Trosia Nigropunctigera - Wow!!!

Hola Amigos -
Last night, we had a nice visitor at one of our outside lights, the elusive Trosia Nigropunctigera!  This is certainly one of the prettiest moths that we have seen at our house thus far.
*Note - No animals were harmed in the filming of this moth!!!
Good Mothing - STEVEN

Nesting Sunbittern @ La Mina near Rancho Naturalista

Hello Friends -
Here are a few shots of the Sunbittern, we photographed this morning. 
La Mina is a very scenic area near Rancho Naturalista and it has become a great place to find Sunbittern over the last couple of years.  I'm not sure who found the nest, but I would guess it was one of the sharp guides at Rancho. We believe the bird is sitting on eggs.  It should be there for another couple of weeks. 
Hopefully it will be successful!
Good Birding - Steven Easley




La Mina, Costa Rica




Sunbittern @ La Mina





Sunbittern @ La Mina

 

Slaty-backed Forest-Falcon @ Heliconia Lodge

Hola Amigos -
On Feb 23, while birding with Bruce, Judy and Dale Wolck, we found a Slaty-backed Forest-Falcon @ Heliconia Lodge on the slopes of the Tenorio Volcano.  This is most likely the 1rst record of this species from that region.
We watched the bird for about 10 minutes and it appeared to be quite tame.  After getting a few pics in low light, it finally flew away and began to call - the call sounds like a shorter version of a Laughing Falcon.

The previous day, we located a Hermit Warbler in front of the Fonda Vela Hotel in Monteverde.  It was in the pine trees at the beginning of the entrance road.   The next day my brother Kevin had a Blue-headed Vireo in that same area.

And also on Feb 27, we encountered a flock of Cave Swallows on the road between Cano Negro and Los Chiles.  There were aproximately 15 individuals in total.  Great views and many repeated views of this poorly understood migrant (at least in Costa Rica).  Numbers in the US of A are increasing - could they also be moving further south?  I'll leave that to the experts...

Good Birding - Steven Easley

Slaty-backed Forest-Falcon @ Heliconia Lodge

Black-throated Blue-Warbler @ Rancho Naturalista!!!

Hello Friends,
My good friend Harry Barnard called me early this morning to alert me of a Black-throated Blue-Warbler sighting at Rancho Naturalista.  It was actually being seen while he was on the phone with me.  Immediately Magda and I grabbed our binoculars and were out the door.  We got there about 45 minutes later and Harry was waiting for us along the road - giving me the thumbs up signal!  Harry then relocated the bird for us and we even managed to snap a few shots of it.  Many Thanks to Harry for an A+ Job of guiding!!! 
The only sad news to report is that the bird had a broken leg.  While he was feeding he seemed to be hovering more than normal.  Hopefully he'll be OK...
Good Birding - Steven Easley

Black-throated Blue-Warbler @ Rancho Naturalista

Black-throated Blue-Warbler @ Rancho Naturalista

Ruddy Ducks @ Angostura in Turrialba!!!

Hola Amigos -
Here are the photos taken today of the Ruddy Ducks that were recently found @ La Angostura Dam near Turrialba, Costa Rica.  They were originally found by Jesse Fagan of Field Guides, during a tour to Rancho Naturalista.
We saw at least 8 birds at the same time today, but we only checked one side of the lake, which means there could be more.  We also had nice views of at least 7 Ring-necked Ducks at the same location. 
Ruddy Duck was #765 in Costa Rica for Magdalena and was #780 for myself!
It just makes you wonder what is going to turn up next...
We were also joined yesterday by fellow twitchers:  Peter, Carol & Seyo Westra & Herman & Jennifer Venegas & Aldo Sanchez!
Good Birding - Steven Easley

Ruddy Ducks @ Angostura - Turrialba, Costa Rica

Ruddy Ducks in flight @ Angostura - Turrialba, Costa Rica

Ruddy Ducks @ Angostura - Turrialba, Costa Rica

Ruddy Duck in flight @ Angostura - Turrialba, Costa Rica

Ruddy Duck in flight @ Angostura - Turrialba, Costa Rica

Ring-necked Ducks in flight @ Angostura - Turrialba, Costa Rica

Ring-necked Ducks in flight @ Angostura - Turrialba, Costa Rica