MOROCCO - DAY 3 - MARCH 8TH 2014

TAGDILT TRACK AND SURROUNDINGS - LATE AFTERNOON TRIP TO DADES GORGE

We were  down for breakfast at 6am and out in the car park at 6:45. It was quite light by then and we had a clear sky with fading stars, there was a chilly wind with a temperature of only 5C, it felt like 2C! You must remember that we are still at over 300 metres altitude.

out of the bus on the Tagdilt track

our hotel on the edge of the stoney plains at Boumalne Dades

We walked to a small area where rubbish had been tipped for the last few years and had a great time watching many birds. Trumpeter Finches numbered in the 20's and Short-toed Larks were seen in small flocks of 10-20 birds. We also listed Desert Wheatears, Desert Lark, Temminck's Horned Lark, Red-rumped Wheatears, Thekla Lark, two Eurasian Hoopoes and a small flock of Cream-coloured Coursers, what a great start to the day.

Trumpeter Finch

We jumped onto the bus and drove a short way to the Tagdilt track about 1\2 mile away. Tagdilt is 'LARK'S VILLE' they were everywhere and several species were listed. As well as those mentioned above we found Skylark, Crested Lark and two rather special ones. After walking for quite away into this huge area of litter strewn rubbish we found our most wanted the Thick-billed Lark, three of them flew a distance away and gibe us the run-around for a while bit we all had superb views in the end. We also found a single Lesser Short-toed Lark and several more Wheatears.

Red-rumped Wheatear

We moved further along the track towards Tagdilt where we got off the bus to walk again. Over the next hour we found a few new echoes and lots more others seen earlier. We added our ninth lark of the day when we found a Hoopoe Lark, we also found Subalpine Warbler, Willow Warbler, Great Grey Shrike (elegans) we then found a great species for Morocco in the shape of an Isabelline Wheatears, what a superb find.

its unbelievable that you cam find such great birds in a rubbish tip
Here we have Thick-billed Lark and Temminck's Horned Lark

As we moved to the next place we saw a flurry of raptor passage, we counted 18 Black Kites, 4 Short-toed Eagles, 3 Marsh Harriers and a couple of Lesser Kestrel were seen out on plains. Our last stop before lunch was at a small oasis where a small holding had a few fields of crops and a little orchard. We only added Meadow Pipit and our fourth Eurasian Hoopoe of the day but there were a few Subalpine Warblers and a Common Redstart there too.

a male Thick-billed Lark

We bought lunch in Boumalne Dade and drove up the gorge to each at a picnic site near the very strange rock formation locally known as "Monkey Fingers". From there we drove right up through the gorge and over the top where we searched for our last two species of the day. First we found air of Bonelli's Eagles and then after some chasing we found a beautiful male Tristram's Warbler, fantastic and a great bird to finish the day off with.

Tristan's Warbler - taken by Terje Kolaas today

After a nice hot shower we ambled down to the restaurant for a lovely dinner and a glass of wine (or beer).

 

 

 

 

 

MOROCCO - DAY 2 - MARCH 7th 2014

 

OUKAIMEDAN (TOUBKAL NATIONAL PARK) - BOUMALNE FADES VIA AIT OURIR, THE TIZI-N-TICHKA PASS AND QUARZAZATE

We had a fantastic start to the day, the weather was absolutely brilliant with a beautiful clear sky and no wind, perfect for visiting the high Atlas Mountains.

After a 6am breakfast we set off in the dark and headed up steep climb to Oukaimedan, a few species were seen on the way but we never stopped as we intended to get to the top as early as possible. Our efforts paid off as soon as we arrived in the village of Oukaimedan, there were hundreds of birds everywhere. It was amazing, several hundred Red-billed Cough mixed with similar numbers of Alpine Cough as they littered the whole area. Then we found our first group of Crimson-winged Finches they fed by the roadside and allowed very close approach. It got even better as we walked along the main track, we saw Common Raven, Atlas Horned Lark, Black Redstart, Rock Sparrow, Black Wheatears, Mistle Thrush and more finches, lots more.

scenes in the Atlas Mounatins

We climbed back onto the bus and drove up to the radio masts where we found Rock Bunting and another of our target species, the Alpine Accentor. On the way back down we heard the call of the Levaillant's Woodpecker and after a little walk we found the bird stuck to the trunk of a tree. This was a superb find, I have never seen one at this altitude, 3000 metres!

