Don Alfonso’s cabin at El Alto
El Alto de Adán is a high spot looking down over the San Antonio valley. There is just one house, plus don Alfonso’s cabin, where I’m staying. It’s still considered part of San Antonio, rather than Guayabo Arriba, and so sightings here make my San Antonio List! My stay in the cabin here, complete with cooking on a wood-burning stove, is extremely pleasant, with warm, sunny days and cool, quiet nights.
The Emerald toucanet seems to be everywhere here.
Signature bird here seems to be the Emerald toucanet (Aulacorhyncus prasinus), and there are many blackberry bushes, which seem to be one of its favorite food sources. In six years in San Antonio, I have seen this species only a handful of times, so it is quite a surprise to find so many here so close to home. Flocks of Crimson-fronted parakeets and White-crowned parrots stop by regularly, at the moment particularly in a large fruiting níspero. At home, they are usually just fly-bys. Three species of hummingbird have appeared so far: Violet sabrewing (Campylopterus hemileucurus), Green hermit (Phaethornis guy) and Rufous-tailed hummingbird (Amazilia tzacatl), but the latter is nowhere near as common here as at home.
Violet sabrewing, the largest Costa Rican hummingbird
The Green hermit is of similar size because of the central tail feathers
The Rufous-tailed is the most likely species if you have just arrived in Costa Rica
On the path to the highest point above the cabin, there is a Turkey vulture nest at the root of a guarumu tree. Locals report seeing white fluffy chicks last year, but so far this year only the adult birds are to be seen, presumably still incubating.
The first real surprise at El Alto was a pair of Red-headed barbets (Eubucco bourcierii), flitting inconspicuously among fairly thick vegetation. The male is strikingly handsome and impossible to confuse with anything else. By coincidence, I found another male a few days ago at Torito, a little higher up. The photo is courtesy of Richard Garrigues and includes the Silver-throated tanager (Tangara icterocephala) , which is hard to miss at El Alto.
Male Red-headed barbet with accompanying Silver-throated tanagers
I had seen this bird only once before.
The Red-faced spinetail (Cranioleuca erythrops) was quite a surprise, yet another life bird in San Antonio! The rufous on face, tail and shoulders make this a very handsome bird, though its acrobatic movement makes it hard to get in focus for any length of time.
Red-faced spinetail
I am trying to reach Jorge Chinchilla to obtain use of this excellent photo of this species, taken in Costa Rica at Lands of Love, near San Ramón. I will withdraw the photo if I have no luck in the next few days.
Comparing with my home lower down (1288 m, as opposed to 1400 at El Alto), the following species are much more common here:
Bright-rumped attila, Dusky flycatcher, Emerald toucanet, Gray-crowned yellowthroat, Silver-throated tanager, Common bush-tanager.
On the other hand, I had difficulty finding any saltator other than the Buff-throated, and I have not yet seen Great-tailed grackle, Yellow-bellied elaenia, Social flycatcher, Gray-capped flycatcher or Palm tanager!
Here is the full list, after a week of sporadic bird-watching:
- Gray-headed chachalaca
- Cattle egret
- Black vulture
- Turkey vulture (with nest)
- Roadside hawk
- Red-billed pigeon
- White-tipped dove
- Crimson-fronted parakeet
- White-crowned parrot
- Bare-shanked screech-owl
- Common pauraque
- White-collared swift
- Green hermit
- Violet sabrewing
- Rufous-tailed hummingbird
- Blue-crowned motmot
- Red-headed barbet
- Emerald toucanet
- Keel-billed toucan
- Hoffmann’s woodpecker
- Golden-olive woodpecker
- Red-faced spinetail
- Streak-headed woodcreeper
- Piratic flycatcher
- Common tody-flycatcher
- Bright-rumped attila
- Dusky flycatcher
- Great kiskadee
- Tropical kingbird
- Masked tityra
- Brown jay
- Blue-and-white swallow
- Plain wren
- House wren
- White-breasted wood-wren
- Clay-colored robin
- Tennessee warbler
- Tropical parula
- Chestnut-sided warbler
- Black-throated green warbler
- Wilson’s warbler
- Gray-crowned yellowthroat
- Common bush-tanager
- Summer tanager
- Passerini’s tanager
- Golden-hooded tanager
- Silver-throated tanager
- Blue-gray tanager
- Variable seedeater
- Yellow-faced grassquit
- Black-striped sparrow
- Rufous-collared sparrow
- Buff-throated saltator
- Black-headed saltator
- Melodious blackbird
- Montezuma oropendola
Birds for Beer 