I had arranged with Renee to go birding again this morning, but I had my doubts if he would show up. It rained much of the night and was still raining at 07:00 when he was supposed to arrive. He said he’d pick me up in a “Mototaxi.” I was pretty sure I knew what he was talking about, but had not seen any outside of Puerto Lopez. But right on cue I heard the high pitched sounds of a small motor, and, sure enough, it was them.
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| Me and Renee |
So I got in and we took off. I had to wonder if the thing had any kind of shocks as every bump we hit I felt. It was certainly not a speedy thing either. I’d say we went 20 mph tops. But as we were only going 7-8 miles away it was to be endured. It was a little harrowing when a large semi truck would pass us by, and you were only 2-3 feet away from it.
After we got out a man met us at the gate, unlocked the door and let us in. The place was named “Rio Chico” and was another small piece of land acquired by the Jocotoco Foundation. It was still sprinkling when we got there and I delayed getting my camera out, but as the birds were pretty thick I felt I could keep it dry as best I could. This turned out to be the most birdy jaunt for me yet. We tallied 63 species, but I’m sure there were a few more I forgot. Yet what was there were vocal and often visible.
The first lifer for me was in the first 5 minutes - a Plumbeous Backed Thrush. According to the eBird reports they are supposed to be common, but I’ve not seen one til now.
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| Plumbeous Backed Thrush |
The next lifer was about a minute later, a Masked Yellowthroat, but after a 2 second look, he went into hiding. Other birds right at the entrance - a Golden Grosbeak, Dusky-capped Flycatcher, Tropical Gnatcatcher, Lesser Greenlet, Chivi Vireo, and House Wren. While we were looking at birds a large bee-like insect was seen buzzing around on the ground, and Renee stepped back a little. It flew off in a few seconds and Renee was sure to stand clear of it. Turns out it was a Tarantula Hawk, and has one of the most painful stings of any insect.
The road we were on was well graded and kept up, with tiles on the steep parts. After a slow walk of always getting distracted, we reached the first lookout. While looking out over the forest, a Grey-capped Cuckoo flew in right over us, but vanished in the foliage. Then Renee heard a Collared Antshrike, so he played their song on his phone, which brought a pair in. They played hide and seek with us, but finally allowed me a few not so good pics. There were other birds visible like a pair of Tropical Parulas, Streaked Saltators, Parrot-billed Seedeater, and others.
Between the first and second overlooks, a male Crimson-crested Finch allowed me to take a few pics. A really spiffy bird.
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| Crimson-crested Finch |
At the 2nd overlook a female Short-tailed Woodstar was visiting morning glories right under us, and finally perched long enough for a photo.
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| Female Short-tailed Woodstar |
We continued on, seeing lots of birds. We reached the end, which was indeed a dead end to the road with a barbed wire barrier and a great view overlooking the ocean below. A private beach to the south with rocky barriers at each end. The usual Frigatebirds, Pelicans and Boobies were all easily viewable. We ate a snack, drank some water, and started the hike back.
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| The end of the road with great views |
But just up the road 100 feet Renee heard something off to the downslope side, so we stepped over to the edge and he started his usual whistled trill, which elicited a response. One bird which perked up was a male Black and White Tanager.
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Male Black and White Tanager. |
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| Tropical Gnatcatcher |
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| Chivi Vireo |
To my recollection I did not think they were supposed to be in this area, and Renee seemed confused about it, but finally we slapped high 5s celebrating our success. But when I went to enter it into eBird, it was not flagged as rare, and after we saw a 2nd bird later on, I had to wonder about it. However, it was a lifer, so that was just fine with me. Later I understood that Renee had not seen it well and wondered if it was a Great Antshrike due to similarities, but after he checked out my pic knew it to be the tanager.
Other birds which piped up were a Collared Antshrike, Tropical Gnatcatcher, Crimson-crested Finch, Parrot-billed Seedeater, Chivi Vireo, Streaked Saltator, and a few others which escape my memory.
A ways up the road we found a Short-tailed Woodstar sitting on a nest.
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| Short-tailed Woodstar on nest |
A little after that we finally found a Necklaced Spinetail, my 4th lifer for the day. I never got great looks at him as this species often prefers to skulk in the thick growth. Another interesting bird was a Snowy-throated Kingbird.
A little farther along and Renee located another Necklaced Spinetail, but the same results - only fleeting glimpses of him. But he was at a nest, so would keep returning to it at least. They make huge nests for the size of the bird. He pointed out a few older nest afterwards, and I was simply amazed at the size.
A little farther along and I spied a small bird ahead in the trail. I knew what it was as soon as I saw it - a Short-tailed Field Tyrant. I just wish he has let his wings drop a little so the reddish rump could be seen. My 5th and final lifer for the day.
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| Short-tailed Field Tyrant |
About 3/4 of the way back a side path went to another overlook. Renee asked if I wanted to go and I said sure. In reality I was overheating and getting dehydrated and my energy level was waning. But I trudged on. En route I got a pic of this beautiful Turkey Vulture. What is a vacation without getting a pic of such a beautiful bird?
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| Turkey Vulture |
Soon after reaching the lookout, Renee called in a pair of those Necklaced Spinetails and I got decent pics of one.
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| Necklaced Spinetail |
Also a good pic of a Golden Grosbeak who came by for a minute.
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| Golden Grosbeak |
There was also a flycatcher I decided to take a pic of, and Renee was not sure of the species, but after enlarging it and considering the possibilities I believe it to be a Mouse-colored Tyranulet.
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| Mouse-colored Tyranulet |
After being back on the road again, another path veered off to the north and Renee gestured we needed to take it. I was pretty famished but still went on. There was one bird he had expressed the good possibility of finding here - the Elegant Cresentchest, which I really wanted to see as well. And shortly afterward one responded to the recording on his phone. It took about 2 minutes for it to show up, but what a beauty he was. He was a skulker so my photos don’t show him in his glory, but I was at least able to see him quite well. It would have been great to get a decent shot of him broadside, but such is bird photography.
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| Elegant Cresentchest |
Another 150 feet down the road was the territory of a male Esmeraldes Woodstar. I took some photos, but they were against the bright sky, so ended up deleting them. We kept walking as Renee wanted to show me an area where some flowering plants were planted for the endemic Esmeraldes Woodstar. These were purple and white, and we waited a bit, but one did not show.
One interesting feature about our walk was that we tallied 8 species in the dove family: Pale-vented Pigeon, Ecuadorian Ground Dove, Croaking Ground Dove, Blue Ground Dove, White-tipped Dove, Ochre-bellied Dove, West Peruvian Dove and Eared Dove. And I was finally able to see the Ochre-bellied Dove. I’d heard them a few times, so it was nice to get a visual.
Now it was back to the entrance. I was glad to get back for I was certainly out of gas. The guy with the mototaxi showed up in less than a minute, and I was glad for the breeze while riding to cool me off. I hopped in the shower as soon as I could. A couple hours later and I just looked at myself in the mirror, and, the gringo skin on my face is now pink. No wonder I feel so hot!
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