This morning down here in Costa Rica I headed out birding shortly after 6 am … driving up and over the steep mountain dirt road to Zapotal.  As I descended, I realized I had a flat tire. Ouch. Not what this almost 70 year old guy (birthday only a few days off) wants to attack early in the morning. Ten minutes into my tire changing job I remembered this song from Monty Python … Always Look on the Bright Side of Life! (video link for email subscribers)

Moments later a motorcyclists drove  along the road, and he took pity of the old American guy (me!). Within moments my new best friend was changing my tire for me. Pura Vida!

My morning birding hike was delayed only 25 minutes, and I hiked to Zapotal Beach which is paradise (watch a brief video I took of the beach from an earlier post). While walking back to my car from the beach … I heard it! Yes … an Elegant Trogon was near! Remember, without my birdsong listening device I would not even have known this bird species lives in the “dry forest” near my birding location (see prior post). Anyhow, patience and few a few calls from Merlin (Cornell App) on my phone and the Elegant Trogon was in my line of sight! Life is great. Pure Vida. Always Look on the Bright Side of Life.

Research also determined that the Elegant Trogon I saw in Medera Canyon some years ago in southern Arizona is now considered a separate species, a Coppery Tailed Trogon (see video from Madera Canyon). Thus, the morning’s find was a lifer!

And a short video I took this morning of the Elegant Trogon (video link for blog email subscribers)

Most birds do NOT visit bird feeders. If you do not understand bird calls and the habitat the bird species you are hearing prefer, you will see fewer birds. Both down here in Costa Rica and back home in northern Minnesota, I use technology as an assist. Here are the devices I bring when I travel:

• Bluetooth Speaker (small)
• Meidase P70 Trailcam
• OwlSense birdsong listening station
• Two extra SD cards (devices stay in the field … I swap out cards)

Upon arriving on the Pacific side of Costa Rica, I setup the trailcam and birdsong listen station deep in the forest where I like to bird. Only 24 hours into our time at Las Catalinas, my devices near Zapotal Beach have ID’d these bird species, which I have successfully now seen and photographed:

• Black-Headed Trogon
• Pale-Billed Woodpecker (see yesterday’s post)
• Squirrel Cuckoo
• Streak-Backed Oriole
• Turquoise Browed Mot Mot

Still on my target to find, and hopefully photograph:

• Elegant Trogon
• Pacific Screech Owl

Once I am convinced I understand a location in terms of species and habitat, I may shift the location of the devices. One very important part of my search process is conducting research via Cornell’s premium database, Birds of the World (not expensive). I pay particular attention to the habitat section. I want to know “why” a given bird species is located where my devices made the identification.

On the trailcam side of the equation, my camera photographed and took a video of a Guatusa. I saw this smaller mammal while birding shortly after sunrise this morning, and while I was not able to get a photograph, my trailcam came through for me. A quick check of Wikipedia helped me understand this animal. I am using the local name my hosts provided me.

While I am using these devices down here in Costa Rica, I follow the same process back home in northeastern Minnesota.

In closing, today’s birds from Zapotal, Costa Rica …

Streak-Backed Oriole

Turquoise Browed Mot Mot

Green Heron at Zapotal Beach

Black-Headed Trogon

Molly and I descended from the rain forest yesterday to the “dry forest” of Guanacaste’s Pacific Coast, Las Catalinas. This is our third visit to visit to this “Mediterranean Hillside Beach Town” which my brother helped develop starting 20 years ago. Two cool features other than just the natural beauty are:

• Cars are not allowed
• Forest next to the town has been set apart as a preserve

Thus, by 6:15 this morning I had driven up and over an extremely steep hill via a dirt road to Zapotal. Once again I was in birding heaven. For the first 90 minutes I saw nary another human, but the birds were most definitely present. While setting up a birdsong listening device and trail cam in a remote dry creek bed (will be full in the rainy season), I was treated to a “Common Black Hawk” (not common at all) chasing a large bird as prey for breakfast. My camera was back at the car because I had my hands full with the equipment I was placing in the forest.

The star of the morning was this Pale-Billed Woodpecker. A few years ago I learned what habitat this bird prefers, and it was within 200 yards of where I found a pair two years ago. This bird species was actually my first find of the morning when I started my serious birding … it has a loud double thunk (not three or four) for drumming which I heard the moment I stopped the car and started my hike.

I will eventually finish processing all my “rain forest birds”, but the number of images is rather overwhelming right now. In closing … my private birding beach around 7 am this morning! (video link for email subscribers). My trailcam and birdsong listening device (OwlSense) is back in the forest via the dry creek bed about 1/2 mile from where I took this video. The dirt road becomes impassable at the dry creek road crossing to continue by car.