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| Speckled Tanager, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 1, 2019 |
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| Sunset, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 7, 2019 |
We finished 2018 and started 2019 with another trip to Costa Rica (our 12th trip down there!). We arrived into San Jose in the early afternoon of December 30th and then spent over an hour and a half trying to get through immigration...a very long wait! Eventually we made it out of the airport and started the four hour drive over the mountains down to Rio Magnolia Lodge with only a brief stop on the way. We arrived well after dark and settled in after a late dinner.
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| Yellow throated Toucan, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Dec 31, 2018 |
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| Golden winged Warbler, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Dec 31, 2018 |
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| Golden hooded Tanager, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Dec 31, 2018 |
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| Blue throated Goldentail, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Dec 31, 2018 |
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| Dawn, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Dec 31, 2018 |
New Years Eve dawned sunny and bright and I was out the door early catching up with a wide variety of migrant and resident birds. Nothing way out of the ordinary but it was a great day getting reacquainted with the local birds. A great way to finish out 2018!
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| Fiery billed Aracari, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 1, 2019 |
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| Squirrel Cuckoo, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 1, 2019 |
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| Scaled Pigeon, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 1, 2019 |
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| Butterfly species?, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 1, 2019 |
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| Gecko, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 1, 2019 |
The new year started off with a bang with great weather and lots of birds as I spent the entire day exploring the area around the
lodge. I managed to find a total of 111 species over the course of the day including two new species for me in Costa Rica (and a new ones for the lodge list)...a MacGillivray's Warbler and a Willow Flycatcher plus another new species for the lodge...Barred Parakeet. It was a tough bird to get photos of as it moved through a dense tangle right on the edge of the lodge property but I eventually succeeded in getting some marginal shots. I also had a relatively close encounter with four Great Curassows late in the afternoon.
Finally heard some Howler Monkeys after missing them the days before plus had a couple Tayras cross my path late in the day
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| Silver throated Tanager, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 2, 2019 |
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| Yellow crowned Yellowthroat, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 2, 2019 |
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| Baird's Trogon, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 2, 2019 |
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| Crested Caracaras, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 2, 2019 |
The second was another day spent around the
lodge property with a total of 106 species for the day. It was not quite as sunny but the only rain was a brief shower after dark. I added several new species for the trip but nothing too out of the ordinary.
A lone Capuchin monkey moved through the trees near the lodge in the afternoon...odd to see just a single as typically they are in groups...perhaps an outcast looking to form his own troop?
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| Sunset, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 3, 2019 |
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| Massage time!, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 3, 2019 |
The third day of the new year was also spent around the
lodge but the birding was interrupted early in the afternoon by an hour long in room massage...vacation is not easy!
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| Prothonotary Warbler, Hacienda Baru NWR, Costa Rica, Jan 4, 2019 |
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| Brown Pelican, Hacienda Baru NWR, Costa Rica, Jan 4, 2019 |
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| Bare throated Tiger Heron, Hacienda Baru NWR, Costa Rica, Jan 4, 2019 |
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| Macgillivray's Warbler Hacienda Baru NWR, Costa Rica, Jan 4, 2019 |
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| Peccary, Hacienda Baru NWR, Costa Rica, Jan 4, 2019 |
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| Raccoon, Hacienda Baru NWR, Costa Rica, Jan 4, 2019 |
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| Agouti, Hacienda Baru NWR, Costa Rica, Jan 4, 2019 |
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| King Vulture, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Jan 4, 2019 |
We finally took a short trip away from the lodge with a trip down to
Hacienda Baru on the coast on Friday. Although it is always a lot hotter down on the coast it also features a different group of birds that don't make it up to the foothills. We arrived around 7:30 and immediately headed out on the trails. I decided to stick to the trails in the lowlands right near the coast to pick up some new species for the trip. I have been to Hacienda Baru on many prior trips so the chances of totally new species for me was quite small but new species for the trip was likely. I hoped to catch up with some Prothonotary Warblers (among other species) and I eventually succeeded. The trails also featured a number of close mammal sightings including Three toed Sloth, Otter, Raccoon, Peccary, Agouti and squirrels...plus a Jaguarundi that I just missed seeing. I found a total of 72 species over the course of the morning which was fairly good considering I didn't have a guide and didn't cover too much ground. We ended the very hot day down there with a lunch and some ice cold cokes...
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| Howler Monkey, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 6, 2019 |
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| Yellow billed Cacique, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 6, 2019 |
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| Bat Falcon, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 6, 2019 |
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| Kentucky Warbler, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 6, 2019 |
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| Boat billed Flycatcher at nest, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 7, 2019 |
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| Violet headed Hummingbird, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 7, 2019 |
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| Crested Guan, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 7, 2019 |
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| Sunset, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 7, 2019 |
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| Bay headed Tanager, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 8, 2019 |
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| Greater Tinamou, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 8, 2019 |
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| Spot crowned Euphonia, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 8, 2019 |
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| Laughing Falcon, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 8, 2019 |
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| White tipped Sicklebill, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 8, 2019 |
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| Great Curassow, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 8, 2019 |
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| Sunset, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 8, 2019 |
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| Scaled Antpitta (yes...it is really there...right in the middle of the road!), Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 8, 2019 |
The remaining days of the vacation (
5th,
6th,
7th and
8th) were spent exclusively around the lodge with Wednesday the 9th being the long travel day back home. Each day consisted of covering various areas around the lodge from primary forest to fields to edge with some time scanning the skies. On the 7th I found another new species for my lodge list (as well as a new one for my Costa Rica list) when I found a Kentucky Warbler. Also had a few mammal sightings including some fairly close looks at a family of Howler Monkeys. On our final day at the lodge I found my one and only life bird of the trip when I had great looks at a Scaled Antpitta hopping along the road through the jungle at first light. I got great looks as it stayed in view for almost a minute. I tried for photos through the binoculars but no luck...had to settle for zoomed in phone shots that just show a lump in the road.
The last full day also turned out to be the day with the highest total species seen in one day at the lodge on this trip with a total of 131 species.
Over the course of my time around the lodge I found a total of 168 species with five of those being new for me at the lodge (Barred Parakeet, Willow Flycatcher, MacGillivray's Warbler, Kentucky Warbler and Scaled Antpitta) bringing my overall total at the lodge over the dozen trips there up to 267. Four of the new birds at the lodge were also new for my Costa Rica list which now stands at 523. Over the course of the entire trip I had a total of 212 species...not too bad considering the few areas I visited. A much more in depth looks at warblers on this trip can be found at the following
link
Full album from the trip at the following link:
Costa Rica Dec 2018-Jan 2019
