Despite considering all possible options of how to get them, and making several phone calls there was nothing else to do but go back to get them. Fortunately we were spared the switchback ride over the continental divide, as we were met in a village about 40 minutes from El Silencio, by the manager but it did mean that the journey went from two and a half hours to just over 6 hours, with the final hour and a half in a torrential tropical rain storm. The journey up to Monteverde was through thick cloud, but the rain had stopped. We finally arrived at the Hotel Belmar just after five o'clock. Once the bags were in the room it was straight down to the bar, for a drink and to see the final light of the day.
The Belmar is a lovely hotel, and after a good dinner, we slept well, waking once again to the light of dawn, today we were of to the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, an early morning walk through the forest. But being up early meant there was still plenty of time to take in the activity around the hotel. On the lawn leading down to a lake, a Coati was digging in the grass.
The Coati is only found on the American continent, and is a member of the racoon family. Found primarily in dense forests, it spend a considerable amount of time in the trees. There are four distinct species of Coati, this is the White-nosed Coati, being found in Central America, and is the largest of the four. Being mainly nocturnal it is omnivorous, here clearly digging for slugs and worms. It is said that the female can be identified by the way it holds the tail up, while the male lets his hang low. This then would be a female.
This was the main view looking out from our hotel room.
From the top of the trees Brown-hooded Parrots welcomed in the day in their noisy way.
While from prominent vantage points Social and Streaked Flycatchers could be seen. This is a Streaked Flycatcher.
We had breakfast early to accommodate our trip, but from the open veranda it was possible to continue watching the wildlife. An Agouti walked underneath us. Looking like a large Guine Pig to which they are related, they are a rodent and native to Central America. they are found in the forests, and are naturally shy animals, they are also very good swimmers.
The Hotel is situated on the side of a hill, which meant we were looking out at tree level. A Masked Tityra flew across in front of us and perched high in the tree. A form of flycatcher unique to the Americas.
The calls of the parrots increased. White -fronted Parrots gathered in the treetops.
With birds constantly passing in front of the balcony showing the red patches in the tertial wing feathers
As we left the hotel, I noticed what I thought to be a door stop by the door, but it wasn't stopping anything, it then moved. It turned out to be a huge Toad that had wandered in, then wandered back out again.
We were taken up the hill further on the rough track for about 4 kilometres, arriving at the reserve centre. In the early 1950s, a group of Quakers from the United
States left their homes in Alabama and arrived in Monteverde at a time when the
region was just beginning to be settled. The Quakers, fleeing the United States
to avoid being drafted into the Korean War, established a simple life in
Monteverde centred on dairy and cheese production. Some of these families
helped establish the Monteverde and Santa Elena Cloud Forest Reserves some 20
years later. Evidence of the dairy
production can be found in a local cheese factory about a kilometre and a half
from the reserve entrance.
In 1972, the Monteverde rainforest was threatened by local
farmers looking to expand their property and homestead on certain forest sites.
With this in mind, visiting scientists
and local residents worked together to promote the establishment of a nature
preserve, and the Tropical Science Centre accepted responsibility for
management and ownership.
Due to its high altitude – some 1,440 m above sea level –
Monteverde is privileged to receive a steady supply of clouds and the moisture
that they contain. This moisture, often in the form of fog, catches on the
branches of the tallest trees and drips down to the other organisms below. This
helps to support a complex ecosystem, one that harbours over 100 species of
mammals, 400 species of birds, tens of thousands of insect species, and over
2,500 varieties of plants, 420 of which are orchids alone.
The weather was apparently typical Monteverde with cloud hanging in the trees and a damp but warm temperature. we were led onto a dark trail, and you had the feeling that we were not going to see too much, and if we did it would be difficult to photograph. Birds moved in the canopy, but looking up it was hard to distinguish colour, and it fell to the guide to identify based on local knowledge and the calls. We did get good views of a group of Silvery-throated jays but it was too dark for good photographs. However a Pygmy Squirrel turned up.
The guide then pointed out the nest of a Green-crowned Brilliant hummingbird. It was perched on a branch that sat under the cover of a a large leaf. An intricate design of moss and spider's webs made into a small cup, incredibly held on to the branch.
Unlike the other birds hummingbirds nest all year round as there is a constant source of nectar available. Other birds stick to the spring months which a re dryer and more plentiful for insects.
A small lizard was found on the side of a tree, and was signalling with a flap of skin under the throat. This is one of the Anole lizards, and was signalling to local rivals to keep away.
