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Costa Rica 18/04/2017 – 09/05/2017
Practical information
We arranged our trip with Aratinga tours (www.aratinga‐tours.com). We arranged it normally for 2014 but because of practical problems with job change etc, we couldn’t make it. When we got back in contact in 2016 it was quickly fixed. We had a tailormade trip, because we birded already in the lowlands of panama. So we focused a little bit more on the areas where we had more lifers. The organization of the trip is done by Aratinga tours and was perfectly arranged. Everyone was at the correct time on the designed spot, so this was very professional. In this way you travel on your own, but are backed by a local agent if something goes wrong. We always were two nights on a site, with the first half day a guide. So in this way we moved always the first day early to the new site, to birth the area so we could focus the next day with the guide on the more difficult species. This went pretty well and we got most of our targets.
The only other practical thing you will have to arrange is the flight. We flew with Iberia. We had a flight from Brussels to Madrid and a transit to San Jose. After we booked the hours changed a little bit and we got only a little hour for the transfer. I thought we wouldn’t succeed because we’ve had horrible experiences in Madrid in the past, but apparently this is modernized enormously and everything went extremely smooth. So my point of view of the airport in Madrid changed dramatically. It only took less than 30 minutes from the first plane to the next.
Traffic was extremely safe compared to a lot of other countries. Most roads are very good and traffic is light. Only around bigger cities it can be busy, or around the capital and the bigger cities in the central valley very busy. But we never had any problems finding everything and driving was very relax. Only some local roads and around Monte Verde/Santa Elena the roads are pretty bad and you will have to drive quite slowly. A jeep is not necessary, although this feels more comfortable on these bad routes. The traffic speed is also still quite a mystery for us and we tried to follow the rules a little bit, but were by doing that probably the slowest drivers in Costa Rica. I think our taxi driver at the airport formulated it quiet correctly that as long as you drive no more than 100 km/h you will have no problem. The maximum speed is normally around 80 and at schools 40, but this imaginary 100 is what most Costa Ricans use I had the impression.
Food is very safe and you can eat anything, we didn’t had any problems. The restaurants in most hotels were very good and along the road you have a lot of stores and small restaurants. So no problem finding food and the necessary drinks.
The temperature in the lowlands can be quiet high, and certainly the humidity causes that you are soaking wet even during your pre breakfast walk. I think it’s one of my most smelly travels I had so far, so take enough light clothing. Only high up in the mountains you will need warmer clothing. We were at the beginning of the rainy season, because it should be the best period for Umbrellabird (which we unfortunately missed), but the evolution to the rainy season was obvious. The first two weeks we only had some small showers if it rained at all. But the last week rain came in around noon or later and it didn’t stopped raining anymore until the next day. Although it was sometimes a little bit inconvenient we only lost two half days due to rain.
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For identification we used the Helm field guide ‘Birds of Costa Rica’. This guide proofed good enough to identify everything, but isn’t very up‐to‐date with the last splits. Although this is a continuous work in the tropics. I used the digital version of handbook of the worlds alive to check for splits and could add everything in the book. So a little bit of preparation circumvents this problem. The places we visited are put on www.observado.org with for every sighting the correct GPS‐coordinates, so you can easily find all the relevant places and exact sites for the species which are of special interest for you. Normally you should be able to get to all the sightings I did in Costa Rica through the following link: https://costarica.observation.org/user/view/40112?q=&akt=0&g=0&from=2017‐07‐01&to=2017‐07‐08&prov=0&z=0&sp=0&gb=0&method=0&cdna=0&f=0&m=K&zeker=O&month=0&rows=20&only_hidden=0&zoektext=0&tag=0&plum=0&from=2017‐04‐01&to=2017‐07‐08&q=&zoektext=0&g=0&z=0&month=0&prov=0&m=K&zeker=O&rows=20
To prepare the trip we used the book of Barret Lawson ‘Where to watch birds – Costa Rica’. It proofed very useful to detect interesting places or to make choices. The local information is also very relevant and handy. Besides that the target lists are extremely useful to check for the most important species you are still missing.
I have added over 1.000 sightings with exact GPS‐coordinates, so please you use it. If you want more information, just contact me (Bram Vogels) ([email protected])
Day 1 (18/04/2017): fly – San José
The first day was a travel day. We drove to Brussels, had some extra security checks due to the extra safety procedures in Brussels and had a nice flight with Iberia to Madrid. In Madrid everything went very smooth and we easily had our connection to San Jose. The only thing is that you don’t get that much food on these Iberia flights, so take some cookies with you. You will need it. We arrived on time in San Jose and the border control doesn’t take long. Some stamps and you are through. Our transfer to the hotel was waiting for us and when we were in the car it started raining. The first rain in Costa Rica, but not the last… The ride to the hotel took very long because it was rush hour. But we arrived after 1,5 hours in hotel Bougainvillea, checked in, got our vouchers for the rest of the trip and started birding in the garden. We got our first lifers with rufous‐collared sparrow, blue‐and‐white swallow, greyish saltator and also some species we’ve seen earlier in Panama or North‐America like blue‐grey tanager, yellow warbler, clay‐colored thrush, rufous‐naped wren, purple martin, rufous‐tailed hummingbird, white‐winged dove and house wren.
Day 2 (19/04/2017): San José – Braulio Carillo – Selva Verde lodge
We got up around 5 am and started birding early in the garden of hotel Bougainvillea. It is a nice garden to start birding in Costa‐Rica. These pre‐breakfast walks will certainly become a habit in Costa‐Rica, to make the maximum of the day. Our car would be at the hotel at 8.30 am so the only thing we had to do was birding and had a quick breakfast. The list in the garden was nice for a hotel garden: great kiskadee, Hoffmann’s woodpecker, Swainson’s thrush, Great‐tailed grackle, yellow‐throated vireo, Boat‐billed flycatcher, white‐tipped dove, Brown jay, Tennessee warbler, Warbling vireo, Blue/steely‐vented hummingbird (a recent split concerning some taxonomies), rufous‐capped warbler and sulphur‐bellied flycatcher. We got our breakfast, which is a very nice buffet in this hotel and waited for our car. We had a small delay because with the original car was something wrong, so
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we got a bigger one. That was easy for the bags and we had to rush to Braullio Carillo where we arrived a little bit late and it was already becoming hot so bird activity was low. Not a nice job for a guide to start with such a quiet forest. We started the loop to the right of the office. It was our first walk in a rainforest since a long time, so we enjoyed it anyway. The first half hour was very quiet but then we got more bird activity with Camiol’s tanager, wedge‐billed woodcreeper and rufous mourner. The first small flock appeared with green hermit, tawny‐capped euphonia, tawny‐crested tanager, stripe‐breasted wren and Black‐and‐yellow tanager. We continued the walk with white‐breasted wood wren, blue‐black grosbeak and our first singing black‐headed nightingale‐thrush. It took us some time, but we got excellent views of these black‐headed nightingale‐thrushes. They seem very common around here. We continued the loop and had emerald tanager, brown‐hooded parrot, white‐ruffed manakin, crowned woodnymph, squirrel cuckoo and purple‐crowned fairy. The forest seems promising if you can start earlier, but even with this walk we were pleased. We then drove from the entrance +/‐ 1 km further to the east where you have a small hummingbird garden. We only got five minutes before a thunderstorm started but got at least 3 snowcaps in this short time. This was the only place where we got this species on the trip. Other species were violet‐headed hummingbird and rufous‐tailed hummingbird.
We decided not to wait for the rain to end because it seemed a big thunderstorm and started driving towards Selva Verde where we arrived around 2 PM, just in time for the kitchen still to be open. In Selva Verde you have some trails around the lodge and some other trails at the opposite site of the road. We started with the trails at the opposite side of the road, but the light the rest of the day was not the best. Bird activity was low in the afternoon but we got one of our main targets in the area three great green macaws flying over. Although my girlfriend missed them. Besides the macaws we had
on these trails: grey‐breasted martin, passerini’s tanager, turkey vulture, peregrine falcon, scarlet macaw, Montezuma oropendula, yellow‐throated toucan, orange‐billed sparrow, rufous‐tailed hummingbird, masked tityra, white‐necked Jacobin and great kiskadee. We then focused on the small trails around the lodge which have open river area, open fields and forests so a nice diversity to start with. We could note: social flycatcher, red‐throated ant‐tanager (quiet common here), buff‐rumped warbler, plain‐brown woodcreeper, amazon kingfisher, yellow warbler, boat‐billed flycatcher, common tody‐flycatcher, spotted sandpiper, black phoebe, chimney swift, southern rough‐winged swallow, tropical kingbird, snowy egret, neotropic cormorant, osprey, variable seedeater, American white ibis, red‐lored amazon, belted kingfisher and pale‐billed woodpecker. We focused a long time around the river because you have a nice overview and sometimes you can see macaws flying to their roost, but not this evening. A lot of other birds like egrets, ibises, amazons, etc… are flying to their roost.
