Costa Rica 29 and 30 January 2019

29 January 2019
El Coco - Horizontes Experimental Forest - El Coco

     Franc, Jim and I visited Horizontes Experimental Forest while the ladies all elected to stay back and enjoy the pool.
     It was a hot, dusty drive into Horizontes, along a bumpy dirt road. We stopped periodically to do a little birding and a young woman passed us, walking the considerable distance from the highway to the research centre, but was confronted by a cow that looked a little mean, and could not be scared off, so we gave her a ride. This pleased her greatly, from two standpoints I am sure, cutting short the distance she had to walk in the hot sun, and not having to deal with the threatening bovine.
     When we arrived at the dusty compound of buildings a pleasant young fellow, Marlon, chatted to us and pointed us in the direction of a "birdy" trail. We certainly appreciated his help.
     Many trees were flowering and they were a magnet for parrots and butterflies.

     A Northern Crested Caracara (Caracara cheriway) found a high vantage point to scan for possible food.

     We walked the trail, which was about a 4.5 km loop, but the birding was fairly tough. The cover was quite dense and there was not a whole lot of visible activity.
     I took very few photographs and this one of a Black-headed Trogon (Trogon melanocephalus) is hardly the best!

     Marlon had advised us that Northern Potoo (Nyctibius jamaicensis) could be found along this trail, but despite our best efforts we were unable to locate one.
     The most exciting bird of the circuit was a Little Tinamou (Crypturellus soui), which put in a brief appearance at a small patch of water. I think that the ratio of times I have seen tinamous, as opposed to hearing them, must be at least ten to one in favour of hearing, so this sighting was especially pleasing.
     We located a dead snake, which I believe is a Reticulated Centipede Snake (Tantilla reticulata), missing its head. Perhaps we disturbed whatever had killed the snake, although we did not see any sudden movement of an animal or bird of prey fleeing the scene.

     When we finished our walk Marlon came to see us again and took us to a dining room where we could have had lunch. Had we planned on staying later we would have been glad to take him up on the offer but we had no way of getting hold of Miriam, Francine or Carol to let them know we would not be back around noon.
     As it turned out Miriam and I took lunch at a local restaurant in El Coco, where the food was quite delicious. I had a dish called Volcanoes which was a kind of Casado, quite picante and tasty as could be. Miriam had Quesadilla which she was also very happy with.
     After lunch Miriam read for a while, took a dip in the pool, checked her Facebook page, I read, had a nap....in other words we did very little of anything! And when the temperature is 35 degrees that sounds like a great plan!

All species 29 January: Little Tinamou, Turkey Vulture, Black Vulture, Roadside Hawk, White-tipped Dove, Grey-headed Dove, White-winged Dove, Groove-billed Ani, Squirrel Cuckoo, Green-breasted Mango, Cinnamon Hummingbird, Black-headed Trogon, Turquoise-browed Motmot, Hoffmann's Woodpecker, Northern Crested Caracara, Red-fronted Parrotlet, White-fronted Amazon, Woodcreeper, sp., Fasciated Antshrike, Great Kiskadee, Tropical Kingbird, Brown-crested Flycatcher, Yellow-throated Vireo, Brown Jay, Rufous-backed Wren, Banded Wren, White-lored Gnatcatcher, Tropical Gnatcatcher, Clay-coloured Thrush, Steak-backed Oriole, Baltimore Oriole, Great-tailed Grackle, Tennessee Warbler, Yellow-throated Warbler.

30 January 2019
El Coco - Palo Verde National Park - El Coco
      
     We left at 06h:00 to drive to Palo Verde. 
     As we got close to the park we started to bird as various species were seen in the arid Guanacaste landscape.

     Scattered trees provided both perches and cover, alas mostly quite far from the road.
     A Tropical Mockingbird (Mimus gilvus) was our only sighting of this species during the entire trip.

     A Stripe-headed Sparrow (Peucaea ruficauda) is a very striking little bird and we were happy to see several of them.

