Well, perhaps not exactly. Nonetheless, reports of Harpy Eagle (Harpia harpyja) in Costa Rica have come to share some of the characteristic elements of most UFO sightings: plausible stories, but no hard evidence. Most of the supposed sightings in recent years have been fly-overs. Having had the opportunity years ago at La Selva to observe a perched Crested Eagle (Morphnus guianensis) for several wonderful minutes, I can personally attest to the difficulty in distinguishing between these two large eagles—even when perched!

There was even the story of a farmer in the Carate area of the Osa Peninsula who reportedly shot a ringed bird a few years back. However, the ring never materialized for posthumous identification of the bird.

I'm not sure whether people were just getting the news second or third-hand and mixing up the place names, or whether there really were a rash of sightings, but I heard reports of Harpy Eagle observations from Drake's Bay to Carate. Neyer even made cryptic mention of a possible nest site somewhere in Los Planos, behind Drake.

Fortunately, hard evidence in the form of the rumored photograph finally did appear. Julio Sánchez received a copy and confirmed the ID: a third-year sub-adult Harpy Eagle!

So it's true. The question now remains: Was this a wandering young individual that flew in from Panama or South America, or are mom and dad around somewhere?

During my most recent visit, 14 April, we found out from Ana, the woman caring for Dr. Skutch, that the fall itself apparently had not caused any great damage; however, the doctors discovered that he has prostrate cancer. And if I understood Ana correctly, he may also be suffering from lung and brain cancer. At any rate, the situation did not sound good and I could not bring myself to go into the house and see him under these circumstances.

This may well be the first record of this species on the Caribbean side of the country. As I heard no other reports, I'm curious to know if this bird stayed around or disappeared.

* * *

Ever since last September, Eduardo Amengual and Robert Dean have been making monthly trips to Chomes to check on shorebird activity. Here's a report of some of what they've seen:

"On 04 January 2002, Robert Dean and I visited Chomes. Among a large flock of waders, terns and gulls were several plovers that we identified as American Golden Plovers (Pluvialis dominica). At least one of them had an intense buffy breast and face with a yellowish eyebrow that called our attention as unusual. On 07 January, I purchased a shorebird identification guide by Peter Hayman and upon reviewing the golden plovers was surprised to encounter an illustration of what we had seen in Chomes: a first winter plumaged Pacific Golden Plover (Pluvialis fulva)!!

"I don't know if this species has been seen previously in Costa Rica, although it wouldn't be so strange since it winters in California and there are sightings from such far flung places as Chile, the Galapagos and the Pacific coast of Mexico. Do you know of any other sightings of this species in Costa Rica?

Upon returning to Chomes in February, they also managed to locate a Dunlin (Calidris alpina).

* * *

Jim Watt sent the following reports from his visit to the San Isidro de El General sewage lagoon and La Selva:

"We stopped there on Tuesday, 12 February 2002, at 13:15 for a quick look and saw two shorebirds that we believe to be possibly Ruffs (Philomachus pugnax). The birds were located on the middle causeway between the two ponds, but after allowing us only a couple of minutes of looking, walked down the small embankment and out of sight from the road. Bill was straight and all black; mantle was gray/brown above, feathers with dark centres; legs orangish; throat, belly and ventral area white; flanks were washed with buff/gray. This bird was definitely not a willet, whimbrel, stilt, dowitcher. We considered a Buff-breasted Sandpiper but these birds were much more substantial in size. Now my report is somewhat qualified (i.e. possible Ruffs) because we have only seen one Ruff each as these birds are rare in southern Ontario; furthermore, I am not familiar with other vagrnats that could possibly arrive in Costa Rica.

While birding at La Ensenada Lodge on the morning of 30 January 2002, Jim Zook, Eric Castro, Adolfo "Fito" Downs and Jim Black discovered at least eight Cave Swallows (Hirundo fulva), plus one Violet-green Swallow (Tachycineta thalassina), among a flock consisting of hundreds of Barn Swallows (Hirundo rustica). The field guide suggests that Cave Swallows ought to be looked for during fall migration on the Caribbean coast, though these were obviously on the Pacific side of the country.

On the same trip to Chomes in February that produced the Dunlin, Robert Dean and Eduardo Amengual also saw Cave Swallows. So it appears that some of these rare hirundids chose to winter in the Gulf of Nicoya area this year.

The two birds that caused such a stir at the end of last year continued to be found at the same spot behind Playa Hermosa for more than a month. As the dry season advanced, however, the birds eventually disappeared. When I checked the site on 21 February 2002 with Ted and Kristin Kenefick, we could only find one individual. Then on 12 March 2002, with Bob Quinn et. al., no lapwings were seen and the wet pasture area where they had been was quite dry. In fact, of the other species that had been in the area (i.e., Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus), Black-necked Stilt (Himantopus mexicanus), and Spotted Sandpiper (Actitis macularia)) we only saw Northern Jacana (Jacana spinosa). This experience was echoed by several other birders who visited the site from mid-February to mid-March (e.g., Rafa Campos, Rudy Zamora and Kevin Easley).

