��FAR AFIELD by Linda Gartz Birding1 Immersion When I left forCosta st Rica to joina my species. Rica For the novice who would birding enthusiast friend,Katy, I did­ like a crash course in birding-who n't know the differencebetween a would like to be totally sucked into flycatcherand a thrush. The names the joys of stalking, hearing, find­ tanager, manakin, and trogon might ing, and identifying scores of just as well have been Swahili, and birds-nothing can beat a week in "rufous"was a word for which I had Costa Rica. no reference. I was an innocent-a We planned our tripfor the first virgin birder. But because Costa Rica week in May simply because that is a nature lover's paradise where a worked best with our kids' schedules. i:i stunning 28 percent of the land is Katy had organized the trip to go to g protected, I learnedin a spectacular two renowned birding location,s.The ! environment. firstwas Rancho Naturalista, a three- � S! I have returned after a week in hour drive fromSan Jose to the pre- a 8! Costa Rica not only wiser in the montane rainforest in the Caribbean � ways of exotic birds, but with a life zone at 3,000 feet. � list of more than 130 different Our second birding destination was Saveg- re Hotel de Montana, located in San Gerardo de Dota, a small com­ munity in the Talaman­ ca Mountains, three hours fromRancho i:i Naturalista. At an ele- g vation of 7, 220 feet, it � is considered a cloud � forestand home to a

A Costa Rican valley; a spectacular example of the country's diverse habitats. Costa Rica boasts more than 875 bird species.

98 birdwatchersdigest.com • JULY/AUGUST '07 • BIRD WATCHER'SDIGEST far left: A jungle walkway. Middle: A ferruginous pygmy-owl. Near left: The dry grassland of the Guana,aste Province in Costa Ri,a.

gallant display of mostly white tail feathers,spread out like a twirling skirt when they hovered, made them the easiest to identify. The brown violetear humming­ bird looked just brown until the ris­ ing sun revealed its eponymous marking-a dash of violet on each �...... ----.------��---.... birds that favorhigher elevations, @ h�lped me name was the n_iost ubiq­ side of its head that including the resplendent quetzal-a o mtous at Rancho-the white-necked protrudedlike little pur­ luminescent blue-green bird even I i Jacobin males. Their distinctive ple ears when the bird had heard about. We came armed ::i white spot on We booked this entire birding trip through Costa was defensive. with Stiles and Skutch's book, the throat Rica Gateway (costaricagateway.com) info at: Guide to the Birdsof Costa Rica, and [email protected] Feeding Frenzy which became our constant compan­A Phone: 888-246-8513 Our guide, Herman ion and reference. f.ax: (011-506) 433-4925 Vanegas, met us on the main building's porch Rancho Naturalista, southeast of San Jose in Why Costa Rico? at breakfasttime ( all the central Caribbean foothills: More than 875 bird species can be meals are included at ranchonaturalista.net Rancho, and the food is foundin Costa Rica, 400 of which Phone: 888-246-8513; book through Costa Rica have been spotted at Rancho Natu­ Gateway, per website plentiful, fresh, and ralista; Savegre lists 171 different deliciously prepared). It species. That many birds means aveg:'"':1hotel �-, located in San was 7 a.m., and we lots of opportunities to practice. Gera�do de Dota: began peppering him In Birding Basics, David Sibley savegre.c;:o.cr with questions, starting writes, "One shortcut to gaining Phone: 506-740-1028 with the humming­ experience is to go out in the field Fax: 506-740-1027 birds. It wasn't long with experienced bird-watchers." Clothing: Think layers; we went the first week in beforewe were tossing Our superb guides at both loca­ May, the beginning ef the rainy season, but had only a out names like crowned tions proved this over and over. day of rain. It's much less crowded than the more pop­ woodnymph, green­ ular earlier "high season" times. breasted mango, green Rancho Noturolisto Temperate clima,te in the foothills; take zip-off hermit,and one of our Our firstday, we awoke at 4:30 pants that become shorts; T-shirts, tank tops, and light favorites,the tiny (2� to beat the birds to the feedingsta­ jacket for morning to remove later; backpack to store inches) snowcap. tion. In the gray light we saw the water and extra clothing. Lightweight waterproof Below us, on several beginnings of the early avian (Gor-Tex) hiking boots are important. Even groomed short trees with hori­ arrivals. A few hummingbirds were trails ihave exposed roots, and, especially on Cerro zontally splayed already whirring and sipping at the >- Silencio, the ground was very rough, often muddy, branches, Rancho's four feedersplaced around the sec­ � and uneven with hidden holes from cows' hooves. staffhad laid out ond-story porch of the main build­ � Savegre is in the mountains and much cooler. We dozens of plantains for ing. Katy knew several humming­ � needed fleece jackets or vests most of the day; the scores of birds that � :raingear is a must.-L.G. bird species, and the firstone she 0._�������������...... ���� ...... came to peck and pull

