Costa Rica Birds – Look Who Came For Breakfast!

Look Who Came For Breakfast!

Costa Rica Wildlife – Emerald Toucanet

As a very young boy at school in Scotland, one of my favourite hymns began:

All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful:
The Lord God made them all.

Each little flower that opens,
Each little bird that sings,
He made their glowing colors,
He made their tiny wings…

The words to this simple but beautiful hymn are thought to have been written by an Irish lady (1818-1895) called Cecil Alexander

This tune has been floating around my head ever since moving to Costa Rica in 1999 because in my mind, some of the words could have been written specifically for this ‘rich coast’ of Costa Rica; where the variety of flora and fauna is significantly more varied and colourful than anything you’ll find in Scotland and Ireland.

This last weekend in the ‘Los Santos‘ area of Costa Rica was yet another joyful celebration of “each little bird that sings”.

Late on Saturday afternoon, a pair of Black Guans were foraging in the top of a tall tree in the middle of a very heavy rainstorm and on our Sunday morning walk, there was a Torrent Tyrannulet hopping from rock to rock in the middle of a small stream in the hills and we saw a pair of American Swallow-tailed Kites playing their acrobatic games together in the crystal clear skies above Santa Maria de Dota and the ever present red tailed hawks.

Then there was our breakfast surprise…

With a sickening thud, a bird flew into the window of the neighbour’s log cabin and we rushed to see what it was… Lying there on the wooden floor was a gorgeous, but very unconscious Emerald Toucanet.

Picking it up gently, my lady friend carried it back to our cabin cupped in her hands and we tried to give it all the healing energy we had. Rushing inside to grab my camera, I managed to take about 25 photographs of the bird before he (or she) started showing any signs of life.

To be honest, we didn’t think it was going to live. We sat there on the balcony enjoying our juicy papaya breakfast and the spectacular view after placing the bird gently in a small basket on top of a soft towel.

Costa Rica Wildlife – Emerald Toucanet

Then all of a sudden, it’s eyes started to flutter, then open, then moments later, in the blink of an eye, it jumped into the air and flew away.

So many of the best things in life are free and I have to tell you, this was one of the ‘best’ experiences that will always be remembered.

What a thrill!

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Written by Scott Oliver, author of 1. How To Buy Costa Rica Real Estate Without Losing Your Camisa, 2. Costa Rica Real Estate Scams & How To Avoid Them and 3. Costa Rica’s Guide To Making Money Offshore

Andrew Makarik

to@welovecostarica.com

Andrew Makarik is the main editor of WeLoveCostaRica, a fan of this sunny country. He is also a loving husband and a has a lovely daughter. By being a devoted family man and the biggest Costa Rica fan, he wants to make more people feel at home there. WeLoveCostaRica unites people and helps them find new home or a new travel destination. This website is a friendly community where everyone can find not only information, but also new friends and travel pals. Andrew is also passionate about IT and programming, so he himself maintains a friendly atmosphere in this cozy environment of WeLoveCostaRica.com.