This is it. December is here, with its snow and gulls and other birds from the north and the year is coming to a close. Except that in Costa Rica, we don’t have any dark cold days, nor do we offer much for the Larophile. We do have some birds from the north but they come in the form of Baltimore Orioles, Yellow Warblers, and other birds that come here to escape that northern annual freeze. Thanks to jet propulsion engines and planes, you can also migrate away from the cold. Come to Costa Rica and a birder can also add a few several dozen final year birds.
Did someone say Snowcap?
In my near future, I don’t foresee any serious chasing of the feathered kind but Mary and I are scheduled to participate in one more count. Maybe we will add a few more year birds, maybe even some after the count. Although we both have more than 600 species for 2019, incredibly, even more species can still find room on our lists, I wonder what they might be?
My latest year bird (numero 680) was a Rufous-winged Tanager seen while guiding near the Mistico Hanging Bridges area. During those days of guiding, I also saw birds like Great Curassow, Ocellated Antbird, Keel-billed Motmot, and Lattice-tailed Trogon but as nice as those species are, it wasn’t the first time I had seen them in 2019.
The Keel-billed Motmot.
In the next few days, with luck, we might even connect with Bare-necked Umbrellabird. I hope so, even if I already did see one this year, I rarely see this endangered species and it would be an excellent final bird of the year for Mary. Rufous-vented Ground-Cuckoo might be even better but even being in the right place doesn’t mean that you can hit the birding lottery with this mega. If we find an antswarm, though, we could be in luck, I will certainly be listening for this very challenging species.
Other, more likely final year birds may come in the form of species we have looked for and should have already seen. Although we have done well on owls, the Striped Owl has evaded our efforts thus far! There’s still a chance although I think it depends on whether or not we visit the Jaco area at night.
Another big empty spot on our year lists is next to the name of the American Kestrel. Although the “Sparrow Hawk” isn’t common in Costa Rica, we have looked for it in the right places. I really don’t know why we haven’t seen this beautiful little falcon yet but it’s about time we connected, maybe one will still show near the airport or some other open field.
We could also pick up a nice set of final birds for the year in the Ciudad Neily area but since that is kind of far to go, it’s not going to happen in 2019. Maybe in 2020, but not this year. Instead, though, if we head to the coast, we still may pick up Common Tern and other coastal species. At least no matter where we go birding in Costa Rica, some new year bird could appear. That’s how the birding goes in a place with a list of more than 920 species.
Wishing everyone a happy holiday season and Merry Christmas! Thank you for reading this blog in 2019, I am grateful.
The past week has been marked by bird counts, at least for us and the other 80 plus people that helped count birds at Cano Negro and Arenal. Since many of the counters and count organizers are busy with tours later on in December, these counts don’t fit into the official count time frame for the Audubon Christmas Counts and are thus not tabulated therein. However, that doesn’t minimize their importance, we still try to hold them around the same dates for each year and with the same routes and effort.
Pretty typical for December, this year’s counts were marked by the arrival of a cold front. It brought the expected buckets of rain and filled the wetlands of Cano Negro to the brink. As one might imagine, the heavy rains also presented challenges to watching birds but we still managed (yay for us participants!).
Some of the highlights and other impressions from this year’s annual bird counts for Cano Negro and Arenal:
You can still bird in the rain but it’s better when it stops
When birding in the rain, there’s a fine balance between getting too much rain and having just enough to boost the avian activity. Fortunately, it didn’t rain the entire time for either count! Although we did experience some heavy, prolonged falling water, we also had enough downtime from precipitation to count the birds.
Odd birds from the ocean
The good thing about a cold front is the birds that it can bring to town. That cool weather from the north can come with some surprises. At Cano Negro, they came in the form of a few Laughing Gulls, a Sandwich Tern, and two Brown Pelicans. Although we weren’t too far from marine environments, this inland freshwater wetland and refuge is still far enough from the ocean to make sightings of coastal species very unusual. I also checked the lake at Arenal but didn’t find any errant shearwaters or other similar oddities.
The new tower at Finca Luna Nueva
This recent excellent addition to Luna Nueva merits its own post and will get one at some point. During the count, we got a hint of what the birding can be like, I can’t wait to check it out during a sunnier, warmer dawn. On count day, the misty, rainy, and cool weather kept activity to a minimum. At other times, I bet it can be really good.
Both counts deliver the goods
Despite the tough weather, thanks to a good number of enthusiastic participants, we recorded most expected species at both counts. Our best birds at Cano Negro may have been the uncommon Yellow-bellied Tyrannulet, Bare-crowned Antbird, and Bronzy Hermit. At Arenal, these were probably Black-crested Coquette, Uniform Crake, Gray Catbird, Ovenbird, and a few other nice finds.
Best birds from 270 plus species at Cano Negro
It’s hard to decide which birds were the best finds for all routes combined but good contenders come in the form of Tiny Hawk, Northern Harrier, crakes, Pinnated Bittern, Snowy Cotinga, and a few others.
Best Birds from 350 plus species at Arenal
Another tough call, but some of the rarer species recorded included Bare-necked Umbrellabird, Sharpbill, the super tough Lanceolated Monklet, Tody Motmot, two hawk-eagle species, and Ring-necked Duck among others.
Good birding in good company and bird education
As always, the top highlights from both counts come in the form of sharing these special days with fellow birders. Some of us are veterans of bird counts, others were watching and counting birds for the first time. Promotion of birding also happened this year by way of birding workshops that took place in local communities before each count. Our count fees also helped fund those endeavors.
The count shirt is pretty cool too! Many thanks goes to Diego Quesada, Jheudy Carballo, Anthony Arce, Luis Enrique of Bird Songs Bijagua, and other members of the count committee for making these important bird counts happen.
December is here and in the Central Valley of Costa Rica, we know it by the quick change from rainy days to sunnier, more windy weather. As with the USA and Canada, this final month of the year is also synonymous with Christmas music, the hoods of cars adorned with red reindeer noses, and vehicles topped with tied down, freshly cut conifers as they bring home “the tree” (in Costa Rica, a small Guatemalan Cypress). Us local birders also know that December has arrived by the announcements and preparations being made for our annual Christmas Counts!
