White-whiskered Puffbird

The White-whiskered Puffbird is a plump brown bird of shady understories in humid evergreen forest of tropical lowlands. Found singly or in pairs, perched quietly at low to middle levels. I was extremely happy to get a decent image of this adorable little bird.

Often sits still for long periods and is easily overlooked. Note the stout bill, reddish eyes, streaky underparts, bushy white whiskers, and finely dappled whitish to buffy upperparts. Cornell All About Birds

Double-striped Thick-knee

The Double-striped Thick-knee is a large shorebird of lowland dry grassland and savannas that is usually found in pairs or small groups. Usually active at night.

During the daytime, usually seen standing or sitting quietly, often in the shade of small trees or bushes which is where we observed this bird. Named for the double stripes on it’s head. A bird we had observed in Panama but were certainly glad to observe up close.

White Hawk

 

We were standing on a outcrop fairly high up the side of a mountain observing a King Vulture soaring a fair distance out when a White Hawk came soaring past us.

The White Hawk is a spectacular, broad-winged, short-tailed hawk of lowland tropical forest. Usually seen soaring in mid-late morning or perched quietly in the forest canopy. Plumage is white overall with black wingtips and a black tail band.

Chestnut-capped Warbler

The Chestnut-capped Warbler is an attractive, perky warbler found in humid lowlands and foothills of Central and northern South America. Favors dense understory in forest and edge.

Usually in pairs or small groups which hop around low in brush. Rather stout-billed. Also note white eyebrow, rusty cap and cheeks, and yellow underparts. Another bird that we observed at our starting hotel grounds.

Rufous-tailed Hummingbird

 

Another bird we observed around our starting hotel, the beautiful Hotel Bougainvilla grounds, was the Rufous-tailed Hummingbird. Our first of many, many Hummingbirds to come. It is a handsome, medium-size hummingbird of humid tropical lowlands. 

They favour forest edges, second growth and gardens in some areas. They can be difficult to distinguish from the Buff-bellied Hummingbird, which favors drier habitats. The Rufous-tailed has a dingy, grayish belly and more extensive rust on the tail.

Cinnamon-bellied Saltator

 

The Cinnamon-bellied Saltator is fairly common in tropical lowlands of both drier and more humid areas. They favour forest edge, second growth thickets, hedges, and tangles, especially with morning glory flowers, which it munches quietly. 

Told from other saltators in Mexico and Central America by the grayish (not golden-green) upperparts, bolder white eyebrow, and plain breast. We observed this bird around the beautiful Hotel Bougainvilla grounds.

Black and White Owl

A new owl species for me, my 28th, was the Black and White Owl seen here roosting high in a tree in the daytime. They are a handsome but scarce large owl of tropical lowland forest and edge. Found in forests, plantations, gardens, and towns.

Mainly roosts high in trees during the day, but sometimes roosts in rather open situations. At night it hunts mainly at higher levels, but sometimes can be found pursuing bats under streetlights. 

Note the bright yellow bill and feet and boldly patterned black-and-white plumage. Varied hooting calls often end with an emphatic note. Cornell All About Birds

Tropical Screech Owl

We had observed Tropical Screech Owls while in the Amazon but again very cool to observe so close. This owl was very cooperative. As with all screech-owls, much easier to identify by voice: a short rapid trill with a pop at the end. If you’re lucky enough to see one, look for an overall grayish-brown or rufous bird with fine markings, including thin streaks on underparts. Black border to face. Sexes alike.

Found in wooded habitats, sometimes coming out into open shrubby fields or gardens with only a few scattered trees. Usually the most common screech-owl in range. Cornell All About Birds

Yellow-throated Toucan

 

The Yellow-throated Toucan was a very cool bird to observe. It is a large conspicuous bird with oversized bill. Mostly black overall with yellow throat and face. Note bicolored bill: dark below and yellow above.

Found in pairs or small groups, often parading through the canopy in search of fruit. Sometimes perches very obviously at the top of a tree.

Favors forested areas, but can also be found in gardens and edges. Yelping call helps distinguish from similar looking species. Cornell All About Birds

American Barn Owl

 

This was my ninth sighting of a Barn Owl. We have observed them in Florida, Utah, Arizona and Cuba.

Interestingly, in 2024, ornithologists split the widespread Barn Owl, found on every continent except Antarctica, into three species: American Barn Owl, Eastern Barn Owl, and Western Barn Owl. American Barn Owl is restricted to the Americas, Eastern Barn Owl occurs from South Asia to Australia, and Western Barn Owl is found in Europe, Africa, and western Asia. Cornell All About Birds

More images of Barn Owls can be found on previous blogs.

