During the rainy months, quails call a lot ontop of little rocks, in the grassy areas near the edge of the water reservoir and 2010 was not an exception…

We followed their loud whistle-like calling and shoot them from the car windows… The most common and the only one I managed to photograph in two visits, was the Rain Quail

Mostly stayed a bit too far away, but it was a pleasure to see them anyway…

Another cool bird attracting photographers to the spot, was the jumpy and noisy River Lapwing

Little birds that like open, grassy habitats were also in sight. I got images of the friendly Indochinese Bushlark and a new bird for my galleries… the Grey-breasted Prinia

All and all, was a good couple of mornings and got a few cool shots for my galleries…
I hope you like this as well… thanks for visiting…

Coming next :  A Very Productive Day – Waders and Sunbirds

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Well, after returning home from home    the first shooting trip was with my wife to the Royal Proyects of Laem Pak Bia… always a productive spot.

Here just a few of the day’s results…

The -always present- Pond Heron… nearly impossible to tell which species in non-breeding plumage
(this one most likely a Javan )

White-vented Mynas are commonly found around on the roads and grounds between ponds…

The typical august visitor… the large and good looking Indian Cormorant (a.k.a. Shag)

It was mid-day and yet, some breeding dressed Black-crowned Night-Herons seemed pretty comfortable on the shinning scenario…

In one of our -many- drives around, I saw this raptor preening through the leaves and parked for a moment in search of an ID… then, suddenly and unexpectedly, the bird flu and landed a few meters away from the car!!!… A lovely Shikra (juvenile) who -most likely had just devoured some one else!

Finally, on our way out, took a short drive into an abandoned building garden where I always go for doves and mynas. There, a friendly Common Hoopoe let us get close using the car as a blind to finish a nice day with a nice and exotic looking bird…

I had a lot of fun shooting back in Thailand and birds came out nicely for me… I hope you guys enjoyed as well… thanks for watching!

Water Monitor

Next will be Mae Tang Water Reservoir, where we tried for Quails !

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To finish Costa Rica 2010, here I present a few images from my last trips in my beloved country…

With my good friend Jorge Chinchilla, visited Catie School Grounds in Turrialba and got a few birds from a nesting colony (mostly egrets and herons)…

The most numerous bird in this colony is the Cattle Egret and some of them where displaying their fancy breeding gala…

Then -like a lightning- this cool looking Swainson’s Hawk created panic as it catched a juvenile egret and ate it right there while parents and others screamed and tried to scare him away with no success…

This is also a great spot for approaching some elusive Crimson-fronted Parakeets

My final trip/adventure in Costa Rica, was load with friends, fun, great food and many cool birds, as Fernando Sanchez, Jorge Chinchilla, -the popular- Arepa and this cat, spent some good hours on a boat ride in the Tarcoles River, it’s mangroves and the river mouth.

Many and very nice birds from the boat -not easy photography, though-… Here, just three samples…

The always "eye-catching" Roseate Spoonbill

And two "showy" raptors of that area… the Mangrove Black-Hawk and the begging Yellow-headed Caracara that aren’t much afraid of boats and people…

After the boat ride and before a "super bowl" of delicious Ceviche, we visited a spot on the mountains near by in Bijagual de Turrubares, where a magnificent King Vulture was drying out after a light rain…

At Jorge‘s house in La Garita de Alajuela, he is got some cool feeders and birds are all over… I got some decent shots of hummers in his gardens -the day before my early flight- and this Cinnamon Hummingbird end up been my favorite of the whole series…

Closing Costa Rica 2010, I’ll show my most enjoyed bird of the trip… the awesome Bat Falcon

This fantastic little raptor is normally seen on the treetops and far up there. We were super lucky to find a friendly couple at eye level on a high bridge on the road…

Well… thanks for watching and I hope you enjoyed some of my birds…
If you like to have a look to my complete gallery for Costa Rica 2010, please visit my galleries here:

http://www.pbase.com/alex-vargas/birds-from-all-over-the-world

Or come join my forum at:

http://www.birdphotoforum.com

Coming ahead:

Borneo and Thailand 2010 – 2011

Cheers!

Alex (Don Gato)

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The truth is that I’m pretty delayed on posts and so, have decided just showing you some birds in 2 entries of Costa Rica as I wanna catch up before the season warms up and before my trip to Borneo…

So, to start, here three birds from my mom’s turf in Sarapiqui…

Female Green Kingfisher and Purple Gallinule, from my blind on a hot morning… and an awesome male Green Honeycreeper, also from my blind, but at mom’s banana feeders.

Another 2 beauties… this time a magnificent Scarlet Macaw from Playa Tambor and a juvenile Green-crowned Brilliant from Villa Blanca, in the highs of San Ramon de Alajuela

And to finish this entry, 3 birds from Paraiso del Quetzal, one of my favorite spots this trip, a very vibrant and productive site in the highlands of Cerro de la Muerte.

A difficult, jumpy and skittish male Slaty Flowerpiercer

A busy -feeding- Sooty-capped Bush-Tanager

…and last -but not least- a friendly and cooperative male Black-and-Yellow Silky-Flycatcher

I hope you like the birds from around in this first -out of two- updates of my trip in Costa Rica.
Thanks for visiting… Second update will come pretty soon… cheers!

