Not one but 2 Speckled Owl together down by the river and both showed superbly
My eighth day at Bolita Rainforest Hostel and it’s time to sadly go. A quick look at the garden and Grey-headed, White-shouldered Tanager, and both a male Orange-collared and Red-capped Manakin appeared. A female of the latter species was nearby where there were also te everyday species that hang out near to the hostel..
There were 2 Grey-headed Tanager in the garden
Female Red-capped Manakin
Male Red-capped Manakin made a final appearance in the garden just before leaving
Reluctant to leave the hostel, I made my way through the humid forest on the La Casa Trail down to the River Tigre. It took me over an hour to reach the Tigre as I was distracted by reptiles and birds. This included a Blunt-nosed and Green Tree Anole. While the birds were single White-whiskered Puffbird, 2 Black-throated Trogon and 2 Buff-rumped Warbler. On the river there were 5 White Ibis, Northern Waterthrush and Black-tailed Flycatcher I had an hour to kill before my motorbike taxi arrived. My time was spent trying to relocate the Speckled Owl that I had a few days ago and to my pleasant surprise, there were 2 Speckled Owl!! Both birds showed very well and after a good five minutes, I left them alone. Before I got to the village of Dos Brazo, where I was goin to be picked up, I got a lifer, possibly two. Streaked and Western or Eastern Wood Pewee. The latter species can only really be separated unless observed well and heard to call which it didn’t.
The advantage of travelling with only a school kids back pack, supported by Stoke City on the back, is that you can travel on smaller transport, like a motorbike taxi. It cost me £4 to Peruto Jimenze instead of the £14 that I payed to get to Doz Braso.
And I get to Puerto Jimenze and finally get wifi to discover that Putin has invaded Ukraine!!
White-whiskered Puffbird
Green Tree Anole
Blunt-nosed Anole
There were 2 Speckled Owl down by the river
My first Streaked Flycatcher
Was followed by this Western or Eastern Wood-Pewee Unfortunately it never called while observing it.
Secondary Forest along the Cicique Trail
I like I said before, I can’t recommend Bolita Rainforest Hostel enough and this is the view you will wake up to every morning from the upstairs common Room. I might return in a few days
I leave Peruto Jimenze in a few days and I hope that the bus I’ll be travelling doesn’t break down like this one did when half way to the Peruto
And no I don’t support Stoke City, especially when my cousin played for Port Vale after leaving West Brom. This is Graham Gordon with his travelling bag at his side and that small kiddies bag, that’s mine. With camera, bins and laptop all cosy inside. Believe me, it’s a great way to travel in a hot country like Costa Rica.
In a week when we needed honesty in UK politics Boris Johnson misled MP’s for the SEVENTH time
My last full day and I ended getting up later than I’ve done in the last two months while I’ve been in Costa Rica. 07.07!! A quick shower and I was in the field taking my time along the Cicique trail. After three hours, I was back at base and in that time there were Northern Bentbill,Rose-throated and White-winged Becard, Golden-crowned Spadebill, Flat-billed Ringeye, 2 pairs of Black-throated and Baird’s Trogon and single Black and white Warbler and Yellow-throated Vireo. In the garden, the male Turquise Cotinga turned up with at least 4 Bay-headed Tanager. Normally it’s two of the tanagers that visit. I also added another four species in the space of ten minutes on the garden list. Crested Quan, Fiery-billed Aracari, Red-fronted Parrot and Yellow-olive Flycatcher and both the Black-tailed Flycatcher and 2 Rufous-tailed jacamar were still present.
Rose-throated Becard
This femaleBlack-throated Trogon showed well at head hight
Black-throated Flycatcher
Long-billed Gnatwren
It was quiet on both the La Casa and Banana Trails with the usual stuff, Red-capped Manakin, White-shouldered and Black-cheeked Tanager, Sulphur-rumped Flycatcher and Lesson Motmot. Since staying at the hostel, it was mostly cloudy, cooler throughout the day with sunny spells and at 14.00 I found myself back on the trail I was on earlier first thing this morning. First I gave it an hour, hoping to see the tinamou but instead in a tree just above where I saw the game bird yesterday, there was a Striped Treehunter. A short distance away along the trail, there were a mixed flock moving through. Rufous Minour, Sulphur-rumped Flycatcher, Plain Xenops, Spot-winged Antwren, 2 Tawny-crowned and Lesser Greenlet. It was the woodcreepers that stole the show with a new species. In the area where I had the 2 Brown-billed Scythebill yesterday there were a single Wedge-billed and Long-tailed Woodcreeper. Thiswas followed by after seeing my first one yesterday, another Brown-billed Scythebill. However, the sycthebill was pushed aside when a meter away on another tree, I could see a Black-striped Woodcreeper climbing. It was now past 16.00 and it seemed like birds were all over the shop with more or less the same species that I saw earlier. Returned back to hostel and lay in he hammock for the rest of the day.
