January comes to an end

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Jan 31,2020

American Robin, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Jan 31,2020

Northern Flicker, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Jan 31,2020

Red winged Blackbirds, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Jan 31,2020

Red winged Blackbirds, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Jan 31,2020

Red winged Blackbird, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Jan 31,2020

Today brings the month of January to an end and the month was one of the warmest and least snowy we have ever had around here.  No complaints from me as it has made it a bit more bearable and has allowed a number of lingering species to survive.  I ended the month with my highest ever total for the month of January in Hampshire County with 93 species (my previous best January was back in 2016 with 89 species).  To end the month I made a few stops on my way home from work with my first stop down to Arcadia where the best bird was a Ruby crowned Kinglet seen briefly in a dense thicket.  I didn't have any luck finding anything else too unusual there so I headed over to the East Meadows where I had several notable sightings including at least seven Northern Flickers, a flock of 14 Red winged Blackbirds, at least one flyover Rusty Blackbird and half a dozen Yellow rumped Warblers.

Rarities and lingering species including warblers, Eastern Phoebe, Gray Catbird, Lapland Longspurs and others over the last week

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Arcadia, Easthampton, MA, Jan 25, 2020

Lapland Longspur, Aqua Vitae Rd, Hadley, MA, Jan 26, 2020

Lapland Longspur, Aqua Vitae Rd, Hadley, MA, Jan 26, 2020

Eastern Phoebe, Hadley, MA, Jan 27, 2020

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Jan 27, 2020

 Common Mergansers, Quabbin Park, MA, Jan 28, 2020

Over the past week since I returned from my most recent trip down to Costa Rica (plus a short stop in Florida on the way home) I have been out catching up with a few lingering species and rarities in between days at work.  I covered one major rarity in an earlier post with the occurrence of a Pine Warbler at a private residence in Granby which I caught up with on Thursday the 23rd.  My next rarity I got on my way to work on Friday morning with a Black Vulture hanging out in a residential neighborhood in Easthampton (where a couple have been seen on and off for a couple weeks).  After work on Friday I picked up a Chipping Sparrow hanging out with juncos in the same general area where I had the vulture the day before in Easthampton.  I then made my way over Arcadia where I found at least three Yellow rumped Warblers continuing to survive the winter.  With a little more time available on Sunday morning I followed up on a report of a Gray Catbird at UMASS and had the bird call a few times and briefly show but no luck getting a photo.  I had more luck getting photos of the continued Lapland Longspurs along Aqua Vitae Road with a large group of larks.  I tried once again (and failed) to track down the Eastern Phoebe that Cory E. has had on and off for the entire winter in the area of the Hadley DPW and Hadley Cove.  I actually ran across Cory while there and we discussed the bird a bit and our thoughts were it is probably surviving on insects that are surviving the winter in close proximity to the wastewater treatment plant.  I started my Monday morning at Winsor Dam where I had hundreds of gulls (mainly Ring billed Gulls) but no luck turning up anything unusual in among the hordes.  After waiting in vain for the gates at Quabbin Park to open I gave up on making it into the park and instead headed home before continuing on to Hadley where I had a dentist appointment.  Before my appointment I caught up with 600+ Canada Geese at the athletic fields at UMASS (no unusual geese with them unfortunately).  Once my appointment was over I headed back over to the area of the Hadley DPW and after a bit heard the Eastern Phoebe call a few times and show itself briefly (thankfully long enough to get some distant photos).  *Please note that the DPW area should not be entered at anytime without prior permission*.  Eastern Phoebe is a very unusual species to have around western Massachusetts in winter with just a couple winter records.  I tried my luck with trying to turn up some unusual gulls at Winsor Dam once again on Tuesday morning and this time I had better luck with a non adult Iceland Gull in among the hundreds of Ring billed Gulls and Herring Gulls.  The bird only settled briefly on the water before all the gulls were put up by a Bald Eagle and the bird was not relocated (assumed it took off to the southwest with a large group of gulls).  There seems to be a nice uptick in unusual gulls the last week or so in the general area with most (as usual) up in Turners Falls.  After my time at the dam I headed into Quabbin Park where I had an impressive gathering of Common Mergansers with at least 173 present...sadly nothing else unusual with them.

