Costa Rican Adventure Day 10

Before breakfast we went to watch and later join in with the Humming Bird feeding. The birds' sugar water feeders are put out around 7 am and immediately the birds are there and feeding. There was already a lawn full of Black Guan waiting to be fed and numerous other birds sitting in the bushes and trees. We watched for a short while and then went and stood beside the feeders. The birds kept coming to feed, it was amazing to hear their throbbing wing beats close to your head. Fabian then told us to hold the feeders close to us and to see what the birds did. The birds were only phased for a few minutes, then they continued to feed as if we were not there. We all had birds really close, by close I mean 20 to 30 cm away from our faces. It was amazing to see the birds so close, you could even see their hearts pounding in their chests! The colours seemed more vivid and intense, it was a really magical experience!

Black Guan

Yellow Thighed Finch

After breakfast we left mum and Lee to enjoy the grounds as we were doing a hard trek to a waterfall, with birding on route. We left around 9am and as it turned out we didn't get back until nearly 2pm. We didn't manage to find a Quetzel, but we did see some lovely warblers and hawks to add to our bird tally. Of course there were the trees and plants to marvel at, especially as we made our way higher and started to overlook the tree canopy.

We were met by mum and Lee upon our return and then we had another lovely lunch. In the afternoon we drove out over the mountains to a small town,  Zarcero. It was a really scenic drive, with tremendous views across the mountains, watching the clouds roll in. We stopped at various intervals to look at birds and the views. We saw a lovely Hairy Woodpecker banging away at the side of a tree. It is very small, about the size of a Green finch. As we crossed over into the farming area, the landscape changed, with fields of crops and lots of cattle. It reminded me of the Lake District, just with different trees.

Hairy Woodpecker 

We arrived at the town which was quite small with a central park and church dominating the town area. We went inside the church which had some lovely stained  glass windows shedding a beautiful light inside. Outside, the park is famous locally for its cypress tree topiary. It was interesting to see it and good that the locals seemed to enjoy it also.

We returned to our lodge just before dinner, which was excellent as usual. Tonight we had black bean soup, followed by sea bass and vegetables, with a pineapple desert. The standard of food has been great and our stay memorable, I will be sad to leave tomorrow, but leave we must and head for Arenal.