ATLAS HORNED LARK

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the beautiful Crimson-winged Finch

We then spent an hour or so driving back down the mountainside to look for more species, we found several Moussier's Redstarts as well as Barbary Partridge and our first Long-legged Buzzard.

Well by the time we got down to the valley floor it was almost 11am so we had to press on to our next destination. We made several stops throughout the rest of the day finding a lot more species. We added Crested & Thekla Lark, Moroccan Magpie, Great-grey Shrike, more Barbary Partridges and lots more.

Our lunch stop produced three target species in a pine copse, Common Crossbill, Fiercest and Coal Tit. Other journey birds included Desert Lark, White-crowned Wheatears, Desert Wheatears and Short-toed Eagle.

Levaillant's Woodpecker

It was now getting late and our last stop was brief and a little disappointing. We stopped at the huge reservoir at Quarzazate but because of the lack of recent rains the water level was dreadfully low and hence very few birds were seen. A flock of 18 Black Kites was nice, we also saw Ruddy Shelduck, Marsh Harrier, White Stork, White Wagtail and a dozen Grey Herons.

tThe light finally went so we hopped onto the bus and finished the journey to Boumalne Dade where a hot shower and a lovely tajine dinner was awaiting for us.

MOROCCO - DAY 1 - MARCH 6TH 2014

MENARA AIRPORT (MARRAKECH) – OURIKA VALLEY

The weather was beautiful as we landed in Morocco, cloudless skies and a high temperature of 22C.

We all met up at Menara Airport at 4pm. This was unfortunately too late to do much birding before it got dark, so our usually trip up to Oukaimedan was left out of the itinerary until tomorrow.

LOOKING INTO THE OURIKA VALLEY WHILST WAITING FOR THE LITTLE SWIFTS

 

 

 

However, we did manage to see some species at the airport where we were welcomed by a singing House Bunting and outside we saw Common Bubul, Collared Dove and a few House Martins. Our route took us through some lovely countryside as we drove into the Ourika valley. We stopped to look at some raptors circling om the thermals, there were 5 Short-toed Eagles, 3 Common Kestrel and a distant Bonelli’s Eagle. We also saw a Great-grey Shrike (algeriensis) on a telegraph poles well as a couple of White Storks.

Deeper into the valley we logged several Cattle Egrets and a few Little Egrets before we stopped at a regular breeding site for Little Swifts. Whilst we waited for the swifts to appear we logged several nice species; African Chaffinch, African Blue Tit, Great Tit, Blackcap, Cetti’s Warbler (heard), Levaillant’s Woodpecker (heard), House Martin and a few common species. Just as we were about to leave a flock of Little Swifts turned up, they circled over us for a while before diving down to their nests under the eaves of a building.

It was now getting dark so we left and drove the short distance to the hotel, thus ended our first day in sunny Morocco.

DEVON WEEKEND BREAK. - SUNDAY MARCH 2ND 2014

FINAL DAY

DAWLISH WARREN - LABRADOR BAY - STOVER COUNTRY PARK. - BOVEY TRACEY (PARKE)

Yes our final day was a very wet one and what a contrast to yesterday's beautiful sunshine. We checked out of the hotel at 8am and set off for Dawlish. We logged a Song Thrush singing in the car park of the hotel before we left. Along the route to Dawlish we saw Brent Geese, Canada Geese, Little Grebe and lots of gulls.

Great-crested Grebe

We scanned the sea from a wet and windy sea wall at Dawlish, it surprisingly quiet but we saw: Great Northern Diver, Common Scooter, Northern Gannet, Mediterranean Gull, European Shag, Great-crested Grebe and a few auks that were too far out to identify.

We made a quick stop in Dawlish to look at the results of the storm damage which looks as though repairs are well under way, whilst there we added Rock Pipit to our list.

