What’s left – the other stuff!

So I saw lots of birds that I have seen before – quite a few species fly south to Costa Rica for the winter.  Interesting most (if not all) of them were first spotted in my first four days at the coast.  I got good photos, so I am including them.  Also there were a number of birds I had never seen, but didn’t create portraits (time constraints) even though they were potential life birds.

Life birds without portraits

Franklin’s Gull

This has been a nemesis bird for quite some time – it got worse this year as one showed up @5 minutes from my condo while I was in South Africa.  I am happy to finally get this on my life list.  We first saw it on the Tarcoles beach, but got better looks on the boat trip at the end of my time at the coast.

Elegant Tern

My first look at this species was at our first stop on the bay – Puntarenas - and then at the same beach where I first spotted the Franklin’s Gull.  I love Terns and was excited to see this one, with Royal Terns – to me the Elegant Tern looks like a slightly more refined Royal.  It has a narrower bill and is slightly smaller

Birds that aren’t new to me

Western Cattle-Egret

Great Egret

Wood Stork 

Magnificent Frigatebird

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck

Sanderling

Royal Tern

Neotropic Cormorant

Least Sandpiper

Semipalmated Plover

Brown Pelican

Anhinga

Western Sandpiper

Roseate Spoonbill

Blue Grosbeak

Little Blue Heron

Willet

Spotted Sandpiper

Hudsonian Whimbrel

Wilson's Plover

Black-necked Stilt

Brown-crested Flycatcher

Dusky-capped Flycatcher

Eastern Wood Pewee

Scissortailed Flycatcher

Tropical Kingbird

Yellow-bellied Flycatcher

Eastern Meadowlark

Chestnut-sided Warbler

Northern Yellow Warbler

Prothonotary Warbler

Tennessee Warbler

Wilson's Warbler

Great-tailed Grackle

White Peacock - not a countable bird, but its cool!

Red-winged Blackbird

Osprey

Snowy Egret

Tricolor Heron

Tricolor Heron & Wood Stork

Tricolor Heron, Wood Stork, Great Blue Heron, Roseate Spoonbill, Black-necked Stilt, Snowy Egret & Great Egret

Black-necked Stilt, Snowy Egret, Tricolor Heron

Snowy Egret, Wood Stork & Roseate Spoonbill

Sandhill Crane – The first ever reported in Costa Rica -- only three of us were there, Pat O'Donnell who made the ID, Isaac the boat driver and me the photographer! I'm now part of Costa Rica birding lore -- every birder should be part of the first -- its great fun and very exciting. Lots of photos...