Crested Oropendola (Psarocolius decumanus): Rolando Delgado phoned in early April to report that a small group of about three or four Crested Oropendolas were found roosting about 1.3 Km from the Wilson Botanical Garden en route to Ciudad Neilly. To find the site, look for three stands of bamboo on the right-hand side of a curve in the road. The birds have been seen coming to roost in the bamboo around 16:30. This species was first reported in Costa Rica late last year by Jim Zook.

Rolando also passed along word that a Common Potoo (Nyctibius griseus) is apparently nesting on a fence post not far from the road between the Wilson Botanical Garden and San Vito. Rolo and a group he was with saw the bird on 13 March and, according to local sources, it is on a nest (such as it is for this species). The directions he gave were to clock 2.8 Km from the garden gate en route to San Vito. At this point, there will be a covered bus stop; take the road on the right and continue for some 400 meters. You'll come to a small house with a corral. On the right are three or four eucalyptus trees atop an embankment on a curve in the road. The potoo roost/nest is on the first fence post after the first eucalyptus tree. As with any nesting (or even roosting) bird, please use prudence in observing it.

Brown-throated Parakeet (Aratinga pertinax ocularis): On their way in to the Esquinas Rainforest Lodge in mid-March, a recent Birdquest tour group saw flocks of this relatively newly-arrived species. Fueled by news of the parakeets and also Red-breasted Blackbirds (Sturnella militaris), both potential lifers, as well as Paul Coopmans' report that Black-cheeked Ant-Tanagers (Habia atrimaxillaris) were "dead easy" on the property (these would be lifers for my sons), I arranged to spend two nights at the lodge with my family during Easter Week.

Sure enough, as we were driving in (just before reaching the small settlement of Gamba) young Roberto spotted some parakeets in flight. We pulled over, pulled out the scope and pointed it at the tree where they had landed. However, I realized that there was a male Ruddy-breasted Seedeater (Sporophila minuta) perched atop a nearer bush practically in line with the parakeets. As this was also new for the boys, we had a good look at it, then proceeded to ID the psittacids. Brown-throated Parakeets! We had hardly finished our jubilant celebration when Roberto again pointed out something new: a male Red-breasted Blackbird in the field on the other side of the road! We spent the better part of half an hour right there, logging more than 30 species, including a soaring White Hawk (Leucopternis albicollis), nesting Fork-tailed Flycatchers (Tyrannus savana) and nice looks at a pair of low-flying Lesser Swallow-tailed Swifts (Panyptila cayennensis), together with some two dozen parakeets and eight blackbirds.

Wattled Jacana (Jacana jacana): We hadn't quite arrived at the lodge when David noticed a different-looking jacana in a newly-planted rice field. Upon closer inspection it turned out to be a Wattled Jacana in amongst more than a dozen Northern Jacanas (Jacana spinosa)! We drove through this same area three more times during our stay and never again spotted the bird. Realizing how fortuitous the sighting had been, we unanimously deemed this "the bird of the trip" (although excellent studies of an immature Tiny Hawk (Accipiter superciliosus) at the lodge made this rare accipter a close second).

And so it was that on 23 February I visited La Virgen del Socorro with Rob and Paul Stark. It was mid-morning by the time we'd reached the bridge and then gone into the "Monklet Trail." We only went in the trail 100 meters or so before deciding to turn back since things were very quiet. We hadn't gotten very far in retracing our steps when I happened to look up and see a bird fly onto a branch over the trail (quite high actually, probably some eight or ten meters above the ground).

"I've got it!" I exclaimed, the words coming out of my mouth as soon as my binoculars were on the bird. Of course, Rob and Paul weren't exactly sure what "it" was, but after they got onto the bird they remarked, "Oh, another one of those." As it turns out, they had seen Lanceolated Monklet, not once, but twice a week earlier -- on each of two visits to the Río Tuis during their weeklong stay at Rancho Naturalista. Kind of took the thrill out of finally coming to grips with my most sought-after species in Costa Rica.

The aforementioned Stark brothers had a productive fortnight here in February. Not only did they see the monklet three different times, they found Black-banded Woodcreeper (Dendrocolaptes picumnus) in Tapantí National Park. In my experience in Costa Rica, this is the rarest of the Dendrocolaptidae family. I do know of one other sighting of this species in Tapantí. Paul Coopmans found one in April 2000, in the general area of where there is a small shed-like structure on the right-hand side of the road, about midway between the waterfall viewing point and the bridge farther up the road.