Another good species in the garden was this Striped Treehunter
Lesson Motmot are all over the shop Mostly heard than seen This individual was in the garden on the jacamars perch
Rufous Mourner
Like the very similar Black-tailed Flycatcher, this Sulphur-rumped Flycatcher is also regularly seen in the area.
Spider sp with egg sack
A map of all the trails from Bolita National Hostel. You can visit for $10 a day but I recommend you stay at the hostel for a few days or longer at least to explore and cover all the trails.
Farage and Putin
‘Cheerleader of Putin’ And you voted for Farage? Well worth watching til the end
401 viewsPremiered 95 minutes ago134DISLIKESHARESAVEPolitical X4.02K subscribersJOINSUBSCRIBEDFarage and Putin. Does Nigel Farage support or like Vladimir Putin? Would love to see your thoughts of the following clips and analysis. 🎥WATCH ME NEXT – Learn about Russian interference in the UK https://youtu.be/64XZj6bKWkk 👇🏼 HOW CAN YOU HELP THE CHANNEL 👇🏼 —————————————————- 🚨 Want to help support this content? Support via Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/politicalx ☕️Want to just buy me a coffee as a way of showing support? Buy me a coffee! 😄 https://www.buymeacoffee.com/politicalx 🤩Want some cool Merch, Tax the Rich! Or buy from Redbubble! https://www.redbubble.com/people/Poli… —————————————————- 👋 SOCIAL MEDIA 👋 TWITTER – @Politics20204
This Pale-billed Woodpecker showed well on the Cicque Trail
Not a bad day at all with quite a few new species added. The only trail I did this morning was the Cicque Trail. Northern Bentbill were very vocal with at least four individuals and also up to 3 Rufous Mourner and I got my first snake since arriving at Bolita. Where the trail is in shade when entering the primary from the secondary forest, I also heard 2 Scaley-breasted Leaftosser and up to 3 Scaley-breasted Wren and a male Red-capped Manakin. It was also in this area that I got onto two woodcreepers with my naked eye and immediately identified them as both Brown-billed Scythebill by the long curved bills. Ideal! A few minutes away, while standing in the stream, a corking male Crowned Woodnymph showed superbly at very close range as it dipped itself in the water to take a bath in mid-flight. It perched only a meter away and preened for a short time before buzzing off. However, not enough time for me to change the settings on my camera deep down in the dark valley.
There were up to 4 Northern Bentbill on the trail
And also up to 3 Rufous Mourner
This Brown-billed Scythebill showed well
My first snake I’ve seen while I’ve been here while others are seeing snakes all the time including at the hostel itself when I’m away in the field. No idea what species of snake this is
So many stunning butterflies everywhere including this one
One of the male Anole sp displaying
Returning home and I noticed a Eye-ringed Flatbill in the canopy and a delightful Golden-crowned Spadebill showed very well on the trail followed by a Long-tailed Hermit. It was while observing a Scaly-breasted Leaftosser on the deck that a dove got up nearby and immediately came back down. I was hoping that it was a Quail Dove and it was. A Ruddy Quail Dove but it spent most of it’s time out of sight. Another two new species, after the scythebill, dove and hummingbird, were 2 Blue-headed Parrot east overhead and as I almost reached the kitchen of the hostel, I couldn’t believe my luck, out in the open just off the trail was a Little Tinamou. It soon moved off into the undergrowth where I lost it. After hearing them all over the shop, every day since the first day that I arrived, including three individuals yesterday, I finally got to see this very secretive gamebird. And like the spadebill earlier, I had no idea that they were so small in size. It was while waiting and hoping that the tinamou might venture out again, that a female Dusky Antwren showed well very briefly. While in the trees above, the daily visit of one of the male Turquoise Cotinga showed up.
What a name Eye-ringed Flatbill
When this little bueaty turned up in front of me, Golden-crowned Spadebill, I had no idea how tiny it was. It appeared smaller than a Goldcrest
Long-tailed Hermit
I could only get record shots of the Ruddy Quail Dove
A very common bird in the area is this Tropical Gnatcatcher. This individual collecting nesting material.
One of the Turquoise Continga making the daily visit to the garden
After dinner I made my ways up to the lookout only a few minutes walk away from the digs, to scan for raptors. As a result I scored with , Swallow-tailed Kite, 2 King Vulture, Bicoloured Hawk and Ornate HawkEagle. An hour later and I decided to try the garden and was rewarded with a Red-rumped Cacique, Golden-napped woodpecker and a Red-crowned Ant-tanager. And what should pop up in front of me, a male Red-capped Manakin.
