TAPANTI EARLY MORNING THEN
TRANSFER TO SAVERGE WITH A STOP AT PARAISO del QUETZAL
A brilliant day full of exciting
finds with many endemic species added to our list. It was a full-on action
packed day today with dull overcast conditions to start and to finish with and
bright sunshine in the middle.
The early morning walk was taken
along the track above the lodge, we drove 2km uphill reaching 2700 meters
elevation and then began the descent on foot. We started in the clouds so the
light was really bad when we found our first new bird of the day. A pair of
Orange-bellied Trogon sat on the wires near a street lamp, they were catching
moths and gave continuous calls which was the only way we could separate them
from the Collared Trogon in the poor light.
.JPG) |
| The exquisite Golden-browed Chlorophonia |
At times the cloud lifted and it
did turn brighter and as it did so, so the birds came out. We had a nice spell
when we tracked down a Rufous-browed Peppershrike, what a great bird species to
locate and one that is not easy anywhere. Next we heard a Golden-browed
Chlorophonia but could not see it in the gloom but a pair of Elegant Euphonias
were nice and again they were not easy to track down.
 |
| Band-backed Wren |
A Yellowish Warbler came next and
then an unexpected Band-backed Wren put in an appearance, this species is out of
range here. After chasing and searching for a view of the Elegant Euphonia
earlier on the walk we now found a male sitting out in the open singing his
little heart out. Then just around the next bend we bumped into a small flock
of Golden-browed Euphonias and got some outstanding views of this exquisitely
coloured little gem.
Well that walk set us up for the
day, so after scrambled eggs, toast and wonderful coffee we set off in the bus
to our next destination, the Savegre hotel.
We stopped after 3 hours to take
a light lunch which was over in 30 minutes and soon we arrived at the Paraiso
del Quetzal Lodge where we hoped to see the most wanted species of all the
Resplendent Quezal.
After collecting a local guide
from the Lodge we drove a short distance and then turned onto a side track and
quickly parked up. We followed the track on a steep downhill course, it was
very windy on the way down but we managed to see a few species including Common
Bush-Finch, Sooty-capped Bush-Tanager and a newly fledged Green Voiletear.
At the bottom of the hill the
guide led us to a fruiting avocado tree where we found a superb male
Resplendent Quetzal, our most wanted species was now in the bag. We had great
views of it perched and in flight what a stunner.
I THOUGHT YOU MIGHT LIKE A FEW PICS OF THE QUETZA
We crawled our way back up the
1km hill (remember we were at 8000ft so the air was a little thinner so some of
us struggled) and got back onto the bus. The short drive back gave us time to
recuperate before another walk was taken. We birded the track to the Paraiso
del Quetzal Lodge and new species came thick and fast. Black-billed
Nightingale-thrush was first on the list, then Yellow-thighed Finch, Mountain Elaina,
Black-capped Flycatcher, Sooty Thrush and lots more.
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| SOOTY THRUSH |
At the lodge the group split into
two, some went on a further walk whilst others stayed at the lodge. More birds
were added from both groups; Wrenthrush is a little beauty and well applauded
by the group for showing so well, Timberline Wren, another sought after bird also
showed well, we also saw both the Long-tailed Silky-Flycatcher and the Black
& Yellow Silky-Flycatchers as well as a lot of ‘good’ high altitude species.
Back atthe lodge we spent some
time on the excellent veranda watching the hummer feeders where we had great
views of a number of hummingbirds including Volcano, Magnificent,
Fiery-throated, Green Violetear and Purple-throated Mountain-gem.
Other birds seen around the lodge
not already mentioned were: Large-footed Finch, Black-cheeked Warbler, Collared
Redstart, Band-tailed Pigeon and close views were had of Mountain Thrush.
At 5pm we had to make a move to
our next venue which was the Savegre Hotel some 45 minutes away. We still added
a couple species as we drove there, Acorn Woodpecker, Sulphur-winged Parakeet
and Red-tailed Hawk.
Well what a day, we added 25
species to our list which now stood at 305 and we are only just passed
half-way.
We arrived at Savegre which just
enough time to settle in and then later we enjoyed a super dinner and a nice
cold beer.
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