They said it changes when the sun goes down
Over the river going out of town
The Vigilancia Trail is supposedly only open from 7:00 a.m. Useless for the hardcore birder so I slipped thru the locked gate and was immediately impressed by the habitat. Lovely forest and birds calling everywhere. Wrens were all over the place and I managed to get good views of Riverside, Rufous-and-White, some stonking hoooooge Rufous-naped (what a stunner!) and a couple of Black-breasted. Yellow-bellied Flys, Lesser Greenlets and tangers flitted about the mid-canopy. Band-tailed Barbthroat is a new hummer – always welcome!, and a nest building White-tipped Dove won’t move of the trail just yards ahead of me. A Tawny-winged Woodcreeper appears scaling a trunk nearby and another much sought after bird falls. More ‘dross’ follows such as Scrub Greenlet, Brown-crested Flycatcher, Swainson’s everywhere, the pacific race of Scarlet-rumped Tanager (now split I believe). Rufous Mourners are knocking about but difficult to pin down and I get infuriating views of an antbird that I’m sure was Bicoloured – a bird I was desparate to see. Unfortunately I didn’t get views of the whole bird which left me kicking a nearby tree trunk and expressing disappointment in the Derbyshire vernacular. A pair of wonderful Keel-billed Toucans sensed my mood and flew over to get me back on track. Focus regained but another arsing half view of a red belly and flash of white disappearing through the trees. Possible Baird’s? Mmmmm. Better press on.
As the forest opened up a bellbird was advertising his presence but the height of the forest precluded any chance of seeing the bugger. I had to be happy with the male Baird’s Trogon that glided in and started clocking me…. Fantastic! It must have been the half seen bird of a few minutes ago… A couple of hermits and tyrannulets later and a strange call gets my attention. In amongst the foliage is a small pale bird flitting around… a frustating few minutes pass before it’s revealed to be a Tropical Gnatcatcher – slightly reminiscent of our Pied Wag.
Interlude – How did I forget the Golden-winged Warbler at Monteverde? Scintillating bird which bought back memories of a Tescos in Kent. Funny how a luxuriant cloud forest is somehow more enjoyable! All yellow and black against the green, surely one for a crappy Allwood watercolour at a later date?
A break at the Oxbow lake is in order and I get thru a fair bit of my water. Boat-billed Herons are nesting extremely close by and I get the best views I’ve ever had of these. Ditto Bare-throated Tiger Herons…. A Green Kingfisher was on the lookout for fish and several hirundines and swifts were in evidence. Grey-breasted Martins and Band-rumped Swifts darted over Purple Gallinules, Tricoloured Herons and Snowy Egrets while Blue-and-White Swallows skimmed the water surface for liquid relief. Lousiana Waterthrushes foraged in the trailsides and tanager flocks became more apprent as the morning wore on; Golden-hooded, Bay-headed, White-shouldered etc. More Northern Barred Woodcreepers, the cute Scrub Euphonia, more plain puzzling woodcreepers that appeared to be Long-tailed? Red-legged Honeycreeper, Red-breasted Grosser, Variable Seedeater, the diminutive Common Tody Fly, Bright-rumped Attila all added to the mix. Black-headed and Violaceous trgons added a dash of colour. Masked Tityras tried to look impressive but being just about the commonest cotinga just doesn’t cut it.
I heard voices behind me and turned swiftly, ready to either leg it or explain my perilous state of penury to any robbers. Fortunately it was Rob and his mates! A quick greeting and it was back to the birding with the main priority being the antpitta. Rob led us to a spot he know of where he’d seen them before. I must admit I wasn’t hopeful as I hadn’t heard anything remotely antpitta-ish yet. Rob played the tape and we got a response almost immediately… a frustrating few minutes past as the bird called from distance. Then a gap…. and more calling, this time much closer… cue trembles and shakes…. The bird came in so slowly until it suddenly appeared yards away. My panic induced a certain dudiness and I spent 4-5 seconds blathering about looking at everything but the bird. After what seemed like an age I got onto it. What a stunning bird. The guide nowhere near does it justice. It puffed up its breast and called from barely 3 yards away. A wonderful experience that I can recall now as if it was yesterday. We watched it for about 15 mins and i even got a digi pic - crap as ever though. Massive thanx to Rob again who had to leave shortly after as it was approaching four o clock when the trail officially closes and cars are no longer safe in the car park. I spent a couple more hours on the trail but the antpitta was too much and I wasn’t really concentrating. I sacked it off and headed to the bridge.
As I got there, there was a rainbow forming in the distance over the forest, then another, and another. It as an amazing sight… Least Sands running around the crocs, macaws flapping overhead and a pink-hued sunset to die for. Which you might if you stay on that bridge too long with the Macks flying past. A couple of Lesser Nighthawks hawked nearby and a more rosy-than-normal, in the late sun, Roseate Spoonbill was a technicolour end to the day
Back to the motel, more beer, more casado, money running out but what the hell.
Back to the HQ trails for Slaty-tailed Trogon, the leaftosser etc tomorrow… or not?
