Michael‘s Seventh Year

[michael-ibk]

Thanks, I´m glad you all like the Sharpe´s Wren. :-)

 

On 9/13/2022 at 9:18 AM, Dave Williams said:

I just don’t envy you identifying them all. 

 

This is actually not that bad, all the ebird lists really help a lot. When I was on my own I did something even more helpful: I noted down the time I took pictures of difficult ones (so most of them really) in my ebird list. I´m still not envying myself about all the time needed to choose what to keep, delete and label everything though.

[michael-ibk]

701/EC170) Squirrel Cuckoo (Piaya cayana) / Eichhornkuckuck

 

Mirador Rio Blanco, 12/8/2022. We had lunch at a very nice restaurant. Fantastic views from the terrace:

 

 

And a good number of birds around, so I gulped down my (very good) lunch to make good use of that. Squirrel Cuckoo is a common and familiar bird we saw a few times. But never really gave me a good photo opportunity, at least I don´t remember one. My last few (still unchecked) days might surprise me.

 

 

 

 

[michael-ibk]

702/EC171) Green Thorntail (Discosura conversii) / Grüne Fadenelfe

 

Mirador Rio Blanco, 12/8/2022. There were not many different Hummers at the feeders but did not mind - this is a particularly nice species. Another one @xelasshould recognize from Costa Rica.

 

 

 

 

One from the next day - of course at a "Disneyland":

 

 

 

Edited September 20, 2022 by michael-ibk

[michael-ibk]

703/EC172) Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) / Truthahngeier

 

Mirador Rio Blanco, 12/8/2022. At home in all of the Americas, very common. Still took almost no pictures of it. Was lucky I found this one in my files.

 

[michael-ibk]

704/EC173) Scaly-Throated Foliage-Gleaner (Anabacerthia variegaticeps) / Ockerbrillen-Blattspäher

 

Mirador Rio Blanco, 12/8/2022. This location was really good for some of the super-skulkers. I was very lucky with this one, an unusually good and clear sighting. Foliage-Gleaners are really not known for posing.

 

 

 

[michael-ibk]

705/EC174) Buff-Fronted Foliage-Gleaner (Philydor rufum) / Ockerstirn-Blattspäher

 

Mirador Rio Blanco, 12/8/2022. Not as cooperative as its cousin but still an excellent view of this type of bird.

 

[michael-ibk]

706/EC175) Red-Faced Spinetail (Cranioleuca erythrops) / Rotgesicht-Baumschlüpfer

 

Mirador Rio Blanco, 12/8/2022. Most Spinetails are found in thick understorey (and thereby extremely tough to see) but this one is a bit easier, more at home a bit higher up.

 

 

Another photo from two days later:

 

 

 

[michael-ibk]

707/EC176) Slaty Spinetail (Synallaxis brachyura) / Graurücken-Dickichtschlüpfer

 

Mirador Rio Blanco, 12/8/2022. A much more typical Spinetail photo.

 

 

 

[michael-ibk]

708/EC177) Tropical Parula (Setophaga pitiayumi) / Elfenwaldsänger

 

Mirador Rio Blanco, 12/8/2022. Pretty little widespread bird. Really like the German name - "Fairy Forest Singer"

 

 

[michael-ibk]

709/EC178) Bananaquit (Coereba flaveola) / Zuckervogel

 

Mirador Rio Blanco, 12/8/2022. Tiny attractive warbler with a wide range, well-known bird.

 

 

 

[michael-ibk]

710/EC179) White-Necked Jacobin (Florisuga mellivora) / Weißnackenkolibri

 

Milpe Bird Sanctuary, 12/8/2022. After lunch we moved here, to a well-known smaller reserve with feeders and tracks.

 

 

A note about aperture - I have quite a few pictures  (like this one) where I clearly chose one too large. It was mostly very dark, and I tried to keep the ISO low. "Low" meaning something like 3 or 4000. But in hindsight I should have just accepted the higher ISO.

 

 

This is quite an unusual feeder photo. Normally Hummers are quite belligerent and continually drive each other away from this food source. A very unnecessary waste of energy as this image clearly shows. Always better to just get along with everybody else!

 

[michael-ibk]

711/EC180) Green-Crowned Brilliant (Heliodoxa jacula) / Grünstirn-Brillantkolibri

 

Milpe Bird Sanctuary, 12/8/2022. A fairly large Hummer.

 

[michael-ibk]

712/EC181) Crowned Woodnymph (Thalurania colombica) / Violettkronennymphe

 

Milpe Bird Sanctuary, 12/8/2022. Another old friend from Costa Rica. Common at several of the places we visited.

 

 

 

 

 

[michael-ibk]

713/EC182) Ochre-Breasted Tanager (Chlorothraupis stolzmanni) / Ockerbrustkardinal

 

Milpe Bird Sanctuary, 12/8/2022. As always birding at the tracks was difficult and not super-productive for clear sightings or photos. We named this one the "Ugly Tanager".

 

 

 

[michael-ibk]

714/EC183) Club-Winged Manakin (Machaeropterus deliciosus) / Keulenschwingenpipra

 

Milpe Bird Sanctuary, 12/8/2022. We all very really delighted about seeing this one, love these little dancers starring in so many nature documentaries. This one´s courtship display is unlike any other. Males hop and strut in neighboring trees at preferred display sites. They flick their wings upward, producing loud beeps by vibrating their feathers at incredibly high speeds. The vibro-sound was surprisingly loud!

