The Birds

The Turkey Vultures

Costa Rica is known for its amazing diversity of wildlife, and the birds here are especially interesting. I am not a serious “Birder”, but the birds around the villa have made me take notice of them.

We first noticed the turkey vultures, large black birds with a red head who were constantly gliding on the updrafts with an elegance and grace so unlike their unsavoury scavenger feeding habits. One day there were 12 of them gliding thorough the air between the mountains. Often one would sweep low over the house roof, making a couple of passes before climbing back up. I figured this was our fault since we were so relaxed down here they were constantly checking to see if we were still alive. One day three of them sat in the tree behind the house. These birds do not seem to make any noise. As I write this one swept silently straight towards me before gliding not more than 5 feet above the pool.

Another bird we see a lot are some kind of swallows. I recall the swallows in Leche, Italy, and enjoyed their aerial antics there. We have some here as well, and they perform much the same, performing high speed aerobatics eating hundreds of insects. We brought powerful bug repellent but have not needed it due to the hungry birds and bats. The swallows are not here all the time like the vultures, but provide an interesting show when they arrive. One day thirty or forty of them spent hours feasting on the bugs around the villa, and entertaining me as well. It is interesting to watch them drink from the swimming pool. They dive down and sweep over the water hitting the surface

Gliding on the mountain updrafts

for an instant to pick up a drink or perhaps they are helping me with my “pool boy” duties and scooping up the insects. I am constantly cleaning out of the pool for her ladyship. Unlike the vultures which seem to glide with little effort through the air, the swallows seem to have to work constantly to maintain their speed and power their sweeps and power turns.

As we became more aware of the birds we were sharing this section of paradise we started noticing the hundreds of calls of the many birds. It seems you are always hearing another different call. A few we have managed to identify. A loud squawking early one morning alerted us to a frequent visiter to the villa; the beautiful Scarlet Macaw. This large brilliant red and blue bird daily flies in and sits in a tree in front of the villa. Once we matched the squawking to the macaw, we listen for them and see them most days.

The other bird we see on a daily basis is the yellow and black toucan. Again, we started hearing a unique bird call each day, and after searching the surrounding trees we discovered two of them sitting in a tree in the back of the villa. They are beautiful birds with the distinctive large yellow and black beak. You can usually locate them by their movement. As they call to each other they flip their head up and open their beaks. Once we identified them and know where they like to roost, they are easy to find. One day the toucans arrived with some friends, bringing a couple of fiery-billed aracari with them to their favourite tree. They have large bills similar to the toucan but are a bit smaller and are black red and yellow. Their bill is distinctively bright red and black.

Two Toucans

We have seen green birds about the size of a large crow, but have never been able to see them close up, and every few days we see a hawk like bird glide across in front of the villa, and one evening I saw a smaller black bird with a red crest in a tree out back. And there are still an amazing variety of bird calls which we have not been able to match to a particular bird. Then there are the many hummingbirds that show up all day every day.

So, you can see that even though I am not a “birder”, the variety of distinct spectacular birds here in Costa Rica has made me notice them.