Muchos observadores de aves que conozco tienen recuerdos de sí mismos escaneando a través de las páginas de una guía de aves en particular y pensando: «Quiero ver a ese pájaro algún día».

Cuando se trata de un país tropical como Costa Rica, tienes más de 900 opciones para elegir, pero por lo que puedo recordar, para mí siempre fue el ave número 10 en la lámina 21 de Stiles y Skutch A Guide to the Birds of Costa Rica . ¿No tienes ese libro? Prueba entonces la página 177 de La Segunda Edición de Garrigues y Dean The Birds of Costa Rica.

Sí, lo tienes ahora! El fantasma de la selva tropical, el enigmático y escurridizo Cuco Hormiguero (Neomorphus geoffroyi), una especie que se encuentra desde el sur de Honduras hasta el norte de Bolivia.

El comportamiento furtivo de estas aves las hace realmente difíciles de encontrar, ya que corren por el sotobosque de áreas muy boscosas en tierras bajas y elevaciones medias a través de su área de distribución.

Su correlación con los enjambres de hormigas arrieras ofrece probablemente la mejor oportunidad de encontrarlos mientras buscan insectos, invertebrados y otros vertebrados que están tratando de escapar de las hormigas. Hay registros de ellos siguiendo tambien tropas de sainos y algunas especies de monos, para forrajear en las posibles presas o frutos caídos.

Entonces, ¿por qué son tan difíciles de encontrar, si uno sabe dónde buscar? Bueno, no solo tienes que estar en el hábitat correcto, sino que también tienes que tener la suerte de encontrar un enjambre de hormigas arrieras activo, además tienes que tener más suerte aún para ver un Cuco Hormiguero en modo sigiloso, mientras se mueven en la oscura y espesa maraña.

En mis más de 20 años de observación de aves, lo único que he sabido con certeza es que nunca se sabe dónde se encontrará esta ave, e, incluso si lo haces, hay altas posibilidades de que el encuentro con esa «ave némesis» sea tan breve como un vistazo del pájaro cruzando el sendero o escondiéndose detrás de la vegetación.

Créanme, lo he intentado en innumerables ocasiones, visitando lugares donde se vio el ave, pero siempre volviendo a casa con las manos vacías y esperando la próxima vez. Uno de los lugares que he visitado muchas veces con la esperanza de encontrarlos es el Bosque Eterno de los Niños en la Estación de Pocosol. La reserva privada más grande de Costa Rica protege casi 27.000 hectareas de bosque tropical y es el lugar perfecto para encontrar esta escurridiza especie. Sin embargo, no es fácil encontrarlos, y he perdido la cuenta de las muchas veces que he estado allí armado con binoculares, cámara y muchas expectativas.

Esa es la magia de la observación de aves, nunca se sabe cuándo llegará tu momento. El domingo 7 de febrero  2021 estaba escrito en las estrellas para mí y el Cuco Hormiguero.

Todo comenzó un par de días antes cuando vi un post en las redes sociales de Fabio Araya, compañero observador de aves y gerente de la Estación Pocosol del Bosque Eterno de los Niños.  El pájaro había sido visto el día anterior por un voluntario suizo llamado Lorenzo mientras seguía a un enorme enjambre de hormigas arrieras. Lorenzo tomó una foto con su teléfono. Fabio fue a comprobarlo y se corrió la voz.

Mi colega observador de aves y co-propietario de Birding Experiences, Jehudy Carballo, estaba listo para ir a buscarlo el sábado por la mañana. Desafortunadamente, yo ya estaba comprometido con ayudar a los esfuerzos de monitoreo del Proyecto de Lechucita Parda el viernes e iba a estar toda la noche a una altitud de 3.000 metros, buscando a este otro fantasma de las tierras altas.

