It was time to move on from Cerro Lodge & Carara NP. But where to go? I could head South, away from the tropical storm towards Manuel Antonio National Park, but there I would probably see much the same birds that I was seeing here. I really wanted to get up into the mountains where the birding would be different. I checked the weather forecasts for various regions & decided to risk Monteverde. This is a mountain resort with some good forest reserves, and not too far away from my present location. OK the forecast was for rain up there but I had a contingency plan. If the weather was too bad I could drive down the mountain to the Guanacaste, the driest part of the Country North of the Gulf of Nicoya.
Gartered Trogon - trogon caligatus
As I got higher up the mountain the rain became relentless. I finally reached Monteverde, had a cup of coffee & moved North towards Arenal. At no point did the rain cease, I was going to check into a hotel but the American owner kindly looked at the forecast for me, continuous rain for the next three days! So I about-turned & made my way down towards the coast, heading for Guanacaste, the dry NW Pacific coast region where hopefully it would not be raining.
I did stop to photograph a couple of birds along the way. First a nice Gartered Trogon on a wire, oblivious to the rain. Then another Turquoise-browed Motmot, this species seemed to be quite common in this region.
I did stop to photograph a couple of birds along the way. First a nice Gartered Trogon on a wire, oblivious to the rain. Then another Turquoise-browed Motmot, this species seemed to be quite common in this region.
Turquoise-browed Motmot - Eumomota superciliosa
Next however was a very nice surprise, a Lesser Ground Cuckoo. This is one I had not seen before, in fact I didn't know what it was until later when I had time to check the Field Guide.
Lesser Ground Cuckoo - morococcyx erythropygus
The only other bird I captured on this journey was a Gray-lined Hawk, sat on a branch some distance away. Later I would get a much closer shot and I put both here for the record as it's another new one.
 Gray-lined Hawk - buteo nitidus |  Lesser Ground Cuckoo - morococcyx erythropygus |
It was getting late now and I needed somewhere to stay. Fortunately as I reached the coast I stumbled upon a sign for La Ensenada Lodge, an eco hotel that I had been told about by the boatman on the Tarcoles River.
Gray-lined Hawk - buteo nitidus
La Ensenada
I drove in and asked for a room and as usual it was no problem, in fact I was never turned away anywhere on this trip, there were always rooms available and often at cheaper rates than if I had booked in advance. Below is the view from the veranda of my very comfortable cabin, looking out into the Gulf of Nicoya. very nice too.
View from La Ensenada Lodge
Up at dawn I walked around the gardens picking up one or two birds with the use of flash in the dim early morning light. A Rose Throated Becard and a noisy flock of Orange Chinned Parakeets in the same tree.
 Rose Throated Becard - pachyramphus aglaiae |  Orange-chinned Parakeets -brotogeris jugularis |
As I walked across a damp meadow I picked up a pair of Double-striped Thicknees, a similar species to our Stone Curlew but less wary, easier to get close to and photograph.
Double-striped Thick-knee - burhinus histriatus
Parrots usually advertise their presence with loud raucous squawking, and so it was with this Red Lored Amazon Parrot screeching away in some tall trees. These birds are popular as pets. They are impressive and charming, prized for their beauty and intelligence the world over. Their comical personalities and amazing talking ability has helped boost their popularity tremendously. They can live for up to 80 years and if well looked after can become very attached to their owners. I prefer to see and hear them in the wild.
Red-lored Amazon - amazona autumnalis
Not far away I caught sight of a Lineated Woodpecker and captured a decent image. This was another lifer and I was well pleased with this shot. Now that there was more light I was finding photography quite easy in this open country, not like forest birding which is much harder.
Lineated Woodpecker - dryocopus lineatus
Not a bad start to the day and I made my way back to the covered terrace for breakfast. The birding did not stop here however as a hungry flock of White-throated Magpie-jays flew or hopped into the open-sided dining room. Some perched in the roof beams looking for an opportunity to swoop down and steal food. I made the mistake of getting up for orange juice & lost a piece of toast with scrambled egg. I did not object as it was all quite amusing. I had my camera with me but my long lens was no use as the birds were so close. The shot below of one outside was the best I could do. I like the crest tufts, sets them apart from the American Blue Jay.
White-throated Magpie-jay calocitta formosa
After breakfast I walked down to the beach and along the mangrove-backed coast. The first new species I picked up was a large wader known as a Willet, getting a poor photograph taken through a gap in the mangrove branches.
Willet - tringa semipalmata
Shortly after this I snapped a nice Great Crested Flycatcher in some bare branches.
Great Crested Flycatcher - myiarchus crinitus -
Then I spotted up a pair of White Necked Puffbirds. I was pleased with this as it rounds off all three Costa Rica Puffbird species for me.
White-necked Puffbird - notharchus hyperrhynchus
At the same time I spotted a flash of bright yellow in the trees behind the beach, this turned out to be a Streak-backed Oriole, a very attractive bird.
Streak-backed Oriole - icterus pustulatus
This little brown job is a rather nondescript species known as a Northern Beardless Tyrranulet. It's another new one for me & there's not much else to say about it. Apparently it doesn't have a beard?
Next I turned my attention to the birds on some rocks along the beach, where amongst the Turnstones was a smart wader that I did not recognise. From the photos I later found it in the field-guide, It's a Surfbird, a nice looking spot-bellied wader.
Surfbird (with Ruddy Turnstones) - aphriza virgata
Surfbird - aphriza virgata
The Black-bellied Plover is what we call the Grey Plover, it is another very widely distributed bird seen on every continent except Antarctica.
Black-bellied Plover - pluvialis squatarola
There were other birds about of course, Gulls, Hirundines, Royal Terns and Brown Pelicans but I was really only concerned with picking up new species for that mythical "life list" that I might compile one rainy day.
 Royal Tern - thalasseus maximus |  Brown Pelican - pelecanus occidentalis |
Next morning I decided to move on again, I would have another crack at Monteverde, the forecast was for intermittant rain so I thought it might be worthwhile. before I left la Ensenada I took a photo of this magnificent Acacia Tree which was close outside my cabin. Really spectacular.
Acacia at La Ensenada
I was also better prepared for the White-throated Magpie-Jays at breakfast. They were not going to get my scrambled eggs this time, and in fact I got one or two shots of them with the whole bird in the frame this time, not easy as their tails are so long.
White-throated Magpie-jay calocitta formosa From La Ensenada I drove along the coast road through a small village, which I think was alled Abangaritos, where Magnificent Frigatebirds were wheeling and circling quite low overhead. Naturally I stopped to try a few shots of this interesting looking bird. Not easy to captue a good image because the male is basically all black except for the red throat sack which is only inflated when trying to attract a mate. At least I did catch the light in this chap's eye so you can get the idea of what this skinny ocean scavenger looks like, quite different.
Magnificent Frigatebird - fregata magnificens
After this I reached the highway & started the climb up the mountain to Monteverde.
