Or, more probably, it never went away. The last visit I recorded was back in late August when a juvenile Fasciated Tiger-Heron (Tigrisoma fasciatum) showed up in the garden, looking longingly at the koi in the pond. This is likely to be the same individual because it’s a very short flight to the bridge at Quebrada La Loca where friend Chalo Porras stopped his car on Monday on our way down to San Diego. Here’s the actual bird that we saw, hard to photograph from the car:

Note the rusty nape and barred back on this juvenile Fasciated Tiger-Heron in the stream bed of Quebrada La Loca. Photo by Chalo Porras.

Here’s what the juvenile of the species looks like up close under more favourable conditions:

Juvenile Fasciated Tiger-Heron in a file photo taken at Bonilla by John Beer

Here’s what the adult looks like:

Adult Fasciated Tiger-Heron: This may actually be the parent of last Monday’s juvenile, since Chalo Porras’s photo here was taken at the exact same spot in a previous year.

This is one of three tiger-herons found in Costa Rica. This particular species is found on fast-moving rocky streams and rivers. A tiger-heron found at the higher elevations is likely to be this one. Here’s a lovely photo of another adult bird at Bonilla:

Adult Fasciated Tiger-Heron in typical habitat; photo by John Beer