https://www.stephentarnowski.com/blog daily 0.75 2026-09-18 https://www.stephentarnowski.com/blog/costa-rica-2026-tarcoles-river-and-carara-national-park monthly 0.5 2026-09-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/389cc9d5-4e3a-4f42-8cc7-dafdccc25e1c/P9030842.jpg Blog - Costa Rica 2026 (5/5): Tarcoles River and Carara National Park - Make it stand out The view and the birding were both excellent from the observation tower at the Tarcoles Birding Hotel https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/4b3ec96f-132c-4ca1-a623-0795ffbf3a09/_9053285.jpg Blog - Costa Rica 2026 (5/5): Tarcoles River and Carara National Park - Make it stand out We watched as small groups of Scarlet Macaws, and other parrots flew down towards the coast throughout the evening. Later we would learn they roost in the mangrove forest overnight! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1789689726186-V63P2MB04255MFTGPVD5/ECC54AA1-FAD4-4720-A6BE-60137A5BE8E7.jpeg Blog - Costa Rica 2026 (5/5): Tarcoles River and Carara National Park https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1789689759461-1PUZPBTC88011R6SFAFW/P9030848.jpg Blog - Costa Rica 2026 (5/5): Tarcoles River and Carara National Park https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/b151ad0c-1bfd-4a98-8dd1-bc55dbd2d63d/_9042886-2.jpg Blog - Costa Rica 2026 (5/5): Tarcoles River and Carara National Park - Make it stand out We saw a bunch of crocodiles from the boat. Juan Carlos told us that the males are territorial so you get a feel for who likes to hang out where, and they are named. One particularly combative croc is Mike Tyson, another is Osama bin Laden because he is hard to find. Several more were named after Latin American political figures like Fidel Castro and Nicolas Maduro. This particular croc was one of the biggest we saw at over 5 meters long (16ish feet)! I was glad I was in the big boat! Even moreso when our friend Catherine told me that a few years ago, somebody got eaten by a crocodile right here in the Tarcoles! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/90136dd8-4f0a-4dc5-bc51-66906199bee4/_9042930-2.jpg Blog - Costa Rica 2026 (5/5): Tarcoles River and Carara National Park - Make it stand out One of the early highlights of our boat ride was passing a large group of roosting Magnificent Frigatebirds. I had only ever seen them soaring overhead so it was a treat to see them so close. This particular bird is a male with the big red air sack. He was actively preening his tail feathers as we drifted past. This is probably my favorite photo of the whole trip! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/ef8b7bd2-d96a-4d32-8a97-0df25e7c3515/_9042863-2.jpg Blog - Costa Rica 2026 (5/5): Tarcoles River and Carara National Park - Make it stand out We were in the river at about high tide so a lot of the shorebirds, herons, and egrets were up on posts or even in the trees! This Hudsonian Whimbrel was not too bothered as we cruised by. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/90dbf602-5bbc-4e3f-a837-0b7e92555492/_9043011-2.jpg Blog - Costa Rica 2026 (5/5): Tarcoles River and Carara National Park - Make it stand out We travelled downriver towards the beach area where we found some ocean birds like these terns. We were impressed with Juan Carlos’s birding chops as he picked out the Elegant Tern on the right from a group of about 20 slightly larger Royal Terns, one of which is on the left here for comparison. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/78477b4a-c4b0-41a0-8e2d-fe0d28dfe4a5/_9042882.jpg Blog - Costa Rica 2026 (5/5): Tarcoles River and Carara National Park - Make it stand out We were still seeing lots of crocodiles as we navigated the river channel. This one has a narrower snout, indicative of being a female croc. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/0d267cf4-d39f-4841-b1be-3faec1575b48/P9030857.jpg Blog - Costa Rica 2026 (5/5): Tarcoles River and Carara National Park - Make it stand out Next we cruised down a long channel through the mangrove forest. Juan Carlos described the various species of mangroves that were present, and we were hearing some of the specialist mangrove species like Mangrove Vireo. We got a quick look at Mangrove Hummingbird, one of our main targets, but I was not able to get a photo. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/4f437c76-2061-48c0-948a-a3cf7ea25e6e/_9043043-2.jpg Blog - Costa Rica 2026 (5/5): Tarcoles River and Carara National Park - Make it stand out We found a good number of Boat-billed Herons roosting in the mangroves. These funky birds are mostly nocturnal so it was cool to see them so well in the daytime. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/6d30cc3e-0000-4ae0-bc30-85f7ce040497/_9043070-3.jpg Blog - Costa Rica 2026 (5/5): Tarcoles River and Carara National Park - Make it stand out We spied this Common Black Hawk in the mangrove forest. I read on their “Birds of the World” page that the Common Black Hawks in the mangrove forests eat almost exclusively crabs! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1ce54821-1ce0-4321-a23e-90c948a29d64/_9043029-2.jpg Blog - Costa Rica 2026 (5/5): Tarcoles River and Carara National Park - Make it stand out We also found some handsome Black-bellied Whistling Ducks in the mangrove trees. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/210071d2-541f-4c8b-b900-5a47ebd55512/_9043089-2.jpg Blog - Costa Rica 2026 (5/5): Tarcoles River and Carara National Park - Make it stand out We saw a ton of birds on the boat tour, but the birding wasn’t done. When we got back to the Jungle Crocodile Safari HQ, we found this spectacular Turqoise-browed Motmot perched on a wire. Believe it or not, the racket-tipped tail feathers are still growing in on this bird and can be much longer. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/e9cea1c7-5ce7-4ed6-b0a4-105038970acb/_9043104-2.jpg Blog - Costa Rica 2026 (5/5): Tarcoles River and Carara National Park - Make it stand out The Spectacled Owl! We had to hike a short distance in the forest to see this one. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/a7887cb8-b168-46fd-b8bc-e0aff4ae0b37/_9043110-2.jpg Blog - Costa Rica 2026 (5/5): Tarcoles River and Carara National Park - Make it stand out Shago was having some fun with us when he located this Pacific Screech-Owl. When we arrived at the roost, he checked the ground first to see if there were any new pellets or droppings and then said the owl is here and asked if we could find it. It is so camouflaged we didn’t see it right in front of us and were looking too deep in the trees! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/885a2639-3a14-49ec-b466-edc1b4a60fe5/_9043125-2.jpg Blog - Costa Rica 2026 (5/5): Tarcoles River and Carara National Park - Make it stand out This pair of Black-and-White Owls were large enough that we redeemed ourselves and spotted them in the canopy (once Shago put us in the right spot!). By about 11 a.m. we were done for the day! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/be58ef98-2825-4c93-88e3-51a39dc69461/_9043129-2.jpg Blog - Costa Rica 2026 (5/5): Tarcoles River and Carara National Park - Make it stand out As we were getting ready to leave Jungle Crocodile Safari HQ, we noticed some commotion in the trees: a Yellow-throated Toucan! This is the best look we’ve had at any toucan species. Way cool! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/361a71d9-3c4e-4f99-bd0b-d9b28ad29122/9BBBFD0D-CE43-46E3-9DE9-396B3B89AC9F.jpeg Blog - Costa Rica 2026 (5/5): Tarcoles River and Carara National Park - Make it stand out We met Pablo at the park entrance for its 8 a.m. rainy-season opening (in the dry season they open at 7). Very late by tropical birding standards which seemed like a minor tragedy, but the vegetation is so thick in the park, even with the later start it was dark as anything in there! I am not sure we would have been able to see anything if we had started any earlier. Pablo also brought his girlfriend Mary to be another set of eyes which was good because we needed all the eyes we could get! Pablo and Mary were excellent whistlers and mimickers - anything we heard they would call back to in the same way! