The weird and wonderful nature of antbirds makes the time and effort needed to see them well worth it (it’s not like you have much of a choice anyways). Nevertheless, thank goodness that there are a bunch of other, colorful, cool birds in Costa Rica that can be seen much, much easier. The thin-billed tanagers known as honeycreepers and dacnises are a group of small, beautiful birds that are fairly common, aren’t shy, and are readily seen at a plethora of sites. I so wish that members of the Formicaridae would take a lesson from these little beauties. You have a very good chance at seeing all of them when birding Costa Rica, but here is some information on where to watch them in any case:

Green Honeycreeper: This gorgeous bird is widespread in the neotropical region and easy to see in most humid forested areas of the lowlands and foothills. Although a canopy bird by nature, Green Honeycreepers accommodate birders by coming lower to visit feeders and fruiting bushes. You should see them at any rainforest site in the country as well as hotel gardens near rainforest. They are often found at fruiting trees and frequent mixed flocks. I won’t even list sites for this species because I see them just about every time I visit the humid lowlands and foothills.

The female Green Honeycreeper is plain old green.

The male Green Honeycreeper is a bit more stunning.

Red-legged Honeycreeper: Another common species in many areas, this beautiful little bird frequents lowland gardens, forest, and second growth on the Pacific Slope and the northern part of the Caribbean Slope. It shows up at fruiting trees but is a true aficionado of flowering trees. They make a whiny, nasal call that sounds a lot like that of a gnatcatcher.

Male Red-legged Honeycreeper.

The female is kind of dull…

Shining Honeycreeper: This beautiful bird is most common at humid lowland sites of both slopes. Although it also occurs in foothill rainforests and shows up in gardens, I see them more frequently in lowland rainforest. They can be overlooked because of their small size and penchant for hanging out in the canopy. However, even when seen 100 feet above the ground, the male’s bright yellow legs and female’s streaked underparts stand out. Although they are possible at any number of sites, they seem more common at places like Veragua, Laguna del Lagarto, and Sarapiqui. They also come to the feeders at Talari Lodge!

Male Shining Honeycreeper from Veragua.

Female Shining Honeycreeper at Talari.

Blue Dacnis: This is another one that tends to get overlooked by merit of its size and canopy hangouts. In actuality, this bird is pretty common in lowland rainforests of both slopes. A true species of the lowlands, I don’t think I have even seen it above 300 meters elevation. Keep an eye out for it in fruiting and flowering trees at any lowland, humid forest site.

Male Blue Dacnis from Veragua.

Female Blue Dacnis from Veragua trying to hide behind a flower.

Scarlet-thighed Dacnis: The turquoise blues and velvet black of this little tanager are a sight to behold! Luckily, they are pretty common in a lot of sites. They will move into the lowlands during the dry season but tend to be most frequent at foothill and middle elevation sites (up to about 1,500 meters) on the Caribbean Slope. On the Pacific Slope, they also occur around Monteverde and on the slopes of the Talamancas (think Wilson Botanical Garden and San Gerardo de Rivas). The Scarlet-thighed Dacnis usually shows up at fruiting trees and bushes at the edge of and inside forest. They can show up at any number of sites. Some of the places where I regularly see this beauty are Cinchona, Virgen del Socorro, Quebrada Gonzales, Arenal, El Copal, and Tapanti.

A male Scarlet-thighed Dacnis from El Copal.

A female from Arenal.

I can’t get enough of these species when birding Costa Rica no matter how many times I see them. Visit Costa Rica for birding and you have a pretty good chance of seeing them too!

Thick-knees become even scarier when you take into account their somewhat nocturnal behavior. If you thought it was tough to avoid those powerful legs during the day, imagine being bowled over by a flock of thick-knees while they played their own version of avian rubgy on the hot grasslands of Guanacaste! When dawn breaks, the cattle quiver with fright as they crouch in the swales. The unlucky ones bellow from the pain of bruised ribs- they just couldn’t move fast enough to escape the fury of a pack of thick-knees. Crested Caracaras and Black Vultures keep their distance and stay off the ground until the thick-knees have gone back to their zombie-like daytime demeanor. If they are lucky, they come across some trampled frogs, snakes, and other unlucky animals that couldn’t flee from the pounding fury of bare feet powered by particularly thick knees.