On the edge of the garden was this Red-rumped Cacique
And in the garden was this female Red-crowned Ant-tanager
Golden-napped Woodpecker
And also this cracking male Red-capped Manakin
Speaker Of The House Of Commons Scolds Caroline Lucas after questioning Russians interference!
This corker, male Red-capped Manakin showed superbly just a minutes walk from my dorm after a male appeared in the hostel garden a few days ago
As I’ve had no power to charge my laptop until the 20th, I didn’t write any notes down. Also, I had to be careful when using my camera as I couldn’t charge them up until the 20th as well. Therefore I didn’t take as many pics as would of liked to. Anyways, this morning a mixed flock of tanagers, warblers and wooodcreepers ventured into the garden adding a few new species to the list including, Tawny-crowned Greenlet, Dot-winged Antwren, Squirrel Cuckoo and Ovenbird. A male Tuequise Cotinga showed briefly. A stroll along the Banana Trail and I came across a lek of Red-capped Manakin only a minute from my dorm. One of the males showed superbly out in the open before disappearing into cover to continue showing off in the lek. Leaving the manakins, I made the ten minute walk up hill and sat down next to a Orange-collared Manakin lek that I discovered two days ago and had some superb close encounters with these beauties. There’s also a lek just out of sight in the garden but you can hear that they are there throughout.
What a stunner this male Red-capped Manakin is
All male makakins are stunning including these Orange-collared Manakin at a lek
An hour after being on the latter trail and seeing the usual common species, I past the hostel and continued onto the Cicique Trail and it was in the shady area where I picked up a couple of new birds. A brief Scaley-breasted Leaftosser and a unusual showy Scaley-breasted Wren out in the open. Also present were a pair of Black-throated Trogon, 3 Plain Xenops, 2 female Rose-throated Becard, 2 buff-throated foliage cleaner and a single White-whiskered Puffbird and Long-tailed Woodcreeper.
The elusive Scaly-breasted Wren
Female Rose-throated Becard
Male Black-throated Trogon
Long-tailed Woodcreeper
White-whiskered Puffbird
Charming and Blue-throated Hummingbird are common along the Cicique Trail only
I had to get to the office at the village of Dos Brozo to gather the rest of my food that I left behind in the fridge. They don’t have a fridge at the hostel as the electric can’t take somethin so large. At mid-afternoon, a thirty minute walk away, all down hill on the La Casa Trail, I crossed the river and cracked open a melon from the office fridge. I ate half of it and with the rest of my food, started the treck back to the hostel. It was almost dark and just before I hit the river, I looked to my left to clearly see a Speckled Owl, half hidden, perched in tree. I dropped everythin and grabbed my camera out of my bag and took a few record shots. Great way to end the day and later that night I also heard the Crested Owl to the south in the distance.
So pleased in discovering this Speckled Owl near to the river just north of the village Dos Brozo on my return back to the hostel
Does Putin Control Britain? How many Tories have taken Russian donations in the same way that Israeli donations to Tory MPs?
4K Putin control Britain? I’m going to play a game, where we are going to be a dictator, of a country that does not like Britain. I am going to show you how I can systematically attack the system over a 10 year period, for £70-£300 million and eventually gain control over Parliament. 🎥WATCH ME NEXT – Learn about Russian interference in the UK https://youtu.be/64XZj6bKWkk 👇🏼 HOW CAN YOU HELP THE CHANNEL 👇🏼 —————————————————- 🚨 Want to help support this content? Support via Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/politicalx ☕️Want to just buy me a coffee as a way of showing support? Buy me a coffee! 😄 https://www.buymeacoffee.com/politicalx 🤩Want some cool Merch, Tax the Rich! Or buy from Redbubble! https://www.redbubble.com/people/Poli…
The rat in the kitchen from last night was a Rainforest Rat and it apparently just sat in the box looking at its surroundings that’s it’s use to as it’s a regular visitor with Giant Swimming Toads. With no breakfast, I took the north Banana trail to the Gottogo Lookout point just before 06.00. It’s takes about forty five minutes to get up there at 2500ft high but I made it in record time. For being the slowest at four hours! As I had no wifi and could only charge my laptop until the fifth day of being at the hostel, I’m goin to write the day at some pace. This is so I catch up with the present day instead of lagging behind
A quick look at the garden before I hit the road and In the tallest tree was a maleTurquoise Cotinga followed by 2 noisy Black-bellied and Riverside Wren, only one of the former species showing very well. A Western Pewee I could only identify by call, thanks to the Ebird app on hand. In the next two hours of note, there were single Black-stripped, Long-tailed and Wedge-billed Woodcreeper, Plain Xenops, Blue-black Grosbeak, Black-tailed Flycatcher, Chiriquii Foliage-cleaner, Swainson’s Thrush, Grey-headed Tanager, 4 Paretic Flycatcher and up to 6 Orange-billed Sparrow. Good numbers of Dot-winged Antwren, Chestnut-backed Antbird and Black-hooded Antshrike. 5 Black-cheeked Ant-Tanager moved through and yank warblers and vireos were also present. I counted up to seven species of hummingbird including, Rufous-tailed Hummingbird, White-necked Jacobin, Purple-crowned Fairy, Band-throated Barbthroat and up to 3 Long-tailed Hermit. And on a nest on the way down, just a few minutes from the garden, a Long-billed Starthroat.
