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Perspectives and Updates on Birding at and Around Carara National Park, January 2014

Carara is usually on the list of birders visiting Costa Rica so in thinking of a topic for this week’s blog post, I decided to write a bit about the area, especially because I did some guiding there over the past three weeks. Since all of my birding/guiding around Carara has taken place on the Laguna Meandrica trail (the river trail), around Tarcoles, and on the Guacimo Road, I will focus about those places.

The River Trail: So, it’s actually the Laguna Meandrica Trail but everyone calls it the “River Trail” in English. However, it’s good to know the real name for the trail because there’s a new and improved sign at the entrance. Look for the sign and entrance 2 or 3 kilometers north on the highway from the main Carara HQ. The entrance is tough to see because it’s a short, steep drive down to the parking area. Someone is usually there to watch the vehicles, make sure to pay him at least 2,000 colones because he doesn’t receive any salary (don’t leave the car unless someone is there to watch it!).

Although this trail is famous for its good birding, to be honest, it hasn’t been as outstanding as during the days of yore. It’s still good but as with some others parts of the country, there seem to be fewer overall birds. That subtle change seems to have coincided with drier weather. So, this means that it might just take longer to find the birds while birding the River Trail. However, species missed there can also be found on the HQ trails, so combining the two should work out. That said, we still had some good birds like King Vulture, an antswarm with Bicolored Antbirds, Black-faced Antthrush, Tawny-winged and Northern Barred Woodcreepers, and Gray-headed Tanagers. I heard a few Royal Flycatchers on two visits, Rufous-tailed Jacamars were showing well, and more than one fig was fruiting. Keep an eye on those figs for cotingas and who knows what else! Although we didn’t see any cotingas at the fruiting trees, on one day, we did glimpse two stunning male Yellow-billed Cotingas around 9 AM!

A King Vulture over Carara.

As far as the oxbow lake goes, the water is much lower and there were few birds present but Boat-billed Herons were still there, and who knows, maybe the more extensive marsh vegetation will result in some unexpected species.

Two Boat-billed Herons at the small oxbow lake.

Carara HQ: I haven’t been on the HQ loop trails yet this year but they should be good for Great Tinamou, Streak-chested Antpitta, and the usual set of rainforest species. As for the HQ itself, there are new bathrooms (small but they function), and the booth for buying tickets is obvious. The park is open from 7 to 4 for the high season. Guides can also be hired there but not all of them are great for birds.

Blue-throated Goldentail is often seen in and around Carara.

The Bijagual Road: This is the dirt road that goes by Villa Lapas and accesses forested hills at the edge of the national park. Road work is still going on and results in some waits but it doesn’t seem to affect the birding that much. This road always holds promise for birding although it can be pretty quiet during the hot and sunny hours. The up side of birding the road then, though, is having a good chance at King Vulture and raptors like White Hawk, Short-tailed Hawk, Zone-tailed Hawk, Gray Hawk, and Double-toothed Kite. Rarer species can also show up and flowering trees might turn up White-crested Coquette (I had one there in late December).

Cerro Lodge: This birding hotspot has been pretty good although I haven’t seen as many parrots or parakeets doing morning flybys (although plenty of macaws). A male Yellow-billed Cotinga is still showing in the morning in distant mangroves (use a scope and look for a bright white dot), Black and white Owls show up but haven’t been as regular, and Crane Hawk is still showing up once in a while. Lots of vegetation is growing up, and there is plenty of Porterweed attracting hummingbirds. Also, the rooms now have air conditioning!

There are quite a few Ruby-throated Hummingbirds around Cerro now.
The view from the Cerro Lodge restaurant.

The road to and from Cerro Lodge is still good for birding and continues to be reliable for a wide variety of species including Nutting’s Flycatcher, White-lored Gnatcatcher, and Yellow-naped Parrot.

Nutting's Flycatcher.
Expect to see handsome Hoffmann's Woodpeckers in dry forest sites.

The Guacimo Road: Although I haven’t spent much time there yet this year, the dry forest birding seems to be similar to past visits with lots of birds in the riparian zone (including Long-tailed Manakin, Olive Sparrow, Plain-breasted Ground Dove, Turquoise-browed Motmot, and others), and White-throated Magpie Jays, Double-striped Thick Knee, and others species on other parts of the road.

We had good looks at this Ferruginous Pygmy Owl.

I haven’t been on the mangrove boat tour yet so can’t say much about that but people who have taken it recently have seen thick-knee, Southern Lapwing, and American Pygmy Kingfisher among other bird species.

That’s about it for recent birding around Carara, the only thing else I can say is bird around there for a few days and you will see a lot!

Hope to see you in Costa Rica in 2014! Get ready for your trip with the Costa Rica Birds Field Guide app available in the iTunes store and the Amazon app store for Android phones.