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.

A blizzard rages at home in Duluth, but thankfully Molly and me got out of Dodge a day before the storm hit. Instead after 13 hours of travel we arrived at La Carolina Lodge in the rain forest near Costa Rica’s Volcano National Park. This is our third visit to this fantastic eco lodge, which raises most of the food eaten by guests, and has super birding. If you want air conditioned luxury La Carolina Lodge is the wrong place for you, but if you want to truly experience Costa Rica Pura Vida, visit! A few years back, I even wrote and photographed a birding guide for the NW region of C.R. While the printed version is out of print, anyone may download for free a PDF version of my book.

Back to the birds … sunrise was about 6 am, and although the golden orb was hiding behind clouds, by 6:15 am I was “birding the bananas”! I have only processed a few of my photographs, but I decided to focus upon the Yellow Throated Toucan. While I really wanted flight shots, I also ended up with “hopping images” which I think are very funny. The toucan looks like it is photoshopped into the hopping photos, but the pics are real. This large bird has strong legs and often hopped rather than flew between perches.

At the end of the post I have just a couple more photos of three other species … one a lifer which I was amazed to capture with the camera given the dark light and the lightning quick subject.

Hopping Yellow-Throated Toucan

Flying Toucan

Stationary Toucan

And the lifer … Long-Billed Hermit Hummingbird

Blue-Gray Tanager

Chestnut-Headed Oropendola

One final note, I brought my OwlSense birdsong listening device south with me. It is listening outside my cabin.

In closing, the Toucan told me it wanted to be in the movie! (video link for blog email subscribers)