Western Pewee
Chiriquii Foliage-cleaner
Black-cheeked Ant-tanager
Discovered this Long-billed Starthroat on a nest
Looking south from Gottogo Lookout over the Golfo Dulce Rainforest Reserve towards Corcovado National Park
Mid-afternoon, I took Banana trail again but just a few minutes from the digs to a outlook viewing towards the east over the rainforest to the sea for raptors. I gave it an hour but it kicked off in the first twenty minutes with only the vultures only passing through after that. 2 Swallow-tailed Kite were followed by a White, Red-tailed Hawk and up to 3 King Vulture. Also in the same airspace were some 100 White-collard Swift with less numbers of Costa Rican Swift.
I returned to garden less than an hour before dark and it was alive with birds. The Wattled Bellbird could be heard again on and off to the south of the forest. It was while taking pics of the jacamars that an Orange-collard Manakin showed up but by now the light was fading fast with it already overcast. There were also 2 Bay-headed Tanager, 3 Riverside Wren, a male Blue-ground Dove and my first Lesson’s Motmot after my last one over a month ago in Monteverde. A male Baird’s Trogon was followed by the two I had earlier while out on the trails and the usual honeycreepers and yank warblers were in the tall flowering tree by the toilets.
White Hawk
Male Orange-collared Manakin in the garden very briefly
Baird’s Trogon
Russia-Ukraine crisis and Tory’s taking Russian donations from Lubov & Vladimir Chemukhin
Some bad language throughout the footage but well worth watching.
Here is the Link to the full song at the end of the video by Comedy co https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CytOL… Welcome come and join me in my van i am a everyday van delivery driver that enjoys talking politics in my van to share with all of you guys who are kind enough to listen Today i talk about Russia Ukraine: While Tory’s take Russian donations from Lubov & Vladimir Chemukhin Its becoming more and more obvious the amount of Russian money in the UK and especially in the conservative party Msg me on instagram https://www.instagram.com/vanmantalks/ If you like Metal music go check out my other channel Van Man Talks Metal https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-M_… Van Man Talks theme tune, Ball & chain by work in progress https://youtu.be/vK95Bf8lX5s Here is a list of some of the things i enjoy talking about, UK left wing politics, UK left wing youtube channels, Politics in the UK explainedSHOW LESS
This was my view from Bolita Rainforest Hostel that I woke up to every morning looking east over the forest towards Pavon Bay. In the first twenty minutes of arriving at the hostel, almost the first bird that I observe are 2 male Turquoise Continga and at the same time in the next valley to the south, I can hear a Wattled Bellbird.
After eight days in the rainforest with no wifi, the headlines on my twitter account is that one of my all time artist, Mark Lanegan, passed away today, 23rd Feb, at 57! The grunge rock artist is one of my top notch performers that I’ve been following for years and fortunate enough to see him live. He’s approved and got better and better over the years as a solo artist and working with others. Also was the front man for ‘Queens of the Stone Age’ and has worked with everyone. And everyone that he’s performed with, I also follow from Unkle, Maggie Bjerklund, Nancy Wilson, PJ Harvey, Duke Garwood, Chelsea Wolfe and he did an album with Isabel Campbell, just to name a few. I always looked forward to what his next project was goin to be and who with and his last piece of work was the song that he wrote himself ‘The Lonely Nights’ with Moby and sang it with Kris Kristofferson. Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam, did a very moving tribute to the Lanegan this evening during a gig he was doin.
Where do I start? What can I say about Bolita Rainforest Hostel? I can’t recommend this hostel enough where I stayed at for the last eight days. If you’re birding in the SW Costa Rica and you’re on a budget, then staying here won’t just save your pocket at £10 a night, but you will also see so many and hard to get species, thanks to the 15km of trails connected to the hostel. But just in the garden alone, I managed to count over 70 species without spending that much time in there due to being out in the field or relaxing in a hammock. Some of the highlights from the garden included Turquoise Cotinga, Orange-collared and Red-capped Manakin and on three different occasions, I heard Wattled Bellbird. While every day, Little Tinamou were very vocal and at night, it was Crested Owl that took over with Common Pauraque.
