Birdwatching adrenaline

If you're reading the title of this post and wondering how in the world watching birds could be used alongside the word "adrenaline", let me let you in on a little secret - extreme birding is not your grandmother's bird watching.

Let me tell you a story.

Two nights ago, in the Santa Marta Mts. we decided to go out and try to track down the undescribed Santa Marta Screech Owl. This is a bird that is so newly-discovered that it isn't even formerly recognized by science. They only live on this one particular mountain, and our lodge was in the midst of their prime habitat.

So, once the lights were out, and the choruses of frogs began to croak and creak in unison, a dozen of us  walked out through the forest canopy by flashlight until we heard the gentle trill of a nearby owl. In hushed voices we passed along the word that the bird had been heard and that flashlights were to be turned off. Next the ipods were brought out and our guides began playing back the sound of the screech owl, attempting to lure him out under the belief that a potential rival was trespassing. We stood there in the dark straining our eyes to see, watching for the dark silhoette of the owl flitting among the branches, and twice we heard its wings brush the air nearby - but still no sighting. Finally the group gave up and went inside - all of them expect for me, that is - and our two guides. We waited for another 20 minutes. And then, we heard it VERY nearby. we turned on our flashlights and caught it in our beam! I snapped a couple pictures, the bird flew off, and then with hearts pumping we high-fived each other and celebrated.
Here is the picture that captures one of the rarest birds I've ever seen, and one of my very favorite birding moments!