21st February 2020: An Owling Good Time!

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Following on from our pre-breakfast boat trip, we gathered together again at 10AMand set out for an area of scrubland in search of owls.

Our guide knew exactly where to take us for these beautiful Black-and-White Owls:


As we stood by the road admiring this pair, a local Tico pulled up and offered to show us some more owls roosting nearby. They were actually roosting in tress very close together just a few hundred yards away, but incredibly well camaflouged. There was a Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl

Photo by Clive

And a wide eyed Pacific Screech-Owl staring straight at us



All beautiful birds, but the trip highlight was unfortunately not seen by me. Later in the trip and in a different location, Clive had walked along a forest trail in search of Spotted Wood Quail, and after successfully locating a family group, he sat down to rest in a secluded area with a seating area and small fountain. Before long, a small brown bird flew past into a bush, then returned to start bathing in the fountain for several minutes, completely unperturbed by his presence just a few feet away. Clive was able to take this amazing photo of a Costa Rican Pygmy-Owl (rufous morph).



Sometimes you just need to be in the right place at the right time - and I wasn’t! An incredible and very special experience.

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