About the time that the Southern Lapwings (Vanellus chilensis) disappeared from Playa Hermosa, there was a report that Paco Madrigal had seen four birds on the road to the Río Tarcoles river mouth. However, in the numerous trips I've made to the river mouth since, I haven't encountered any lapwings, nor have I heard of any further sightings. Anyone have any more news?

Early this year, Charlie Gómez reported a possible South Polar Skua (Catharacta maccormicki) near Carate. Here's his report translated from Spanish:

"I consider the bird I saw to have been Catharacta maccormicki, of course not being 100% certain since as you know the taxonomy of this genus is still complicated. I saw it on 02 January 2002 at about 16:30 by the mouth of the Carate River on the Osa Peninsula. There was a fishing vessel near the coast and around it were Magnificent Frigatebirds (Fregata magnificens), Brown Boobies (Sula leucogaster), Larus spp. and some Neotropical Cormorants (Phalacrocorax brasilianus). A small group of Sandwich Terns (Sterna sandvicensis) was fishing at the mouth of the river, when what I thought was a large immature gull suddenly attacked them. I immediately recalled having seen such behavior by a skua years ago on the beach at Punta Guiones. I was able to observe this new bird in detail until one of the terns regurgitated or dropped its fish. The skua grabbed the prize in midair and flew rapidly in the direction of the fishing boat until disappearing from view.

"I saw the bird very well and checked Harrison [Seabirds] when I returned to the lodge—I'd seen the illustration in Gary [Birds of Costa Rica] and I didn't see as much contrast between the head and the rest of the body. I also saw the underside of the bird, which was an obvious gray-brown and which Gary doesn't show. After reading Harrison, I think that it was a juvenil pale morph."

By the way, both Julio and I have noticed some bamboo in various stages of flowering and seeding on Cerro de la Muerte within the last month or so, though neither of us have seen any of the bamboo specialists associated with them as yet. However, if you're up on the mountain, keep yours eyes open.

Kevin Easley and a group of birders visiting the Carara area a few months ago saw a Gray-headed Dove (Leptotila plumbeiceps) on the dirt road above Hotel Villa Lapas (on the way to the waterfall). Kevin tells me that David Wolf saw this species several years ago on the trail that used to go upstream (before high water washed it away) beyond the Villa Lapas complex. This means that all three Leptotila species occur in the area, so you may wish to exert extra caution when making IDs.

During the Grecia CBC last December, Bill Howard observed a lone Eurasian Collared-Dove (Streptopelia decaocto) sitting on a phone wire in the housing development behind Rancho Monticel on the road between La Garita and Atenas (on the right just before you start dropping down towards the La Garita Dam). This is the first report that I've heard of for Costa Rica, although the way that this species has been spreading through the Caribbean and southern US, maybe it shouldn't come as too much of a surprise. Another one to watch for.

No, this is not a terrorist threat. This is a very real, yet irregular population irruption of a splendid species of day-flying moth, Urania fulgens. I apologize to the purists for adding this entomological note in the Gone Birding Newsletter, nonetheless, be prepared for a natural spectacle that we haven't seen here in Costa Rica for several years now.

In January, I received this fascinating account from John and Ann Maxine Patton, who live in the mountains above Dominical:

"We have a pair of Bat Falcons (Falco rufigularis) nesting in a tree just outside our house. They moved into an old termite nest almost two months ago. Since then they have been defending the area against all birds, no matter how big. They have also been mating frequently recently. We started seeing them mating almost two weeks ago and we have observed mating almost every day at least once. They spend a lot of time together, but we have seen them hunting alone, as well. Very frequently, however, they hunt together and cooperate very effectively.

"On several occasions I have seen them attack other birds with perfect cooperation. They time their attacks to hit as birds reach the top of saddles in the terrain, where the birds are very low to the ground and have little ability to escape downwards. They attack at exactly the same time from opposite sides, perpendicular to the direction of flight of the prey, at 45 degree angles to the ground and at a 90 angle from each other. It is hard to imagine a better system for two birds to cut down the escape possibilities of their prey. I have seen them use this system to kill birds as large as White-crowned Parrots (Pionus senilis) and I have seen them attack toucans in the same manner. I have never seen them kill a toucan and I am not sure they mean to do so, but they certainly attack them in this same cooperative manner. They also cooperate in chasing away eagles, kites, vultures, etc., but not in a manner so structured as the hunting described above."

Ernesto Carman, Chris Fagyal, Ric Zarwell (though these last two people were standing next to me when I took the photo, so they should have gotten it right!), Brian Scott, Jim Zook, Tim Fitzpatrick, and Dave Tripp (who passed along the definitive field mark: "The brown line on the back of the nape is a give away.")

The answer will be announced in the July 2002 edition.

Wishing you all great birding,

Richard Garrigues

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