| Vol.
1, No. 3 October 2000
Let
the Migrations Begin
The
unofficial inauguration of this year's fall migration was held
on Sunday morning, July 29, at La Fortuna de San Carlos (near
Arenal Volcano) when Rafa Campos spotted a male Orchard
Oriole (Icterus spurius). Rafa called again
on the 31st to report a Western
Wood-Pewee (Contopus sordidulus) seen in Monteverde.
Both of these species are known to arrive in Costa Rica as early
as late July, so the sightings don't come as a great surprise,
but they are the first reports of northern migrants that I am
aware of this season.
My
first migrant sighting didn't come until August 20, when I picked
up a Louisiana
Waterthrush (Seiurus motacilla) along the Tuis
River while birding out of Rancho Naturalista with Paul Murgatroyd,
Nancy Newfield, and Andy Walker.
So
far (end of September), there haven't been very many rarities
reported. The most noteworthy items that have reached my attention
have been a Pine
Warbler (Dendroica pinus) seen on September
9, and a male Prairie
Warbler (Dendroica discolor) seen on September
25, by Ernesto Carman at his family's organic coffee farm just
east of Paraiso. The former is considered by the authors of A
Guide to the Birds of Costa Rica as an "accidental fall
visitor," based on ten sightings in 1976. Noheless, Ernesto
had an individual around the farm for several days in early October
1999, and I saw one while visiting Tortuguero on November 8, 1999.
The latter is known from more reports, but is still considered
a casual visitor, at best. (See the previous
newsletter for a report of a Prairie Warbler in Monteverde
last winter.)
On
September 17, an immature
Black-throated Blue Warbler (Dendroica caerulescens)
was found at La Virgen del Socorro during the Costa Rican Ornithological
Association's (AOCR) monthly outing. Like the aforementioned two
species, most individuals winter in the Caribbean islands with
only the odd bird straying to Central America.
Robert
Dean observed a female Cerulean
Warbler (Dendroica cerulea) in Montezuma in
early September. The Cerulean Warbler is more likely to be seen
in Costa Rica than the previous species, but Robert's bird on
the southern end of the Nicoya Peninsula is possibly a new record
for that part of the country (the field guide mentions only the
north and central highlands as Pacific slope sites for this species
when heading south in autumn).
It
will be interesting to see what the next two months hold in store
in the way of wayward migrants.
Shorebirds
Keep Out: Propiedad Privada
If
you've ever looked through the section entitled "Some Costa Rican
Birding Localities" at the back of the field guide, you may have
noticed entry number five:
"Coris.
Interesting wet pastures and marsh with volcanic hot springs .
. .."
Sounds
like it could be worth checking out, especially at this time of
year for a variety of migrating shorebirds (e.g., Upland Sandpiper,
Baird's Sandpiper, and Buff-breasted Sandpiper) that the field
guide mentions as occurring in the central highlands. So on September
10, my four boys, Robert Dean, and I drove out towards Cartago
to have a look. We (minus Robert) had actually been to this area
last October, accompanying Julio Sánchez and several members
of the AOCR in search of an Upland
Sandpiper (Bartramia longicauda) that had been
seen several days earlier but in its haste to reach South America
had apparently decided not to wait for us.
On
that particular outing we didn't perate very far into the valley
of Coris, so on our recent visit I decided to drive further up
the road and find the site described in the back of the field
guide. We reached the large pig farm known as La Granja Porcina
Americana after having passed seemingly endless expanses of shade
houses where the principal product appeared to be ferns. I got
out of the car and walked over to the guard at the entrance gate.
Even though it was a Sunday, there was obvious activity inside
the piggery. However, none of this energy rubbed off on the watchman,
who remained seated with his back to me during our entire conversation.
His refusal to grant us entry to check the sewage ponds (visible
several hundred meters back inside the compound) was countered
by the friendly advice offered by one of the workers who happened
to be standing near the gate: we could follow the road around
to the other side of the valley and approach from there.
We
attempted this, but could find no obvious entrance. Worse, we
could find no suitable-looking stopover habitat for migrating
shorebirds. As much as half of the valley is currently converted
to shade houses, and more are being built as you read this. Drainage
ditches channel the little remaining pastureland. As if this weren't
bad enough, there had been extremely scant rainfall in August
and at the time of our visit there was nothing that resembled
an "interesting wet pasture."
