30th July - San Gerardo de Dota, Costa Rica

Despite the fact that we were not going out until 8.00am we were once again up early.  Outside it was overcast and there was a cool, fresh wind blowing which took the edge off the temperatures.  Breakfast was at 7.00am, but we were there early.  While we waited I took the chance to walk around the gardens.  A Sooty Thrush was feeding in the same manner as a European Blackbird on the lawns, their behaviour so alike it is uncanny.

The female also has a very similar look, although the white eye is striking and stands out quite clearly.  She was sitting in one of the dead trees with branches covered in lichen.

To complete the set there was also an immature bird, again very similar to the European Blackbird

One of the Volcano Hummingbirds was feeding on the flowers of the succulents planted around the paths, and the Acorn Woodpeckers were constantly calling in the trees around the bird table.  I noticed some movement in the tree above me and picked up a small warbler.  As it turned towards me there was an unmistakeable orange red throat patch.

I knew it was a warbler from the behaviour, and over breakfast I checked the book and identified it as a Flame-throated Warbler, what else could it be called?

After breakfast our guide turned up and we bundled into the van and headed down the valley once again.  We passed the spot where we had walked up to see the Quetzal and continued on passing several lodges on the side of the river.  Finally, we pulled over at a green building where there was a terrace overlooking the river, and on the terrace were hummingbird feeders.

Put out feeders and the birds come, and here it was just as busy as the other sites we had been too.  Once again, the dominant hummingbird was the Talamanca Hummingbird, selecting a favourite spot and defending the feeder vigorously.

Waiting quietly and carefully for its chance to feed was a Volcano Hummingbird.

There was though a new hummingbird present, the Lesser Violetear, once known as the Green Violetear (probably a more appropriate name), this was not a new one for us, having seen them last year in Monteverde.

The Lesser Violetear also had a favourite perch, and it too would sit and wait for the Talamanca to move away before taking its chance at the feeder.

The Volcano Hummingbird was a little more mobile now, waiting it out on a flower head.

As well as the hummingbirds there were Blue Gray and Flame-coloured Tanagers, and this beautiful Silver-throated Tanager.

And of course, where there is a feeding station there are Acorn Woodpeckers.

Walking around the bushes and looking out over the river our guide picked out a Black-faced Saltator, a Black Phoebee, and this Torrent Tyrannulet.  He was pleased to find the Tyrannulet as these are migratory here, and the first of the autumn passage.

The river was fast flowing, and the course full of boulders, we scanned for American Dipper which can be found here but without any luck.  On a branch stretching out across the water was a Golden-bellied Flycatcher.

We left the feeders and walked around the grounds.  We later found out that a Quetzal visits the Laurel trees at the back, but today we were out of luck.  There was though a pair of Long-tailed Silky Flycatchers feeding on the fruit.  This is the female bird.

Then joined by the male which has the grey body and more defined head crest.

Strange to see a flycatcher consuming large laurel fruits in the same way the Quetzal does.

We left the gardens and returned to the van and headed downhill following the river.  We pulled over at the entrance to a path that was alongside the river and headed to a bridge.  The guide paused at a patch of woodland that had a high canopy.  Perched on a prominent branch was a hummingbird.  It was a Green-crowned Brilliant, another hummingbird for the trip, but once again one we had seen last year.  A poor photograph, more of a record of the bird.

We paused on the bridge to take in the river as it tumbled over the rocks.  This is the Savegre river, and its final destination would be Quepos on the Pacific coast, where we would be going tomorrow.

A call from the river alerted our guide, and he advised it was that of an American Dipper.  We watched as it flew past and came to a stop on one of the huge boulders where it walked down to the water.

Chunky and round bodied the American Dipper is very much like the more familiar European Dipper, but lacks the more distinctive markings, the American Dipper being mostly grey.

Aside from plumage, the behaviour, they all frequently bob up and down, and feeding techniques are all the same.

As it moved through the fast flowing water it would plunge its head into the oncoming stream, search for aquatic animals to feed on.  According to our guide seeing them here on the river was not easy, their status declining over the years, the dipper being a good indicator of water quality.

Breeding birds show a dark bill, in this case it is possible this was a recently fledged bird.

Then it was off, flying low and fast over the water upstream.

As we crossed the bridge there was activity in the trees alongside the water.  Brown-capped Vireos and Black-cheeked Warblers moving through the branches.  A little further along we came across a Collared Redstart.