Next we wade a very wet and windy stop at Labrador Bay, it was quite bad we got very wet, however we did find shelter behind a hedgerow and scanner a stubble-field. In the field we saw a small group of Pheasants feeding in one corner, as we watched the Pheasants we saw a few Dunnocks and a to our great delight a small flock of Cirl Bunting - our target species.

saw these swans in Dawlish - may be Mute Swans drenched in tar??

One of the group saw a Eurasian Sparrowhawk from the car park. We followed the coast road for a few miles before turning inland and passing through Newton Abbot and onto our next destination, Stover Country Park. It was far less windy at the ark and the rain eased off. We found our target bird almost straight away, there were 10 Goosander on the main pool, at least 4 of them were gorgeous males. Also on the pond were a selection of ducks, Mallard, Tufted Duck, Common Pochard, Common Coot and Common Moorhen.

Our walk around the pool found us on a raised walkway where a bird feeder attracted a good number of birds, there we saw Eurasian Nuthatch, Siskin, Coal Tit, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Common Chaffinch and a Bullfinch.

As we completed our walk we watched Eurasian Tree-creeper, Wren, Goldcrest and many common species.

Finally we visited Bovey Tracey to view the River Bovey looking for Dipper. We found one almost straight away sitting on a ledge near a small bridge, we watched the bird as it collect moos and lichen for nest building, lovely find. Our final walk was through the park called Parked along the river. Not much was about in the wet conditions but we did see Mistle Thrush, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Pied Wagtail and I was the only one to see Grey Wagtail.

Well that ended our birding for the weekend, we had one put of three dry days and found several of our target species. We ended up with only 85 species on the list, a somewhat reduced figure because of the weather.

We drove back to Honiton with plenty of time for a coffee St before the train arrived to whisk the group back to London.

It was a really nice and relaxed weekend with a lovely bunch of people all of which enjoyed their birding break despite the weather.

DEVON WEEKEND BREAK - SATURDAY MARCH 1ST 2014

BOWLING GREEN MARSH, TOPSHAM - EXMOUTH, EXE ESTUARY AND 'AVOCET' RIVER CRUISE ON THE EXE.

It really felt like spring had begun, it was a beautiful sunlit morning, not a whiff of air and bird song everywhere. We ate a superb breakfast at 7am - I refused a 'full-English' of course!

So our day started as we left the hotel at 8am and headed for Topsham a short drive away. We parked near the station and set off on foot to the water meadow known as Bowling Green Marsh.

in the hide at Bowling Green Marsh

view from the hide

We viewed the marsh from various gaps in the hedgerow and from hide where we saw a nice section of wildfowl and waders. It was hide tide so many waders were roosting on the edge of the large pool, a few hundred Black-tailed Godwits were joined by fewer numbers of Bar-tailed Godwits, Dunlin, Greenshank, Redshank, Avocet and a few Eurasian Curlew.

Wildfowl were present in good numbers too, Eurasian Wigeon were the most numerous but good numbers of Eurasian Teal and Northern Shoveller were also seen. A few Tufted Duck were diving with Common Pochard and Little Grebes.

 

Common Redshank above Little Egret below

Pandemonium broke loose when a Peregrine Falcon flew into the meadow, it missed all the waders and flew off fast. We found common species in the hedgerows and added Long-tailed Tit, Eurasian Tree-creeper and a Great-spotted Woodpecker drummed in the distance.

We walked round to river Exe and walked along "Goat Walk' which had been partly destroyed by the recent storms. From there we added Ruddy Turnstone and a few gulls.

Our next stop was at the river mouth at Exmouth, we scanned the beach area and the low tide had exposed many sand banks. We saw a Great Northern Diver, European Shag, Oystercatcher and lots of the species seen at Topsham.


looking from Goat Walk to the river Exe

The rest of the afternoon was spent on the river cruise, it clouded over and got quite cold but that didn't lessen our enjoyment, it was fantastic. We had a great time seeing many species at close quarters, we increased our day list up to 61 which additions including: Red-breasted Merganser, Slovenian Grebe, Grey Plover, Spotted Redshank and many more.



on board during the Avocet Cruise

We got off the boat at 4pm, cold but happy with our sightings. A short stop was made on the way back to the hotel to look at a Peregrine Falcon which sat on the tower of the town church, it looked great in the scope.

