Our 6am walk following tea and coffee took us along the road and up a track to an area that looked out across the valley. The view was great and we could see the layout of the lodge. The sun was bright and warm as we scanned the hillside. Luis soon found a Yellow-bellied Siskin male and a couple of females among the ever present Rufous-collared Sparrows. Blue-and-White Swallows zipped around the hillside and a pair of Acorn Woodpeckers were investigating a hole-riddled tree trunk. A Red-tailed Hawk flew along the skyline before we decided it was time to return for breakfast.
After breakfast we checked the trees and had good views of Sulphur-winged Parakeet and Long-tailed Silky Flycatcher before we took another trail along the river up to an area with lots of 'Morros' - Blackberries. We had several stops to check flocks with Streak-headed Foliage Gleaner among the Ruddy Treerunners and Wilson's Warblers. Further along the track by a huge boulder a Red-headed Barbet could be seen feeding, giving good views although it was about 50 feet up in the canopy.
We followed the trail as it climbed up the hillside with a clear area covered in what the Costa Ricans called Moras - Blackberries, which Luis enjoyed eating. A steep descent brought us back to the original trail and we made our way back with myself taking a wrong turn across a bridge and finding myself above the lodge on the other side of the valley.
Retracing my footsteps I paused to admire an Ochraceous Wren before being re-united by the bridge. Following the trail back to the lodge we admired the many small tents being setup for a cycling race that was coming through later in the day. There were several Blue-and-White Swallows sitting on the porch roof to the dining hall and disappearing into the gaps under the corrugated roofing and a Clay-coloured Thrush was building a nest in he be good of a support beam.
We went back to our rooms, collected our luggage, packed the car and then went for lunch, enjoying a last minute look at the feeders before setting off back to San Jose.
We stopped a couple of times on the way out, looking for Black and Yellow Silky Flycatcher but no luck but lots of Long-tailed Silky Flycatchers and a few hummers in the flowers. We stopped the second time to admire Sooty Thrushes. Along a track DW found Large-footed Finch and Black-billed Nightingale-Thrush and across the clearing was a Black-capped Flycatcher. We also noticed that the van had overheated again and was leaking water. Luis filled it up from a gallon bottle and a man from across the road let him fill up more. We set off for the main road passing a few of the early cyclists on their way down.
We stopped at Kilometer 71 but the weather had deteriorated and so we decided not to wander out but to head on back to our hotel in San Jose. We arrived around 4.30, settled in, had a wander round the limited gardens where we saw nothing before all meeting up at the bar for a drink.
Luis had booked a table at Lukas's where we had a nice meal and toasted our trip before walking back to the hotel.
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We went back to our rooms, collected our luggage, packed the car and then went for lunch, enjoying a last minute look at the feeders before setting off back to San Jose.
We stopped a couple of times on the way out, looking for Black and Yellow Silky Flycatcher but no luck but lots of Long-tailed Silky Flycatchers and a few hummers in the flowers. We stopped the second time to admire Sooty Thrushes. Along a track DW found Large-footed Finch and Black-billed Nightingale-Thrush and across the clearing was a Black-capped Flycatcher. We also noticed that the van had overheated again and was leaking water. Luis filled it up from a gallon bottle and a man from across the road let him fill up more. We set off for the main road passing a few of the early cyclists on their way down.
We stopped at Kilometer 71 but the weather had deteriorated and so we decided not to wander out but to head on back to our hotel in San Jose. We arrived around 4.30, settled in, had a wander round the limited gardens where we saw nothing before all meeting up at the bar for a drink.
Luis had booked a table at Lukas's where we had a nice meal and toasted our trip before walking back to the hotel.
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Location:Folkestone,United Kingdom
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