Celeste Mountain Lodge and Maquenque Ecolodge

Hi All,

I don't have much to report here so quickly: At Celeste Mountain Lodge near Bijagua de Upala I saw my first Costa Rica Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle). Also, on a dark, windy, nearly birdless late afternoon I still managed to see a Tody Motmot on the trail there – either dumb luck or there are a few of them there. It's a great lodge and the trail construction is terrific. I hope to return there and spend a good long morning. Also, they are beginning to improve the now very muddy road past the lodge to the Tenorio National Park HQ. The habitat along it is good forest edge, and I saw Spotted Antbird and Streak-crowned Antvireo along here.

Maquenque Ecolodge just north of Boca Tapada was also excellent, and in a very interesting location. I didn't get much time to bird here in the morning yesterday, and it was a dark, showery morning at that. But the afternoon before a Central American Pygmy-Owl came in close to my whistled attempt at creating a mob of tanagers, warblers, and honeycreepers, only my second in Costa Rica. Yesterday morning I saw both Scarlet and Great Green Macaws, Cinnamon Woodpecker (seems to be common there), and a female Golden-winged Warbler. Again, I look forward to returning here. It's a very comfortable lodge, and the staff includes the family members who own the lodge, and they are really nice people. I spent some time with Julio who is a sponge for information and already knows a huge amount about birds, plants, and insects.

Good Birding,

Rich Hoyer
http://birdernaturalist.blogspot.com