As for the hostel itself, it’s basic, with fresh spring sourced potable water and is run on solar panels and batteries. There are four buildings, two kitchens, no fridge, living area and upstairs Common Room, toilets and showers and two separate dorms with mossy nets. Hammocks are spread out all over the shop and I probably spent more time relaxing in them instead of getting in the field as much as I should have, maybe. But that’s what I was there for, to chill out and enjoy the environment that I was so fortunate to make my home for a short while. The trails are well marked and maintained leading to waterfalls and stunning views at various elevations of primary and secondary forest. The 61 hectors of the Golfo Dulce Rainforest Reserve on the Osa Peninsula, backs onto the Corcovado National Park which spreads out west and north all the way to the Pacific Coast.
From Puerto Jimenez, where I stayed for four days, for £14, it’s a thirty minute taxi north of the town. I was dropped off in the village of Dos Brazos and from there I had to struggle as I crossed the River Tigre and entered the rainforest. Following a track climbing higher in the humidity for nearly forty five minutes with a week’s shopping, including a large watermelon! I also had my small heavy backpack on and nearly died when I finally made it to Bolita Rainforest Hostel. But it was well worth the effort. The hostel is based in primary rainforest with a small garden overlooking the rainforest to the east and beyond that, the sea and immediately I spotted a Black-tailed Flycatcher and 2 Rufous-tailed Jacamar. Good start, but there were two target species I was hoping to encounter and with in twenty minutes of arriving I got both of them, sort of anyways. I couldn’t believe my luck when 2 male Turquoise Cotinga dropped in briefly in a tall tree above me!! And at the same time I could hear a Wattled Bellbird to the south in the next valley!! With the Cotinga already in the bag, in the next ten minutes it was followed by a Bentbill and doves and pigeons. A pair Blue-ground Dove and 2 Grey-chested Dove and at the same time, there were 2 vocal Short-billed Dove nearby.
2 stunning male Turquoise Cotinga dropped into the garden in the first twenty minutes of me arriving at the hostel
Bentbill showed well in the garden
Black-tailed Flycatcher
A pair of Rufous-tailed Jacamar were hanging out in the small garden
A pair of Blue Ground Dove in the same tree as the jacamars including this female
With Grey-chested Dove as well I found out later that this was the commonest dove in the area
Other species moving through included the more common birds that I’m used to seeing most days elsewhere. Mistletoe TyrannuletShinning and Red-legged Honeycreeper, Tennessee and Chestnut-sided Warbler, Philadelphia Vireo, Golden-hooded, Blue-Grey and Cherry-rumped Tanager and a single Paretic Flycatcher. Overhead, a single Swallow-tailed Kite and there were a small group of Costa Rican Swift and as night fell, Common Pauraque started to kick off all over the shop with a distance Crested Owl.
Mistletoe Tyrannulet
So in the first hour of being at the hostel, I’ve already added six new species just from the garden and without even trying. Two heard only and one of them was the Wattled Bellbird that I’m goin to make an effort to try and connect with while I’m here. For the next week this will be my home. Up here your cut off from wifi and charging laptop or batteries is a challenge as the power doesn’t work sometimes. However, I’ve already decided I might stay longer. Well that was until someone just shouted ‘There’s a rat in the box in the kitchen!
I’ve lost count of how many times over the years I’ve tried to make folks aware of millions of Russian dirty money donated to the Tory Party on my blog, FB and Twitter.
Fool Of The Week – Liz Truss And Russian Donations!
Another Lesser Anteater but this individual showed superbly at very close range that I had to back off as I couldn’t focus on it with my cameras
I stood outside the hostel at 06.00 this morning to hit the south beach at Playa Zapote. That was the idea anyway but as I watched the bus go past while I’ve got my mask on and my thumb still out, I changed my plans. Instead, I got some breakfast down my neck and then decided to do the circuit of 8 miles and walk there myself through the town in the opposite direction. It was hard work with the conditions reaching up to 30-31. I set off at 08.30 and finally got home just before 16.00 with my T-shirt wet from sweat! Many highlights were involved and top notch and very fortunat , after two hours into the stroll, to have point blank range views of a Lesser Anteater. At the pace of a snail, nothin to do with my age, while at the same time, trying to not stand on the many fallen leaves on the road, the anteater came out from a banana plantation. It was only a few meters away and proceeded to come towards me. Was it goin to be the third Costa Rician mammal, after the possum and racoon nearly a month ago, that was goin to stand on my foot? I had to back off as I couldn’t focus with my camera and as a result, there was a crunch from my foot on leaves and the anteater was then aware that I was there and shot off like a bullet! This memorable experience made up for the very long drag ahead. Before and after this, it was pretty quiet.
