BryanP
Little known member
A quick report on our involvement with the OTS, CBC this year at La Selva Biological Station, Costa Rica. In a word, Wonderful!
Our team,
Noel Ureña Chacón, team leader and one of the top field guides in Costa Rica.
Yahaira Rojas, La Selva guide
Karol Mora Araya, student
Naizeth Guzmán, student
Carey Lee, me espousa
me.
The route we were assigned historically gets the highest numbers of all the routes in La Selva so the pressure was on to find birds.
Noel somehow sweet talked us into birding for 14 hours with the day starting at 3 am at which time you could have found us standing in the forest looking for bloody owls.
Although our primary intention was to get rock solid records, it was hard to resist the temptation to go for the brass ring once we realized we were getting respectable numbers by noon. I'm happy to report that we managed to nudge our final numbers a bit past the route record of 153 to make a days count of 160. The Organization is still collating data but the consensus is that 380 species or more will have been recorded within the whole reserve itself.
Some nice highlight birds at least for me.
Central American Pygmy-Owl
Fasciated Antshrike
Double-toothed Kite
Working with Noel's encyclopedic knowledge and depth of background information was, as always an honour to witness. All I could really do was follow in his wake, try to keep up, not get in the way and hopefully contribute and learn where I could.
It was wonderful to meet and hang out with all the knowledgeable birders and biologists. Humbling would be the word I guess. Seeing and talking with Jim Zook again, a biologist and one of the organizers was of course a pleasure.
A troupe of Howler monkeys who had decided to use the hand rail of the swinging foot bridge as a way to get to the other side of the river while we happened to be in the middle of that bridge conversing with Richard Garrigues made that conversation memorable. I've never been that close to those guys before, (the monkeys, not Richard)
It was evident to me that everyone involved and participating were dedicated to getting quality data. The event was cheerful, organized and the determination was palpable. All in all a wonderful experience in spite of the toothache I was enduring not to mention the gruelling pace Noel set for the day.
I very much hope I will be able to attend next year.
Bryan
Here's the day's list.
1. Great Tinamou
2. Little Tinamou
3. Slaty-breasted Tinamou
4. Gray-headed Chachalaca
5. Crested Guan
6. Great Curassow
7. Short-billed Pigeon
8. Ruddy Ground-Dove
9. Gray-chested Dove
10. Squirrel Cuckoo
11. Common Pauraque
12. White-collared Swift
13.:Gray-rumped Swift
14. Lesser Swallow-tailed Swift
15. Long-billed Hermit
16. Stripe-throated Hermit
17. Purple-crowned Fairy
18. Scaly-breasted Hummingbird
19. Blue-chested Hummingbird
20. Rufous-tailed Hummingbird
21. White-throated Crake
22. Uniform Crake
23. Sungrebe
24. Little Blue Heron
25. Green Ibis
26. Black Vulture
27. Turkey Vulture
28. King Vulture
29. Osprey
30. Hook-billed Kite
31. Double-toothed Kite
32. Semiplumbeous Hawk
33. Gray Hawk
34. Broad-winged Hawk
35. Short-tailed Hawk
36. Vermiculated Screech-Owl
37. Crested Owl
38. Spectacled Owl
39. Central American Pygmy-Owl
40. Black-and-white Owl
41. Slaty-tailed Trogon
42. Gartered Trogon
43. Black-throated Trogon
44. Rufous Motmot
45. Broad-billed Motmot
46. Ringed Kingfisher
47. Green Kingfisher
48. White-necked Puffbird
49. Pied Puffbird
50. Rufous-tailed Jacamar
51. Collared Aracari
52. Keel-billed Toucan
53. Yellow-throated Toucan
54. Black-cheeked Woodpecker
55. Smoky-brown Woodpecker
56. Rufous-winged Woodpecker
57. Cinnamon Woodpecker
58. Chestnut-colored Woodpecker
59. Pale-billed Woodpecker
60. Bat Falcon
61. Olive-throated Parakeet
62. Great Green Macaw
63. Orange-chinned Parakeet
64. Brown-hooded Parrot
65. White-crowned Parrot
66. Red-lored Parrot
67. Mealy Parrot
68. Fasciated Antshrike
69. Black-crowned Antshrike
70. Dusky Antbird
71. Chestnut-backed Antbird
72. Plain-brown Woodcreeper
73. Wedge-billed Woodcreeper
74. Northern Barred-Woodcreeper
75. Cocoa Woodcreeper
76. Streak-headed Woodcreeper
77. Plain Xenops
78. Yellow-bellied Elaenia
79. Olive-striped Flycatcher
80. Ochre-bellied Flycatcher
81. Paltry Tyrannulet