Mottled Owl

The Mottled Owl is a common, fairly large owl of tropical lowlands and foothills. Found in forests, woodlands, plantations, gardens, and towns. Roosts during the day at all levels in dense cover of taller trees, but at night it often hunts from low perches such as fence posts and road signs.

Note the rounded head, brown eyes framed with whitish crescents on either side of the bill, and overall brown plumage that is streaked below. Varied gruff hoots can suggest a dog barking.

We had observed Mottled Owls while birding in Panama but it was still very cool to observe them again.

Rufous-backed Wren

 

The Rufous-backed Wren, seen here collecting nesting material, is usually found in small groups, less often in pairs. Mainly in thorn forest and dry scrubby habitats, but also sometimes in more humid scrub and semiopen areas.

They have boldly barred wings and tail and bright rusty nape patch. It is often detected by its marvelous loud song, which consists of various bubbly, whistled, nasal, or harsh notes and is often given by multiple birds at once.

Lesson's Motmot

 

The first two birds I heard entering the gardens early the first morning were the national bird of Costa Rica, the Clay-coloured Thrush, a bird we would observe every day of our trip, and the Ferruginous Pygmy Owl, a very common owl found in Costa Rica.

However, the coolest bird, at least to me was the Lesson’s Motmot. To observe and photograph this bird in the late evening light was a real treat and certainly started the trip on a great note.

Lesson’s Motmot is a large motmot of tropical lowland forest and edge, mainly in humid areas. Perches low to high, usually in shady areas. Blue crown with a big black central patch, unlike solid blue of Blue-capped Motmot, which occurs to the north. The name ‘motmot’ comes from double-hooting call of this species, which can sound like an owl, and is mainly uttered around dawn. eBird

Costa Rica birding trip

 

Recently I made the last minute decision to jump on a 12 day Costa Rica birding trip. Three days later I flew to San Jose where I joined a group of 12 like minded souls from Scotland, Alaska, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Alberta and Ontario. Our guides for this trip were Benny Jacobs-Schwartz and James Lees. We were very fortunate to have two absolutely incredible guides that made this a spectacular trip. In all we observed 387 species over the twelve days, enabling myself to pick up 178 new lifers.

                  Our guides hard at work during a lunch break.

Although we birded in many roadside locations and trails the three main stops were the Pacific coast near Puntarenas where we lodged at Hotel Villa Lapas and birded in Carara National Park as well as a river run,

Hotel Quelitales and area, with a stop at La Selva Biological Station alongside the Sarapiqui River,

                 My own cabin on the mountainside at Hotel Quelitales

and our final stop lodging at the incredible Arenal Bird Observatory. At each stop we spent three nights lodging in very comfortable accommodations.

                    View from my balcony at Arenal Bird Observatory

Also, each roadside lunch stop had bird feeders set up so the birding never really stopped. And, I spent the evenings either owling or herping. As you can image the frogs, toads and moths provided non stop entertainment. Sleep was at a minimum.

I should also mention that our driver/birder, Ricardo, was not only a great driver and birder but an all around great guy.

To start the trip, I had flown down a day early and stayed at our starting hotel near San Jose, Hotel Bougainvillea. This hotel has a very impressive, expansive property filled with many, many trees, shrubs and flowers. All conducive to attracting a variety of birds. In fact, we had over 40 species before we left the grounds the next morning.

Anyone who has birded in the rain forest will know photography can be very challenging at times however over the next few seeks I hope to explore some of the many birds we were able to observe on our trip. Today’s images were all taken with my iPhone.

Western Cattle Egret

 

The resort was also a very popular spot for Western Cattle Egrets with a gathering of at least 25 or more every day. Especially around the jerk chicken shack. Snowy Egrets, Great Egrets and Yellow-crowned Night Herons could also be found along the beach area daily.

Jamaican Resort Doves

 

Some of the doves and pigeons around the resort in Jamaica. The White-crowned Pigeon, the White-winged Dove and the Eurasian Collared Dove.

Jamaican Woodpecker

 

The Jamaican Woodpecker is a species of wooded habitats. The white face framed by the red of its nape and crown and its finely barred black-and-white back is distinctive. Usually first detected by its determined excavation of rotting wood.

Although our resort was fairly sterile tree and shrub wise, there was usually a couple woodpeckers hanging around.

However, on the first early morning of birding, I was trying my best to get an image of a woodpecker in the row of trees between ours and the next resort, when a security guard informed me I was in a restricted area for photography as the next resort was a nudist resort.