In Costa Rica, these annual counts aren’t just times when birders organize to count the birds within a given radius. Many counts in Costa Rica have evolved into mini birding events that promote local enterprise, community, and conservation. Although some of the counts occur outside of the official National Audubon Christmas Count time frame, we do them anyways because, well, any time of the year is a good time to celebrate birds! One such count was recently held at Cangreja National Park, a little visited area in central Costa Rica where Sunbitterns lurk in the shade of forested waterways and Blue-crowned Manakins twitter from the understory.
Thanks to support from the Asociacion de Ornitologia de Costa Rica and others, several people from the community near the national park took part in a birding course and helped count birds on the day of the count. I wish we could have made it to that one but work and other responsibilities took precedence. Nor can we do all of the counts taking place this month but we will at least focus on birds at a few.
Similar to past counts, the schedule will probably involve a pre-counting meeting where the organizers go over the routes, provide a talk, and have everyone introduce themselves while we eat a meal together. During the night, some will likely run out there at midnight to look and listen for nocturnal species while we try to get some sleep. On count day, we will be up somewhere around 4 to try for some night birds before getting into counting mode on our respective routes. This will last for much of the day with a break for a boxed lunch before everyone meets in the evening to go over the results. The following day, many of the counters will get in another fun morning of birding, maybe even chasing rarities discovered on count day.
I hope we pick up some year birds, I know we will see and hear a lot, and it will be fun to hang out with and share the birding life with other local birders.
If you are in Costa Rica now or will be here in December and want to participate in any of the counts, this is a list of the counts taking place with contact information. Since several of these counts fill up, contact the organizers sooner rather than later! Wishing you lots of birds no matter where you end up counting them this December, 2019!
Birding tours in Costa Rica tend to visit the best sites, especially when the tour is organized local experts. However, no matter how good a site is, it might not make it onto a tour because of factors related to logistics. For example, even if a Great Jacamar was living in those woods, visiting the area may require too much of a detour from the tour route. Or, the site with the hawk-eagles and parrotlets is just too difficult to bird with a group. This is why most tours don’t make it to Rara Avis, El Copal, or sites south of Limon. Some do, but most don’t and it’s also why most birding tours in Costa Rica don’t check out the excellent sites along the San Ramon-La Fortuna road. Although that route is a good and paved road and easy to visit, it’s just hard to fit into most of the classic Costa Rica birding itineraries.
Nevertheless, that doesn’t mean that a birder can’t visit on his or her own and possibly see Blue-and-Gold Tanager, Bare-necked Umbrellabird, and Three-wattled Bellbird. Go to the right places and you might see those megas and much more! I was reminded of the quality birding in this area during a recent morning on the road to Manuel Brenes Reserve.
Although I never actually make it to the excellent cloud forests of the university owned reserve, high quality birding on the road there is par for the course and with good reason. As with so many other great birding sites, it’s all about the habitat and since this road passes through an extensive area of mature foothill/middle elevation rainforest, the species count is typically high and punctuated with the uncommon.
Some highlights and tidbits from a recent morning:
Three-wattled Bellbird
Although it is likely seasonal, this mega cotinga is regularly heard and seen in the area of the Manuel Brenes Reserve. The one on Monday was a female that appeared in the mist, a dove-sized bird perched on an exposed branch of a roadside Cecropia. She let us watch her for a good spell before swooping off her perch and into the misty green of the forest.
Mixed mega flock
Mixed flocks can be composed of a handful of birds, ten species, or many birds of many species racing through the trees for some frenzied over stimulation of the avian kind. Usually, the better the habitat, the more likely a birder will encounter such a memorable experience. We had one of these the other morning, although I couldn’t get on all of the birds, we had nice looks at White-throated Shrike-Tanager along with various other tanagers, woodcreepers, Russet Antshrike, flycatchers and so on.
Umbrellabird or Toucanet?
Just before we saw the mixed flock, I glimpsed what appeared to be a large black bird fly over the card. The view was the briefest of brief but I swear it was black underneath and was fairly large. Unfortunately, although I tried, I just couldn’t find where it had flown, maybe it went too far in to see. Based on what I saw, I suspect that it was either an umbrellabird or a Yellow-eared Toucanet. Both are possible at this site, I wonder which of those choice species it was!
Tawny-chested Flycatcher!
I have had this local near endemic just down the road at Lands in Love but never at the Manuel Brenes road. It was nice to find one, I hope it sticks around!
No monklet, Lattice-tailed Trogon, or quail-doves
I just mention that we did not find these species to emphasize that one doesn’t usually see every possible bird on every visit, no matter how nice the habitat is. Maybe we would have found that Lattice-tailed Trogon in the afternoon? I wasn’t surprised about the monklet but it’s always worth it to listen and look for this miniscule puffbird in the right places. The more you visit a site with high quality habitat, the better because every time you bird that same forest, the laws of probability make it more likely to find that Sharpbill or even an RVG Cuckoo.
State of the road
Four wheel drive can be required in a few spots. You might make it with a small car but if it has been raining for several days before the visit, you might also get stuck!
Most of all, I was reminded that the best places to see more birds in Costa Rica are the places with the best high quality forest. To learn more about where to go birding in Costa Rica, support this blog by purchasing How to See, Find, and Identify Birds in Costa Rica. I hope to see you in Costa Rica!
Another year is quickly coming to an end and with it comes the planning, the possible rush to pick up those final year birds. The urge to suddenly race to a distant wetland, strain the ears for late nocturnal migrant, or trudge through mountain nights in a quest for uncooperative owls depends on how serious the year list is. For us, the endeavor has been a bit more easy going. Restrained by time and responsibilities, we haven’t gone to chase that Lovely Cotinga near Turrialba nor even the extremely cooperative Aplomado Falcon that was in San Isidro.
