The Talamanca Highlands

Long-tailed Silky-flycatcher

We have come to the end of the Costa Rican adventures.  This was one of the last birding adventures we had near the Cartago area.

Spangle-cheeked Tanager

Once again, we had wonderful friend and bird guide Serge Arias with us.  We explored his new home in an area known as the Talamanca Highlands.

Ruddy-capped Nightingale-Thrush

This is probably the one place where birders need to rent a car as the Talamanca region covers quite a few areas.  I have to say that this was one of my absolute favorite birding spots in Costa Rica. 

Similar to birding larger areas, we made several different stops along the road to get a decent sampling of species.

We stopped at the Quetzal Paradise lodge where supposedly it's easy to spot the Resplendent Quetzal.  We didn't see one on this day, but it didn't matter as we found so many other birds!

When we arrived, we saw several Magnificent Hummingbirds coming to the feeders. We had suspected that the Magnificent Hummingbird was going to be split once again into separate species as the Rivoli's and Talamanca Hummingbirds.  So we paid special attention to this hummingbird during our visit to the lodge.  I'll be quite honest.  The hummingbird looks almost identical to the Rivoli's Hummingbird here in Arizona.  Although, it's a tad darker.....  

However, I really noticed the differences between the female Rivoli's and Talamanca hummers.

Talamanca Hummingbird

The bills on the female Talamanca hummingbirds are out of control!  The female below was impressive!

In July, the split was made after our trip and we added yet another lifer to the list.  It pays to note the subtle differences in birds because sometimes they are recognized as their own species.

Collared Redstart

Beyond that technical aspect of birding, everything else was brand new! 

It was another day of keeping up with lifers everywhere!

Black-billed Nightingale-Thrush

It was comfortable birding.  And the birds were pretty beautiful as well.

Sooty-capped Chlorospingus

Serge once again casually set us up for lunch at the lodge.  What a beautiful place to relax and bird!

Black-and-yellow Silky-flycatcher

It took us several hours to observe the property grounds. While we there, we saw many people come into the lodge for lunch.  Several birded.  Several were staying at the lodge.  And others were doing serious photography like the man below.

It was great.  Writing nor photography do this place justice.  You need to see it in person to understand the preserve better.

Golden-browed Chlorophonia

But it got better!  Serge took us to a new habitat called the páramo!  I had to look up the word as it was a completely new word for me.  Basically it's like the tropics version of the alpine level.  The plants were razor sharp and the smell that the plants gave off reminded me of um.....animal poop.

Anyhow, it was exciting stuff. At this elevation, one can spot such wonders as the Timberline Wren and Volcano Junco.

The behind of the Timberline Wren

 And we did!  So here's a deep thought.  Juncos.  As I'm observing the Volcano Junco, I'm making mental observations to myself noting how different the bird looks when compared to our own Yellow-eyed Junco.  So if they split all these Yellow-eyed Juncos into various species like the Baird's and Volcano Juncos, why in the world did they lump all the various subspecies of Dark-eyed Juncos into one species?  Won't they do the same thing with the Yellow-eyed Juncos down the road?  So for now, they are considered separate species.  It just seems inconsistent.  Dark-eyed Juncos were split into 5 separate species until they lumped them all back together many years ago. Will these similar yellow eyed juncos follow suite?

Volcano Junco

One thing was clear.  The hummingbird show in the Talamanca highlands was awesome.  We added Volcano and Fiery-throated Hummingbirds to our lists.

Fiery-throated Hummingbird

Sadly, our Costa Rican journey has come to an end. I want to thank Serge Arias for showing us his beautiful world of birds.  When you come to visit Serge, we'll be waiting to show you our Arizona birds.  Thank you so much for your friendship and wonderful hospitality.  I had a blast!

As with all good things, there must come an end. For our Volcano Junco and Timberline Wren, click here. For the Paraiso Quetzal Lodge, click here.