So we returned to the hotel around 5:15pm in good time for dinner at 7:30pm which was another superb meal.

DEVON- WEEKEND BREAK - FRIDAY 28TH FEBRUARY 2014

TRANSFER FROM HONITON TRAIN STATION TO EXETER - VIA ALYESBEARE COMMON, WOODBURY COMMON & BUDLEIGH SALTERTON.

I collected 10 members of the CENTRAL LONDON RSPB GROUP AT 13:15 AT HONITON train station, it was raining and quite windy.

We drove for about 30 minutes and arrived at our first birding venue, Aylesbeare Common. This RSPB nature reserve supports a good number of Dartford Warblers on extensive managed heathland.
It was blowing a gale on this exposed hilltop but the rain eased a little. We saw Common Stonechat and had very brief glimpses of the target bird the Dartford Warbler before we gave up.

All wrapped up for winter the ten members of Central London RSPB Group

Next we moved onto the another section of heathland and the site of a Iron Age hill fort at Woodbury Castle. The whole site is now covered by mature woodland of Beech trees where a huge flock of Common Chaffinches were feeding. We were hoping for a few Brambling in with the flock but we never found one. During an hour long walk we also saw: Blue, Great and Coal Tits, European Robin, Dunnock, Eurasian Nuthatch and Goldfinch.

We finished the afternoon at Budleigh Salterton where a large open tidal marsh forms at the mouth of the river Otter (recently in the national news because a family of Beavers were discovered!) The shingle bank along the sea-shore  rose 15 metres above the sea and provided a good vantage point from where to watch over the marsh and the sea. The sky had cleared but a very cold wind blew from the west.

A fair number of species were seen in an hour-long vigil: on the marsh during this high tide period we saw: Eurasian Curlew, Common Redshank, Eurasian Wigeon, Common Teal, Brent Goose, Herring Gull and a small flock of Eurasian Skylark. Out at sea we fared a little better with sightings of: Red-throated Diver, Common Scoter, Northern Gannet, Razorbill, Fulmar, European Shag, Great Cormorant and Great-crested Grebe,

We called it a day at 16:45 and drove to our hotel near Topsham, we ate a superb dinner before retiring for the night.

BRIERLEY HILL, FOREST OF DEAN. - FEBRUARY 26TH 2014

SERRIDGE RIDGE

This was a quick stop whilst I was on the way to Hereford to visit mum for her 90th birthday!
In December I went to the same place and saw a dozen Two-barred Crossbill and today I was hoping for the same.

A number of other birders were milling about and I got the most hated of all phrases "you should have been here 10 minutes ago", yes a guy had seen four T B Crossbills just before I got there.

I spent a couple of hours walking around the area with no luck. I did see a number of other species:
Common Crossbill, Bullfinch, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Marsh Tit, Jay, Goldcrest and a few more common species.

Common Crossbill

COSTA RICA - DAY 16 - FEBRUARY 23RD

TRANSFER FROM ENSENADA LODGE TO SAN JOSE AIRPORT FOR DEPARTURE HOME

Our tour was finally over we had had 14 full days of exciting birding and listed 448 species but we were not finished just yet!

We departed from Ensenada at 3am!!!!  The approach track was 17km long and very bumpy so it took 50 minutes or so to navigate. Along the way we saw several Common Paraque, a couple of Lesser Nighthawks and two Rufous Nightjars, a new trip bird. This was our final species of the trip making a final total of 449 with another 6 species heard but not seen.



On the veranda at Rancho naturalista

We all arrived at the airport with plenty of time for boarding, we said our goodbyes as we split up to take different flights.

THANKS FOR READING THE BLOG ON THE COSTA RICAN TOUR - IF IT HAS WHETTED YOUR APPETITE FOR SOME GREAT BIRDING, PLEASE GET IN TOUCH AND BOOK YOUR PLACE ON NEXT YEAR'S TOUR.