82. Black-capped Pygmy-Tyrant
83. Common Tody-Flycatcher
84. Black-headed Tody-Flycatcher
85. Eye-ringed Flatbill
86. Yellow-olive Flycatcher
87. Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
88. Long-tailed Tyrant
89. Bright-rumped Atilla
90. Dusky-capped Flycatcher
91. Great Crested Flycatcher
92. Great Kiskadee
93. Boat-billed Flycatcher
94. Social Flycatcher
95. Gray-capped Flycatcher
96. White-ringed Flycatcher
97. Tropical Kingbird
98. Masked Tityra
99. Black-crowned Tityra
100. Cinnamon Becard
101. White-winged Becard
102. Snowy Cotinga
103. White-collared Manakin
104. Red-capped Manakin
105. Lesser Greenlet
106. Yellow-throated Vireo
107. Gray-breasted Martin
108. Mangrove Swallow
109. Southern Roughwing Swallow
110. House Wren
111. Band-backed Wren
112. Black-throated Wren
113. Stripe-breasted Wren
114. Bay Wren
115. White-breasted Wood-Wren
116. Long-billed Gnatwren
117. Black-faced Solitaire
118. Swainson's Thrush
119. Wood Thrush
120. Pale-vented Thrush
121. Clay-colored Thrush
122. white-throated Thrush
123. Yellow-crowned Euphonia
124. Olive-backed Euphonia
125. Northern Waterthrush
126. Golden-winged Warbler
127. Tennessee Warbler
128. Kentucky Warbler
129. Olive-crowned Yellowthroat
130. Chestnut-sided Warbler
131. Buff-rumped Warbler
132. Blue-gray Tanager
133. Palm Tanager
134. Golden-hooded Tanager
135. Plain-colored Tanager
136. Rufous-winged Tanager
137. Bay-headed Tanager
138. Silver-throated Tanager
139. Green Honeycreeper
140. Crimson-collared Tanager
141. Passerini's Tanager
142. Red-legged Honeycreeper
143. Scarlet-thighed Dacnis
144. Blue Dacnis
145. Variable Seedeater
146. Buff-throated Saltator
147. Dusky-faced Tanager
148. Orange-billed Sparrow
149. Black-striped Sparrow
150. Summer Tanager
151. Scarlet Tanager
152. Red-throated Ant-Tanager
153. Black-faced Grosbeak
154. Blue-black Grosbeak
155. Melodious Blackbird
156. Black-cowled Oriole
157. Baltimore Oriole
158. Scarlet-rumped Cacique
159. Chestnut-headed Oropendola
160. Montezuma Oropendola
Our team,
Noel Ureña Chacón, team leader and one of the top field guides in Costa Rica.
Yahaira Rojas, La Selva guide
Karol Mora Araya, student
Naizeth Guzmán, student
Carey Lee, me espousa
me.
The route we were assigned historically gets the highest numbers of all the routes in La Selva so the pressure was on to find birds.
Noel somehow sweet talked us into birding for 14 hours with the day starting at 3 am at which time you could have found us standing in the forest looking for bloody owls.
Although our primary intention was to get rock solid records, it was hard to resist the temptation to go for the brass ring once we realized we were getting respectable numbers by noon. I'm happy to report that we managed to nudge our final numbers a bit past the route record of 153 to make a days count of 160. The Organization is still collating data but the consensus is that 380 species or more will have been recorded within the whole reserve itself.
Some nice highlight birds at least for me.
Central American Pygmy-Owl
Fasciated Antshrike
Double-toothed Kite
Working with Noel's encyclopedic knowledge and depth of background information was, as always an honour to witness. All I could really do was follow in his wake, try to keep up, not get in the way and hopefully contribute and learn where I could.
It was wonderful to meet and hang out with all the knowledgeable birders and biologists. Humbling would be the word I guess. Seeing and talking with Jim Zook again, a biologist and one of the organizers was of course a pleasure.
A troupe of Howler monkeys who had decided to use the hand rail of the swinging foot bridge as a way to get to the other side of the river while we happened to be in the middle of that bridge conversing with Richard Garrigues made that conversation memorable. I've never been that close to those guys before, (the monkeys, not Richard)
It was evident to me that everyone involved and participating were dedicated to getting quality data. The event was cheerful, organized and the determination was palpable. All in all a wonderful experience in spite of the toothache I was enduring not to mention the gruelling pace Noel set for the day.
I very much hope I will be able to attend next year.
Bryan
Here's the day's list.
