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Costa Rica days 12 and 13 (14th and 15th November), Sunbittern Paradise!

      

Sunbittern

After breakfast on the morning of the 14th  of November we left the wonderful Laguna Lodge and caught a boat back to  the dock where our coach was parked. Today we were  heading to Rancho Naturalista our next home for just one night.

 

Along our way we drove back through the banana plantations and stopped  by some rather rustic looking cattle sheds where we hoped to see Great Cowbirds, a large iridescent black bird somewhat like a cross between a European Blackbird and a Rook. Paco soon spotted one and got everyone on it in amongst the many Great-tailed Grackles. As an aside there are currently two Great-tailed Grackles of debatable origin in England. Why debatable? Well because they are almost certainly boat assisted as they are non-migratory. This means that they will probably end up in category E, which somewhat oddly is for escaped birds,  when assessed by the relevant committees. They will hence not be included in the BOU list of UK birds which are only category A,B and C. As ever, it’s up to the individual where they choose to tick them or not but I’m content just to have them on my world list.

 

Debatably, the top two birds the visiting birder to Costa Rica hopes to see are the Sunbittern and the Resplendent Quetzal , more on the latter in my next and final Costa Rica blog. Very close to Rancho Naturalista we stopped by a small fast flowing river  where Paco said we would have a chance for Sunbittern. We stuck gold in that Paco spotted one almost immediately sat on a rock presenting itself very nicely for a few photos. The perched bird is very handsome in its own right but what everyone hopes to see is the Sunbittern in flight when the glorious and iconic sunset coloured eyes are displayed in all their glory. We were again very lucky to see this amazing marvel of nature  as the bird flew upriver. We followed it upriver where we found several rather precarious gaps in the bankside vegetation giving us excellent further views.


Sunbittern
The Sunbittern is, in fact, not a Bittern at all, but is the sole member of its own family Eurypygida.

All buoyed by our great success, we drove the short distance to check in at Rancho Naturalista lodge located east of the capital San Jose where a rather truly staggering 450 species have been recorded locally.



The spacious balcony of the main building again featured an array of hummingbird feeders and fresh fruit was laid out on the ground below. Again, equally remarkably, more than 250 species have been recorded from this balcony alone! We spent some time on the balcony watching yet another display of Costa Rica’s stunning birds with, amongst others, White-necked Jacobins, Rufous-tailed Hummingbirds, Green-breasted Mangos and Crowned Woodnymphs just an arm’s length away.


White -necked Jacobin

White-necked Jacobin


White-necked Jacobin

Rufous-tailed Hummingbird
Next up the ranch owner had given us permission to walk around her garden where we were again lucky to see one of Costa Rica’s most sort after hummingbirds, the Snowcap.  The view from the owners house was truly stunning – these pictures really don’t do it justice!

  





Elated by a fantastic days birding, we made our way back to the lodge for yet another truly delicious  dinner. As we waited for dinner on the balcony the power went off but luckily our food was already cooked and after again eating much too much food, I made my way to my spacious and very comfortable room for a very peaceful and contented night’s sleep.

 

Bright and early on the next morning we met on the balcony for a cup of coffee. Large Brown Jays gathered on the ground and Yellow-faced Grassquits enjoyed seed that had been scattered on the ground. Based on the faint yellow marking on its head, I think the one depicted below is a young male.

Yellow-faced Grassquits
From under the bushes an Agouti appeared to tuck into the smorgasbord of delights on offer. This is a large  tailless rodent that looks like a gigantic cross between a guineapig and a brown rat.

Agouti
We watched a large Grey-headed Chachalaca slowly approach the fruit along one of the many branches. It is a medium-sized bird which Wikipedia says resembles a Turkey but it certainly does not look like any Turkey I have seen!

The very un-turkey like Grey-headed Chachalaca

After another heartly breakfast, I’ve been dieting and have finally got back to my pre-trip weight (!), Paco led us on another  very pleasant walk around the grounds. We saw a very confiding Brown Jay posing very conveniently for photos on the grass. Back at the owners lodge we saw another Snowcap but I failed dismally to get a decent photo of this beautiful  little hyperactive hummingbird.


Brown Jay

I haven’t talked much about the flora of Costa Rica but, typical of wetlands and rain forests, we encountered many beautiful flowers. Here is a small selection of ones we saw on our latest walk. I won’t embarrass  myself by trying to name them!








After lunch we loaded up the coach with our belongings and said a sad goodbye to the wonderful Ranch Naturalistic which had been our very own little bit of paradise for far too short a time. Our last destination before returning to Bougainvillea was the Savegre Hotel Natural Reserve & Spa located in an area where we hoped to see what is arguably Costa Rica’s most iconic bird, the Resplendent Quetzal. 

 

 

  Footnote – my blogs are posted with sometimes rather imaginative spelling and grammar due to my extreme dyslexia!    

 

 

 

 

 

 

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