COSTA RICA - DAY 15 - FEBRUARY 22nd 2014

HACIENDA SOLIMA - ENSENADA LODGE AND SALINAS (SALT PANS)

Well our final full day had finally arrived and oh so quickly. It was yet another opportunity to wake the group up early, but by now they were used to it. So we ate breakfast at 6:30am and boarded our nice air-conditioned bus at 7:15am.

It took an hour to drive a few kilometres to Hacienda Solima because the track was very bumpy and we stopped to look at few birdies. We had frequent sightings of Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, we stopped to watch a pair of Double-striped Thick-Knee and we added Eastern Meadowlark to our list.

The elusive Lesser Ground Cuckoo

Hacienda Solima is a huge privately owned working cattle ranch of some 20,000 hectares, of which approx. 30% is set aside as nature conservation areas. Much of the land is open pasture which is fed by canals and wet ditches, there are many pools and larger flooded meadows at this time of the year. The whole area is a magnet for birds and some of the pools were literally covered in wildfowl.

We arrived at 8am and after checking in at the hacienda and collecting a guide we were able to take the bus all over the ranch, with the aid of the resident bird guide and Roy, our own guide, we saw a tremendous number of species.

The first official stop produced a list as long as your arm, but the highlight had to be both the Jabiru and the Lesser Ground Cuckoo. The Jabiru sat out in the marsh with hundreds of Black-bellied Whistling Ducks, Blue-winged Teal, Wood Storks, White Ibis, Limpkin, Northern Jacana and hundreds of egrets and herons. It was nice to see so many Bare-throated Tiger-Herons out in the open like that.

Spectacled Owl

 

The Lesser Ground-Cuckoo was special for most of the group and well appreciated, it was hard to find in the scrub but eventually it sat out and posed for our cameras and scopes.

Next we went for a short walk into a small patch of dry forest, the approach path wound its way through some long grass and scrub where we disturbed a couple of Coyotes, my first ever sightings of this species made it special.

Turquoise-crowned Motmot

Our local guide took us on a narrow trail into the dense forest and led us directly to a roost-site of Spectacled Owls, amazing how he could see them from where we stood. We all had great views in the scope of two of the owls. We then walked a little further and the guide called another fantastic bird by mimicking its call, a Long-tailed Manakin, this bird blew us away with its beautiful plumage and long tail feathers. During our spell in the woods we also saw Black-headed Trogon and Turquoise-browed Motmot.

After that excitement we boarded the bus and continued our tour of the ranch, we passed many pastures with hundreds of cows and bulls feeding in them. We searched the flocks of ducks for Fulvous Whistling Duck without success but the many egrets and herons kept us happy. It was also excellent for raptors, Snail Kites were common, a couple of Harris Hawks were seen and a great number of vultures circled above us with Wood Storks.

Our next stop was in a sheltered area adjacent to a canal with some mangrove swamp on one side. Our guide pointed out a roosting Lesser Nighthawk, which sat just above the track, super. We stood and watched the area of water where mangroves hung over the edges. Within a few minutes we had listed some excellent species; American Pygmy Kingfisher, Ringed Kingfisher, Boat-billed Heron, Black-crowned Night Heron, Bare-throated Tiger Heron, Anhinga, Common Ground-Dove and we heard a Ferruginous Pygmy Owl calling.

Pacific Screech Owl

 

Our journey continued with the same pattern, which consisted of short stops where we stepped out into the heat for a short scan or to watch a particular species. An American Kestrel was nice to see as was Eastern Meadowlark, Plain Breasted Ground-Dove, a flock of some 25 Scissor-tailed Flycatcher and much, much more.

Lesser Nighthawk

It was now nearly lunchtime so we made our way back to the hacienda where we stopped along the driveway to look for another roosting owl. This time we found a Pacific Screech Owl what a lovely little chap. We then found a Tree Porcupine sleeping in the next tree, now that was an ugly little critter but nice to see, a tame Bush Buck was also walking around the gardens at the hacienda.