Matt Denton, one of the resident birding guides at Rancho Naturalista, reported that they have seen Lovely Cotinga (Cotinga amabilis) on several of the occasions that they have made the rather grueling trek up above Platanillo (in the hills beyond Rancho). Once, there were three males feeding in the same fruiting lauraceous tree with a male Resplendent Quetzal (Pharomachrus mocinno). That must have been a sight!

Matt also mentioned that he saw the Ochre-breasted Antpitta (Grallaricula flavirostris) at Tapantí on the lower loop of the Oropendola Trail back in December. As noted in the previous newsletter we also found this diminutive antpitta at the La Paz Waterfall Gardens at the end of last year. Based in part on that report, Leo Chaves was able to find it there in early February. Then on 23 March, Charlie Gómez and Noble Proctor had great looks at it there, too. Noble was so amazed by the way that it sat on the thick green rope -- used as a railing along the walkway -- that he's thinking of buying some to string up around his yard in Connecticut to see if it will attract antpittas. Good luck, Noble. Hey, it was great seeing you again!

A number of interesting species have been turning up out near La Ensenada Lodge at Costa de Pájaros. Several birders reported seeing a male Cinnamon Teal (Anas cyanoptera) at the little pond near the salt ponds.

Mauricio (Morris) Quesada mentioned possible sightings of both Grasshopper and Botteri's Sparrows (Ammodramus savannarum and Aimophila botterii, respectively) in grassy fields in the area. Actually, having seen the birds through telescopes, he's pretty sure of the IDs. Nonetheless, given that the field guide doesn't mention either of these species occurring here at sea level and the potential difficulty in distinguishing among sparrows, in general, it would be interesting to hear of any other observations from the area that might help with confirmation.

Morris also got to see a group of 35 Cedar Waxwings (Bombycilla cedrorum) feeding on mistletoe berries together with a Three-wattled Bellbird (Procnias tricarunculata).

Lots of lucky birders who visited Albergue de Montaña Savegre (a.k.a. Cabinas Chacón) in March got to see the elusive Silvery-throated Jay (Cyanolyca argentigula) since there was an active nest up in the oak forest above the lodge. My travels didn't happen to take me there, but from the reports I heard, the nest situation was similar to one that Richard Schofield and I found in April 1994 in the oak forest above La Esperanza. That nest was constructed amid the dense foliage of the upper limbs of a small oak tree (some 15 meters tall) and was essentially invisible from below. It was more from the behavior of the birds than anything else that we knew there was a nest.

Cape May Warbler (Dendroica tigrina) was seen by Eduardo Amengual in the vicinity of La Colina Lodge in Monteverde.

Hermit Warbler (Dendroica occidentalis) has been seen at several sites: Monteverde (behind the El Bosque Restaurant), Finca Los Lotes in the upper Río Tiribí watershed above Tres Ríos, and in the vicinity of Hotel El Tirol.

Ruth Pestes and I got to watch an immature male Palm Warbler (Dendroica palmarum) as it foraged in the rear courtyard of the Eco-Lodge (Lake Cote) on 06 February.

Winnie Orcutt reports both a male and a female Prairie Warbler (Dendroica discolor) coming to her backyard hedge in Hacienda Los Reyes (La Guácima de Alajuela). The birds were seen a couple of times a week, on average, from January through mid-April.

Rudy Zamora told me of finding a Yellow-breasted Chat (Icteria virens) for the second year in a row now out at Playa Coyote on the southern Nicoya Peninsula. [In addition to the chat, Rudy also said he saw a White-bellied Emerald (Amazilia candida) in the same general area!]

And okay, so it's not exactly a warbler, but Robert Dean was birding in Cahuita with Patrick O'Donnell on 11 April, when Patrick said he heard a White-eyed Vireo (Vireo griseus) singing. Tracing the song to its source, they had nice looks at this rare migrant, which according to the field guide is "not heard in Costa Rica"!

During their recent southern Caribbean birding trip, Robert Dean and Patrick O'Donnell also visited Hitoy-Cerere Biological Reserve. Hoping to find Great Jacamar (Jacamerops aurea), they played a pre-recorded tape of this species. Almost instantaneously, a Violaceous Quail-Dove (Geotrygon violacea) came flying in! It sat on a low branch near them and cooed for several minutes.

For those of you who may not yet be aware of this, the National Audubon Society and BirdSource now maintain a website with the results of the annual Christmas Bird Counts. Within weeks of the count period, information is available on the website. That sure beats waiting for nearly a year until the printed version comes out!

I hope that you've enjoyed this newsletter and welcome any comments at gonebirdingcr@gmail.com or if you're in Costa Rica, feel free to give me a ring at 293-2710.

https://www.angelfire.com/bc/gonebirding/index.html

January 2001

October 2000

July 2000

April 2000