Yes, some strange things happen on those hot, Guanacaste nights and the locals know that they better keep away from the grassy plains when the moon is full and the thick-knees are yammering. Better to spend the evening in a local bar accompanied by a fridge full of Imperial beer. Better to taunt bulls in a ring and run like hell to avoid serious injury than whistle at a thick-knee to see what might happen. They say that you hear a faint whispering of wings until Whammo!, you have been bowled over by steel-like, powerfully stomping legs! At least that’s what the rumor is. Never mind that I heard it from a local fellow whose personal sasquatch-like scent nearly knocked me over like the kick of a thick-knee. Like a head-hitting blend of fermented manure, sweat, half-digested alcohol, and something that may have been old shoes, it wasn’t what one would call “perfume”. I could handle it though, by breathing through the mouth, reminding myself that I was hearing unique and incredibly interesting information, and trying to figure out if the odd, dry thing in his beard was an old, forgotten piece of food or a rattlesnake tail.

After picking out the words of his story from an unhealthy dose of spittle and moonshine fueled guffaws, I heard about the dangerous games of thick-knee rugby that take place on moon-lit nights. I learned how to avoid the onslaught if caught in an open grassy field when the thick-knees are doing their thing (take cover and play dead). I discovered that as beautiful as their eyes appear during the day, they can hypnotize you in a basilisk-like manner when a full moon is added to the mix. With quivering lip, he said that it was the golden eyes that he actually feared the most. Cold and reptilian, he said that they remind you of a much earlier time in our evolutionary history some 30 million years ago when our ancestors scampered for their lives from big, hungry birds.

Gaze into my golden eye…

So, the moral of the story is, don’t go wandering around at night on the plains of Guanacaste, Costa Rica. Keep to the roads and you will be fine but venture into the tall dry grass and you just might have a close, nocturnal encounter with a thick-knee. Or, you might also meet a Tropical Rattlesnake or get infested with a few thousand chiggers so better to keep to the road!

To safely see a thick-knee and peer into their wonderful, huge, golden orbs, take the mangrove boat tour at Carara, look for them on the lower parts of the Cerro Lodge road, and keep an eye out for them in wet swales of grasslands anywhere in Guanacaste.

That is my definition of a cold river but that doesn’t mean that the Tico Rio Frios are named in error.  I think the Rio Frios in Costa Rica earn their cool titles by merit of their oasis-like nature. Refreshing waterways in a warm, highly humid climate, they flow with a much more friendly connotation than the cold, powerful river of my homeland. While the Niagara provides important foraging sites for a number of birds, the diversity is still many times lower than the Rio Frios of Costa Rica. The Rio Frio that I visited this past weekend is the one located in the birding-famous region of Sarapiqui. This area is so well known among birders visiting Costa Rica because it hosts the La Selva biological station.

While the station is arguably the best site for birding in Sarapiqui, there are several lesser known sites that are pretty birdy all on their own. Even though too much of Sarapiqui outside of La Selva has been deforested, a good number of species persist in riparian groves, second growth, and patchy forest. I was reminded of this during some casual, family birding around Rio Frio. Ecotourists don’t generally make it over to Rio Frio, Sarapiqui because much of the area is dedicated to the production of bananas. Most of the rainforest was cut down decades ago to make room for groves of big-leaved banana plants but I found out that some birds still persist in remnant patches of habitat.

Visiting with the family and rain during my one morning put a severe limit on my birding but I still saw some stuff. A fair number of Olive-throated Parakeets foraged in a riparian area near our friend’s house, and a few Red-lored Parrots flew over along with a dozen or so White-crowned Parrots.

