The Standlake Birder -

                    Ferruginous Pygmy Owl Our home for the next two nights was the amazing Arenal Observatory lodge in the shadow of the imposing Arenal volcano. The volcano was dormant  for hundreds of years until 1968 when it erupted unexpectedly, destroying the small town of Tabacón tragically killing 87 people. Thankfully it has been dormant since the last eruption in October 2010. The area surrounding Arenal Volcano in Costa Rica is characterized by a humid and cloudy climate, influenced by its tropical location and varying elevations. The only occasion in two days when the Volcano was not obscured by clouds! The dawn chorus was a rather unusual one, Howler Monkeys doing exactly what is says on the tin.  Our first morning started with the usual coffee taken on the viewing balcony overlooking the volcano. Just after first light the feeders became very active keeping us all engrossed until our  communal breakf...

     Green Hermit Somehow towards the end of last year I persuaded my ever suffering wife to give me a 3 week pass out on my 70th birthday to go on a Costa Rica birding adventure organised by Heatherlea. Fast forward to 1st November this year and the day I thought would never come did and I flew with 9 other birders and our friendly knowledgeable UK guide, Jenna, on a  BA flight to Costa Rica. What would have been a fairly mundane flight over was greatly enhanced by being upgraded to business class where I found myself sitting next to none other than Jeremy Clarkson! Some eleven hours later we landed at San Jose and after a brief panic when one of my bags was temporary lost we met our amazing guide for the next 19 days, Paco, and our wonderful driver, Rodrigo.  A short coach ride through San Jose took us to our base for the next two nights, Hotel Bougainvillea in the outskirts of the capital city. I’ll talk a lot about Costa Rica and its birding delights in subs...