Alex

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A group of friends from the Costarrican forum decided visiting that fantastic spot for hummers and quetzals in Cerro de la Muerte (Central Mountain Range). The site -a lodge operated by the Serrano family- has some feeders right outside the dinning room and it’s -perhaps- the best spot to photograph some highlands specialties on an easy fashion… I loved there with its cool collection of birds!

I didn’t shoot much, as I wasn’t feeling well that day and since started raining, simply decided to enjoy the company of several friends I haven’t seen for years and joke around… 

The star of the cafeteria is the awesome Fiery-throated Hummingbird, a special bird from the highest peaks only, that visits those feeders in impressive numbers at Quetzal’s Paradise…

The other easy jewel in good numbers there is the Magnificent Hummingbird

After lunch, we drove a few kilometers down the steep road to the Savegre Valley, in San Gerardo de Dota, where I had the chance of saying hello to some members of the lovely family that owns and operates the fantastic Savegre Lodge… where we photograph for a couple of hours around the gardens… This is a bit lower and you can find some different birds…

A different group of cool hummers inhabit that -lower- area and frequent the feeders…
The star of the site might be the awesome White-throated Mountain-gem…

…however, the tiny Scintillant Hummingbird and the unique Green Violet-ear were also showing lovely

Then a wonderful flash of color surprised me a bit distant…yes! a lovely Flame-colored Tanager!

To finish a great day of friends and birds in the highlands,  we spent some time quite and hopeful by a Resplendent Quetzal‘s nest and the male came in and out -quickly and shy- a couple of times…
Light was already too poor… time flies when you’re having fun!!!

And just when we thought the day was over, a hard-to-get Yellow-bellied Siskin came for a bite of seeds in the garden… painting a big smile on my face!

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Several friends -from the forums- visited Marco Torres home in Orosi and brought our cameras in hope of some action… A few birds showed up, but it was more than enough for shooting and sharing with good people that enjoys birding and photographing birds!

The star of the day was -for sure- the shy and awesome Crimson-collared Tanager

A pair of nesting Grey-capped Flycatchers, quickly called our attention and although the terrain conditions and the HEAVY sun kept me away, I got a couple of shots of the busy parents…

Even the super common Rufous-collared Sparrow got its chance to glow and pose…

This day certainly there were more photographers than birds, but the BBQ and history time was delightful and a good chance to meet a lot of nice people…

Thank you guys… it was a lot of fun!… Special thanks to Marco and his lovely family and an acknowledgment  to my good friend Luis Vargas, for letting me use this last photo of his!

Alex
http://www.birdphotoforum.com

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My father and I created a feeder very close to the house and has always been pretty productive.
The famous banana feeder has been abandoned by periods, but everytime is re-activated, birds seem to be looking forward and remember quickly!… Such is the case of 2010… 23 years after my dad and I offered the very first banana… As soon as I showed 6 beautiful and attractive plantains, members of the club started showing well and new members got attracted!

Was a hot and sunny afternoon with harsh light, but with big hope for some birds coming…

The first guys to show up and call many more, were the Passerini’s Tanagers… always beautiful, always hungry and always friendly…

Female Passerini’s Tanager

All the happiness and noise of the Passerini’s with the sweet plantains, started to call the attention of some other local breeders as the Black-cheeked Woodpecker and the Black-cowled Oriole…

Some cool migrants started to show nicely too… amongst the most beautiful, the Summer Tanager…
A wonderful male in its complete breeding plumage enjoyed some fruit and focus as well…

From my blind -very close to the feeders- I found a fantastic -male- Violaceous Trogon a bit away on the back, that was happily singing and showing these awesome colors!

My camera settings worked perfectly ’till the big and unexpected Collared Aracaris showed in the form of a gang of five, stilling all the plantains in a minute!

I promised myself to be much better prepared for a next occasion!

Alex
http://www.birdphotoforum.com

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My good friend and member at www.birdphotoforum.com, Jorge, took me birding, just a couple of days after my arrival in Costa Rica and it was fun!

We started at Jorge’s spot in San Mateo de Orotina, where birds showed in good numbers and amongst others, I got images of  a male Tropical Gnatcatcher, a singing Grey-crowned Yellowthroat and a colorful male Blue Grosbeak…

Then, we took a short drive and enjoyed the famous Black-and-White Owl from Orotina’s Central Park !

Finally, went back to San Mateo and got the second night bird of the day… the Spectacled Owl… making this a perfect first birding in Costa Rica…

Alex

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Before leaving to Costa Rica, I had a great birding day with my good friends, ‘Te and Chorthip.
We visited Khao Yai National Park and stayed just a few hours… but had a couple of good species.

First, we had great views of a nesting pair of Red-headed Trogons

The Male

The Female

Then, we set our blinds on an open field with tons of this awesome Chestnut-headed Bee-eater flying all around… After a few minutes, one came by…

…and boy… he came close and friendly…

Thanks for watching… next post will be with Costa Rican birds

Alex

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