More than anything else in birding, the thrill of never knowing just exactly what might show up is what keeps us coming back for more.

In the introduction to The Sibley Guide to Birds, David Allen Sibley states, "Most birders who find rare birds are looking for rare birds." He goes on to explain that a familiarity with the common birds of a locality will help alert one to the presence of a rare bird when the observer realizes that there's "something not quite right" about a particular individual.

This species is among the rarest of the wood-warblers that breed in North America, the entire breeding range being confined to a dozen counties in central Texas. It's normal wintering range extends from Mexico to Nicaragua, where it often occurs in conifers. No conifers ever made it beyond Nicaragua on their own, however, our species has busily been planting pines (mostly Pinus caribbea) and Mexican Cypress (Cupressus lusitanica) here in the Costa Rican highlands for the last 50 years or so. In that same interval, our species has likely also been responsible for the removal of a good deal of the native conifer growth farther north of here in other parts of Central America. So perhaps it shouldn't be entirely unexpected that at least some individual Golden-cheeked Warblers might occasionally venture this far south in search of appropriate wintering habitat.

In his research on the species, Jim told me that he found a mention of female Golden-cheeks tending to winter farther south than males, so that also fits with his observation.

Additionally, the congeners with which this species would most likely be confused (i.e., Black-throated Green, Townsend's, and Hermit Warblers (D. virens, townsendi, and occidentalis, respectively)) had not arrived yet in CR. The first reports (see next article) for these to-be-expected species came on 02 October, 28 September, and 22 September, respectively.

Accompanied by Dennis Rogers, Jim returned to the site on 05 September, but after five hours of searching were unsuccessful at relocating the bird. On 08 September, I took the family on a Sunday drive out to the west end of the Central Valley, where we located Jim's spot and gave it a shot. As we were returning to where we had parked the car, we bumped into Eduardo Amengual and Robert Dean, who had come from Monteverde to chase this bird (OK, Eduardo had to come into San Jose anyway, but Robert came down and back for the day). Between us, we must have put in a total of three hours of fruitless observation-though we did see a good variety of other early migrants and the boys and I had fun trying to view some Buffy-crowned Wood-Partridges (Dendrortyx leucophrys) that were calling in one of the coffee fields.

Jim Zook didn't have a chance to get back to the site until 18 September, when four hours of diligent seeking likewise proved futile.

If Costa Rica had such a thing as a Records Committee, this would admittedly be a difficult call, having only one person's word to go by. However, based on Jim's unquestioned birding ability, thoroughness in notekeeping, and not being completely out of the realm of geographic possibility for the species, I personally see no reason to doubt Jim's most recent addition to the Costa Rica list.

Ever since discovering the marvel of electronic correspondence, Rafa Campos has been sending reports of his birding exploits-whether they be here in Costa Rica, in the heart of the Peruvian Amazon, or the dark depths of Prospect Park in Brooklyn-to a number of colleagues in various countries. Upon returning to his beloved "Tiquicia" in early August to formally tie the knot with his likewise beloved Jane Zucker, Rafa emailed us with reports of Barn Swallows (Hirunda rustica) seen at the Juan Santamaria international airport. That got me thinking, "Why not receive migrant reports from birders throughout the country in order to get "the big picture" of what's going on during these few months?"

Combining Rafa's mailing list with other addresses I had, I came up with about 50 recipients that I hoped would be interested in colaborating on this little experiment. On 11 August, I sent out an email explaining the monitoring idea and inviting local colleagues to join the project. The initial response was extremely positive with eight replies within the first 48 hours. Reports continued to come in at an average of nearly two a day throughout the month of August.

However, it soon became apparent that there were many recipients on the list that weren't being heard from. In the first two weeks of monitoring, only 15 people contributed sightings, and only about half of those were regular contributors. (The original proposal message included an opt-out statement, but not a single person ever asked to be removed from the mailing list.) As more than two months have now passed, there are fewer than 10 regular reporters of migrant sightings, which obviously diminshes the value of the exercise.

I confess to being at somewhat of a loss to understand why the lack of interest, especially since nearly everyone on the mailing list is either an active local birder or a tour guide with a supposed knowledge of birds. The latter group may have the excuse that it is low season and there are few paid opportunities to get out in the field at this time of year, but I would have hoped that it was obvious from many of the regular contributors' reports that all you have to do is spend some time checking your own back yard each day, and don't necessarily have to visit a national park or other prime birding site.

So I'm left wondering whether the majority of people are either unable, unwilling, or unready to participate in such an activity. I know that several on the list have had computer/internet problems that have made it difficult or impossible to electronically share their data, while others have been out of the country, at least for part of the time period involved. I cannot fathom why anyone with a sincere interest in birds would be unwilling to participate, but maybe my imagination has its limits. And sadly, others may simply be unready to participate in the sense that they don't grasp the concept and/or value of sharing this type of information, or they may in fact not even realize that some birds are seasonal visitors to the neotropics and are therefore clueless as to what we're trying to do.

