Black Rock Lodge Day 4 - Are Kentucky Warblers Trash Birds?!

Last spring I saw a Kentucky Warbler at Point Pelee National Park with my parents. It was one of the highlights of my birding year. I think (and still do) it is such a cool looking/acting bird. It walks along the ground and blends in very well for something that looks so distinctive.

Today I was spoiled with looks of them. The title was definitely clickbait though because they are a joy to see.

Unfortunately Fernando, our guide for the first 3 days had to attend a training course this weekend, he was a fantastic guide. He recommended his friend Victor who we briefly birded with and he showed us a Squirrel Cuckoo!

What an awesome looking bird. It was just mousing around feeding on some bugs and we had tremendous looks.

We decided to have a chill day around the lodge, so we didnt have any guided tours or outings planned, it gave us a chance to put our skills to the test and bird at our own pace! 

We walked around the lodge and had a great experience with a Yellow Breasted Chat, a former nemesis bird for us in Ontario. Much like with the Kentucky, it is tremendous to have such great views.

This butterfly was really pretty, according to INaturalist it is of the Sisters genus.

On our walk to Vaca Falls, there was this gorgeous large dark blue butterfly I saw for a brief moment and I wasn't able to get a photo of it, wish I knew what it was. I have some more butterfly pictures that I'll have to find.

On this trip, one of the coolest parts for me is finding a bird that I had no idea existed (evidence I didn't study my field guide enough clearly). The discovery and investigation process is exhilarating.

This was the case with this White -Browed Gnatcatcher spotted by my mom. We also had great looks at a Blue Bunting and Greenish Eleanias.

In the afternoon, we bird watched from around the Lodge and finally saw the Black and White Hawk Eagle that is nesting across the river! I have some in flight pics and will update later.

Also a Bare-Throated Tiger Heron.

Victor birded around the lodge with me in the afternoon, he seems very knowledgeable and helped me get a nice look at a female White-collared Manakin. It was very nice of him to bird watch with me, I learned a lot.

At night we found this cool looking moth!

Also this GIANT frog/road. The picture does not do justice.

Tommorrow we are heading to Mountain Pine Ridge, a very cool habitat. There are a lot of really cool birds that we could see there including Great Currasow, Crested Guan, Lovely Cotinga, Tinamous. I would be over the moon with any of those, but am excited to have a great birding day/nature too!