Thursday, January 19, 2023
We headed to an area near the Savegre Lodge where we'd stayed on two previous trips. Just down the road from the lodge is the Waterfall Road, which is also the access road to the Truchas Reales (Royal Trout) Farm. This is a dirt road that runs alongside a river and through some beautiful forest.
We immediately started seeing some high-elevation species like Black-faced Solitaire, Collared Redstart, Flame-throated Warbler, and Spangle-cheeked Tanager. It was a beautiful walk on a nice shady road/trail and is probably my favorite type of birding.
At 12:30 we went to a small local restaurant for lunch. We all had pizza which was very good, and I finished with a piece of lemon pie that was identical to what we’d call Key Lime Pie.
We then drove up to the Batsu Gardens bird photography site which Teri and I had visited in 2018 when it was brand new. The gardens had grown in some but it was pretty much the same. The site has a fruit feeding area with perches that are perfect for viewing and photography.
In addition to birds coming into the fruit feeding station, there were plenty of feeders and flowering plants to attract hummingbirds.
We also saw both male and female Slaty Flowerpiercer. They are considered "nectar thieves" as instead of feeding down the throat of a flower and spreading pollen from plant-to-plant, they pierce a hole at the base of the flower and drink the nectar that way. The male and female are different colors, but they share the distinctive Flowerpiercer bill shape.
After a couple of hours at Batsu Gardens we went back to the Waterfall Trail and birded it till dark. We saw a pair of American Dippers which are odd birds that walk underwater on the riverbed, probing the gravel for insects. They are always found near fast-moving water.
Another bird found in this habit is a small flycatcher called the Torrent Tyrannulet. These streamside birds seem to share the same gray color scheme.
We'd had a big lunch and were still pretty full so stopped at a tiny local place for a cup of hot chocolate and an artisan roll. We ended the night with owling back a Dantica Lodge, finally calling in a Bare-shanked Screech-Owl which just flew past us into the tree behind. We heard it a couple of more times but never really got good looks. Oh well, maybe next time!
Next time: Our last day, final thoughts, and souvenirs.
Lots of birds in this post. Key Lime Pie is one of our favorites too.
ReplyDeleteWe discovered key lime pie while we were volunteering down in the Florida Keys. It quickly became our favorite!
ReplyDeleteA beautiful walk along a nice shaded trail and key lime pie...maybe we aren't so different after all!
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