Morning arrived too soon, I emerged bleary eyed & walked out to a glorious emerging sunrise and heard a raucous screeching from the vicinity of the dining terrace. When I arrived there was a sight for sore eyes, Scarlet Macaws were squabbling over fruit on a feeder stand in the garden. In case you don't know these are enormous and spectacular members of the parrot family.
Scarlet Macaw - ara macao
Scarlet Macaws are said to have the intelligence of a 4-8 year old child with the emotional intelligence of a 2 year old. This means that they can be demanding and cranky and even throw temper tantrums which was plainly evident from their behaviour at the feeder. I had my camera with me but my 500 mm lens is too long for the proximity of such large birds, and anyway who wants shots of birds at a feeder,? not me. I did pick one quiet one who sat to one side a little away from the mellee & post it here so you can see what I am talking about.
Anyway after a quck breakfast I drove down to the National Park entrance & picked up my guide Antonio. We entered the Forest on a very wet trail on which I was very glad for my wellies. The first creature we saw was not a bird but a Bat, but a white one! never seen a white bat before so here it is, apparently called a Ghost Bat it was hanging under a large palm frond looking down at me.
Anyway after a quck breakfast I drove down to the National Park entrance & picked up my guide Antonio. We entered the Forest on a very wet trail on which I was very glad for my wellies. The first creature we saw was not a bird but a Bat, but a white one! never seen a white bat before so here it is, apparently called a Ghost Bat it was hanging under a large palm frond looking down at me.
Ghost Bat
Anyone who has walked trails in a rain forest will know that birds do not jump out and show themselves, you have to work hard, stay alert and listen, and sometimes it pays off. We heard this guy first and after some searching managed get a good sighting. I was forced to use flash in the dark but was quite pleased with these shots of a stunning Black Headed Trogon, the only yellow-bellied Trogon in Costa Rica with pale Blue Iris's.
Black Headed Trogon - trogon melanocephalus
I think this one might be a male, there are hints of green on the back.
Black Headed Trogon - trogon melanocephalus
Shortly after this I caught sight of a slightly strange shape flitting through the dim undergrowth. Antonio did not notice it but I aimed the camera in a faint hope of capturing something where it alighted and although it's a very poor image we found I had photographed a Long Billed Hermit, a large, very nice Hummingbird indeed, not one that is easy to see in its forest habitat.
Long Billed Hermit - phaethornis longirostris
While I was occupied with the hummingbird Antonio had heard an Antshrike and was imitating its call to attract it within view. Before long it was there, looking for the source of the sound and I managed a couple of shots in difficult circumstances through the leaves, picking up a nice Barred Antshrike, similar in appearance to the Fasciated Antshrike I saw at La Selva, but a separate species & therefore another lifer.
Barred Antshrike - thamnophilus doliatus
And so this type of birding continued. Picking up the calls or just locating the bird by sight, but almost always using flash to capture an image. Here's a White Whiskered Puffbird, another resident of dense primary forest. This is a "watch and wait" predator, it perches for long periods until it spots an insect, frog, lizard or other prey which it will then pounce upon.
White Whiskered Puffbird - malacoptila panamensis
The Black Hooded Antshrike was one that Antonio was confident of finding in one particular spot, and sure enough with a bit of patience it appeared, with a small snack in its beak.
Black Hooded Antshrike - thamnophilus bridgesi
The Pale Billed Woodpecker is even larger than the similar Piliated Woodpecker but is easily identified by its completely red head and pale bill. It was fairly easy to locate due to the drumming sound it makes as it searches for larvae etc in the wood.
Pale Billed Woodpecker - campephilus guatemalensis
After a while we emerged from the deep forest to the banks of a small river that probably flowed into the nearby Rio Tarcoles. Here the light was better and as is often the case the forest edge held some great birds. First of these was another Black Mandibled Toucan, giving us great close up views.
Black Mandibled Toucan - ramphastos ambiguus
Even better was to come. Antonio heard something in the trees overhanging the river, and as we parted the branches we came face to face with a fantastic Boat Billed Heron. This mangrove dwelling old guy was not fazed at all by our presence.
Boat Billed Heron - cochlearius cochlearius
In fact his expression was something like "Yes, what the f_ _ _k do you want?" I enjoyed him so much I'll post him twice. Hope he has a good future life. One of those great birding moments.
Boat Billed Heron - cochlearius cochlearius
Spectacular birds were coming thick and fast now. A Fiery Billed Aracari made an appearance. I was very pleased with this one as it was another first sighting, made my day - yet again.
Fiery Billed Aracari - pteroglossus frantzii
We did see at least two Manakins. I really regret not getting a photo of the White Collared Manakin which put in a good appearance but moved away just as I lined up on him, damn! This Red Capped Manakin however did sit still long enough for a very poor quality shot in low light. As I recall I was out of battery power in my external flash so the exposure is not very good. Manakins are very enigmatic and highly sought after by birders. This one is known by the locals as the Michael Jackson Bird because of the famous video clip of some males doing the moondance in perfect time to an MJ tune. It's part of the males displaying for females in the lek.
Red Capped Manakin - ceratopipra mentalis
This bird is a Northern Barred Woodcreeper. There are apparently many species of Woodcreeper in Costa Rica but I was surprised at how few I saw. They were much more common in Ecuador. It was a little disappointing as I like this kind of bird, not flashy or colourful, but exciting to see and capture nonetheless.
Northern Barred Woodcreeper - dendrocolaptes sanctithomae
Next up is probably the most beautiful bird of the day. The Rufous Tailed Jacamar is a stunner, with glorious glistening green and orange feathers, large eyes and a long sharply pointed bill it makes an imposing image on a bare branch in the dark forest. fantastic.
Rufous Tailed Jacamar - galbula ruficauda
I like this one so much I'll post it twice. The Rufous Tailed Jacamar, this one is a female.
All good things come to an end. Eventually we came out of the forest and my time with Antonio was up. I urge anyone who travels to Carara National Park to ask for him at the Park entrance, We found some great birds together and he went to great lengths to get me into the right place for photography. Best $50 I spent on this trip.
With my intrepid guide Antonio at Carara National Park
