Naranjito and Esquipulas with Johan Chaves (part 1)
April 10th, 2014
Thursday was our first tour with Johan: a forested area called Esquipulas in the morning, then El Rey wetlands in the afternoon. In early morning, we made a stop in a suburban part of Naranjito that Johan knew to be good for birds. There we soon hit paydirt with a gorgeous Fiery-Billed Aracari!
This is the smaller and more vividly colored of Pacific Costa Rica's two species of toucans. It's also the only one that ever came close enough for good pictures. Amusingly, according to him, the locals at Naranjito assume that Johan is a real estate agent. They can't figure any other reason why he would be taking people around their neighborhood and pointing at things.
"I remember my clients by what their favorite bird was," Johan said. "When I think of you, I'll think of Masked Tityra." I liked the tityras mainly because of the weird, buzzy sound they made. They're colloquially known as "pig birds" because it sounds like they're going "oink oink."
A Chestnut-Backed Antbird: one of a large family of tropical birds who follow army ant swarms. As thousands of ants rampage through the forest floor, insects and other small critters leave cover to flee in a panic. Antbirds then swoop down and pick off whatever the ants miss. Some antbirds make their entire living this way; the Chestnut-Backed is more of a casual opportunist. I was on my own when I first found and identified the species, as one crept through the underbrush alongside an Orange-Billed Sparrow (also a lifer.) Johan got this one to stop creeping and come out for a glamour shot by playing back a recording of its call.
Violet-Headed Hummingbird. She was nesting just a few feet over a small stream.
(Continued in next post)
April 10th, 2014
Thursday was our first tour with Johan: a forested area called Esquipulas in the morning, then El Rey wetlands in the afternoon. In early morning, we made a stop in a suburban part of Naranjito that Johan knew to be good for birds. There we soon hit paydirt with a gorgeous Fiery-Billed Aracari!
This is the smaller and more vividly colored of Pacific Costa Rica's two species of toucans. It's also the only one that ever came close enough for good pictures. Amusingly, according to him, the locals at Naranjito assume that Johan is a real estate agent. They can't figure any other reason why he would be taking people around their neighborhood and pointing at things.
"I remember my clients by what their favorite bird was," Johan said. "When I think of you, I'll think of Masked Tityra." I liked the tityras mainly because of the weird, buzzy sound they made. They're colloquially known as "pig birds" because it sounds like they're going "oink oink."
A Chestnut-Backed Antbird: one of a large family of tropical birds who follow army ant swarms. As thousands of ants rampage through the forest floor, insects and other small critters leave cover to flee in a panic. Antbirds then swoop down and pick off whatever the ants miss. Some antbirds make their entire living this way; the Chestnut-Backed is more of a casual opportunist. I was on my own when I first found and identified the species, as one crept through the underbrush alongside an Orange-Billed Sparrow (also a lifer.) Johan got this one to stop creeping and come out for a glamour shot by playing back a recording of its call.
Violet-Headed Hummingbird. She was nesting just a few feet over a small stream.
(Continued in next post)
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Mike
April 10th, 2014 at 9:52 am
Lots of nice shots and good memories... I really like the aracaris and the hummingbird on nest (I remember we had to wait a while for that last one)!
Mustang Sallie
April 10th, 2014 at 5:01 pm
All gorgeous shots......the hummingbird shot is outstanding!
dagibbs
April 10th, 2014 at 9:14 pm
Fiery-billed is right!