7th February - Cafe Colibri, Monteverde, Costa Rica

Rather than hang around the hotel once again we decided to check out where the Curi Cancha reserve was, the last time we had been here back in 2017 we discovered this reserve as a bit of a hidden gem.  I finally got the right directions right and we set off down the hill from the hotel.  A combination of ups and downs took us past a stream where a Black Phoebe could be seen by the side of the water.

After 25 minutes we reached the turn for the reserve close to the Monteverde Cheese Factory, we didn't go up to the reserve but decided to walk on, I wanted to go to the Cafe at the entrance to the Monteverde reserve, but completely underestimated how far and how steep.  We crossed another stream and here Helen pointed out an Armadillo walking across the road, I just could get the camera right in time

The walk continued and it was now hot, fortunately we were saved by a taxi driver who stopped and gave us a lift to the Cafe Colibri.  We bought a couple of iced lattes and then made our way to the Hummingbird feeders and settled in.

The birds were buzzing around, but the first bird that caught my eye was a female Purple-throated Mountain Gem.  Now I don't normally photograph them on the feeders, but I took this for two reasons:  One, the hummingbird never hovered or settled any where else and two, this hummingbird means a lot to me, when we first came to Costa Rica in 2012 I photographed one at El Silencio in Banous el Torro and had the picture published in BBC Wildlife

The male Purple-throated Mountain Gem, I personally think the female looks s much better.

This is a female Green-crowned Brilliant.

This Magenta-throated Woodstar would dip into the feeder and then fly back, never settling on the feeder, but using the wings to hold it steady.  I just waited for it to pull back.

The largest hummingbird in Costa Rica, the Violet Sabrewing.

This one had a favourite perch where it would return to and enjoy the dappled sunshine.

The male Green-crowned Brilliant, there is a blue patch on the throat.

The female once again

There were also White-necked Jacobins, but because I have so many shots I decided not to dwell on them.

We called the taxi to take us back and as we waited this Highland Tinamou came through the scrub.  They are terrestrial tailless birds more often heard than seen.  They feed on fallen fruits, but also small frogs and lizards.  They nest in the buttress of trees and the male incubates and stays with the young for the first few weeks.

On the drive back the taxi stopped for me to photograph this Lesson's Motmot.

Tomorrow we were going to have a tour at the Cur Cancha reserve, it will be interesting to see how much this might have changed.

The trip list has increased to 130 and lifers is now 42

6th February - Monteverde, Costa Rica

We awoke to pouring rain in La Fortuna and while this did ease at times it never really went away.  We left the Amor Arenal at around 10:00am and headed around the volcano and across the dam of Lake Arenal to meet our ferry that would take us across the lake.  This is the quickest route to Monteverde and when I booked it I looked forward to a cruise around the inlets of the lake taking in the wildlife.

Well all was fine as we waited for the boat to arrive, overcast but warm wind quite a brisk wind, but as we boarded and set off across the water the rain started once again.  The boat does have a roof, but the side were open and with the wind the rain came at us across the lake horizontally.

To be fair our ferryman did try to find some wildlife, pointing out the many Great Egret and looking in some of the inlets for Cayman.  It was on one of the searches for Cayman that we saw a Green Heron and this immature Northern Jacana, taken with my phone because it was too wet to get the camera out.

As we reached the other side of the lake there were more Great Egret and several Neotropical Cormorants.  However the drama still wasn't over, we could see our pick up vehicle as we neared the shore, but what we could see were very muddy steps that we would have to climb, and somebody was going to have to take the cases.

The cases went out and made it and so did we, but it did bring back memories of negotiating the river in Borneo back in 2013.  The road onwards up over the continental divide was very rugged and slow.  The rain continued, but as we reached the summit and started to go down to the Pacific slope the dark clouds eased and the rain stopped with the sun coming out.  The wind, though, was very strong coming from the north east, one of the reasons for the rain in Arenal.  The wind would come off the warm Caribbean sea and then as it rose on the west slopes it would drop the rain, easing once over the Divide.

The journey to Monteverde was a little more comfortable and in some warm sunshine.  Monteverde means "Green Mountain" and fers to the cloud forest that surrounds the area.  It is located at around 1500 metres above sea level on the Pacific Slope.  As we arrived the sun was out and there was blue sky, but also rain that would come across horizontally in the brisk wind.  From the Hotel the view went all the way to the Nicoya Gulf.

We had to wait to get into our room and we spent some time in the Micro Brewery at the bottom of the hotel gardens.  Once settled I left Helen to sleep and I explored the gardens in the sun and rain.

Lesser Violetears buzzed around the verbena, and there were a few ground birds under the verbena bushes.

This is a White-eared Ground Sparrow, quite a large sparrow about the size of a Song Thrush and a common species on these slopes at this altitude.

This one was difficult to pin down, but I finally managed an acceptable shot, the Rufous-collared Sparrow, a very common sparrow in this area, even found in San Jose.

This little bird gave me an awful run around and I never managed to get a clear shot.  I include this record shot as it looks very smart, the Rufous-capped Warbler.

We were last here back in 2017 and then the gardens were a lot more open, the bushes have grown up and a lot of the areas we were able to get to previously were not accessible.  As I walked around this Lesson's Motmot appeared to watch me from behind the bushes.

It was formerly known as the Blue-crowned Motmot of which there were three sub-species, these have now been lumped together and called Lesson's after the French ornithologist Rene Lesson.

The name Motmot comes from a South American name that mimics the call of the Motmot.

I finally managed an almost clear shot on the Motmot.

As is the case in Costa Rica, the sun sets quickly just before 18:00 and this evening it was quite spectacular looking west towards the Gulf of Nicoya.

Tomorrow we are on a tour in the morning with us free in the afternoon.  After today's walk around the gardens here the trip list moves up to 114 and the lifers to 37.