Costa Rica, walking in the clouds!

From Arenal to Monteverde, a long drive.

From vulcano grasslands / forests to cloud forests, a different ecosystem with different birds.

Monteverde is a small community in Puntarenas, located in the Cordillera de Tilarán.

Roughly a four hour drive from the Central Valley, and you know when you are in the region by the condition of the road: gravel!

Luckily we drove a 4WD. So we drove for an hour or more on the mountain roads and suddenly a big bird soared in front of us. Big, black and a typical red ugly non-feathered head: the turkey vulture. 

It soared for more than 10 seconds in front of us and then it disappeared in the valley below of us.

Its relative, the black vulture is shorter winged and tailed and has a different color pattern on the wings beneath: the turkey vulture's flight feathers on the wings appear to be silvery-gray beneath, contrasting with the darker wing linings. The black vulture's bases of the primary feathers are white, producing a white patch on the underside of the wing's edge, which is visible in flight.

Both beautiful birds, soaring the Costa Rican skies eyeing carrion.

At last we arrived in the lodge at the borders of the Monteverde city. A lodge, settled between trees and bushes, full of birds, butterflies and lizards. One tree especially struck me, I counted a lot of species of birds in it at first glance: amazone parrots, woodpeckers, grackles, different tanagers (summer, blue-grey, blue-necked) and even a turkey vulture in the top.

Amazone parrots, I never saw them on the wild and I was curious which Amazone species it was.

Its white-feathered forehead and thick red colouring around the eyes identified it as the white-fronted amazone. A Monteverde beauty.

When I examined the bushes in the garden the next day 2 amazones flew away from the bushes: loud and wing-flapping. Finally I came up, close and personal with a Central American bird I always wanted to meet in the wild. As most amazones, an acrobat on the branch, using its beak and legs to do crazy movements. I really enjoyed myself that early morning.

That afternoon we went ziplining in the cloud forests, an experience I can recommend.

Something I wanted to do for a long time, ever since I heard the stories of zip-lining researchers during my biology study.

As you may know, the flora and fauna in the canopy are completely different than on top of the forest: different insects and butterflies (blue morpho) , other plants living on the trees and a better sighting of birds including tanagers and high flying parrots.

 That brings me to the hummingbirds of Monteverde, but that will be the next story.

Costa Rica, going Volcano!

From the Caribbean it was now time for the Arenal region in central Costa Rica.
Arenal Volcano National Park is a Costa Rican national park in the central part of the country, forming the Arenal Tilaran Conservation Area. The park encompasses the Arenal Volcano, which "was" the most active in the country, which had previously been believed to be dormant until a major eruption in 1968. It neighbors Lake Arenal, which is the site of the country's largest hydroelectricity project, the Lake Arenal Dam.
Waking up by hummingbirds and viewing the Arenal Volcano is quite an experience.
A quiet hotel, but the scenery and birdlife were grand.
From our hotelroom hummingbirds were seen feeding from nectar, while a local squirrel was trying to get into the hotelrooms.
A logical bird to introduce here is the Quetzal, but I didn't see the bird, so I will focus on 3 other species:
the rufous-collared sparrow, the rufous-tailed hummingbird and the summer tanager.

Our first bird, a fine sparrow, was very present during breakfast, stealing food whenever possible.
Fast wing-flapping birds, but not afraid and a strong voice, singing from the top of a tree.
From a distance you could think it's a house sparrow. 
However, the house sparrow belongs to the genus Passer (family Passeridae) and the rufous-collared sparrow is a member of the genus Zonotrichia (family Emberizidae).
Seeing it closer it also looks more like relatives from the family Emberizidae. 
A joy to observe.

The rufous-tailed hummingbird is a bird you first hear and then see. The call reminded me of the wren.
Quick moving feeding on nectar it went from flower to flower. But I also saw it was territorial, bullying 
away other hummingbirds. Something I also saw in the future in Monteverde.
I have read this is one of the causes these birds are difficult to keep in aviaries. This always wondered me, 
because I did not see them in Burger's Zoo in my hometown Arnhem.
A great bird to see for a beginning hummingbirder!

Last but not least, the summer tanager, a winterguest from North-America. What a red color in the green canopy.
When seeing, you immediately recognize it.
Surprisingly, the first time I saw it (first heard the robin-like call), I thought I saw an escaped red canary 
(brings back memories), but bigger.
Tanagers are an unknown family to me, and I never thought they were so big with strong beaks.
Summer tanagers feed on wasps and bees which were abundant, but I did not see it.
Unfortunately I also didn't see the mustard-colored females. Next time!

Just a glimpse of the birds I saw. Next time Monteverde!