But, our birding year has still been marked by serious attempts to bird in the right places and along those lines, we have had some fine success. Thanks to an invitation from the San Vito Birding Club, we got the chance to see Lance-tailed Manakin and many other year birds. Thanks to guiding the Birding Club of Costa Rica, we heard Ocellated Crakes and other key species in Durika, and also visited several other places in Costa Rica.
Since I have also done a fair bit of guiding on my own, my personal year list has more species than that of Team Tyto but even so, our team list is at the cusp of an impressive 600 species. Thanks to a recent trip to the Pacific lowlands and more chances for birding before January first, we should surpass that number by at least a few species. Some of the highlights and musings from that recent trip:
Puntarenas pays off
We would have seen more if we had taken the ferry but with no time for the boat, we had to settle on a quick 45 minute afternoon stop . This still worked out because the bird activity out in the Gulf of Nicoya was good and included several gulls and terns flapping around as well as a squadron of pelicans group diving for fish. I wonder what else was out there that day? We were pleased with our looks at Franklin’s Gulls, Elegant Terns, and our first, long overdue Black Terns of the year. It was the birdy type of day where I wish we could have stayed longer but we had other places to go.
Curlew at Punta Morales!
Long-billed Curlew is a rare but regular migrant to Costa Rica, it seems like we get 3 or so each winter in the Gulf of Nicoya. The salt ponds at Cocorocas near Punta Morales are a good site, this past visit finally paid off with one sleeping curlew way out there with the Whimbrels. Since it was a bit far off and was hiding that extra long beak, the bird didn’t stand out like a curlew should. However, with careful scoping, we could see that the tawny colored bird with the orange belly was too much bigger than the Whimbrels to be a godwit and it also had a large, prominent pale eye ring. A very good year bird and the only one at Morales but it was still fun to also see dozens of Wilson’s Plovers and two Collared Plovers among other species. There were chances at year Mangrove Cuckoo, Rufous-necked Wood-Rail, and Mangrove Rail but we just didn’t have the time to find them.
Las Trancas in the morning
After staying overnight in Canas, we left early for the hour drive to one of the most accessible wetland sites near Liberia, the Las Trancas farm fields. A large, flat area used for growing sugarcane and rice, this site is an excellent hotspot that has turned up several rare birds. Winter is the best time to visit, November in particular for one of our main targets, the elusive and local Spotted Rail.
As small numbers of Dickcissels flew overhead, We checked the site, sometimes in conjunction with another local birder, Rodrigo Lopez, and eventually found our year Tricolored Munias. Scanning vegetation and skies failed to turn up hoped for Northern Harrier and White-tailed Hawk nor the Aplomado Falcon that had been recently seen but we did have nice views of Harriss’s Hawk and got a quick look at a hunting Merlin.
Try as we might for the rail, it just would not respond so we reluctantly left for a quick visit to the beach. At Playa Panama, we were entertained by schools of small fish breaching to avoid larger fish that also jumped on occasion. Brown Pelicans would then follow suit, actively flying in to see what they could scoop out of the water. At one point, an adult Brown Booby also appeared to do its diving thing.
On the way back, while driving through Las Trancas, frantic waving from Rodrigo caught our attention. Yes, he had just had the rails along with a Sora! After showing us where they had finally come to the edge of the wet rice, we had glimpses of the Sora and heard at least two Spotted Rails. Although they refused to show themselves, a heard bird is still a year bird! The final interesting sighting at this excellent site was a Great Egret that had caught a small snake.
Rincon de la Vieja
Our next destination was Rinconcito Lodge where I would be guiding a Birding Club of Costa Rica trip. We didn’t have anything on the drive there although I did see some interesting open oak savanna habitat that merits early morning bird surveys.
During our stay at Rinconcito, we birded around the lodge and visited two different areas of the national park. Although we did pick up a few year birds, overall, the birding was very slow. This may have been a result of windy and rainy weather as well as not being able to enter the park before 8 a.m.. That said, highlights included great views of Ruddy Woodcreeper, one hard only Tody Motmot, and excellent looks at Lesser Ground-Cuckoo. Unfortunately, we just didn’t have the time nor appropriate weather to see more of the uncommon species that live in Rincon de la Vieja.
On the drive back, we seriously tried for American Kestrel sans success. Two Pearl Kites and a male Merlin eating a Barn Swallow were consolation but additional year birds for Team Tyto will have to wait for another day.
That title would be a good one for new rap song or a dance practiced by the youth but those in the birding know understand what it really means. If you are new to birding or ended up at this site because you thought “Twitching the Ruff” was a a new dance, these definitions should provide illumination:
Twitching– The act of going to see a bird (usually rare and/or unusual) that often involves some sort of extra bit of travel and effort. The “twitch” probably stems from the nervous actions or attitudes expressed and felt by birders suddenly presented with an opportunity to see a very rare bird species near enough to home. For example, a birder in New York can’t travel to Costa Rica to twitch a Large-footed Finch. That would actually be traveling to look for a bird where it normally occurs. But, if a New Yorker heard about a Corn Crake in Queens in the evening and then called in sick the following morning to rush to where it was and anxiously see it, that there would be a classic twitch.
After a successful “twitch”, a birder might exclaim, “I twitched the Corn Crake!” If the crake was caught and killed by a domestic cat, instead, you might hear, “I tried to twitch the crake but dipped on account of a cat”. In the real world, either situation would likely include language too foul for this site, one in jubilation, the other in rancid fury.
Ruff- A small wading bird that nests in northern Eurasia and mostly migrates to sub-Saharan Africa for the winter. It is likely named for the resemblance of the male’s extravagant puffy neck plumage on breeding grounds to the similarly extravagant collar seen as high fashion during the Middle Ages.
The most important thing to know about twitching is that just because you try and twitch a bird does NOT mean that you will see it. Since birds are mobile and nature is a savage affair for survival, the sooner you twitch, the more likely you will admire that special bird through binoculars. This is why birders get anxious, why they race to the site, why they keep up on sightings before making the trip. They have seen hawks catch a squirrel or dove or sparrow, have witnessed what quickly happens to the weak and vulnerable, especially migrants far from familiar habitats and haunts.