Olive-throated Parakeets are fairly common in the Caribbean lowlands of Costa Rica.

Montezuma Oropendolas moved through a riparian zone and I was surprised to see a pair of forest-loving Scarlet-rumped Caciques show up. Olive-backed and Yellow-crowned Euphonias called from the treetops while Passerini’s Tanagers, Buff-throated Saltators and Black-headed Saltators foraged in second growth. Yellow Tyrannulets called from the same area and a couple of Summer Tanagers showed up in the backyard. Collared Aracaris and Keel-billed Toucans also made an appearance as did Ruddy Ground-Doves, White-tipped Doves, Golden-hooded Tanagers, Chestnut-sided and Tennessee Warblers, Bananaquits, and several Variable Seedeaters.

A female Variable Seedeater- the only bird species that poised for a good shot!

A drive around the neighborhood also turned up a calling Gray-chested Dove, Gray Hawk, Gray-necked Wood Rail, Purple Gallinules and Northern Jacanas in marshy pasture, and Bronzy Hermit. I also got some nice woodpeckers in the form of Lineated, Pale-billed, and an awesome Chestnut-colored.

While the habitat was far from ideal, and my birding time very brief indeed, it was nice to be reminded that several bird species have persisted in the forest fragments and patchy habitats of  the Caribbean lowlands. The region requires a lot of reforestation, more biological corridors, and more sustainable land use but there is hope for a more biodiverse future.

Future custodians of Costa Rica’s natural heritage: Dana, Sofia, and my daughter Miranda (the one wearing the “Live, Love, Laugh!” tee-shirt).

Over on the other side of the world in the American tropics, bamboo is also an important component of many tropical forests. Most of the bamboo isn’t as big as that elephantine stuff in Asia but its easily recognizable as bamboo nonetheless. You do see some tall huge bamboo clumps in Costa Rica but this is introduced Common Bamboo from Asia. The native bamboo species are thinner, daintier plants that mostly occur in highland forests. It’s pretty common but you hardly ever get to see it produce seeds. Unlike many other plants, bamboo doesn’t do the annual seed and fruit thing. It just grows and grows until an entire patch (which can be massive in size) unexpectedly produces seeds. For neotropical birders, this occurrence is somewhat akin to finding an army antswarm except that it’s an even bigger event. There might not be as many bird species as an antswarm, but it’s even more difficult to happen upon and attracts some super sweet rarities.

For example, seeding bamboo is one of your only chances at seeing Maroon-chested Ground-Dove. These birds will sometimes show up at seed spread on the ground near highland forest but what they truly relish are bamboo seeding events. The only time I have ever come across this species in Costa Rica (or anywhere else) was at a seeding event on Chirripo Mountain. Although it happened so long ago that the memory of the event is becoming fuzzy, I recall not just one bird scampering away but several individuals that were singing, feeding, and having themselves nothing short of a ground-dove jamboree.  As this was my second trip to Costa Rica, I had no idea that I had hit one of those avian jackpots we always dream of.

I don’t expect to see those beautiful little pigeons like that again but maybe I’ll get lucky and watch one or two at the seeding bamboo I found this past weekend on the road to Volcan Barva! Yes, a nice sized bamboo patch was seeding on Saturday and it looked like it was just getting started. I didn’t hear or see any ground-doves (did hear one Buff-fronted Quail-Dove) but I did catch up with one female Blue Seedeater! This is another bamboo associated bird that is always so darn uncommon. Although skulking behavior certainly plays a role in their apparent scarcity, they are too infrequently seen to not be genuinely rare. Since they are usually seen in or near bamboo, they might also be tied to seeding events. Other birds in Costa Rica that could show up at seeding events are Barred Parakeet, Slaty Finch, and Peg-billed Finch.

