The goal for day 4 was reached: I officially broke 300 species of birds! Overall the day was pretty slow, but also extremely insightful.

We woke up early before heading to pick up a second guide, from a different tour company. He was going to be our tour guide on the boat cruise at Caño Negro Wildlife Refuge, and help us spot and identify the different animals we would see. We then drove the approximate two hours to the refuge, where we first ordered lunch and used the bathrooms before driving to the boat launch and boarding our boat. Immediately, the second species we saw was the Green Heron, my most wanted bird and the bane of my birding existence. Throughout the next two hour tour, we heading in both directions up the river, spotting sloths, monkeys, and dozens of birds. At one point we came to the boarder mark that signified the border between Nicaragua and Costa Rica! At one point during the cruise, I saw my 300th species, the Purple Gallinule. For the first time ever, people congratulated me on my sighting. Our guide announced it to the whole boat, and everyone clapped. It brought a huge smile to my face, to see people happy for me while birdwatching, something that I’ve never seen before among my peers. We also saw caimans, the border of Nicaragua, and some amazing views while out the boat cruise.

After this cruise we headed off to lunch, where the skies opened up and gave us some fascinating views in the open-windowed restaurant that we were eating at. The food and drink was delicious, and we all sat and discussed the wonderful sights we had seen during the cruise. After lunch, we headed back to the hotel, with many of us falling asleep on the drive back. We made one pit stop however, at a restaurant that had trees FULL of iguanas next to it, where we spent a couple minutes so people could use the bathroom, get ice cream, and take pictures of the iguanas. It was really cool to get as close to the iguanas as we did, giving us an opportunity it approach animals that usually stay a decent distance away from us.

The day was slow, with only one spot visited, but extremely memorable. Once back in town some of us walked around before dinner, exploring more some of the local spots we hadn’t been to. Tomorrow entails a very strenuous day, yet a day I have been looking forward to for a long time. Hope you can’t wait to hear all about it!

Happy Birding!

Day 3 is officially in the books. It was a relatively slow day, as we only visited a chocolate plantation and the La Fortuna Waterfall.

After our first traditional breakfast while in Costa Rica, we headed off to Rainforest Chocolate Tours, where we received a tour of the local chocolate plantation, where the chocolate is only grown for this tour alone. We heard about the history of chocolate, how it is harvested, and how it is prepared, before helping to make our own fresh chocolate, which we tried in all different forms, from the pulp, to the crushed bean, to the way the Mayas and Aztecs drank it, to liquid chocolate heated over a stove. It was amazing and delicious! It was also insightful to hear about how different plants are used to help the pollinators breed and to provide suitable habitats for them. There were also plenty of birds, which added quite a few new species to the list.

After the tour we returned to eat lunch, and then relaxed for about an hour before heading to La Fortuna Waterfall, which was absolutely beautiful. The trek down took a while, as it was about 500 stairs, but definitely worth it as I was able to spot a Howler Monkey traversing overhead. Many people went in the water around the waterfall, but personally, I did not feel completely safe, especially after slipping on the rocks surrounding it to take a picture of the falls. I would rather not get injured and risk not enjoying the rest of the trip!

Overall, today was once again extremely enjoyable, a testimony to the fascinating biodiversity that Costa Rica holds in its small, yet beautiful lands. Learning how the locals not only live off of the land, but also in sustainable ways, along with learning about one of the most popular treats in the world and how it is prepared, have given me a greater look into a lifestyle I would have struggled to understand if I had not been witnessing it first hand. Tomorrow yields a new day, and a trip to Caño Negro, for a boat tour. I am so excited for this tour!

Interested in today’s lists? Check them out here and here.

Happy Birding!

The first full day in Costa Rica is complete, and let me say, having a guide who is a wildlife and landscape photographer, along with a relative expert of the local birds. He’s been helping me spot things throughout the day, and take photos of many different birds, especially the highlights of today: hummingbirds.

I woke up early, approximately 5:45 AM CST to see if the birds were awake outside. Immediately I saw a couple new species, including a Blue-Gray Tanager and Incan Doves. The sun was already high on the horizon, and breakfast was soon coming. We ate at Denny’s, sadly not having a traditional breakfast, but overall good enough to tie us over for the long day. After eating we returned to our rooms, where we packed up and loaded the buses. On the way to the bus I was talking with the tour guide, who was able to point out to me another bird, the Palm Tanager, that was seated right under the windows of the hotel. We decided that our goal for the trip should be 150 birds, a number that he believes is extremely reasonable.