Llegó el sábado por la mañana, y después de una noche muy exitosa, más tarde en el día recibí noticias de Jehudy. Él y nuestros amigos observadores de aves María José Alvarado, Jorge Campos, Juan Diego Vargas, Anthony Arce y Fabio Araya vieron no 1 sino 4, SÍ ¡Cucos Hormigueros! Las imágenes que siguieron compartiendo fueron increíbles más allá de las palabras. Qué afortunados fueron y cómo quería conducir como loco para llegar allí, pero era imposible después de toda una noche sin dormir, así que decidí ir al día siguiente.

Conduje esa noche a la casa de mis padres para poder estar más cerca de la reserva a la mañana siguiente. Invité a mi hermano David a unirse y el domingo por la mañana a las 5:00 am estábamos de camino. Llegamos a las 6:00 am justo al amanecer y fuimos recibidos por Juan Diego, María José y Fabio. Tomamos un café mientras nos contaban todo sobre su experiencia el día anterior.

Las expectativas y la ansiedad estaban empezando tomar fuerza. ¿Los vamos a ver y se comportarán de la misma manera que ayer? Sabía que seguir el consejo de Juan Diego sobre cuándo y cómo encontrarlos era el camino a seguir.

A las 6:45 am empezamos a escuchar los cantos de las otras especies de hormigueros y esa fue la señal que estábamos esperando. Empezamos a caminar por el sendero y muy pronto nos detuvimos ante las llamadas de hormigueros Ocelados, Bicolores, Moteados  y de Zeledon, Soterillo Caricafé, Trepadores Barreteado y Manchado,  Soterrey Canoro y Tángara Aceitunada. Eso significaba solo una cosa, las hormigas estaban en movimiento. ¡Que comiencen los juegos del hambre!

No habían pasado 5 minutos cuando María dijo «¡ahí está!» y por supuesto, a 3 metros de donde estábamos, un juvenil de Cuco Hormiguero, llamado Lorenzo en honor a su descubridor, estaba encaramado en una rama y rodeado de varios Hormigueros Ocelados, completamente ajenos de nuestra presencia. Lo único en la mente del pájaro era estar atento al movimiento del enjambre cada vez mayor de hormigas arrieras, que ahora salían del bosque hacia el sendero, en un flujo interminable de miles de hambrientas hormigas.

El frenesí había comenzado y, aunque para entonces las hormigas estaban subiendo por mis botas, solo tenía ojos para esta ave. Lo miré con mis binoculares, aunque estaba tan cerca que era casi innecesario, y empecé a tomar fotos, tratando de obtener los ajustes adecuados para las condiciones tan oscuras.

Lorenzo comenzó a desplazarse buscando cualquier movimiento que se tradujera en un buen desayuno jugoso. Me moví tratando de obtener un buen ángulo para una imagen o video perfecto. De vez en cuando un Hormiguero Ocelado se interpondría en el camino de mi lente. Qué grosero, ¿verdad? Sabes que tienes un pájaro MEGA frente a ti cuando no tienes tiempo para fotografiar Hormigueros Ocelados a plena vista a solo 2 metros de ti.

Seguí moviéndome para evitar las hormigas, y en un momento tuve que dar un paso atrás porque Lorenzo estaba de pie en medio del sendero, demasiado cerca para mi lente de 300 mm. De repente, uno de los adultos apareció en el sotobosque frente a nosotros solo para desaparecer un segundo más tarde en la oscuridad del bosque. En mi mente ese era el avistamiento que siempre sabía que iba a tener, si alguna vez tenía una oportunidad.

No mucho después de tener buenas vistas de uno de los adultos escondido en la vegetación debajo del sendero, continué caminando para lograr una vista del segundo adulto.

Encontrar un enjambre hormigas arrieras, especialmente uno tan grande como ese, es simplemente increíble. Presenciar la interacción de esas aves que se aprovechan de insectos y todo tipo de seres vivos que están tratando desesperadamente de escapar de las hormigas, es algo realmente único y un poco cruel, pero así es la vida. En realidad, hay estudios que respaldan la tesis de que esta interacción debe considerarse parasitismo, ya que las aves están robándole a las hormigas.