     I remembered this area quite well from when we had been here with Charlie Gomez and Niño Morales of Costa Rica Expeditions, and I knew that there were other places that were potentially productive, but not having their detailed knowledge that didn't help me much!
     Far and away the most exciting find was an Aplomado Falcon (Falco femoralis) which flew from its perch almost as soon as we saw it and moved even farther away. Everyone had a decent look, however, and in going over the field marks based on everyone's impressions, it is clear that it was an Aplomado Falcon. I notified Charlie of the sighting and he expressed complete confidence in this record. He advised that other views of this enigmatic species have occurred near Palo Verde.
      This nest of a wasp or hornet looks like something you don't want to mess with!

     You actually enter the national park before arriving at the office where you have to check in, but the water was not hosting many birds it appeared.

     

     Common Ground Dove (Columbina passerina) is, as the name implies, common, sometimes not even on the ground!

     The signage just before arriving at the office is impressive!

     At first there was no one in the office, and we were about to leave and drive on into the park when someone walking over from what appeared to be a residence, hailed us, and we waited for him to arrive. We all went into the office where each one of us signed in and paid our fee.

       We were able to get maps and advice on the trails. We wanted to find Jabiru (Jabiru mycteria) and were advised that the best trail to achieve that goal was La Roca.  Little did we know that it was difficult trail, over rugged terrain, constantly rising.

   

     Aptly called La Roca, the view from the summit was quite spectacular, but so far from the wetlands below it was impossible to identify some of the birds.

     We did see Jabiru, but very far away indeed, and it was so windy we could hardly hold our binoculars still. 

     When you climb up, you have to clamber back down.

     We found the boardwalk where we had enjoyed the best birding of all during our previous visit to Palo Verde. 

     The cutout of the Jabiru is the closest we got to it!

     The level of the water was much lower than when we were last here and the bird life commensurately diminished. And the wind was exceptionally strong too.

     Much of the area was almost dry and there were a few Black-bellied Whistling Ducks (Dendrocygna autumnalis) and even fewer Muscovy Ducks (Cairina moschata), and no Blue-winged Teal (Spatula discors) at all. 

     We walked up and down the boardwalk spotting what we could.

     A Great Egret (Ardea alba) came in to land to join only two or three others present.

     Several Northern Jacanas (Jacana spinosa) moved around in the vegetation quite close to the boardwalk.

     

      A few Barn Swallows (Hirundo rustica) led us to muse whether a few of them might have visited us at SpruceHaven last year!

      Black Spiny-tailed Iguanas (Ctenosaura similis) showed little inclination to sidestep humans.

     We had made prior arrangements to have lunch at the Centre for Neotropical Studies, from a well stocked self-serve buffet featuring salad, rice and beans, vegetables, and chicken, with fresh fruit for dessert.

     Leaving for home after lunch, we ran into a small troupe of White-throated Capuchin Monkeys (Cebus capucinus), a fitting farewell it seemed.

      Carol and Franc had to take the rental car back and while they did that Miriam and I relaxed in the heat of the Guanacaste afternoon. At times I think that were as many birds around the apartment complex as there had been at Palo Verde!  

All species 30 January: Black-bellied Whistling Duck, Muscovy Duck, Wood Stork, Jabiru, Roseate Spoonbill, Bare-throated Tiger Heron, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Neotropic Cormorant, Anhinga, Turkey Vulture, Black Vulture, Western Osprey, Purple Gallinule, Southern Lapwing, Northern Jacana, Least Sandpiper, Lesser Yellowlegs, Greater Yellowlegs, Rock Dove, Inca Dove, Common Ground Dove, White-winged Dove, Groove-billed Ani, Cinnamon Hummingbird, Black-headed Trogon, Hoffmann's Woodpecker, Northern Crested Caracara, Aplomado Falcon, White-fronted Amazon, Scarlet Macaw, Great Kiskadee, Tropical Kingbird, Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, Brown-crested Flycatcher, Grey-breasted Martin, Blue-and-white Swallow, Barn Swallow, Rufous-backed Wren, White-lored Gnatcatcher, Tropical Mockingbird, House Sparrow,Stripe-headed Sparrow, Red-winged Blackbird, Great-tailed Grackle, Morelet's Seedeater.