In an earlier post…of a couple of weeks ago…I mentioned the arrival of some unusual big birds (BDBs or Big Damn Birds) that have shown in up lately:
The American Flamingo…over on the Caribbean coast last year.
The Sandhill Crane…currently in some rice fields between Tarcoles and Quepos.
The Jabiru Stork…in the wetlands of Coto 47, maybe or maybe not still around.
Here’s a fourth one but it is much closer to San Vito. This species is NOT a rare bird, oh no. This species is commonly found, even abundant, around the the rice fields of Las Pangas and Coto 47. I refer to the Wood Stork (see below).
The Wood Stork is a very successful and wide-ranging bird, found over much of North, Central and South America. However, the Wood Stork, to paraphrase Eliza Doolittle, ‘…stays mainly on the coastal plain.’ Three Wood Storks are currently paying us a visit up in the foothills. Where are they?
Three Wood Storks were spotted in our very own Humedal de San Joaquin. Look for them behind the Marisqueria Restaurant on the road to Sabalito, near the San Vito airstrip. Peter Wendell tells me he saw it the three Wood Storks ‘…behind the church in the same area.’ These birds are unmistakable; very big, standing about a meter high.
Will the three Wood Storks stick around for a while? Who knows, who can say. All I can say is, if they are smart Wood Storks, they will stick around. Who wouldn’t want to spend some quality time, some relaxing time in San Vito?
The Magic Road delivered one-hundred and one Christmas presents (and by ‘presents’ I mean bird species) on Saturday, Dec. 20th to the Coto Brus Christmas Bird Count Team.
The Christmas Bird Count is a world-wide annual event, sponsored by the Audubon Society. Not surprisingly, Costa Rica always shines brightly in the Bird Count.
The Magic Road is a wonderful place to watch birds; check it out.
The San Vito Bird Club wishes all of our readers a very Merry Christmas, Happy Holiday and Happy New Year.
Olive-crowned Yellowthroat, one of the 101 species identified during the Christmas Bird Count. Photo from eBird.
BDB #1: Fourteen months ago the first ever American Flamingo showed up in Costa Rica; on the Caribbean mudflats near Limon. You can find an article on this bird by searching our website.
BDB #2: Less than a month ago, in November, a good friend of the SVBC Pat O’Donnell, discovered the first ever Sandhill Crane in Costa Rica while on boat cruise of the Rio Tarcoles. This Sandhill Crane is still around.
BDB #3: Just yesterday, a Jabiru Stork was spotted down in the rice fields of Las Pangas, near Coto 47. The Jabiru Stork, a MASSIVE bird, is a regular species up in the far north rice fields of Guanacaste. So far as I’ve been able to find out, this is the first one seen in our area.
Sandhill Crane photo by Henri Sandi Amador. Jabiru photo (from video capture) by Noel Urena.
Hope is the thing with feathers That perches in the soul, And sings the tune without the words, And never stops at all.
…whatever the hell that means.
My point is, please join the San Vito Bird Club for our regular every-other-Sunday bird walk, this Sunday, September 21st at 7:00am. Meet up, as usual, as the Recepcion office of the Wilson Botanical Garden. There is no charge.
No binoculars…not a problem; we’ll supply you with a pair.
Limited ability to identify birds…no problem; we’ve got local birders to help you.
No shoes…that’s a problem. Get some and join us this Sunday.
Bran-colored Flycatcher: photo courtesy of Troy Smith.
Please join the San Vito Bird Club for an escorted and free-of-charge morning birdwalk on Sunday, Aug. 24th. Meet at the Recepcion Office at 7am (I will be there at 6am if you are up and energetic).
Binoculars and expertise available as needed.
We’re at the close of August. Seasonal migrant birds from the northern latitudes are sure to be arriving in the coming months. But each year we see some early arrivals*. We’ll keep our eyes open for them. Black and White Warblers, American Redstarts, Prothonotary Warblers, Red-eyed Vireos are possible.
*It’s just like when you throw a dinner party and you tell the guests to arrive at your house at 6pm; inevitably a couple will show up at 5pm…and then stay until after midnight.
San Vito Bird Club 
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