Rylirk's 2019 list (2 Viewers)

[rylirk]

24/12/2019 - La Fortuna & Monteverde, Costa Rica

Up at dawn to spend a couple of hours at the Bogarin trail in La Fortuna, where they leave fruit out to attract a whole host of tropical stuff!

512. * Grey-Headed Chachalaca
513. * Ruddy Ground Dove
514. * Rufous-Naped Wood-Rail
515. * Yellow-Billed Cacique
516. * Red-Legged Honeycreeper
517. * Yellow-Throated Euphonia
518. * White-Throated Crake
519. * Grey-Rumped Swift
520. * Orange-Billed Sparrow
521. * Rose-Throated Becard
522. * Black-Cheeked Woodpecker

Then onto Monteverde to stay a couple of nights. Didn't do the cloud forest reserve on the first day, instead did the hanging bridges at a different site called Selvatura in Guanacaste province. First, got one bird from the bus just outside the entrance:

523. * Brown Jay

Then a bunch more in the park itself:

524. * Common Bush Tanager
525. * Purple-Throated Mountaingem
526. * Black-Faced Solitaire
527. * Slate-Throated Whitestart
528. * Wedge-Billed Woodcreeper
529. * Black-Eared Warbler

 

[rylirk]

25/12/2019 - Monteverde,Costa Rica

Up to the Cloud Forest on Christmas Day! My first chance at seeing a quetzal; one of my Big 3 target birds worldwide (the others being Wallcreeper and Australian Magpie). Actually quite difficult to find things in the cloud forest; an hour and a half guided tour only turned up a few new birds for the list:

530. * Slaty-Backed Nightingale-Thrush
531. * Ruddy Treerunner
532. * Grey-Breasted Wood-Wren

Hmm, no quetzal so far. Was beginning to get a bit worried at this point. Then onto the hummingbird feeders outside the reserve entrance, absolutely teeming with various hummingbirds (and some bananaquit imposters):

533. * Violet Sabrewing
534. * Green-Crowned Brilliant
535. * Stripe-Tailed Hummingbird
536. * Bananaquit
537. * Coppery-Headed Emerald
538. * Magenta-Throated Woodstar
539. * Lesser Violetear

At this point, the tour group went back to the town to go do other stuff. But I wasn't about to leave without my quetzal! So back into the reserve I went...

540. * Resplendent Quetzal

Found her almost immediately after re-entering the reserve! Absolutely fantastic bird, and feels very surreal to write it onto my world list! Didn't have any views of a male unfortunately, but the female quetzal is a frankly beautiful bird in her own right. One of my life's birding goals achieved! Great Christmas gift!

Without the other tourists I could take the reserve a bit slower too, and I got a couple more fromthe Cloud Reserve before lunchtime:

541. * Azure-Hooded Jay
542. * Silver-Throated Tanager

Then spent the afternoon back near the main town near the inventively named 'Ecological Reserve' at Monteverde. Didn't expect a whole lot, but I got 2 more of my 6 targets! The targets were Quetzal, any Potoo, Magpie-Jay, any Toucan, Scarlet Macaw & Sunbittern.

543. * Lesson's Motmot
544. * Golden-Browed Chlorophonia
545. * Blue-Throated Toucanet
546. * White-Fronted Amazon
547. * White-Throated Magpie-Jay

Although I did technically see my first Toucan on the 22nd, it was for about 0.1 seconds so I didn't count that one as ticking toucan off the target list Either way, ended Christmas day on 4/6 for my Costa Rica targets list. Also tied my record set on the 22nd for most lifers in a day.