Después de un tiempo y varias miradas a mi reloj para comprobar mi ritmo cardíaco, aparecieron otros 3 compañeros observadores de aves de La Fortuna y les presentamos a Lorenzo. Poco después fuimos más abajo por el sendero hasta el lugar donde estaba el núcleo del enjambre de hormigas. Esta es una masa viva de hormigas entrelazadas que protege a su reina y larvas llamada vivaque o bivouac.

Fuimos recompensados cuando uno de los Cucos Hormigueros tuvo la misma idea y salió de la zona donde estaba el vivaque. Probablemente solo estaba comprobando la trayectoria de las tropas de caza. El pájaro estaba mostrando una vez más ese comportamiento sigiloso, pero esta vez salió al sendero y se quedó allí por un momento. Fue suficiente tiempo para que lograr mi mejor foto del día y tal vez, debido al ave, una de mis mejores fotos de mi historia. Subió la colina en la dirección de la acción de las hormigas y lo tuvimos al aire libre de nuevo por un momento, lo suficiente para que el otro grupo de observación de aves obtuviese excelentes vistas. Luego entró en la vegetación y la seguridad del sotobosque. Para entonces comenzaron a aparecer más observadores de aves y ayudamos a algunos de ellos a encontrarlas.

Para mí, 2 horas de adrenalina fueron suficientes. Tuve una de las experiencias de observación de aves más emocionantes y fascinantes de la historia, que es lo que trato de dar a mis clientes cuando les muestro las aves que tanto anhelan ver.

Al salir de la reserva nos encontramos con varios observadores de aves más, lo cual es genial porque el Bosque Eterno de los Niños ha recibido un gran golpe por la falta de visitantes (gracias COVID). Es genial saber que tanta gente en Costa Rica está llegando a ver estas aves y, al mismo tiempo, apoyando el gran trabajo que hacen para proteger su hábitat

Un día para recordar de hecho, que haya más…

by Diego Quesada, February 10th 2021

Yesterday I went back to Children’s Eternal Rainforest and took clients with me this time. They are enthusiastic bird and nature photographers who definitely got what they went for.

We left San Jose before sunrise and arrived by 8:30 am. To my surprise and delight I encountered many of my birding friends and colleagues – Ernesto Carman, Paz Irola, Jose Pablo Castillo, Tamara Rojas, Luis Barrantes, Jorge Gabriel Campos, Mario Cordoba, Donald Alpizar, Marvin Araya, Esteban Mendez and his family (including his young son Dilan who, at only 7 years old, may be the youngest twitcher to get this mega bird). Just yesterday more than 50 people visited and saw the cuckoos. What a privilege to be part of this community of nature lovers and bird enthusiasts. 

The birding community in Costa Rica is something to be proud of. You could feel the positive energy at the reserve. Everyone was happy and smiling. What a place to be and what an amazing moment to share. If only we could hug and celebrate like in the old days as «love was in the air!» 

One thing to point out is the great economic input visitors are given to the Children’s Eternal Rainforest. A much-needed breath of fresh air to the financial situation of such great organization. That right there is ecotourism at its best. 

Yesterday the ant swarm was still active and the many individuals of several species of antbirds were there, as well as the stars of the hour. Early comers were treated to close views of the cuckoos by the side of the trail. Cuckoos being cuckoos, chasing each other and hunting for the insects that were desperately trying to escape from the ever-growing flow of deadly ants. 

As we approached, the cuckoos were not in sight, but not 5 minutes later the second act began with the main characters of the play making their ninja moves across the trails and then back into the safety of the dark thick vegetation. 

Then it was show time and suddenly, out of nowhere, they were out in the open. An adult female preened and displayed the magnificent iridescent colors of her back plumage. Soon Lorenzo (the juvenile) joined her and both started to forage again. Making sudden movements when a potential prey was spotted, Lorenzo shook his wings and snapped his bill to ask for food (being totally ignored, by the way). 

At least 20 people in two separate groups along the trail were watching. The lucky ones down trail had the best light and background conditions. Hence the next picture, taken by my good friend Jorge Gabriel Campos. Jorge is a young and passionate birding guide, who I met about 8 years ago when he was still in high school and who was kind enough to pay attention to my talks about birding and conservation. 