I could definitely use all three for my year list so I hope they show up at that patch somewhere on the mountain that looms near the house. If you take the main road up to Volcan Barva, the bamboo patch is in a riparian zone after where a light green sign points the way to “Volcan Barva”. It starts just past another sign that warns against dumping garbage. None of those special birds are guaranteed to show up but I think there’s a fair chance they will given that the seeding bamboo patch represents such an important and scarce resource.  Although much of the surrounding area is deforested, the connection that the riparian corridor provides to intact forest at higher elevations will hopefully act as a highway those target birds just can’t resist taking.

Before leaving the house around 5:30am, I listened to the gentle dawn sky with cupped ears. I keep doing this with the hopes of picking up migrants I still need for 2011 like Upland Sandpiper, Pectoral Sandpiper, Black-billed Cuckoo, Bobolink, and Dickcissel. Unlike those “seeping” “chipping” warblers, the flight calls of these and the thrushes make them readily identifiable. On August 28th, however, nothing was heard other than a Tropical Screech-Owl, Common Pauraque, and the usual barking dogs. I wasn’t all that surprised because it’s still early for migrants. If I listen for the faint sounds of nocturnal migrants every night and dawn until November, I should pick up a few new birds for 2011. What’s also nice is that I can stare at the night sky with hands cupping my ears from the privacy of my backyard and thus avoid being labeled as an alien or freakazoid by my neighbors.

On my way uphill (in much of Costa Rica, level areas are far and few between), I walked past fields on my left, and semi-shaded coffee on my right until reaching the stinky chicken farm at the top of the hill. At that point, I left the occasional traffic of the main road behind and was able to do more focused birding along a dirt road that passes through more semi-shaded coffee. This part of my morning birding circuit also tends to be the most productive thanks to a big fat fig tree, and a few other large trees with nice, snaggy branches. My “more focused birding” took the form of alternating a maelstrom of  spishing with pygmy-owl calls, and constant careful  investigation of the surrounding vegetation, distant tree tops, and a field of posts used for growing tomatoes. The results were funny looks from a guy guarding the tomato plants, occasional barking dogs, one or two Black and White Warblers, and a pewee species. Hence, as of Sunday, there wasn’t a whole lot of migrants making their way through the Central Valley of Costa Rica. It’s still early for migrants and I was entertained by other birds in any case, so I wasn’t all that disappointed.

To give an idea of what to expect when birding agricultural landscapes in the Central Valley, here is a list and numbers of the other species I identified during three hours of morning birding:

1. Crested Bobwhite (aka Spot-bellied Bobwhite)- One of two heard calling in the distance. Uncommon but they are around.

2. Turkey Vulture- A few perched on lamp posts.

3. Red-billed Pigeon- At least 8 of this common species. One was singing, others were flying around and sitting in various trees.

4. White-winged Dove- Probably 15 of this one. White-winged Doves in Costa Rica are kind of like Mourning Doves in North America, Spotted Doves in southeast Asia, and Collared Doves in Europe- common and adapted to human landscapes.

5. White-tipped Dove- One flyby and one heard. A common species of edge habitats in much of Costa Rica.

6. Crimson-fronted Parakeet- Just a few heard calling in the distance. I usually detect more of this common urban/suburban parakeet. They may be hanging out in the lowlands at this time of the year.

7. White-crowned Parrot- Just a few of these heard as well. Sometimes I see a flock of a dozen or so flying over the neighborhood, others days none.

8. Vaux’s Swift- Had one or two of these resident swifts flying around. There aren’t very common but you usually see one or two here and there.

9. Rufous-tailed Hummingbird- At least 6 of this most common himmingbird.

10. Blue-crowned Motmot (yes, it’s still called “Blue-crowned” according to the AOU)- Dawn is a good time to see this shade loving bird. I had at least 3 on Sunday.

11. Hoffmann’s Woodpecker- 4 of this Central Valley woodpecker.

12. Mountain Elaenia- I was hoping to record the vocalizations of Yellow-bellied Elaenia but didn’t hear or see that common species. Instead, I saw one Mountain Elaenia feeding on figs. These are much more common at higher elevations.

