Our driver picked us up from Savegre at 9:00 a.m. for a 3
hour drive to Rancho Naturalista.
We had requested the same room we had 11 years ago. It’s away from the main building and is much
quieter. We didn’t get the exact room as
last time but we got the room next door.
After getting set up in our room we walked to the main
building for lunch. Rancho has not
changed much since we were here in 2008.
We met our guide (Harry) for the next 2 days. We didn’t have anything scheduled for the
rest of the day so we headed up to the balcony.
Rancho Naturalista is at what is considered mid-elevation (3000 feet) so many of the birds are different than what we saw at Esquinas (sea level) or Savegre (7200 feet).
Several different species of hummingbirds use the feeders on the balcony. Crowned Woodnymph males are particularly striking.
The female is pretty subdued in comparison.
Several different species of hummingbirds use the feeders on the balcony. Crowned Woodnymph males are particularly striking.
Crowned Woodnymph male
Crowned Woodnymph female
In addition to hummingbird feeders there are some fruit and seed feeders to attract different species.
The chicken-like Gray-headed Chachalacas would show up in groups and run everything else off. They would often take entire bananas with them into the forest.
Gray-headed Chachalaca
Oropendulas are another group of big, loud birds that will clear out the feeding stations in a hurry! There are two species that occur at Rancho, the more colorful Montezuma Oropendula, and the slightly smaller Chestnut-headed Oropendula.
Montezuma Oropendula
Chestnut-headed Oropendula
You Lookin' at Me?
Another common hummingbird at Rancho is the Green-breasted Mango. Again, the male and female are very different looking. So much so that many folks assume they are looking at two different species.
There was a very nice bird feeding set-up in the woods
were we saw some great birds in 2008 so we walked down the trail to find
it.
Green-breasted Mango male
Green-breasted Mango female
We were disappointed at the lack of bird
activity in this area. This had been a great place to
see Snowcap and other hummingbirds, but we were told that hummingbirds have stopped using the feeders here. We'll have to look elsewhere for Snowcaps!
Next time: In search of tiny hummingbirds.
The Crowned Woodnymph male is striking. We see glimpses of colors that bright on the hummingbirds here if the sun angle is just right but nothing like him. As a female, I protest.
ReplyDeleteMuch of the bird world sees the females with duller colors. They have to sit on the nest and try not to get eaten, so I guess it makes sense!
DeleteBeautiful colors on the males. Too bad human males do not have the same beauty. :)
ReplyDelete