Nature's Carols

While at breakfast this morning, I heard this sound....the beating of wings as first one then another Montezuma Oropendola flew into the madera negra tree beside the balcony.

The first two were followed by two more, taking the early morning sun...and I began to hope that they might form a colony.

In previous years I had seen singletons crossing the valley, but this was the first time a group had appeared and as breakfast continued they began to chatter .

This was the first bird I heard...and then saw...in Costa Rica, when visiting the country for the first time and I was lucky enough to see one performing its mating ritual on a tree near the house in which I was staying.
It would be the first bird about in the mornings, warbling and swinging forward on its branch as if bowing to the mate it was trying to attract, its flash of yellow tail feathers making it easy to spot.

I would be delighted if the group were to take up residence as their nests are spectacular...though I think they usually prefer dead trees or those more scarcely furnished with leaves than the madera negra...but we shall see.

In the meantime, I am delighted by their presence....wonderful breakfast guests!

It has always amused me that while Costa Rica has many magnificent birds it has chosen perhaps the most drab as its national emblem... the clay robin.
Mark you, there is something to be said for not plumping for something exotic like the quetzal, as did Guatemala, only to find that it has declined to the point of extinction.
Not flashy, Costa Rica.











The calls of different birds...from parrots to laughing falcons via blue grey tanagers....enliven the balcony all day...nature's carols.





I am not sure if the bird calls will be audible...but you can hear a vast range on this site to whet your appetite.
Try the Laughing Falcon...worse than the Laughing Policeman!