10th - August - San Jose to Bajos del Toro, Costa Rica

For the first time for a very long time we were returning to a holiday destination we have visited before.  Following a night at Gatwick we were up and checking in at the South Terminal for a ten and a half hour flight to San Jose, Costa Rica.  We had visited 5 years ago, and had a wonderful time, and this year decided it was time to go back.  As we finally crossed the Caribbean Sea, heading into Costa Rica, the plane found its way a round the towering clouds that were delivering thunderstorms to the area.  We arrived on time and were taken to our hotel on San Jose, a stop over before heading off in the morning.  We struggled to stay awake with the seven hour time difference, and spent dinner to the accompaniment to a very loud thunderstorm, a sign no doubt of the weather conditions to expect in our time here.

Surprisingly we managed a good night's sleep, but were still up early to see the sunrise around 6.00am.  Outside the window a pair of Rufous-naped Wrens called and bizarrely a woodpecker that I couldn't see well enough to identify tapped on the wall.

We had some time before our pick up, so after breakfast we went for a walk.  The hotel grounds were not much to speak of so we found ourselves walking outside along the road.  This took us past some garden populated with flowering bushes. Despite the time of day it was very warm and humid, and there were many butterflies about.  At this stage I didn't have my camera set up, so had to rely on the camera in my phone.  The first spectacular butterfly was a Blue Cracker but this was impossible to photograph.  I had though seen and photographed one on our last visit.  large yellow butterflies passed us by, not settling but there were encouraging signs as the smaller ones would settle.

This is one of the "sister" butterflies, so called because the white flashes resemble a Nun's clothing, they are part of the Nymphalidae family of butterflies, this one is Adelpha Iphiclus, or the Pointed Sister.  It turned out to be quite a common butterfly through out our trip.

Next a Banded Peacock, or Fatima, this butterfly is from the same family as the sister butterflies, and again  was quite common.

 There were several small skippers that were very difficult to capture properly on a phone camera, and I hope I come across them again as we travel around.  This one though was more confiding, a Brown Longtail, unfortunately minus its long tails, which we realised they should have when we did see them again.  These are from the Hersperiidae family of skipper.

 There were more but the quality of photographs was not good, so I decided to leave them for now in the hope we would find them elsewhere.  It was though a pleasant start to the holiday.  As we waited for our pick up to take us to our first destination we sat by the pool and were entertained once again by the antics of the tame Rufous-naped Wrens.

We headed out of San Jose and up slowly into the mountains, our destination a lodge just outside Bajos del Toro, which was about a 90 minute journey north from San Jose.  The route took us through Sarchi.

Long before the roads of Costa Rica were flooded with huge trucks and Eco-tourism vans there was the simple Ox cart.  These were brightly painted and used by the farmers to transport sugar cane and coffee beans.

For over 100 years, farms near Sarchi have been producing some of the country’s best coffee beans. Needing a sturdy way to transport this precious cargo to ports on the coast, a demand for ox-drawn carts was born. The earliest oxcarts of Sarchi dating back to the late 1800s were simple and functional. But as time went on, craftsmen began incorporating their own unique markings to distinguish their carts. By the beginning of the 20th century, competition among artisans was strong, and carts were decorated with elaborate geometric patterns, similar to the designs that can be seen today.  Sarchi is about 30 minutes from San Jose, and when you arrive you can't fail to realise this is the Oxcart centre of Costa Rica.

Close up you can see how intricate the designs are.

 We stopped in the centre of the town, outside the main church, an impressive two towered building painted in an unusual green colour.  The style is known as a "wedding cake" church, one which can be seen all over the country.

We left Sarchi, and continued on our way, finally arriving at our first destination, the El Silencio Lodge.  Back in 2012 we had stayed here, and for this trip, this would be the only place we would return to, as we considered that it would be the ideal place to relax and start the holiday.  Even more fascinating was the fact that we were turning up exactly five years since we had been there, and were greeted by the same staff, who we remembered but of course they did not, still they were very pleased we had returned.

As well as the relaxing environment, and wonderful facilities we were here for another speciality, so once we were settled in the camera was unpacked and we headed for the Hummingbird garden.  The skies were overcast, but there was no immediate threat of rain, we crossed the hanging bridge over the the Rio Gorrion, and followed the winding path slowly up hill.  
 

The memories came back, and as we came out into the open we reached the garden.  The purple flowers immediately catching attention, and then the sound of the hummingbirds.  We walked aound the hedges, coming across the first hummingbird, a male Black-bellied Hummingbird.

Joined then by a female.

This would be our only opportunity to see this species as it favours the middle elevations on the Caribbean slopes.

Next though was one of my favourites for many reasons, the plumage, the behaviour and the fact that photographs I had taken on the last visit here were published in BBC Wildlife magazine, the female Purple-throated Mountain Gem.  Could I better last time's photographs?

There was constant movement as the birds moved quickly from the flower heads.

Confusing the situation a little were several Hummingbird Hawkmoths.  Whilst a little smaller than the actual hummingbirds their behaviour was much the same.  Around the garden there were at least three individuals feeding on the flowers.

There were also several butterflies, this one a rather worn out the Creon Skipper.

But centre stage belonged well and truly with the hummingbirds, and they continued to entertain despite the ongoing threat of rain.  The male Black-bellied Hummingbird.

The more drab female.

The male Purple-throated Mountain Gem, at this time not showing off his best qualities

A slight turn of the head and you get to understand why he is called what he is.

The hummingbirds have their own favourite perches, returning to them following an excursion around the flowers.  This seems to serve two purposes, on for a rest, and two to allow them to ensure no one wanders into their territory.  This female Purple-throated Mountain Gem allowed some very close approach.

Constantly sticking out the tongue to clean the bill.

And also a good scratch behind the ear.

And then just a rest.

The Black-bellied Hummingbirds are slightly smaller than the Mountain Gems, and tend to feed lower around the bushes, the Purple-throated Mountain Gems taking the top.

Slightly tufted on the head.

The small Scintilent Hummingbird put in a few brief appearances, but never stayed around long enough for me to photograph it, a challenge for another day.  There was also reports of the Green Violet-ear, or Lesser Violet-ear as it is now known, but I couldn't find it.  I did though manage to find another hummingbird, a Rufous-tailed Hummingbird

It would spend much of the time in the surrounding trees before flying down to quickly move through the flowers before returning to its perch under the leaves.

In the surrounding valleys the cloud was beginning to edge closer, and experience from five years ago told me that this was a sign that rain was on the way.

We decided to call it a day and made our way back across the bridge and to our villa.  While it was still dry we stopped to watch birds around one of the trout pools.  First a Black Phoebe commonly found around rivers and streams they like to sit on rocks or logs, using them as launch pads to catch insects.

Another common bird was the Rufous-collared Sparrow, these could be seen foraging on the lawns in front o f the main building.

And finally a Torrent Tyrannulet, a flycatcher that also is found around fast running streams, again using the rocks and boulders as vantage points to catch insects.

The rain threatened but never really came to much, the conditions remained overcast, but we were not treated to the weather we had on last visit so were able to safely make our way to dinner early in the evening.  Tomorrow would hopefully be another day of hummingbird watching.