31st January - Rancho Naturalista Day One, Turrialba Costa Rica

So the British Airways flight along the south coast was taking us to Costa Rica.  This would be our fourth visit to the country, but the first time we have done so in the dry season, or the summer as the Ticos call it.  

We arrived at Juan Santamaria airport in San Jose the Costa Rican capital at just before five in the afternoon, a six hour time difference meant it was almost midnight by our body clocks as we sat in traffic on route to the hotel.  After a drink and shower it was a welcome sleep, but we were up early the next morning and had to kill time wandering around the streets of San Jose.

Our transfer arrived just before 10:00 am local time and ae endured a troubled journey to Turrialba and our first stop, the Rancho Naturalista lodge up in the highlands around the city.  We arrived at lunch time and after eating we settled in.  We had been here before, back in 2018, our last visit to Costa Rica, so after settling into our room, we made our way to the main balcony that over looked the hummingbird feeders and many feeding stations.

As we left the room to make our way there I stopped for a Ruby Spotted Swallowtail butterfly that was nectaring on the verbena, I had expected hummingbirds, so it was a surprise for the first photograph to be that of a butterfly.

Up on the balcony there were hummingbirds, The White-necked Jacobin, probably the commonest hummingbird around the feeders.

And the drab looking female in comparison.

The lodge is well known for the many bird species that can be found around the grounds, but the main reason I wanted to return was to catch up with the hummingbirds once again.  It takes a while to get the eye in and to work out how best to photograph them.  I don't like photographing them on the feeders so wait until they find a perch nearby of try and catch them in flight.

Some more of the Jacobins.

Showing off the white neck that gives them their name.

Another female.

A flight shot, i increased the shutter speed to 1/3200 of a second and still the wings are not sharp, incredible speeds the wings move at.

Here a Scarlet-rumped Tanager.  Once upon a time this species was split with birds on the Caribbean slopes know as a Passerini's Tanager and those found on the specific side known as Cherie's Tanager.  The taxonomy was based on the differences in the female, but today they are now lumped as one species, the Scarlet-rumped Tanager.

Back to the hummingbirds, a new one for me due to the time of year, the Bronze-tailed Plumeleteer.  An uncommon species found on this side of Costa Rica.  The bright red feet are diagnostic.

Not on the feeders but flying around the verbena, the Violet-headed Hummingbird, another lifer.  This is the male showing the bright violet blue crown and the white postocular spot.

Most of the smaller hummingbird species such as the Violet-headed stay clear of the feeders and the larger hummingbirds, preferring to use the flowers around the garden.

The White-necked Jacobins fiercely defend, what they consider to be, their feeder

The Rufous-tailed Hummingbird alternates between the flowers and the feeders, they will stick to a certain perch, returning to it after nectaring.  This is the only Costa Rican Hummingbird that combines the rufous tail with a green breast.

Not sure what was going on here, a yawn maybe?

Some time away from the hummingbirds, the Summer Tanager, the male in its bright red plumage looks so striking in the dark of the foliage.

But even better out in the open.

The subject of a major twitch in Yorkshire in the autumn, it was wonderful to enjoy this beautiful bird without hoards of people around.

A Black and White Warbler creeping amongst the branches like a Treecreeper, last time I saw one of these was in my garden in New Jersey.  The over winter here in Central America before returning to the North American woodland and forest in the spring.

And a new bird for me, the Yellow-faced Grassquit.  There was an interesting discussion later in the evening around the meaning of "quit".  It turns out it means bird, the "grass bird" with a distinctive face pattern.

That was very much it for the afternoon, the tropical sunset rolling in and light going almost immediately.  Dinner was at 18:00 and shortly after it started to rain.  The rain got heavier and heavier and was so loud on the roofs of the lodge and rooms.  It continued throughout the night, the hope was that it would ease by the morning as we had a tour arranged starting at 6:00 am.  We will have to see.  A great start to the trip though, 46 species of which there were 10 lifers for me.

30th January - South Coast Hampshire Birding Sites

Off on my travels once again and with beautiful clear skies at Gatwick I was hopeful there would be some good views along the south coast as we flew west.  I was not to be disappointed. 

Taken through the airplane window I have converted to Black and White to get a better image.

First to appear was the Chichester and Langstone Harbour.  From left to right, Wittering, then Thorney Island, Hayling Island and Farlington Marshes within Langstone Harbour.

A closer view of Farlington Marshes.

Next up was Titchfield Haven, the south scrape viewable near the Solent and after the rain we have had the river Meon appears to have flooded up the valley.

A view of Warsash, Hook spit and the Isle of Wight.

Past Southampton Water, you can see the Lymington River and the Keyhaven-Lymington Reserve and finally in the east the spit leading out to Hurst Castle.

A closer view of the Hurst Spit and Milford.

We carried on along the south coast passing Durlston and the Isle of Portland, across Lyme Bay and finally out over the Atlantic from Cape Cornwall.

Long-eared Owl - Hampshire

Having enjoyed the Long-eared Owls in West Sussex, the hope was that some could be found in Hampshire.  That hope became a reality.  Not the stunning views seen at Pagham, but Long-eared Owls none the less.  

I saw two birds snuggled in the scrub of Hawthorn bushes in a protected site.  I will not be giving any details, but pleased to have secured a county tick at last.

And some video to finish on.

25th January - Wherwell, Bransbury Common and Fishlake Meadows, Hampshire

This morning I was meeting Ian in the village of Wherwell, which lies to the south east of Andover in north Hampshire.