Rufous-tailed Flycatcher

 

The Rufous-tailed Flycatcher is a medium-sized woodland species endemic to Jamaica that prefers moist forests where it typically “flycatches” from perches in thick foliage beneath the canopy.

Note its bright rusty tail and the extensive rust on its wings. Other flycatchers we observed like the Sad Flycatcher is much smaller-bodied and smaller-billed and lacks the rusty tail and wings. And the similar Stolid Flycatcher is also smaller-billed and smaller-bodied with more limited rust on tail and wings. The Rufous-tailed Flycatcher has a darker gray head and chest than either Sad or Stolid Flycatchers.

Jamaican Tody

 

Another cool endemic bird to observe in Jamaica was the Jamaican Tody. It seems every Caribbean Island has it’s own endemic Tody as this is the fourth uniquely endemic Tody we have photographed in the Caribbean Islands.

The Jamaican Tody is a small, gemlike, woodland species usually found in pairs. Its rather large head, long bill, and short tail create a unique profile. Also note the shimmering green upperparts and red throat. It usually hunts from low-to-middle level perches, sitting nearly still before leaping upwards to snatch prey.

Red-billed Streamertail

 

We have just returned from a week’s vacation with family in Negril Jamaica. Although a resort type holiday I hired a guide to go birding in the Bluefields Mountain area of the parish of Westmoreland. We observed 42 species on our day of birding, observing 19 new lifers of which 16 are endemic to Jamaica.

My trip was set up with Wolde Kristos of RAJ and my guides for the day were Deceita and Tasha, both excellent birding guides. My day was a very enjoyable experience and I would highly recommend them. Their website with contact info is at www.Jamaicabirding.com

Probably the most enjoyable bird to observe was the Red-billed Streamertail.

This long-tailed beauty is Jamaica’s national bird along with the Black-billed Streamertail, which is now considered a separate species. The male has a glittering green body, black crown, and red bill. The younger males and molting birds may not have the signature tail streamers, giving them a somewhat different look. And the female lacks the long tail and is similar to Black-billed Streamertail, but usually shows a pink tinge to the base of the lower part of her bill. Her relatively large size and longer bill help separate her from the Vervain Hummingbird. We were able to observe the Vervain around the resort however I was unable capture a decent image.

Found in forest in most of the island. Local names for this species include “doctor bird” and “swallow tail humming bird”.

American Flamingo

 

We had such a short time ashore on Bonaire however we were extremely happy and enjoyed our afternoon birding Bonaire with Susan Davis from Bonaire Bird Tours.

Susan was an excellent guide around the south end of the island and we observed many species.

Her email address is susan@bonairebirdtours.com

Her webpage is here www.bonairebirdtours.com

The American Flamingo is a resident breeder on Bonaire. Thousands could be seen gathering in the Bonaire salt flats.

Brown Noddy

 

During sea days on our cruise, I would periodically check the sea for sea birds. On this occasion I observed a Brown Noddy trying to hang on to the Radome of the cruise ship. Eventually the wind blew the Noddy off the Radome and away it flew into the ocean.

Radomes are the big white balls on top of cruise ships. A Radome is made up of two parts, a Radar and a Dome, hence the name Ra-dome. The dome covers the radar equipment protecting it from the weather and hiding it from guests.

The Brown Noddy is a dark-bodied tern of tropical offshore waters, rarely seen from mainland. They breed in colonies on rocky and sandy offshore islets. Sometimes found with offshore feeding flocks of boobies and other terns. They feed by picking from the surface, not plunge-diving like most terns. 

Adults are solidly dark brown with a white cap. The white is limited to the forehead on immature. Cornell All About Birds

Brown Booby

 

We had observed Brown Boobies in the Galapagos Islands however when a half dozen adult and immature started following the cruise ship one day the opportunity for flight shots was overwhelming. Although I’m pretty sure I would have won the pickleball, shuffleboard and bingo tournaments that day. Not to mention the Karaoke contest.

Brown Boobies are large seabirds of inshore and offshore waters in tropical regions of the Atlantic, Indian, and western Pacific Oceans.

Head, neck, and upperparts are solidly brown. The adult has a well-demarcated white belly and the immature has a variably mottled brown belly that rarely looks solidly brown.

It is often seen from beaches, sometimes just beyond the breakers. They breed in colonies on offshore islands, nesting on the ground.

Recently showing up more regularly as a vagrant on inland lakes and reservoirs in the U.S. and Canada, and further north along the Atlantic coast. Cornell All About Birds