Not long after Lorenzo arrived, we all were rewarded with the presence of what we believed to be the a male. He was a bulkier bird with a wider and more marked chest band, a fully formed blueish crest, and more colorful and brighter iridescent plumage. The behavior of this male was more reserved than the others. He tended to stay on the edge of the trail, watching over the rest of the family, more cautious of what was going on around them. But he didn’t pass up the opportunity to feed. Every time a possible prey was spotted, he would swiftly move to catch it, several times even taking it from his other family members. The majority of the time he would not stay in the open for long, but would retreat to the forest edge.

The show lasted for at least half an hour. Eventually the ant swarm started to move up the hill and inside the forest as the birds followed them. The crowd began to disperse as a few of us waited a while longer to see if a third act was on the schedule. 

Eventually we decided to check the other trails. At the lake we spotted three Least Grebes doing their usual dives and chasing each other. A little farther down the trail we found a mixed flock with White-throated Shrike-Tanagers, Streak-crowned Antvireos, Spotted Woodcreepers and Rufous-tailed Jacamars, just to name a few. We got word of a female Bare-necked Umbrellabird spotted not far from us, but when we arrived it was gone. However, we got very good views of a male Yellow-eared Toucanet. So not bad, right?

After a couple more hours of birding, rain was on its way so we called it a day and started the drive back home. What a day, what an experience!

by Diego Quesada, February 2021.

Many birders I know have memories of themselves scanning through the pages of a particular birding field guide and thinking, “I want to see that bird someday.” 

When it comes to a tropical country such as Costa Rica, you have 900 plus options to choose from but, as long I can remember, for me it was always bird number 10 on plate 21 of Stiles and Skutch’s A Guide to the Birds of Costa Rica. Haven’t got that book? Try then page 177 of Garrigues and Dean’s The Birds of Costa Rica Second Edition. 

Yes, you got it now, the ghost of the rainforest, the enigmatic and elusive Rufous-vented Ground-Cuckoo (Neomorphus geoffroyi), a species found from Southern Honduras through South America as far as Northern Bolivia.  

The behavior of these terrestrial birds makes them really hard to find since they run around the understory of very forested areas in lowlands and foothills through their range. 

Their co-relation with army ant swarms offers probably the best chance to find them while they forage for insects, invertebrates and other vertebrates that are flushed out by the ants. There are recordings of them following peccaries and some species of monkeys as well, to forage on the possible preys or fallen fruits. 

So, why are they so hard to find, if one knows where to look? Well not only do you have to be on the right habitat, but also you need to be lucky enough to find an active ant swarm, plus you have to be extra lucky to spot a Rufous-vented Ground-Cuckoo on stealth mode, while they move in the dark and thick undergrowth. 

In my 20+ years of birding, the only thing I have ever known for certain is that you never know where you will find this bird, and, even if you do, there are high possibilities that your encounter with your “nemesis bird” will be as brief as a glimpse of the bird crossing the trail or hiding behind the vegetation. 

Believe me, I’ve tried on countless occasions, visiting locations where the bird was spotted, but always coming back home empty handed and hoping for the next time. One of the locations that I have visited many times with the hopes of finding them is the Children’s Eternal Rainforest at Pocosol Station. The largest private reserve in Costa Rica protects nearly 57,000 acres of tropical rainforest and is the perfect place to find this elusive species. However, is not easy to find them, and I have lost count of the many times that I have been there armed with binoculars, camera and lots of expectations.

That’s the magic of birding I think, you never know when your time will come. Sunday February 7^th 2021 was written in the stars for me and Rufous-vented Ground-Cuckoo. 

It all started a couple days earlier when I saw a post on social media by fellow birder and manager at Children’s Eternal Rainforest, Fabio Araya.  The bird had been spotted the day before by a Swiss volunteer named Lorenzo as it followed a massive army ant swarm. Lorenzo took a picture with his phone. Fabio went to check and the word was out. 

