Marley-Jester Hoy: Birds

As I write this, it is 5:42AM, and I am outside on the balcony. The sun is already shining into the valley below and I hear an intricate tapestry of bird songs. It is mating season, the migrating birds are still passing through Costa Rica to the U.S., and they are all trying to outdo the other with their arias and peels. Now we are counting the weeks before we must return to Alaska and these early mornings with just the birds seem ever more precious to savor.

Our bird enthusiasm really got catalyzed by participating in the Turrialba Chirstmas bird count in mid-December. Asa and I got up early and went to observe as many bird species as we could with expert birders on the CATIE campus. Asa buddied up with a fellow doing his dissertation on toucans, and we learned an immense amount about many of the local species.

Since then, we have been able to spot and name a number of species and avidly look up new species in our bird book. Asa has also delved into drawing birds--toucans, a quetzal, and others. Just last week I accompanied Asa and his class on a field trip to help with an ongoing bird monitoring project. It was so fun to watch these budding scientists collect the birds out of nets, help measure them, look for body fat and other features, and then, best of all, to hold the bird in hand and let it free again. The Indigo Bunting, in particular, was shockingly beautiful with all variations of turquoise and blue tones. Seeing them up close was like seeing jewels up close.

Then this last weekend, we went to el Mirador de Quetzales in search of said bird. We stayed the night in a little cabin and had comunal meals in a lodge with a variety of European visitors. It reminded me of the gites I used to stay in with a hiking group I was part of during my year in beautiful southern France. And indeed, upon waking in the chilly morning air at 5:30AM and downing some coffee and hot chocolate, Asa and I walked into the deep woods with tall oaks and thanks to a very keen guide, saw quetzals! We saw an immature male and a couple of females. They were distinctly turquoise against the greenery behind and didn't have the long tail feathers of the glamourous adult male, but nonetheless they were mellow enough in their branch that we got some very good views and felt lucky indeed.

I finish this entry sitting on the balcony again listening to the clay colored robin, a rather plain looking bird, that is Costa Rica's national bird. Indeed, it harkens of the melodious robin's song in Alaska, and reminds us that although a long ways away, its cousin will be welcoming us when we return in a few months.