Day 3 (20/04/2017): La Selva biological station – Selva Verde lodge
We ordered a packed lunch in advance, so we could be early at the La Selva biological station. The birding in this area is definitely better than at the Selva Verder Lodge. The forest is much older, not
Figuur 1 Three‐toed sloth
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second growth, so the diversity is bigger. We could start birding along the entrance road and around the biological station itself, where you have nice views of the forest edge. The great currasows were our first of the trip and a great view, but a common bird in many places. We had a nice time waiting and having breakfast with Great kiskadee, golden‐hooded tanager, collared aracari, grey‐capped flycatcher, bright‐rumped attila, chestnut‐colored woodpecker, passerini’s tanager, masked tityra, common tody‐flycatcher, yellow‐throated toucan (chestnut‐mandibled), palm tanager, buff‐throated saltator, black‐cheeked woodpecker, black‐throated trogon, scarlet‐rumped cacique, green honeycreeper, yellow‐billed cuckoo, olive‐backed euphonia, white‐ringed flycatcher and variable seedeater. In the meantime large flocks of eastern kingbirds were flying over, with flocks way over 100 birds each. But the best bird was definitely the snowy cotinga which showed itself extremely nicely. So nicely that I even forgot to take a picture.
At 7.00 am we met our guide and ran through our target list. Always aim high, but be pleased with every bird. We first focused again on the forest edge around the old football terrain behind the reception and then continued along the path just to the right before the big bridge. We made a tour in this part of the forest and when we returned we crossed the bridge to bird a little bit the opposite side of the river, but by then it was already quite hot and the bird activity went already down. But anyway we started again with the forest edge and could add band‐backed wren, streak‐headed woodcreeper, pale‐billed woodpecker, rufous motmot, lineated woodpecker, bananaquit, swainson’s thrush and bronze‐tailed plumeleteer. But our targets were mostly forest species so after 15 minutes we started walking on the track behind the open terrain into the forest. We had to walk for a
while and had a snake lifer, a young fer‐de‐lance. Our first area with more bird activity produced rufous mourner,
black‐headed tody‐flycatcher, tropical gnatcatcher, scarlet tanager, summer tanager, Mississippi kite, cinnamon becard, cocoa woodcreeper, red‐eyed vireo, Baltimore oriole, blue dacnis, black‐throated wren and green honeycreeper. We tried also some stakeouts for owls, but they weren’t present or at least not visible. In this area we further had plain xenops, slaty‐headed tody‐flycatcher, plain‐colored tanager, eastern wood pewee, northern barred woodcreeper and loud calling of great green macaws. After waiting for a moment we finally could see two flying over through the canopy. Not the perfect view, but at least my girlfriend had seen them now. Next we went on a tinamou hunt. After a while we heard the slaty‐breasted tinamou calling and we could get pretty close, but this one proofed to elusive to show itself. Anyway good recordings of the species. During the search we had long‐tailed tyrant, rufous‐tailed jacamar, chestnut‐sided warbler, streak‐headed woodcreeper and white‐breasted wood wren. Because manakins were also on the target list we went to some lekking sites and although several were calling we had to focus for more than ten minutes before we had our first male white‐collared manakin accompanied in the area by red‐throated ant tanager and Canada warbler. I’ve seen more Canada warblers in Costa Rica then I have seen in the migration hotspots around Point Pelee in Canada. We started to head with cinnamon becard, white‐tipped dove, eye‐
Figuur 2 Semiplumbeous hawk
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ringed flatbill, squirrel cuckoo, black‐throated trogon and a beautiful semiplumbeous hawk and white‐whiskered puffbird. Now when we were almost out the forst the northern royal flycatcher was at his stakeout. On the big bridge we had mangrove swallow and green kingfisher. The opposite side of the river was not very productive anymore due to the heat with social flycatcher, rufous mourner, cinnamon becard, great curassow, chestnut‐colored woodpecker, shining honeycreeper and blue‐grey tanager. After this guided tour we went back to the lodge and did a small walk around the lodge before lunch with wood stork, osprey, stripe‐throated hermit and glossy ibis.
In the afternoon we repeated the same route like yesterday around the lodge. The light was much better, so much easier for birding. We took the birding track at the opposite side of the road. Like usual in the early afternoon it was pretty silent. We started with some scarlet macaws and masked tityra, but after several hundreds of meters there was a lek of white‐collared manakins, at least five males were snapping there wings. Further in the forest we only had rufous motmot, plain‐brown woodcreeper and keel‐billed toucan. The best one was a little tinamou right in the open on the track. We then continued on the tracks around the lodge with tropical kingbird, grey‐capped flycatcher, masked tityra, stripe‐throated hermit, eye‐ringed flatbill, collared aracari, stripe‐breasted wren and around 3.30 PM I started again a lookout along the river in the hope of seeing great green macaws flying by. Unfortunately no great green macaws, instead I had 4 scarlet macaws and king vulture, Sulphur‐bellied flycatchers, collared aracari, olive‐throated parakeet, southern rough‐winged swallow, Montezuma oropendula, black phoebe, barn swallow, chestnut‐headed oropendula (less common than Montezuma), orange‐chinned parakeet, masked tityra, black‐headed saltator, melodious blackbird, black vulture, great‐tailed grackle, northern mealy amazon, bat falcon, cattle egret, red‐lored amazon, neotropic cormorant, brown‐hooded parrot, little blue heron and snowy egret. The most obvious was the migration of eastern kingbirds which I only started counting after a while but in less than a hour I had the following groups flying over 19, 229, 92, 89, 323, 76, 170 and 450.
Day 4 (21/04/2017): Selva verde lodge – Arenal observatory lodge
We did some pre breakfast birding on the trails around the lodge while everyone was still sleeping. I was out in the dark already and the howler monkeys gave a tremendous concert, I appreciate it that they wake up everyone at a decent hour so that you are not only the strange guy awake very early. When it was light enough I had fasciated tiger heron along the river. Besides the heron we had northern mealy amazon, red‐lored amazon, ringed kingfisher, yellow‐throated toucan, little blue heron, white ibis, collared aracari, streak‐headed woodcreeper, variable seedeater, white‐collared manakin, red‐throated ant tanager, northern barred woodcreeper, orange‐chinned parakeet, plain‐brown woodcreeper, black‐crowned tityra, wood thrush, purple‐crowned fairy and house wren. After breakfast we tried again the forest at the opposite side, but it was already warm and the forest proved quiet, so we headed for Arenal.
On the way to Arenal we had some northern crested caracaras. We arrived around 11AM at the entrance road towards the park and the lodge. We first birded the grassy fields around the beginning of the dirt road for a while and found yellow‐faced grassquit, red‐winged blackbird, blue‐black grassquit, thick‐billed finch, palm tanager, Sulphur‐belleid flycatcher and white‐collared seedeater. We couldn’t connect with the yellowthroats, so we continued towards the lodge. Because it was just
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before lunch we focused around the restaurant for a while with blue dacnis, rufous‐tailed hummingbird, scarlet‐thighed dacnis, black‐striped sparrow and bronzy hermit.
In the afternoon we focused on the Saino trail and La Hormiga trail. The flowers around the swimming pool area are good for hummers like violet‐headed hummingbird. On the trails we had passerini’s tanager, palm tanager, purple‐crowned fairy, white‐throated thrush, northern nightingale‐wren, bananaquit, keel‐billed toucan, yellow‐throated vireo, swainson’s thrush, red‐billed pigeon and crowned woodnymph. In the late afternoon (4.30 PM) we decided to relax a little bit around the observation deck and keep an eye on the feeders. The feeders are frequented by green honeycreeper, red‐legged honeycreeper, yellow‐throated euphonia, red‐lored amazon, chestnut‐sided warbler, palm tanager, brown violetear, yellow‐tailed oriole and green‐fronted lancebill. White‐collared swifts are flying overhead. In the evening we asked for an early breakfast the next day. This is possible if you are happy with fruit and bread, which is excellent.
