Although the weather wasn’t in our favour during our brief visit to Cabanas San Isidro, we did see some pretty cool birds. We arrived in the afternoon to pouring rain and spent most of our time out on the balcony where we could shelter and hope some birds would fly by.
My main target bird was the White-capped Parrot (Pionus seniloides) so after the rain stopped, I was hopeful when I finally heard some parrot squawks and a pair fly past us and disappear into the trees. But unfortunately they stayed in the foliage and wouldn’t come out and pose for photos.
After it started getting dark, we headed down to the restaurant to avoid walking in the dark and hung out on the deck watching a few hummingbirds who hadn’t turned in for the night.
After dinner, we were escorted back to our cabin by the guide but we first stopped off to see the resident San Isidro Owl. This is possibly a new species although some birding books lump it in with Balck-banded Owls. They are easy to see as they frequent the trees near the footpath where the street lamps attract insects. We saw 3 of them in different trees though I really struggled to get a shot in the dark!
The next morning, our guide was right on time and we didn’t have far to go as birds were all over the trees just outside our cabin. Here’s a pretty Masked Trogon.
A dramatic looking Green (Inca) Jay
Woodcreeper
Glossy-black Thrush
There’s a small platform on top of a cabin that gives a nice view over the surrounding canopy.
We then headed down a muddy path where sometimes you can see Antpittas. While walking down, I slipped in the mud and fell pretty hard. I instinctively tried to protect my camera (I was holding the Canon 60D and my husband was holding the Nikon which was not harmed) but the camera still hit the ground and the viewfinder cracked. There was mud all over the camera. Since we were already down there, we tried to call the antpitta in but he didn’t show up. At this point, I wanted to clean the camera so we went back to the dining room and I did my best to clean it.
I was really glad I had two cameras for the trip as the Canon just didn’t focus well after the accident. For example these photos were taken with the Nikon.
The photos below were taken with the Canon after the accident.
I did the best I could under the circumstances. They do have a very impressive bird list so I will share it here because odds are you will have better luck than I did!