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/b6e2861b-0fbf-41f2-8f33-557e616c06d3/_9053298-2.jpg Blog - Costa Rica 2026 (5/5): Tarcoles River and Carara National Park - Make it stand out Carara is known for its Green-and-Black Poison Dart Frogs. They were everywhere! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/3c5d7819-c04f-4524-b508-ffea8779aefd/_9053340-2.jpg Blog - Costa Rica 2026 (5/5): Tarcoles River and Carara National Park - Make it stand out We were birding hard - walking slowly, scanning the forest floor, the understory and up in the canopy. We had success in finding some deep forest birds, like this Great Tinamou. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/cce37c6b-a3a1-442a-96cf-bb7006a0c569/_9053371-2.jpg Blog - Costa Rica 2026 (5/5): Tarcoles River and Carara National Park - Make it stand out We also came across this White-whiskered Puffbird foraging in the leaf litter not too far off the trail. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1ee7aa85-954d-4932-b9c1-8bb0e370e5ce/_9053463-2.jpg Blog - Costa Rica 2026 (5/5): Tarcoles River and Carara National Park - Make it stand out It was a real treat to watch this Ruddy Quail-Dove gathering nesting material from the forest floor and drop it off in the nest with the female. Usually these birds are very hard to see so we lucked out that they chose to build their nest where we could get a good look. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/3df08876-7241-4d1a-8833-a1a186fbd008/_9053454-2.jpg Blog - Costa Rica 2026 (5/5): Tarcoles River and Carara National Park - Make it stand out Pablo pointed out this Ghost Bat hanging from a palm frond above the trail. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/630b7e74-d9e9-4671-86cd-577f031dd511/_9053387-2.jpg Blog - Costa Rica 2026 (5/5): Tarcoles River and Carara National Park - Make it stand out Overall the conditions were pretty difficult for taking photos, particularly of the birds in the trees with very low ambient light and the light mostly coming in from behind the birds. I got lucky with this Golden-crowned Spadebill, a tiny yellow ping-pong ball of a bird who was content to sit very still on a nearby branch with some broad green leaves behind him. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/2726bd6d-85cf-4a64-9502-6e8dd3ff0b9c/6B3337BC-A220-4696-9BF0-FF5201B250C4.jpeg Blog - Costa Rica 2026 (5/5): Tarcoles River and Carara National Park - Make it stand out Still smiling after a long morning in the heat and humidity at Carara! The enormous trees in this forest were a highlight in their own right. At one point, we heard a series of wood snapping sounds ahead and Mary signaled she was not going forward on the trail: “no quiero”. Pablo cautiously checked it out while we all stood back. After a minute or two, we heard a short series of escalating cracks and BOOM! Mary waived us forward with a knowing look and we saw a branch the size of a normal tree had fallen from the canopy (thankfully about 15 meters off to the side of the trail). https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/efb9edf0-14ee-48a6-8c64-82ccfc7f43aa/_9043249-2.jpg Blog - Costa Rica 2026 (5/5): Tarcoles River and Carara National Park - Make it stand out After about four hours, we were shot and thanked Mary and Pablo for taking us through the forest in Carara and getting us on so many birds. We spent the evening back at the observation tower watching the Macaws and reflecting on a great trip! The next morning we did a little bit of birding on the road by our hotel and then got to the airport before the traffic got going in San Jose. All told, we saw 321 species of birds, about half of which were life birds for us. We got lucky in that everything went pretty smoothly (even the driving!) and we had some great guides to show us the ropes. Pura Vida! https://www.stephentarnowski.com/blog/costa-rica-2026-bosque-de-paz-and-catarata-del-toro monthly 0.5 2026-09-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/c14c9a23-8c03-4de0-be6a-ec1f99b8ad1e/P9010778-2.jpg Blog - Costa Rica 2026 (4/5): Bosque de Paz and Catarata del Toro - Make it stand out This Catarata del Toro is enormous! 80m tall! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/a39b809a-6431-4782-aaa9-d667b94bd0c0/P9010786.jpg Blog - Costa Rica 2026 (4/5): Bosque de Paz and Catarata del Toro - Make it stand out This staircase leads down to the bottom from the rim to the right of where we took the previous picture. We descended a few flights of stairs without much change in perspective before stopping and taking stock. “What are we doing?!" We’re going to have to climb back out of here!!” And we turned back from there! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/3836da7c-3937-41b8-9172-50953c00cc89/P9010787.jpg Blog - Costa Rica 2026 (4/5): Bosque de Paz and Catarata del Toro - Make it stand out That ended up being a good decision as this cloud rolled in and it began dumping rain about 10 minutes after we got back to the rim. They don’t call it the cloud forest up here for nothing! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/52a7a0dd-36e8-44c7-8eb2-f5c0256debe4/_9012404-2.jpg Blog - Costa Rica 2026 (4/5): Bosque de Paz and Catarata del Toro - Make it stand out This dazzling jewel is appropriately called a Coppery-headed Emerald. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/065c5b3d-879d-464a-93f8-e53f8d1bd772/_9012439-3.jpg Blog - Costa Rica 2026 (4/5): Bosque de Paz and Catarata del Toro - Make it stand out I was entirely confused by this buff-throated hummingbird. Turns out, this a juvenile Green-crowned Brilliant. The adults do not have the buffy throats which is why it took me a long time to figure out which species I was looking at here! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/48ca44db-e5c3-4f51-afc9-d1a763d678c5/_9012491-2.jpg Blog - Costa Rica 2026 (4/5): Bosque de Paz and Catarata del Toro - Make it stand out The Violet Sabrewing is the largest hummingbird in Costa Rica - a whopping 15 cm long, and absolutely spectacular. Almost unbelievably, they were abundant at Bosque de Paz and at the waterfall. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/3e4aabcc-b836-46da-aac9-c0047ca9fdb2/P9010804.jpg Blog - Costa Rica 2026 (4/5): Bosque de Paz and Catarata del Toro - Make it stand out Bosque de Paz is owned and managed by an exceptionally charming gentleman, a retired international lawyer named Frederico. We learned that we were the last guests of the season and that he and his wife would be closing the lodge for two months to visit family in Europe. He chatted with us at every meal, which was a delight in itself. The food was really good and Emilee was even eating the fruit that was served for dessert. Our first night, Frederico invited us to feel at home, but to be back at the lodge prior to sunset each evening. That seemed like good advice given our remote location! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/6da60ba5-9a21-4031-a29c-95c00f5bee01/P9010809.jpg Blog - Costa Rica 2026 (4/5): Bosque de Paz and Catarata del Toro - Make it stand out On the hillside opposite the river Christopher, the operator of the lodge, spread cracked corn that brought in a variety of critters. Here you have a Black Guan feeding with Agoutis and a Coatimundi. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/94f4f9be-bb32-4e4e-97da-d4a9ce1dbe18/_9022592-2.jpg Blog - Costa Rica 2026 (4/5): Bosque de Paz and Catarata del Toro - Make it stand out The Central American Agouti is a rabbit-like rodent that comes to feeders. They are pretty cute! Our first night, Frederico and Christopher shined a light out from the dining room onto the slope and illuminated a few Lowland Pacas, a similar, stripier Central American mammal that is nocturnal. They reported they have generally been declining but continue to live at Bosque de Paz in good numbers. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/42d7168e-fceb-4899-9811-2cce4cfe5795/2FD3A136-355C-45DF-B85C-FFA5BB083F07.jpeg Blog - Costa Rica 2026 (4/5): Bosque de Paz and Catarata del Toro - Make it stand out We also had an exciting mammal encounter on the trails in the reserve. It was early in the morning and we were walking near a river (of which there are several on the grounds) which drowned out most sounds, when we rounded a turn and came face to face with a large, blocky-headed dark weasel (about the size of our dog Violet, who weighs a little over 20 pounds). We all froze in surprise! After a few seconds, it leapt into the undergrowth off the trail and disappeared. We had no idea what it was and chatted with Frederico and Christopher about it. It was the Tolomuco! Or Tayra in English, a tropical omnivorous weasel-relative. I did not get a photo - during our encounter I was trying to figure out whether or not I was on the Tolomuco menu! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/6adc4c58-7b08-41b4-8610-fdf917dd798d/_9022612-2.jpg Blog - Costa Rica 2026 (4/5): Bosque de Paz and Catarata del Toro - Make it stand out We saw lots of interesting critters on the trails in the forest, like this clearwing butterfly. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/fd36285c-1776-4793-aadb-ca83c5ccd31b/_9012555-2.jpg Blog - Costa Rica 2026 (4/5): Bosque de Paz and Catarata del Toro - Make it stand out In my scouting for the trip, it was noted that Bosque de Paz was a great place to see the Black Guan. I can vouch for that! It seemed to be on a routine, showing up each day at around 4 p.m. to eat a little corn on the hillside. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/4426a14d-6016-4f82-9e8e-897447d9e169/P9010812.jpg Blog - Costa Rica 2026 (4/5): Bosque de Paz and Catarata del Toro - Make it stand out Bosque de Paz is known for its collection of orchids collected in the reserve. They have catalogued over 300 species of orchids - including four species that have not been found outside of the reserve! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/fada0f92-4fbe-4445-9ca3-be7dff024c7a/P9010814.jpg Blog - Costa Rica 2026 (4/5): Bosque de Paz and Catarata del Toro - Make it stand out This is what the orchid garden looks like. Different orchids have been transplanted to these stakes for display in one place. Because they grow throughout the canopy, a visitor would never see most of these flower species. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/b18bf842-0a00-4e70-99d1-4eeb5f05a3f7/P9010818.jpg Blog - Costa Rica 2026 (4/5): Bosque de Paz and Catarata del Toro - Make it stand out Most of the orchid species were not blooming during our visit, but a few were. This was one of the more visually impressive flowers. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/43c4b512-71ae-4971-bbc5-2683de781739/0FE0CB36-4795-45DB-B244-739434B6C457.jpeg Blog - Costa Rica 2026 (4/5): Bosque de Paz and Catarata del Toro - Make it stand out We really enjoyed our days of walking the trails at Bosque de Paz. It was serene and otherworldly to be in this big ancient forest - a good change of pace! https://www.stephentarnowski.com/blog/costa-rica-2026-tranki-gardens monthly 0.5 2026-09-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/96ebf6f4-919d-404d-9198-7f4e59b7734b/_8311523-2.jpg Blog - Costa Rica 2026 (3/5): Tranki Gardens - Make it stand out Typically a marsh bird that is very hard to see, David had habituated them to dip out of the reeds for some worms. We all sat in the blind and he put the worms out and said, “Come out Crake!” After a minute or so, the crake scurried out to grab a worm or two. I was surprised how colorful they are! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1789480019061-N44FX98DQV5R4G4LO1UQ/_8311648-2.jpg Blog - Costa Rica 2026 (3/5): Tranki Gardens https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1789480018931-7FU9FQ9GH9AZ37BKZLWC/_8311666.jpg Blog - Costa Rica 2026 (3/5): Tranki Gardens https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/3e3f5459-9a56-438b-a122-8043eaabf055/_8311712-2.jpg Blog - Costa Rica 2026 (3/5): Tranki Gardens - Make it stand out We saw an unfamiliar hummingbird perched in the garden near the feeders: the Brown Violetear! This is the first violetear species we have seen. Teylor later asked us - “did you see it flaring its purple ear flaps out?” while gesturing with his hands like elephant ears. We weren’t sure until we reviewed my photos and saw that it did! Amazing! What a combo between the violet ears and the sapphire gorget! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/4ba69916-36d6-478b-8594-774dc1dacb78/_8311778-2.jpg Blog - Costa Rica 2026 (3/5): Tranki Gardens - Make it stand out Another unique and colorful hummingbird we got great looks at was Green-breasted Mango. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1393c62f-1b7f-4961-82ed-aeff8c1bbfb8/_8311985-2.jpg Blog - Costa Rica 2026 (3/5): Tranki Gardens - Make it stand out One more for good measure: the well-named Rufous-tailed Hummingbird. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/689e4a12-a302-4324-aef1-75378554f9ab/_8311929-2.jpg Blog - Costa Rica 2026 (3/5): Tranki Gardens - Make it stand out A troop of about 10 Collared Aracaris came into the feeders at one point and ran everyone else off! We remembered Isaias, our guide in Belize, telling us that these birds are real scoundrels and as opportunists, will eat the eggs and young of many other bird species, so it was probably a good call for them to clear out! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/f0b7faa4-294e-4b96-823e-7a725d4dc17f/_8312226.jpg Blog - Costa Rica 2026 (3/5): Tranki Gardens - Make it stand out Pretty quickly I figured out that to take a picture, I would need to set up a few flowers ahead in line and snap a few shots as this tiny bird briefly probed each flower for nectar. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/79c6d7fc-64a2-4c73-bada-84e300794c8c/_8312288.jpg Blog - Costa Rica 2026 (3/5): Tranki Gardens - Make it stand out Eventually the Snowcap perched and I got this shot of him stretching out and getting comfortable. I was ecstatic! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/ca264ffe-d47c-46f6-8196-f9f873223d25/E0C28215-FD28-4AB8-8BDF-91A4C50E8782.jpeg Blog - Costa Rica 2026 (3/5): Tranki Gardens - Make it stand out Safe to say we were fans of the Snowcap - we even picked up some ‘Snowcap merch’ back at Rancho. We wore our Snowcap shirts on the trip home! https://www.stephentarnowski.com/blog/costa-rica-2026-rancho-naturalista-and-volcan-turrialba monthly 0.5 2026-09-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/475459bc-481a-4d6c-80fe-d92768404eb0/IMG_8446.jpeg Blog - Costa Rica 2026 (2/5): Rancho Naturalista and Volcan Turrialba - Make it stand out The view from the deck at Rancho Naturalista looking out into the valley at sunset https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/47466b3a-075a-46d0-a57a-ca1b18b2c0d3/_8290290-2.jpg Blog - Costa Rica 2026 (2/5): Rancho Naturalista and Volcan Turrialba - Make it stand out This hummingbird is a Crowned Woodnyph - a beautiful explosion of iridescent emerald and violet https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/80ba9a41-d9e9-48d6-b408-4965a27ab2b7/_8290330-2.jpg Blog - Costa Rica 2026 (2/5): Rancho Naturalista and Volcan Turrialba - Make it stand out It wasn’t all hummingbirds though. A particular standout was this Common Squirrel-Cuckoo who came into the trees above the feeders where we got great looks. After dinner we met up with Teylor Redondo, a young guide who would be showing us around the next two days. We made plans to bird the property the next morning, and he also kindly set us straight on a few of our hummingbird misidentifications. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/56d9dc30-aeb0-400c-9c36-25ab37d8d21a/_8300772-2.jpg Blog - Costa Rica 2026 (2/5): Rancho Naturalista and Volcan Turrialba - Make it stand out The Thicket Antipitta: very cute! