the birders that had congregated for the Barrow’s. Thanks Guys!

The next day we walked local trails following reports of some interesting birds in the neighbourhood. There was a Long-tailed Duck down at the trail head which is unusual on the river and in Brant County but certainly we had seen thousands of them on the Canal in Hamilton.

Then we headed onto the rail trail walking up from Paris towards Glen Morris as a Red-shouldered Hawk had been seen in the morning. We ran into Bill and had a nice chat and saw a number of species while we chatted but no Red-shouldered Hawk after the initial report. This is the first year that we have not had one in our yard after 6 consecutive winters of a Red-shouldered Hawk visiting. I’ve certainly been home more than other years but have not managed to see one.

A week or so later we were heading to Benson’s hockey game in Beamsville in the late afternoon and decided to quickly stop at 50 Point to try for a third owl species – a Great Horned Owl. Apparently, there was a possible nesting pair. We walked the area we had heard they were known to roost in but did not see any large lumps. We scanned another area, chatted with a local that said they had not seen them that day and so we decided to head out as the light was fading. Just as we started to drive along the road, I looked to my right and saw a lump in a small evergreen just off the road. We got out of the car and had glimpses of an alert Great Horned Owl through the branches and trees. Jerry took a picture and then the owl started moving around placing his back to us and stretching a bit and then he flew off back to the area they have been seen in probably to start the night’s hunt.

Jerry was struggling with his photography through most of the month after getting new lenses in his glasses and discovering that they had made them transitional lenses by mistake. With any sunlight or daylight the glass darkened on him and he had great difficulty seeing through the camera lens. It has been a frustrating few weeks for him. Thankfully they have now been changed again so he can finally see through the viewfinder.

Since then we have not birded except for our backyard feeders. We have added a few early migrants, the first Red-winged Blackbirds have arrived and today we had our first Common Grackle and a Sharp-shinned Hawk chased after the Doves in the yard. There is the “feel” of spring. A warmer day here and there, then another cold spell but we are closer to spring every day. The days are getting incrementally longer and the worst of winter should be behind us. The pajama days have come to an end. With as little birding as we have done this year we are still at 90 species seen since January 1. This is about average for us most years in Ontario, and as expected, quite a bit below our big years where by this time in 2024 we were at 145 and last year we were at 107 species in Ontario.

In other news…We have been busy finalizing all our travel plans for Costa Rica, trying to find required items for our trip and making sure we have most eventualities covered. Our focus most evenings has been to learn as many birds of Costa Rica as we can, or at least familiarize ourselves with the bird families and some calls. We will have guides for many of our outings but we also plan to bird on our own as well. Many birders opt to just write a cheque (a big cheque) and take a tour so that they need not worry about anything but seeing the birds and it is very tempting to travel that way but for two of us the cost is hard to justify. Certainly there are countries that a tour would make the most sense but Costa Rica is safe, we have heard, and easy to find your way around so we will give it a go. I do not think I will be blogging while we are away, but you never know. I suspect that evenings will be spent figuring out pictures and calls of species seen so that we can submit accurate ebird lists as least. I plan to journal our whole trip and then put together blogs when we get back with hopefully some great pictures and stories to share. This will likely not be until April when it will truly be spring here! Until then….

Happy Birding!

Feb 8 – Venturing out of hibernation….

by Ellen Horak | Feb 8, 2026 | 2026

Finally February! I’m one of those people that struggle through winter – I hate the cold, hate the snow, ice, wind. Hate the multiple layers, thick mitts, puffy coats, big boots making movement and birding a huge effort. Birding at least gets me out of the house but I have to admit that this year without a goal its hard to get me out of PJ’s. I think I have hit a record number of days spent in my PJ’s this last month with the continual double-digit negative temperatures and constant winds and squalls. I’ve enjoyed watching the birds at our feeders and I have made an effort to get on the treadmill in the basement and shovelled snow to at least keep up some semblance of physical activity. I’ve also been reading a few books a week, completed 8 jig-saw puzzles and been making all our favourite comfort foods. Hoping my clothes still fit in another month LOL.