Well, enough venting of my frustration with the limited response to this endeavor. On the bright side, we still have received a broader image of what's going on with migration than any one of us could have had based solely on our own observations. By tabulating the data on an Excel spreadsheet, it was easier to visualize where and when different species were arriving (or departing as was the case with species such as Plumbeous Kite (Ictinia plumbea), Swallow-tailed Kite (Elanoides forficatus), Piratic Flycatcher (Legatus leucophaius), Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher (Myiodynastes luteiventris), and Yellow-green Vireo (Vireo flavoviridis), which breed at these latitudes, then move south until early the following year).

Of course, everyone wants to know about the rarities, and so, in order of appearance, here are some of the least common species reported so far:

Yellow-throated Warbler (Dendroica dominica): seen on Cerro Espiritu Santo in Naranjo on three occasions (10 & 30 August, and 22 September-four individuals!); in Sabalito, near the Panamanian border, on 12 September; in La Angostura de Pérez Zeledón on 02 October (all of these sightings were by Jim Zook); and on the campus of the Universidad Nacional in Heredia on 13 September by Wayne Hsu.

Pine Warbler (Dendroica pinus): reported from Monteverde on 21 August by Eduardo Amengual and Robert Dean, and on 06 October by Sergio Vega.

Hermit Warbler (Dendroica occidentalis): seen on Cerro Espiritu Santo by Jim Zook on 22 September and 12 October, and in Monteverde on 05 October by Robert Dean, who reports that it's in the same spot as it was last year behind the cheese factory.

Yellow-breasted Chat (Icteria virens): appeared in a Surinam Cherry tree (Eugenia uniflora) on 03 October in Charlie Gomez' backyard in Sabanilla-Charlie's sole contribution to the monitoring project, at least he made it a good one.

Blackpoll Warbler (Dendroica striata): spotted on 10 October by Ernesto Carman at the family farm in Birrisito de Paraiso, east of Cartago.

Black-billed Cuckoo (Coccyzus erythropthalmus): found by Jim Zook on 12 October while birding the Cerro Espiritu Santo. (On this particular day, Jim had 26 migrant species, including 17 species of wood-warblers!)

Warbling Vireo (Vireo gilvus): as mentioned above, at Home Creek on 13 October.

Any further noteworthy outcomes of this monitoring project will be included in the January newsletter.

On 31 August, Bruce Young informed us of a lapwing at Los Lagos—the two roadside ponds by the turnoff to the San Ramón Forest Reserve along the road from the town of San Ramón to La Fortuna. When they came to look for the abovementioned Golden-cheeked Warbler on 08 September, Eduardo Amengual and Robert Dean made a detour down to look for the lapwing, and sure enough, it was still there. More recently, Gustavo Abarca wrote saying that on 09 October, with Gustavo Orozco and Rudy Zamora, they found the bird still at the same ponds.

(Gustavo also mentioned seeing a Green Ibis (Mesembrinibis cayennensis) at the smaller pond. I was quite surprised to see this bird there on 21 April 2001, as it seems both a high elevation and a very open setting for this species. Interesting to know that it's still there.)

A pair of lapwings were reported at a pond between the Los Sueños Marriot Hotel and Herradura beach on 23 September. They were seen by W. Granados and the report was forwarded on by Rafa Campos.

Two days later, on 25 September, Jim Zook saw a lapwing at the sewage treatment ponds just outside of San Isidro de El General (on the road to Dominical). It was on the dike between the two ponds and, according to workers at the facility, it has been there for a while now.

The question still remains as to whether this species is a rare migrant from the south, or possibly a recently arrived resident.  

Lana later informed me of an Ornate Hawk-Eagle (Spizaetus ornatus) that paid a visit to the lodge on 24 October, perching not far from a mother sloth with her baby.

In between these two raptor reports, on the opposite side of the peninsula, Soo Whiting and Flip Harrington were inspecting the Puerto Jimenez area. On 29 September, they were taking a trip up the Río Tigre towards the Dos Brazos ranger station of Corcovado National Park when they saw a perched hawk. After good looks and consultation with the field guide, they determined they had seen a Black-and-white Hawk-Eagle (Spizastur melanoleucus)!

There have been sightings not too far from La Selva at La Tirimbina Forest Reserve. Also, in a phone conversation with Rudy Zamora in early August, he mentioned having seen Violaceous Quail-Doves at Valle Escondido Lodge, as well as the similarly rare Keel-billed Motmot (Electron carinatum).

On 12 July 2002, Neyer Campos came across a pair of parrotlets perched in a Savanna Oak tree (Tabebuia rosea) just as he was coming to the end of a morning bird walk along the Quebrada Seca in the Jacó area. He was able to observe them through his telescope and later came to the conclusion that they were parrotlets of the genus Forpus.

