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.
Green -crowned BrilliantViolet SabrewingGreen HermitGreen Thorntail
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.
Keel-billed Toucan
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.
Cinnamon Becard
Birding stop and Hotel Quelitales 55 more species seen 44 of them lifers
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.
Won’t miss a bird using the bathroom
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.
Common ChlorospringusYellow-thighed BushfinchChestnut-capped BushfinchMountain Thrush
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.
American Breakfast with the best bacon!
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!
Golden-browed Chlorospringus
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!
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.
Screenshot
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.
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.
Lesson’s Motmot
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.
Mottled Owl
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.
Crimson-fronted Parakeet
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