 

 

 

 

[michael-ibk]

715/EC184) Pale-Vented Thrush (Turdus obsoletus) / Blasssteißdrossel

 

Milpe Bird Sanctuary, 12/8/2022. The most remarkable thing about this ebc sighting was that our guide managed to find it. High up in the dark canopy, sitting there motionlessly.

 

 

 

[michael-ibk]

716/EC185) Slaty-Capped Flycatcher (Leptopogon superciliari) / Schieferkappen-Laubtyrann

 

Milpe Bird Sanctuary, 12/8/2022. Another one in a long line of very similar Flycatchers/Tyrannulets.

 

 

 

[michael-ibk]

717/EC186) Yellow-Collared Chlorophonia (Chlorophonia flavirostris) / Halsbandorganist

 

Milpe Bird Sanctuary, 12/8/2022. I was very pleased with this one - a high canopy bird not seen very often. We looked for it for quite some time after hearing it, and I was the only one getting a look through the foliage. (Really just lucky about the particular angle I had.)

 

 

Nice bird to finish the day.

[Galana]

19 minutes ago, michael-ibk said:

deliciosus)

My thoughts too.

But poor Thrush as Obsoletus. Hardly sounds fair.

Never got a single Mannikin on my trip and I had several on the 'must see 'list' but I think I would swap them all for #717. Beautiful.

[Dave Williams]

1 hour ago, michael-ibk said:

Thanks, I´m glad you all like the Sharpe´s Wren. :-)

 

 

This is actually not that bad, all the ebird lists really help a lot. When I was on my own I did something even more helpful: I noted down the time I took pictures of difficult ones (so most of them really) in my ebird list. I´m still not envying myself about all the time needed to choose what to keep, delete and label everything though.

 

I agree Michael , it's sorting them afterwards that's a real pain, especially when I have been using 20fps all the time.Over 6 weeks I filled a 4TB hard drive and more.Ouch! Mind you my new hobby of video is also responsible for a lot of that.

 

In terms of ID's though, your 704,5,6,7 all look so similar it would drive me nuts trying to decide. I have all my Cisticolas in one file, I might leave them there too depending on how critical they are to me getting the 400 target I set myself. One tool that does work surprisingly well though is the Merlin Bird App photo ID. You take a shot of your photo and the app makes suggestions which at least saves you thumbing through every page in the guide book.

[TonyQ]

Lovely additions @michael-ibkand 717 is very special.

Interesting about the iso you were using (they stand up well)

What would be a typical shutter speed and aperture you were using with these isos?

[PeterHG]

Beautiful hummer shots and I agree on #717: very special! It's nice to see the different sizes of the hummingbirds in your feeder photo.

[michael-ibk]

22 hours ago, Galana said:

But poor Thrush as Obsoletus. Hardly sounds fair.

 

The truth often is not.

 

8 hours ago, TonyQ said:

What would be a typical shutter speed and aperture you were using with these isos?

 

To give you some ideas: The first Manakin (714) (which moved fast!) was 1/640, f 5.6, ISO 5000. The second one 1/250, f 5.6, ISO 5000.

Chlorophonia (717) : 1/1000, f 7.1, ISO 3200

Crowned Woodnymph (712), 1st photo: 1/200, f 6.3, ISO 2000

                                         2nd photo: 1/500, f 6.3, ISO 5000

                                         3rd photo: 1/500, f 6.3, ISO 1250

Ochre-Breasted Tanager (713): 1/320, f 5.6, ISO 6400

 

5 hours ago, PeterHG said:

It's nice to see the different sizes of the hummingbirds in your feeder photo.

 

Yes,  you really don´t get any idea about that from most photos, and it´s exactly all these slightly different sizes and shapes which are so fascinating.

 

And thanks all!

[michael-ibk]

Just a little anecdote I have to add from the evening. After dinner staff came out of the kitchen with a nice birthday cake and burning candles, even singing a bit. "Nice", I thought, "whose birthday will this be?", and looked at the other tour members. I was quite surprised when the cake was positioned in front of me!

 

"Happy Birthday Michael", our guide went, and everybody else joined in.

"But ... it´s not", I stammered.

"Of course it is! You said so in your booking files", the guide said, slightly disapprovingly. I started to sweat, feedling a bit like a fraud.

"Look, I´m quite sure this is not my birthday. I should know, right?"

My certainty gave them pause, but the tribunal continued:

"So why would you say it´s your birthday then?" (I could hear the disapproval there.)

 

But we found the solution to this enigma. I was not to blame - Americans are because they just don´t know how to write a date. 08/12/1976 is clearly the eighth of December to any sensible person. But Americans read this as the twelfth of August - and since Tropical Birding mainly deals with American clients that´s how they read it too.

 

Still, the important thing was, I had a cake. And it´s not bad having two birthdays a year. I was certainly happy!

 

 

Blew out the candles - and was reprimanded again! You just don´t do that since COVID! (Well, they did not know it was my plan to scare them from eating from my cake. Unfortunately that plan did not work. )

Edited September 21, 2022 by michael-ibk

[michael-ibk]

718/EC187) Olive-Crowned Yellowthroat (Geothlypis semiflava) / Olivscheitel-Gelbkehlchen

 

Mashpi, 13/8/2022. Another lenghty drive next morning, Mashpi is a well-known birding area. The weather was not bad but as so often on these forest walks we just did not see not too much, and I  did not manage to photograph much.