After casually heading towards me, the Lesser Anteater was only a few meters away when it was aware of my presence
I back off to focus my camera on it and crutch, I stand on a fallen leaf and the anteater swivels to make it’s getaway.
And dashes back into the banana plantation
After this, of note I came across single Roseate Spoonbill, Bare-throated Tiger Heron, Grey-headed and Swallow-tailed Kite and a new species was a Long-tailed Woodcreeper and only heard, at least 6 Cocoa Woodcreeper. I was hoping to connect with a Cinnamon Becard but instead I had to make do with two males singing. Despite me scanning the tree tops to where I could hear them. Also, 2 White-tailed Deer showed well just off the road as I was close to the digs. As I’m writing this, I can hear a Common Potoo nearby. All images below were all taken from the road that I walked
Grey-headed Kite
Scarlet Macaws were all over the shop
Hanging out together down by the river were single Little Blue Heron, Snowy Egret, 2 White Ibis and my first Roseate Spoonbill of the trip
I’ve only seen Roseate Spoonbill before while in Flordia
And just above them on the bank was this Bare-throated Tiger Heron
Good numbers of White-browed Gnatcatcher
Some 10 Great-crested Flycatcher outnumbered the 3 Panama Flycatcher that I saw including this individual of the latter species
Yellow-throated Vireo
Large numbers of Yellow Warbler
With less numbers of Chestnut-Sided Warbler
Spots starting to appear at the rear of this Spotted Sandpiper
Pacific Hermit Crabs having a feast on this coconut
Almost a mile to the digs in the afternoon sun, I came a cross 2 White-tailed Deer
We Should Be Looking To Holland To Fix Border Problems – Haulage Sector!
I only wished this Swallow-tailed Kite hung around for just a little while longer instead of goin straight through
This morning, for the first time since arriving in Costa Rica, I was late in getting up. I stayed in bed until gone 07.00 and after breakfast, I wasn’t in any rush. So just before 10.00, I braved the humid conditions with no idea where I was goin. I never really plan anythin but ended up following the road south towards the river, Rio Plantanares that is less than two miles away. I had only been ten minutes away from my digs and it started to open up with fields and raptors. In the space of twenty minutes of standing still and looking skywards, I counted up to five species. A Roadside Hawk was at the side of the road while at the same time, a pair were displaying briefly. A single Yellow-headed and Crested Caracara, Great Black Hawk and the icing on the cake, a low flying Swallow-tailed Kite. Ahead of me, boarding the road, were a row of tall trees and a stop underneath paid off on the first bird I put my eyes on. A female Rose-throated Becard. It stayed up high in the canopy but at head hight I was focused on getting close range views of the usual suspects that I come across daily. Yank warblers and vireos with also a single Southern Beardless Tyrannulet and Cocoa Woodcreeper. In the garden opposite were a couple of Dark-striped Sparrow and in a small shrub was the becard! However, it never showed out in the open and ended up flying deeper into the garden out of sight.
Although pretty common in the area, this Southern Beardless Tyrannulet was a first for myself
Roadside Hawk
Yellow-headed Caracara
This Great Black Hawk was a new species
I’ve only seen a distant flock of Swallow-tailed Kite on my first visit to Costa Rica and also the two dots high up that I had yesterday. So really this was like a new species I guess as it gave crippling flight views
As this female Rose-throated Becard spent most of it’s time high up in the canopy, I took the opportunity of when it very briefly came lower and this was the result before it returned to the tree tops again.
Further south, down the road and it was over an hour later that in the same tree, I managed to get two new species. Mangrove Cuckoo that showed off superbly and while rattling off the camera, a pair of Spot-crowned Euphonia dropped in briefly. It was now mid-afternoon and I finally reached the river. Nearby, of note, there were a male White-winged Becard, Riverside Wren and a pair of Black-crowned Tityra. Although I wanted to continue walking towards the sea, I couldn’t stand the heat anymore and turned around and made the treck back. As I moved slightly quicker, like it only took me over an hour to the hostel, as expected, I didn’t really see much. There were a small flock of Costa Rican Swift and the highlight was a Tiger Rat Snake that showed it’s head very well before retreating.