13. Boat-billed Flycatcher- One calling bird at dawn and one lingering at the edge of a gang of Great Kiskadees.

14. Great Kiskadee- at least 6, most of them in a gang of loudly calling birds that were feeding on fruits in a low bush.

15. Social Flycatcher- Just two of this common, dainty kiskadee-like species.

16. Sulphur-bellied Flyatcher- One heard in the morning. These will be leaving town any day now (yes, the ones that live in Costa Rica are also migrants).

17. Tropical Kingbird- At least 10 of this super common species.

18. Yellow-green Vireo- I kept trying to turn two of these residents into migrant warblers. Like the S.F. Fly., these birds are also going to inexplicably fly south pretty soon.

19. Brown Jay- One seen and one heard. I sometimes get a flock of a dozen.

20. Blue and white Swallow- 8 of this most common swallow were flying around.

21. House Wren- 4 scolded from the undergrowth.

22. Plain Wren- At least a dozen of this common coffee plantation species sang and skulked in thick vegetation.

23. Orange-billed Nightingale-Thrush- Just one of this coffee plantation bird was singing.

24. Clay-colored Thrush- 6 of Costa Rica’s national bird.

25. Gray-crowned Yellowthroat- one sang from a grassy field.

26. Rufous-capped Warbler- Spishing brought in several of this common species. I probably had 10 in total.

27. Flame-colored Tanager- Two of this beautiful bird were seen.

28. Blue-gray Tanager- At least 8 of this common bird.

29. White-eared Ground-Sparrow- A pair were heard giving their cascading vocalization and one was seen.

30. Prevost’s Ground-Sparrow- This uncommon species was the star of the day. One was seen and two were heard giving their high pitched calls.

31. Rufous-collared Sparrow- Probably 20 of this super common bird.

32. Grayish Saltator- At least 8 were heard and seen.

33. Buff-throated Saltator- Just 2.

34. Melodious Blackbird- 6 of this common bird were heard and seen.

35. Eastern Meadowlark- One was heard singing a lot like birds from western New York.

36. Great-tailed Grackle- Just 5 of this common bird.

37. Elegant Euphonia- I was surprised to hear two of these pretty birds calling from a treetop.

As far as highland birds to become familiar with before a birding trip to Costa Rica, here are a handful of some common, cool birds that you will probably see. Not all of them are endemics but as one of my high school pals used to say, “That’s the way the ball bounces”:

1. Common Bush Tanager- It’s not exactly exciting but you will surely see them when birding any middle elevation forests in Costa Rica so it’s a good bird to know. This is a widespread bird species but with so many subspecies, who knows, maybe they will all get split some day. Also, unless you are looking at a quetzal or antpitta, don’t just shrug Common Bush-Tanagers off because unlike most other Costa Rican birds, these chunky little dudes respond to spishing. They often come in to check out that odd shushing noise and can attract other birds if they really start to chatter in response. Things like wood-wrens, brush-finches, warblers, thrushes, and even treehunters can suddenly pop into view.

The ever common Common Bush-Tanager.

2. Purple-throated Mountain-Gem- Unlike the bush-tanager, this one is an endemic to Costa Rica and Nicaragua. It’s pretty easy to see in any cloud forest and is a smart looking little bird. Like most hummingbirds, they love feeders so you will see them there. You should also see them in most highland forest and edge habitats. Watch for that white line on the face kind of like a White-eared Hummingbird.

A frontal view of a male Purple-throated Mountain Gem.

A side view of a male showing that face stripe.

The females are pretty smart looking too.

3. Ruddy Treerunner- These common, highland birds creep rather than run up trees. They usually go with mixed flocks and are pretty easy to identify with their rufous back and white eyebrow.

Not what you would call a stellar photo of a Ruddy Treerunner but at least it realistically shows how they are often seen.

4. Spot-crowned Woodcreeper- This is the most common woodcreeper of highland forests above 2,000 meters and in many montane sites, is the only woodcreeper. You will see them both with and away from mixed flocks.

Spot-crowned Woodcreeper- the default high elevation woodcreeper when birding Costa Rica.