Figuur 3 Walking trails around the lodge area at Arenal
Day 5 (22/04/2017): Arenal observatory lodge
We started the day with a very early walk on the Saino trail and had great currasow, blue‐grey tanager, palm tanager, crested guan, white‐crowned parrot, white‐fronted amazon and northern nightingale‐wren. A quick look on the observation deck gave views of emerald tanager, green honeycreeper, chestnut‐sided warbler and golden‐hooded tanager. After breakfast we met our guide Victor ([email protected]) and by talking about our whishlist we started birding. We first checked the area between the swimming pool and rooms 11to16 (check the map above). This area we didn’t do yesterday, but was also very interesting with black‐cheeked woodpecker, chestnut‐sided warbler, carmiol’s tanager, piratic flycatcher, keel‐billed toucan, crested guan, northern parula, thicket antpitta, crimson‐collared tanager, scaly‐breasted hummingbird, yellow‐throated euphonia, tropical pewee, black‐crested coquette (one of our main targets), rufous piha and white‐colalred
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manakin. For the coquette check the solitary trees in the open area and certainly the top of the trees for a small hummer flying around.
We then continued to the green gate on the map above where it took a long time before we got some glimpses of the thicket antpitta. It was singing very loudly, but seeing was extremely difficult. We then started walking the waterfall trail which branches of just after the green gate. On this trail we had bronzy hermit, great currasow, Sulphur‐rumped myiobius, buff‐rumped warbler, stripe‐breasted wren, emerald tanager, three‐striped warbler, black‐headed nightingale‐thrush, rufous motmot, gartered trogon, tawny‐capped euphonia,
dull‐mantled antbird, carmiol’s tanager, streaked xenops and sepia‐
capped flycatcher.
We then returned to the first area because another guide had seen an Umbrellabird two days earlier around the massage area in the fruiting palm trees. We searched for it for a while, but no luck instead we had white‐necked Jacobin, brown violetear, scaly‐breasted hummingbird, yellow‐margined flatbill, cinnamon becard and short‐tailed hawk.
Because we had some other targets we took the car and drove down. First we had a quick stop at the entrance of the park for white‐throated magpie‐jay which is always present on the parking lot. Next we started our search for the keel‐billed motmot. If you decend from the lodge continue straight on where you normally turn right to reach the entrance of the park. This road continues towards the dam and the motmot is on this road (check the GPS‐coordinates, but preferably take a local guide). Victor was pretty familiar with the specific areas and after ten minutes we were looking at a magnificent keel‐billed motmot. In this area we also had green honeycreeper, keel‐billed toucan, slaty‐tailed trogon, broad‐billed motmot (keel‐billed is always around these broad‐billeds apparently) and little tinamou.
We had lunch In the lodge with a white hawk flying by. In the afternoon I searched a very long time again the area for the umbrellabird, but no luck. In the area around the massage office and the Saino trail we noted variable seedeater, bananaquit, common tody‐flycatcher, golden‐hooded tanager, tropical pewee, eastern wood pewee, blue‐vented hummingbird, scarlet‐thighed dacnis, violet‐headed hummingbird, wilson’s warbler, blue‐throated sapphire, keel‐billed toucan, red‐billed pigeon, thicket antpitta and band‐tailed pigeon. On the observation deck it were the same species as yesterday with emerald tanager, great currasow and scarlet tanager.
Figuur 4 Keel‐billed motmot
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Day 6 (23/04/2017): Arenal observatory lodge – Cloud forest lodge (monteverde)
Like every day early out of bed and immediately to the umbrellabird area, but again no luck. Some birds are hard to connect with. We had some fun with white‐tipped dove, grey‐headed chachalaca, red‐lored amazon, crested guan, three‐striped warbler, wedge‐billed woodcreeper, two Canada warblers, bronzy hermit, carmiol’s tanager, purple‐crowned fairy, buff‐rumped warbler and brown‐hooded parrot.
We had a fine and more relaxing breakfast then yesterday and after breakfast we checked a last time the umbrellabird area, with no umbrellabird instead: groove‐billed ani, golden‐hooded tanager, white‐crowned parrot, brown violetear, golden‐crowned warbler, white‐collared manakin, thicket antpitta, spotted antbird, white‐breasted wood wren and wedge‐billed woodcreeper.
We then started our way towards monteverde. It is a longer drive. During driving around the lake we had several swallow‐tailed kites flying over, but the rest of the road was not much birding because we were curious about the cloudforest. The only other birds we added were white‐throated magpie‐jays on some areas. We had to search a moment for the lodge in the village, but arrived around 1 PM. We had lunch with view on the feeders and the garden and could add new spcies like blue‐diademed motmot (lesson’s motmot), violet sabrewing, white‐eared ground sparrow, orange‐billed nightingale‐thrush, black guan and brown jay.
We then decided to do a walk on the trails around the lodge. We chose the forest area and not the river trail. Birding was quiet, mostly because it was in the afternoon and the forest is secondary forest which is always less birdy than primary forest. Anyway we got our first long‐tailed manakin and tawny‐throated leaftosser besides golden‐crowned warbler, swainson’s thrushes, chestnut‐headed oropendula, white‐naped brushfinch and white‐chinned siwft.
Day 7 (24/04/2017): Cloud forest lodge – Santa Elena
This was one of the days I was looking forward to, birding in the magic cloudforest. A complete new ecosystem for us and it was worth it. In the early morning before breakfast we birded quick along the
lodge with blue‐throated toucanet, brown jay, grey‐breasted wood wren and yellow‐bellied elaenia. We were picked up by our guide
Marcos ([email protected]). Definitely one of the better guides we got, although all the other guides were also very good, this one was for us outstanding. Marcos loves birding and you
recognize the best guides by the fact that they dare to
admit in a rare case that they hear something they couldn’t name instantly. Anyway we sorted out
Figuur 5 Three‐wattled bellbird
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our species list on the way to Santa Elena and had our battle plan ready when we arrived at the office.
The area around the office is very good and we could start adding lifers like spotted barbtail, ruddy treerunner, common bush tanager, yellow‐thighed finch, spanghle‐cheeked tanager (what a stunning bird), silvery‐fronted tapaculo, ruddy‐capped nightingale‐thrush, … But we had a mission three‐wattled bellbird was one of the targets besides the quetzal. So we headed to the left when entering the park and continued towards the valley (sender Encantado). On the way we could add buffy tuftedcheek, golden‐browed chlorophonia and one of the more beautiful singers black‐faced solitaire. When decending the valley we heard already one of the three‐wattled bellbirds. ON the way towards the bellbird we also saw our first resplendent quetzals, but no adult males. The bellbird proofed elusive for a moment but after ten minutes waiting, he was right in the open in front of us and performing. What a cool bird! But we weren’t finished birding. Two of our main targets in the bag, but birds kept coming with fiery‐throated hummingbird, purple‐throated mountaingem, stripe‐tailed hummingbird, mountain thrush, buff‐fronted quail‐dove (calling and walking just in front of us!), collared redstart/whitestart, slate‐throated redstart/whitestart, yellowish flycatcher, ocraceous wren, eye‐ringed flatbill, spotted woodcreeper, lineated foliage‐gleaner, red‐faced spinetail, … Let’s say it was a terrific half day birding in the reserve! What a place.
Figuur 6 Walking trails Santa Elena
We returned to the hotel around two, had something to eat and did the river trail of the cloud forest lodge. The more important species was coppery‐headed emerald in the openings around the lodge and olive‐sided flycatcher. When we were around the river we heard also in this part of the forest a three‐wattled bellbird. In the evening a mottled owl was calling around the lodge.
Day 8 (25/04/2017): Cloud forest lodge – San Gerardo biological station
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In the morning before breakfast we birded around the lodge and had red‐billed pigeon, yellow‐faced grassquit, violet sabrewing, rufous‐collared sparrow, squirrel cuckoo, coppery‐headed emerald, chestnut‐headed oropendula, plain‐capped starthroat and thanks to the information of our guide Marcus from yesterday we also found black‐breasted wood quail. The quails were calling at the platform where the skyride ends, close to the lodge.
We were picked up around 8 by a taxi for the transfer to the biological station. The taxi driver thought we couldn’t take all our luggage with us, so we quickly made one big backpack and one small one so we were able to carry everything down to the biological station. But of course everything was very good arranged by aratinga and the owner of the biological station was waiting for us at the office of the Santa Elena reserve to take the luggage and bring it down. Anyway we only needed stuff for two days so no problem that we left a lot behind. The walk towards the biological station starts at the office of Santa Elena and takes around one hour, but we were birding and it took more than three hours. But what a nice walk and what a beautiful views with the arenal volcano on the horizon.