We put in a display at our local library for February titled “Blind Date with a Book” where we wrap up books and just write a little blurb on the front to peak interest so in that spirit I’ll share some book recommendations in case some of you are looking for something new – I am an eclectic reader and willing to read anything interesting.

Careless People – Sarah Wynn-Williams – memoir from a FB employee!

Three Days in June – Anne Tyler – classic relationship story from Anne Tyler

Atmosphere – Taylor Jenkins Reid – women and NASA!

All Her Fault – Andrea Mara – mystery with lots of twists

Whistle Linwood Barclay – thriller in the Steven King style

The Reason You Walk – memoir Wab Kinew (Premier of Manitoba) current read – future first Indigenous PM?

But you want to hear about the birding, right? We have only gotten out 8 times in the last month. Quite a difference from last year when we took a trip to BC and out birding most days. Back on Jan 12 we tried for local owls at Brant Park and flushed a Long-Ear Owl that was in a tree close to the road. We always feel bad when they flush as we know they need the rest. It flew out right overtop of us and went deeper into the forest where hopefully it was not disturbed again. A few days later on our way to a hockey game in Oakville we decided to actually “chase” a rarity and headed to Desjardin Canal where a Greater White-fronted Goose had been reported. Unfortunately it had flown off just before we arrived so we continued onto LaSalle Marina and checked through all the ducks again adding another 4 duck species for the year.

Pied-billed Grebe the consolation for no Goose

Two days later we were out again meeting up to bird with Angela and Michael. What a crazy day! Snow Squalls were in the forecast and boy did we get hit. We had been in beautiful sunshine at Bayfront Park and drove 3 minutes over to Pier 8, got out of our cars and were hit with a wall of snow. I wish I had taken a pic of us! We walked/ran to Williams Cafe and arrived looking like snowmen! We opted to grab hot chocolates and talk about birding instead of trying to bird. Once things had cleared up we headed to Windemere and Sayers Park adding another couple of birds for the year. The real purpose of the day was to grab some yummy Mexican food at Mesa on James Street. Always a fun time with Angela and Michael with soooo much laughter!

It would be another 10 days before we birded again due to the weather- lots of PJ days. We drove local roads for Snow Buntings, Jerry had added them to his list a few days before while running errands, and we managed to catch up with a few flocks but at a distance in the fields. We then headed to Waterworks Park and spent a lovely afternoon hiking along the river. We scanned carefully as you never know what rare goose might be tucked in with the hundreds of Canada Geese that rest along the riverbank.

Taking a “short-cut” back left us in deep snow

Two hours after we got home a report came in that a Snow Goose had flown in. Yeesh! The following day Bill saw it first thing in the morning, we headed to yoga, and he confirmed it was a Ross’s Goose – a “bigger” rarity. We headed out after yoga but worried the goose might have gone off to feed as they are apt to do and indeed it was not seen after 10:30. We opted to visit Babi first and then walked the river just before dusk hoping we would catch it flying back in but it was never seen again. Not having much luck chasing things.

A couple of days later, on a sunny, cold, calm day we opted to visit the Burlington Canal at the Liftbridge. In very cold winters with a lot of ice along the shores of Lake Ontario the wintering ducks will congregate in the canal giving birders close up views of thousands of ducks. We were hoping to find Surf and Black Scoter to add to our year list but again dipped on both species.

Thousands of Long-tails,Golden-eyes, Scoters, Mergansers

Redheads, Common Goldeneye, White-winged Scoter, Long-tailed Ducks

The next day we drove up into Mennonite Country northwest of Kitchener the known spot to see Snowy Owls. We headed to the road where reports had come in and saw another car pulled over. That is almost always another birder and sure enough it was Bob who we have run into before around Hamilton and up in Rainy River.

They had not seen any owls although people had 5 the day before. We drove around and then ended up crossing paths again with none of us seeing anything. Shortly after I saw a weird lump out in a field and stopped for a look. I asked Jerry to take a pic to confirm and he said it was just a lump of snow.