Our first drive took us to Cafe Britt, where we received a tour of the factory, and witnessed how coffee is made, along with all of the effort that it takes to make the perfect coffee. While here, I spotted only a single bird, a White-Throated Magpie-Jay, which was relatively hidden from site due to the netting I was under, but was identifiable enough after consulting the tour guide and describing the silhouette that I saw. During this stop we also visited the butterfly garden, and explored the gift hop too. Next, we headed towards the oldest national park in the country, Parque Nacional Volcán Poás, where it was extremely cloudy in the beginning, but began clearing up eventually, leading to some decent shots of the crater and its mineral pool. A few species were also spotted here, including the White-Collared Swift. We then headed to lunch at a local family-run restaurant, where I had a papaya smoothie that was absolutely delicious.

On the way to our next town, La Fortuna, where we will be spending the next four nights, we intended to visit the La Paz Waterfall. Unfortunately, a downpour quickly occurred, and while many people got out at the pull-off to take pictures, I stayed in the bus and took pictures from within, mostly to avoid getting my camera wet. Soon after the clouds broke up and the sun shown through, giving us great view of the San Fernando Waterfall, which we had views of from two locations, including a pit-stop that included hummingbird and papaya feeders, attracting approximately ten different types of birds all within inches of our faces. Then we continued on to La Fortuna, a small city at the base of the Arenal Volcano, where I sit now as I write this. In the short time we have been in this city I have added quite a few species!

As always, check out the full sightings from today here, here, here, and here.

The first full day of Costa Rica has come to an end, but the memories I am making will last a lifetime. Being able to see nature on this scale, and with this amount of biodiversity, is fascinating. Experiencing the lifestyle, seeing the country, and meeting the people has been an extremely eye-opening experience. These next days will hold many more adventures, memories, people, places, and of course, birds! I cannot wait to continue to delve deeper into the beauty that is Costa Rica. Pura Vida!

Happy Birding!

I hope to update this blog as long as we have wifi every day of this trip. It will include not only the sightings and descriptions of these sightings, but also summaries of what we have done throughout the days, and what I have taken out of them.

Today I achieved a goal I had set for myself: to visit a country outside of the United States and Canada, and to experience a whole different lifestyle that I would never be introduced to in the United States. As my plane landed in San José, Costa Rica, I started to feel a little teary-eyed, as I finally was visiting a beautiful country that respects nature and cares for it so much. Once I was landed and met first with the tour guide, and then the rest of the group, my first priority was to fight off the inevitable call to sleep, while also paying attention to the land around me and to what our guide was saying. Immediately I recognized a difference in culture, from the way buildings were designed, to the markets, and to the street laws. It was also so intriguing to me that for once, the bird calls I could hear in the city weren’t annoying; instead, they were new sounds I had never heard before, new creatures that I had never come in contact with. As we drove through the city, looking at the parks, the Cathedral, and the famous Theatre, I couldn’t help but wonder what these next couple days will hold in store for us, and for me as a birdwatcher. I look forward to the coming days, and learning the true meaning of “Pura Vida”.

I have two lists from today, totally to 8 species, which were recorded at a park and hotel, when no real birdwatching was taking place. If you’re interested in those lists, they can be found here and here.

Happy Birding!

Yesterday, with the help of a friend, I was able to take part in The Biggest Week in American Birding, one of the largest festivals in the United States, located primarily at Magee Marsh in Lucas County, Ohio. We left early in the morning, around 7 A.M., to embark on the 2.5 hour drive up to Lake Erie. The weather was overcast with scattered rain showers, so fingers were crossed that everything would work out and we would get some great shots of many new birds. While in the car, I stated that today would be a guaranteed success if I could add just 20 new species to my life list, and how I hoped to run in to Noah Strycker, who set the record for most birds seen in a calendar year in 2015 with 6,042, breaking the previous record of approximately 4,300.