We ate a very welcomed lunch before saying goodbye to our guide and the staff at Hacienda Solima, we had had a great morning’s birding with some special memories to cherish. We drove back to Ensenada lodge and took a break before meeting up again for our afternoon birding session, this time we were going for our first waders-watch at the Salinas de Ensenada.

Mexican-Hairy-Dwarf Porcupine

 

These salt pans lie very close to the ocean and provides a haven for hundreds of roosting and feeding shorebirds. The pans looked empty as we drove in but on closer inspection we could see many birds, and as time went by, more and birds flew in until it was packed, we had chosen a good time to visit just before high tide.

I will list the waders seen approximately tallest to shortest: Black-neck Stilt, Whimbrel, Marbled Godwit, Willet, Lesser Yellowlegs, Solitary Sandpiper, Stilt Sandpiper, Short-billed Dowitcher, Spotted Sandpiper, Sanderling, Semipalmated Plover, Least Sandpiper and Western Sandpiper. Some of these gave us ID problems of course, but we got there in the end.

Other birds around were Osprey, Wilson’s Phalarope, Roseate Spoonbill, we searched for Collared Plover and Killdeer without success.

The light was beginning to fade so we decided totals a short walk in the nearby mangroves to look for other species and our last new bird often day was found when a nicely coloured, male, Indigo Bunting turned up.

 

Juvenile Bare-throated Tiger-Heron

 

A last minute search back at the lodge for Crested Bobwhite produced only a small flock of Striped-headed Sparrows, the gorgeous White-throated Magpie-Jay and a few spot Breasted Orioles.

A beautiful sunset ended this superb birding, which was rather fitting as we had travelled throughout a beautiful country and see some exquisite birds.

At dinner we all listed our top 6 species in order starting with the favourite first, after totting up the scores the top 3 came out as; Resplendent Quetzal, Golden-browed Chlorophonia and Scissor-tailed Flycatcher.

Boat-billed Heron

The total number of species listed was 448 with 5 more heard but not seen, this impressive total was due to the keen eyed participants and their untiring, sometimes relentless pursuit of target species and of course most of the credit goes to Roy. His expertise and outstanding knowledge of hummingbirds and flycatchers was phenomenal, because of this we listed 44 out of 51 possible hummers and over 30 different Flycatchers.

 

COSTA RICA - DAY 14 -FEBRUARY 21ST 2014

 

CERROS LODGE WALK - TARCOLES BOAT TRIP - TRANSFER TO ENSENADA

Today we got up early, oh there’s a change, ha! We met at 5:30am at the main reception area and went for a walk in and around the grounds and also along the track outside. We spent an hour so enjoying a lovely cool morning and some great new species. Stripe-headed Sparrow was now on everyone’s list and we soon found a new Flycatcher. I must say that Roy our guide is mustard on his Flycatchers and hummers, he knows all the calls in an instant. This new one was Nutting’s Flycatcher which showed very well. A little further along the road we found a small flock of Yellow-naped Parrots, they sat in the morning sunlight and looked stunning. Over the course of the next hour we added a number of birds as well as a troop of  White-faced Capuchin Monkeys. The birds included; Pale-billed Woodpecker, Squirrel Cuckoo, Grove-billed Ani, Black-crowned Tityra, White-lored Gnatcatcher, Rose-throated Becard and lots of common species.

 

DOUBLE-STRIPED THICK-KNEE (taken from the boat)

 

At breakfast we enjoyed the lovely view of the distant sea and Magnificent Frigatebirds flying over it.  We had several visits into the garden  by Scarlet Macaws and a few orioles, tanagers, thrushes and sparrows to the feeders. A bird of prey sat in a dead tree and was identified as a Double-toothed Kite, another addition to our list.

After breakfast we drove down into Tarcoles and half of the group got off the bus and onto a boat for the ‘crocodiles and birds’ trip whilst the rest drove further away to bird-watch a new area hoping to find the Fiery-billed Aracari.

