GUIDED WALK AROUND THE FOREST TRAIL AT HACIENDA BARU - TRANSFER TO OUR LODGE NEAR SAN ISIDRO WITH A STOP AT SAN ISIDRO WATERWORKS - LATE AFTERNOON GARDEN WALK
WEATHER: another hot day and very humid. Cloudy in the afternoon at Talari Lodge, San Isidro
We had another super sighting first thing this morning when not one, but two, Fiery-billed Aracaris appeared in the trees around the car park of the lodge, how fantastic was that?
The star of the day - Fiery-billed Aracari
We went on to find a lot of species and we revisited the 'Potoo-tree' and discovered that an adult was accompanying the chick that we saw yesterday, it looked the adult bird was cuddling the chick, how cute!
The Potoo, an adult with a little chick
A nearby tree had a mammal tick for us, it was a juvenile Two-toed Sloth and in the trees behind my chalet there was a small troup of White-faced Capuchin Monkeys. We returned for breakfast at 7am, then at 8am we took a long forest walk.
Two-toed Sloth
The morning forest walk started with a sighting of a Double-toothed Kite, it led us to a nest where it promptly sat for a while, construction was obviously still underway. We took a trail into the forest after watching a few flycatchers out in the open area.
Double-toothed Kite on its nest - taken by Kevin Jones
The forest was hard going, even as early as 8:30am it was getting hot and sticky. We perservered and found a few birds but it was a bit underwhelming. We added Cinnamon Becard, Lesser Greenlet and Ochre-crowned Greenlet and we saw several species listed earlier today or yesterday. Overhead we noticed a lot of swifts which turned out to be Costa Rican Swifts with a few Lesser Swallowtail Swifts and some Cliff Swallows.
Tropical Mockingbird
We finished the walk at 10:30am and by 11am we were all packed onto the bus, luggage and all, in preparation for our journey to San Isidro.
We made a couple of stops along the way, the first was at a roadside supermarket, where we found a Swallow-tailed Kite perched in te tree and two more were circling above us. A Yellow-bellied Elaenia was also seen in a roadside bush.
Common Slider terrapins
A short birding stop was made at a local Waterworks, where a large body of water held several species of interest. Black-bellied Whistling Ducks and Blue-winged teal were by far the most numerous but we also found Least Grebes, Lesser Scaup, Green Heron, Little Blue Heron, Snowy Egret, Spotted Sandpiper and Northern Waterthrush.
male Blue-winged Teal
After a quick stop in a small restaurant for lunch we arrived at our one-night Hotel, Talari Lodge. I have stayed there many times and the woodland grounds, the river and open fields around it have produced many species in the past.
the river at Talari Lodge
After settling into our rooms we met up at 3pm for a walk, it was very quiet at that time. We reached the river bank and scanned from there, finding Torrent Tyrannulet, Amazon Kingfisher, Little Blue Heron, Grey-cowled Wood-Rail and sveral common flycatchers.
Streaked Flycatcher
In the woodland Jason tracked down a Rufous-breasted Wren, we had glimpses of it but not a sustained view. Very few birds were feeding the trees, there seemed to be a lack of fruit, Golden-hooded Tanager was nice to see also Scarlet-rumped Tanager and the ubiquitous Chestnut-sided Warbler. Streaked Flycatchers, Tropical Kingbirds amd Kiskadee dominated the flycatcher positions on the wires. A Broad-winged Hawk flew from the trees and down the river, we watched Brown Jays, Yellow-throated Toucans and a Fiery-billed Aracari appeared near the restaurant balcony.
White-faced Capuchin Monkey seen early this morning
We had dinner at seven before taking an early night, I think everyone was a little tired after a few long days in the heat.