We had immaculate antbird/Zeledon’s antbird pretty easily, one of our targets here. On the way we also had three‐striped warbler, black‐faced solitaire, resplendent quetzal, three‐wattled bellbird, purple‐throated mountaingem, tawny‐chested flycatcher (good one, around the first river crossing), northern tufted flycatcher, highland tinamou, pale‐vented thrush, white‐bellied mountaingem, slate‐thraoted whitestart, golden‐crowned warbler, yellowish flycatcher, black guan, green hermit and northern nightingale‐wren. The campsite is basic, no luxury, but that’s the perfect thing. In the forest with nothing around you but nature, far far away from internet or other things from the civilization. The meal is basic but prepared fresh and tastes better than in some of the hotels with their big kitchens.
In the afternoon we went for the Umbrellabird track (Sendero Pajaro Sombrilla), which loops from the sendero Tabacon. Unfortunately the birds haven’t been seen for two or three years now. They should be lekking right now, that was the reason we were late In the season in Costa Rica. Anyway if you don’t try you never know. First you
cross a small pasture with bronzed cowbird,
Montezuma oropendula and then the walk towards the umbrellabird track. It was pretty silent until we found a huge and very diverse flock. This flock was moving around in the open area due to a treefall just before the Umbrellabird track. Also the following day this proofed a very good spot. The flock consisted of species like scarlet‐thighed dacnis, brown‐billed scythebill (only sighting of the trip), spotted woodcreeper, smoky‐bronw woodpeckers, bay‐headed tanager, lesser greenlet, golden‐browed chlorophonia, blue‐and‐gold tanager (only sighting of the trip), Canada warbler and
Figuur 7 Golden‐browed chlorophonia
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prong‐billed barbet (only sighting of the trip). We continued and could add three‐wattled bellbirds, ruddy pigeon, rufous motmot, slaty‐backed nightingale‐thrush, barred hawk, brown‐hooded parrots, passerini’s tanager, crimson‐collared tanager, buff‐rumped warbler, salte‐thraoted whitestart, black‐throated green warbler, golden‐crowned warbler, Canada warbler, squirrel cuckoo and keel‐billed toucan. Just before dark we tried the road towards the Sendero Congo/Sendero Catarata area and the best spot was right at the beginning of this road the first couple of hundred meters because we had at least two black‐headed antthrushes calling and one walking on the track.
Day 9 (26/04/2017): San Gerardo biological station
Figuur 8 Trails biological station
Before breakfast we birded around the lodge with Pauraque, Swallow‐tailed kite, three‐wattled bellbird, slate‐throated whitestart, hepatic tanager (tooth‐billed tanager), crimson‐collared tanager, silver‐throated tanager, crested guan, great currasow, Sulphur‐bellied flycatcher, brown‐hooded parrot, green hermit and white‐throated thrush. We then had breakfast and started with our guide. We first birded around the lodge for a while in the fruiting trees with red‐headed barbet as best bird. Next we continued on our search for the Umbrellabird. Apparently the owner says his uncle hears them calling early morning around his farm. So we went that direction birding with green‐crowned brilliant, northern parula, buff‐rumped warbler, bronzed cowbird, scale‐crested pygmy tyrant, buff‐fronted foliage‐gleaner, scarlet‐thighed dacnis, … and then the waiting began. But no luck… no umbrellabird. During the waiting we had northern tufted flycatcher, white‐bellied mountaingem, silvery‐fronted tapaculo, collared trogon and highland tinamou. We then went to the normal place
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for Umbrellabird where they used to be some years ago, but also no luck. The area was again good for several other birds like Canada warbler, red‐faced spinetail, streak‐headed woodcreeper, spotted woodcreeper, coppery‐headed emerald, blackburnian warbler, tropical parula, plain antvireo, plain xenops, bay‐headed tanager, red‐headed barbet, azure‐hooded jay, olivaceous woodcreeper, silver‐throated tanager, black‐faced solitaire, golden‐browed chlorphonia, band‐tailed pigeon, grey‐breasted wood wren, white‐breasted wood wren and piratic flycatcher.
In the afternoon we decided to go back to the place where the uncle claims the Umbrellabird is seen quite often. Although it was raining a little bit, we waited for some hours but could only note red‐headed barbet, grey‐chested dove, silver‐throated tanager, common bush tanager, bay‐headed tanager, scale‐crested pygmy tyrant, highland tinamou and three‐striped warbler. Just before dark we decided to check the antthrush area and there were four black‐headed antthrushes calling of which one showed very well and we also had a rufous‐breasted antthrush on the trail.
In the evening we made a plan with the owner to try the next day for a last time for the Umbrellabird, but now very early. So he would bring my girlfriend with a quad to the farm and I would walk so we would there still in the dark. Early to bed…
Day 10 (27/04/2017): San Gerardo biological station – Hacienda solimar
Our plan was to get very early on the right spot and because I had to go on foot I started walking around 4 AM in the dark forest. A pretty nice experience completely on your own in this forest, but almost no night activity of birds. Just when arriving at the farm of the uncle a lot of Pauraques. And then the waiting began. A black guan caused some excitement, but besides that it’s black this was the closest we got to the Umbrellabird. Probably not enough people come to this place for the bird, so the locals don’t look for it anymore. If it’s really in this area, the lekking sites must be possible to find with a little bit more time. The owner thought he heard one very far, but if it was one I missed it. Although we missed one of our main targets we still could enjoy smoky‐brown woodpecker, silver‐throated tanager, black‐cheeked woodpecker, crested guan, band‐backed wren, northern tufted flycatcher, scale‐crested pygmy tyrant, northen nightingale‐wren and highland tinamou. We then had breakfast around 6 am and after breakfast we had to start walking back up towards the office of Santa Elena for our taxi which arrives around 9 am. On the way up we got the following species: three‐wattled bellbird, highland tinamou, scale‐crested pygmy‐tyrant, slate‐throated whitestart, black‐face solitaire, white‐collared swift, northern nightingale‐wren, common bush tanager, brown‐hooded parrot, golden‐browed chlorophonia, black guan, resplendent quetzal and last but not least ochre‐breasted antpitta (check observado.org for the exact GPS coordinates).
We got in time for our taxi, picked up our car at the cloudforest lodge and started to drive down towards hacienda solimar. On the dirt road towards the hacienda we got house sparrow, white‐tipped dove and turquoise‐browed motmot. The people in the hacienda are extremely friendly and the food is excellent. During the heat of the day we relaxed in the garden with black‐headed trogon, streak‐backed oriole, rose‐throated becard, pacific screech owl, groove‐billed ani, white‐fronted amazon, northern jacana, black‐necked stilt and spotted sandpiper. Around 3 PM we started to drive with the local guide in the rangeland of the hacienda which is full of birds. A huge amount of waterbirds was present and other interesting species: bare‐throated tiger heron, black‐bellied whistling duck, harris’s hawk, anhinga, limpkin, great egret, tricolored heron, black‐crowned night heron, spot‐breasted oriole, wood stork, American white ibis, purple gallinule, glossy ibis, northern
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shoveler, yellow‐naped amazon, eastern meadowlark, spot‐breasted oriole, hoffmann’s woodpecker, ferruginous pygmy owl, roseate spoonbill, double‐striped thick‐knee, jabiru, green kingfisher, mangrove swallow, killdeer, green heron, orange‐chinned parakeet, solitary sandpiper, great blue heron, northern crested caracara and common ground dove. So this was a nice afternoon drive on the private lands of the range. At night we heard a barn owl calling.
Day 11 (28/04/2017): Hacienda Solimar
In the early morning we birded in the garden with the normal suspects: white‐crowned parrot, northern jacana, rose‐throated becard, streak‐backed oriole, yellow‐naped amazon, groove‐billed ani, great egret, pacific screech owl and Muscovy duck.
After breakfast we headed with the local guide towards the dry forest. Although this is in another part, it’s still private property of hacienda solimar. So their terrain is huge. But one of the bigger targets was simply on the road, the lesser ground cuckoo showed itself perfectly. In the forest we had rufous‐and‐white wren, northern crested caracara, thicket tinamou (showing very closely), collared forest falcon, northern bentbill, pauraque, cinnamon hummingbird, olive sparrow, hoffmann’s
woodpecker, mangrove cuckoo (high on the list because we missed it in florida), dusky‐capped flycatcher, tropical gnatcatcher and grey‐crowned yellowthroat. We then birded a little bit closer to the road and could add ferruginous pygmy owl, red‐eyed vireo, greenish elaenia, lesser greenlet, streaked flycatcher, thicket tinamou, crane hawk, yellow‐bellied flycatcher, banded wren, pauraque, black‐headed trogon, ruddy ground dove, yellow‐olive flatbill and yellow‐green vireo. The heat started to build up so we stopped around 10.30 AM.
