First Resplendent Quetzal encounter

I was five minutes into my first point count this morning at 6:05am when a medium to large sized passerine flew through about 20 metres in front of me and appeared to land out of view behind dense vegetation. My first impression was that the bird was a species of pigeon; I had heard Ruddy Pigeons singing on my walk up to the old growth forest. The bird was just about to go into my notebook as a passerine sp., when a distinctive call, akin to a moaning dog, began emanating from the area where I thought the bird had landed - my first Resplendent Quetzal - the most sought after bird in Costa Rica. Despite my best efforts fighting through the vegetation to get nearer, I never managed to get a view of it perched, the bird apparently having flown silently off.

Other than that, a Yellow-winged Vireo was new, and I had good views of Buff-fronted Foliage-gleaner, Streak-breasted Treehunter, Ruddy Treerunner and Lineated Foliage-gleaner. A Bat Falcon also called overhead and a troop of seven White-faced Capuchins showed nicely on my way back down.

In the late afternoon as the mist came up the valley, and rain fell for the first time in two weeks, the trees came alive with birds, as is often the case. One of the first species I saw as I stepped out was a Yellow-olive Flycatcher. In the space of just a couple of minutes, a Scaly-breasted Foliage-gleaner, an Eye-ringed Flatbill, a Lesser Greenlet, along with about 15 other species were all seen in the same couple of trees; quite a spectacle. My first White-tailed Emerald was also briefly feeding on flowers in the garden.

Yellow-winged Vireo - my new favourite vireo.

Black-faced Solitaire - this species has an incredible ethereal sounding song, uttering what sounds like two notes at once, in what some people say sounds like a squeaky metal gate being swung back and forth. It is one of those sounds that is most evocative of rain forests.

This Leaf Insect was in our common room the other night, measuring about 10 cm.