All posts by richardhoeg@gmail.com

Costa Rica Rain Forest Birding Yellow-Throated Toucan

Year 12

If you want luxury, La Carolina Lodge which is up in the Costa Rican Rain Forest, is the wrong place for you. Molly and I arrived last night in time for supper, and then the evening song as the forest creatures sung out as dark took over the area. Our room has very few modern conveniences … no TV … no air conditioning (mosquito nets and fans) … and very limited lighting. We do have a very private deck overlooking a mountain river. The lodge does have yoga and horseback riding, which we will not utilize.

This working farm which has both pastures and rain forest is a nature lover’s dream. All three meals come with our room with most food sourced from this farm. We will spend $900 for three nights. I don’t normally include prices, but I want folks to know what it costs to visit a real nice Eco Lodge.

Before breakfast I was in place near some bananas, and for two hours I enjoyed the morning bird feed. Quite often I was sitting in the rain, but I did not mind or care. At one point, this Yellow-Throated Toucan visited. It tarried within 10 to 30 yards of me for over 10 minutes. I saw lots of other cool birds this morning, but the Toucan was the real treat of the morning. Enjoy! (video links one and two for email subscribers)

Costa Rica Birding

Year 12

Molly and I leave early tomorrow for a little over two weeks in Costa Rica, with our first 3 nights at an off the grid eco lodge up in the rain forest. We follow that up by spending time on the Pacific at Las Catalinas. For the first time in my life I have hired local guides … twice for 1/2 day each time. Learn more about where we will be. I have a free PDF guide book I authored and photographed about the area.

Collared Aracari (Toucan)

Migration Meanderings … Owl Therapy

Year 12,

Pay attention to the wind and weather! During the spring south winds rule, and after a night’s winds from the south you may find many new species of birds have arrived outside your home. Learn more about migrations … read up on BirdCast (my post). In addition if you live near a North / South river, it may be a migration highway. Pay attention.

I drove over to the Mississippi River and the Willowsippi Wildlife Management Area earlier this week. While the Father of Waters is still mainly iced over in northern Minnesota, where there are breaks in the ice waterfowl are resting on their northern migration. Twice I found Trumpeter Swans at this open spot on the Mississippi River.

When I reached the Willowsippi Wildlife Management Area (learn more about Willowsippi), I found a pair of Trumpeter Swans had already claimed prime habitat … even though the wetlands pond was still ice over.

Yesterday I spend time over at Sax-Zim Bog. After my local nest failure, I think a local Great Gray Owl took pity on me and wanted to give me some quality “owl time”. I watched this owl for over 1.5 hours. For the first 30 minutes the owl hooted and calmly looked around for a mate. This was followed by an hour of hunting, when I had to leave … the owl was not finished. Oh yes … the crowds are gone from Sax-Zim. I saw only one other birder / car during the three hours I was at the Bog.

The treat over at the Bog was finding a lone Snow Bunting. These small finches are impossible to approach when in flocks, but when they are by themselves one may approach within yards.