This is why Mary and I went on a Ruff twitch this past weekend. The bird, yes, a Ruff supposedly straight from northern Asia (!) was found in Costa Rica during the previous week and better yet, it was seen every day for a few days after the initial sighting. The habitat was the same so the chances looked good for it to still be there, other cool birds were also present, and damn was I anxious to go!
Oh and Ruff is also a mega for Costa Rica. There are only a few documented sightings so it was now or never for our country (and lifer for Mary) Ruff! But, to get there, we couldn’t take the direct route. No, we were in for a circuitous twitch but it was the only nice way to make it happen. This first involved driving in the opposite direction of the Ruff to drop Mary’s daughter at her grandmother’s place (something that worked out well in the overall scheme of things). After that, we were off to the north and then west, crossing the continental divide at Volcan Tenorio near Bijagua. Although I had hoped for some side twitching of rare birds on that route, the weather was not in our favor.
We then made our way to the town of Canas in late afternoon rains, spending the night at the Cabinas Arena y Mar (recommended as a cheap, easy place to stay, it is located just around the corner from Cabinas Liwi)). This was so we could get to the Ruff site with more than enough time to connect with our target bird before driving back past Bijagua and on to San Carlos.
Early Sunday morning, we made our way to the site, a series of flooded rice fields along country roads far from everything. Despite being led astray on multiple occasions by Google Maps, we did find the place and started scanning the birds straight away. We were the first birders to arrive but far from the last. Where was it? The lost shorebird wasn’t at the first place we checked so we started watching from another spot when some friends appeared and told us where it had been seen on the previous day. Figuring that people looking in more than one place would find the bird more quickly, they donned rubber boots and ventured into the muddy fields while we picked another spot to watch.
The habitat was great and there were good numbers of Blue-winged Teals and more yellowlegs than I had ever seen in Costa Rica at one time. We had great looks at a sauntering Jabiru, some Stilt Sandpipers sewing machined in the shallow water, flocks of Least Sands flew around, and Wilson’s Phalaropes acted like tiny ducks but where was the Ruff?
After thoroughly checking this one spot where a bunch of birds were obscured by tufts of grass, I noticed that many were sort of moving out of that site and slowly spreading to other parts of the muddy flooded fields. Going back to our first spot, I started scanning there once again and within seconds, there it was. A pseudo yellowlegs with more brightly colored legs and pale edging to feathers on the back. That was it! I got Mary on the bird and while she ticked a mega, I called Anthony to tell him the news. He showed up shortly after with the other guys who had been working the muddy fields and we all enjoyed Costa Rica’s most accessible Ruff. Not long after, some other birders arrived, one of whom ticked a Ruff and several other lifers on his birthday no less (which was fantastic because what better way is there to celebrate a birding birthday?).
After much admiration of the Ruff, teasing out a few decidedly uncommon year Long-billed Dowitchers in the back, and looking for other birds, Mary and I had to leave for the drive back over to the other side of the mountains. We didn’t see too much of note along the way but we couldn’t complain, the twitch was a successful one that resulted in a major country and year tick. What’s next? The Aplomado Falcon that has been hanging out in Guanacaste? I could go for that…
Many thanks to local birder Juan Astorga for being adventurous enough to wander the back roads of Taboga, find this mega and share the sighting with everyone. Gracias!
It’s November and in Costa Rica, that translates to a transition between the wet and dry seasons. There is some wind and rain and fewer birding tours but visit the country now and you can still have fantastic birding. That’s just pretty much how it goes when birding Costa Rica because whether visiting in November, during the high season, or any other time of the year, with easy access to so many excellent sites, you just can’t help but see a lot.
Including serious beauties like the Red-headed Barbet.
The same goes for bird photography, visit the right sites and the birds will be there. Use the right guide and he or she will help you find and photograph those birds, even the tough ones. Speaking of birding and photography tours, November is also when the pre-tour season kicks into gear. For local birding guides, this means scouting sites both old and new, booking the last available rooms during the high season, and thinking of better ways to help birders and photographers surpass their expectations. This is at least what I do and if I were looking for a bird photography tour, these are the factors I would focus on:
A tour led by professionals with experience in guiding photographers
Not every guide has experience with photographers and even fewer guides have worked with bird photography. Look into reviews and information about past trips. Has the guide and/or company led bird photo tours in Costa Rica? How about other places and how many? If the company has done such tours for at least two or three years and keeps leading more, they are doing something right because they are working in a highly competitive field.
Green Honeycreeper- just one of many stunning birds waiting to be photographed in Costa Rica.
A birding photography tour that visits the right spots and stays at good hotels
Where will the tour go? Is there an accurate and honest description? Check out the hotels in the itinerary, if they resonate with other bird photographers, you will be headed to the right sites. If the birds mentioned don’t jive with what occurs in that area, think twice before booking the tour. If the people associated with and giving the tour stand out as experts in their field, the tour will be the right choice.
Although one could stay at the most luxurious hotels in Costa Rica, these aren’t the best places for bird photography. For the best tour, you want to stay at comfortable, quality hotels for sure but they should also provide excellent photo opportunities right there on the premises.
A Keel-billed Toucan from Laguna del Lagarto- one of the top bird photography sites not just in Costa Rica but in all of Central America.
A tour that spends enough time at the best spots
Quick tours are alright especially if you only have a few days to work with but the most productive photography tours strive spend at least a couple of nights at each spot. This is because since many tropical bird species are naturally rare, numbers and occurrence of various species can vary from one day to the next. Factor in variations in lighting and other aspects of bird photography and at least two days at each site greatly improves the chances of getting excellent shots of more birds.
A tour offered for a good price
Finally, you don’t want to pay too much for a tour (who does?). Fortunately, the best prices for photo tours tend to be offered by local companies because they have less overhead cost. Since very experienced local guides also know where to find key birds and can thus provide a better bird photography experience, going with a quality local company is the way to go.
