22nd February - Titchfield Haven NNR, Hampshire

So it was back home in Hampshire and I had arranged to meet Ian at the Haven for my first trip out after the jewels of Costa Rica.  I must admit to suffering from jet lag so we met around 9.00am and then walked to the visitor centre.  The forecast was for a clear sunny day, but the morning had started off with a thick mist, the hope was that this would burn off soon.

After checking in, rather than head for the west side as is the usual case we decided to look for the reported Tawny Owl on the east side.  A Thermal camera was essential and it picked out not one but two owls deep in the ivy.  It was a case of. "I see it, there is a bit of wing and tail!"  After several attempts to try different positions we agreed it wasn't going to get any better so we left and made the walk to the west side.

Brent geese were heading along the beach, I wonder how long they have left here in the present numbers before they head north once again?

The water levels on the south scrape were very high and all the islands were just about showing.  The first bit of interest though was a Great Black-backed Gull that had caught a flat fish and was trying to work out how to eat it without having it stolen.

Looking across the South scrape into the north we could see a single Spoonbill and the drake Goosander.  

The Spoonbill flew to the central causeway and we decoded to walk around to the Pumfrett Hide as there was little else happening on the south scrape.

A Song Thrush was singing in a tree close by to the West Hide, I love to hear these singing and this one was in full voice and wasn't distracted by us.

Rather than feed on the north scrape the Spoonbill had reverted to type, tucked it's head under the wing and gone to sleep.  The only sign we had that this was an adult was from the n the breeze.

We had been hearing the mewing calls of Mediterranean Gulls all morning, without any clear views.  They always like to use the sentral causeway at this time of year and there were at least six present.  

Always a smart gull at any time, they are especially stunning in their breeding plumage, and also a year tick.

The cut down reed area in front of the hide was now flooded and there were Teal and Gadwall feeding amongst the vegetation.  This drake Gadwall ahd just finished preening and had had a good shake.

In this shot it is like the female Gadwall is trying to point out something and the male isn't too interested.

There was a good sized flock of Black-tailed Godwits on the bank of the scrape and they were spooked by something.

The Avocet too, they always look elegant in flight.

They landed on the north scrape and some proceeded to feed in a line, and in time!

A female Stonechat in front of the hide.

A fly past from a female Marsh Harrier, was brief but close.

We headed back to the Meon Shore Hide, stopping to check the reeds in front of the West Hide with the thermal for snipe, but of course there was nothing.

From the Meon Shore hide a Marsh Harrier appeared over the reeds on the river side and flew towards the hide.  It seemed to have a very strong orange colour in the front of both wings

As it came closer it was clear these were wing tags.

As it turned and flew past the tags were visible and we could read "Z9" .  After some research it turned out this bird was tagged as a juvenile in Norfolk in 2022, it is a male and from it's sightings it travelled to Hampshire and Dorset after fledging, spending time at Needs Ore and Stanpit Marsh.  It was recorded at Titchfield last year but seems to spend most of its time to the west.  It also had one trip all the way up to Lincolnshire.

There was quite a bit of activity from the Shoveler, the males squabbling over the unattached females, this meant quite a few fights and the males chasing each other around the scrape.

One drake taking off to chase off another.

The landing.

This drake was preening and in doing so showed the base of the spatulate bill and the filaments that filter out the small invertebrates and vegetation that the duck feeds on.  The shoveler sieves the water while laying the bill just below the water

A closer look of the filaments.

A balanced photo of male and female.

And the stunning male.

A Common Gull made it six gull species for the day.

And a Common Redshank dropped on to the Snipe island.

Nice to be back but the birds just didn.t have the same appeal as those I have been seeing.  At least the Mediterranean Gull was a year tick

17th February - Kura Day Three, Uvita, Costa Rica

 The morning was dry and sunny, so the whale watch was on.  A taxi took us down to an office in Uvita and from there into the Parque Nacional Marino Ballena and onto the beach.  Here we boarded a small but fast boat, and after what seemed like an age we headed out to sea.  Due to the size of the boat and the experience we had last time we went out on the sea here in 2017 I decided not to take my Canon and was left to use my phone.

We headed out at speed and very quickly came across several more boats, and despite all the cautioning words from the guide about "you might not see anything" we came across two Humpback Whale adults, a male and a female, plus a young calf.

From late December through to late March, a population of northern Humpback Whales swim from the Oregon Coast towards Costa Rica’s Pacific Coast.  

The female Humpback, the male had a distinctive white dorsal fin.

There are two seasons for whales in Costa Rica with the other being from July to September and then it is more around the Gulfo Dulce in the Osa Peninsula.  While in Costa Rican waters the whales do not feed, having stored up during the northern summer in the rich feeding grounds around Oregon and British Colombia.

The male and female together.  

The females come here to give birth and see her calf through the first few months of their life in the warm waters of the national park.  Males will also be preset normally to shadow the females to ensure they have the best opportunity to mate.

The female with her calf.

We watched the whales for about 20 minutes.  The water here is not that deep and the whales stayed close to the surface.  There were a couple of times when it looked like one of the adults would dive, but the tail never really came out of the water.

Costa Rican regulations require boats to move off when they have watched for the 20 to 25 minutes if too many arrive, we headed south along the coast past the rocks we could see from Kura, after a short while we came across a pod of Bottlenose Dolphins.  The dolphins seemed to be as interested in us as we were in them.

They would come alongside the boat swimming under the boat and longside on the bow water.

There are two species of dolphin seen in the Costa Rican waters, these Bottlenose Dolphins and the Tropical Spotted we saw off El Ramanso.

Leaving the dolphins we headed towards the cliffs where there was quite a spectacular arch to see.

The tour ended and we had to wade through the sea and back on to the beach.  From there we were taken back to Kura where there was a lovely view of where we had just come from, the Whale's Tail just off Uvita beach.

We spent the afternoon by the pool, interesting there was very little bird life, much fewer vultures than the day before and no sign of the King Vultures of yesterday, how lucky was that?

But what I did manage to see was a group of seven Wood Storks, down, close to the beach, clearly a record shot.

The harsh call of Scarlet Macaws saw a pair fly across below us, the first time I have seen them here at Kura.

the clouds out on the ocean were an indication that there could be a spectacular sunset.

We sat with a drink and watched it unveil.

The light producing a spot on the ocean.

Golden light spread out across the ocean towards us.

I went up to the top of the building for a different view.

Looking south towards the Osa Peninsula.

The spectacular clouds reflected in th infinity pool.

Wonderful clouds.

Dark shadows from the clouds across the ocean.

This video was of the final moments of the sun as it set for the day.

And the final shot needs to be of Perry on the edge of the pool

We were leaving in the morning and after some discussion the pick up was arranged earlier than we were initially advised.  The journey to the airport was eventful, and we just managed to avoid a closure on the highway, taking the old road to San Jose.

Our fourth visit to Costa Rica was as wonderful as the previous three.  The trip list ended with 211, the highest of our trips while I was pleased with the 77 lifers.  It was sad to leave, but I think now we have covered most of this lovely country, stayed in some spectacular properties and met some truly wonderful people.

Thank you Costa Rica!