Fellow birder and co-owner of Birding Experiences, Jehudy Carballo, was set to check it out on Saturday morning. Unfortunately, I already was engaged with helping the monitoring efforts of the Unspotted Saw-whet Owl Project on Friday and it was going to be all night long at a 9,000 ft elevation looking for this other ghost of the highlands. 

Saturday morning came and, after a very successful night, later in the day I got word from Jehudy. He and fellow birding friends María José Alvarado, Jorge Campos, Juan Diego Vargas, Anthony Arce and Fabio Araya spotted not 1 but 4, YES 4, Rufous-vented Ground-Cuckoos. The footage they kept sharing was amazing beyond words. How lucky they were and how I wanted to just drive like crazy to get there, but I was beat up after a whole night without sleeping, so I decided I would go the next day.

I drove that night to my parents’ home so I could be closer to the reserve the next morning. I invited my brother David to join in and on Sunday morning at 5:00 am we were on the way.  Got there by 6:00 am just at sunrise and were greeted by Juan Diego, María Jose and Fabio. We had some coffee while they told us all about their experience the day before. 

The expectations and anxiety were starting to take over. Are we going to see them and will they behave the same way as yesterday? I knew that following Juan Diego’s keen advice on when and how to find them was the way to go.

At 6:45 am we started to hear the other species of antbirds getting active and that was the sign we were waiting for. We started walking down the trail and very soon we stopped to the calls of Ocellated, Bicolored, Spotted and Zeledon’s Antbirds, Tawny-faced Gnatwrens, Spotted and Northern Barred-Woodcreepers, Song Wrens and Carmiol’s Tanagers. That meant only one thing, the ants were on the move. Let the Hunger Games Begin! 

Not 5 minutes had passed when María said “there it is,” and sure enough, not 6 feet from where we stood, the juvenile Rufous-vented Ground-Cuckoo, named Lorenzo, after his discoverer, was perched on a branch surrounded by several Ocellated Antbirds, completely oblivious of our presence. The only thing on the bird’s mind was checking the movement of the ever-growing swarm of army ants now coming out of the forest into the trail, in an endless flow of thousands of hungry ants. 

The frenzy had started and, although I was by then getting ants crawling up my boots, I only had eyes for that bird. I looked at it with my binoculars, although it was so close it was almost unnecessary, and started to take pictures, trying to get the right settings for the very dark conditions. 

Lorenzo started to move around checking for any movement that would translate into a nice juicy breakfast. And I moved around trying to get a good angle for a perfect picture or video. Every now and then an Ocellated Antbird would get in the way of the lens. How rude, right? You know you have a MEGA bird in front of you when you don’t have time to photograph Ocellated Antbirds perched in plain sight just 3 feet away from you.

I kept moving to avoid the ants, and at one point I had to step back because Lorenzo was standing in the middle of the trail, too close for my 300mm lens. Suddenly one of the adults appeared in the understory in front of us just to disappear a second later in the darkness of the forest. In my mind that was the look I always knew I was going to get, if I ever had a chance.

Not long after I got good views of one the adults hidden in the thicket below the trail. Then I continued walking along the trail to get a view of the second adult.

Finding an ant swarm, especially one as big as that one, is just incredible. To witness the interaction of those birds preying on insects and all kinds of living creatures that are trying desperately to escape from the ants, is something really unique and a bit cruel, but such is life. Actually, there are studies that back up the thesis that this interaction should be considered parasitism, since the birds are actually stealing from the ants. 

After a while and several looks at my watch to check my heartrate, 3 other fellow birders from La Fortuna showed up and we introduced them to Lorenzo. Shortly thereafter we went farther down the trail to the place where the core of the ant swarm was. This is a living mass of interlocked ants that protects their queen and larvae called the bivouac. 

