January 27
What a day! Our alarm clock was a disgruntled cow mooing loudly at 5:15. We awoke to bright blue skies and a few puffy clouds (what Bob Ross would call “happy little clouds”). We spent the day with a local guide, who was wonderful. On walks before breakfast and between breakfast and lunch on the extensive property of the lodge, we saw 72 different species of birds. This included four new species and some excellent views of elusive species we’ve seen before. We did also get to see another Tayra, this time with cameras ready! The mountain meadow views reminded us of the beginning scene in The Sound of Music.
In the afternoon we drove to a small local river to look for Sunbitterns. Sunbitterns are riverside birds that skulk along in the shady spots. While they have great camouflage to blend in with the shoreline rocks, when they extend their wings they expose extremely colorful patterns. This makes them a prime objective for bird watchers. We went to two spots along the river and hunted for quite a while until we found one. We then followed as he wandered up and down the far shore. A second Sunbittern appeared. After some extended courtship behaviors, we were privileged to watch them mate (which includes the male extending its wings). We saw 8 other species that we had not seen in the morning, bringing the day’s total to 81 birds plus a tayra!
Pictured: sunbittern, tayra, white-collared manakin, mountain meadow, orange-billed sparrow
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