We relaxed again in the garden during the heat of the day and could enjoy white‐throated magpie‐jay, mangrove cuckoo and cinnamon hummingbird. At 2.30 PM we started again with our local guide in search of our last targets. We birded the area mostly around the public roads going left when you exit the hacienda. This road proofed also quite interesting with plain‐breasted ground‐dove, blue grosbeak, white‐tailed kite, blue‐black grassquit, ferruginous pygmy‐owl, yellow‐green vireo, white‐lored gnatcatcher, yellow‐olive flatbill, yellow warbler, tropical gnatcatcher, canivet’s emerald, spot‐breasted oriole, cinnamon hummingbird, northern crested caracara, brown‐crested flycatcher, white‐collared seedeater, stripe‐headed sparrow, orange‐chinned parakeet, grey‐crowned yellowthroat, long‐tailed manakin and scrub euphonia.
To end the day we drove again towards the marshlands in the private areas and like yesterday there was a lot of water flooding the area. But it proved interesting with spot‐breated oriole, common black hawk, double‐striped thick‐knee, laughing falcon, tropical mockingbird (rare here) and many
Figuur 9 Lesser ground cuckoo
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waders like 60+ pectoral sandpipers, 80+ lesser yellowlegs, roseate spoonbill, solitary sandpiper, wood stork, collared plover, 4 jabiru and a snail kite.
Day 12 (29/04/2017): Hacienda Solimar – Carara
We did again a pre‐breakfast walk in the garden and had some normal species like Black‐crowned tityra, canivet’s emerald, pacific screech owl, rose‐throated becard, white‐crowned parrot, hoffmann’s woodpecker, cinnamon hummingbird, rufous‐backed wren, northern jacana and streak‐backed oriole. After breakfast we started driving towards Carara.
We arrived around 10 AM at the hotel Villa lapas, could check in to the room and started birding. The hotel is more for mass tourism so it first didn’t look that promising. The garden is not very interesting and we took the walkway up along the entrance road and walked down the road towards the highway. On this small track we had buff‐throated saltator, bright‐rumped Attila, plain xenops, black‐
hooded antshrike, turquoise‐browed motmot, lesser greenlet, white‐collared seedeater, northern bentbill, yellow‐throated toucan, scarlet macaw, white‐shouldered tanager, Sulphur‐bellied flycatcher, bare‐throated tiger heron, grey‐capped flycatcher, rufous‐capped warbler, grey‐headed tanager, orange‐billed sparrow and roadside hawk. You also see a lot of
magnificent frigatebirds hovering above the sea.
Then we had the lunch, it’s all included in this hotel so not very our style nor the people. But food is food. There was a big thunderstorm during lunch and after lunch we decided to try already the park Carara. We still had to wait for a while until the rain stopped. But around 2 PM we decided to go in, although the local guides told there would be nothing to see. But after rain, there is sometimes more activity. We weren’t disappointed at all with grey‐headed tanager, lesson’s motmot, scarlet macaw, chestnut‐backed antbird, ruddy quail‐dove (terrific views), buff‐rumped warbler black‐hooded antshrike, orange‐billed sparrow, great tinamou (full view), a second ruddy quail‐dove, American white ibis, Muscovy duck, northern waterthrush and common tody‐flycatcher. Unfortunately the park already closes around 4 PM, which is pretty early. We only did the first loops (Quebrada bonita), which proofed interesting.
Figuur 10 Ruddy quail‐dove
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Figuur 11 Trails Carara
We then decided to bird again on the hotel grounds and found a very interesting track at the back of the hotel. If you just continue the entrance track, pass all the rooms there starts a trail which goes to a river. Besides Muscovy duck, northern waterthrush, amazon kingfisher, the best was a sunbittern walking along the river. The best spot seems to be if you continue until the river, keep left on the track and then you will have an area with some small wooden bridges. This is a good point to have a look along the river.
Day 13 (30/04/2017): Carara – Tarcoles river
The staff of the hotel said that it was impossible to get food earlier, and really there is no food pretty early. So we tried around 6.30 AM and just got some fruits. Before breakfast we had on the hotel grounds costa rican siwft, scarlet macaw, lesson’s motmot, streaked flycatcher, cherrie’s tanager, long‐billed starthroat, grey‐chested dove and ruddy quail‐dove.
We drove to Carara national park to meet our guide at 7 AM. The park only opens around this time, so earlier is no possibility. We had to wait outside for a moment and had on the parking area tropical kingbird, scarlet macaw, yellow‐green vireo, rose‐thraoted becard and spot‐crowned euphonia.
We birderd first around the office area and talked about our target list. Meanwhile we had our first antswarm with rufous piha, northern barred woodcreeper, bicolored antbird, gartered trogon, rufous‐backed wren and a steely‐vented hummingbird. We decided to start at the river trail to get some targets and come back later. At the river trail we soon had interesting birds like white‐whiskered puffbird, several northern royal flycatchers, streak‐chested antpitta, scarlet macaw, chestnut‐backed antbird, northern bentbill, red‐legged honeycreeper, several orange‐collared manakins, greenish elaenia, dusky antbird, stripe‐throated hermit, pale‐billed woodpecker, long‐billed hermit, tawny‐winged woodcreeper, wedge‐billed woodcreeper, white‐winged becard and rufous‐tailed hummingbird.
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We returned to the office and started walking the loops. This is a pretty interesting area. For the exact GPS‐coördinates look on observado.org but we had: flocks of scarlet macaw, streak‐headed woodcreeper, fiery‐billed aracari, grey‐capped flycatcher, black‐faced antthrush, buff‐thraoted foliage‐gleaner, four antswarms, northern barred woodcreeper, riverside wren, golden‐naped woodpecker, red‐capped manakin, rufous piha, blue‐crowned manakin, great tinamou, rudyy‐tailed flycatcher, tawny‐winged woodcreeper, bicolored antbird, Sulphur‐rumped myiobius, plain xenops, cocoa woodcreeper, dot‐winged antwren, long‐billed gnatwren, black‐hooded antshrike and yellow‐throated toucan. A pretty good morning walk as they say.
We returned to the hotel for the lunch and departed towards the Tarcoles river for our cruise with Jungle Crocodile Safari. Although most people come for the crocodiles we were here for mangrove vireo and mangrove hummingbird. You really need a boat on your own, otherwise you will probably see crocodiles and no one is interested in these little brown things. So we started with two in a big boat which probably can have more than 40 people. The list of this boat trip was pretty good with most of the targets: wood stork, mangrove swallow, great egret, roseate spoonbill, ringed kingfisher, ruddy turnstone, semipalmated plover, grey plover, spotted sandpiper, whimbrel, yellow‐headed caracara, little blue heron, magnificent frigatebird, least sandpiper, boat‐billed heron, anhinga, snowy egret, mangrove warbler, plumbeous kite, rufous‐browed peppershrike, osprey, green heron, scaly‐breasted hummingbird, American pygmy kingfisher, spotted sandpiper, yellow‐naped amazon, hoffmann’s woodpecker, mangrove hummingbird, common ground dove, tropical pewee, barred antshrike, Panamanian flycatcher, bare‐throated tiger heron, short‐tailed hawk, brown pelican, wilson’s plover, sanderling, turquoise‐browed motmot, groove‐billed ani, Muscovy duck, black‐bellied whistling duck, grey hawk, greyish saltator, northern jacana and double‐striped thick‐knee. Which is also very interesting are the flocks of scarlet macaws flying from the forested hills towards the mangrove to sleep.
In the evening at the all‐you‐can‐eat restaurant in the hotel we had a northern pademelon walking along the grassy area.
Day 14 (01/05/2017): Villa lapas – Esquinas rainforest lodge
In the morning we started birding again on the ground of the lodge and met the british birders which didn’t dare to get of the grounds yesterday because the guide made them afraid of snakes and mosquitos. You can apparently easily scare Brits, like they are so terrible afraid of the European Union, but the argument of sunbittern convinced some. The trail provided no sunbittern but we noted several black‐faced antthrushes, grey‐chested dove, green honeycreeper, red‐legged honeycreeper, dusky antbird, northern waterthrush, Sulphur‐rumped myiobius, buff‐rumped warbler, yellow‐green vireo, northern barred woodcreeper and a big lek of long‐billed hermit.
After breakfast we started to drive towards Esquinas rainforest lodge, which is quite a long drive. On the road we didn’t bird that much but had several magnificent frigatebirds and a southern lapwing. When entering the dirtroad towards the lodge we had a scissor‐tailed flycatcher in the fields (pretty late in the season). On the grounds of the lodge you can immediately start birding, the surroundings are stunning, the lodges are perfect and the food is superb. We had charming hummingbird, long‐billed hermit, band‐tailed barbthroat, black‐faced antthrush, cherrie’s tanager, bananaquit, squirrel cuckoo, northern royal flycatcher, greenish elaenia,s caly‐breasted hummingbird, riverside wren, northern bentbill, great tinamou, orange‐billed euphoniathick‐billed euphonia, dusky‐capped
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flycatcher and bronzy hermit. The most important species we needed here was black‐cheeked ant tanger which we found at the beginning of the waterfal trail around the lodges. It’s a pretty vocal species so actually not that difficult to find.