Mallard
Must Have Been Migrant
For
the past three years there has been a female Mallard
(Anas platyrhynchos) on the small pond at Las Concavas
(behind Lankester
Gardens). The field guide states that the last Costa Rican
record of this species was that of two females seen by Paul Slud
during the winter of 1950-51 in Turrialba. Given the possibility
that an individual of this species could well be a "barnyard"
bird, we had been dubious about this particular bird's validity
as a wild duck.
On
several visits, one or more of my sons walked down to the water's
edge to see what would flush. Inevitably, the Mallard would burst
into flight—showing not a single white feather anywhere—along
with the hundreds of teal, whistling-ducks, and whatever else
happened to be around. This behavior certainly seemed befitting
of a wild bird, but we figured the final proof would be to not
find the bird there during the northern breeding season.
Curiously,
two successive summer seasons slipped by without our (or anyone
else to my knowledge) going out to check on this bird. Finally,
on July 15, we paid a visit to the farm for this express purpose.
Leonardo walked the edge on two sides of the pond and no Mallard
flushed. We were only at Las Concavas for 45 minutes (checking
both ponds); though previously, when the Mallard hen was there,
we usually found her within the first five minutes of birding
the smaller pond.
Another
brief visit on the morning of August 19, with Paul Murgatroyd,
likewise produced no Mallard. So, all evidence considered, the
duck was very likely a "good" bird.
Rufous-necked
Wood-Rail Nests in Monteverde!
One
of the more hard-to-believe (but true!) reports I've heard in
quite a while came from Robert Dean who called me from Monteverde
in mid-August with news of a Rufous-necked Wood-Rail (Aramides
axillaris) that had nested at the Ecological Farm in Cerro
Plano. The habitats described in the field guide for this rare
species are mangroves (Gulf of Nicoya) and swamp forest (Caribbean
foothills and lowlands). The habitat where the Monteverde bird
was nesting is humid forest—a far cry from the two aforementioned
environments. The way I heard the story, the Rodríguez
family (who owns the farm) has videotape of the bird, which apparently
reared two fledglings.
Could
this be a range/habitat extension, or has this elusive wood-rail
just been overlooked in other habitats?
At
about the same time, there were also reports of Ochre-breasted
(Grallaricula flavirostris) and Scaled Antpittas
(Grallaria guatimalensis) being seen in the Monteverde
Cloud Forest Reserve, even right around the field station!
Speaking
of Scaled Antpitta, a nest was found at the Vista del Valle Restaurant,
above San Isidro del General, Pérez Zeledón. In
mid-August, Morris Quesada phoned to narrate his experience of
stopping for refreshments with a tour group enroute to points
south. The proprietor told Morris of an "antbird" that was nesting
in a tree fern near his house. Morris was incredulous when he
went to check it out and discovered that the nesting bird was
a Scaled Antpitta with two chicks in the nest!
Bob
French's Report
Back
in June, Bob French visited Costa Rica for a couple of weeks.
Prior to the trip, he had asked me some questions about birding
sites, and specifically the recently created Diriá National
Park in Guanacaste. Since I'd never been there (this country is
A LOT bigger than it looks on a map), I apologized for my lack
of familiarity with the site and asked him to let me know what
he discovered. Here's his report, along with some news from further
south:
"I
visited the Cerro Vista al Mar site mentioned in Stiles and Skutch
[#31]. I think it would be possible to access from the ocean side,
but close to impossible to figure out which road to use. I gave
up and drove up from Santa Cruz using directions in Stiles and
Skutch. It was an easy 4WD road. It's a pretty area. On the top
I found Rufous-browed Peppershrike (Cyclarhis gujanensis),
Yellow-billed Cacique (Amblycercus holosericeus),
Lesser Ground-Cuckoo (Morococcyx erythropygius),
and lots of Orange-billed Nightingale-Thrush (Catharus aurantiirostris),
which seemed out of place. To the east of the road, up the ridge
is a forested valley which I am guessing is part of the mythical
Diriá NP. At any rate, about 2/3 of the way up the road
is a sign indicating "Bosque Diriá" and pointing that way.
"Just
showing up and "paying at the door" worked fine at Los
Cusingos ($10). The Turquoise Cotinga (Cotinga ridgwayi)
showed up around 1p.m. in really bad light at the top of a tree.
Before I got a satisfying look, a Boat-billed Flycatcher (Megarhynchus
pitangua) chased it away.
"Off
the San Isidro - Dominical road is a dirt road that goes south
from Tinamaste (17 km from Dominical) along one of the ridges
of the Fila Costeña. This was a delightful road to bird,
with little patches of forest, small coffee plantations, and killer
views of the Pacific coast and a sizeable waterfall to the east.
Both mornings I birded this road, a flock of 15-20 large (noticeably
bigger than band-rumped) black swifts flew south around 7a.m.
