Wingspan News: February 2013

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

FEB 25TH - MORE PHOTOS FROM COSTA RICA

DISTANT VIEW OF THE RIVER TARCOLES FROM CERROS LODGE

TRI-COLOURED HERON


STREAK HEADED WOODCREEPER

BLACK BELLIED WHISTLING DUCKS AND ROSEATE SPOONBILLS

TROPICAL KINGBIRD

Roseate Spoonbill at Palo Verde

Squirrel Cuckoo

Streaked-backed Oriole

Our guide was wearing this T-shirt

Limpkin - taken at Hotel La Pacifica ponds

Jabiru - quite distant at Palo Verde

Howler Monkeys - watching us eat lunch

A close up of a Howler - quite cute really - I must have been away from my wife too long!!!

American Wigeon at Palo Verde

A menacing looking Caimen at Palo Verde

Inca Dove (foreground) and Ground Dove

Turquoise Crowned Motmot


Boat-billed Heron

The Royal Flycatcher at Carara

A close up of the Royal Flycatcher - imagine what that beautiful crest looks like when errected?

Yours Truly with Roy Orozco

and finally - the group have had enough, they're going home

Monday, February 25, 2013

FEB 25TH - GAUCIN WALK

PUNTA UMBRIA

The weather has been fantastic for the last two days after a week of miserable, cold rainy days.

We took the same walk on both of the last two days around the hill called Punta Umbria. I was surprised to see how many butterflies are on the wing: Brimstone, Large White, Painted Lady, Small Copper, Wall Brown, Large Tortoiseshell, Spanish Festoon and Cleopatra.

Local birds are now in song - Robins, Blackbirds and Chaffinches. We also saw Raven, Common Buzzard, Common Kestrel, Jay, Gt, Sp Woodpecker, Black Redstart, Cirl Bunting, Eurasian Nuthatch, Short-toed Treecreeper, Firecrest, Serin, Eurasian Chiffchaff and White Wagtail. But the star of today was a Goshawk, this superb bird put on a display for 10 minutes, circling with slow floppy wing beats and then diving down over the forest, great birding.

Last Friday we went to Gibraltar and saw a few Black Kites, Lesser Kestrels and a Booted Eagle - all new for the year list.

ADDITIONS TO MY YEAR LIST 2013

501. Firecrest

502. Cirl Bunting

503. Short-toed Treecreeper

504. Eurasian Nuthatch
505. Lesser Kestrel
506. Black Kite
507. Booted Eagle
508. Black Restart
509. Blue Rock-Thrush

Friday, February 22, 2013

FEB 23RD 2013 - COSTA RICA PHOTOS pt 1

here are some of the 900 birdy pics I took during the recent Costa Rica Tour:

click on each picture to enlargen it

Magnificent Hummingbird taken at the Quetzal lodge feeeders

as above

Black-capped Flycatcher - taken at Savegre

Butterfly sp.

Dave sitting a few feet away from a hummer at Savegre Hotel

the group assembles at Savegre for a trip up into the mountain cloud forest

Costa Rican Pygmy Owl

Lineated Woodpecker (male) taken at Talari Lodge

Olivaceous Piculet taken at Talari

Resplendent Quetzal taken at Savegre

as above

Collared Redstart - taken at Savergre - several were seen in the area

as above - a very obliging bird

one of the star birds of the trip this is the Spangle-cheeked Tanager seen at Savergre

White-throated Mountain Gem - one of 30 hummers recorded on the trip

Tufted Flycather seen at Savegre

as above

Speckled Tanager - surprisingly only seen once at Talari Lodge

a very large banana-eating butterfly at Talari bird feeder

Common Potoo - a wierd shaped bill of this nocturnal beast - two were seen on the trip one at Rancho and the other at Carara national park

as above

Talking of wierd bills - look at this Boat-billed Heron seen at sveral places on the trip


Crocodile Dundee? This is our boat captain, one slip and we would have to steer the boat home ourselves. Picture taken during the boat trip up the tarcoles river. A fantastic experience with many species of birds and reptiles on show.