31-JAN-2014
White-throated Mountain-gem (8089)
Lampornis castaneoventris
Today is our second day at the Savegre Mountain Lodge, in the Costa Rica high mountains. We walked
around the grounds, enjoying the many hummingbirds near the feeders they maintain.
30-JAN-2014
Resplendent Quetzal (7428)
On a vacation trip to Costa Rica, we traveled from Rancho Naturalista to the Savegre Mountain lodge
late yesterday, on a quest to see the Resplendent Quetzal that are often seen nearby. Happily, we
were successful in finding one this morning (along with hundreds of other enthusiasts.
29-JAN-2014
Gray-headed Chachalaca (7164)
Gray-headed Chachalacas, in a flock of about a dozen, would pay daily visits
to the feeders at Rancho Naturalista, where we stayed for several days.
28-JAN-2014
Immature Northern Jacana (6819)
On our vacation to Costa Rica we visited a wildlife reserve (CATIE) where there is a nice
lake with some shorebirds. This immature Northern Jacana was stepping between lily pads
while looking for something to eat.
27-JAN-2014
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher (5820)
Costa Rica has a large varieties of Flycatchers. We found this one early in the morning,
hanging around a light that had been left on overnight, attracting many insects.
26-JAN-2014
Clay-colored Thrush (5209)
Today we started a trip to Costa Rica, with an emphasis on taking some pictures of birds.
The Clay-colored Thrush is the national bird of Costa Rica, so it is fitting that the first
day we would get a picture of one of these. They are also called Clay-colored Robins.
19-JAN-2014
American Goldfinch (4754)
All the birds this morning were the usual suspects. The American Goldfinch (probably a female) posed nicely in the soft morning light.
18-JAN-2014
Male House Finch (4709)
The light in my back yard is best in the late afternoon, but the variety of birds
is much less -- only House Finches, House Sparrows, White-winged Doves, and a few
Lesser Goldfinches. This brightly colored House Finch landed on a twig with its
crown feathers raised, and I thought that somewhat unusual.
17-JAN-2014
Lesser Goldfinch (Male) (4645)
In this part of the Rocky Mountains, we see Lesser Goldfinches from both the Texas/Mexican
populations and the West Coast populations. The TX birds have "black" backs, and the
western birds have "green" backs. The birds interbreed, and so we also see males with all
degrees of green and back. This particular bird is almost a completely green-backed, western form.
16-JAN-2014
Townsend's Solitaire (4407)
Townsend's Solitaires are not frequent back-yard visitors, and this one I found while wandering one
of the local parks. His tail retrices seem short, but his vocalizations made his ID unmistakable.
14-JAN-2014
House Finch (Male) (4266)
House Finches are the one bird that we can expect to see every day of the year.
13-JAN-2014
Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored) (4122)
The least common variety of Junco that we have seen here is the most common Eastern form,
the Slate-colored Junco. The Slate-colored Junco has no pink or buff-color in his flanks,
and a dark gray hood, which extends in a convex pattern to his flanks. This particular bird
shows a faint darker hood, resembling that of the Oregon Junco, making this bird a candidate
for the Canadian Rocky Mountain population of Slate-colored Juncos (see Sibley).