Bound For Tranquilo

Seven years. It's been seven years since I have had my face melted off by Resplendent Quetzal, seven years since being crippled by an appropriately large and diverse rainbow of tanagers. Seven years since my bones have felt the BONK of a Three-wattled Bellbird. Seven years since I experienced pura vida.

Going so long without pura vida is excruciating. I have been withering, on the inside and out. Luckily, MAX REBO BIRDING TOURS has seen fit to send me back to Costa Rica in a few days, with a focus on Caribbean slope birds. The itinerary is mainly composed of sites we did not get to previously, though some sites are too good and too conveniently located to pass up again.

Target birds will be many and varied for our group. Speaking for myself, I have plucked most of the low-hanging fruit already, but the number of potential realistic lifers that await is well above 100. Bare-necked Umbrellabird and Yellow-eared Toucanet are certainly too rare to expect (but expected enough to look for), so other than those Sunbittern, Agami Heron, Snowy Cotinga and Ocellated Antbird definitely come to mind as top targets that could induce facemelt/cripple/seizures/spontaneous combustion/final birdgasm if seen. But who am I kidding, there is a good chance less-hyped species like Uniformed Crake, nunbird and Song Wren could leave me in a state of catatonic wonder.

And then there is the Collared Plover, my Neotropical nemesis. If you ask me, we have a better chance of finding 27 Rufous-vented Ground-Cuckoos than a single Collared Plover, which are documented to be 50,000,000,000 times more common and easier to see for any other birder. It's embarrassing and shameful to admit, but at the same time the only birder without a nemesis is a dead one.

Sorry, I can't help but get a touch dark when Collared Plover comes up. A number of other living legends like This Machine, Coolidge (who is a person, not just a Descendents song), and BB&B's own Cassidy have recently just stumbled out of the steamy jungles of Costa Rica or are still there, sweating and lurching and having chunks of superheated face slough off their heads from constant exposure to great birds. It's the place to be this winter.

The owl highlight of the previous Costa Rica Trip was this Black-and-white Owl, which remains the only one I've ever seen. It was shown to us by Moncho, a security guard at Cerro Lodge. This time we have an owling trip lined up at Cano Negro with the near-mythical Chambita, so fingers are extra crossed for Striped Owl and other night lurkers.

Love geri birding? So does Max Rebo Birding Tours! I think on this trip I'm going to try to take photos of birds that are obviously on feeders instead of attempting shots of birds that don't have feeders or fruit in the frame. La Cinchona has excellent geri birding that features Emerald Toucanets, and we will be checking in on them soon.

Geri birding can often reward one with excellent looks at Green Honeycreepers, a bird that needs to be seen up close, and let me tell you I am ready to sit on my ass and watch a Green Honeycreeper eat a goddamned banana. This one was attending a geri station at Talari Mountain Lodge.

I actually don't expect to see Flame-colored Tanagers on this trip, but I do expect to see other fantastic birds doing unexpected stuff like hopping around in parking lot rubble with the wariness of a Safeway Brewer's Blackbird.

BB&B will be back in March. Until then, take care, and be wary of stringers.

Last of the Talamancas

Well, I haven't been birding hella lately. I know that's not what you want to hear, since I am a birding hero and all. EBird has been getting little love from me, as has eCreosote ("Do you eCreosote?"). Not having a Perpetual Weekend really gets in the way of scouring the earth for Vague Runts. So instead of posting uncrushy, nonrare things I thought I would dip into my everlasting Costa Rica cache. As readers know, I was there for a few weeks 2012-2013 and saw hella birds (which, as I've said, I've not been seeing lately), and I can't ever seem to finish posting the whole trip on here. So here is to the tranquilo times.

Dan found this crippling eye-fucker above the Savegre Lodge, in the Talamancas. We had decent looks at them before at Paraiso Del Quetzales, but this bird was low and unobstructed. Holy shit, what a bird. Just looking at these photos makes me want to utter endless strings of expletives. It is truly something to behold.

The length of the tail is staggering. How can such a thing exist, let alone thrive? Nature is a humbling thing. Oh, this is a Resplendent Quetzal, in case you were still wondering.

Last time I posted a photo of this bird it was called a Sooty-capped Bush-Tanager. Now it is called a Sooty-capped Chlorospingus, which is silly but at least it's a good "birder's bird" sort of a name. Anyways, if you run into a flock of these in the highlands of Costa Rica, be sure to sort through them for other goodies with better names and more rarity.

Hey! It's a Steely-vented Hummingbird! I don't know too much about this species, we only had them at a few sites. Obviously, they are attractive and I wish to see more of them.

