Regular readers of this blog would know by now that I spent about a week and a half at the legendary Rancho Naturalista in Cartago, Costa Rica a couple months ago. Reviews of this place are suitably effusive; Lisa, Nikky, and the rest of the staff are warm and welcoming from before one even arrives at the lodge. Don’t even get me started on the food – there’s a dedicated page and I also made this video to periodically drool over.
Rooms are neatly nestled in the vegetated hillside, each morning light would trickle in as Violet Sabrewings and Stripe-throated Hermits patrolled the flowering plants. The latter was my first bird of the trip, closely followed by a Slaty-capped Flycatcher.
Morning view from the bed.
Mid-afternoon showers from the balcony, perched at 950m above sea level behind a warm cup of coffee.
Come for the birds, stay for the friendships kindled, they say. Today (as every day), we celebrate the birds encountered in this magical place – sprinkled with notes of encouragement to visit and enjoy a soul-pampering experience. When speaking of the birds at Rancho Naturalista, there is one that sits comfortably at the top of the list.
Everyone who visits Rancho Naturalista dreams of seeing a Snowcap. Encountering one is more or less guaranteed, photographing it properly is another story, however.
Conspicuous residents are Brown Jays and Montezuma Oropendolas. Occasionally a few Melodious Blackbirds may transit through the property. Red-billed Pigeons, White-winged Doves, and Grey-headed Chachalacas would accompany the jays and oropendolas as they collectively descended upon the feeders in waves throughout the day.
Brown Jay
Montezuma Oropendola
Melodious Blackbird
Red-billed Pigeon
White-winged Dove
Grey-headed Chachalaca
A neotropical birding lodge would be incomplete without a motmot, surely – and there are a few suspects lurking in the understory here.
Lesson’s Motmot, almost too close for comfort.
This Rufous Motmot was a near-silent observer of the human observers along one of the many trails around Rancho Naturalista.
On one early morning birding stroll, the unmistakeable sounds of a Keel-billed Toucan led us back from the trails to the main area where not one but three of these iconic Middle American birds were croaking sweet nothings across the valley from a bare tree above one of the main buildings.
Keel-billed Toucan
The trees were also replete with all manners of woodpeckers, woodcreepers, and even a xenops here and there. Migrant Red-eyed Vireos and various warblers also – there were so many North American visitors that they warrant their own post altogether.
Lineated Woodpecker
Hoffmann’s Woodpecker
Black-cheeked Woodpecker
Cocoa Woodcreeper
Streak-headed Woodcreeper
There was much movement in the understory, while this could oftentimes be attributed to mammalian activity, birds were equally responsible. Sparrows, doves, and Costa Rica’s very vocal national bird would invariably materialise for the patient observer.
Clay-coloured Thrush
Orange-billed Sparrow
Black-striped Sparrow
Cryptic wrens, ant-tanagers, and foliage-gleaners frustrated the photographer as they often refused to betray their position, opting to remain hidden or visible only in the densest, darkest parts of the understory. While the Fawn-throated Foliage-gleaner was a blurry beast in all of my photographs, I did manage to catch a few discernible frames of some of the skulking wrens.
I spied this White-breasted Wood-Wren from a bathroom window and hurriedly ran out in pursuit. Thankfully it was still interested in whatever it was tracking.
Bay Wren
Stripe-breasted Wren
A pair of Olive-backed Euphonias repeatedly interrupted our meals as they sought their own sustenance.
Deeper in the forest but still visible from the main dining area was this Yellow-throated Euphonia.
Buff-throated Saltator
Social Flycatcher
Grey-capped Flycatcher
Ochre-bellied Flycatcher
Mistletoe Tyrannulet
Colourful tanagers and hummingbirds always steal the show, however.
Scarlet-rumped Tanager
Crimson-collared Tanager
Blue-grey Tanager
Golden-hooded Tanager
Violet-headed Hummingbird
Bronze-tailed Plumeteer
Crowned Woodnymph
Green-breasted Mango
Rufous-tailed Hummingbird
Violet Sabrewing
White-necked Jacobin, making a statement
There were undoubtedly innumerable birds that I missed in my time there, but I trust you enjoy this liberal selection of Rancho Naturalista’s residents. As I mentioned earlier in this article, boreal migrants were aplenty and will be covered in a future article. Stay tuned, much more to come!
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