Wherwell sits on the River Test, which has more than one channel nearby, and a wide flood plain, which flows through the village in parallel with the High Street.

The name Wherwell is thought to derive from its bubbling springs resulting in the Middle Ages place name “Hwerwyl” noted in AD 955, possibly meaning “kettle springs” or “cauldron springs.” Pronunciation of the name has ranged from “Hurrell” to “Wer-rel” to present-day “Wher-well.”

Before the Dissolution, the parish of Wherwell was in the hands of an important abbey of Benedictine nuns, whose abbess was Lady of the Manor of an area much larger than the existing parish.  Today there is Wherwell Priory.

The village is associated with the Cockatrice, a mythical beast, essentially a two-legged dragon, wyvern, or serpent-like creature with a rooster's head. The story is that the cockatrice terrorised the village until it was imprisoned in the dungeons below Wherwell Priory. A prize of land was offered to anyone who could kill the creature. None were successful, until a man named Green lowered a mirror into the dungeon. The cockatrice battled against its own reflection until exhausted, at which point Green was able to kill it. Today there is an area of land near Wherwell called Green's Acres. For many years a weather vane in the shape of a cockatrice adorned the church of St. Peter and Holy Cross in Wherwell until it was removed to Andover Museum.

We we were here for the reports of up to twenty Hawfinch around the churchyard of St Peter and the Holy Cross, We walked down Church Lane and crossed the river and then into the churchyard with a view in the winter sunshine of the church spire.

As we entered the churchyard we met a lady coming out who told us she hadn't seen any that morning.  Not the best news but we continued on.  The church yard consists of yew trees and tall beech trees at the back.  As we came around the church the top of the beech tree was in the sunshine and a Hawfinch flew on to the top of the branches.

We then discovered a group of Hawfinch in some trees away from the churchyard, we counted at least fifteen, in this picture there are eight.

They were mobile but would return to the trees where the sun was catching the branches, it was a cold morning.

We walked around the area and managed to get some different if distant views, here eleven Hawfinch

We had seen photographs of the Hawfinch feeding on the ground in the churchyard, but walking around the Yew trees appeared to be berry less now, so the Hawfinch were feeding elsewhere and unfortunately this was completely out of sight of us.  We spent the time looking up at the tops of the trees with this view.

We persevered for some time, walking around the village.  At least we were able to appreciate the thatched cottages and neat gardens.

Walking around a Buzzard drifted over along with a Red Kite that came quite low to check us out.

We decided to move on and took the short drive to Bransbury Common, an area of bog and farmland on either side of the river Dever.  You park off road and the walk down a footpath to an area of the river that used to be a ford.  In the fields on the way there were all five thrush species, a Goldcrest, a Brown Hare and good numbers of Roe Deer.

The river was flowing fast but was still not too deep, but deep enough to prevent crossing in wellies.

Ian found a female Kingfisher on the other side of the river, perched on a fence by a still part of the river.

There was little about, a Cetti's Warbler was calling from the reeds and there was a brief burst of song and we saw it move from the bushes.

Overhead there were Buzzards and distant Red Kite.  Eventually two Red Kite came overhead

Both birds were calling.

Then interacting, not sure if this was display or annoyance.

One flew off, the other staying overhead.

With little about we decided to head back, but stopped for a Muntjac Deer that was in a nearby field.

The small, Chinese muntjac deer was introduced to Woburn Park in Bedfordshire at the start of the 20th century and rapidly spread into the surrounding area. It is now a common animal across southeast England and can be found in woodland, parkland and even gardens. Muntjac deer are notorious browsers, eating the shoots from shrubs, as well as woodland herbs and brambles. This clearing of woodland understory has been linked to declines in species such as nightingales.

A very small, stocky deer, the muntjac deer is about the same size as a medium dog. It is gingery-brown, with a pale underside, darker stripes in its face, and small, single-pointed antlers.

Male muntjacs have short, unbranched antlers that slope backwards, and a pair of long canine teeth. They breed all year-round, but females usually only have one kid at a time. Muntjac deer are also known as 'barking deer' because of their dog-like calls.

Unnerved by us it ran away in a comical manner, a bit like a dog trying to run and then leap like a Roe Deer.

We had lunch and then decided to spend the afternoon at Fishlake Meadows.  From the car park we walked the canal path.  At the first view point a Great Egret was perched in the dead trees.

It was very quiet along the path until we reached the gate to the cross path.  A Marsh Tit was vocal and showed well around the bramble by the sub station

Despite its name, the Marsh Tit actually lives in woodland and parks in England and Wales. It is very similar to the willow tit, but has a glossier black cap and a 'pitchoo' call that sounds like a sneeze.  They're so hard to identify that ornithologists (scientists who study birds) didn't realise there were two species until 1897.

Walking along the cross path a Buzzard sat in one of the trees alongside the river.

The path to the screens was quite deeply flooded in places, the only birds were Gadwall and Teal in the pools and another Cetti's Warbler.  At the screens there were Greylag and a single Shelduck.  A Buzzard flew across the water, at first thought to be a Marsh Harrier.

From the back of the water a Great Egret flew towards us.

As it reached the reeds close to us it threw out its neck and called.

We made our way back to the canal path where we finally managed to see a female Marsh Harrier, but she quickly dropped into the reed bed.

Back home, later in the afternoon the sunset was quite spectacular and worthy of a mention here.

Some good year ticks today, but not the views I was hoping for.  The month is coming to an end, what will be next?