Miriam's feeders: Fun with birds

On this, my second visit to Miriam's feeders (first visit here), I got to reflect a little on the larger importance of birding in Costa Rica.  This is a must stop for birders visiting the highlands.  Don't forget your camera!  

But, much more importantly, Miriam's modest restaurant reveals how important birding is to one woman's and her family's economy.  We've never had a meal here, but I'll bet the food is great.  You can just tell.

For birders it's the back deck along the length of the restaurant with birds coming to the feeders and to the bushes and trees with flowers and berries in the overgrown backyard.
   

Male Sooty Thrush (Turdus nigrescens) - you have to go to the highlands to see this bird. 

Female Sooty Thrush:  Alas, out-of-focus, but I love the bird with the berries.

  

Again

The ubiquitous Clay-colored Thrush (Turdus grayi) - the national bird of Costa Rica.

Acorn Woodpecker (Melanerpes formicivorus)

Long-tailed Silky-Flycatcher (Ptilogonys caudatus)

Male Flame-colored Tanager (Piranga bidentata)

Again

Immature male Flame-colored Tanager

Female Flame-colored Tanager

Above and below:  Volcano Hummingbird (Selasphorus flammula)

Above and below:  Yellow-thighed Finch (Pselliophorus tibialis).   Last year I did not get a good photo of this bird.  I love the yellow thigh puffs.  And this year, I got to see the pattern and distinction of the black and charcoal color of the bird and the large, clear black eye.

Female (above) and male Yellow-bellied Siskins (Spinus xanthogastrus)

Black-billed Nightingale-Thrush (Catharus gracilirostris)

 

We saw the charming Wilson's Warbler (Cardellina pusilla) often in Costa Rica, especially in the highlands, but Miriam's feeders offered photo ops that I'll never get in the states.

Mountain Elaenia (Elaenia frantzii)

Large-footed Finch (Pezopetes capitalis)

Oh my goodness - what hummingbird is this?  An immature Magnificent vs. ...?  Not sure, but I've been here before.  It's what happens when I'm taking photos and not paying attention to the bird.  Not good. 

Miriam's back deck and the switchover where one group departs and another arrives.

Miriam's - one of my favorite places of the trip.  Next time I also want to eat here.

Paraiso Quetzal Lodge

Our Prevost's sparrow morning ended with an excellent breakfast buffet at the Bougainvillea Hotel restaurant.  The yogurt was the best I have had in recent memory.  Why can't we have yogurt like this?

I think these flowers are in the orchid family.  In any event, they're beautiful.

Paradiso Quetzal Lodge was on the itinerary again this year.  Last year this was one of my favorite mornings because it involved a long walk through woods and pasture to view the Resplendent Quetzal.  Sadly, for me, that walk was not on the agenda this year.  But, its a great mid-day stop for its hummingbird feeders and lunch.  This year we got to hike by walking the road into the lodge and saw our life pair of Black and Yellow Silky-flycatchers (Phainopila melanoxantha).  

Sign greeting visitors at the entrance road to the lodge.

Male black and yellow silky-flycatcher.

Female black and yellow silky-flycatcher.

Magnificent hummingbird (Eugenes fulgens)

Again, but alighting on a branch.

Fiery-throated hummingbird (Panterpe insignis)

Approaching the feeder.

View from the lodge grounds.

The ubiquitous Rufous-collared sparrow (Zonotrichia capensis).

Food at Paraiso Quetzal Lodge is healthy and good and there were non-birding diners who made their way down the bumpy road for lunch. Lunch was topped off by great Costa Rican coffee, which the lodge also sells in their gift area.  

Search for an elusive sparrow

As with last year, the official start to the trip begins on the morning after arrival.  This year we walked to a residential street directly across the road from the hotel and for the next two hours birded approximately 1/4 mile of this road.  There was some intensity involved.  It was a birdy road and we looked at many, but I must not have been paying attention when the target bird was discussed, because I didn't know that it was the Prevost's Ground-Sparrow.      

I missed Rufous-capped Warbler (Basileuterus rufifrons) last year and again on the evening prior, so was happy to see it on this first morning. Terrible photos, but c'est la vie ...

Red-billed Pigeon (Patagioenas flavirostris) was seen nearly every day in Costa Rica.  This bird was perched so nicely that, though distant, I gave it a try anyway.

Last year I took one horrible photo of the White-eared Ground Sparrow (Melozone leucotis).  On this morning, I thought it was would be the same.  But we had better luck when this bird cooperated in mostly pretty good light for the photos above and below.

A pair of White-tailed Kites (Elanus leucurus) were seen perched and flying in a couple of spots along this road.  My photos are horrible, but this isn't a bird I will see every day.  

We walked along this road for only about a 1/4 mile but it was birdy, leisurely and enjoyable.  I remember is as one of my favorites of our morning walks.  

As for our hunt for the elusive sparrow.  We all saw the Prevost's Ground-Sparrow (Melozone biarcuata) - most of us only briefly and, it seems, always with one part hidden - saw the body but missed the head, saw the butt but missed the body - except for Matt, who got one amazing photo.  I, on the other hand, recorded its vocalization with my iPhone (complete with overhead airplane and competing plain wren) when it was tantalizingly close, but completely out of sight.  No need to make the 53 second video below full screen unless you want to look at the edge of the road and weedy grass.  Just make sure your volume is turned up. 

The thing is, Vernon was attracting this bird with a recording of the bird's call note.  Apparently, there are no good song vocalization recordings of Prevost's sparrow from Costa Rica.  Don't get me wrong, I wish Matt's photo was also on my photo card.  But since I love bird song, I am pleased to have this video recording.  Matt sent us a free download link from Cornell, RavenLite, for stripping away the video and leaving only the vocalization - but its use seems beyond my technical skills.      

Hotel Bougainvillea redux

Matt Hysell is much quicker off the draw with his Costa Rica blog entries than I am.  I recommend that you check out Matt's blog, Birding Berrien and Beyond, found in my blog list at right.  Again, Matt organized another great Costa Rica birding trip with eight participants (perfect number!) January 25th through February 1st, 2015. 

Our first night was, again, at the Hotel Bougainvillea, a great place to unwind from our flights and get our bins and cameras focused on birds in Costa Rica's crystal clear light.

This is a great hotel for both accommodation and birding and I highly recommend it.  This year seemed slightly less birdy, but it was clearly noticeable that the landscaping staff had both completed some projects and had done some pruning around the edges.     

Crimson-fronted Parakeet is a bird that is seen and heard flying over in flocks in locations around Costa Rica.  They are nearly guaranteed over the grounds at Hotel Bougainvillea.  A small group alighted up high in a tree beyond the garden walls.  I took a chance on this lookout bird perched out in the open.  Enlarged, the crimson is clearly visible.  

I had several good photos of this perched Rufous-tailed Hummingbird. I like the photo above because is shows so clearly how the bird got it's name.

Heliconia

The knowledge that I had excellent Blue-crowned Motmot photos from last year's trip took the heat off trying to photograph this bird perched deep into a bush.  Still, 100% of the time, it's such a great bird and I would have been disappointed if I had not seen it.  Same goes with Grayish Saltator.  I got a good photo last year but missed entirely this year.

I forget what these orange flowered trees are called, but I will find out. In any event, they are highly attractive to birds.

Beautiful orange flowers hanging from the back wall of the Hotel Bougainvillea property.  

Butterflies were around but not as much as last year.  Flowers were beautiful.  We stay only one night at this great place.  The most comfortable bed of the trip.