5. Mountain Elaenia- This is a super common flycatcher anywhere in the mountains that loves edge habitats so be ready to see lots of them. If you spot a confusing, Empid-like flycatcher in the highlands, it’s probably this bird. Note the short bill, eye ring, and whitish edging to the tertials.

A Mountain Elaenia doing its usual thing of pretending to be a flycatcher from another genus.

6. Ochraceous Wren- These tiny Winter-Wrenish birds are super common in montane forests of Costa Rica (and a good thing too because you can only see them there and in western Panama). However, unless you know the vocalizations, they get overlooked due to their canopy skulking prowess. Ok, so maybe they aren’t canopy skulkers on purpose but their tendency to hang out in the mossy, epiphytic realm of highland treetops can make them pretty hard to see.

As you can see from this insipid image, I still haven’t been able to get a good photo of an Ochraceous Wren.

7. Flame-colored Tanager- You may have added this pretty bird to your ABA list in Arizona, or seen lots in the highland conifers of Mexico. Come to Costa Rica and you will also run across them at just about any montane site in the Central and Talamancan Mountains.

8. Spangle-cheeked Tanager- Another common tanager of montane forests, this one is a glittering regional endemic. They sometimes troop around in large flocks, occasional bits of iridescence shining in the misty forest.

A Spangle-cheeked Tanager from Tapanti National Park.

9. Slaty Flowerpiercer- This is another super common small bird of the Costa Rican highlands. It’s hyperactive as a a Kindergarten class let loose in the Wonka factory but you will get looks at them by hanging around flowering bushes. I finally got an Ok shot of a singing male at Volcan Barva.

Check out the crazy bill of this Slaty Flowerpiercer. It looks like a hefty bird in this image but trust me, these things are dainty.

10. Mountain Robin- It’s hard to get duller looking than this but they are really common in the Costa Rican highlands so they are good to know.

I wish I could say that I saw all of these birds on every visit but the quirks of birding in tropical forest make that an impossibility. I bet I would have a fair chance of seeing all of the above and much more during a week of intensive birding (and I would love to try just that), but even one morning is bound to turn up species that are tough to see elsewhere in Costa Rica. For example, here is a run down of what the birding was like during a recent morning of guiding in the wet, foothill forests of Quebrada Gonzalez:

Arrived at 6 a.m. to meet with clients. Went on in to OK our early visit with the rangers (you must contact them in advance to enter before 8). A quick check around the parking lot turned up close looks at Dusky-faced Tanagers. Scanned the forest canopy and distant trees but nothing perched up on them today (Tiny Hawk can sometimes be found this way). A fair amount of birdsong though- Carmiol’s Tanagers, Bay and Stripe-breasted Wrens, Broad-billed and Rufous Motmots, Buff-rumped Warbler, Striped Woodhaunter, Black-headed Nightingale-Thrush, and Orange-billed Sparrow to name those that I recall.

We entered the forest but despite carefully watching and listening, saw rather few birds at first. At least we got the chance to watch more Dusky-faced Tanagers, Carmiol’s and Tawny-crested Tanagers, Orange-billed Sparrow, and a cooperative Spectacled Antpitta! I heard at least 3 different Spectacled Antpittas over the course of the morning and this one popped into view because I whistled like one where we good view into the undergrowth. Always a good bird to see, and especially so for the clients because the antpittas at Carara had refused to show themselves.

Further on, we came across activity in the canopy that eventually turned into a full fledged mixed flock! It was just as I had hoped, and especially so when White-throated Shrike-Tanager began to call and then perched for prolonged views. We were kept busy for more than an hour as tanagers and other small birds flitted through the tall canopy. Views were tough but we managed to glimpse a good number of species. The one that we didn’t see, however, caused us some painful frustration. This anguishing heard only bird was a Sharpbill that just wouldn’t reveal itself despite singing on three occasions. The experience mirrors other encounters I have had with this weird species at Quebrada Gonzalez and thus makes me suspect that the bird (or birds) keep still as they sing from some hidden perch way high up in the canopy.