When we arrived at Magee Marsh, we were lucky enough to immediately run into a group of people who had just spotted a couple thrushes, before moving down to another group that had spotted some Scarlet Tanagers, Vireos, and even a Bald Eagle. While walking towards the start of the boardwalk, it was shared with us that a nesting American Woodcock was hiding within the roped off area within the parking lot. As we were looking for the highly camouflaged bird, Noah Strycker himself appeared next to me and asked if we could see it! I was at a loss for words for a couple minutes, but soon was able to compose myself and both introduce myself to him and then talk for about 30 minutes with him! It was an amazing experience. As we walked with him and his group towards the entrance of the boardwalk, the warblers started to appear, along with some falling rain.

We soon broke off from his group and set off down the boardwalk at our own pace, stopping left and right to take pictures of the dozens of birds around us, flirting so close to the camera that at times mine was unable to focus on them. Small showers occurred every once and a while, but the sun also managed to break through the clouds at times, lighting up plenty of the birds. At one point, the boardwalk was so crowded that no one could pass, because and Eastern Whip-Poor-Will was in clear view, only feet from the trail! We spent the next 3 hours walking the boardwalk, spotting birds and taking pictures all over the place. I could go on forever about all the amazing opportunities we had, especially with the very photogenic Black-Throated Green Warblers!

After we finished the boardwalk, we got some great shots of the nesting Bald Eagles that were right by the parking lot. We then quickly checked out the beach, before driving right next door to the Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge, where we drove the Auto Tour of the park. It was very windy, but I still managed to add a couple new species, including Trumpeter Swans and Caspian Terns, to my list. At one point, 5 Bald Eagles appeared overhead and perched right next to our car! Sadly, one car wasn’t paying attention and drove right next to them and scared them off before I was able to snap a picture.

Usually I would say what my favorite sitings of the day were, but in this case, the whole day itself was amazing and no singular spot stood out more than being able to walk the boardwalk and be surrounded by hundreds of other birders. Hopefully next year I can spend consecutive days at the festival, with more friends joining us. Overall we saw 75 species in a single day, not bad for only checking 2 locations!

As usual, check out some of my photos on Flickr, and if you want to see the full checklists, you can find them here, here, here, here, here, and finally, here.

Happy Birding!

During Thanksgiving break I traveled to California to spend Thanksgiving with my girlfriend, and do some birdingwatching together on the side. I landed on Tuesday night, and the next day we traveled to Montaña de Oro State Park in Morro Bay. Here we did a beautiful walk along the shore, specifically the Bluff Trail, enjoying my first time in California along with the amazing rock creations and bird life. There were plenty of Western Gulls and Brandt’s Cormorants, with a California Gull and Pelagic Cormorant mixed in respectively. My favorite spot from this specific day was the Cassin’s Kingbird that was spotted on the sand chasing after the insects in the air.

No birding was done on Thanksgiving, but on Friday on the way to breakfast in the morning I spotted a Eurasian Collared-Dove sitting on the telephone wire. Later in the day we traveled back down to Morro Bay, this time to Morro Rock State Park, a volcanic plug that is home to Peregrine Falcons during breeding season. While we didn’t see any Peregrine Falcons on this trip, we did see a wonderful array of birds throughout the day. We took a boat cruise through the bay after walking through the shops that line the water, with some beautiful species such as Brown Pelicans (of which I got some incredible pictures) and a Heermann’s Gull that was floating right next to the boat. Marissa also took some beautiful pictures of the Egrets we spotted while walking towards the rocks.

On Saturday, my last day in California, we headed down to Los Angeles and UCLA, where I got the grand tour of UCLA’s beautiful campus. During this tour, we ran into many birds, with the majority coming near the end of the tour. While walking through some of the buildings, we ran into a bushy area filled with Bushtits, a Western Bluebird, and a Nuttall’s Woodpecker, who threw a piece of wood off of the tree that I proceeded to pick up and bring back to Ohio with me. All in all, a couple new species mixed in with a wonderful tour of a beautiful school capped off an amazing 3 day trip to California.

While on my way to California, I had hoped to add 34 new species so I could break 200 by the end of the calendar year. While I did not reach this goal, I did add 26 new species, meaning I need 8 new species in the coming weeks to reach my goal of 200, a goal I am hopeful to reach. California is a beautiful state, filled with beautiful birds and people. If you have the chance to go, then definitely take that chance. It is not an opportunity to miss.

