Alaska Cruise - Fallout!

A few warblers resting on the railing at the back (aft) of the ship on Deck 17.

On May 18th took a 8-day cruise from Alaska to Seattle.  Sometimes insomnia has its benefits, especially at 2am during spring migration!  The first 3 nights of the cruise, while we were in the inside passage, the ships lights illuminated thousands of migrating birds.  Sadly, the first of the three days it was stormy and the poor birds were forced to interrupt their migration to rest (this is called “fall-out” in the birding world).

 

Here is an 18 second video showing a few of the birds flying chaotically around the sport court on Deck 17.  They are NOT getting caught in the netting, they are using the netting to rest.

Townsend’s Warbler

Yellow Warblers

Orange-crowned Warblers

Costa Rica Day 13 pt. 2

In 3rd grade I wrote an essay on the Resplendent Quetzal.  At the time I thought it was a mythical creature that the Mayans made up.  This morning, I confirmed for 8 year old Heidi that Resplendent Quetzals are in fact real.  A guide took us to an area with a known nest and we were excited to find 3 more individuals feeding in the native avocado tree - so we got FIVE quetzals, 3 males with long tails and 2 females.  We were treated to the nesting pair taking turns going into the nest.  When the male is in the nest, his long feathers stick out.  We were a fair distance away from the nest, the birds were fast and silent, and the sun wasn’t fully up yet, so my pictures are only to prove I SAW QUETZALS!!! The perfect ending to an awesome birding trip.

A few quetzal facts:

• Resplendent Quetzals are one of the only animals that can eat the native avocados - they are 90% seed.  They are eaten whole, then the bird regurgitates the seed.  The avocados are about the size of a pecan.
• The birds are generally only active at sunrise, so to see them you have to know where they are feeding and arrive at dawn.
• They nest in old woodpecker and owl cavities in dead trees.
• The male only has the long feathers - which are actually not tail feathers, just rump feathers - during mating season Jan - May.
• Costa Rica has the largest population of Resplendent Quetzals, but they can be found from southern Mexico to Northern Panama at high elevations.

male only his way back to the nest

male going in to the nest

female going into the nest - note the different head shape

male 

male peaking out of the nest, note his two long
feathers sticking out above his head

we weren’t very close

the male climbs in head first, but his two long
feathers don’t go all the way in, they bend and
always remain poking out of the hole

See the feathers sticking out? Very convenient for
bird watchers to know if the male is on the nest!

Costa Rica Day 13 Copey to San Jose (last day of birding)

 It is our last day of the cloud forest birding, tomorrow we fly home.  We made jokes all day about how we are going to have a hard time assimilating back into reality.  No more having to wake up at 5am, no more beans & rice, no more insect repellent, no more bumpy dirt roads, and sadly no more tropical birds and plants.

We ended the trip on a high note - there will be a separate post.  We found 226 species for the trip, 7 were added today, and 5 of those were lifers!  Ii added 66 species to my life list from this trip.  

It was cold (low 50’s), but sunny when we started our day, the clouds started drifting in just as we started our descent down the mountains, and 72° when we went to dinner after arriving in San Jose. Tomorrow we fly home.

Northern Emerald Toucanet - Avi found it for me

Slaty Flowerpiercer - notice the beak designed to pierce a hole at the base of a flower to get to the nectar

Hairy Woodpecker with a very dirty beak from pecking in the grass - same species that we have in the Pacific Northwest

Lesser Violetear

Fiery-throated Hummingbird

another view of the Slaty Flowerpiercer’s amazing beak

bickering hummingbirds

Black-billed Nightingale Thrush,

Long-tailed Silky Flycatcher

I think those two hummingbirds are discussing whether that bee is trying to steal their nectar

Talamanca Hummingbird on the left and White-throated Mountain Gem female on the right

White-throated Mountain Gem male - lifer!

Costa Rica Day 12 - Talamanca to Copey

 We woke up at the crack of dawn today to hike up into the forest to try to find a Resplendent Quetzal.  It ended up being a 4 hour hike uphill (1,000 ft elevation gain in 82°).  Sadly, the only view we got of a possible quetzal was of a bird in the top of the canopy which only hung around for about 5 minutes.

We moved to the Paraiso Quetzal Lodge and hired a guide to take us at sunrise tomorrow morning to see known quetzals.  The lodge has turned out to be a great birding spot.

We are up to 218 species for the trip, 18 were added today, of which 10 were lifers!

Speckled Tanager

Acorn Woodpecker - same species that is in Orange County, California

Violet Sabrewing

Silver-throated Tanager

Green Hermit

Ruddy Quail-dove - Avi spotted this beauty - lifer!

Fiery-throated Hummingbird -lifer!

Another Fiery-throated Hummingbird 

Talamanca Hummingbird - lifer!

Scintillant Hummingbird - lifer!

So many hummingbirds!

Long-tailed Silky Flycatcher

Cows taking their Sunday stroll

Costa Rica Day 11 - Tarcoles to Talamanca

Rain Delay - no photos because we drove from 7am-3pm (stopping for food, gas, etc) and then just as we checked in to the Talamanca Lodge, the downpour started.  Fingers crossed it stops by sunrise tomorrow 🤞 The good news is, it was 82° and humid when we woke up in Tarcoles and it is a much cooler 70-ish° in Talamanca.

Costa Rica Day 10 - Tarcoles

 

We are up to 193 species for the trip, 18 were added today, 9 of which were lifers.  Today was overcast, 91° (Real Feel 96°).  After a “walk in the woods”at Carrara National Park for 2 1/4 hours, we decided birding by car (with air conditioning) would be more comfortable.  Don’t laugh, it’s a thing, especially on country and farm roads where you can drive less than 10 mph.

Cinnamon Hummingbrd - lifer!

Rose-throated Becard female, the male is white and black
with a pink patch on his throat - lifer!

Scarlet Macaws - these are wild ones!

Striped Sparrow - lifer!

Pale-billed Woodpecker

Orange-collared Manakin - lifer!

Inca Dove

Double-striped Thick-knees - lifer!

Morrelet’s Seedeater

Groove-billed Ani

We saw lots of crocodiles in the river today.

There are plain leaf cutter ants and there are 
fancy leafcutter ants that prefer flowers 😅🍃🌺🐜

I spy with my little eye, a moth on a log.

high security 

Costa Rican cow butts

a very playful Capuchin monkey