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/cd742842-79f2-43bc-974b-4d41b766a099/_8300803-2.jpg Blog - Costa Rica 2026 (2/5): Rancho Naturalista and Volcan Turrialba - Make it stand out Blue-Gray Tanager: one of the more common and widespread tanager species https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/76e105d6-bb25-4e6e-a7d3-072a1fed0560/_8300729-2.jpg Blog - Costa Rica 2026 (2/5): Rancho Naturalista and Volcan Turrialba - Make it stand out We also encountered a squealing Roadside Hawk in the open pasture area https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/f928bd60-8ea1-4d71-b1c9-dffff37d6078/_8300828-2.jpg Blog - Costa Rica 2026 (2/5): Rancho Naturalista and Volcan Turrialba - Make it stand out This amazing Speckled Tanager was one of the birds we observed during the rainstorm https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/68f7166c-e374-4545-91ea-2c066587bbcf/_8300917-2.jpg Blog - Costa Rica 2026 (2/5): Rancho Naturalista and Volcan Turrialba - Make it stand out Luck was on our side as the Sunbittern was present in a field right next to the first river we checked. Not only was it present, it was also doing its full blown display! Wow! We saw another 60-some species of birds at the Laguna Angostura in a fun afternoon, but the Sunbittern was the stand-out bird. Another fun highlight was that Teylor scored his lifer Purple Martin perched on a wire with a group of Gray-breasted Martins in a field on our drive out from the Laguna. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1789098029694-56BOD7E72I1SSQ9G2QRY/93C0D29B-C6FE-4A1B-A8D4-08AF269FA8BD.jpeg Blog - Costa Rica 2026 (2/5): Rancho Naturalista and Volcan Turrialba https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1789098029344-60WAG3X9G1KZM3ZLJQEP/8F51EC05-AFB4-4CCE-B53A-A286B4A2E1CB.jpeg Blog - Costa Rica 2026 (2/5): Rancho Naturalista and Volcan Turrialba https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/e77d73cf-4884-4e58-9d0d-7a92bde1c7be/_8311204-2.jpg Blog - Costa Rica 2026 (2/5): Rancho Naturalista and Volcan Turrialba - Make it stand out Sooty-capped Chlorospingus is one of the higher elevation, range-restricted birds we saw well once the weather cleared up https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/296edb75-4c90-4392-b545-d8c473d7963b/4FDE53E5-E8C0-4B05-B8B0-32E97C70BD21.jpeg Blog - Costa Rica 2026 (2/5): Rancho Naturalista and Volcan Turrialba - Make it stand out Emilee and Teylor walking the road in the high montane forest on Volcan Turrialba https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/d9ef4167-72bb-4546-82d9-087eaa7246e0/_8311266-2.jpg Blog - Costa Rica 2026 (2/5): Rancho Naturalista and Volcan Turrialba - Make it stand out The Collared Redstart has a similar distribution limited mostly to Costa Rica and we were happy to see quite a few of these handsome little birds https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/c095a40f-4d88-49e6-832d-e6846a425e04/_8311362-2.jpg Blog - Costa Rica 2026 (2/5): Rancho Naturalista and Volcan Turrialba - Make it stand out Black-and-Yellow Silky Flycatcher was another highlight. These guys are related to the Phainopepla, our Southwestern ‘silky flycatcher’ and have similar berry eating habits. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/2841d620-2b5b-47cd-8480-bd5238802a16/_8311438-2.jpg Blog - Costa Rica 2026 (2/5): Rancho Naturalista and Volcan Turrialba - Make it stand out Another good bird we encountered was this Buffy Tuftedcheek, described as having a spotty distribution throughout its limited range https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/ecb3a6b5-1000-45ed-8462-9ec8cc8a1af8/_8311300-3.jpg Blog - Costa Rica 2026 (2/5): Rancho Naturalista and Volcan Turrialba - Make it stand out We also found some high elevation hummingbirds, like this female Volcano Hummingbird, a very small hummer! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/ea4c4347-4a5c-49b0-9102-6d9aeaaa4579/_8311452-2.jpg Blog - Costa Rica 2026 (2/5): Rancho Naturalista and Volcan Turrialba - Make it stand out Female Purple-throated Mountain-Gem was another favorite. I was a little surprised to learn that despite the white ear stripe, this species is not particularly closely related to the White-eared Hummingbird we’ve seen in Arizona. Maybe a bad assumption on my part! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/6a8a6746-9d45-4c2f-94f4-3b59b84007fa/IMG_8510.jpeg Blog - Costa Rica 2026 (2/5): Rancho Naturalista and Volcan Turrialba - Make it stand out Pura Vida Rancho Naturalista! https://www.stephentarnowski.com/blog/costa-rica-2026-overview-and-hotel-bouganvillea monthly 0.5 2026-09-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/5e47298a-10d5-4014-bb48-d93f890da288/IMG_8398.jpeg Blog - Costa Rica 2026 (1/5): Overview and Hotel Bougainvillea - Make it stand out Big smiles for arriving in San Jose https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/5a449fcf-b96e-46ff-af0f-40066bd823eb/IMG_8406.jpeg Blog - Costa Rica 2026 (1/5): Overview and Hotel Bougainvillea - Make it stand out The Hotel Bougainvillea! This was the view from our balcony looking back towards San Jose. The hotel had beautiful and extensive gardens behind the hotel - 10 acres! We got out to bird the grounds before dinner and try to find the bamboo grove with the Mottled Owl. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/f6e29bc8-dacf-4042-988c-31448d1e996f/IMG_8436.jpeg Blog - Costa Rica 2026 (1/5): Overview and Hotel Bougainvillea - Make it stand out Note the umbrella in hand! We picked these up before our trip and that ended up being a great call. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1788914910383-9YXV032DU6UCMT34YQND/_8280043-3.jpg Blog - Costa Rica 2026 (1/5): Overview and Hotel Bougainvillea https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1788914743904-9JXECNMLJ6IS1KLVJIGM/_8280043-2.jpg Blog - Costa Rica 2026 (1/5): Overview and Hotel Bougainvillea https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1788915396280-IL7FMD74YPZZQ0TDMWV1/85e37461-ee80-48d9-929a-16fd6f34eeec.jpeg Blog - Costa Rica 2026 (1/5): Overview and Hotel Bougainvillea https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1788915396233-P7UPIRSHPZUM0B1PY4VW/fa36b772-4f28-4b10-b63a-6f3b50885a08.jpeg Blog - Costa Rica 2026 (1/5): Overview and Hotel Bougainvillea https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/db384604-cd12-4eb3-a0c6-c21fbcac9844/_8290119.jpg Blog - Costa Rica 2026 (1/5): Overview and Hotel Bougainvillea - Make it stand out The Rufous-Collared Sparrow is the common sparrow of the central highlands of Costa Rica. What a stunner! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/06ddc7d6-ce63-4f4f-a23f-35afad0d0dba/_8290142.jpg Blog - Costa Rica 2026 (1/5): Overview and Hotel Bougainvillea - Make it stand out This Variegated Squirrel was also very charismatic https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/f402c889-1ff2-410c-9d63-24f8dea83933/_8290177.jpg Blog - Costa Rica 2026 (1/5): Overview and Hotel Bougainvillea - Make it stand out Red-billed Pigeon also made a strong impression. Very handsome! Regal, even https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/513f7465-5c29-4c41-a49c-bc70042ae5a3/_8290132-2.jpg Blog - Costa Rica 2026 (1/5): Overview and Hotel Bougainvillea - Make it stand out And I was thrilled to find the Mottled Owl sitting in his bamboo stand! https://www.stephentarnowski.com/blog/kmwqzktu0aqn2b7d8tnra0trgqotfz monthly 0.5 2026-06-24 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/ca95a078-d7a0-4a88-b41c-033e48c73796/Screenshot+2026-06-23+at+7.07.42%E2%80%AFAM.png Blog - Colorado Rosy-Finches - Make it stand out This is a screenshot from my ebird Trip Report - the blue and red dots are the locations from my checklists. We like to hike a section before the actual trailhead through some ponds and wet forest on the Aspen Loop trail that is mostly flat and usually has a lot of bird activity, then the actual Sharkstooth Trail and up to higher elevations in the ‘alpine zone’ above treeline. