randombirder

It's been a bit of a frustrating weekend trying to catch up with some local scarce winter visitors.  It started well enough after a short search at Pitstone Hill, a 'chacking' sound alerted me to the lovely male Ring Ouzel on the western slopes.  Feeding alone, it allowed decent views before flying off toward the sheep pens. This was followed by a cold fruitless vigil at Brogborough for the Great Grey Shrike that inconveniently disappeared from its usual haunt.  There was a decent flock of around 250 Lapwing with Red Kite , Buzzard , and Kestrel all present in the area. I then headed over to Priory CP for the Ring-necked Duck that too disappeared from view until it finally emerged from cover with a small group of Tufted Duck on Fingers Lake.  The area here looked great with good views of Kingfisher , and other common wildlife such as Shoveler , Gadwall , and Shoveler . It felt like hard work today, but nice to be out and about despite the gloom.

My first proper birding trip of the year and it turned out to be a bit frenetic.  A lazy start meant arriving just before 11am didn't really give me enough time to do the place justice. It is a fabulous reserve, the water body is vast so it can take a bit of time to get around. The highlights of a productive day were a female Common Scoter off the dam.  There were numerous Goldeneye in this area and a single drake Goosander . Heading off to Old Hall, the Red-necked Grebe was located a fair distance away but was distinctive by its shape and size.  A Turnstone flew low across the water. The last stop was the main reserve centre at Egleton.  The light was fabulous and the views across the bay were perfect.  A group of Smew comprising a drake and five redhead serenely passed by the far edge of the lagoon as viewed from the Mallard hide.  The drakes are stunning birds. Five Great Egret were in the area.  A minumum count of 17 Goosander were seen from here.  A ma

A poignant reminder how climate change is affecting the delicate rainforest ecosystems.  This sign was displayed within the Monteverde Cloud Forest. "Only fifteen years ago at this spot you could hear the sound of frogs.  Do you hear any today?   This cloud forest and all its magic is being transformed at an accelerated rate, and some of its inhabitants have not been able to adapt to such rapid change.  This is what happened to the legendary Golden Toad.  In 1987, more than a thousand individuals were observed, but by 1989 only a few individuals were found. None have been seen since. It was here in Monteverde where it was announced to the world that " Climate change has a direct relationship with the disappearance of species ""

This was the relaxing part, time spent on the beach and a few walks within the National Park.  The entrance was located at the end of the town and barely 100m from the accommodation. The beaches were lovely. Cahuita National Park held plenty of interesting wildlife such as the Howler Monkey, White-face Monkey, Sloth, and Racoon.  Birdlife was disappointingly sparse, but there were a few interesting things knocking around. Slaty Antshrike Three-toad Sloth Brown Basilisk Hawk sp. Common Opposum White-faced Monkey Raccoon Postman Butterfly Black-cheeked Woodpecker Royal Tern Little Blue Heron Northern Jacana Tropical Kingbird Bananaquit Bird Tennessee Warbler Golden Hooded Tanager Great-tailed Grackle

There's plenty to offer in La Fortuna and barely 500m from the centre of town is the Bogarin Trail presenting a great opportunity to see Sloth. This was our first real sighting and a real treat as this individual was palpably racing down a tree to presumably perform its weekly ablutions. Then there were two together in a single tree.  One was having a good old scratch.  Gorgeous creatures. The birdlife here was great too.  A couple of Black-mandibled Toucan posed beautifully along one of the trails. Black-mandibled Toucan Chestnut-sided Warbler White-throated Magpie Jay Of course there's the volcano that rises high beyond the town but its splendour can be cryptically hidden by a swirl of low cloud. It is a sight to behold. The food here is great too.  A wide selection of restaurants to serve a profusion of tourists that pass through the town.   The local dish is Casado, an incongruous assorted of foods c