Climbing Chirripo: Part 1 - The Birds

On Thursday, I set off to climb Mount Chirripo, the highest mountain in Costa Rica. It's a 15 mile hike to the peak (3800 m), gaining 2300 m in altitude. We set off at 7:30am, and made it to base camp (3400 m) by 2:30pm, before setting off at 2:30am the next morning to get to the peak for dawn. Fortunately by then, the clouds that had beset our night hike had dispersed to reveal the most beautiful sunrise. Although there were still a lot of clouds over the lowlands, through my binoculars I could just about make out the coastline of the Atlantic Ocean. The Pacific to the west was entirely blocked from view by a thunderstorm that had flashed pulses of lightning up to the mountain as we hiked up in the dark.

Unsurprisingly, at such high altitude, there were a number of interesting bird species, including a few endemics that only occur on this mountain range. The standout bird had to be the Fiery-throated Hummingbird. I only saw one individual which luckily happened to be a male which perched nicely to show off its incredible iridescent gorget (throat patch). Unfortunately, it flew off before I could photograph it. Volcano Juncos were numerous in the paramo (the area of short vegetation above the tree-line). Other species seem in this habitat included Large-footed Finch, Peg-billed Finch, Sooty Thrush, Volcano Hummingbird, Flame-throated Warbler and high altitude Wilson's Warblers.

New species seen in the high altitude, old-growth cloud forest included Streaked Xenops, Black-thighed Grosbeak, Black-billed Nightingale-thrush, and Spangle-cheeked Tanager.

Volcano Hummingbird - a very common hummingbird above the tree line. Territorial males would chase each other around over large distances as if the sky was full of bullets.

Volcano Hummingbird (fem) - If you ever wondered how big a 3 inch hummingbird nest is, it's a little smaller than a tennis ball.

Volcano Junco - these birds were so common, one came up to the mountain top before sunrise and hopped around on the rocks by our feet. One also tapped on the window of our bedroom as we napped after the long trek up to base camp.

Large-footed Finch - although I couldn't photograph them, their feet are about double the size that you'd expect.

Sooty Thrush

Flame-throated Warbler

Acorn Woodpecker - this species is making good use of the trees that were burnt in a forest fire at the tree line about 50 years ago. The woodland has since struggled to grow back to its former glory, but there was plenty of woodpecker breeding evidence in the dead trees.

Slaty Flower-piercer - although this species looks grey, when it fluttered around the flowers from which it consumes nectar, its plumage appeared a glossy dark royal blue.

Yellowish Flycatcher

Tufted Flycatcher

Collared Redstart - this individual was super tame, hopping around my feet. It even flew up and landed on the back of my backpack briefly.

Black-billed Nightingale-thrush - a common species in high altitude cloud forest, however only occuring in this mountain range in Costa Rica and the northern tip of Panama.