So far for the month I have seen 90 species in Hampshire County, which is my highest ever total for the month of January and illustrates the number of lingering species and rarities around...some certainly hanging on due to the relatively warm conditions overall and lack of heavy snow.  We shall see if the last few days of the month produce any more new species.

Short Florida stop after Costa Rica

White Ibis and Glossy Ibis, Orlando Wetlands Park, Christmas, FL, Jan 20, 2020

Black Vultures, Orlando Wetlands Park, Christmas, FL, Jan 20, 2020

Prairie Warbler, Orlando Wetlands Park, Christmas, FL, Jan 20, 2020

Palm Warbler 'western', Orlando Wetlands Park, Christmas, FL, Jan 20, 2020

Northern Parula, Orlando Wetlands Park, Christmas, FL, Jan 20, 2020

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Orlando Wetlands Park, Christmas, FL, Jan 20, 2020

Sunrise, Orlando Wetlands Park, Christmas, FL, Jan 20, 2020

During our brief stop in Florida I had just one full day and some of the morning of a second day but I still managed to find some birds. On Monday I was out before dawn on my way to the Orlando Wetlands Park in Christmas. After a bit of a snafu with directions I eventually made it there right around dawn but missed some of the morning flight taking off. Although sunny it was cool to start (around 50) with a fairly strong northerly wind. Once I made it to an area to the north of the park the wind subsided enough to make it comfortable to be out and allowed me to focus on the warblers and other small passerines I was trying to find. Right away found a few species of warblers and others and continued to find them as I walked the northern edge of the park...more on the warblers for the day can be found here: Florida warblers.

Sandhill Cranes, Orlando Wetlands Park, Christmas, FL, Jan 20, 2020

Limpkin, Orlando Wetlands Park, Christmas, FL, Jan 20, 2020

Common Gallinule, Orlando Wetlands Park, Christmas, FL, Jan 20, 2020

Painted Bunting, Orlando Wetlands Park, Christmas, FL, Jan 20, 2020

River Otter, Orlando Wetlands Park, Christmas, FL, Jan 20, 2020

Purple Gallinule, Orlando Wetlands Park, Christmas, FL, Jan 20, 2020

Once I left the northern part of the park I had to contend with the wind once again but the many waterbirds present were not really bothered and they were still easy to check out. I also had a close encounter with a River Otter that ran right out in front of me. I stayed at the park until late morning and then headed over briefly to the nearby Savage-Christmas Creek Preserve before taking a break for lunch. The wind stayed up all day but at least the temperature climbed into the low 60’s...much nicer than home but a far cry from the temps down in Costa Rica.

With limited time on Tuesday morning and the temperatures even cooler than the day before and with a strong north wind I stayed fairly close to the hotel and made just a couple brief stops at small bodies of water but didn’t find anything unexpected. Overall for the brief stop in Florida I found a total of 84 species.

Full album photos here: Florida Jan 2020

Costa Rica trip -January 10-19

Crested Guan, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 11, 2020

White crested Coquette, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 11, 2020

White crowned Parrots, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 11, 2020

Violet headed Hummingbird, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 11, 2020

Chestnut sided Warbler, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 12, 2020

Brown hooded Parrot, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 12, 2020

Sunset, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 12, 2020

Back from another relaxing trip down to Costa Rica (our 13th trip!) with almost our entire vacation spent at the incomparable Rio Magnolia Lodge in the southern Pacific foothills with just a one half day trip down to the coast to break up our time at the lodge. We flew down on January 10th and finally arrived at the lodge around 8PM after a very long day of traveling and were greeted by a number of Common Pauraque. The first couple full days were spent around the lodge catching up with a number of species including some that I typically do not get to see very well. It was odd to see the weather back home being so warm (mid 60’s to low 70’s) and setting records and having the temperature there be only slightly warmer down in Costa Rica. The reality of winter weather eventually returned back home but we didn’t have to worry about cold temperatures in the tropics! The lodge produced 109 species on Saturday and 121 on Sunday. Nothing too unusual but a great selection of species and my first of what would eventually be three new species for me at the lodge with a Blackburnian Warbler making a brief appearance (more on warblers for the trip can be found at the following link).