100 birdwatchersdigest.com • JULY/AUGUST 'ITT • BIRD WATCHER'SDIGESf BIRD WAICHER'sDIGEST • Jmx/AUGUST'07 • birdwatchersdigest.com 101 at the fruit. It was a perfect introduc­ habitats. Frustration was reduced the mountaintop and identifiedour on our trip including yellowish, tion to identifying birds. In my first (but not eliminated) as we saw most firstbird-a tawny-capped euphonia. ochre-bellied, tufted, tawny-chested, hour of birding we saw more than birds we sought, and Herman always I learned to love the capped birds, so and olive-sided. Usually perched on two dozen species right there at the knew their names. jaunty and cool with their stylish and top branches, they stayed still a long feeders. colorful chapeaus, so aptly described time for us to observe their field The most common birds feeding Bird Coils and a key to identification. marks, then dashed offto catch an on the plantains were the Montezu­ Most often when Herman founda Later we saw a rufous-collared insect before returningto the same ma oropendolas, so named forthe bird, it was because he heard it first. sparrow. By this time I could apply spot. Lesson learned:Bird behavior pendulous nests they build that look Lesson learned: Recognizing calls is the term "rufous"with conviction, is a big clue to bird identification. like long sacks (up to six feet), and a crucial skill in becoming a success­ and moved on to zeroing in on the We met the farmer of this land, the gray-headed chachalaca, a ful birder. At first the air seemed notable fieldmarkings: striped wings, Marvin, who told us the lovely cotin­ brownish bird about the size of a filledwith disparate trills, whistles, gray belly, and, of course, rufouscol­ ga and quetzals weren't nesting there chicken and with a similar strut. tweets, and songs, but after repeated­ lar. It was starting to sink in. this year. The avocado trees they fed I was introduced to my firstfly­ ly hearing some of the bird songs, I In quick succession we saw a yel­ fromhadn't done well. We were only catchers and tanagers, a great actually began to differentiate.The low-bellied elaenia (I learnedit was a slightly disappointed. Afterall, we kiskadee with its plump yellow belly sound of a large twig cracking was kind of flycatcher),a slaty spinetail had seen so much. and white feathers forminga crown the song of the white-crowned man­ (rufouscrown and wings), and a On the long trek down the moun­ around its otherwise black head, a akin. A single whistle alerted Her­ male tropical parula (we noted his tain we saw a red-facedspinetail and white-crowned parrot, a black­ man that a dark pewee wasn't far yellow belly, black mask, and bicol­ a paltry tyrannulet with yellow wing cheeked woodpecker, and a masked away. A gurgling plopping sound, ored bill. I also learnedthat he's a bars, more flycatchers,and the tityra, to name just a few. rather like large drops of water drip­ species of warbler, which meant he masked tityra again. We relived our Being close to birds that basically ping into a metal water-filled bowl never sat still). The male golden­ hiking and birding adventure over stayed in one location forminutes meant that a Montezuma oropendola browed chlorophonia was a cheery dinner and prepared to leave Rancho made learning easy. We could get a was near. treat. This stout little guy has a bright the next day. sense of the way they moved and to To attract a bird he had heard, yellow streak above his eyes-the On Wednesday afternoonwe said see them fromdifferent angles. It Herman played a tape recording of supercilium (a good addition to a goodbye to Herman fromwhom gave our guide a chance to talk about its call. Listening over and over, we novice birder's vocabulary). He was we'd learnedso much and began our them in detail. I was beginning to became better at recognizing the colored as if someone grabbed a can three-hour drive to the higher eleva­ absorb the vocabulary of a birder. songs, but I was a long way from of sky blue paint and daubed it on his tion of Savegre de la Montana. competence. The white-breasted head, then stroked yellow above his On the Trail with on Expert wood wren is the bane of the bird lis­ eyes and on his belly, and finally, Sovegre de lo Montono Every day was total immersion in tener-it has eight different calls. I mixed the two cans to makea clear The next day, after a 6:30 break­ practicing the skills needed to bird never got that one straight. green and painted his back, tail, and fast,we met our legendary guide, watch. It was rather like a hunting throat. Marino Chacon, whose fatherhad expedition. We moved quietly and Field Marks We moved fromboggy pasture to discovered this mountain valley in stealthily, always listening and scan­ On our third day we headed up dense jungle where we crossed gur­ the 1950s. At 53, Marino combined ning the foliagefor movement. We Cerro Silencio (Silent Mountain) gling streams on slick rocks and fall­ the savvy and knowledge of a man often lured our prey with taped bird hoping to catch sight of the lovely en trunks, finallyarriving at an open who began learningabout the birds at songs or calls, and we shouldered cotinga (the name alone had a magi­ pasture. We gratefully sat down on age 17 with the enthusiasmof a kid. scope and binoculars to get a bird in cal ring) and perhaps a resplendent the bumpy ground to eat not far from He was a walking index to every bird our sights. But without Herman we quetzal, both of whom prefer higher a group of cows and their calves. We we saw, calling out its plate and would have been at a total loss. elevations. spotted a tropical flycatcher and number frommemory in our Guide Being in the company of an expert With each bird identified, I noted the wing bars (another new to the Birds of Costa Rica. was key to my learningand enthusi­ learned more about fieldmarks, word that I got to practice over and On our firstday we joined a group asm forthe hobby. Herman knew those detailed traits that distinguish over during the week). of three other birders and drove up to where to find the birds; he was famil­ one bird fromanother. We headed up We came to love the flycatchers, 8,000 feet. At this elevation, we no iar with their calls, their habits and through pasture beforethe sun broke and observed more than 20 species longer were in jungle as we had been