And sure enough, we were rewarded when one of the adult ground-cuckoos had the same idea and came out of the area where the bivouac was placed. It was probably just double checking the trajectory of the hunting troops. The bird was yet again showing that stealth behavior,but this time came out in the open and stood there for a moment. It was enough time for me to get my best shot of the day and maybe, because of the subject, one of my best shots ever. It went up the hill in the direction of the action and we had it in the open again for a moment, enough for the other birding party to get great views. Then it went into the thicket and the safety of the forest understory. By then more birders started to show up and we helped some of them to find the birds. 

For me 2 hours of adrenaline rush was enough. I had one of the most exciting and bizarre birding experiences ever, which is what I try to give to my clients when I show them the birds they so long to see.

We encountered several more birders coming in as we departed which is great because the Children’s Eternal Rainforest has taken a big blow from the lack of visitors (thank you COVID). It is great to know that so many people in Costa Rica are getting to see these birds and, at the same time, supporting the great work they do to protect their habitat

A day to remember indeed, let there be more…

Upland Sandpiper (Bartramia longicauda) has always been in my target list of Most Wanted Lifers. This odd looking sandpiper with small head, long neck and yellow bill, is found in areas with short grass. They are Boreal Migrants, their breeding grounds extend from the Great Plains in the USA to the Boreal Forest and Grasslands in Canada and Alaska. Their wintering grounds are in South America, in the pampa and wetland grasses of Argentina and Uruguay.

During Northbound and Southbound migration they come across Central America and this is where I’ve always been in the lookout for them.

Year after year I always followed the reports of Upland Sandpiper showing up here or there. In the lowlands of the Tropical Dry Forest in Guanacaste, the rice fields in Ciudad Neilly, the sporadic report at the Juan Santamaria International Airport, Ernesto Carman’s constant reports of migrating birds calling at night flying over Finca Cristina or even worst Patrick O’donell’s reports of flyovers in Santa Barbara de Heredia, only a few block away from home. All of the above I have always been too late or too far.

I even tried hard during my several visits to Ohio during the Biggest Week of American Birding, but again Upland Sandpiper proofed to be worthy of the title of Nemesis Bird.

I’m sure you fellow birders are familiar with the term. The one bird that always gets away, it was there just a minute ago, but you were too late to see it.

Well I have news for you Upland Sandpiper, it is over!

There was a report by fellow birders last week of a group of at least 4 individuals spotted at a field near Las Trancas in Liberia, Guanacaste.

The first reaction was take the car and drive like hell. But since I was coming to Guanacaste anyway for a family getaway I waited, hoping that the birds would stay. More reports kept coming as the days went by and finally yesterday we headed Northwest.

I should admit that I insisted that driving through Liberia was the wisest and fastest route (maybe that was not entirely true), but anyway everyone agreed with my advise.

I should take a moment to acknowledge the amazing network of birders in Costa Rica. All birders and birding guides alike share the information here, we help each other or at least that’s the case within my circle of friends and acquaintances. So I asked for info about the whereabouts of the birds and sure enough several friends sent me their directions, coordinates and audio messages with specific details, thank you all!

By a mere coincidence my fellow friend, guide and business partner Jehudy Carballo was also coming to Guanacaste for a day tour and we agreed on letting the other one know whenever we got there.

He got there first and called me right away, luckuly I was only 15 minutes away and after rushing from lunch I (and the whole family) was on the way to see my Lifer Upland Sandpiper.

Sure enough the bird turnout to be very easy to spot and in only 5 minutes I had pictures and all!

This morning I added Elegant Trogon, Thicket Tinamu and Nutting’s Flycatcher to the year list.

The Big Year goes on!

Cheers!

Hi, Diego here! birding in Costa Rica has been great lately!

It’s been a while, but it’s also been very busy!

After coming back from my holiday in Peru (more of that as soon as I have a chance) our birding trips started right away. We have ran over 10 round trips for the season, plus a number of Day Trips in Arenal and around the Central Valley.

As it now, Birding Experiences has completed 351 eBird checklists and reported 702 species for the year, 628 of which were spotted in Costa Rica. We are momentarily #4 for the Costa Rica eBird Top 100.

