Marian and I have mostly visited the first few days in Costa Rica, but each morning have managed a birding walk, and yesterday we spent the late afternoon watching from Jean and Alan’s fabulous deck. In the mornings I’m finding that although crack-of-dawn birdsong is rocking, the birds don’t seem to really move around to be seen, at least by me, until the sun really rises. Dawn here is about 5:55AM but I seldom have been seeing much until about 6:20 or later. Then the next 60-90 minutes are the best part of the day, and by 10 AM it is pretty quiet again.
Yesterday AM I went out mostly alone, after waking very early, and was pretty discouraged by almost no birds seen until about 6:20 when the sun rose. Best birds yesterday IMO were a Yellow-green Vireo, a great look at a Slaty-backed Trogon from Jean’s deck in the afternoon, and hearing a Spectacled Owl right behind our cabin after dark.
Today Marian and I took the car, and birded the road into Jean’s out to the village of Tinamaste. Cool birds were Southern Rough-winged Swallows and Blue-and-white Swallows, Masked and Black-capped Tityra, White Hawk, and just getting great looks at lots of others. Giant Cowbird was cool, it really is big with a long bill for a cowbird.
I locked us out of our cabin this AM, and Brett saved me from climbing over the outdoor shower wall to get the key, and climbed in himself. Marian thought that was a much better idea.
A rest for now, then this afternoon off to the coast for a swim at Dominicalita beach and dinner there. Hopefully for a few birds of the coast.
Nos vemos! Buena observación de aves!

We got to Finca Tres Rios, the name Jean and Alan have given their farm near Tinamaste, Costa Rica late in the day yesterday, and got settled into delightful accommodations by their neighbor who has two cabins for rent just across the road from their place. It is just a short walk to the farm, and the cabins have two bedrooms, a small kitchen, shower and outdoor seating as well as a great SWIMMING POOL. The pool was the hit today, as it was quite warm, maybe 90 degrees with little breeze middaiy. The evenings and nights are delightful so far as the breeze picks up, and it cools to about 70.

Today Marian and I woke early and started to find our way around as it got light. Sunrise here seems about 5:50- AM, sunset about 5:30 PM. We managed a few birds seen well enough to ID, a few others seen but not identified, and seemingly dozens heard and not IDed. Out eBird list has just a pitiful 9 species in over 2 hours, as it was really hard to get onto much in the very thick foliage. Still great to see Yellow-throated Toucan and nesting Firey-billed Aracari, Masked Tityra, Montezuma Oropendula, Roadside Hawk, and Yellow and Chestnut-sided Warblers. Probably 8-10 others seen but not IDed including a Treecreeper, flycatcher and more.
Later in the day Brett and I drove to Uvita, famous for Invision the huge festival held annually, and enroute I saw a King Vulture among huge numbers of Black Vultures, and back at Dominical got lifer Costa Rican Swift, and a few more species at the river mouth.
Back home this afternoon we took a family walk, and Alan spotted a Collared Forest Falcon, and we got on a Trogon from behind, left unidentified.
Overall a really nice day to catch up with Jean, Brett Alan and Valle, get acclimated a bit and relax.
Tomorrow, who knows what’s out there.

Marian and I flew from Seattle via San Francisco and Houston arriving in San Jose, Costa Rica about 11:45 PM on Thursday Feb 25th We had a room at the Courtyard by Mariott right near the airport for the night. The flights and shuttle were uneventful. We met Jean at 11 AM the next morning, with time for a 39 minute birding walk at the hotspot right beside the hotel. Believe it or not called the Walmart Woods, a scraggly patch of riparian wooods and stream between the airport and the Walmart. The list was feeble, with 9 species and 3 more left unidentified. Best ID’ed birds were Baltimore Oriole and Yellow Warbler, though I added 6 birds to my CR life list including Great Blue Heron and Great Egret. The rest of the day was taken up largely with getting to the Hotel Aranjuez, some errands, and resting up, but I posted an eBird list of the hotel grounds, actually an eBird Hotspot. Nothing special seen.
This morning I did wake at 6 AM and got out by about 6:15. I birded the hotel grounds quickly and then wandered about, going down a long set of stairs to a small river, walking over to the organic market, and then back up on streets. Rufous-colared Sparrows were all around, calling and singing, and several Yellow Warblers and Blue-gray Tanagers were seen. A Red-billed Pigeon gave good close looks, and several Parrot and Parakeet flocks went unidentified. Tomorrow we head off to Jean and Alan’s place, with a stop at an organic farm, and likely stops along the way, so I’m hoping for much more exciting birding starting tomorrow.
Good birding.