White faced Capuchin Monkey, Hacienda Baru NWR, Costa Rica, Jan 13, 2020 

Beach panorama, Hacienda Baru NWR, Costa Rica, Jan 13, 2020

Red legged Honeycreeper, Hacienda Baru NWR, Costa Rica, Jan 13, 2020

Collared Peccary, Hacienda Baru NWR, Costa Rica, Jan 13, 2020

Kentucky Warbler, Hacienda Baru NWR, Costa Rica, Jan 13, 2020

Black hooded Antshrike, Hacienda Baru NWR, Costa Rica, Jan 13, 2020

On Monday we took our one trip away from the lodge with a morning trip down to Hacienda Baru on the coast just north of Dominical. We arrived around a little before eight and I immediately headed out onto the trails with a brief stop at the always beautiful and almost always empty beach. Typical fare at the beach but I didn’t spend much time there at all...just too hot in the direct sun. Most of the time I was out on the trails covering a variety of lowland habitat. I found a total of eight species of warblers including great looks at a Kentucky Warbler. I ran into a few pockets of birds with several new species for the trip and ones I have never had before at Hacienda Baru. Overall I had a total of eighty species for the morning which I’m certain I could have added to if I knew all the calls and songs I heard...I knew many but several remained unidentified. Mammals also figured in prominently for the day with a troop of at least a dozen Coati, a troop of White faced Capuchin Monkeys (totaling around twenty individuals) as well as several Collared Peccaries and Agoutis.

Golden hooded Tanager, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 14, 2020

Chestnut headed Oropendola, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 14, 2020

Massage ready!, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 14, 2020

Pale billed Woodpecker, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 14, 2020

On Tuesday the 14th I explored around the lodge until mid morning when I took a break to enjoy an in room hour massage...vacation is not easy! Despite not being out as much for the morning I still found 109 species for the day including a Mottled Owl calling in the evening.

Spotted Woodcreeper, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 15, 2020

Ruddy tailed Flycatcher, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 15, 2020

Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 15, 2020

Wednesday ended up being my best day overall as far as total number of species even with a bit of a breeze at times as well as a couple of afternoon bouts of drizzle. Running across a large mixed species flock as well as an army ant swarm helped push the total for the day to 132.

Clay colored Thrush, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 16, 2020

White ruffed Manakin, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 16, 2020

Sunset, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 16, 2020

Silver throated Tanager, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 17, 2020

White tipped Dove, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 17, 2020

Peregrine Falcon, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 17, 2020

Yellow throated Toucan, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 17, 2020

King Vulture, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 18, 2020

Green flash, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 18, 2020

The last three full days of the trip featured many of the same species along with several new ones.  Each day followed a somewhat similar pattern with a walk out the road to the gate and then back for breakfast and then more exploring for the rest of the morning.  A break for lunch and then a combo of short walks and lots of birding from the balcony in the later afternoon until sunset (which featured a green flash a couple times).   Here is a link to lists from the final three full days at the lodge:
Thursday
Friday
Saturday

On Sunday we headed out for the four hour trip back to San Jose to catch a flight to Florida and a couple more days of warm(ish) weather before heading back home to cold reality (more on Florida in a future post).  Overall the total species for the lodge came to 179 species for the trip with three of those new for me at the lodge (Blackburnian Warbler, Orange billed Nightingale Thrush and Peregrine Falcon) bringing my total to 270 for the lodge over the course of all my trips down there. It amazes me that even after 13 trips to the lodge I still manage to find new species there...the diversity of the tropics always impresses me.

Link to all the photos from the trip here.

More on warblers from the trip here.