Once we were full of coffee and pastries and had a good fill of hummingbirds, we went back into the park (in case you missed it, we are still at the
Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve). We wanted to look on our own without a guide and managed to find a few other birds. They wouldn't let us on
some of the trails since they were already at capacity (and it seemed a
little unfair that they gave priority to people who had paid for
guides). We also scoped out some other trails with very different terrain and had a bit of luck (even managed to find a few quetzals on our own). We walked the park until we were both physically exhausted, but it was hard to leave knowing we wouldn't be back, and there were so many more birds to find. It was a very long day.
I'll just come right out and say it--the photos from inside the canopy definitely don't compare to the pics from the previous post, which kills me a little inside, being the perfectionist that I am--imagine dark, wet and rapidly flitting but mostly undetectable birds! It was a major photographic challenge. If only I had more time!
If any bird is eligible for the coolest name award, the common chlorospingus might be among them. Remarkably, it was not long ago known as a common bush-tanager, until
it was changed on a recommendation of the South American Classification Committee (do you think this information might come up on trivia night? I'm hopeful, but doubtful).
This black beauty was one of the most easily heard and recognized in the forest, but rather difficult to locate.
I'm still working on identification for a few birds. We may never know....
 |
| Woodcreeper of some kind |
 |
| Spotted barbtail maybe? |
We had seen a motmot in the forest earlier that day. They are seriously magnificent birds, and a good size, and Matt spotted one right beside the trail, where I would have walked right by and not even noticed. I snapped a few pics but wasn't too worried, knowing we'd seen them in Yelapa. Well, turns out we saw russet-crowned motmots, not blue-crowned! We also saw this gorgeous one just sitting by the window at the place in town where we went for dinner.
 |
| #362: Blue-crowned motmot; Beside the Paz y Flora Restaurante Vegetariana in Santa Elena, Costa Rica; December 2015 |
At this time we shifted gears in the trip. After dinner, we started to make our way to the coast! Out of the volcanoes and mountains on our way to the Nicoya Peninsula. We did that thing everyone tells you not to do--drove in the dark--but needed to be in position for a big day of birding the following day.
Our day in Monteverde was memorable to say the least. We counted 20 new birds in one day alone!
 |
| Just looking like a true birder! |
No comments:
Post a Comment