Ed

I am leaveing for a 5 week journey next week, and won’t be back to Washington until April 1st. Every year I challenge myself to put together a year list of species of birds seen in my state of residence, Washington State, and I think of a nice round number of 300 species as a low end of a good year’s sample of WA birds. Using eBird reports, more or less 20 birders each year find 300+ species, so it is definately not extraordinarily difficult, but it does not happen without getting around the state quite a bit in a year. In 2020, 20 eBirders listedat least 300 species in WA, in 2019 = 18, in 2018 = 17, in 2017 = 17, in 2016 = 21) I managed in every year since 2017, with a high of 330, and a low in Covid -2020 or 304)

This year, with my upcoming trip I set a goal of 200 species before leaving, and today I got #200, Barn Swallow at Magnanun Park in Seattle. Marian and I managed this plus the Sora at Green Lake while missing an early Rufous Hummingbird on Queen Anne, while making time for takeout Chipoltle on her daughter’s deck with her two grandchildren.
Although many of these birds I managed birding alone, many were with Marian (her list YTD is 125, putting her in the top 100 in WA, and many of the tough birds were with good friends. Bruce LaBar, Ken Brown, Will Brooks and I birded the Okanogan Highlands and the Waterville Plateau with lots of winter specialties (GCRF, CORE, GRPA, CHUK, NOPY, SNBU, SNOW, and lots more). Ken and I have birded on the Vashon CBC, a good trip to the coast, and a few outings in Mason and Kitsap Counties to pad my list. Blair Bernson and I birded Kittitas County to add White-headed Woodpecker and Rock Wren to the list.

Part of the joy I find in this challenge is in getting to many of my favorite WA sites annually. Part is the joy of the hunt. Part is exploring new areas. That said, for me a huge part of the motivation, fun and joy is birding and sharing the joy of birding with good friends. Thanks to everyone I’ve birded with as well as to all the eBirders who posted many of the species finds that I got to chase and enjoy.

Good birding!

Today my goal was to get in a day of birding with Ken before leaving next Thursday for Costa Rica for a month. Mission accomplished plus. The weather was dry, if cool and windy at times, of course we got to catch up, and I got 3 FOY WA state birds, and Ken got two FOY Kitsap birds and one FOY state bird.
We started at a new place for me, the Hansville Greenway, hoping to see whatever the large white bird in a photo sent by Caroline Barry, but taken by someone else, was. Ken thought a Snow Goose, I guessed maybe Snow Goose but maybe Great Egret. Awful photo, but either a good bird for Kitsap. We saw no large white bird, but got in about a 4-mile walk in a wet woodland. Not very great birding.

From here we headed to Point No Point. Always a place with possibilities. We did get Ken’s FOY Kitsap Sanderling, a very close up and obliging single bird on the beach. Lots of Marbled Murrelets, Bonaparte’s Gulls, and a modest variety of other species, but nothing else really special.
We next birded Driftwood Key, where lots of Dunlin had 4 more sanderlings, lots of Brant, and visited briefly with Mike Barry, Caroline was laying low with minor Covid vaccine #2 side effects.
This was followed by a stop on a nearby beach where 2 FOY for me Black Oystercatchers gave good scope distant views. This was one of 2 FOY birds for me with a reasonable likelihood, so nice to get.
We then cruised the Driftwood Key neighborhoods hoping for a Ring-necked Pheasant, and while Ken was studying a female RWBL, hoping to see his FOY Brown-headed Cowbird, a cock pheasant called loudly and flew right in front of us. Ken somehow didn’t react, and by the time he did was facing 180 degrees the wrong direction as to where the bird was flying. I grabbed him by the shoulders and turned him to see the pheasant as it flew over a clearing and dropped into the tall vegetation. FOY for both of us and a good laugh to boot.
Our last stop was at Point Julia, a great place for Black Scoter, where we saw an incredible 13 individuals, along with 7 Long-tailed Ducks, the seemingly resident Western Gull, and finished the day strongly.