In the canyon up the road from El Toucanet Lodge, we saw this Red-faced Spinetail building a massive and ridiculous nest overhead. As it was a lifer that day, it came as a total shock that such an unassuming bird was into constructing such grandiose, fuck-off nests. But hey, I was surprised the first time I saw a Bushtit's nest too.

Flame-colored Tanager is one of my favorite tropical birds, as they are a of a likeable abundance, don't skulk and make me happy when I look at them.

Many of Costa Rica's crippling tanager species will come to feeders, and Flame-colored is no exception. This one was in a parking lot though, I'm not sure what it was doing besides cleaning it's bill on that railing.

To the tune of Black-faced Solitaires (a lovely tune), Don Mastwell surveys the Talamancas.

White-throated Mountain-Gem is another winning hummingbird to be found in the Talamancas. The feeders at the Savegre Lodge was the only place we had them. We did not stay at Savegre, which was quite large and seemed like an actual resort, but I can't deny the nearby birding opportunities it has to offer.

I know it looks satanic with the eyes flashed like this, but this is actually a lovely bird. Quite the crippler at the right angle, as you can probably surmise.

Ochraceous Wren is a good-looking bird as well...not that you can tell from this photo. Who wouldn't like an orange wren that only dwells at mid to high elevations?

This is the commonest sparrow in Costa Rica, which is insane because it looks better than practically every sparrow in the U.S...and it's a Zonotrichia, of all things. Rufous-collared Sparrows galore in Costa Rica.

Not that I remember what they sound like anymore, but I recall being quite chuffed when serenaded at close range by these birds...but like White-crowned Sparrows here in California, you can only handle so much of a good thing when you are trying to find less abundant things.

After the Talamancas, Dan and I lurked south toward San Vito, to meet up the Dave Spag and Leslie Tuc. Lifers were to be had, a weird rodeo was to be attended, and much cheap, ineffective beer needed to be consumed. It might take another three (3) months for BB&B to get there, but get there we must.

A Stout Year

Resplendent Quetzal is one of the top contenders for Most Facemelting Bird of 2013...the mind reels. Photographed above the Savegre Lodge in Costa Rica.

2013 has come and gone...that was quick. There is no doubt other blogs in the Birdosphere have done some recaps of the year (Neil Hayward is the champ...Bell's and Sagebrush Sparrows...Rufous-necked Wood-Rail...Zino's Petrel birder politics and subsequent redemption...yadda yadda). Of course, you know all that stuff, so why rehash it? No, you came here for one reason...# 7.

For years now, I've been almost-enthusiastically year listing, more as a way to get out and birding and exploring new places than anything else...in other words, its fun but neither competitive or intense. It is a very good way to spend a Perpetual Weekend. In 2012 I finished with ~579 (birding in California, Florida, and Costa Rica), and this year it looks like I will be finishing with ~690 (Costa Rica, California, North Carolina). 690 is by far the highest year list I've ever had, and I'm pretty happy about that...of course, I could have gotten to 700 with just a little more luck (not dipping as much, having a better fall for vagrants in the bay area, one more day of landbirding in North Carolina).

700 will have to wait another year though, and I have a feeling it won't be 2014...but you never know. Without further delay, here is this leading birder's breakdown of 2013.

Number of new life birds: I don't know. Probably somewhere over 200? Costa Rica was insane.

Number of new ABA birds: 11 (8 in North Carolina, 3 in California).

Number of new California birds: 14 (including armchair ticks), with 4 in December!

Best lifer: This is hard. I saw so many. Copious lifers in 2013. Fork-tailed Flycatcher was something I'd yearned for for as long as I have been birding. Little Bunting was HUGE (not literally). Trindade Petrels brought the stoke. A rainbow of new hummingbirds were seen in Costa Rica. There's too many to choose from.

Best birder scandal: Although I really enjoy what is happening over here, it is no doubt the implosion of the San Diego birding scene (which resulted in the local listserv being completely abandoned for one operated by a different faction) and subsequent internet combat in San Diego, much of which went on behind the scenes. Remember "Todd Ingress", the fictional blind birder? Lines have since been drawn in the sand. WHOSE SIDE ARE YOU ON????

Bear witness to this vulgar display of endemism. Island Scrub-Jays were my constant companions for the spring and summer of 2013, even though I was not researching them. Santa Cruz Island (where else?), CA.

Best ABA bird: Little Bunting. I squeezed much satisfaction out of looking at this bird.

Best North Carolina bird: Trindade Petrel. Huge bonus bird.

Best California bird: Red-necked Stint on the LA River. Not the rarest, but it was number 500 for my state list. It was also number 500 for Officer Adam Searcy, who chased the bird with me. That makes us bird-married.