MAGNIFICENT FRIGATEBIRD - they never land and even sleep on the wing like swifts

 

The boat-trip was superb, we had glorious weather, a nice cooling breeze and lots of birds to see. We were supplied with a checklist and nearly completed the whole list and we had to add several species to it. A nice male Prothonotary Warbler was one of the first birds on the list then many of the common herons and egrets were seen along the shore. We then found a few roosting Yellow-crowned Night-Herons, an Osprey, lots of Spotted Sandpiper and a few very big crocodiles.

Then we had some real excitement when not one but two Yellow-billed Cotingas flew into a riverside tree, what a wonderful find they were smashing to see.

A little later the guide from the boat jump ashore and put on the ‘tourist show’ by hand feeding a docile gigantic crocodile, then a Yellow-beaded Caracara came down for scraps left over.

SPOT-BREASTED ORIOLE

Still further upriver we had great close views of a Grey-necked Wood Rail and of Double-striped Thick-Knee, Southern Lapsing and Belted Kingfisher. At that point we turned the boat around and headed back down river where we found a Ringed Kingfisher, Bare-throated Tiger-Heron, Northern Jacana and lots more egrets. Overhead we saw lots of vultures and a Wood Stork circling on the thermals.

For the last part of the trip we zoomed down to the mangrove swamps to look for some specialist species, on the way we passed about 20 Magnificent Frigatebirds that were dropping down to the water to pick up fish.

In the mangrove swamps we drifted quietly down the enclosed channels and found many new species. Two Kingfishers were added to the list, Green and American Pygmy Kingfishers, we found Yellow Warbler with a chestnut head (formerly Mangrove Warbler now just a sub-species of Yellow Warbler), a couple of Red-winged Blackbirds hopped about in the dense scrub and we ha d excellent views of Panama Flycatcher just a couple of metres from the boat.
 

As we turned to go back a Plumbeous Kite circled high above us with the Vultures, then the guide heard a Mangrove Vireo so we pulled into the bank and he mimicked the call of the Pygmy Owl, within seconds we had a number of birds around us, Prothonotary Warbler, Common Tody Flycatcher and the target bird the Mangrove Vireo.

We headed back seeing a few more species such as Neotropic Cormorant, Anhinga, Royal Tern and at least four more Ospreys.

Well that ended the boat trip, we all thoroughly enjoyed  and notched up just under fifty species, we had a qui drink before jumping onto our waiting bus and at off to collect the other half of the group.

They had not fared so well, it was hot and dusty along the track they chose to walk along.  A few birds were seen with some additions to the trip list which included: King Vulture, Black Swift, and Cooper’s Hawk but there wasn’t a sighting of the most wanted Aracari.



WHITE-THROATED MAGPIE-JAY

 

From there we drove northwards along the Nicoya Bay and after a stop for lunch we arrived at our last destination of the trip, Ensenada Lodge. There was a noticeable difference in the climate and the vegetation, we were well and truly in dry, hot forest.

After a hour’s settling time we set off for a short walk to explore the grounds and surrounding forest. Our lovely rooms overlooked the bay and the distant hills and immediately in front of us was a large open meadow of short grass.

We walked along a track which took is to open dry forest and birds began to appear as the heat abated. A couple of Parrots and a parakeet were first on the list, two of them were new for us, Ornage-fronted Parakeet and Yellow-napped Parrot. Then we had a Couple of new orioles to admire, the Streak-backed was lovely and the male Orchard Oriole was stunning.

I can’t believe that at this stage of the trip there are still hummingbirds out there for us to find, but there are, we found two of them in quick succession. We found Canivet’s Hummingbird and Plain-capped Star-throat, that brings the total number of hummers to 44 different species, amazing.

During the walk we also found Brown-capped Flycatcher and Northern Beardless Tyrannulet, two more ‘firsts’ for the trip. We also found a lovely Vine Snake and several superb butterflies.

Back the lodge we found our third species of Oriole when a male Spot-breasted sat nice for us in the late afternoon sun. A few White-Throated Magpie-Jays came close to us as got into the complex.

 

7pOur evening meal was taken in the main building where we could watch a lovely setting sun over the bay.

 

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