BREEDING MALE BLUE GROSBEAK, ROUTE 922, BEGACES TO PALO VERDE NATIONAL PARK,GUANACASTE, COSTA RICA, 6/13/18

   We can ID this bird  as a breeding male Blue Grosbeak by its overall deep blue color; small black mask in front of eyes; large, black-and-silver triangular bill and chestnut wing bars (you can see one of these wing bars in the first photo).
   Blue Grosbecks breed along roads and open areas.  They build their nest low in small trees, shrubs, tangles of vines, or briars.  The Blue Grosbeak is a migratory bird.  It nesting grounds are across most of the United States and much of northern Mexico, migrating South to Central Amerca and in very small numbers to northern South America.
   The Blue Grosbeck is a new species to our Photographic Life List, which now stands at 788.

GROOVE-BILLED ANI, ROUTE 922, BEGACES TO PALO VERDE NATIONAL PARK,GUANACASTE, COSTA RICA, 6/13/18

MOTMOT NEST, ROUTE 922, BEGACES TO PALO VERDE NATIONAL PARK,GUANACASTE,COSTA RICA, 6/13/18

   This was probably the nest of the Turquoise-browed Motmot previously posted (two posts ago) since it wad very close to it.

DOUBLE-STRIPED THICK-KNEE, ROUTE 922, BEGACES TO PALO VERDE NATIONAL PARK,GUANACASTE, COSTA RICA, 6/13/18

   We can ID this bird as a Double-striped Thick-Knee by the habitat where it was sighted (see below) and by its  large yellow eyes (see first photo); head with a broad white supercillary bordered above by a black stripe; short, stout bill: pale brown neck and breast and white belly.
    The Double-striped Thick-knee is a largely nocturnal and crepuscular (active during dawn and dusk) bird of the arid grassland, savanna and other dry, open habitats.  This Thick-knee eats large insects and other small vertebrate and invertebrate prey.
   The Double-striped Thick-knee is a new species to our Photographic Life List,which now stands at 787.

TURQUOISE-BROWED MOTMOT ON LINE, ROUTE 922, BEGACES TO PALO VERDE NATIONAL PARK, GUANACASTE, COSTA RICA, 6/13/18

   This past Wednesday we went on a birding tour with Carlos of Costa Rica Green Life Tours.  We had gone birding with him two years ago when we last visited Costa Rica.  He is a great birding guide.  He knows where the birds are and can ID them by sight and sound.  He has the gift of being able to sight and ID birds at a distance while driving.
   Carlos picked us up at our hotel at 5:30 am.  We were going to Palo Verde National Park to bird.  We went from our hotel, the Riu Guanacaste to the outskirts of Liberia where we picked up Route 1, the Pan American Highway.  We took Route 1 to Begaces, where we went on Route 922.  This route goes to Palo Verde National Park.  We birded along the road both going and coming back and at the park itself.  We got back to the hotel about 6 pm.  It was a very successful birding day.
   One of the first birds we saw and photographed was this beautiful Turquoise-browed Motmot.

WHITE-TIPPED DOVE, HOTEL RIU GUANACASTE AREA,PLAYA DE MATAPALO,GUANACASTE, COSTA RICA, 6/12/18

GOEFFROY'S SPIDER MONKEY, HOTEL RIU GUANACASTE AREA,PLAYA DE MATAPALO,GUANACASTE, COSTA RICA, 6/12/18