The best bird photography tour in Costa Rica I know of will be happening this January. Running from January 15th to January 27th, this LiferTours itinerary has been carefully designed by a very experienced top local guide to access top bird photography sites for chances at a wide variety of hummingbirds including
Purple-throated Mountain-gem
Violet Sabrewing
and Volcano Hummingbird among other species.
Tanagers like
Bay-headed Tanager,
Crimson-collared Tanager among various others,
and such avian stars as Resplendent Quetzal
Black Guan
Brown-hooded Parrot
King Vulture and many other birds in beautiful natural surroundings. This tour visits such fantastic places as Chachagua Rainforest and the Arenal area, Bosque de Paz, Quetzal Paradise and Savegre, Laguna del Lagarto, and the beautiful Rio Perlas Hotel and will be guided by an excellent, very experienced bilingual local guide. To learn more about the best two weeks of bird photography to be had in Costa Rica during 2020, contact me today at [email protected] to give yourself a fantastic start to 2020!
Note- I took these images with a bridge camera at sites visited on this tour, just imagine what kind of shots you can get with better equipment!
I have mentioned from time to time how much I enjoy birding near Limon, Costa Rica. Also referred to as the Southern Caribbean zone, this part of the country still features a good deal of mature lowland rainforest, much of which is accessible. Not to mention, since the area is very much underbirded, there’s always a chance of finding something unexpected. Add forested streams, swamps, other wetlands and a migration corridor to the birding equation and we have an impressive bird list with nearly 400 species (see bird lists at the end of this post).
The only downside of the Southern Caribbean zone is that it is located around four to five hours by car from where I live. This prevents me from visiting more than once or twice a year, or staying for longer than a weekend. If the new road to Limon is ever finished (maybe in 4 years), it should be an easy, quick ride but until then, the long, slow haul keeps me from visiting more often. I sure wish I could though because the birding is always great and if a birder gets lucky with a good wave of migrants, the avian experience is fantastic.
This past weekend, I made my annual trip while guiding the local Birding Club of Costa Rica and, as with last year, we stayed at Olguita’s Place. Also known as Cabinas Olguita, this friendly spot offers tranquil accommodation in basic yet cozy and equipped cabins within easy walking distance of a beautiful beach and good birding habitat. If you don’t feel like cooking, dine at any of several good restaurants in the area and then look for Great Potoo and any of five owl species on the drive back.
The Black-and-white Owl sometimes occurs at Olguita’s.
Some other information from this recent trip:
Migration
On this trip, unfortunately, we more or less dipped on migration. We did have some Chimney Swifts and swallows flying over and some raptor migration on the way to Punta Uva but there were few other migrants. We may have done the trip a bit late or perhaps the good weather kept the birds on the wing long past Costa Rica but whatever the case, we had rather few migrant species and low numbers of the most common migrants; Red-eyed Vireo, Bay-breasted Warbler, and Swainson’s Thrush. There were quite a number of Eastern Wood-Pewees around as well as Alder/Willow Flycatchers but very few warblers and nothing rare. All of that said, we still saw some migrants and it was fun watching them.
Birding at Cabinas Olguita
The birding at Olguita’s was easy-going yet productive. Some Eastern Kingbirds flew into the surrounding trees, and we also saw other migrant species like Olive-sided Flycatcher, Empids (including a likely Least Flycatcher), Scarlet Tanager, and a few others. On good days, this place can see waves of migrants passing through the surrounding vegetation. As for resident species, the thick wet grass and hedgerows held Slaty Spinetail, Olive-crowned Yellowthroat, Canebrake Wren, and some other birds. The edge of the forest in back of the grassy area turned up White-necked Puffbird, Plain-colored Tanagers, and White-vented Euphonias among more common expected species.
Paradise Road
One of a few roads that go up and over the nearby coastal hills, it provides access to the mature rainforests that occur there. Many species are possible even White-fronted Nunbird, interesting raptors and antbirds. We only had one afternoon to bird this road but we still did alright with looks at Pied Puffbird, Brown-capped Tyrannulet, Tawny-crested Tanagers, Double-toothed Kite, and Central American Pygmy-Owl among other species. A lot more is possible, I would love to spend a few early mornings just counting everything that calls and makes itself otherwise known. Does Great Jacamar occur? How about cotingas or Red-fronted Parrotlet? It would be fun to try to answer those questions via dawn birding.
Recope Road
One of the other classic sites in the area, this flat road passes through beautiful, tall forest, much of it former shaded cacao farms. We got in some birding there as well as on the main road between Punta Uva and Manzanillo. The birding was great with fine looks at Purple-throated Fruitcrows, toucans, Cinnamon Woodpecker, Black-striped and other Woodcreepers, White-flanked and Checker-throated Antwrens, and other species. I also heard Semiplumbeous Hawk. This was actually where most of our migrants were, I can’t help but wonder how many other migrants were out there in the forest? What rarities were hiding back in the woods?
Manzanillo
On Sunday morning, I figured we would visit the town of Manzanillo as a last chance for migrants. This hardly worked out although we still saw both Cinnamon and Chestnut-colored Woodpeckers, Gray-cowled Wood-Rails, and a few other birds. We also saw that the official entrance to the wildlife refuge now has a bridge over the creek that we used to wade across, and that they charge an entrance fee.
Cahuita
As a bonus, our car made a quick stop in Cahuita on the way back, mostly to check for Black-chested Jay. We stopped at the Puerto Vargas entrance for that but even though we dipped, some last minute birding still managed to give us close looks at a male Snowy Cotinga, Gray-headed Chachalacas crashing through bushes, and White-faced Capuchins eating coconuts. After that, we went on an unsuccessful ice cream quest in mid-day Cahuita. Several bars but no ice cream! On the drive out, the jays still managed to elude us but we did get lucky with one final bird and a key one at that- Yellow-billed Cuckoo!
While driving out of Cahuita, I noticed the quick, sleek shape of a cuckoo zip into a tall tree. It was brief but I was sure it was a cuckoo. I stopped and after scanning the tree, sure enough, there it was, a Yellow-billed Cuckoo! Eventually, the stealthy migrant positioned itself higher up for a better view. One last bird for the trip, I was happy to see it before the long drive back.