Figuur 12 Trails Esquinas Rainforest Lodge
Day 15 (02/05/2017): Esquinas rainforest lodge
In the morning we started birding with our guide Fernando ([email protected]). We started with the birdtrail at the lodge towards the ponds (Bird trail) and then the trail along the river (riverbed
trail) starting from the ponds. Around the lodge we had great tinamou, great currasow, ringed kingfisher, cherrie’s tanager, bronzy hermit, crested guan, orange‐billed sparrow, rufous‐winged woodpecker, white‐tipped dove, two baird’s trogons, grey‐chested dove, pale‐vented pigeon, black‐belleid wren, olive‐sided flycatcher and black‐cheeked ant tanager. Around the ponds and the trail we had purple gallinule, streak‐headed woodcreeper, black‐faced
antthrush, orange‐collared manakin, olivaceous piculet, black‐hooded antshrike, tawny‐crowned greenlet, dot‐winged antwren, golden‐naped woodpecker, several black‐cheeked ant tanagers and cocoa woodcreeper.
We then headed for breakfast and continued birding after breakfast with our guide. We drove just outside the lodge grounds towards where the farmland starts. We noted in this area spot‐crowned euphonia, costa rican swift, thick‐billed seed finch, brown‐hooded parrot, common tody‐flycatcher, bright‐rumped Attila, red‐crowned woodpecker, pale‐breasted spinetail, red‐rumped woodpecker,
Figuur 13 Black‐cheeked ant‐tanager
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yellow‐bellied elaenia, piratic flycatcher, yellow tyrannulet, red‐crowned woodpecker, short‐billed pigeon, red‐breasted blackbird, brown‐throated parakeet, fork‐tailed flycatcher, orange‐chinned parakeet, blue‐headed parrot and pale‐vented pigeon. Back at the lodge when returning for lunch we had fiery‐billed aracari and king vulture. The birding had become slow by this time because of the rain.
In the afternoon it kept raining, the rainy season was definitely very close. Birding was very hard, but we decided to do the ocelot trail with an umbrella. We didn’t note many birds only crested guan, great tinamou and orange‐collared manakin. When arriving at the ponds at the end of the trail we birded under the hide with a view over the ponds and could dry a little bit. During this break we had grey‐necked wood rail, spot‐crowned euphonia, fiery‐billed aracari, buff‐rumped warbler, bronzy hermit, ruddy quail‐dove, great tinamou, black‐faced antthrush and chestnut‐backed antbird.
We went back to our lodge and while taking a shower there was a tawny‐winged woodcreeper just in front of our lodge. Perfect views. IN the evening we tried the road through the farmland again for owls, but only had white‐taied nightjar as extra.
Day 16 (03/05/2017): Esquinas rainforest lodge – Quetzal paradise lodge
Before breakfast we did again an early morning walk to check the ponds and certainly the cayman pond. There was a sighting of an agami heron some days ago around this pond, so keep an eye open. We had practically the same species as yesterday with tawny‐crowned greenlet, chestnut‐backed antbird, black‐faced antthrush, southern nightingale‐wren, grey‐necked wood rail, blue‐black grosbeak, charming hummingbird, smoot‐billed ani and American kestrel.
After breakfast we got in our car and started to drive towards the Quetzal paradise lodge. It was a pretty long drive with not that many birds. We only noted yellow‐headed caracara, swallow‐tailed kite and sooty thrush. We drove up the mountain towards the antenna’s, but stopped a little bit to early so only got sooty thrush and volcano hummingbird. We arrived around noon in the Quetzal paradise lodge and could start eating, which is difficult with all these interesting species at the feeders and visible from the restaurant like long‐tailed silky‐flycatcher, black‐billed nightingale‐thrush, fiery‐throated hummingbird, magnificent hummingbird (rivoli’s), slaty flowerpiercer and mountain thrush. We decided to do the walkway around the lodge to get already some species of the target list (Sendero Zeledonia). We saw hairy woodpecker, sooty‐capped bush tanager, ochraceous pewee, flame‐throated warbler, ruddy treerunner, scintillant hummingbird, volcano hummingbird, slaty flowerpiercer, wilson’s warbler, collared whitestart, black‐faced solitaire and then we had to hide for the rain. We birded a little bit from the restaurant the rest of the afternoon while it was raining pretty hard: southern nightingale‐wren, black‐and‐yellow silky‐flycatcher, black‐capped flycatcher and golden‐browed chlorophonia.
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Figuur 14 Trails Quetzal paradise lodge
Day 17 (04/05/2017): Quetzal paradise lodge
We birded very quickly around the rooms in the morning with sooty thrush, mountain thrush and large‐footed finch and met our guide at 6 AM. We told him our target list and got in the car towards our first target. We drove for about half an hour towards a private farm and heard the maroon‐chested ground‐dove (check GPS‐coördinates, but ask permission to enter the private land). But it kept far in the forest so we didn’t see it unfortunately. Around this area we also got acorn woodpecker, yellow‐bellied siskin, mountain elaenia and flame‐colored tanager. We then headed back to have a quick breakfast and said out for the other target a male resplendent quetzal. There was a nest on a farm not too far away. If you exit the lodge and get on the paved track, turn to the right and the first dirt track again to the right. We birded also along this road which proved very productive with a lot of target species: wrenthrush, buff‐fronted quail‐dove, barred becard, black‐cheeked warbler, grey‐tailed mountaingem, mountain elaenia, sooty thrush, ruddy treerunner, flame‐throated warbler, volcano hummingbird, collared whitestart, yellow‐bellied siskin and then we arrived at the nesting site. At a safe distance there was a rope to keep everyone far enough from the nest and then we had to wait. We had a red‐tailed hawk and very quickly afterwards a male resplendent quetzal. Perfect views and what a brilliant bird. We then continued birding along this dirt track: golden‐browed chlorophonia, yellow‐winged vireo, ruddy pigeon, elegant euphonia, northern
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tufted flycatcher, long‐tailed silky‐flycatcher, spot‐crowned woodcreeper, ochraceous wren, black‐cheeked warbler and finally after a lot of trying timberline wren. In the rain we added silver‐fronted tapaculo and back at the lodge black‐thighed grosbeak and barred parakeet.
The rain was really heavy so we had to stay inside, even with an umbrella this was almost mission impossible. We decided to drive back towards the antenna’s and finally also got two volcano junco’s. You really have to drive up towards the buildings which is well explained in the where to watch guide. The search was short but impressive,
because lightning was hitting all these metal
cables just above us. But nevertheless we got the junco. The only other thing we could do was sit in the restaurant and bird from there. Besides the hummers we got dusky nightjar calling in the evening. But owling was impossible with this weather.
Day 18 (05/05/2017): Quetzal paradise lodge – Hotel Rio perlas
We got early out of bed with Dusky nightjars calling. We did a quick tour around the lodge again with golden‐browed chlorophonia, sooty‐capped bush tanager, large‐footed finch, resplendent quetzal, ruddy‐capped nightingale‐thrush, black‐billed nightingale thrush and Wilson’s warbler.
We drove towards hotel Rio perlas in the Orosi region. We arrived before noon and could bird for a while but the forest was extremely quiet. We only had black phoebe, grey‐capped flycatcher, swallow‐tailed kite, slaty‐tailed trogon, brown jay and mistletoe tyrannulet. Just after noon the rain started and it rained very heavy the rest of the day. So this was a very slow day with not much to see. A day to forget quickly concerning birds.
Figuur 15 Resplendent quetzal
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Figuur 16 Sunbittern
Day 19 (06/05/2017): Parque nacional Tapanti – Orosi valley – Hotel Rio perlas
We got up early, went to the reception to pick up our packed breakfast, which they forgot and waited for our guide at the parking lot. The weather was better and we had some entertainment by yellow‐bellied elaenia, social flycatcher and black‐cowled orioles. Our guide ([email protected]) was again perfect on time and after a quick stop at a bakery for breakfast we went to the national park.