This is what you are looking for if you are not lucky enough to have an owl sitting on a pole or fence

I couldn’t let it go. Something about it just did not seem like a lump should be there and the colouring was more white than the blue-white of snow. I insisted we get out the scope and IT WAS A SNOWY OWL – a beautiful Male, pure white.

I called Bob and he headed to where we were. It was so far back in the field but it was our first Snowy this year and we sure were not disturbing it. Bob had family with him and they had nice views in the scope. We got back in our car and drove a bit more and then headed a bit further north where other owls had been reported. Turning onto another gravel road a car was pulled over with a birder out of the car so we pulled over. He had 2 Snowies, one female on a silo and a male in the tree line. A Rough-legged Hawk flew past at a distance. The Owls were also quite a distance away but we got out and got the scope out and suddenly cars were stopping all over and I had a line-up at the scope for people to view the owls. It was bitter cold but I love sharing those moments with people that are thrilled and excited to see something for the first time. They are always amazed at how close the bird is in the scope. We finally moved on as did the owls and drove up a bit further to see our 4th Snowy of the day up on another silo at the next crossroad. A fun-filled birding day.

So here we are closer to spring every day. While Bluebirds overwinter in this area their bright colour at the feeder makes us think of warmer days. We have been leaving some mealworms for the Virginia Rail that made it through the coldest week and Jerry got a cute pic of a curious Tufted Titmouse doing a drop-off.

I have spent many, many hours in the last month planning a trip to Costa Rica in March and that has been a tad overwhelming. The number of bird species typically seen over a few weeks can top 3-400 and the vast majority would be lifers for us. The birds come in every colour and the names are crazy – Golden-browed Chlorophonia, Bare-necked Umbrellabird, Three-wattled Bellbird, Scaly-throated Foilage-gleaner, Checker-throated Stipplethroat, Purple-crowned Fairy. And hundreds of other names that are hyphenated and similar to other names. We are scrolling slideshows every few days hoping that some of the names and pictures will stick so we will not be totally overwhelmed when we get there. I am taking the approach of quality over quantity and just planning on spending time at the different eco lodges that offer birding on their grounds with guides. Most people take tours where they can see hundreds of birds over a short period but I hope to make this a bit of a relaxed tour with time for afternoon swims and leisurely drives. It will be tough to get great pictures in rain forests but we hope to have the time to be patient and wait around to see and get as many pics of birds as we can, a luxury that many of the tours do not have.

I promised in my last blog a Birding Spectacle Blog coming but I still have not composed it so bear with me and I hopefully will get to it in the next few weeks or it can wait till later in the year.

Most of you know when I post a blog because you follow on FB but I know a few of you have left FB or do not have it. I plan on setting up a notification with email so if you would prefer to sign up for an email notification when I post a new blog let me know and I can add you. Send an email to ellyhorak at gmail dot com.

Till next time…

January 11 Non-urgent Birding – the new trend!

by Ellen Horak | Jan 11, 2026 | 2026

No alarm was set for January 1 but I was awake at my usual winter 7:30am time and saw my first bird of the year on my way to make tea – a beautiful male Northern Cardinal. I started a list and saw 11 species over the next 1.5 hours. Jerry opted to stay in bed and so he started his own list later – the horror! separate lists! it had not happened often in the last three years. I had seen a Cooper’s Hawk shortly after I got up so after he added the usual suspects I was AHEAD of him by 1 bird! LOL This is of course all in jest. After being tied to one another for 3 years and sharing almost all our birding moments it was refreshing to not. We trash talked a bit, kibitzing back and forth about competing with each other this year, and of course the Cooper’s Hawk returned and so we were again – even.

