TRIP TO COSTA RICA: RUFUS-COLLARED SPARROW, PARQUE FRANCISCO ALVARADO, ZARCERO, COSTA RICA

     Thanks to our tour guide and avid birder, Eric, for identifying this bird and the others on the Avenal Volcano leg of our trip to Costa Rica.  This is a distinctive bird with a black-and-gray head.  

   The Rufus-Collared Sparrow is a new species to our Life List, which now stands at 158.

TRIP TO COSTA RICA: SHARON & GEORGE AT THE TOPIARY GARDENS, ZARCERO, COSTA RICA

TRIP TO COSTA RICA: TOPIARY GARDENS & CHURCH, ZARCERO, COSTA RICA

   This beautiful topiary garden is in Parque Francisco Alvarado in front of a magnificent church: Inglesia de San Rafael in Zarcero, Costa Rica.  The church was built in 1895.  The bushes in the garden are in the shape of various figures.

TRIP TO COSTA RICA: VIEWS FROM BUS ON RIDE FROM SAN JOSE TO ZARCERO

TRIP TO COSTA RICA: PANAMA CITY AIRPORT & MOUNTAINS FROM THE PLANE

TRIP TO COSTA RICA: TORONTO TO PANAMA CITY-VIEWS FROM THE PLANE

   Sharon and I started our trip to Costa Rica this morning.  We traveled all day.  When we got to the Toronto airport we found out that our Delta flight to Atlanta had bee delayed from 6:20 am to 11 am due to mechanical ptoblems.  This would mean we would miss our connection to San Jose, Costa Rica and would have to stay overnight in Atlanta.  We would be late for the start of our tour on Tuesday.

   Sharon came up wiyh a brilliant idea.  In May we had traveled to Panama City by  Copa Airlines, so she figured they might fly to San Jose.  Low and behold they did.  So we ended up taking Copa to Panama City and then to San Jose.  We arrived at the  San Jose Airport about 4 pm, but we did get here todsy.

   Below are some photos from the plane.

RAINBOW ON A POND, RICHMOND GREEN PARK, RICHMOND HILL, ON

   Sharon and I were walking our dog Kenya, when we saw this rainbow rising up from the pond at Richmond Green Park.  A few minutes later it was gone.

TURTLE, LYNDE SHORES CONSERVATION AREA, WHITBY, ON

MOLTING MALE MALLARD, HUMBER BAY PARK EAST, TORONTO, ON

   This is a male Mallard molting from eclipse (nonbreeding) plumage to breeding plumage.   The Mallard has much of its breeding plumage, but its head and neck are still in eclipse plumage;  not the green of breeding plumage.  During the molt from eclipse to breeding plumage only the body feathers molt; the flight feathers do not. 

GREAT BLUE HERON IN REEDS, HUMBER BAY PARK EAST, TORONTO, ON

MUTE SWANS IN FLIGHT, HUMBER BAY PARK EAST, TORONTO, ON

MUTE SWAN UNFURLING ITS WINGS, HUMBER BAY PARK EAST, TORONTO, ON

CLOUDED YELLOW BUTTERFLY, HUMBER BAY PARK WEST, TORONTO, ON

RED-NECKED GREBE, HUMBER BAY PARK EAST, TORONTO, ON

RING-BLLED GULL IN FLIGHT, CRANBERRY MARSH, LYNDE SHORES CONSERVATION AREA, WHITBY, ON

MOLTING JUVENILE EUROPEAN STARLING, LAKE WILCOX PARK, RICHMOND HILL, ON

   This is a juvenile European Starling molting into a nonbreeding adult.  This generally occurs in September.

MONARCH BUTTERFLY, LYNDE SHORES CONSERVATION AREA, WHITBY, ON

FLOCK OF CANADA GEESE, LYNDE SHORES CONSERVATION AREA, WHITBY, ON

PIED-BILLED GREBE, CRANBERRY MARSH, LYNDE SHORES CONSERVATION AREA, WHITBY, ON

   This grebe has the short stout bill of a Pied-billed Grebe.  It still has the black ring on the bill of a breeding Pied-billed Grebe.

WILD TURKEY FAMILY, LYNDE SHORES CONSERVATION AREA, WHITBY, ON

   This family of four is of the Eastern subspecies of Wild Turkey.  The eastern subspecies has rufus feather tips, while the Southwestern subspecies and domestic varieties, which may have escaped, do not.

   The Wild Turkey is a new species to our Life List, which now stands at 157.

   

JUVENILE BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLER, LAMBTON WOODS PARK, TORONTO, ON

   We identified this warbler as a juvenile (1st winter) Black-throated Green Warbler as follows:

• Yellow face with olive cheek
• Green upperside and crown
• White underside with faint greyish/black streaks (you can just make out one of these streaks)
• Two white wing-bars
• Relatively long tail

   This Black-throated Green Warbler is a new species to our Life List, which now stands at 156.

MOLTING AMERICAN GOLDFINCH, NIAGARA BOTANICAL GARDENS, NIAGARA FALLS, ON

   This photo was taken last Friday at the Niagara Botanical Gardens.  I am just posting it, as it took awhile to identify.  I consulted with several experienced birders and the consensus was that it is a molting Americab Goldfinch.