Although a great effort, is not just about the numbers, it is about the moments, the memories, the experiences and the people that was with you when you saw this or that bird.

During the last three months we had guided people from 5 different continents. Mostly from USA, Canada and UK, but also from countries like Belgium, China, Germany, South Africa and Australia.

In my first round trip for the year we operated a tour for our friends of Sabrewing Nature Tours from Ohio, USA. Before the trip we took Rob Ripma for a quick pre-trip scouting to some destinations in the North of the country, Cinchona, Caño Negro, Bijagua and Arenal.

Our itinerary for Friends of Holliday Park visited several great destinations for birding in Costa Rica. Tapanti National Park, Rancho Naturalist, El Copal and Savegre Valley and Bosque del Tolomuco in the Talamanca Mountain Range.

293 species of birds were recorded during our trip, some of the highlights include Sunbittern – which by the way was our first bird of the day in our first early morning – Sharpbill, Green-fronted Lancebill, White-crested Coquette, Coppery-headed Emerald, Snowcap, Wattled Jacana, Brown-billed Scythebill, Resplendent Quetzal, Fiery-throated Hummingbird, Red-headed Barbet, Long-tailed Silky-Flycatcher, Timberline Wren, Golden-browned Chlorophonia and Flame-throated Warbler to name a few.

The trip was a total success with lots of fun memories and enough laughter for a whole happy year.

Hope you enjoy some of the pics from the trip!

I was told that driving in Peru was madness, after driving about 1000 km, I can say that it is challenging indeed. 

We did a straight drive from Ica towards Lima. Our only stop on the way was probably 1 hour long, but it was for sure a very productive one in terms of Birding. 

Los Pantanos de Villa are well known as a must destination when it comes to Birding in Lima. 

Though a little rush since we were supposed to get to the airport, one hour proved to be enough to get 50+ species, a few of them Lifers. 

I first walked along Laguna Genesis where a nice number of wetland birds including Neotropical Cormorant, Common Gallinule, Pied-billed Grebe and Striated Herons we’re easily spotted, overhead hundreds of Franklin’s Gulls, several Black Vultures and a pair of Harri’s Hawks flying by. 

That is when my most wanted bird for the day, the Many-colored Rush Tyrant started to call from the reeds. I tried to spotted it for several minutes with no luck. Just as I was getting back to the admission building there it was a juvenile of which I got a few snapshots. I was happy that at least saw that one. 

A guide was supposed to join me and take me to the sand dunes by the beach where the Borrowing Owls hang out. They asked for five more minutes for the guide to get ready. 

While waiting I went back to the first little pond and for my surprise there it was a male MCRT, foraging in plain view.  I immediately started to shot and he continued minding his own business, YES!!!!!

Off to the owls, Nick my guide took me to the spot. When we first parked I was so impressed by the amount of shore birds, specially Franklin’s Gulls, 30 or maybe 40 thousand in front of my eyes. 

The Lifers kept pouring as we rushed to the owls 🦉 spot. Maybe my favorite one was the White-cheeked Pintail. 

All in all a well spend hour of rushed Birding, but I can’t complain, will share the eBird in another post. 

We made it through the nightmare that is driving across Lima, but forgot gas up the car. Well you can’t get them all! 

We are now in Cusco and it has been two very intense days of hiking to Laguna de Humantay (4200 meters above sea level) and Montaña de Colores (5000 mts). 

I’ve have managed to see and even photographed some Lifers and also old known birds from Colombia and Ecuador. 

More of our Birding Experiences Big Year in our next post. 

Diego

Hello everyone the Birding Experiences Experiences Big Year 2019 is on. On New Year’s Day I looked outside the window and my first bird of the year was a Peruvian Pelican flying low over the surf.

The day went by with a few more birds while driving South into Ica.

On January 02nd a most wanted pair of Lifers came by in the form of Humboldt Penguin and Inca Tern.

Hoping for a few more birds as I will drive back to Lima for our flight to Cusco.

The birds of the Andes await.

Happy New Year to all!

Diego