Early risers find great satisfaction in welcoming the sun’s warmth with each sunrise, and early birds in Costa Rica were no exception – I found myself on Rancho Naturalista birding deck by 5:10 each morning with my coffee perched atop its railing – all the way out to see its far-off volcano view! Cane fields and homes dominate the valley below. But on the mountain where the Rancho sits there remains a rain forest environment which the view fails to capture. That is when I hear its chorus emerge, taking my thoughts off missing forests altogether. Brown Jay and Rufous-tailed Hummingbird are among the first birds heard, followed shortly by Clay-colored Thrust and Red-throated Ant-Tanager. As time progresses, other species such as Lesson’s Motmot, Bright-rumped Attila, Montezuma Oropendola Golden-crowned Warbler Cocoa Woodcreeper all add their voice to an overwhelming chorus. One morning a Ferruginous Pygmy Owl adds its voice; on another morning a Tropical Parula sings its songs with stagering volume; then at 5:25 everyday like clockwork a White-necked Jacobin arrives to visit my feeders just inches away keeping me company during early morning twilight. As dawn begins to break, the chorus gradually subsides and more people visit the birding deck to observe what birds they can find. Soon enough, however, morning fog slowly dissipates and by 06.00 birds have settled down, busily feeding after their night fast. Sugarcane fields teem with workers and two trees stand alone as survivors from what once was a vast forest. I imagine what the morning chorus must have sounded like back then when all one saw was forests; how long might have lasted then? As I stood watching these two survivors from what used to be one large forest, no birds visited either tree; none visited at any point during my observations of them.