Geographically, the nearest member of this genus is the Spectacled Parrotlet (F. conspicillatus), which occurs from eastern Panama into northern South America. In some of his correspondence Neyer referred to the birds as Blue-rumped Parrotlet, which is a species endemic to western Mexico (F. cyanopygius). Both possibilities seem remote at best for birds that might have arrived here on their own-which is precisely the problem with the Psittacidae family in general. Many human beings have a strange penchant for depriving these noisy, nonmelodious birds of their liberty. In fact, an Internet search for the word "parrotlet" returns page after page of sites dedicated to the incarceration of these birds. Understandably, eventually some jailors tire of the constant cacaphony and open the cell doors. Or, as these are very intelligent birds, some make their own escape to freedom.

Given the fairly large and multicultural population of the Jacó area, it is entirely possible that someone had these birds in captivity and they're now at large and surprising unsuspecting birders. However, as there are at least two individuals involved, it will be interesting to see if they manage to establish themselves in the area, as has happened so often elsewhere with escaped psittacids.

While many of us have been enjoying some down time in recent months, Jim Zook's field survey work has kept him quite active, particularly in the southern Pacific sector of the country. Here are some of the more newsworthy sightings he's had to report.

While birding in the Sabalito area on 23 August, Jim ran into numerous Slate-colored Seedeaters (Sporophila schistacea) that were feasting on seeding bamboo (Chusquea sp). He mentioned that the males were singing and quite conspicuous.

On 29 September, Jim picked up a lifer: Wedge-tailed Grass-Finch (Emberizoides herbicola)! Within about a kilometer of walking, he had six sightings as birds flew up out of the grassy field anywhere from one to twenty meters from him. Three times birds flew and then landed again, burying themselves in the grass 20 to 50 meters away. Twice they perched on tall grass stems, allowing views. And once a bird sat on a fence wire, where Jim got great looks. None of the birds sang, they merely gave high, sharp "chips" and they also seemed to respond to pishing.

The birds were in natural savanna at a place known as Los Altos de Salitre, which Jim describes as having no trees or bushes and looking from a distance like just another damn bare pasture. The site is reached by driving from the church in Buenos Aires nine kilometers up a gravel road towards the village of Dúrika. The birds were at an elevation of about 800 meters, which is twice the elevation given in the field guide for this species, but as Jim noted, everything below this area is now pineapple plantation.

Regarding the blackbirds, it looks like Panama is about to add a new species to the country list, if it hasn't already.

Normally, the ranges of these two congeners do not come into contact, though this site is only some 40 km northwest of Orotina, where fiery-bills occur. Eduardo wrote that the fiery-bill was following the rest of the group and occasionally engaged in "bill battles" with the Collared Araçaris.

In August, Noel Ureña phoned to ask if I had ever seen birds here in Costa Rica eating chili peppers. I couldn't recall ever having noticed such behavior, but Noel went on to inform me that he had recently been witnessing this very phenomenon. A variety of local species come to a chili plant in his back yard in San Isidro de El General, among them: Social Flycatcher (Myiozetetes similis), Yellow-bellied Elaenia (Elaenia flavogaster), Lesser Elaenia (Elaenia chiriquensis), and Buff-throated Saltator (Saltator maximus). The birds choose the ripest fruit and don't seem to be the least bit bothered by them. In fact, Noel has even seen the saltators feeding their young with the hot peppers!

Tim Bickler dropped a line to say: "In March of 1998, while birding at Rainbow Lodge, I had a female mango with a dark stripe down its breast. The stripe was not blue. It was near a patch of mangroves and perched for quite a while. Based on the field guide, I thought it was an out of range Green-breasted Mango [(Anthracothorax prevostii) vs. a perhaps more likely Veraguan Mango (A. veraguensis) - Ed.]. After reading your July piece though, now I wonder?"

Ernesto Carman passed along this information: "Concerning the White-tailed Emerald (Elvira chionura) in the newsletter, I have seen this species a couple times (first about two years ago) on Fila Cachí, the mountains behind Cachí, which includes Quirí. I also believe it has been seen by Daniel Martínez at Monte Sky, on the other side of the valley."

Kevin Easely sent these sight records: "Weird thing, I have been to Santa Rosa one time in my life for one day back in '87 or '88 on my first trip ever to CR. I had seen Rusty Sparrow (Aimophila rufescens) many times in Mexico having gone twice a year for about 8 years there. You don't think it is a big deal when you see one straight off. I remember it was in the park on the left side of the road, not that that is going to help but I do recall it clearly.
"The Grasshopper Sparrow (Ammodramus savannarum) was in late March on a Limosa (British) tour. It flew into a small bush alongside the road and did not want to leave. This was on the entrance road before Palo Verde and before the rice scheme as I remember. I wanted to make it something else not expecting Grasshopper there but everything pointed to that."

And at last, here's this edition's Mystery Photo Contest.

The answer will be announced in the January 2003 edition.

By the way, as there were so few guesses made on the call, I am not including another one in this issue. However, if you'd like to see this feature reinstalled in future editions, just let me know.

Wishing you all great birding,

Richard Garrigues

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