We opted to head out and see if we could add two rarer birds to the year’s list but had no luck with the White-winged Crossbill or the Dickcissel that we saw at the end of 2025. And you may ask why were we even “chasing” something on the first day of January? All I can say in our defence is it is a bit of an adjustment and hard to break habits. Over the next few days we discussed what this year would look like and decided that we would not be chasing rarities unless they were lifers or maybe a new bird for Ontario. We would rather just plan birding outings to favourite places to bird and see what we turn up. I do not want to chase the 300 year after year either. We know what kind of driving is involved with getting to that number. We decided we were going to practice “non-urgent birding” for at least this year.

The grandkids came for a sleepover on the weekend and we stopped at F.W. Dickson so they could feed the birds and we could show them the wintering Virginia Rail. We waited patiently for 20 minutes, in the cold, the kids were both really quiet and still feeding birds and waiting but no Rail appeared. At 25 minutes the patience had worn thin, I negotiated 5 more minutes explaining that you had to be patient for bird watching, sometimes for hours, they were not impressed. At 30 minutes we started to walk away and I stopped to chat with a birder when a shout came from behind, “It’s here!” We quickly back-tracked and the kids had good views as it came out to the tiny puddle that remains unfrozen. We happily watched for another 5-10 minutes as it moved about. Hunter saw it flap its wings as a squirrel chased it from the tangle. They were suitably impressed and excited that indeed, their patience had been rewarded.

Not a great pic but we opted to give the bird space, you can see some of the meal worms rehydrated that we left for it.

At lunch I asked if it might have been their “spark” bird but they answered in the negative. I remain hopeful that one of my four grandchildren will become a birder but at least they all know bird names and love nature and birds.

On Sunday we participated in the Brantford Christmas Bird Count checking our usual areas. We started a bit later in the morning this year hoping there would be more activity as the day warmed up and it seemed to work as we added more species at each stop than our previous years. A number of the birds were FOY ( First of the Year) birds for us too.

Last year, if you remember I could not find a Brown Creeper for 28 days in January and of course this year I have already seen a dozen. How strange birding can be. We have two Cooper’s Hawks, an adult and a juvenile, using our feeders as an all-you- can-eat buffet. They seem to hunt every 2-3 days and it seems to take them 4-5 attempts before they are successful. Doves are their main prey and we have watched 4 disappear in their talons in the past weeks. We have about 30 Mourning Doves coming to the feeder so they seem to be set for the winter months. When we visited Babi this week and took her for a walk on that one warm day we saw a Cooper’s Hawk catch one of the Rock Pigeons that frequent the gardens there. Everything needs to eat.

Weather and home jobs kept us from birding for the next few days and finally on Thursday the sun shone and the temperature climbed. We opted to go to LaSalle Park and Marina, a favourite spot for wintering ducks and swans. It was lovely to have no agenda, no “must-sees” and I noted to Jerry as we walked the path that in the previous years I would have been constantly thinking about what else we needed to add or where we should go next. It was quite freeing to just be and enjoy the birds.

Check out that huge Grebe foot! Their feet are at the very back of their bodies making it impossible to walk on land. You can tell a Tundra Swan by the bit of yellow beside its eye. They are also noticeably smaller beside Trumpeter Swans. Below is a video of the bonding ritual head bobbing of the many Trumpeter Swan pairs that spend the winter at LaSalle in Burlington.

We added a few more birds on a local walk Friday at Cavan Flats. The Northern Mockingbird is not often found in Brant County so it was exciting to see one locally.

I have weaned myself from most of the birding information that was my normal routine for the last few years. Instead of hourly needs and rare bird alert emails I now just get one rare bird email a day. I still get rare alerts on Discord for all the counties in Ontario but I don’t check them as often and as spring ramps up I will likely just subscribe for the local areas that I am in. I still find myself checking the “Top 100” listing every few days, not to see where I am but to see if anyone is attempting a Big Year. We’ve seen 63 species in these first weeks and plan to have an owling adventure and a winter lake watch to see more wintering ducks over the next weeks. We are also planning a trip outside Canada to open the door to world-wide birding – a scary expensive proposition. I also have a first birding spectacle to share with you in an upcoming blog. I know, I know, how dare I leave you hanging in anticipation LOL. Til next time…

Happy Birding