My first Mangrove Cuckoo showed off at close range in trees bordering the road
Another first, in the same tree as the cuckoo, were up to 4 Spot-crowned Euphonia
At least some 7 Yellow-throated Vireo with only a single Philadelphia Vireo seen
Good numbers of Chestnut-sided Warbler in the area
What a corker this Black and White Warbler is
A new species of swift were a small flock of Costa Rican Swift
I was fortunate to come across this Tiger Rat Snake just off the road
The last leg of the road I was following before I turned around and returned to my digs.
Deema Wawe, only 12 years old, the youngest Palestinian prisoner in Israeli jails. Can you imagine this? No matter what the reason is, a child with this age shouldn’t suffer such abuse. Children of Palestine are unprotected and being abused by all means all the time and no one cares. This is a critical situation against children that the world horribly ignores. You visit Israeli apartheid state, then you help fund this child and others getting abused and put in cells. Some in there for the rest of their childhood
This maleMangrove Warbler showed well in, where else, Mangroves with Prothonotary Warblers
The last two days, I’ve been traveling further south towards Puerto Jimenez into the Corcovado region. Staying overnight at Palmar Norte, yesterday morning I was on the 09.30 bus, for what should of been a three hour drive. However, halfway through the journey, the bus broke down. Didn’t find out why but we had to wait for over an hour until a replacement came along to continue our trip to our destination, Puerto Jimenez.
I slept like a baby and was up at the crack of dawn this morning and twenty minutes later, just before 06.00, I arrived at the Puerto Jimenez mudflats, north of the jetty. Already the sun was up and it was starting to get uncomfortable but I found some shade and in the Mangroves it was pretty active and in with the many Yellow, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Northern Waterthrush, Northern Oriole, Yellow-throated and Philadelphia Vireo were also Mangrove Hummingbird, Paretic Flycatcher and the star of the show, a stunning maleMangrove Warbler. It looks like a male Yellow Warbler with a dark red head. And not to be outdone, Prothonotary Warbler and there were at least six of these crackers in the area.
My first 3 Mangrove Hummingbird included this female
You can’t come back from Costa Rica without seeing a Prothonotary Warbler
But the star of the show was this male Mangrove Warbler I’ve only seen one before, distantly, during my first to Costa Rica.
This male Yellow Warbler doesn’t look all that impressive when side to side with a Mangrove and Prothonotary Warbler
Using the cover of the Mangroves, I started scanning the waders feeding nearby. It was the same species as from what I saw at Uvita, Semi-palmated Plover, Turnstone, Hudsonian Whimbrel, Least and Spotted Sandpiper and Willet. While there were also 3 Grey Plover, 6 Sanderling, 2 Short-billed Dowitcher and Western Sandpiper. The bonus for me, were 3 Wilson’s Plover as I’ve never seen one before. The tide was coming in fast and as result some 35 Laughing Gull, 20 Royal and 15 Sandwich Tern were all pushed off the sandbar and an Osprey started fishing.
Feeding on the flats included a total of 5 Semipalmated Plover
4 Willet
2 Short-billed Dowitcher
And the only new species of wader were up to 3 Wilson’s Plover
There were also single Reddish and this Tricoloured Heron succesfully catching their prey
One of the many Sandwich Tern fishing close to the shore
And some 35 Laughing Gull resting nearby
Leaving the flats, I headed slightly inland towards the airport and to the east there is an isolated area of prime forest where you can see Cinnamon Barcard. After over an hour, I gave up but other species seen there included a lot of the birds that I saw earlier on as well as White-winged Barcard, Yellow-olive Flycatcher, 2 American Dwarf and single Green Kingfisher and Roadside Hawk. It was later on in the more open areas nearby that encounted quite a few more raptors from Crested Caracara, Common Black and White Hawk and a delight to see were 2 Swallow-tailed Kite. Throughout the day I’ve been carefully looking at the Great-crested Flycatcher hoping that one of them might be the closely related Panama Flycatcher. It was getting onto 15.00 and I was out of water and needed to return to my digs. As I was leaving the park, I spotted a flycatcher with no rufous on the wings or tail and my first Panama Flycatcher showed very well collecting nest material. In a tall Palm, there was also a Crane Hawk feeding on it’s kill. I needed water and a shower and roughly ten minutes later, I was back at the hostel.