Birds from the vicinity of Cabinas Olguita including the beach and both resident and migrant species.
240 species
Little
Tinamou
Blue-winged
Teal
Gray-headed
Chachalaca
Crested Guan
Pale-vented
Pigeon
Short-billed
Pigeon
Ruddy
Ground-Dove
White-tipped
Dove
Squirrel
Cuckoo
Yellow-billed
Cuckoo
Groove-billed
Ani
Lesser
Nighthawk
Common
Nighthawk
Common
Pauraque
Chuck-will’s-widow
Black Swift
White-collared
Swift
Chimney Swift
Gray-rumped
Swift
Lesser
Swallow-tailed Swift
Band-tailed
Barbthroat
Long-billed
Hermit
Stripe-throated
Hermit
Blue-chested
Hummingbird
Rufous-tailed
Hummingbird
White-throated
Crake
Gray-cowled
Wood-Rail
Black-bellied
Plover
Semipalmated
Plover
Whimbrel
Ruddy
Turnstone
Sanderling
Least
Sandpiper
Spotted
Sandpiper
Lesser
Yellowlegs
Willet
Greater
Yellowlegs
Laughing Gull
Brown Noddy
Royal Tern
Wood Stork
Magnificent
Frigatebird
Brown Booby
Neotropic
Cormorant
Anhinga
Brown Pelican
Bare-throated
Tiger-Heron
Great Blue
Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Little Blue
Heron
Tricolored
Heron
Cattle Egret
Green Heron
White Ibis
Green Ibis
Black Vulture
Turkey
Vulture
King Vulture
Osprey
Swallow-tailed
Kite
Double-toothed
Kite
Tiny Hawk
Mississippi
Kite
Plumbeous
Kite
Common Black
Hawk
Roadside Hawk
Gray Hawk
Broad-winged
Hawk
Short-tailed
Hawk
Swainson’s
Hawk
Zone-tailed
Hawk
Central
American Pygmy-Owl
Mottled Owl
Black-and-white
Owl
Slaty-tailed
Trogon
Gartered
Trogon
Ringed
Kingfisher
Belted
Kingfisher
Amazon
Kingfisher
Green
Kingfisher
White-necked
Puffbird
Pied Puffbird
Collared
Aracari
Keel-billed
Toucan
Yellow-throated
Toucan
Black-cheeked
Woodpecker
Cinnamon
Woodpecker
Chestnut-colored
Woodpecker
Lineated
Woodpecker
Pale-billed
Woodpecker
Laughing
Falcon
American
Kestrel
Merlin
Bat Falcon
Peregrine
Falcon
Olive-throated
Parakeet
Great Green
Macaw
Crimson-fronted
Parakeet
Orange-chinned
Parakeet
Brown-hooded
Parrot
Blue-headed
Parrot
White-crowned
Parrot
Red-lored
Parrot
Great
Antshrike
Barred
Antshrike
Black-crowned
Antshrike
Dot-winged
Antwren
Dusky Antbird
Chestnut-backed
Antbird
Northern
Barred-Woodcreeper
Cocoa
Woodcreeper
Black-striped
Woodcreeper
Streak-headed
Woodcreeper
Plain Xenops
Slaty
Spinetail
Snowy Cotinga
Masked Tityra
Black-crowned
Tityra
Cinnamon
Becard
Ochre-bellied
Flycatcher
Common
Tody-Flycatcher
Black-headed
Tody-Flycatcher
Yellow-olive
Flycatcher
Yellow
Tyrannulet
Yellow-bellied
Elaenia
Paltry
Tyrannulet
Bright-rumped
Attila
Dusky-capped
Flycatcher
Great Crested
Flycatcher
Great
Kiskadee
Boat-billed
Flycatcher
Social
Flycatcher
Gray-capped
Flycatcher
White-ringed
Flycatcher
Streaked
Flycatcher
Sulphur-bellied
Flycatcher
Piratic
Flycatcher
Tropical
Kingbird
Eastern
Kingbird
Olive-sided
Flycatcher
Eastern
Wood-Pewee
Tropical
Pewee
Yellow-bellied
Flycatcher
Acadian
Flycatcher
Alder
Flycatcher
Willow
Flycatcher
Least
Flycatcher
Long-tailed
Tyrant
Lesser
Greenlet
Yellow-throated
Vireo
Philadelphia
Vireo
Red-eyed
Vireo
Yellow-green
Vireo
Purple Martin
Gray-breasted
Martin
Mangrove
Swallow
Northern
Rough-winged Swallow
Southern
Rough-winged Swallow
Bank Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Barn Swallow
House Wren
Black-throated
Wren
Canebrake
Wren
Bay Wren
Long-billed
Gnatwren
Tropical
Gnatcatcher
Veery
Gray-cheeked
Thrush
Swainson’s
Thrush
Wood Thrush
Clay-colored
Thrush
Gray Catbird
Yellow-crowned
Euphonia
Olive-backed
Euphonia
White-vented
Euphonia
Orange-billed
Sparrow
Black-striped
Sparrow
Chestnut-headed
Oropendola
Montezuma
Oropendola
Scarlet-rumped
Cacique
Black-cowled
Oriole
Orchard
Oriole
Baltimore
Oriole
Shiny Cowbird
Bronzed
Cowbird
Giant Cowbird
Great-tailed
Grackle
Ovenbird
Worm-eating
Warbler
Northern
Waterthrush
Golden-winged
Warbler
Blue-winged
Warbler
Black-and-white
Warbler
Prothonotary
Warbler
Tennessee
Warbler
Mourning
Warbler
Kentucky
Warbler
Olive-crowned
Yellowthroat
Common
Yellowthroat
Hooded
Warbler
American
Redstart
Cerulean
Warbler
Magnolia
Warbler
Bay-breasted
Warbler
Blackburnian
Warbler
Yellow
Warbler
Chestnut-sided
Warbler
Buff-rumped
Warbler
Canada
Warbler
Dusky-faced
Tanager
Summer
Tanager
Scarlet
Tanager
Red-throated
Ant-Tanager
Black-faced
Grosbeak
Rose-breasted
Grosbeak
Blue-black
Grosbeak
Blue Grosbeak
Indigo
Bunting
Painted
Bunting
Dickcissel
Blue-gray
Tanager
Palm Tanager
Golden-hooded
Tanager
Plain-colored
Tanager
Green
Honeycreeper
Blue-black
Grassquit
Tawny-crested
Tanager
White-lined
Tanager
Scarlet-rumped
Tanager
Shining
Honeycreeper
Red-legged
Honeycreeper
Blue Dacnis
Bananaquit
Variable
Seedeater
Morelet’s
Seedeater
Black-headed
Saltator
Buff-throated
Saltator
Grayish
Saltator
Additional bird species that occur in the forests of Gandoca-Manzanillo, some may also show up at Cabinas Olguita. This makes for 383 species recorded from the Gandoca-Manzanillo area.