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'07 • Habits and Habitats branch about 20 feetaway fromthe at Rancho N aturalista, where we firstglance, but the extra time meant I As we crossed the bridge over nest. Her colors were iridescent, dressed in shorts and T-shirts. Here could notice the white wing patch and the churning Savegre River, we saw sometimes emerald green, sometimes we wore fleece.Palms with leaves rump and the streaked breast. I was two birds whose names reflect their blue-green as her covert feathers the size of tabletops were few, and beginning to feel more competent. affinity forwater. The American wrapped around her breast like wide­ trees tended to be deciduous. Moss dipper sat on rocks by the stream, spread fingers. We stared at her in awe and fems were still common, but not Field Marks at Savegre hopping around for insects. foras long as 10 minutes. She seemed as abundant. "Let's stay in this open Marino was determined that we Moments later we saw the torrent to be posing regally, as if to say, "Yes, area," Marino advised. "It's easier to would not just see a bird, but would tyrannulet, a tiny bird sitting on a I am truly gorgeous; admire me." We see the birds." He was right. A couple identify its essential fieldmarks. In big rock flicking its tail, then mak­ moved around fora more frontalview minutes later we spotted a band­ the afternoonwe were making our ing bold sallies perilously close to and saw the white and black stripes on tailed pigeon and an olive-sided fly­ way to a quetzal nest when Marino the surging water in quest of its the underside of her tail and the bright catcher. Marino identifiedthe musi­ stopped near a mass of bushes. "A prey. These birds prefer hunting red on her belly. cal song of the ruddy-capped yellow-thighed finch.You see it?" he insects near water, so we wouldn't Minutes after she flewaway, the nightingale-thrush. Within moments, asked. "Look for the yellow thighs." have mistaken them foranything male flewin, startling in his beauty. Marino had found him, and all binoc­ Many times I caught a glimpse of the similar that prefers,say, hunting His magnificenttail hung iridescent ulars snapped into focus onits cute bird, but not the yellow thighs. He from trees or eating berries. blue-green as he, too, sat forminutes. rusty crown. kept after us. After about five We saw many aptly named spot­ When he lifted off,he moved As we moved to another open attempts, I saw puffythighs as yel­ ted-crowned woodcreepers poking through the air like a kite, his body space, we saw an acornwoodpecker, low as a ripe banana-the only speck around forinsects in the clinging and tail undulating in graceful, glit­ who sat cooperatively forminutes on of color on this all black bird. I'll moss or tree bark. It was impossible tering green waves. The parents the top of a dead tree branch so we never forget them. to get a scope on them because they returnedrepeatedly, bringing firsta could observe every feature. Its red darted so swiftly fromone spot to dragonfly, then a beetle, then a grub forehead and crown were obvious at another, sometimes hanging upside to feed their babies, always pausing down on limbs, sometimes moving firstfor minutes on a nearby tree. horizontally or vertically, busily When the male finallydisappeared foraging. into the nest, his tail hung out like a shimmery ribbon. The Resplendent Quetzal Marino knew just where to look More Birds and Perseverance for the resplendent quetzal. This land After our quetzal fest, we felt we that Marino's fatherhad discovered had seen one of the world's most glo­ and nurtured 50 years ago is now a rious birds. But Marino actually got natural preserve. About 20 quetzal more excited about birds he hadn't pairs nest here, and Marino knew the expected to findfor us, like the fer­ location of at least one nest. We had ruginous pygmy-owl. He heard it our hopes set on seeing perhaps one calling whoo, whoo, whoo and called quetzal but we got way more than we back. The nervous chatter fromother bargained for. birds was another tipofffor where to At the nest-a hole about 20 feet look. "They're upset because of the up the side of a tree trunk-there were owl," Marino said. We followedhim no quetzals in sight. "We will wait," down hills and up, stopping and lis­ Marino said. "They will come to feed tening, Marino making owl calls for the babies. The male and female take a good 20 minutes until we came to a turns."About 15 minutes later, in flew clearing. the femalequetzal, perching on a "I've got it!" He beckoned to us with urgency and enthusiasm.