Northern Waterthrush
Green Kingfisher
A pair of American Dwarf Kingfisher were breeding nearby
Grey-breasted Martin were resting on the rails of the jetty
Many Great-crested Flycatcher in the areas that I covered
Finally caught up with Panama Flycatcher
Now seen quite a few Crane Hawks in Costa Rica and this one performed really well
The damage that brexit is doing to our economy may not be easy for many people to see, but it’s very obvious to people working for businesses who need to trade directly with the EU. These people represent millions of voters, and it seems that more and more are deciding that the promises of brexit simply aren’t worth the pain being inflicted in reality. https://www.patreon.com/adifferentbiashttps://twitter.com/Philmoorhouse76 Clip: https://twitter.com/Femi_Sorry/status…SHOW LESS
This Crocodile, over two meters long, was too far away swimming in the river mouth of the Uvita, for me to jump on top of it this time
This morning, I decided to follow the river downstream over a mile from the mouth and hopefully turn up some ideal species and maybe another Crocodile to jump on. Ten minutes from the hostel and I came across a busy fruit tree with Yellow and Tennessee Warblers, Hooded, Palm and Grey and Blue Tanagers, Northern Orioles, Bananaquit, Common Tody Flycatcher and 4 Red-legged Honeycreeper. While below there was a single Dark-striped Sparrow. I thought I would stick it out for twenty minutes and see what else comes in.Single Olivaceous Piculet, a pair of Think-billed Euphonia, a male Painted Bunting and a female Blue Dicnis. I moved on and my first new species of the day were a small flock of Yellow-bellied Seedeater. As I continued towards the river, birds were very active moving through at the side of the road and it was at a corner that I got a better view than yesterday of a Isthain wren. It was while trying to get some pics of the wren that a pair of Black-hooded Antshrike appeared, followed by a single American Redstart and Lesser Eleana. Shortly afterwards, the second new species of the day popped up, a Scrub Greenlet briefly.
It was good to see a cracking male Painted Bunting again
I’ve seen a few Dark-striped Sparrow while I’ve been in Costa Rica and this individual is the only one that has shown well out in the open
I saw a Lesser Greenlet earlier but this Scrub Greenlet was a first for me.
Crossing the river that was ankle deep and was covered in 1000s up on 1000s of tadpoles! Reaching the otherside, I took the path at the side before moving down to the stony shore. It was not until nearly an hour that I started seeing birds of note on a bend where the river was at its widest with small stony islands all over the shop. In the shallows were 4 Northern Jacana, Spotted and Least Sandpiper, Turnstone and a single Willet. 2 Little Blue Heron were the first of the trip and a pair of Amazon Kingfisher showed well. After this I was seeing the same species again from yesterday until I reached the mouth of the river. Here, there wasn’t just a Hudsonian Whimbrel but over two meters long, a Crocodile! Swimming near to the opposite shore towards the mouth before disappearing under the water. I relocated it again goin in the opposite direction from before, downstream and now in the middle of the river. Again it went under and despite waiting around for a while, there was no sign of it again. At the channel nearest to the sea, I crossed the river again and made my way to where I thought the Crocodile might have disappeared. Still no sign of the large reptile but instead I came across fresh footprints of what looked like a large cat! Jaguar maybe? A single Bare-throated Tiger and Great Blue Heron were on the far shore with 3 Neurotropic Cormorant. While only meters away from me, I observed Spotted and Least Sandpiper, Semi-palmated Plover, 3 Willet and the 2 Mangrove Swallow that were still present from yesterday. It was gone 14.00 and I went in search of shade as I couldn’t stand it anymore out in the open. Also hiding from the sun were 2 Northern Waterthrush and another pair of Black-hooded Antshrike. Returning home along the track I took yesterday, where I nearly got killed by a Crocodile or Caiman and Rottweilers, a group of Bronzy Cowbird showed well and there were singles of Yellow-bellied Seedeater dotted around. Back at the hostel while relaxing and a Grey-cowled Wood Rail showed itself in the garden just before dark.
Over two meters long this Crocodile patrolled the mouth of the river
I counted up to 4 Willet altogether
Other totals included 15+Spotted Sandpiper
6 Least Sandpiper, above with an equal number of Turnstone
4 Semi-palmated Plover
A single Killdeer was a mile down river The last time I saw this plover was of the four individuals for a week in the garden of the house I was living at for a month in Flordia
There were also 6 Wood Ibis up and down the river
Also 4 Reddish Egret
While the Tricoloured Heron favoured the mouth of the river
A pair of Amazon Kingfisher showed well up river
While others were out to sea, 3 Magnificent Frigatebird came to plunge elegantly into the water to bath at the mouth of the river
Fresh footprints of probably a Jaguar, on the shores at the mouth of the River Uvita
8 Bronzy Cowbird were in the same garden where I almost got ripped apart yesterday
Got back to my hostel and took this pic of a Grey-cowled Wood Rail from my room
Looking south across Uvita Beach and only fishermen with the River Uvita flowing in from the right of the picture
Chancellor is now pretending Boris Johnson never promised a Brexit dividend for NHS
SCILLYSPIDER 2 