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Message: <blockquote data-quote="ovenbird43" data-source="post: 1571965" data-attributes="member: 64478">During my first week of classes, I took a tour to nearby Selvatura, situated within the same large forest that contains the Monteverde cloud forest preserve.  I had a couple hours in the afternoon to explore the trail system and its 8 suspension bridges in the canopy.  I saw many species that were by now becoming familiar, and 2 lifers: Sooty-faced Finch and Ruddy-capped Nightingale-Thrush.  There were also several groups of Swallow-tailed Kites wheeling overhead and vocalizing.At the end of my first week, I joined a tour group organized through the school to Volcan Arenal.  Although not far from Monteverde, there's no quick or direct way to get there- so it was about a 4 hour drive.  We arrived in the area Saturday afternoon, where we first visited a private reserve called El Silencio at the base of the volcano.  That evening we visited one of the hot springs resorts (Baldi), and the next morning we visited Fortuna Falls before returning to Monteverde.El Silencio provided me with my first birds of the Caribbean Slope.  Being the middle of the afternoon the birding was not terribly productive, but we did see both Keel-billed and Chestnut-mandibled Toucans, Passerini's Tanager, Crested Guan, Variable Seedeater, and Black-cheeked Woodpecker.  There were clouds obscuring most of the volcano, except for about a 5-minute window where we got good views of the top, with the smoke pouring out.I wasn't expecting much in the way of birds at the hotsprings- it was a resort full of pools heated by the volcano- but the area was nicely landscaped with trees, shrubs, and flowering plants, attracting common birds such as Great Kiskadee and Tropical Kingbird, and many parrots that went unidentified since I wasn't carrying my binoculars.  There were also hummingbirds, including a lifer female Green-breasted Mango, seen at close range as I lounged with some friends in the hot pools.I got up early the next morning to check out the hotel grounds before leaving for the waterfall.  Vegetation among the hotel cabins was sparse, but there was a pasture nearby with some trees and shrubs that produced a few new species.  Among them were Common Tody-Flycatcher (long-awaited for me, and so cute!!), Paltry Tyrannulet, White-crowned Parrot, and Thick-billed Seed-Finch.  The star of the day was a distant but unmistakable White Hawk, perched at the edge of a the forest.Next we visited Fortuna Falls, and after making the steep 1/4-mile hike down to the falls, most of the other students spent their time swimming in the stream.  I sat and watched for birds, and saw a female Violet-crowned Wood-Nymph and a pair of Buff-rumped Warblers, their buff rumps seeming to glow in the dark forest understory.  Eventually I hiked back to the top of the ravine and encountered a mixed-species flock along the forest edge.  The flock consisted largely of Red-legged Honeycreepers but also included Green Honeycreeper, Tropical Parula, Passerini's Tanager, and Black-headed Saltator.  All too soon it was time to go, just as I was zeroing in on some strange vocalizations!  Oh well.</blockquote>

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