Our final day and a first.. turning Indigo !

We've seen a few Indigo Buntings  in recent days and this morning we were delighted to find this immature along the canal at our Sea Turtle Conservancy site. The first that I have caught in Costa Rica, and with not many captured over the 20 years of the project.

This was a quiet final session with continuing clear skies and 30 plus degrees in the shade -- so we weren't surprised.
The day started well with our fourth Band-tailed Barbthroat.

I wonder why we have failed to find this species on previous visits?

We have captured twenty Prothonatory Warblers this Fall, none this session but an interesting record from a recent night.

This bird was found by our ever vigilant security guards, Jose and Alfredo, roosting c3m up  on a branch near the STC buildings. The bird is of great interest being banded  with an American ring. The significance of this - the project from this year is fitting Porzana rings. Therefore the bird is a control or a returning site faithful bird.....

These beasts have become more visible around the sites in the last few days...

Always amusing as they fall, their weight or fighting often causing branches to break. At our Aero site this week one Iguana crashed to the ground, crashed through the vegetation and through our banding equipment on the floor.
Do you remember this Iguana performance from last year...Iguana 2013

A quick trip back to yesterday and our last day in primary forest at Cano Palma
The highlight...an American Coot ...

I have seen a couple on the main canal, but not here...nor Charlotte or Darryl, current and past Station Managers. The photo by Roy Belderok, a student from Holland studying Strawberry Poison Dart Frogs who joins us when we band at Cano

This smart looking American Pygmy Kingfisher at our Parque site this week...

We have captured ten this trip, but this our first at Parque in three years of standard banding at the site.

Our second visit of this Fall trip to Tortuguero is now over,  with 768 captures of 68 species to date. 486 of those being migrants of 33 species. Time to analyse some data over the weekend whilst we change locations, - and band at our San Jose site !

One group of birds clearly on the missing list, the "ant-related" forest birds, where are they ?  All birds of every "ant-related" species are proving hard to find at the three forest sites.

A rarity this trip...a Bicolored Antbird, and no Chestnut-backed Antbirds to date.
All is not finished...we have one more planned visit to the Caribbean forests at Tortuguero and we expect to be back for the beginning of December.

Plenty more to post, a summary of site faithful returning migrants, including some new species to that list, and some comparisons with previous visits.
A sunset to finish tonight, looking west across the Tortuguero canal from our Sea Turtle Conservancy base.

A late start tomorrow, a flight from LA lands at 630am  and brings Kim to join us. Kim is arriving from her home in British Columbia, Canada, and is joining us with Costa Rica Bird Observatories until January.
More from Kim soon, when last heard Kim was watching Orcas from the ferry as she left home...WOW !