Like other members of the Myioborus genus it is also known as a “Whitestart”.  It feeds mainly on insects and as it forages it fans it’s tail which makes it quite conspicuous.

We continued to watch the small warblers as they moved through the branches, Flame-throated Warblers joining the group.  Then beside us on a rotting tree a Hairy Woodpecker appeared.

Having a guide is essential in this type of habitat as they not only are able to identify the calls, but have wonderful eyes and amaze you when they pick out birds in the trees that you would just miss.  A case in point would be this Spangle-cheeked Tanager.

And then after hearing the call, this Yellowish Flycatcher at the top of a tree.

We came across another group of warblers moving through the branches, there were Flame-throated and Black-cheeked Warblers and a Brown-capped Vireo.  We stood watching them, fortunately looking down on the trees.  Then with them are a couple of larger birds, reddish brown in colour, and moving over the branches like a creeper.  These were Ruddy Treerunners, a little smaller than the woodcreepers, they were moving through the branches, and it seemed like they were a family party as they were begging for food

We continued to follow the path and it dropped down to become level with the river.  Here the trees were not so dense, and there was an open space below the canopy.  As a result, we came across a hummingbird, another Green-crowned Brilliant.

It sat quite content on the branch as we walked past

The idea here was top look up at the area of trees we had looked down on, but by now it was quiet and there was little if anything moving or calling.  As a result, we turned around and started o make our way back along the same path.  As we did there was another call from the river, and I pointed out another American Dipper on the rocks in the middle of the water.

Here showing the feeding technique of plunging the head into the water.

The one bird then became two, and we watched both birds moving upstream around and over the rocks.

We made our way along the track, and eventually back to the bridge.  It was now quiet, with very little activity in the trees around us, a complete contrast to when we arrived.  It was also starting to rain, light at this moment, but we wall knew it could change.

Just over the bridge, our guide found a Ruddy-capped Nightingale Thrush

Like the Black-billed Nightingale Thrush we had seen at Dantica, it is a very secretive bird, moving slowly through the undergrowth.  It is fairly common through out Central America, and in Costa Rica, it is fairly common in mountains the length of both the Pacific and Caribbean slopes, ranging above about 1350 metres to 3000 metres.

It typically inhabits the understory of wet to semi-humid conifer, pine-oak and evergreen cloud forest and any adjacent secondary growth, thickets, clearings and forest edges.

Back in the van we headed up the valley, the rain continuing to fall.  We stopped at the lodge we had visited earlier to see if the Quetzal was around.  It wasn’t so we had to be content with our sightings from yesterday.

We arrived back at Dantica just before midday, and after sorting ourselves out in the bungalow we decided to walk back up the hill to have lunch in the café and spend some time with the birds on the deck and feeders.  However, as we approached the café in the rain it did not seem to be too busy.  The reason for this became quite clear as there was a very evident “closed” sign on the door.  It would seem that Mondays is a closing day here.

It was now a case of what tod, we were hungry, and looking around there was a small Pizzeria, so we decided to visit.  We were greeted with a big smile and given a choice of pizza sizes.  We ordered a pizza between us, and some lovely Blackberry juice.  The wait for the pizza was long and we past the time watching the Hummingbirds on the feeders outside the window.  Once again there were Talamanca, Fiery-throated, Volcano and White-throated Mountain Gems, and once again there was some amazing interaction as these high energy little birds zipped around between the feeders.

A male White-throated Mountain Gem

There would even be battles with the females over perches as well as the feeders

Butter wouldn’t melt in their mouths!

Volcano Hummingbirds would move around the more distant flowers, and I even managed to see an adult male with its reddish-purple throat patch, but never close enough to photograph successfully.

The most dominant of course was the Talamanca Hummingbird, occupying perches close to the feeders they would fight off the smaller birds.  They were also very busy fighting amongst themselves, it was when this happened that the others would nip in to feed.  Despite the rain there was some lovely light on the backgrounds.

Finally, the pizza arrived and it was huge, nothing like the sizes we were shown!  What we should have done is eat a little and then take the rest away with us.  What we did though was try and eat it all because we knew we had no way of saving it.  This was a mistake, it was very nice, but very filling, too much.

We left the little pizzeria full, spent the afternoon trying to digest it, and regretting we had eaten it. 

As the light started to fade with the sun setting behind the clouds the sky started to change colour, and there was a feint tinge of pinkish red away over the valley towards the west, our first sunset of the holiday. 

Tomorrow we will be heading down towards the setting sun and the Pacific coast, let’s hope the sunset is a good sign and the weather improves