Th trail took us out onto a hanging bridge where we could walk through the tree tops. here a prong-billed Barbet was calling from the top of a tree that we could look down onto, and it was just possible to make out the bird. Often heard more than seen this was a good sighting.
Busy around the trees were a few Tanagers, but those seen properly were the Silver-throated.
There were plenty of butterflies about, including the lovely Blue Morpho, the only species were able to get good views of though was this Costa Rican Clearwing.
There were reports of a Sloth sleeping high in one of the trees close to the centre. It was pointed out to us, but even with the best imagination in the world could you honestly say this was a sloth. And so with the walk coming to an end we made our way to the Colibri Cafe, which had hummingbird feeders outside, and hummingbirds everywhere.
Some science, hummingbirds belong to the order Apodiformes. Hummingbirds share this
order with the swifts. The name
Apodiformes is derived from the Greek words "a pous," meaning
"without foot." While apodiforms do in fact have feet, they are quite
small and their legs are short and relatively weak. Unlike the swifts though hummingbirds readily perch, but their feet are very small.
Now the feeders are never natural, but if you want to enjoy the experience of hummingbirds there is no better way. The rules are simple no photographs on the feeders, but they also provide many other opportunities. I make no apologies there are a lot of photographs here!
First the Green-crowned Brilliant, the hummingbird we saw earlier on the nest in the reserve. This a male
Once again move the head and a flash of electric blue on the throat.
A Juvenile bird.
Unlike many other hummingbirds the Green-crowned Brilliant almost always like to perch to feed, hence the adoption of the feeders.
This one is the Lesser Violetear, formerly known as the Green Violetear. There had been two subspecies, the Mexican and Mountain, but these have now been established as there own species. It is recorded from between altitudes of 1,200 to 2300 metres
The Brown Violetear, a slightly larger relative of the lesser Violetear
It is mainly dull brown, with a rufous rump and greyer
underparts. There is a violet patch running back and down from the eye, a hermit-like
malar stripe, and a glittering green and blue throat stripe. The bill is
relatively short and almost straight.
It can be found in forest habitats at altitudes between 400–1600 m, but the Brown
Violetear will spread widely into the lowlands when not nesting. It is
replaced at higher altitudes by its relative, the Lesser Violetear, but their
ranges overlap widely.
Although not particularly territorial, this species is
highly aggressive, and at feeders seems to spend far more time attacking other
hummingbirds than actually feeding.
The Green Hermit, a female, that would approach the feeders,
but would then fly away and hide in the bushes, so this is unfortunately the
only photo I could get.
The
Violet Sabrewing which is the largest species of hummingbird in Middle America.
It occurs in montane forests from southern Mexico south to western Panama.
The plumage of the male is very dark: the head, upper back
and underparts are deep violet, and the lower back and rump are dark green.
In both sexes, the outer tail feathers have broad white
tips.
Sabrewings are large hummingbirds, with a strong, slightly
decurved bill. They take the name "sabrewing" from the structure of
the outer primaries. In the male, the outermost primaries are thickened and
somewhat flattened, and are curved at an angle; this combination of features
resembles a sabre.
The Purple-throated Mountain Gem, familiar from the gardens at El Silencio, my focus today though was on the male, attempting to capture the iridescent throat and head
The forecrown and cap is a glittering emerald green with a white stripe from behind the eye, and the purple iridescent throat
Again a turn of the body and head and the colour goes.
And back again
Stunning
Amongst the hummingbirds there were several Bananaquits, small songbirds that are neither classified as warblers or flycatchers. They squabbled over the feeders fighting the hummingbirds.
The smallest hummingbird present was the Coppery-headed Emerald, an endemic to Costa Rica, measuring just over 6 cm in length, and weighing a mere 3 grams
This small hummingbird is found in the highlands of the
Caribbean slope or at higher elevations along the Pacific slope. Coppery-headed
Emeralds prefer cool, wet, highland forests and their edges.
Emeralds are small hummingbirds with a relatively short
bill, and a short, notched tail with mostly white outer feathers. The body of
Coppery-headed Emerald is mostly green, but the crown, rump and uppertail
coverts, are coppery bronze.
We finally dragged ourselves away from the hummingbirds, and rather than take the transport back to the hotel we decided to walk down the hill. Our quest was to find Resplendent Quetzel and we had received reports that they had been seen in a private reserve close to the cheese factory on the main road down.
We set off down the hill, pausing to watch a pair of Yellow-throated Euphonia.
As we reached the turn off for the reserve it started to rain heavily. This was a good time to visit the ice cream parlour attached to the Cheese factory. As the rain eased we made our way to Curicancha Reserve.