1. Great Tinamou
2. Little Tinamou
3. Slaty-breasted Tinamou
4. Gray-headed Chachalaca
5. Crested Guan
6. Great Curassow
7. Short-billed Pigeon
8. Ruddy Ground-Dove
9. Gray-chested Dove
10. Squirrel Cuckoo
11. Common Pauraque
12. White-collared Swift
13.:Gray-rumped Swift
14. Lesser Swallow-tailed Swift
15. Long-billed Hermit
16. Stripe-throated Hermit
17. Purple-crowned Fairy
18. Scaly-breasted Hummingbird
19. Blue-chested Hummingbird
20. Rufous-tailed Hummingbird
21. White-throated Crake
22. Uniform Crake
23. Sungrebe
24. Little Blue Heron
25. Green Ibis
26. Black Vulture
27. Turkey Vulture
28. King Vulture
29. Osprey
30. Hook-billed Kite
31. Double-toothed Kite
32. Semiplumbeous Hawk
33. Gray Hawk
34. Broad-winged Hawk
35. Short-tailed Hawk
36. Vermiculated Screech-Owl
37. Crested Owl
38. Spectacled Owl
39. Central American Pygmy-Owl
40. Black-and-white Owl
41. Slaty-tailed Trogon
42. Gartered Trogon
43. Black-throated Trogon
44. Rufous Motmot
45. Broad-billed Motmot
46. Ringed Kingfisher
47. Green Kingfisher
48. White-necked Puffbird
49. Pied Puffbird
50. Rufous-tailed Jacamar
51. Collared Aracari
52. Keel-billed Toucan
53. Yellow-throated Toucan
54. Black-cheeked Woodpecker
55. Smoky-brown Woodpecker
56. Rufous-winged Woodpecker
57. Cinnamon Woodpecker
58. Chestnut-colored Woodpecker
59. Pale-billed Woodpecker
60. Bat Falcon
61. Olive-throated Parakeet
62. Great Green Macaw
63. Orange-chinned Parakeet
64. Brown-hooded Parrot
65. White-crowned Parrot
66. Red-lored Parrot
67. Mealy Parrot
68. Fasciated Antshrike
69. Black-crowned Antshrike
70. Dusky Antbird
71. Chestnut-backed Antbird
72. Plain-brown Woodcreeper
73. Wedge-billed Woodcreeper
74. Northern Barred-Woodcreeper
75. Cocoa Woodcreeper
76. Streak-headed Woodcreeper
77. Plain Xenops
78. Yellow-bellied Elaenia
79. Olive-striped Flycatcher
80. Ochre-bellied Flycatcher
81. Paltry Tyrannulet
82. Black-capped Pygmy-Tyrant
83. Common Tody-Flycatcher
84. Black-headed Tody-Flycatcher
85. Eye-ringed Flatbill
86. Yellow-olive Flycatcher
87. Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
88. Long-tailed Tyrant
89. Bright-rumped Atilla
90. Dusky-capped Flycatcher
91. Great Crested Flycatcher
92. Great Kiskadee
93. Boat-billed Flycatcher
94. Social Flycatcher
95. Gray-capped Flycatcher
96. White-ringed Flycatcher
97. Tropical Kingbird
98. Masked Tityra
99. Black-crowned Tityra
100. Cinnamon Becard
101. White-winged Becard
102. Snowy Cotinga
103. White-collared Manakin
104. Red-capped Manakin
105. Lesser Greenlet
106. Yellow-throated Vireo
107. Gray-breasted Martin
108. Mangrove Swallow
109. Southern Roughwing Swallow
110. House Wren
111. Band-backed Wren
112. Black-throated Wren
113. Stripe-breasted Wren
114. Bay Wren
115. White-breasted Wood-Wren
116. Long-billed Gnatwren
117. Black-faced Solitaire
118. Swainson's Thrush
119. Wood Thrush
120. Pale-vented Thrush
121. Clay-colored Thrush
122. white-throated Thrush
123. Yellow-crowned Euphonia
124. Olive-backed Euphonia
125. Northern Waterthrush
126. Golden-winged Warbler
127. Tennessee Warbler
128. Kentucky Warbler
129. Olive-crowned Yellowthroat
130. Chestnut-sided Warbler
131. Buff-rumped Warbler
132. Blue-gray Tanager
133. Palm Tanager
134. Golden-hooded Tanager
135. Plain-colored Tanager
136. Rufous-winged Tanager
137. Bay-headed Tanager
138. Silver-throated Tanager
139. Green Honeycreeper
140. Crimson-collared Tanager
141. Passerini's Tanager
142. Red-legged Honeycreeper
143. Scarlet-thighed Dacnis
144. Blue Dacnis
145. Variable Seedeater
146. Buff-throated Saltator
147. Dusky-faced Tanager
148. Orange-billed Sparrow
149. Black-striped Sparrow
150. Summer Tanager
151. Scarlet Tanager
152. Red-throated Ant-Tanager
153. Black-faced Grosbeak
154. Blue-black Grosbeak
155. Melodious Blackbird
156. Black-cowled Oriole
157. Baltimore Oriole
158. Scarlet-rumped Cacique
159. Chestnut-headed Oropendola
160. Montezuma Oropendola
