No snakes today

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Today we used the mist nets we had set up near the casita. It was generally much slower than we were used to from the pasture.

In the afternoon we had a ACOR watch at the lek, where we attempted to identify the four birds we had banded with special colored bands a couple of days previously among the displaying birds. This was more difficult than it sounded, at least for me. I found that even with decent binoculars I had some trouble positively identifying the color of a band on the leg of a bird bouncing energetically on a tree limb 50 ft. away from me in a dark cloud forest. I think though for a first attempt it went reasonably well.

On the way back at dusk, coming down the hill from the lek I noticed a shape perched on a branch over the trail. Dusti actually walked right under it before I called her attention to it. It was the elusive Rufescent Screech Owl, the bird that had taunted me by turning out to be a Motmot in the pasture days earlier! The bird acted completely unafraid of us (as I have heard small owls sometimes will) and allowed us to take several pictures. We could probably have reached out and touched it but instead we left it alone.

When we got back to the casita we found there was something wrong with the water, it wasn't running anymore. It turned out there was some type of blockage in the pipes up the hillside and the water tank which supplied the house wasn't being refilled. It was too dark to effect repairs then so Dusti told us to go light on the water until the problem was fixed.

(Dusti told a story about an expedition she had been on in Costa Rica, when volunteers had come to her very upset saying they had been chased out of a field by some cows. Dusti explained cows don't chase people, but they are herd animals. Therefore they have a very strong instinct to follow other animals. As the volunteers crossed the pasture the cows naturally followed them, and they thought they were being chased!)

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Photos

Rufescent Screech Owl
I was extremely happy to be able to get this picture.

Pascual with hummingbird
I believe this hummingbird is a Tawny-bellied Hermit. (If anyone has a correction for any of my bird identifications please let me know!)

Eric with feathered friend
I will need to check on the species here (the bird, not Eric).

Another picture of the Screech Owl
He obligingly turned his head so I could get a different angle.