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| Wrenthrush, Paraiso Quetzal Lodge, Costa Rica, Dec 16, 2016 |
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| Wrenthrush, Paraiso Quetzal Lodge, Costa Rica, Dec 16, 2016 |
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| Flame throated Warbler, Paraiso Quetzal Lodge, Costa Rica, Dec 16, 2016 |
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| Black cheeked Warbler, Paraiso Quetzal Lodge, Costa Rica, Dec 16, 2016 |
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| Collared Redstart, Paraiso Quetzal Lodge, Costa Rica, Dec 16, 2016 |
Just back from another trip down to Costa Rica (my tenth!) and it was once again a great trip away from the cold weather at home. One night was spent around San Jose, another night up in the mountains at Paraiso Quetzal Lodge and the remaining nights at the spectacular Rio Magnolia Lodge (with a day long side trip down to Buenos Aires). On December 16th I met Andres at 6 am to guide me around the area of Paraiso Quetzal Lodge and hopefully find
some of my target birds. My number one target was a Wrenthrush, which is oddly
neither a wren or a thrush but is a wood warbler species endemic to Costa Rica
and Panama and one of only two species of breeding warbler in Costa Rica I had
not yet seen. Wrenthrush is a small, dark bird with a burnt orange crown that
inhabits dense growth within the forest and is much more likely to be heard then
seen. Although there was a glimpses of sun early
on, the clouds quickly filled in and the drizzle and light rain picked up and
continued for most of the mornings. Andres and I still managed to find some
good birds despite the weather including a lifer for me, a Black Guan plus a
number of other highland specialities. After a brief stop to eat we headed back out into the rainy weather and started
walking some of the trails within the forest. Andres had a tip on where we
might find a Wrenthrush and after a slippery walk down some muddy trails we
arrived at the location and almost immediately had brief looks at a couple of
Wrenthrush. They moved just way to fast to get photos but I managed to get some
recordings as they called from the deep undergrowth. We never got another look
at them in that location but we decided to move further down the trail in hopes
of finding them further down slope where the trail curved back toward our current
location. Sure enough we caught back up with one of them and had brief but very
close looks as it foraged among some roots. I tried again for photos with my
big camera but it was just too dark and the bird was too fast. I eventually
tried my luck with my cellphone camera and I managed a few identifiable photos.
I was very happy to have not only found the bird but to have seen it well,
managed some recordings and got some photos. We continued our walk until a
little before 10:30 when we had to head back to pack up and check out for 11am. Despite the less than stellar weather I was very happy to find a new species of wood warbler.
Videos of a Wrenthrush:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/54277284@N05/31100738344/in/dateposted-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/54277284@N05/31568054430/in/dateposted-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/54277284@N05/31568070770/in/dateposted-public/
Videos of Wrenthrush calling:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/54277284@N05/31101237734/in/dateposted-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/54277284@N05/31568210590/in/dateposted-public/
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| Marsh where a Masked Yellowthroat should have been, Buenos Aires, Costa Rica, Dec 20, 2016 |
On December 20th I once again met up with Andres plus another guide that he
knew. I met them in San Isidro at 5am (requiring a wake up at 3:30am to make
the hour drive down). We then headed south toward the Buenos Aires to explore a
variety of locations over the course of the entire day. Although I had a
variety of possible new birds in this corner of Costa Rica I have never visited
before, my main target was another warbler, a Masked Yellowthroat. This
subspecies of Masked Yellowthroat only occurs in a small portion of Costa Rica
and nearby Panama and is likely a separate species and known as Chiriqui
Yellowthoat. Unfortunately we missed finding the warbler but we were really
not quite far enough south to guarantee seeing it as the area we visited was at
the northern extreme of its range...I will have to try again next time I come
down but will just have to go further toward the Panama border.
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| Mourning Warbler, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Dec 21, 2016 |
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| Golden winged Warbler, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Dec 19, 2016 |
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| Chestnut sided Warbler, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Dec 19, 2016 |
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| Tennessee Warbler, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Dec 19, 2016 |
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| Yellow Warbler, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Dec 21, 2016 |
I managed to find a total of 13 species of warblers during the trip with the vast majority being Chestnut sided and Tennessee Warbler as well as Collared Redstarts (only up in the mountains).
Videos with a calling of Buff rumped Warbler:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/54277284@N05/31100784644/in/dateposted-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/54277284@N05/31101143054/in/dateposted-public/
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