Day 4 - La Isla & La Rinconada

After sleeping in until 5:00 am we had a cup of fresh Tarrales coffee and set off towards La Isla shortly after. La isla is a lower part on the plantation and at 1100m above sea level a perfect spot to scan for raptors. On the way we had a great encounter with two Crested Guans whom we had tried to stalk for a while. Once we arrived at the lookout we unpacked our breakfast and almost threw away our sandwiches due to a grand spectacle over the nearby ridge. An enormous kettle of raptors appeared over the forest as they soared the thermals to gain altitude for their migration north. Once they had reached a certain altitude they carried on westward as another kettle formed behind them. Closer inspection showed that we were dealing almost exclusively with Swainson’s Hawks including several rare dark morphs. For about half an hour we watched one kettle form after another and estimated them conservatively to be more than 1500 birds. What a show!

After seeing several Broad-winged Hawks we heard a Green Shrike-Vireo which after some persuasion gave us a great sighting. We had one more stop on the menu for this morning, hoping to see the majestic King Vulture. Once we reached the location Eve spotted a Great Black Hawk and soon after the King of the Vultures made an appearance. What a morning it has been indeed.

The afternoon, though short due to an afternoon rain shower, turned out to be equally exciting. Knowing that the Long-tailed Manakin was one of the most desired birds, we set out to the Rinconada in order to track one down. Just as we got out of the car two beautiful males were spotted in the tangles and gave us an unusually long sighting. And like that wouldn’t have already been a great afternoon, the luck was on our side when we spotted two Black-and-white Owls that hadn’t been seen in months. After extensive scope looks and pictures takes the rain started to creep up on us, and we happily retired to our rooms after another incredible day in Tarrales.Weiterlesen