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106 birdwatchersdigest.com "Come, come, come. Oh, this is a good bird.So unusual to see it at this elevation." And he trained his scope high up in a tree. The owl sat there, like a brown-and-beige puffball, only six inches high, turningits head 180 degrees and causing a ruckus among its would-be prey. Marino's persever­ ance had paid off. The trip provided the unexpected, like the owl, and the expected, like parakeets. I learned that parakeets tend to fly in flocks,usually screech­ ing as they go, so pretty soon I'd look up, train my binoculars, and shout out, "Sulphur-winged parakeets." We saw emerald toucanets (a mostly green tiny version of a toucan) eating fruit in the trees, and a buff-fronted quail-dove, which Marino said he hadn't seen there in years. But for me everything was new, fromthe birds themselves to learning the joys of birding. Shortly after my returnto the Chicago area, I was leaving a bakery one morningwhen my ears picked up the distinctive sound of bird song. It was a series of lovely notes mov­ ing all over the scale range. I scanned the tree planted on the sidewalk until I saw a diminutive bird, brown­ stripedbelly, and a beautiful red throat. Another similar in size but without the red throat landed nearby. "Probably the female," I thought. I tried to memorize the markings so I could look it up when I got home. "I'll have to bring along binoculars next time I go out," I said to myself. I paused to ponder my new way of thinking. Birding immersion had taken hold . .A

Linda Gartz is a writer, and docu­ mentary and video producerwho lives in Evanston, Illinois.

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