Costa Rica Bird Sightings

I officially catalogued all the birds that I saw in Costa Rica, and I officially saw 17 new birds that I had never seen before, including 5 new varieties of hummingbirds.  Thanks to my friend Judy, who loaned me her Costa Rica bird book.  Here's my official list:

And here are some of my favorite birds:  Red lored Parrots made quite a racket every morning.

I think this is a Crested Guan

 This Toucan was in captivity, so it doesn't actually count.  But we heard them in the wild!

 And the hummers were wonderful!

The good news on the home front is that I've heard the cardinals start singing their spring mating song today!  All we need is for the ground to thaw, the snow to melt, and a few flowers to start blooming!

Retreat

I had the pleasure of helping a friend lead a retreat over the week-end.  It was at a beautiful camp in Oregon, Illinois -- in a setting that was too gorgeous to do justice with photographs. (But, as you can see, I gave it a try anyway!)  Thirty women got together for  time with God, pampering, labyrinth walking, laughing and marveling at the beauty of God's creation during this colorful season.  Here's a few photographic highlights:  This little praying mantis flew right past us and landed on this slender stalk.  He even seemed to pose for me!

There were flocks of Cedar Waxwings gorging themselves on these yummy red berries.

 I think this is an eagle.  And look at the gorgeous color in the trees!

Such beauty our Creator blessed us with . . .

How was your week-end?

Birding -- Day 2 (and 3!)

Here's our group of birders at the Arboretum yesterday -- that's before the heavens opened and we had to dash for shelter.  Someone had just spotted a Baltimore Oriole's nest and we were all trying to catch a glimpse of it.  We also came upon a Great Blue Heron, who decided to ignore us and go on fishing.  It was a little dark where he was, but the picture turned out OK.  He hardly looks real -- he almost glows.  But he was very real!  When it began to rain, we all wanted to stay out.  But then it thundered and we had to head back.  Except for the robins, most of the birds had found shelter from the rain as well.  (Speaking of robins, it's a very good thing I took the picture I did on Friday.  The babies were gone from the nest just a few hours later.  Now maybe Momma Robin can get a little rest!)

I've tried thinking of comparisons between the two birding experiences.  I think I learned more at the Arboretum.  Our guide there wasn't a naturalist.  She went through the ornithology program at the Arboretum, so she really knew a lot about birds.  But she also seemed to understand what those of us who were new to birding wanted to learn -- what the various calls sound like: she would periodically stop us just to listen and observe.  She also pointed out flying patterns of the various species, so it was easier to tell them in mid-flight.  The naturalist at the forest preserve was really nice and friendly, but he kind of assumed that everyone there knew what he was talking about.  And it was a bigger group, so I didn't feel like asking a lot of questions.

But the big birding adventure happened this afternoon.  Our son, Jordan, spotted an eagle's nest while he was driving up to work last week.  So we went to get a look at it this afternoon.  There were at least two eaglets that appeared, stretched their wings and settled back into the nest.  It was breathtaking to observe through the binoculars.  It's the first time I remember seeing a bald eagle in the wild!

Birding -- Day 1

This morning was the bird hike at the forest preserve.  There were almost 20 of us, which made it a bit hard to hear what the naturalist was saying, and we made quite a bit of noise, so the birds definitely knew we were coming.  But I did see a Baltimore Oriole going back and forth to its nest, and I can now identify an Indigo Bunting.  All in all, we saw about 11 species of birds, most of which I could already identify.  But still, not bad.  I was trying to juggle between my camera and binoculars, which quickly became impossible, so I ditched the camera.  But here's a picture Don took the last time we were at the Aboretum of a Baltimore Oriole perching atop its nest.  It's a great picture -- wish I could take credit for it!

I did want to get one picture of birds this morning, so when I arrived back home I went to the back yard and took this picture of the baby robins who can just barely fit into their nest.  Momma Robin is still making trip after trip to feed the little guys.  They'll be leaving the nest soon.

So this report was especially for Linda.  I do recommend taking a birding hike with someone who knows what they're talking about.  And I'll blog about tomorrow's birding adventure at the Arboretum if there's anything interesting.