Day 6 - 2017 Costa Rica Journal

Right after breakfast Armondo is there to pick us up for our morning in the mangroves.  We start birding immediately as he has some “hot spots” staked out. 

Instead of having one specific destination, our morning is spent stopping at several locations.

Our very first stop is a result of Armando hearing a bird call while he is driving. We pull over and he immediately calls in a Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl. These little owls are active during the day, and their call is often used to attract other birds.

Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl

In the same area we heard and saw a group of Groove-billed Ani. This is a pretty common bird and most of the bird guides don't even mention them. Mark had a heck of a time getting Armando to stop long enough for a picture.

Groove-billed Ani

At the entrance to this teak tree plantation we see a black iguana.  Black iguanas spend more time on the ground than in trees, though they are excellent climbers when the need arises.

Teak Trees 

Black Iguana

While we were in the Teak plantation we were treated to another owl. This time it was a beautiful Black-and-white Owl. 

Black-and-white Owl

There are dozens of flycatchers in Costa Rica, and many of them are tough to identify. But the Common Tody-Flycatcher's tiny size and black mask make a positive ID pretty easy, 

Common Tody-Flycatcher

This Barred Antshrike female responded to a Pygmy-Owl call, and was pretty stirred up when she arrived. Doesn't she look annoyed?

Barred Antshrike female

The mangroves we explored were located right on the Pacific ocean. We saw dozens of Magnificent Frigatebirds soaring overhead. 

Magnificent Frigatebirds

A few got low enough to allow closer looks. You can see the bright red throat pouch on this male (click on any of the pictures to make them larger). 

Magnificent Frigatebird male

One of the target birds for the morning was the Mangrove Warbler. This is actually a subspecies of the Yellow Warbler, but with their reddish brown head they look very different. 

Mangrove Warbler

Speaking of warblers we also got great looks at Prothonotary Warblers. 

Prothonotary Warbler

Another target bird was the endemic Panama Flycatcher. Endemic means it occurs in a limited geographic area, in this case the Pacific coast of Costa Rica along with Panama and northern Columbia. This guy seems to have an extra-large bill!

Panama Flycatcher

Next time:  Day 6 continued - 5 Kingfisher trip, American Crocodile's, and more beautiful birds.

Birds seen this morning:

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck

Muscovy Duck

Wood Stork

Magnificent Frigatebird

Neotropic Cormorant

Brown Pelican

Bare-throated Tiger Heron

Great Blue Heron

Great Egret

Snowy Egret

Little Blue Heron

Tricolored Heron

Cattle Egret

White Ibis

Roseate Spoonbill

Black Vulture

Turkey Vulture

Osprey

Gray Hawk

Northern Jacana

Least Sandpiper

Spotted Sandpiper

Greater Yellowlegs

Inca Dove

Ruddy Ground-Dove

White-tipped Dove

White-winged Dove

Groove-billed Ani

Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl

Black-and-white Owl

White-collared Swift

Scaly-breasted Hummingbird

Rufous-tailed Hummingbird

Black-headed Trogon

Turquoise-browed Motmot

American Pygmy Kingfisher

Hofmann’s Woodpecker

Lineated Woodpecker (heard)

Orange-chinned Parakeet

Red-lored Parrot

Scarlet Macaw

Barred Antshrike

Streak-headed Woodcreeper

Southern Beardless-Tyrannulet

Yellow-bellied Elaenia

Ochre-bellied Flycatcher

Northern Scrub-Flycatcher

Common Tody-Flycatcher

Yellow-olive Flycatcher

Tropical Peewee

Bright-rumped Atilla

Dusky-capped Flycatcher

Panama Flycatcher

Great Crested Flycatcher

Great Kiskadee

Social Flycatcher

Tropical Kingbird

Rose-throated Becard

Rufous-browed Peppershrike

Lesser Greenlet

Mangrove Vireo

Yellow-throated Vireo

Southern Rough-winged Swallow

Barn Swallow

House Wren

Rufous-naped Wren

Rufous and White Wren

Cabanis’s Wren

Tropical Gnatcatcher

Clay-colored Thrush

Northern Waterthrush

Prothonotary Warbler

Tennessee Warbler

Yellow Warbler

Mangrove Warbler

Chestnut-sided Warbler

Gray-headed Tanager

Blue-gray Tanager

Melodious Blackbird

Baltimore Oriole

Variegated Squirrel

Giant Toad