The Birders Report

Before leaving Olguita’s on the second day in Costa Rica, I spotted this migrant male Baltimore Oriole (Icterus galbula) pictured above, but I also enjoyed a resident Black-cowled Oriole (Icterus prosthemelas), both lifers!

Since the weather was not favorable for snorkeling I decided to kayak up the local Quebrada Ernesto Inlet. Climbing into the kayak I noticed a Three-toed Sloth hanging in an overhanging tree. The sloths are a big draw in Costa Rica. Whenever we saw large groups of folks looking up into the trees, they were usually watching sloths.

Heading up the inlet…

were several Black River Turtles.

But the coolest thing seen was a Common Black-Hawk (Buteogallus anthracinus) feeding on its prey.

Back at the hotel the ever present Scarlet-rumped Tanagers (Ramphocelus passerinii) were frolicking. The female trying to hide in the foliage…

and the male found at a feeding station.

A Streak-headed Woodcreeper (Lepidocolaptes souleyetti) was spotted occupied in its normal behavior of climbing a tree in the yard.

 Both a Tropical Kingbird (Tyannus melancholicus)…

and a Pale-vented Pigeon (Patagioenas cayennensis) were in plain view.

That last night at one of the beach-side restaurants in Punta Uva we were treated to several beautiful Blue Land Crabs.

As we were leaving Olguita’s for our next destination in Sarapiqui we got great looks at probably the most common hawk seen in Costa Rica, the Roadside Hawk (Rupornis magnirostris)…

the cool thing was, we also got great looks at a juvenile Common Blackhawk!

I recently returned from a twelve day birding tour of Costa Rica with Lifer Tours guided by an incredible birder, David Rodriquez. I began the trip with a rather long drive from the airport hotel in San Jose to Punta Uva on the southern Caribbean coast for a couple of “free” days before joining the actual tour. One of the obvious sights on the way down were large pendulous nests hanging from several tall trees.

You can see the bright yellow tail feathers of the occupants – Montezuma Oropendola (Psarocolius montezuma). To give you an idea of the size of those nests, the Oropendola is a 20 inch bird!

Continuing down highway 32, before reaching the Caribbean Coast, we were stuck in traffic caused by several big rigs approaching the container yards just short of the port in Limon. Of course my main objective for this entire trip was to locate and photograph the birds of Costa Rica. To my surprise and delight, a species I had been trying to get decent photos of for quite awhile was hovering right above the car as we were stopped in traffic. I was able to snap some decent shots of this White-tailed Kite (Elanus leucurus) before continuing south.

I spent the first couple of days in the upper room of a quaint country hotel with individual bungalows called “Olguita’s Place” in Punta Uva. This is the view from my deck.

The next morning I woke to birds singing in the trees and a whole new world of “lifers,” starting with the a Bananaquit (Coereba flaveola) twittering in the tree next to the deck.

There are many warblers that migrate through Costa Rica. Olguita’s property showed me a migrating Chestnut-sided Warbler (Setophaga pensylvanica) on my first day in Costa Rica.

Of course we have the little Brown Creeper here in the US, but in Costa Rica they have several Woodcreepers, most are twice the size of our Brown Creeper. This Northern Barred-Woodcreeper (Dendrocolaptes sanctithomae) was climbing a nearby tree gleaning insects as it went.

Of course we all know that Costa Rica is loaded with hummingbirds. A bit of drizzle on the second morning allowed a Rufous-tailed Hummingbird (Amazilia tzacatl) to perch and preen for several minutes in the trees.

The uncommon hummer at the top of this post is a male Black-crested Coquette (Lophornis helenae). Unfortunately I accidentally deleted the good close-ups I took of this bird; however, our excellent guide and master digiscoper, took this incredible shot of this gem.

Stay tuned for future posts from Costa Rica. We did spot 220 species 😉

Birds can be attracted to your home simply by offering food, water and shelter. Trees and shrubs that yield fruit, berries, seeds, nuts and cones will provide food. Birdbaths or pools can be built to supply water, and feeders strategically placed around the yard will furnish supplementary food for the birds when natural sources diminish. Tangles of wild plants and dense undergrowth left to thrive in chosen areas of your property will provide shelter, protection, and natural nesting and roosting sites.

Some 84 species of North American birds, excavate nesting holes, use cavities resulting from decay (natural cavities), or use holes created by other species in dead or deteriorating trees for nesting. Many species of these cavity nesting birds have declined because of habitat reduction. But you can help.

Several of the birds that nest in cavities tend to be resident (non-migrating) species and thus more amenable to local habitat management practices than migratory species. Bird houses have been readily accepted by many natural cavity nesters, and increases in breeding density have resulted from providing such structures.

There are probably as many birdhouse plans as there are cavity nesting birds. The important thing is to choose a nest box plan for the species you want to attract that can be opened and cleaned out when necessary. The photo above shows my favorite style birdhouse with a 1 1/2 inch entrance hole. It has been home to Oak Titmouse, Western Bluebird, Violet-green Swallow, Tree Swallow, White-breasted Nuthatch, House Wren, and Ash-throated Flycatcher where I live. I have made one improvement to this design by altering the side door to open from the top rather than the bottom. This allows you to check on the nestlings from the top without opening the door all the way. Here is a nest box specifications chart and several nest box plans.

I cannot emphasize the importance of monitoring any nest box you may place in your yard, or anywhere else for that matter. There are three prime objectives for monitoring nestboxes. First and foremost, with regular, frequent visits to each nestbox, you may be able to spot problems threatening your tenants. You may be able to intervene so as to protect the adults and increase the nestlings’ chances for survival. Second, you can develop a body of knowledge about the habits of cavity-nesters. Lastly, you will build a dated record of each visit to the nestbox that will remind you of the age of the nestlings in the box you are approaching, and what’s been going on at the box during the previous weeks. This record will help you understand and interpret the present visit. And the best reason to monitor your nest box – it’s fun!

One of the most important aspects of nest box monitoring is cleaning out the box after each nesting. Before nesting season begins, all nest boxes should be checked to make sure they are clean and ready for occupancy. Your nest boxes should have been cleaned out back in August, after the last completed nesting of whatever species used them. Since then, it is likely that those nest boxes have been used as places to roost during cold weather, accumulating bird droppings. Below is a typical dirty box that has been used as a roost.

This is an American Kestrel box that has never been used. I recently checked it and found a wasp nest inside. They are usually attached to the roof on the inside of the box. Birds won’t use a box with wasps inside. If you find a wasp nest in your nest box use a thin spatula and crush the wasp nest against the roof of the box. If you don’t kill the adult wasp, she will soon return and rebuild. Keep checking to make sure the wasps don’t return.

This is a nest box that was used by Tree Swallows on a new Bluebird Trail I helped a Girl Scout Troop build last summer. Unfortunately the Carr fire that burned 229,651 acres in Northern California burned through the area where these boxes were placed and the girls weren’t able to get back into the area to check on them.

Fortunately several of the boxes survived the fire. This one apparently had two successful nestings but wasn’t cleaned out between them. You can see the two distinct flattened nests stacked on top of each other bringing any new nesting attempt closer to the entrance hole and therefore easier for a predator to reach eggs or nestlings.

This is a great time to check and clean any birdhouses you have. It’s also the perfect time to repair any damaged boxes and get them ready for the new season before the birds arrive. Believe it or not, birds like a clean house, just like you and I!

You can see my extended post on cavity nesting birds and their babies here.