Opened to the public in 2011, it protects 83 hectares of 50% virgin forest,
45% secondary growth, and 5% open pasture. The altitude ranges from 1450m
to 1615m, with over 200 species of birds reported. A Quetzel had been seen in the morning, and having managed to secure the services of a guide we set off on one of the 7 kilometres of trails present.
The path curved around the side of the mountain, and at one point opened out with views across a valley. brown jays called below, and our guide picked out a very distant Keel-billed Toucan.
The Brown Jays were clearly upset by the Toucan's presence, as while they eat fruit, they will take insects and small birds.
One feature of the forest was the presence of Strangler Figs, so named for their pattern of growth upon host trees, which
often results in the host’s death. Beginning
life as a sticky seed left on a high tree branch by an animal such as a bird,
bat, or monkey, the young strangler lives on the tree’s surface.
As it grows,
long roots develop and descend along the trunk of the host tree, eventually
reaching the ground and entering the soil. Several roots usually do this, and
they become grafted together, enclosing their host’s trunk in a strangling
latticework, ultimately creating a nearly complete sheath around the trunk. The
host tree’s canopy becomes shaded by the thick fig foliage, its trunk
constricted by the surrounding root sheath, and its own root system forced to
compete with that of the strangling fig.
This process can kill the host; if
not, the host tree, being much older than the strangler, still dies eventually
and rots away and a magnificent fig "tree" is left behind whose
apparent "trunk" is actually a gigantic cylinder of roots.
While not filled with bird song the forest was a lot busier than the morning walk around the main reserve. A black-headed Nightingale Thrush sang close by, and we then realised that it was closer than first thought.
There are three species of nightingale thrush found here in Monteverde, and they all keep to a distinct altitude range, the Black-billed is at a higher range, while the Orange-billed below. We heard all three, but only managed to see the Black-headed.
Our search for the Quetzel continued, with tape playing in the hope of a response, unfortunately it was looking like we would not succeed. To keep the attention we were shown some of the other inhabitants of the cloud forest, like this minute orchid, no bigger than 5 mm and perfectly formed like any other orchid.
Our guide then pointed out a snake curled up on a branch. This was a Side-Striped Palm Pit Viper.
They can grow to just under a metre in length, and have a prehensile tail that assists with life in the trees. The tail helps to anchor the snake when it attacks, the main diet being small birds, mice, frogs and insects. The bite can be serious but rarely fatal.
Coming out of the forest into a clearing we came across butterflies, and were treated to the rare sight of a Blue Morpho butterfly sunning on a leaf in a tree with the wings laid flat exposing the beautiful electric blue scales of the upperwings.
Then they snapped shut to reveal the camouflaged underwing.
the beauty of this reserve is that there are open places, and this enables the opportunity to see clearly some of the resident birds.
A White-naped Bush Finch
A Wood Peewee, not sure which one, on its way down from North America already.
The Rufous-browed Peppershrike, one of the largest members of the Vireo family. They have a hooked thickset bill similar to that of a shrike
A Gray-throated Yellowthroat.
But with plenty of flowers around the attention once again turned to the hummingbirds, with two new species here. The Stripe-tailed Hummingbird.
The Steely-vented Hummingbird, these predominantly green hummingbirds have a small band of
bronze copper across their upper tails. The undersides of the tail are stone
blue with white edging.
Steely-vented Hummingbirds reside around the borders of
humid and dry forests, in dry scrub, second growth, gardens, or in plantations.
They are highly territorial, and will perch close to there deemed bushes and flowers, and be on the look out for anything that comes near to the flowers. Once seen they are chased away, not just hummingbirds but bees and butterflies as well, very little seems to miss their watchful eye.
There were also the tiny Coppery-headed Emeralds keeping out of the way of the Steely-vented, settling to feed low down along the edge of the bushes.
And that was it, we never saw the Resplendent Quetzel, the closest we came was a photograph taken by the guide in the morning, that really hurt! However we had found a gem of a reserve, and a good reason to return here. Unfortunately due to our schedule that would not be tomorrow, but hopefully another year soon.
We walked down the hill, and were fortunate to be given a lift by the guide we had just been walking around with. Like all the guides here in Costa Rica, he was young, enthusiastic about the forest, and very skilled at his task.
Back in the Hotel Belmar the cloud had returned and there was no view from the room, this slowly lifted and during the evening we could see stars, hopefully a good sign for tomorrow. But the evening was full of memories of the stunning and beautiful hummingbirds that had dominated today