Best northern vagrant: Trumpeter Swans at Modoc National Wildlife Refuge (above). They are expected here in the winter so aren't vagrants per se, but the first time we saw them was an awesome experience. How to sum it up? State bird, majesty, spectacular sunset, serenaded by pleasant trumpeting, pleasant friends...followed by affordable beer and disgusting Basque food.

Best pelagic vagrant: Great Shearwater (off Half Moon Bay, in San Francisco County).

Best Siberian vagrant: I've already mentioned Little Bunting and Red-necked Stint...how about Arctic Loon? I was stoked to see the one wintering in Monterey (a state bird) after I returned from Costa Rica last January.

Best eastern vagrant: Hudsonian Godwit (Napa).

I have had a hell of a time photographing Gray Hawk over the years, despite living in southeast Arizona and spending a good amount of time in other places where they are easy to find (south Texas, Mexico, Costa Rica). I finally had some good luck last week with the bird in Carpinteria, CA...but I was robbed from the opportunity for even crushier shots (see below).

Best Central American Vagrant: Gray Hawk (first California record, Santa Barbara County.

Worst birder experience: A few days ago I was driving up to Oakland from SoCal and saw the Gray Hawk hanging out in its usual spot on Highway 101. The light was perf. I pulled over to crush it, making sure to give it plenty of space so it wouldn't flush into the side of a semi or something. As I got the bird in the viewfinder and was literally focusing on it, a black car pulled off the freeway and parked right next to the bird. You can guess what happened next, and the bird actually flew uncomfortably close to a moving truck that happened to be passing by. The car immediately left after flushing the bird. I was fucking pissed. To whoever you are, you are a dick, and I hope your year is filled with nothing but House Sparrows and feral pigeons.

I was really looking forward to meeting this bird in 2013...it did not disappoint. Fiery-throated Hummingbird is another candidate for Most Facemelting Bird of 2013. Photographed at Paraiso Del Quetzales in the Talamanca Mountains of Costa Rica.

Most facemelting bird: Fuck. I was in Costa Rica. Was it the quetzal? Was it Bay-headed or Speckled Tanager? Fiery-throated Hummingbird? I can't decide.

Worst dip: Dipping on "guaranteed" Masked Ducks in Costa Rica. Ouch. Dipping on Snowcap at one of the best sites for them in Costa Rica also wrought significant pain.

Worst overall miss: I did not see a longspur of ANY SPECIES in 2013. Sigh.

Worst birding experience: Breaking my birdcrusher for the second time in a year by having it detach from its strap and slam onto a sidewalk. This prevented an aggravating number of crushes in the subsequent weeks (Bald and Golden Eagles, Ferruginous and Rough-legged Hawks, Northern Goshawk, Prairie Falcon, Trumpeter Swans, etc.).

Worst day of birding: Going to Outer Point Reyes in early September and seeing exactly one (1) migrant bird, a Western Wood-Pewee. Life was pain.

Best Raptor: The Black-and-white Owl at Cerro Lodge in Costa Rica.

Best birder experience: Watching "Stilt" break down into tears when she did not get to see a Streak-chested Antpitta that the rest of us got to see. It was incredible...and don't worry, she saw it a few minutes later. A very close second was Officer Jon Dunn telling me that I am not fit to serve on the CBRC (because I don't "support the committee", not because I suck). The kicker is that although he was talking to me, about me, he did not recognize me for the person he was talking about...who does that?

Band-rumped Storm-Petrel was one of many lifer pelagic birds off North Carolina last August. I was stoked to get so much boat time this year, off both coasts. Being a leader on Shearwater Journeys trips was a lot of fun and I hope to do it again next year. Oh, I got seasick and puked for the first time this year, that was cool.

Best hybrid: Not rare by any means, but I looked at hella American X Black Oystercatcher hybrids in Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties. It's good practice.

Best bourbon: As with every year, I tasted many a bourbon this year...but I think Broken Bell is one of my new favorites.

Best beer: There's a lot of quality beer out there...but right now I miss Yuengling.

Best album: Bad Religion's True North. "I'm just a petrel in the storm; my island can't protect me anymore."

Greatest Coup of Birding: Oscar Johnson's ridiculous Common Swift above a random patch of desert in Riverside County, CA.

Best birder meme: THERE ARE SO MANY!!! Anything involving inner circles and puppetmasters. "It's too far for you to see"..."Black-chins are still migrating"..."Does he really pronounce it Justine?"...

This year I finally found a convenient/reliable spot for crushing Yellow-billed Magpies, one of California's most interesting, desired, and even poignant species. Photographed in Monterey County, CA.