We birded a while in the fields and the forest just before the gate of the park. These areas proofed already very productive: lesser greenlet, brown‐capped vireo, white‐winged tanager, chestnut‐sided warbler, tropical parula, common bush tanager, black‐breasted wood quail and white‐throated thrush. We sneaked in very early with some big trucks after getting permission and could start birding the trail before the crowds were arriving. We just walked along the entrance road and quickly found some interesting birds and some flocks: russet antshrike, spotted barbtail, rufous mourner, golden‐olive woodpecker, bay‐headed tanager, red‐headed barbet, tawny‐capped euphonia, red‐faced spinetail, olive‐striped flycatcher, scale‐crested pygmy tyrant, white‐bellied moutaingem, bananaquit, spotted woodcreeper, pale‐vented thrush, white‐throated spadebill, barred hawk, slaty‐capped flycatcher, grey‐breasted wood wren, ochraceous wren, purple‐throated mountaingem, black‐faced solitaire, chestnut‐headed oropendula and golden‐browed chlorophonia.
We tried for some antpitta’s and torrent tyrannulet, but without luck. Instead we got another target bird sooty‐faced finch. This was just a little bit north of the entrance to sendero oropendula. We then drove up and stopped regularly for birding. A good spot is where the road comes again close to the valley and there is a big clearing with a very good vista. We could add in this area western wood pewee, zeledon’s antbird, black‐and‐white becard, northern tufted flycatcher, dark pewee, black‐
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bellied hummingbird, silver‐throated tanager, purple‐throated mountaingem, spangle‐cheeked tanager and tawny‐capped euphonia.
Then it was time to get some food and we drove towards a restaurant with bird feeders. We stopped at every river to check for torrent tyrannulet, but no luck. At the feeders while eating we noted, Montezuma oropendula, blue‐grey tanager, melodious blackbird, green‐breasted mango, mistletoe tyrannulet, etc… So mostly common birds although the mango was still e new one for the list. Around 2 PM the rain started again and we headed back towards the hotel.
Around 4PM the rain stopped a little bit and we decided to start walking on the hotel grounds. We didn’t got that far. Just around the pond in front of the restaurant we heard sunbitterns calling, but the sound wasn’t coming from the river. Two sunbitterns were just foraging on the grassfields, between the flowers and in the pond with a lower water content. They didn’t pay much attention at us and were calling and feeding sometimes at 2 meters. Absolutely stunning and the rest of the hotel guests in the restaurant probably didn’t understand what the hell we were doing there in the rain. A terrific end of the day.
Day 20 (07/05/2017): Hotel Rio Perlas, botanical garden, San Jose
The next morning we did a pre breakfast walk and the two sunbitterns were again feeding where we left them the evening before. Now we could see them in drier circumstances. Magnificent creatures. We decided to walk the road up the hill in the hope to get some interesting birds. Although we made a pretty long walk up the hill until almost on top after more than an hour climbing, bird activity was still very low: brown jay and slate‐throated whitestart was it. Strange.
We had breakfast and then loaded our car while a flock of Sulphur‐winged parakeet flew over. We first birded again the entrance road around tapanti national park, but couldn’t add any new species. Our next stop was the botanical garden, but this proofed extremely busy and we were certainly the strangest people walking around in our boots, binoculars, camera, etc… Bird activity was again not very impressive here: rufous‐capped warbler, bananquit, orange‐billed nightingale‐thrush, Montezuma oropendola, …
We got some food and started to drive back towards San Jose where we had to deliver our car at 6PM and we wanted to avoid rush hour. But even now it was pretty busy in the central valley. To find our way back was also the only time we used our GPS‐system. Driving in Costa Rica is very easy, but finding your way in the central valley will be a little bit more challenging without GPS.
We arrived around 4PM in our hotel and birded form our hotel room due to the rain: finsh’s parakeet, social flycatcher, white‐collared swift, chestnut‐collared swift, white‐winged dove:, clay‐colored thrush, red‐billed pigeon, rufous‐tailed hummingbird, blue‐grey tanager, blue‐and‐white swallow, tropical kingbird, great‐tailed grackle, hoffmann’s woodpecker and rufous‐collared sparrow. So it was obvious we were pretty close or already in the rainy season by now.
Day 21 (08/05/2017): Hotel Rio Perlas – airport
The next morning we birded the hotel grounds again, like we did on our first day. While you struggle the first day to get used to these birds, after three weeks everything goes extremely easy. The list of the species was not extraordinary but anyway nice to end a vacation: finsch’s parakeet, hoffmann’s
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woodpecker, lesson’s motmot, white‐eared ground sparrow, vaux’s swift, inca dove, greyish saltator, brown‐crested flycatcher, …
And then it was time to get to the airport and say goodbye to this wonderful country. With 472 species and more than 200 lifers, this was again a good trip. We missed some targets like Umbrellabird, but got most of the species we needed. So birding on your own and help of some local guides proofed a very successful formula.
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Species list Highland Tinamou Great Tinamou Little Tinamou Eastern Thicket Tinamou Slaty‐breasted Tinamou Black Guan Crested Guan Grey‐headed Chachalaca Great Curassow Black‐breasted Wood‐quail Black‐bellied Whistling‐duck Muscovy Duck Northern Shoveler Blue‐winged Teal Sunbittern Southern Band‐tailed Pigeon Pale‐vented Pigeon Red‐billed Pigeon Ruddy Pigeon Short‐billed Pigeon Ruddy Quail‐dove White‐tipped Dove Grey‐chested Dove Buff‐fronted Quail‐dove White‐winged Dove Inca Dove Common Ground‐dove Plain‐breasted Ground‐dove Ruddy Ground‐dove Maroon‐chested Ground‐dove Pauraque White‐tailed Nightjar Dusky Nightjar White‐chinned Swift Chestnut‐collared Swift White‐collared Swift Costa Rican Swift Grey‐rumped Swift Vaux's Swift Chimney Swift White‐necked Jacobin Bronzy Hermit Band‐tailed Barbthroat Stripe‐throated Hermit Green Hermit Long‐billed Hermit
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Green‐fronted Lancebill Brown Violet‐ear Green Violet‐ear Purple‐crowned Fairy Green‐breasted Mango Black‐crested Coquette Green‐crowned Brilliant Canivet's Emerald Violet‐headed Hummingbird Scaly‐breasted Sabrewing Violet Sabrewing Stripe‐tailed Hummingbird Black‐bellied Hummingbird Coppery‐headed Emerald Snowcap Bronze‐tailed Plumeleteer Crowned Woodnymph Rufous‐tailed Hummingbird Cinnamon Hummingbird Mangrove Hummingbird Charming Hummingbird Steely‐vented Hummingbird Blue‐throated Goldentail Magnificent Hummingbird Fiery‐throated Hummingbird Plain‐capped Starthroat Long‐billed Starthroat White‐bellied Mountain‐gem Purple‐throated Mountain‐gem Grey‐tailed Mountain‐gem Volcano Hummingbird Scintillant Hummingbird Smooth‐billed Ani Groove‐billed Ani Lesser Ground‐cuckoo Common Squirrel‐cuckoo Yellow‐billed Cuckoo Mangrove Cuckoo Grey‐necked Wood‐rail Purple Gallinule Limpkin Wood Stork Jabiru Roseate Spoonbill White Ibis Glossy Ibis
