Cloud Forest Birding Paradise 16 July 2013
Magnificent
Hummingbird, Savegre Reserve
As I
kid, I had always dreamed of birding in tropical Central American cloud forests. These forests hold the riches in iridescent birds,
and I had often heard of tremendous mountain abundance and diversity of
tanagers and hummingbirds. Despite all I
had heard and read, I hadn’t been expecting so very much abundance and
diversity. I was bowled over when we
reached the expansive forest preserves of Savegre. These forests exceeded my wildest dreams of
avian richness.
Sooty-capped Bush-Tanager
Slaty Flowerpiercer
Flame-throated
Warbler
Tufted Flycatcher
Elegant Euphonia
Band-tailed Pigeon
The
Chacon family has invested a tremendous amount into creating a vast and
sustainable eco-lodge, preserving large stands of contiguous cloud forest, and
Marino Chacon is as expert in his ornithology as he is passionate about sharing
the beauty of birds. A word of advice to you—If you go to Costa
Rica, spend a few days at the Savegre Mountain Hotel and Preserve, and be sure
to request the company of Marino.
Resplendent
Quetzal, female with Avacado
Resplendent
Quetzal, male
Emerald Toucanet
There is
something strangely familiar to me in tropical forests. Though I have spent so little of my life
there, a part of me always feels immediately at home when surrounded by the
bromilliads, mosses, and lianas.
An epiphytic flower
Acorn Woodpecker
This is
where most of Wisconsin’s bird life spends more than half of each year. When I am in this part of the world, I am
able to check the background stories on familiar Wisconsin species as I study
their long-lost ancestors. Subtle
behaviors of familiar birds are suddenly revealed in great depth as I watch so
many of their tropical kin in action--warblers, tanagers, finches, and hummingbirds.
Collared Redstart,
the “Amigo de Hombre” or “Friend of Man”
Hummingbirds
are tenacious, often aggressive members of our summertime temperate bird
communities. In Wisconsin, we have just
one species—the Ruby-throated Hummingbird.
Ruby-throats show up on my bird surveys, almost always with a series of
scolding notes. I always assumed
detection of this species was lucky happenstance, but a trip to Costa Rica
reveals otherwise. Hummingbirds make a
living showing up to scold danger first, ahead of the tropical crowd. On so many hikes, hummingbirds of many
species went out of their way to fly in and give a good scolding. I now realize that a hummingbird in Wisconsin
will always show up to defend an investment.
The data that rolls in isn’t luck but a product of hummingbird
nature. This kind of subtle insight into
the lives of Wisconsin’s tropical birds is amplified with so many more tropical
examples of a phylogenic group. I am
sure you have experienced this when meeting a sibling of a friend for the first
time, that moment where you see a behavior, an expression of genetic continuity,
and you say, “Ah HA! Now I get it! I
understand you now.”
Magnificent
Hummingbird
White-throated
Mountain Gem, female
Green Violet-Ear
Recently, jaguars have been found
in the forests of the Savegre preserve. Resplendent
Quetzals are common, and many Costa Rican mountain endemics are seen
daily. Clouds push unexpectedly into
the valley, filling the forests and valleys with mist and life-giving
rain. Comfortable lodging, cool mountain
air, and the constant and soothing sound of rushing water, of pure mountain
rivers, make this birding paradise feel like home. Marino Chacon quickly found his way into our
hearts. If home is where the heart is, I
guess we have another home! All images were made using a refurbished Canon 7D
and a Canon 300mm f4L IS lens.
A Costa Rican hemiptera species