Best California yearbirder: Dipper Dan. He may not have the highest total in the field, but he won.

Best self-found bird: A Slaty-backed Gull in Marin County (CA) was a long-awaited defeat of a state nemesis.

Best dream bird (aka best bird seen in a dream): Runt Harpy Eagle in northern California.

There were too many great bird trips to count this year, with new and old friends alike. I'm stoked to have such a strong network of friendly dorks available in a pasttime that is littered with people that I would rather avoid, and a girlfriend who is sympathetic to me being gone for months at a time and has a high tolerance for raging nerds. I'm looking forward to meeting more great people and great birds in 2014. I do have a quick trip planned in the very near future that should produce some cool shit (and cool tacos), but aside from that I really don't know where 2014 is going to take me for work or birding trips...and so the Perpetual Weekend rolls on.

Bringing The Stoke At El Paraiso

This Black-billed Nightingale-Thrush was one of many birds at El Paraiso that left me with the kind of stoke that you rarely get after birding for many years. Definitely a place I would recommend, and would love to visit again.

It doesn't seem like seven months ago when I was slaying life birds day after day in Costa Rica. Despite the amount of beer and tequila and cuba libres consumed in those three weeks, it all still seems fresh and new to me...which is probably why I'm still posting about the trip seven months later.

All of today's shots are from El Paraiso Del Quetzales, in the Talamancas. I blogged about El Paraiso in another post, but the quantity of good birds there compels more coverage.

One of the reasons I wanted to go to El Paraiso was the exceptionally high chance of seeing this bird...as you can see, we did not leave disappointed. I am happy to say that I now stand among the ranks of people who have been fortunate enough to see an adult male Resplendent Quetzal...the mind reels. This is one of the most facemelting, absolutely crippling birds in existence, a legendary bird that leaves the observer dumbstruck. If you are not familiar with this species, yes those are it's tail streamers that hang down to the bottom of the frame.

They weren't exactly the most confiding birds I've seen, but who cares? If you need this bird, El Paraiso is practically a sure bet. Finding them was almost anticlimactic; the guide (a very accomplished birder) knew exactly where to look. Victory is so, so sweet.

Collared Redstart was a bird that produced a lot of drool as I studied my field guide in the weeks before the trip. Luckily for everyone it's a pretty easy bird to get, and they are not exactly prone to skulking and lurking like a lot of tropical birds. Total crippler.

This is a Sooty Thrush, one of a number of species in today's post that are endemic to Costa Rica and Panama. When I saw them, I typically just thought about how striking their resemblance is to European Blackbird, another yellow-billed black thrush from across the Atlantic. Evolution is fun.

Buffy Tuftedcheek! These are pretty big birds who seem to spend most of their time with their heads engulfed by bromeliads, or thrashing around in the canopy mosses.

As their name implies, they do have tufted cheeks, something that seems pretty unique in the bird world. No idea what they're for...anyone care to enlighten me?

Barred Becard is one of my new favorite birds. The smallest Costa Rican becard, they are uncommon in high-elevation cloud forests. Compared to the other becards, they are much stubbier and are more likely to migrate into your heart.

Knowing that the world is still safe for creatures like Barred Becards is a very reassuring thought when the night is dark and full of terrors.

Black-and-yellow Silky-Flycatchers were numerous on the Zeledonia trail below the lodge. They are not shy, but apparently do everything in their power to avoid direct sunlight. And if you are wondering, yes, Stilt, Frank and Dipper Dan all got to see Zeledonia on the Zeledonia Trail. Stupid Seagull Steve did not.

The somewhat more economically-plumaged female. I was more than happy to not have to struggle to see these birds...but we dipped on Long-tailed Silky, which left me devastated.

Gratuitous hummingbird photo! Green Violet-Ear. Why it's not a Green Blue-Ear is a question I can't even begin to ponder...maybe its best to just focus on the facemelt.

Whoever named the Green Violet-Ear was clearly not the same person who described Fiery-throated Hummingbird, which is an outstanding and very descriptive name. This bird has its throat flame turned down slightly.

This is another bird that we were happy to have our guide point out; the one and only Ochraceous Pewee we saw on the trip. I was so high on quetzal adrenaline that I completely forgot this shitty (but identifiable) picture of this local and semielusive species.

Speaking of bird-driven adrenaline, I just want to say for posterity that there were many, many times on this trip when we hit such intense flocks of good birds that everyone in our group could barely cope with the reality of it. One of us would invariably acknowledge these moments by simply announcing "it's happening again" and we would all silently agree. Those moments are one of the things that will eventually drive me south of the border again.