As always, check out my lists from the trip here, here, and here.

Happy Birding!

Today marked my first day out in the field since mid-September, as one of my suitemate’s finally got his car on campus, allowing us to reach parks outside that of the COTA system. We left around noon and returned around 6, reaching two locations, both Metro Parks in the City of Columbus. All in all I added 7 new “lifers” to my list, and found some amazing areas that I will definitely return to in the coming months.

The first location we went to was Pickerington Ponds Metro Park, about 26 minutes south-east of Columbus. Pickerington Ponds is a marsh/wetlands, with multiple ponds scattered throughout the property. Not knowing exactly what to expect, as neither of us had been here before, we first pulled into a parking lot looking over Ellis Pond, where a Great Blue Heron and Great Egret were spotted. After a quick but thorough scan of the far bank through the spotting scope, we determined it would be best to drive to a different area and walk one of the trails. We drove up to the Wood Duck Picnic Area, and spent the next two hours walking the Killdeer Trail to Pintail Marsh. During this walk, a large amount of today’s lifers were spotted, including White-Crowned Sparrows, Pied-Billed Grebes, Northern Shovelers, a Nelson’s Sparrow, and a Swamp Sparrow. After attempting to take some pictures of the birds, which overall weren’t very successful due to the overcast nature of the day, we decided to move onto our next choice of birding location.

This location was Blendon Woods Metro Park. Located about 30 minutes north of Pickerington Ponds, and 23 minutes north-east of Columbus, this was definitely the closest I have felt to being back home in New England since I started attending The Ohio State University. The park driveway was extremely hilly, and the leaves were a bright red and orange, a perfect resemblance of the New England fall. While here, we checked out the Nature Center, a beautiful building with windows looking out over a couple of bird feeders, with common birds such as Mourning Doves and House Sparrows feeding at these feeders. After exploring the center, we walked to Thoreau Lake, where we were delightfully surprised to find the presence of bird blinds at both the east and west ends of the trail, allowing for great views of the waterfowl present, which consisted of Wood Ducks, Mallards, Northern Shovelers, and another lifer, a single female Green-Winged Teal. This location quickly became my favorite here in Ohio due to the wide ability to take photos and get amazing views of the birds, all the while not bothering them or disturbing them as we were safely in the blind. After spending about another hour in the blinds, we walked back to the nature center for one final view of the feeders. Right before I was readying to leave, I looked down under the feeder and was shocked to see a White-throated Sparrow, which was clearly distinguished from the White-Crowned I had seen earlier by the dark, definitive outline around the throat patch. This was the final lifer for the day, and capped off an amazing day of birding.

Overall, I would say this day was a massive success, allowing me to explore the Columbus area for the best areas to bird, along with introducing yet another person to the wonderful world of birdwatching. I look forward to the future travels to the surrounding parks, and returning to Blendon Woods to explore and look for more waterfowl, especially those from Canada that winter in Ohio.

Be sure to check out both Pickerington Ponds and Blendon Woods.

Interested in seeing my full list from today? Check out these lists here and here.

Be sure to check out the photos on my Flickr!

Happy Birding!

Today one of my suitemates and I went to the OSU Wetlands (click here for more information) so that I could scout out the area and figure out some locations for birdwatching in the area. We took the COTA 7 bus, which drops off right at the entrance, and walked the length of the driveway into the Wetlands. We immediately heard a Blue Jay calling, and saw a group of Robins on the ground, with a Northern Flicker and Mourning Dove mixed in. In the distance we could hear some Carolina Chickadees calling, my photographic goal for the day.

We walked many of the trails, and while attempting to get a photo of some of the Chickadees, actually spotted a young Magnolia Warbler hopping silently through the branches. Some Canada Geese and Mallards were spotted in the Olentangy, and the robins were actually everywhere. Alas, no clear photo of the Chickadees was taken, however I did successfully get a couple of a White-Breasted Nuthatch that I called closer to us to get a nice view. Overall the trip was successful in scouting the area. My only wish is that we had more access to the swamp area and the boardwalks, which we learned are only available with a tour.

Check my Flickr feed for the new pictures!

Want to see the full checklist from today? Click here.