I guess they were Black
Swifts (Cypseloides niger), perhaps using the
aforementioned waterfall. I also had a good look at a female Turquoise
Cotinga, to go with my poor look at a male. Anyway, since Domincal
is our favorite CR beach town, this road was a nice find."
Thanks
Bob, hopefully that info will be of use to other readers, and
also a stimulus for others to share their "discoveries."
Orotina
Owls Worth a Stop
For
nearly two years now, I have known about a Black-and-white Owl
(Ciccaba nigrolineata) that roosts in the park in
the center of Orotina—a now-forgotten little town just off the
road most people take to get to Carara
from San José. However, back in June, I finally made a
point of detouring into the town to have a look for myself (and
to hopefully show this handsome owl to Buzzy Pickren and his family
members who were traveling with me). At first, it looked like
we had picked the wrong day as municipal workers were doing some
heavy pruning of trees on the west side of the park. Fortunately,
we found the owl high up in a tree on the north side of the square.
As we admired it, someone noticed a second owl on a branch above
the first one!
Two
weeks later, on a family outing to Carara, we stopped in to check
on the owls and, sure enough, they were there. This time each
one was in a different tree, both on the west side of the park
(farthest from the church).
October
Is Count Time, Can We Count On You?
My
friend Koji Tagi recently sent me the following message, which
I gladly pass along to all of you, hoping that you will in turn
continue to spread the word:
Dear
friends/colleagues,
Please
circulate this message to your friends/colleagues who are interested
in birdwatching or nature conservation.
BirdLife
International, Wild Bird Society of Japan, and NTT-ME are organizing
the 6th World Bird Count in this October. We would like to extend
our invitation to our international friends.
As
in the previous World Bird Count, NTT-ME will kindly make donation
to the BirdLife International to help its conservation activities
in Asia in proportion to the reported number of bird species.
Therefore, please send in your birding reports to us. Please note
that the list of bird names needs to be from your birding activities
in October, 2000.
In
addition to the birding report, it is highly appreciated if you
send us "messages from waterbirds" which we will be presented
at the Workshop for Asia-Pacific Migratory Waterbird Conservation
Strategy to be held in Japan, 16-19 October, 2000. We appreciate
to receive your message by 5 October. The workshop is a milestone
meeting of the three flyway works (crane, anatidae, and shorebird
works) which are coordinated by Wetlands International and
the Migratory Waterbird Conservation Committee (MWCC). The WBSJ
has strong commitment to this project by proposing and coordinating
the crane work.
Please
send your birding lists and waterbird messages to us.
For
more detail, please kindly have a look at the web site: http://www.wnn.or.jp/wbc/
We
are looking forward to hear from you.
Sincerely
yours,
TAGI
Koji
International
World Bird Count coordinator
e-mail:
Ktagi@aol.com
On
behalf of
KOYAMA
Kazuo
International
Center
Wild
Bird Society of Japan
Email:
koyama@wing-wbsj.or.jp
Christmas
Bird Counts Aren't Far Off Either
Since
the next newsletter isn't due out until the start of next year,
I'll take this opportunity to pass along the dates and contact
info for the various CBC activities that traditionally take place
here in Costa Rica. All interested birders are welcome to participate.
Hope to see you out there!
Cartago:
9 - 10/12/00 Julio Sanchez <jesornis@racsa.co.cr
551-2509
Grecia:
17/12/00 Rafael Campos 444-6572
La
Selva: 30/12/00 Orlando Vargas ovargas@sloth.ots.ac.
766-6565
Monteverde:
22/12/00 Alex Villegas alexmont@racsa.co.cr
645-5343
What
People Are Saying About the GBN
Again,
I'd like to take a moment to collectively thank everyone who bothered
to send their comments following the last edition of the Gone
Birding Newsletter. Here's just a sample of what people are saying:
"Provides
further proof of the existence of black holes in our knowledge
of the Costa Rican avifauna." - Stephen Hawkins
"Shakespeare,
for all his starlings and sparrows, couldn't have said it better."
- Clive Barnes
"Picks
up where the Book of Revelations leaves off!" - John Paul II
"I
couldn't put it down." - Don Rickles
"Dad,
can I use the computer now?" - Daniel Garrigues
I
hope that you've enjoyed this newsletter and welcome any comments
at gonebirding@lycos.com
or if you're in Costa Rica, feel free to give me a ring at 293-2710.
Wishing
you all great birding,
Richard
Garrigues
http://www.angelfire.com/bc/gonebirding/index.html
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