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1782240696050-572SB8DVWE0DI5OQMSFU/D8182B2F-799B-41E5-B946-AF44A7C66F0C.jpeg Blog - Colorado Rosy-Finches https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1782240682852-UL5L4XK2453DWL2MAIS1/54D6FA06-2A22-4AD4-91E6-CA2D6B1D0602.jpeg Blog - Colorado Rosy-Finches https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/76fa7dfa-8056-47cb-8fcc-6c30cea09b79/_6210145-2.jpg Blog - Colorado Rosy-Finches - Make it stand out I had some luck in finding this Dusky Grouse in the forest - it came flying into where I was standing! This picture shows how well its feathers camouflage against the forest floor https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/b680497a-ceb6-4b24-b87e-fc1b24c8e65e/_6210138.jpg Blog - Colorado Rosy-Finches - Make it stand out One of the great things about this hike is that you go through several talus slopes which are home to pika, very cute rabbit-like mammals who live in higher elevation environments. They make an adorable “meep” alarm call. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/ac8ec7c5-6e50-412c-9436-7ec5641fb38f/_6210162-2.jpg Blog - Colorado Rosy-Finches - Make it stand out Another high elevation breeding bird I encountered was the American Pipit. This one was carrying food across the alpine tundra - probably to young birds nearby! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/77d2c431-3239-4a75-92fd-5bbf43592c8a/PB230303.jpg Blog - Colorado Rosy-Finches - Make it stand out This winter (November 2025) a mixed flock of all three North American Rosy-Finch species was found here in Montezuma County along the park road in Mesa Verde National Park (Black Rosy-Finches and Gray-crowned Rosy-Finches in addition to the local breeding Brown-capped Rosy-Finches). These other species breed in Utah / the Tetons, and all the way up into Alaska but migrate to the Southern Rockies in winter. These winter encounters are also fun, but it is not easy viewing either. This flock was found in a snowstorm hanging around a road cut in the cliff face, and they stuck around for about a week. It was windy and cold! I came to see them a few times with Emilee and also once with my friend Glenn. The flock would fly around and disappear into the sky or around the corner whenever cars passed by on the park road. When things settled down they would fly back onto the cliff face, into the nearby trees, or onto the shoulder of the road to feed on rabbitbrush and other shrubs growing along the road. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/aff53379-95ac-48ae-b7b2-fd925609803b/PB230394.jpg Blog - Colorado Rosy-Finches - Make it stand out Here is a better look at a small subset of the flock - the darker birds are Black Rosy-Finches mixed in with the Brown-capped Rosy-Finches. Eventually, the snow piled up high enough that the seeds these birds were eating were covered up and the flock moved on. I would guess the park road is somewhere around 8,000 feet elevation through here. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/cd476c15-854a-45fb-be2f-d20622a1b6db/B7AAF33C-E1B3-4CC7-A529-09CB7AC5D585.jpeg Blog - Colorado Rosy-Finches - Make it stand out This is the North slope of Centennial Peak at around 12,500 feet elevation where I encountered several groups of Brown-capped Rosy-Finches. These are some extremely hardy birds! I first noticed them on the snowfield but later encountered several more groups in the rocks and on the cliffs. With a high in the mid-80s in Cortez, it was very sunny but still chilly up here through the morning- especially when the wind got going! It was 38 degrees when I left my car back at the trailhead at around 7 a.m. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/f6f840b0-c202-44f7-a020-d19bacfe968a/_6210289-2.jpg Blog - Colorado Rosy-Finches - Make it stand out This bird was working his way though the rocks on the slope near the trail. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/688dd5ac-a245-4e22-9317-81a1fb18c385/_6210244-2.jpg Blog - Colorado Rosy-Finches - Make it stand out The rosy highlights on these birds are spectacular! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/061f0c93-12d1-41b8-bb4b-3ccd89c7aacc/_6210233-2.jpg Blog - Colorado Rosy-Finches - Make it stand out Portrait of a Brown-capped Rosy-Finch. These birds don’t encounter that many people or other threats up here so they are pretty bold. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/64089106-c8f8-44df-abdf-b707bd3ee15c/E7495549-27D4-4860-B5A7-638FF31A9EE5.jpeg Blog - Colorado Rosy-Finches - Make it stand out I took a selfie at my high point about halfway up Centennial Peak with Hesperus Mountain in the background. I was hoping to run into some White-tailed Ptarmigans in the tundra so I spent more time in there rather than climbing the final rock ridge to the summit of Centennial Peak. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/e23cfe88-1317-4c3a-bdd6-e6f68e167cc0/_6210293-2.jpg Blog - Colorado Rosy-Finches - Make it stand out Yellow-bellied Marmot is another animal you encounter up in the alpine zone! From here I hiked back out to my car and beelined it to a family barbecue in Durango. I hope to make it back out here to the Sharkstooth Pass area at least once more this summer in my pursuit of the White-tailed Ptarmigan. The Bear Creek basin to the East of Sharkstooth Pass is North-facing and holds more snow than the West side, so I am hoping that in this dry year that will be a good area for them! Of course I look forward to seeing the Rosy-Finches again too. https://www.stephentarnowski.com/blog/mdw-2026-bosque-del-apache-nwr-and-more monthly 0.5 2026-05-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1779930918273-RECTLXSAVMT87H7651S5/E149F9AC-6A1D-40CB-BBAD-439E34847FA1.JPG Blog - MDW 2026: Bosque del Apache and more https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1779930922977-4BOT3EYSORHAJLTBSZQ2/7BFA5A03-EB55-441B-A7E9-DD18AC11BB94.JPG Blog - MDW 2026: Bosque del Apache and more https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/8f63af8d-1211-4642-befd-c7a4f4e1a358/_5230400.jpg Blog - MDW 2026: Bosque del Apache and more - Make it stand out You know you’ve found some wetlands when you see this guy: the Red-winged Blackbird! This one was bold displaying just a few feet off the boardwalk! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/84e81a22-c423-43b8-8a00-238dd324f66f/_5230408.jpg Blog - MDW 2026: Bosque del Apache and more - Make it stand out We were also treated to this group of American White Pelicans at the Marsh Boardwalk early one morning. Magnificent! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/88af459c-ef8a-4fd6-9d2e-e0cf6d29770e/_5230608.jpg Blog - MDW 2026: Bosque del Apache and more - Make it stand out My friend Kurt Hillman captured a great portrait of a Western Cattle Egret earlier this year, so when this one was strutting its stuff around the refuge, I was inspired to do the same. These funky egrets scream CREAMSICLE to me in their breeding plumage with their orange accents. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/dd774905-1cdc-47c1-9bd6-ff61ea72fd87/_5230527.jpg Blog - MDW 2026: Bosque del Apache and more - Make it stand out We encountered a pair of these crazy looking lizards near the Visitor Center: Greater Earless Lizards! I couldn’t remember seeing these before so I looked them up - they are the only species in their genus Cophosaurus. The black bars on the sides of this guy and his bright colors indicate this is the male of the pair. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/e62d38f8-c3f1-4649-9db1-1a17b05bd622/_5230715-2.jpg Blog - MDW 2026: Bosque del Apache and more - Make it stand out Another animal we were surprised to see on the refuge was elk! We saw five over our three day weekend. In Colorado, the elk are altitudinal migrants who have moved up to cooler forests in the mountains this time of year. This was the best look we got - Emilee our elk expert thought this guy was looking healthy and happy. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1779929993638-ZRBKXZGAQ6NA8E3I817H/_5230564.jpg Blog - MDW 2026: Bosque del Apache and more https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1779930045207-IQ12F0FFPV1NBZVE2L99/_5240737-2.jpg Blog - MDW 2026: Bosque del Apache and more https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1779932811833-SKUNGLZV0FPNHL1WAWRC/2A2AE98C-CB25-4AD5-AEAB-9A3619A39014.JPG Blog - MDW 2026: Bosque del Apache and more https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1779932875538-ZAPG8TQMX5QKE7YIPPA9/IMG_7900.jpg Blog - MDW 2026: Bosque del Apache and more https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/482a2a25-321f-4cbd-8b96-d9a4d8bd3950/_5240746.jpg Blog - MDW 2026: Bosque del Apache and more - Make it stand out This Sunday, we were already having a fun hike with lots of bird activity when we heard a rising buzzy song - vvvrrrrrrrrzzzzzeeettt! “Northern Parula?” we looked at each other excitedly and opened Merlin to confirm. Merlin also reported Northern Parula! Not a bird we were expecting to find here - this is one of the Eastern Warbler species but probably more common in central New Mexico than at home in the Four Corners. After following the song we did get eyes on the bird - a beautiful little thing! It seemed to stick to the cottonwood trees in this canyon as we watched it move between a few different ones, mostly hidden behind a screen of leaves. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1779933299757-FNI7Q6H2R6LFGIMLJU6D/_5240789.jpg Blog - MDW 2026: Bosque del Apache and more https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1779933302167-YFY9HA7VZYGAHROQDN9F/_5240775.jpg Blog - MDW 2026: Bosque del Apache and more https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1779850530903-JCHTLM9TLQBLA8SKHEM5/_5250881.jpg Blog - MDW 2026: Bosque del Apache and more https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1779850534930-JAB08D1Y5WH5ZQXMOYY6/_5250867.jpg Blog - MDW 2026: Bosque del Apache and more https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1233868d-c66c-4a11-a863-27e920056dc4/5ed017f5-7deb-4b88-ad67-eef66c19549c.JPG Blog - MDW 2026: Bosque del Apache and more - Make it stand out Emilee took this photo as we got into Albuquerque - this was fairly representative of the driving conditions for this part of the drive. We were lucky that visibility never got truly dangerous - later we read that in some areas there were accidents due to limited visibility! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/f61afcf4-cbc7-4b0f-ada9-52e8b1656ec6/P5110251.jpg Blog - MDW 2026: Bosque del Apache and more - Make it stand out I took this photo of a Fork-tailed Flycatcher in a field in the Cayo District in Belize in 2023. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1779853459916-00IKEQCL1QSFL3EVVA3R/CEF517D1-3055-4F0C-B150-CFE879414E2C.JPG Blog - MDW 2026: Bosque del Apache and more https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1779853468439-7I5EV995E32OSROMZT80/F49DF6B5-259C-45B9-A265-E601CC2684E1.JPG Blog - MDW 2026: Bosque del Apache and more https://www.stephentarnowski.com/blog/mesa-verde-national-park-the-knife-edge-trail monthly 0.5 2026-05-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/c4f3cec2-2698-4c80-a66c-588bdc551025/IMG_7847.jpg Blog - Mesa Verde National Park: the Knife Edge Trail - Make it stand out Views from the Knife Edge trail back towards Point Lookout https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/c49ec081-003e-4b12-b153-20e693eab0fe/IMG_7828.jpg Blog - Mesa Verde National Park: the Knife Edge Trail - Make it stand out The Knife Edge trail sign at the trailhead gives a good overview of the entire area. The Prater Ridge Loop is also a fun outing - much longer and some elevation gain involved to the top of the mesa. The Point Lookout trail is a little bit of a suffer fest of mostly switchbacks with only a short hike on top. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/92589aa3-e565-4062-ada6-67e3b20c8d6f/P5170076-2.jpg Blog - Mesa Verde National Park: the Knife Edge Trail - Make it stand out The Green-tailed Towhee - a great looking sparrow! I took this photo on a tour for the Ute Mountain Mesa Verde bird festival in 2024. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/d86fb214-4c00-4371-b4c3-445e703e69a1/_5160094.jpg Blog - Mesa Verde National Park: the Knife Edge Trail - Make it stand out The Spotted Towhee - also a very sharp looking bird! It is more common in our area than the Green-tailed Towhee. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1778978325146-VWNVEWDAOZC5BLZGREHZ/_5160079.jpg Blog - Mesa Verde National Park: the Knife Edge Trail https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1778978318476-4W3QKTRSM8IF3QT1GSTO/_5160132.jpg Blog - Mesa Verde National Park: the Knife Edge Trail https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/bdba21cc-0de9-4c2b-a268-7f265f263e4e/_5170349.jpg Blog - Mesa Verde National Park: the Knife Edge Trail - Make it stand out Virginia’s Warbler - very cute! I took this photo on the Point Lookout trail on the other side of the campground https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/560056b1-5e29-435f-9a1b-c1e8963f8d57/_5160067-2.jpg Blog - Mesa Verde National Park: the Knife Edge Trail - Make it stand out We also got a nice look at another small gray bird today - the Bushtit! A lot of personality in a small package. These tiny birds give frequent tinkling and buzzing vocalizations but rarely pose for a photo https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/7efad854-bc19-4b3c-a969-16a99d4e91e1/IMG_7830.jpg Blog - Mesa Verde National Park: the Knife Edge Trail - Make it stand out The tall pines ahead are a rare feature these days in the park with so much of it recently burned. I don’t know the history of this area well enough to know, but due to the mix of living and dead trees I suspect this patch also burned but at a lower intensity due to the shade and moisture boost from its Northern aspect. These trees always seem to hold a few unique species for the day. In particular, they seem to be a good spot for Western Tanagers. Today we also heard a singing Hermit Thrush in there. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/12f0a125-c122-4969-9202-dca24c4381a7/_5160143-2.jpg Blog - Mesa Verde National Park: the Knife Edge Trail - Make it stand out We had a close observation of this female Western Tanager today who came down to the shrubs below the tall pines. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1778981946067-EA47YG3I14TQK37EBBSK/_5160040.jpg Blog - Mesa Verde National Park: the Knife Edge Trail https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1778981945298-U1422QXIG48WDNPBL8C7/_5160042.jpg Blog - Mesa Verde National Park: the Knife Edge Trail https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/a7f11d8d-2bd5-4191-81cf-152d2163f82c/_5170320.jpg Blog - Mesa Verde National Park: the Knife Edge Trail - Make it stand out Black-throated Gray Warbler. We also heard the scratchy songs of this warbler, who is also a local breeder. These birds live on juniper and oak hillsides and Mesa Verde is a good place to find them. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/11e64c30-f324-4b96-8b61-d3d4b5d495a7/IMG_7840.jpg Blog - Mesa Verde National Park: the Knife Edge Trail - Make it stand out This rockslide buried the trail! I was glad to be able to hike as far as we did as we got about 80% of the way around and traversed through all the major habitat features. https://www.stephentarnowski.com/blog/santa-fe-in-spring monthly 0.5 2026-04-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/7a9ea705-38f3-41cd-ad3f-76c6f4add8f7/860850F3-347A-46F2-8C39-F5599D767D82.JPG Blog - Santa Fe in Spring - Make it stand out The Randall Davey Audubon Center https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/e44ef115-20a7-4ab2-8a8e-6eea87a89141/_4250312.jpg Blog - Santa Fe in Spring - Make it stand out This drab gray coloration is shared by a few of the pinyon / juniper specialists (Gray Vireo, Gray Flycatcher, and also some more generalist birds like Bushtits who live in this habitat). Juniper Titmouse is by far the best singer of the bunch. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1777300980484-TPQYAIXUXNL6PANONSC1/82D62A7B-6264-4DFF-81D3-D756882D4101.JPG Blog - Santa Fe in Spring https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1777301277103-2RZG5N53QV8J9VB8GMHU/IMG_7684.jpg Blog - Santa Fe in Spring https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1777301284322-E233CQ0BY2GVO1V0TF4T/IMG_7693.jpg Blog - Santa Fe in Spring https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1777425712848-7IWV773V50IFEZ7NAIJE/IMG_7696.jpg Blog - Santa Fe in Spring https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/e0d90419-af8c-42ef-8852-36c11692fe33/_4250268.jpg Blog - Santa Fe in Spring - Make it stand out We had luck on our side as this Grace’s Warbler plopped down onto this low branch of a ponderosa pine just a few yards off the trail! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/965c7bab-392f-48b8-8c66-3dc8e0e209d5/_4250245.jpg Blog - Santa Fe in Spring - Make it stand out We got to observe it at close range as it sang its heart out. Even though we would hear this song throughout the rest of our hike, this was the only bird we saw of about 10 we reported. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/d4e15961-3d19-4142-bb4e-984b6ac55d51/_4250234.jpg Blog - Santa Fe in Spring - Make it stand out We even watched it preen away that pesky stray feather on its left flank https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/6f89a450-e640-40c1-ab69-46b21e62c605/_4250301.jpg Blog - Santa Fe in Spring - Make it stand out What a stunner! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1777425904457-TP0IBBAZVFPGN2GWGZO7/_4250286.jpg Blog - Santa Fe in Spring https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1777419331433-PX0PJNX16FPQHJNJV3OU/IMG_7703.jpg Blog - Santa Fe in Spring https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1777419330905-K6EC5G4EJOSQKXIW5YG1/IMG_7713+2.jpg Blog - Santa Fe in Spring https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1777419336852-11JB1VCWM3JOWNSQTO92/IMG_7710.jpg Blog - Santa Fe in Spring https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1777420065960-XELZJBGBTJ7GXH1BVH8N/IMG_7722.jpg Blog - Santa Fe in Spring https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1777420429511-WSDH203FJQOIT5D858HZ/_4260363-4.jpg Blog - Santa Fe in Spring https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1777420156416-RJ9KL58CWOSOBRCLH8G2/_4260381.jpg Blog - Santa Fe in Spring https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1777420066178-9SYG7ID2B4G3GG1ZV2EZ/IMG_7727.jpg Blog - Santa Fe in Spring https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/6ed3e880-a5f0-4897-af2d-9dfb4d789e64/_4260472.jpg Blog - Santa Fe in Spring - Make it stand out This Red-breasted Nuthatch was a fun highlight. On both days we had nuthatch ‘grand slams’ (observing all 3 nuthatch species: White-breasted, Red-breasted and Pygmy Nuthatches). They are all rather vocal and seem to defy gravity the way they move around tree trunks and branches. The Red-breasted Nuthatch has the most nasal call of the bunch: a nasal knaa knaa https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/4135e270-2a52-4fa4-a948-fac427e56b9a/IMG_7733.jpg Blog - Santa Fe in Spring - Make it stand out Along the trail we saw and heard many woodpecker species and signs of woodpecker activity. We are not sure who excavated these holes but they were huge! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/39a18e9a-310c-4134-a0ad-8fa161fa409e/_4260420-2.jpg Blog - Santa Fe in Spring - Make it stand out Perhaps THE stand-out bird on our hike was this American Three-toed Woodpecker. We found it excavating a nest cavity which made for a neat and extended observation. These birds primarily live in the spruce forests of Canada, but they also come down into the Rocky Mountains at higher elevations where there are similar forests. We don’t see a ton of these birds - usually only seasonally when we can get into the higher elevation habitats. It is the only woodpecker in the Four Corners where male has a yellow crown - the males of most other woodpecker species have a red crown. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/fa024351-31d9-4d4f-886c-a74ce8456b33/_4260383-3.jpg Blog - Santa Fe in Spring - Make it stand out In this photo you can see that this woodpecker indeed has three toes on each foot. Most woodpeckers have four toes - two pointed forward and two backward! Woodpeckers also use their stiff tail feathers for support against trees. I think that must be especially true for these guys with all their toes pointing the same direction. I tried to read more about their unusual toe arrangement but it appears we don’t fully understand why this species and its close relative the Black-backed Woodpecker only have three toes. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/2d59c99a-d475-4910-b049-654e93fc99ed/_4261262.jpg Blog - Santa Fe in Spring - Make it stand out It was cool to see this guy working on his nest hole. There were so many birds along the trail, we did not make it very far! After about an hour and a half we turned around, having only made it a few miles of the 5 mile loop. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1777425044148-2UBSPQHO1CEJGSEWOTPL/IMG_7743.jpg Blog - Santa Fe in Spring https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1777425043619-XAKXGN6OJ2EPK0XN11IX/IMG_7754.jpg Blog - Santa Fe in Spring https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1777425047019-CQA1HEVO49ZA59CL5Z88/IMG_7755.jpg Blog - Santa Fe in Spring https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1777425146899-10YEUVR379JOIQSLAUD9/IMG_7757.jpg Blog - Santa Fe in Spring https://www.stephentarnowski.com/blog/talking-birding-and-the-durango-bird-club-on-kdur-durango monthly 0.5 2026-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/bc9d9c9e-cbb2-48f2-aa82-09e1f9bf59e0/DB07CC19-59D8-4331-9A90-EE777DA86C4F.JPG Blog - Talking Birding and the Durango Bird Club on Common Air - Make it stand out Lisa and I in the recording studio in the Media Center at Fort Lewis College https://www.stephentarnowski.com/blog/monte-vista-crane-festival monthly 0.5 2026-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/309a4df5-e50c-4bc4-9762-e3273a2808e4/P1200185.jpg Blog - 2026 Monte Vista Crane Festival - Make it stand out One of my first photographs of Sandhill Cranes from our January 2020 trip to Bosque del Apache https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/30f75a45-0ef4-4637-8a7a-f6dd10e6b3a7/_3071610-2.jpg Blog - 2026 Monte Vista Crane Festival - Make it stand out Sandhill Cranes dancing, bugling, and flying with the snow-capped Sangre de Cristo mountains in the background - a great representation of the whole experience https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/62d17b84-b07c-4dec-88eb-a130c9b00c00/_3071591-2.jpg Blog - 2026 Monte Vista Crane Festival - Make it stand out This ended up being my favorite image of the trip: Sandhill Cranes form a new peak on the skyline of the Blanca Massif https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/6edc885b-186e-4feb-b680-86ea231320d4/_3071509-2.jpg Blog - 2026 Monte Vista Crane Festival - Make it stand out And finally, the picture I had in mind all along: Sandhill Cranes fly against the Sangre de Cristo mountains covered in snow https://www.stephentarnowski.com/blog/chicago-the-gull-frolic monthly 0.5 2026-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/a2c94c6c-5943-422c-9b38-d67cb97d209f/P2250394.jpg Blog - Chicago: The Gull Frolic - Make it stand out One of the more interesting assortments of gulls we have had at Farmington Lake. February 2023 this first winter Glaucous Gull (the big white one) in center was the star of the show - a rare visitor from the far North. Also present are California Gulls, Ring-billed Gulls and the very dark birds center-left, Lesser Black-backed Gulls. The second bird from the left facing left with the black bill and ‘checkerboard’ pattern on its back is a first winter bird - I think a Lesser Black-backed Gull. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/c47ee73c-7444-4062-acdc-cc83bd7d0ff8/_1310288-2.jpg Blog - Chicago: The Gull Frolic - Make it stand out My 2025 winter documentation shot of the '“Calico Gull” at Farmington Lake - this unique bird is famous, making an appearance in the “Aberrations” section of the Gull Guide. Photographs of what is almost certainly the same bird date back to 2013 or so as far away as Nova Scotia. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/a6420e7f-bb4a-4e28-b199-788f87ca47a7/_2151380.jpg Blog - Chicago: The Gull Frolic - Make it stand out Emilee loved the Snowy Owl so much she got a stuffed animal Snowy Owl as a memento https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1774231773834-Z5JVP8HTMR8FZ03RWK5A/IMG_5768.jpeg Blog - Chicago: The Gull Frolic https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1774231790263-SVOVKGNXWXVBY6P8VDU8/AC2966A9-E328-4629-B636-CEE6D8FFABBC.jpeg Blog - Chicago: The Gull Frolic https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1774231793469-7FU5QOVIY85FFT12PIHW/32DAB086-1BDF-4A19-9560-DD05D00F55DC.jpeg Blog - Chicago: The Gull Frolic https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1774231773786-PZ8YY4AGPYNV0BO6EC7K/10047704-5841-40DB-B628-63092D4B263E.jpeg Blog - Chicago: The Gull Frolic https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/3abb4f5c-336d-4149-8a5c-cc23fe496d5c/_2151230.jpg Blog - Chicago: The Gull Frolic - Make it stand out One of my better comparison photos from the frolic: the left bird is a ‘white winger’ - an Iceland Gull. The limited black in the wingtip (the white wing) is a trait that the spotters could pick out in a large mixed flock of gulls whirling around. The Herring Gull on the right has more individual primary feathers with black tips, and the black is a true black. Iceland gull’s dark tips vary in darkness from white to dark gray depending on which subspecies it belongs to. This one I believe was in the range for Kumlien’s type, which reportedly breeds in North Atlantic Canada. We had never seen this type before so it was very cool to study them at fairly close range (and it was unbelievably helpful to have the spotters call out their location within the whirling gull flock: “flying left, banking, flying away…) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/71d04703-4717-44a8-9144-5cf68dae799b/_2151270.jpg Blog - Chicago: The Gull Frolic - Make it stand out Another Kumlien’s type Iceland gull shot - very limited dark tips. And look at those bubblegum pink legs! One interesting thing was that the adult Iceland gulls we saw overwhemingly had light eyes. Thayer’s type, which we see one or two of each winter, more commonly have dark eyes. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/7a951fe9-2284-4bfe-8148-b9d5f7b440e5/_2151298.jpg Blog - Chicago: The Gull Frolic - Make it stand out One more Kumlien’s Iceland Gull for good measure https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1774234016440-S1OJF6DGUXITP878RRNJ/_2140516.jpg Blog - Chicago: The Gull Frolic https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1774234060215-AERAX9K28O4O5OYHMCU9/_2151330-2.jpg Blog - Chicago: The Gull Frolic https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1774235127772-IYGR463DUMQ6SF996F1Q/_2141026.jpg Blog - Chicago: The Gull Frolic https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1774235123854-7SQS9L96CMFVZ2B12ZR2/_2140738.jpg Blog - Chicago: The Gull Frolic https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/708ba63c-6c7a-4583-94e3-43c02b7f61af/_2140841.jpg Blog - Chicago: The Gull Frolic - Make it stand out Look at those talons! You can see here this bird is a banded bird. I reported it to the Bird Banding database and hope to learn more about it! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/2d7cff3d-7990-478b-ad0c-fc15704a5776/_2140969.jpg Blog - Chicago: The Gull Frolic - Make it stand out Majestic! https://www.stephentarnowski.com/blog/thanksgiving-in-the-chiricahuas monthly 0.5 2026-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/76593d4e-b644-42e1-8b33-fc05e8e02e85/5063F865-21B1-4A24-8F77-95287DCEFFD4.jpeg Blog - Thanksgiving in the Chiricahuas - Make it stand out Our view as we arrived into Cave Creek Canyon in the evening- known as the “most scenic canyon in Arizona”, or “Arizona’s Yosemite”. Spectacular! My cameras were buried in the trunk, so this shot was taken with my cell phone https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1774194012338-AX14AM94XWRXH71KXP1T/39C3811F-07C9-4215-9189-A69DB2CD9088.jpeg Blog - Thanksgiving in the Chiricahuas https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1774194015879-4YBJ3JOEDKLAWP8FN5RA/DDAD8DDA-A7B9-4A9B-9A48-70D80590C3A1.jpeg Blog - Thanksgiving in the Chiricahuas https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/b389b94d-e988-410e-99c0-176eb46dd17c/PB260601-2.jpg Blog - Thanksgiving in the Chiricahuas - Make it stand out It was cold in the deep, shady, North-facing canyon! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1774195005202-INBBRWBZWHK00POA4LAE/PB260593.jpg Blog - Thanksgiving in the Chiricahuas https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1774195005729-3QT7BGTS1DAT8VYZM3FC/PB270589-2.jpg Blog - Thanksgiving in the Chiricahuas https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1774195008560-2DMOASQZFAQ43AVGCORU/PB270591-3.jpg Blog - Thanksgiving in the Chiricahuas https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1774195008957-3UMVW28FVSVGWNPLH5SL/PB270594-2.jpg Blog - Thanksgiving in the Chiricahuas https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/0bd2d21d-205b-4ce1-b29a-183a6e156e63/PB270492-Enhanced-NR.jpg Blog - Thanksgiving in the Chiricahuas - Make it stand out One of my favorite Arizona specialty birds - the Bridled Titmouse https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1774195954224-XP2MBNHYQASWFVCTEGCG/PB280700.jpg Blog - Thanksgiving in the Chiricahuas https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1774195954791-BXW6FQ4C68E07H2G0KES/_B280712.jpg Blog - Thanksgiving in the Chiricahuas https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/d5d81376-0be9-4a3e-8557-88d1abaf1adb/PB280678.jpg Blog - Thanksgiving in the Chiricahuas - Make it stand out The Coatimundi, a relative of the raccoon, is another beautiful and charismatic animal living in the Sky Islands. This one had a pretty good thing going making early morning visits to the feeder setup at Cave Creek Ranch. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/3af0fbe0-278c-4263-9439-1ce64be19c24/PB270599.jpg Blog - Thanksgiving in the Chiricahuas - Make it stand out Mexican Chickadee with a view of its extensive black throat - the main field mark for distinguishing it from Black-capped Chickadee https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1774197804017-5FQ9KGFL0U1SXLDIC6Y8/PB280652.jpg Blog - Thanksgiving in the Chiricahuas https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1774197801305-4TEC3AA3MOA2EUAZNUJP/PB280637.jpg Blog - Thanksgiving in the Chiricahuas https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1774197800918-VBMON3BJ7870N9D9CA6E/PB280635.jpg Blog - Thanksgiving in the Chiricahuas https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1774198369927-WZU2Y0FUD0C527JWKASR/_B290813.jpg Blog - Thanksgiving in the Chiricahuas https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/1774198398935-1XFAQJIKKZYGPL5I4EQR/PB290659.jpg Blog - Thanksgiving in the Chiricahuas https://www.stephentarnowski.com/home daily 1.0 2026-04-12 https://www.stephentarnowski.com/about daily 0.75 2026-04-12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/2813d463-d40b-4d5e-b995-15c6150662bd/P5190237.jpg https://www.stephentarnowski.com/contact daily 0.75 2026-03-23 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69bf472bbf7771506fab4b25/b5fd09b1-2923-4aa9-916c-fe610cc49820/PB260601.jpg