Around Madre Selva

For some context here are some photos from around our site and lodging in the mountains:

Just outside the door is one of many fenced in cow pastures:


We run into cows everyday, and do our best not to slip n slide through cow pies. I just wanted to scratch their noggins! (My outfit is a result of it being the first afternoon at elevation, I was confused and was transitioning into cold weather gear, ok?!)


Our banding site called LAKE.






We found an asian market in San Jose, which aided greatly in the production of something other than rice and beans! Like these Spicy PB/sesame noodles.

Thanks for all the birthday wishes!

Though I had only seen my first the day before, on our last day of banding at Madre Selva we managed to catch three Magnificent Hummingbirds, two males and a female! They are monstrous, blinged out birds.

White-throated Spadebill

We're back in San Jose now, then off to Tortuguero tomorrow, where we'll meet up with Amanda's grandma and friends! This is the grandmother that went out banding with us in Bolinas over the summer and was gracious enough to lug a new lens down here for me, THANK YOU BEE!

Good times in the mountains! A few new species caught and seen, including Magnificent Hummingbirds, Long-tailed Silky Flycatchers, a Buff-fronted Quail Dove, and Slaty Flowerpiercers.

This was definitely the bird of the week though. It was the first of the day on a really windy morning and none of us had even seen one in the times we'd been up at Madre Selva, so it was obviously a winner.

White-throated Spadebill

Not here, but there

Folks, we will be here tomorrow:


And maybe go here too (a lake with Torrent Tyrannulets):


But will be leaving here (and the internet) for a week:


By the 17th, not only will I be older, but I will have a NEW NEW NEW lens!

Back

We're back! For the last week we have been banding at our chilly high elevation site, called Madre Selva. It was an awesome change in scenery, temperature, and birds from Tortuguero, and we had rooms to ourselves!

The land we stay and work on is owned by our boss's family and has only been operated as a banding site for a two or three years. The first house was our humble abode for the week, kept warmish (not at all) by a tiny wood stove.






Another plus to this site were the higher capture rates. Though we weren't rolling in birds, there were definitely a lot more caught and aside from a few of the warblers, they were, of course, new to me. Again, I found myself desperate for my 400mm of lens with every Flame-throated Warbler and Brush-finch I saw, but was forced to settle on in-hand pictures for now.

Collared Redstart


White-throated Mountain-gem


Chestnut-capped Brush-finch