143
additional species
Great Tinamou
Northern
Shoveler
Muscovy Duck
Great
Curassow
Black-eared
Wood-Quail
Least Grebe
Scaled Pigeon
White-crowned
Pigeon
Blue
Ground-Dove
Ruddy
Quail-Dove
Olive-backed
Quail-Dove
Gray-chested
Dove
Mangrove
Cuckoo
Black-billed
Cuckoo
Short-tailed
Nighthawk
Rufous
Nightjar
Great Potoo
Chestnut-collared
Swift
White-necked
Jacobin
Bronzy Hermit
Purple-crowned
Fairy
Green-breasted
Mango
Bronze-tailed
Plumeleteer
Crowned
Woodnymph
Uniform Crake
Purple
Gallinule
Sungrebe
Black-necked
Stilt
American
Golden-Plover
Collared
Plover
Northern
Jacana
Baird’s
Sandpiper
White-rumped
Sandpiper
Franklin’s
Gull
Herring Gull
Black Tern
Common Tern
Sandwich Tern
Sunbittern
Least Bittern
Rufescent
Tiger-Heron
Reddish Egret
Agami Heron
Black-crowned
Night-Heron
Yellow-crowned
Night-Heron
Boat-billed
Heron
Roseate
Spoonbill
White-tailed
Kite
Hook-billed
Kite
Gray-headed
Kite
Black
Hawk-Eagle
Black-and-white
Hawk-Eagle
Ornate
Hawk-Eagle
Black-collared
Hawk
Crane Hawk
Snail Kite
White Hawk
Semiplumbeous
Hawk
Middle-American
Screech-Owl
Crested Owl
Spectacled
Owl
Black-throated
Trogon
Rufous Motmot
Broad-billed
Motmot
Green-and-rufous
Kingfisher
American
Pygmy Kingfisher
White-whiskered
Puffbird
White-fronted
Nunbird
Rufous-tailed
Jacamar
Yellow-bellied
Sapsucker
Red-rumped
Woodpecker
Rufous-winged
Woodpecker
Barred
Forest-Falcon
Slaty-backed
Forest-Falcon
Collared
Forest-Falcon
Red-fronted
Parrotlet
Mealy Parrot
Fasciated
Antshrike
Spot-crowned
Antvireo
White-flanked
Antwren
Checker-throated
Antwren
Bare-crowned
Antbird
Spotted
Antbird
Bicolored
Antbird
Ocellated
Antbird
Black-crowned
Antpitta
Black-faced
Antthrush
Plain-brown
Woodcreeper
Wedge-billed
Woodcreeper
Buff-throated
Foliage-gleaner
White-collared
Manakin
Red-capped
Manakin
Purple-throated
Fruitcrow
Bare-necked
Umbrellabird
White-winged
Becard
Rose-throated
Becard
Royal
Flycatcher
Ruddy-tailed
Flycatcher
Sulphur-rumped
Flycatcher
Golden-crowned
Spadebill
Black-capped
Pygmy-Tyrant
Northern
Bentbill
Slate-headed
Tody-Flycatcher
Eye-ringed
Flatbill
Yellow-margined
Flycatcher
Brown-capped
Tyrannulet
Rufous
Mourner
Gray Kingbird
Green
Shrike-Vireo
Tawny-crowned
Greenlet
White-eyed
Vireo
Black-whiskered
Vireo
Brown Jay
Black-chested
Jay
Scaly-breasted
Wren
Band-backed
Wren
Stripe-breasted
Wren
White-breasted
Wood-Wren
Song Wren
Tawny-faced
Gnatwren
Yellow-billed
Cacique
Yellow-tailed
Oriole
Northern
Parula
Black-throated
Green Warbler
Wilson’s
Warbler
Western
Tanager
Carmiol’s
Tanager
Rufous-winged
Tanager
Sulphur-rumped
Tanager
White-shouldered
Tanager
Crimson-collared
Tanager
Thick-billed
Seed-Finch
Slate-colored
Grosbeak
Other species that may occur or are very rare visitors in the area because they have been recorded nearby or because appropriate habitat is nearby.
This past Saturday, thousands of birders around the globe took part in October Big Day. While early May takes center stage as the main GBD, the one in October is just as exciting, especially in Costa Rica. There might be more vocalizations happening in the fifth month but in October, there are definitely more species and therefore more opportunities for a higher total.
Overall, despite fewer people participating, we still had enough people getting into the GBD spirit to give Costa Rica the nation’s highest total yet. 716 species were reported and even if a few of those might be attributed to misidentification, we still ended with a fantastic number of birds. Some of the rarer species included Tawny-faced Quail at a site somewhat near Cinco Ceibas heard by Juan Diego and Maria of Lifer Tours, several sweet pelagic species thanks to observers on a trip from the Nicoya Peninsula and on Cocos Island, White-rumped and Baird’s Sandpipers at a couple of spots, and many other species.