So, no Sharpbill seen, but we still had a pretty good tally for the flock:

Striped Woodhaunter

Plain Xenops

Wedge-billed Woodcreeper

Spotted Woodcreeper

Russet Antshrike

Rufous Mourner

Paltry Tyrannulet

Yellow-margined Flycatcher

Eastern Wood-Pewee

Lesser Greenlet

Red-eyed Vireo

Canada Warbler

Tropical Parula

Bananaquit

Ashy-throated Bush-Tanager

Carmiol’s Tanager

Tawny-crested Tanager

White-throated Shrike-Tanager

White-shouldered Tanager

Speckled Tanager

Emerald Tanager

Silver-throated Tanager

Black and yellow Tanager

Blue and gold Tanager

Bay-headed Tanager

Rufous-winged Tanager

Scarlet-thighed Dacnis

Green Honeycreeper

Tawny-capped Euponia

White-vented Euphonia

Black-faced Grosbeak

Thirty-two species (if counting the Sharpbill) and I am sure that we missed a few birds! While we were scanning the vaulted roof of the forest to identify the birds in the flock, we also had a separate, understory mixed flock move through the area that included Sulphur-rumped Flycatcher, Checker-throated Antwren, and Streak-crowned Antvireo. Other bird species identified (most by their vocalizations) during the flock activity and shortly thereafter were:

Great Tinamou

Lattice-tailed Trogon

Black-throated Trogon

Rufous Motmot

Cinnamon and Rufous-winged Woodpeckers

Buff-throated Foliage-gleaner

Green Shrike Vireo

White-ruffed Manakin

Scarlet-rumped Cacique

Brown-hooded Parrot

Violet-crowned Woodnymph

Bronze-tailed Plumeleteer

White-necked Jacobin

Ruddy-tailed Flycatcher

Chestnut-backed Antbird

Dull-mantled Antbird

Chestnut-mandibled Toucan

Gray-rumped and Chimney Swifts

Short-billed Pigeom

Purplish-backed Quail-Dove

American Swallow-tailed Kite

We exited the forest by 9:30 a.m. and by then, things were typically quiet. Scanning the skies for around 15 minutes revealed a few swifts, brief American Swallow-tailed Kite, and high-flying Black Vultures, but no hoped for King or Black Hawk-Eagle. We probably would have gotten more raptors if we had looked for an hour or so but since we only had until 11, we did the trail once more to improve our chances of running into Sharpbill, Yellow-eared Toucanet, or some other rarity. Our mid-morning walk turned up a blank on those and other birds but at least we gave it a try!

Soon after, we parted ways and the rain began to fall. As I crossed the bridge over the Rio Sucio, I noticed my last bird for the day- a Bat Falcon perched high up on a snag overlooking the river. I wished I could have stayed there and watched the forested hillsides like that falcon was doing, but it was time to go back home on the other side of the mountains.

The majority of birders get their fill of high elevation birding in Costa Rica at Savegre Mountain Hotel in San Gerardo de Dota. Since the oak forests there are more accessible than at El Toucanet, you can’t go wrong with birding at Savegre Mountain Lodge, but it’s also more expensive. For a more moderately priced option, El Toucanet is $30 cheaper per night on average and is situated at a lower elevation with drier forest that turns up an interesting suite of species. In addition to good birding around the hotel, birders who come with a rental vehicle will find it to be a good site to use as a base for birding higher elevations.

At the lodge itself, two hummingbird feeders were enough to entertain us with views of the following species:

Violet Sabrewing

Stripe-tailed Hummingbird

Green Violetear

Magenta-throated Woodstar

Scintillant Hummingbird

Purple-throated Mountain-Gem

and the good old Rufous-tailed Hummingbird.