 

[rylirk]

26/12/2019 - Monteverde & Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica

Back to the Ecological Reserve this morning; guide volunteered to take me and one of the other tourists down there as he knew I was having trouble finding and IDing the LBJs in the rainforest

548. * Cabanis's Wren
549. * Rufous-Capped Warbler
550. * Rufous-Breasted Wren
551. * White-Eared Ground Sparrow
552. * Collared Whitestart
553. * White-Naped Brush Finch

Then on towards Manuel Antonio on the coast. 2 more for the year list on the road:

554. * Magnificant Frigatebird
555. * Scarlet Macaw

5/6 for the wish list (Spoilers: I didn't get sunbittern, so I had to settle with 5/6 in the end )

Didn't go into the reserve at Manuel Antonio today, but went to an overlook in between Manuel Antonio and Quepos so the other tourists could clamber down about a billion steps to the beach. I stayed at the top; got proper views of a yellow-throated toucan at last, and a few nice new birds for the list:

556. * Red-Crowned Woodpecker
557. * Pale-Vented Pigeon
558. * Yellow-Crowned Euphonia
559. * Yellow-Bellied Flycatcher

 

[rylirk]

27/12/2019 - Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica

Birded quite a few different spots today in the sweltering heat; its very hot on the Costa Rican coast!!! Spent the morning in the Manuel Antonio reserve; fabulous place, but much too busy for proper leisurely birding :/ Lots of hummingbirds though; saw Charming hummer on the nest, and two blue-breasted sapphire chicks _in_ a nest.

560. * Fiery-Billed Aracari
561. * Crowned Woodnymph
562. * Stripe-Throated Hermit
563. * Chestnut-Backed Antbird
564. * Charming Hummingbird
565. * Blue-Throated Sapphire
566. * Black-Hooded Antshrike

Then over to the island/town of Damas for a boat trip round the mangroves. Probably would have seen a lot more if not for the screaming child aboard...

567. * Common Black Hawk
568. * Semipalmated Plover

Then spent an hour or so wandering around the town of Quepos on the way back. Tried a bit of a seawatch for terns or boobies, but not luck there:

569. * Franklin's Gull
570. * Ringed Kingfisher

Then one more in the village adjoined to the Manuel Antonio reserve, just outside my hotel:

571. * Grey-Necked Wood Rail

 

[rylirk]

28/12/2019 - Manuel Antonio

Last day in Costa today, and spent the morning with the guide at a trail near the hotel. I should point out that I wasn't on a birding tour, just a regular tour group thingy. However, by chance, the guide was also a birder and a professional bird guide! Think he was somewhat glad to get to do some birding work as part of this trip too

572. * Green Honeycreeper
573. * Ochre-Bellied Flycatcher
574. * Northern Waterthrush
575. * Riverside Wren
576. * Black-Bellied Wren
577. * Golden-Naped Woodpecker

Then one last Costa Rica lifer waiting in the hotel garden for the bus back to San Jose. What a fantastic trip!

578. * Purple-Crowned Fairy



Summary for November:

118 year ticks
105 lifers

 

[rylirk]

So that's birding done for 2019! 578 birds and 284 lifers. Don't expect to be topping this year for quite some time...

A few stats for to sum up the year:

Year ticks (lifers) per country:

USA: 281 (158)
UK: 148 (3)
Costa Rica: 117 (105)
Armenia: 28 (16)
Netherlands: 2 (1)
Austria: 1 (1)
Ireland: 1 (0)
Mexico: 0 (0)
Germany: 0 (0)

Top sites for year ticks

1. Lubbock, TX, USA - 91
2. Corpus Christi, TX, US - 36
3. Monteverde, Costa Rica - 31
4. Arundel, UK - 28
5. Shoreham-by-Sea - 23
6. Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica - 19
7. San Jose, Costa Rica - 17
8. Crawley, UK - 16
9. Juanilama, Costa Rica - 16
10. Doylestown, PA, USA - 15


Top sites for 2018 lifers

1. Lubbock, TX, USA - 55
2. Monteverde, Costa Rica - 31
3. Corpus Christi, TX, USA - 19
4. Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica - 19
5. Juanilama, Costa Rica - 16