As for myself, I was finishing up six days of guiding, our final day taking place in the Carara area. Since my two clients were up for getting in a final major day of birding, we began GBD at Cerro Lodge around 3:45 a.m. These are some highlights from our October GBD:
Tropical Screech-Owl
Our final owl species of the trip rounded out an excellent total of 7 owl species seen and one that was heard only (Middle American Screech-Owl). The Tropical Screech was in the Jaco area and was, surprisingly, the only owl we heard in a spot that has generated several species in the past. We also had one flyover owl but I couldn’t discern whether it was a Striped or a Barn.
Raptors
While birding around the Jaco area, we had a fair raptor round up of 16 species, our best probably being Harriss’s Hawk, King Vulture, and Peregrine Falcon. The highlight was probably a pair of Zone-tailed Hawks on a ridge way above Jaco that called and nearly locked talons, at close range and in good light. Collared Forest-Falcon, Crane Hawk, and Mississippi Kites seen the previous day made for a good couple days of raptor sightings even if we did just miss a very rare Savannah Hawk.
The Birdy Teleferico Road
Although we didn’t hear as many species as on my previous visits with Mary, the road that passes in front of the Pacific Rainforest Aerial Tram still delivered over a hundred species in a matter of hours. Plain-breasted Ground-Doves, Scrub Greenlet and other birds of open habitats were on the first section of the road. Several Slate-colored Seedeaters sang and other species were seen where the forest meets rice fields and stream, and more humid habitats on upper parts of the road gave us some nice species like Tawny-winged Woodcreeper, Blue-crowned Manakin, and Golden-naped Woodpecker.
The Jaco Wetlands
Wetlands around Jaco? Oh yes and they are birdy. The flat areas just outside of Jaco form natural wetlands that are mostly used to grow rice and that also attract a good bunch of birds. The best as of late has been a super rare for Costa Rica Striated Heron. Although we did not see the heron (despite really trying for it, one of us even walking out into the muddy fields under the blazing tropical sun), we did add several species to our GBD list. These were birds like Solitary Sandpiper, various herons, our Peregrine, Harriss’s Hawk, and some other birds.
After the wetlands, we drove back up to the Central Valley in the afternoon, the heavy rains starting at the same time. That rain kept us from adding maybe one or two other birds during the drive but we still ended our GBD with a wealth of species; more than 140. It was a memorable final day of a 6 day tour that yielded more than 350 species, and a great way to celebrate Global Big Day.
Costa Rica in October? Isn’t there like, a lot of rain? Don’t people go to Costa Rica in January, February or March? The answer to all three of those questions is “yes” but I could also say that October is just as a good a time to come to Costa Rica as other months, that there is rain but not everywhere nor all of the time, and although the high season is mostly so folks can get a respite from the northern winter, you might actually see more birds in October.
Wait a second, more birds in October? Yes, a birder could easily see more or the same number of species in October because the cloudy weather boosts the bird activity, there are more migrants moving through and arriving for the winter, and the same cool resident species seen during the high season aren’t going anywhere. The birding is going to be exciting no matter what time of the year you visit including October. As a telling side note, Serge Arias of Costa Rica Birding Hotspots has said that October might actually be his favorite month to bird in Costa Rica.
Along the same train of thought, there aren’t many birding sites better or worse in October than other times of the year. Bird in good habitat and you will see a lot no matter when you visit Costa Rica. Nevertheless, if I had to choose a few sites for October birding, I might lean towards these spots or regions:
The South Caribbean
This would be any of the sites south of Limon. The infrastructure at Cahuita National Park has improved and includes a boardwalk, the birding is typically great right around most lodging choices and along roads near Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, and the Manzanillo-Gandoca area is also worth a visit. The birding is always good in and near these sites but in October, you also have the chance to see active, fantastic bird migration. Most of the species are common birds from North America but what’s not to like about seeing dozens of Eastern Wood-Pewees, Bay-breasted Warblers, and flocks of Scarlet Tanagers as groups of Eastern Kingbirds fly overhead? Yeah, it’s pretty cool and there’s lots more along with chances at seeing Purple-throated Fruitcrows, Great Potoo, and a couple hundred other species.
As a bonus, my friend Robert Dean, co-author/artist of the Field Guide to the Birds of Costa Rica and other publications, told me about a recent visit to a promising hotspot in the Gandoca area known as Cabinas Colibri. Over the course of a weekend, he and some local birders had excellent birding in that area including Red-fronted Parrotlet, Great Potoo, Rufous Nightjar, Short-tailed Nighthawk, and a vagrant Gray Kingbird among other species. I really need to check that spot out!
Irazu and Cerro de la Muerte
Heading from the hot humid lowlands up into the cold temperate zone, October is a good time to visit the high mountains. The resident day birding is pretty similar all year long but the main reason to visit Irazu National Park now is because Unspotted Saw-whet Owls seem to vocalize more often from September to perhaps December. They can still be heard any time of the year but a birder might have a better chance at seeing one right now. Laying eyes on one of these mega mini owls would still require owl-time in the cold night but isn’t that why we have jackets, gloves, and other cool weather gear?
The Pacific Coast and waters offshore
This is a good time to hit coastal habitats because tons of shorebirds are there, both moving through and already set for the winter. Bird Chomes, Punta Morales, and other sites and you can also see quite a few dry forest species and with luck, Mangrove Rail and Rufous-necked Wood-Rail. Take the ferry, visit Isla del Cano, or arrange a pelagic trip and you could see migrating Sabine’s Gulls and phalaropes along with Bridled Tern, Brown Noddy, storm-petrels, Galapagos Shearwater, and other cool birds of the offshore waters.
These are just a few suggestions but I wouldn’t worry too much about where to go birding in Costa Rica during October. Hire a guide to bird the best habitats and you will always have better chances at seeing more no matter when you visit. Want to know more about places to bird in Costa Rica along with target lists and how to look for and identify them? Support this blog by purchasing the 700 plus page e-book, How to See, Find, and Identify Birds in Costa Rica. Have a great trip, hope to see you in Costa Rica!