Violet Sabrewing
February 2013 – Monteverde, Costa Rica
What a stunning little bird… and also a bit of a bully. These were the biggest hummers in the group and they knew it – chasing all their cousins away from the feeder.
Violet Sabrewing
Green-crowned Brilliant
Green-crowned Brilliant
February 2013 – Monteverde, Costa Rica
Another of the myriad of hummingbirds swarming the feeder near the entrance to Monteverde reserve.
Purple-throated Mountain-gem
Purple-throated Mountain-gem
February 2013 – Monteverde, Costa Rica
The scene at the hummingbird feeder at the entrance near Monteverde was chaotic. Most of the hummingbirds took just short breaks on the branches nearby.
Slate-throated Redstart
Slate-throated Redstart
February 2013 – Monteverde, Costa Rica
Another common warbler in the cloud forest. These were particularly cooperative photographic models… at least a couple of them were.
Slate-throated Redstart
Another photo of this colorful little bird.
Collared Redstart
Collared Redstart
February 2013 – Monteverde, Costa Rica
These were somewhat common in the cloud forest areas. I also saw some further to the south at upwards of 9000ft elevation.
Collared Redstart
Another photo of this neat little bird…
Black Guan
Black Guan
February 2013 – Monteverde, Costa Rica
This bird randomly landed in a tree next to us… like it’d dropped from outer space and was a bit disoriented. It’s a pretty big bird, and due to the combination of my long lens, and all the tree branches in the way, all I could manage was a clear head-shot. But, it’s got a pretty neat head, so what the heck.
Common Bush-Tanager
Common Bush-Tanager
February 2013 – Monteverde, Costa Rica
This is a fairly common bird, and I wish I had a better photo of one than this. But they’re very active, and the forest understory is pretty dark. So, this will have to do.
Green-crowned Brilliant
Green-crowned Brilliant
February 2013 – Monteverde, Costa Rica
Hummingbirds are common in this area… There is a very popular group of feeders near the entrance, but this one was getting some natural nourishment from a flower along a trail.
Social Flycatcher
Social Flycatcher
February 2013, Santa Elena, Costa Rica
There are a few birds that all have this same general appearance, and it can be a challenge to figure out which is which… but I think I have this one right.
Costa Rica
I’m in recovery. 2 weeks in Costa Rica was sensory overload… especially when it comes to bird life. I spent time all over the country… while the primary goal of the trip wasn’t to see a lot of birds, I still saw a lot of birds. With each post, I suppose I am in danger of transforming from an accidental birder to an intentional one.
I saw 77 new species of birds on the trip, and got photos of all but 4 of them (I also picked-up some good photos of 9 species I’d already seen). Many of the photos are only good enough for ID purposes, but there are a few really good ones mixed in there. I’ll be adding posts to this blog when I get the time… so expect to see new birds popping-up here on a regular basis. I haven’t yet decided just how crummy a photo has to be before I won’t even post it. I guess we’ll see where that line is drawn…
Anyway, here is the list:
| Social Flycatcher |
| Clay-colored Robin |
| Green-crowned Brilliant |
| Slate-throated Redstart |
| Gray-breasted Wood-Wren |
| Purple-throated Mountain-gem |
| Common Bush-Tanager |
| Black Guan |
| Collared Redstart |
| Striped-tailed Hummingbird |
| Coppery-headed Emerald |
| Blue-tailed Hummingbird |
| Green Hermit |
| Violet Sabrewing |
| Green Violet-ear |
| Blue-crowned Motmot |
| Olivaceous Woodcreeper |
| Brown Jay |
| Yellow-bellied Flycatcher |
| Ochraceous Wren |
| Barred Becard |
| Ruddy Treerunner |
| Bare-throated Tiger-Heron |
| Black-throated Trogon |
| Crested Caracara |
| Yellow-headed Caracara |
| Scarlet Macaw |
| Black-striped Sparrow |
| Bananaquit |
| White Hawk |
| Mangrove Black-Hawk |
| Great Kiskadee |
| Roadside Hawk |
| Gray-headed Chachalaca |
| Cherrie’s Tanager |
| Red-lored Parrot |
| Tropical Kingbird |
| Golden-hooded Tanager |
| Blue-gray Tanager |
| Golden-naped Woodpecker |
| Red-legged Honeycreeper |
| Blue Dancis |
| Variable Seedeater |
| Ruddy Ground-Dove |
| Black-hooded Antshrike |
| Mangrove Cuckoo |
| Riverside Wren |
| Great-tailed Grackle |
| Tri-colored Heron |
| Snowy Egret |
| King Vulture |
| Chestnut-mandibled Toucan |
| Boat-billed Heron |
| Yellow-crowned Night-Heron |
| Royal Tern |
| Western Slaty-Antshrike |
| Semipalmated Plover |
| Chestnut-headed Oropendola |
| Prothonotary Warbler |
| Rufous-tailed Hummingbird |
| Passerini’s Tanager |
| Groove-billed Ani |
| Yellow-faced Grassquit |
| Rufous-collared Sparrow |
| Feiry-throated Hummingbird |
| Sooty-capped Bush-Tanager |
| Resplendent Quetzal |
| Black-cheeked Warbler |
| Golden-browed Chlorophonia |
| Black-billed Nightingale-Thrush |
| Volcano Hummingbird |
| Chestnut-backed Antbird |
| Palm Tanager |
Then there are the 4 birds I had a good positive ID, but no photo. This blog is mostly about the bird photos, so there won’t be entries for these birds yet (until some day when I go get a photo of them). So, I wrote a few words about these sightings below.
| Black and White Warbler | Saw one in the Monteverde area right near my car as I was getting into it. It was there one moment in a tree 10 ft from me, gone the next, but absolutely unmistakable |
| Swallow-tailed Kite | One of these was getting harassed by a couple smaller birds over an open meadow in the Osa Peninsula. Not sure what the smaller birds were. |
| Lesser Nighthawk | The driver of our car spotted one of these in the middle of the day, just sitting on the lower branch of a tree… the camoflauge was incredible – you could barely see the bird, even right next to it. I have no idea how Dennis (the driver) saw this bird, but it was pretty cool. I’m just sorry I didn’t insist on getting my camera out until later in the trip. |
| Gray-necked Wood-Rail | These are really loud birds, making an incredible ruckus in the pre-dawn hours near Cahuita. They stayed well-hidden for the most part, but one of them ran across the road just for a second in the dim light. |
Well, that’s it for now… Check back soon for some new birds…