22 March 2009
Pileated Flycatcher
No sight nor sound of them in early March when we first arrived, although a very different story just a few weeks later in early spring. At this time there were at least three different birds in the area, including this responsive and vocal bird along the entrance road.
9 March 2009
Rositas (Rose-bellied) Bunting
Digiscoped with an ATS HD 65mm Swarovski scope.
14 March 2009
Highland Guan
Picture the scene - we visit an area of "forest" that has been severely deforested rapidly in recent years, so we were not sure what to expect out of it. We knew in the past this vastly different forest area before held such prizes as the glittering Resplendent Quetzal and this beast. Well a few hours after dawn the quetzal fell and proved that even a tiny patch of remnant forest can seemingly keep them alive. Just as I was huffing and puffing and just generally recovering from my frantic chase of a top notch male quetzal the shout goes up from others in the group "Guan!", and I enter the power line clearing where they are standing and witness as this most distinctive of guans proceeds to do low display flights overhead. Magic moments in birding. As if that was not enough we also managed to rack up three new species of jay (Unicolored, Black-throated, and Azure-hooded)for the morning (and another Brown Jay later that day brought our trip tally to ten jays).
12 March 2009
Green-throated Mountain-gem