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Bare‐throated Tiger‐heron Fasciated Tiger‐Heron Boat‐billed Heron Black‐crowned Night‐heron Green‐backed Heron Cattle Egret Great Blue Heron Great White Egret Tricolored Heron Little Blue Heron Snowy Egret Brown Pelican Magnificent Frigatebird Neotropical Cormorant Anhinga Double‐striped Thick‐knee Black‐winged Stilt Grey Plover Semipalmated Plover Wilson's Plover Killdeer Collared Plover Southern Lapwing Northern Jacana Whimbrel Ruddy Turnstone Sanderling Least Sandpiper Pectoral Sandpiper Spotted Sandpiper Solitary Sandpiper Lesser Yellowlegs Common Barn‐owl Ferruginous Pygmy‐owl Pacific Screech‐owl Mottled Owl Turkey Vulture American Black Vulture King Vulture Osprey White‐tailed Kite Swallow‐tailed Kite Crane Hawk Mississippi Kite Snail Kite Roadside Hawk Harris's Hawk
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Common Black Hawk Barred Hawk White Hawk Semiplumbeous Hawk Grey Hawk Short‐tailed Hawk Red‐tailed Hawk Resplendent Quetzal Slaty‐tailed Trogon Black‐headed Trogon Baird's Trogon Violaceous Trogon Black‐throated Trogon Collared Trogon Blue‐diademed Motmot Rufous Motmot Keel‐billed Motmot Broad‐billed Motmot Turquoise‐browed Motmot Ringed Kingfisher Belted Kingfisher Amazon Kingfisher American Pygmy‐kingfisher Green Kingfisher Rufous‐tailed Jacamar White‐whiskered Puffbird Yellow‐throated Toucan Keel‐billed Toucan Blue‐throated Toucanet Collared Araçari Fiery‐billed Araçari Red‐headed Barbet Prong‐billed Barbet Olivaceous Piculet Pale‐billed Woodpecker Rufous‐winged Woodpecker Golden‐olive Woodpecker Chestnut‐colored Woodpecker Lineated Woodpecker Acorn Woodpecker Golden‐naped Woodpecker Black‐cheeked Woodpecker Red‐crowned Woodpecker Hoffmann's Woodpecker Hairy Woodpecker Smoky‐brown Woodpecker
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Red‐rumped Woodpecker Laughing Falcon Collared Forest‐falcon Crested Caracara Yellow‐headed Caracara American Kestrel Bat Falcon Peregrine Falcon Barred Parakeet Orange‐chinned Parakeet Brown‐hooded Parrot Blue‐headed Parrot White‐crowned Parrot White‐fronted Amazon Red‐lored Amazon Yellow‐naped Amazon Northern Mealy Amazon Sulphur‐winged Parakeet Aztec Parakeet Great Green Macaw Scarlet Macaw Crimson‐fronted Parakeet Dot‐winged Antwren Plain Antvireo Barred Antshrike Black‐hooded Antshrike Dusky Antbird Bicolored Antbird Spotted Antbird Chestnut‐backed Antbird Dull‐mantled Antbird Zeledon's Antbird Western Russet Antshrike Streak‐chested Antpitta Thicket Antpitta Ochre‐breasted Antpitta Silvery‐fronted Tapaculo Black‐faced Antthrush Black‐headed Antthrush Rufous‐breasted Antthrush Grey‐throated Leaftosser Western Olivaceous Woodcreeper Ruddy Woodcreeper Tawny‐winged Woodcreeper Plain‐brown Woodcreeper Wedge‐billed Woodcreeper
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Western Barred Woodcreeper Cocoa Woodcreeper Southern Spotted Woodcreeper Brown‐billed Scythebill Streak‐headed Woodcreeper Southern Spot‐crowned Woodcreeper Plain Xenops Streaked Xenops Buffy Tuftedcheek Lineated Foliage‐gleaner Streak‐breasted Treehunter Buff‐throated Foliage‐gleaner Spotted Barbtail Ruddy Treerunner Red‐faced Spinetail Pale‐breasted Spinetail White‐collared Manakin Orange‐collared Manakin Red‐capped Manakin Blue‐crowned Manakin White‐ruffed Manakin Long‐tailed Manakin Rufous Piha Three‐wattled Bellbird Yellow‐billed Cotinga Snowy Cotinga Northern Royal Flycatcher Ruddy‐tailed Flycatcher Sulphur‐rumped Flycatcher Black‐crowned Tityra Masked Tityra Barred Becard Rose‐throated Becard Cinnamon Becard White‐winged Becard Black‐and‐white Becard Western White‐throated Spadebill Olive‐streaked Flycatcher Sepia‐capped Flycatcher Slaty‐capped Flycatcher Eye‐ringed Flatbill Yellow‐olive Flatbill Yellow‐winged Flatbill Northern Bentbill Scale‐crested Pygmy‐tyrant Slate‐headed Tody‐flycatcher
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Common Tody‐flycatcher Black‐headed Tody‐flycatcher Mistletoe Tyrannulet Yellow‐bellied Elaenia Mountain Elaenia Greenish Elaenia Yellow Tyrannulet Bright‐rumped Attila Piratic Flycatcher Great Kiskadee Boat‐billed Flycatcher Sulphur‐bellied Flycatcher Northern Streaked Flycatcher Social Flycatcher Grey‐capped Flycatcher White‐ringed Flycatcher Tropical Kingbird Eastern Kingbird Scissor‐tailed Flycatcher Fork‐tailed Flycatcher Rufous Mourner Dusky‐capped Flycatcher Panama Flycatcher Great Crested Flycatcher Brown‐crested Flycatcher Long‐tailed Tyrant Tawny‐chested Flycatcher Tufted Flycatcher Black Phoebe Yellow‐bellied Flycatcher Yellowish Flycatcher Black‐capped Flycatcher Olive‐sided Flycatcher Dark Pewee Ochraceous Pewee Western Wood‐pewee Eastern Wood‐pewee Northern Tropical Pewee Rufous‐browed Peppershrike Tawny‐crowned Greenlet Lesser Greenlet Brown‐capped Vireo Warbling Vireo Yellow‐green Vireo Red‐eyed Vireo Yellow‐throated Vireo
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Yellow‐winged Vireo Mangrove Vireo Azure‐hooded Jay Brown Jay White‐throated Magpie‐jay Barn Swallow Mangrove Swallow Purple Martin Grey‐breasted Martin Northern Rough‐winged Swallow Southern Rough‐winged Swallow Blue‐and‐white Swallow Long‐billed Gnatwren White‐lored Gnatcatcher Tropical Gnatcatcher Northern Nightingale‐wren Southern Nightingale‐wren House Wren Ochraceous Wren Timberline Wren Band‐backed Wren Rufous‐backed Wren Black‐bellied Wren Black‐throated Wren Banded Wren Rufous‐and‐white Wren Stripe‐breasted Wren Riverside Wren Plain Wren Canebrake Wren White‐breasted Wood‐wren Grey‐breasted Wood‐wren Tropical Mockingbird Black‐faced Solitaire Wood Thrush Swainson's Thrush Veery Ruddy‐capped Nightingale‐thrush Black‐billed Nightingale‐thrush Orange‐billed Nightingale‐thrush Black‐headed Nightingale‐thrush Slaty‐backed Nightingale‐thrush Mountain Thrush Pale‐vented Thrush White‐throated Thrush Clay‐colored Thrush
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Sooty Thrush Black‐and‐yellow Silky‐flycatcher Long‐tailed Silky‐flycatcher House Sparrow Golden‐browed Chlorophonia Scrub Euphonia Thick‐billed Euphonia Yellow‐throated Euphonia Elegant Euphonia Spot‐crowned Euphonia Olive‐backed Euphonia Tawny‐capped Euphonia Yellow‐bellied Siskin Stripe‐headed Sparrow Olive Sparrow Black‐striped Sparrow Common Bush‐tanager Sooty‐capped Bush‐tanager Sooty‐faced Finch Orange‐billed Sparrow Yellow‐thighed Finch White‐naped Brush‐finch Large‐footed Finch White‐eared Ground‐sparrow Rufous‐collared Sparrow Wrenthrush Eastern Meadowlark Red‐breasted Blackbird Chestnut‐headed Oropendola Montezuma Oropendola Scarlet‐rumped Cacique Baltimore Oriole Streak‐backed Oriole Yellow‐tailed Oriole Spot‐breasted Oriole Black‐cowled Oriole Red‐winged Blackbird Bronzed Cowbird Melodious Blackbird Great‐tailed Grackle Northern Waterthrush Flame‐throated Warbler Tennessee Warbler Grey‐crowned Yellowthroat Northern Parula Tropical Parula
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Blackburnian Warbler American Yellow Warbler Chestnut‐sided Warbler Black‐throated Green Warbler Buff‐rumped Warbler Rufous‐capped Warbler Black‐cheeked Warbler Stripe‐crowned Warbler Three‐striped Warbler Canada Warbler Wilson's Warbler Slate‐throated Whitestart Collared Whitestart Black‐thighed Grosbeak Blue Grosbeak Blue‐black Grosbeak Red‐throated Ant‐tanager Black‐cheeked Ant‐tanager Carmiol's Tanager White‐winged Tanager Scarlet Tanager Summer Tanager Flame‐colored Tanager Hepatic Tanager Black‐faced Grosbeak Green Honeycreeper Black‐and‐yellow Tanager Red‐legged Honeycreeper Shining Honeycreeper Scarlet‐thighed Dacnis Blue Dacnis Northern Grey Saltator Streaked Saltator Buff‐throated Saltator Black‐headed Saltator Bananaquit Yellow‐faced Grassquit Blue‐black Grassquit Grey‐headed Tanager White‐shouldered Tanager Tawny‐crested Tanager Crimson‐collared Tanager Scarlet‐rumped Tanager Cherrie's Tanager White‐collared Seedeater Black Seedeater
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Black‐breasted Seedeater Thick‐billed Seed‐finch Slaty Flowerpiercer Blue‐and‐gold Tanager Blue‐grey Tanager Palm Tanager Golden‐hooded Tanager Spangle‐cheeked Tanager Bay‐headed Tanager Emerald Tanager Silver‐throated Tanager Plain‐colored Tanager