There were also camera shy Green-crowned Brilliants, Magnificent Hummingbirds, and in flowering Ingas on the property, a few Steely-vented Hummingbirds. White-throated Mountain-Gems, and Volcano and Fiery-throated Hummingbirds seen at higher elevations gave us a respectable total of thirteen hummingbirds species seen during our stay.

On the non-hummingbird side of page, some of the highlights at the lodge and in nearby, similar habitats were Dark Pewee (common), Barred Becard (fairly common), Spotted Wood-Quail (heard only although they sometimes show up at the lodge), Collared Trogon, Black and white Becard (very uncommon species in Costa Rica), and Rough-legged Tyrannulet. Much to my chagrin, this last bird was also a heard only as it would have been a lifer! I tried calling it in but the bird just wouldn’t come close enough to see it- all the more reason to head back up there!

Flame-colored Tanagers were fairly common and came to the lodge feeders once in a while

but the lodge namesake seemed to be pretty uncommon. We still saw a few Emerald Toucanets but not as many as I had expected; maybe they are more common at other times of the year or are down in numbers like the Resplendent Quetzal. As with other areas in Costa Rica, the wacky fruiting season seems to have had an impact upon quetzal numbers so it took us a few days to actually see one. This is in contrast to the norm at El Tocuanet whereby guests often view more than one of these fancy birds on the daily quetzal tour (free for guests).

A Resplendent Quetzal near El Toucanet being resplendent.

One of our best birdies during our visit was Silver-throated Jay. This tough endemic needs primary highland oak forest and, at El Tocuanet, is only regularly found at higher elevations where the road to Providencia flattens out. It was nice to get this rarity for the year even if it was a pain to get clear views of it in the densely foliaged crowns of massive, moss-draped oaks. That same area also hosted three or four calling, unseen Buff-fronted Quail-Doves, the aforementioned high elevation hummingbirds, and a mixed flock highlighted by Buffy Tuftedcheeks. We also had our weirdest bird of the trip in that area- a Magnificent Frigatebird! If it wanted to masquerade as an American Swallow-tailed Kite, those raptors weren’t buying it and demonstrated their discontent by dive-bombing the modern day Pterodactyl.

We also had calling quetzals around there, and at night, heard Dusky Nightjar, Bare-shanked Screech-Owl, and Costa Rican Pygmy-Owl. During our after dark excursion, we tried for the near mythical Unspotted Saw-whet but didn’t get any response. Maybe it occurs at higher elevations? Maybe it just doesn’t like birders? No matter because I am going to get that feathered gnome before 2011 comes to an end!

Our final morning was when we got the quetzal (thanks to the owners son Kenny who whistled it in) in addition to being our best morning of birding. Streak-breasted Treehunter hung out at a nesting hole (burrow) in a quarry. Barred Becard and bathing Long-tailed Silky-Flycatchers entertained in the same area. Tufted Flycatchers, migrant Olive-sided Flycatcher, and Dark Pewee were sallying off perches like jumping jack flash, and Yellow-bellied Siskins did what all birds should do-

sing from exposed, eye level perches for long periods of time at close distances. Challenges are OK but relaxed, easy birding is always better!

One drawback to birding near El Toucanet is that hunting still occurs in the area. We didn’t see any guys with guns or floppy eared, baying dogs, but we were told that locals do hunt in the Los Santos Forest Reserve (illegally). I suspected as much because of the flighty behavior of birds in the area (except at El Toucanet where they know they are safe). Even so, aside from making it a bit more challenging to watch birds close up, I doubt that it affects the birding all that much. Black Guans are probably more difficult to see but you may still have a good chance for them when birding the long road through Providencia and the highway. Much of this underbirded road cuts through beautiful forest. If you have the time and vehicle, please bird it and let us know what you see! I plan on surveying the road sometime this year and will blog about it.

In the meantime, check out El Toucanet! I bet the area around the lodge holds more surprises, the fireplace is certifiably cozy, the food very good, and the owners as nice as can be.

Here was a very cool surprise that I ran into just next to the lodge- my lifer Godson’s Montane Pit-Viper!

That’s fine with me because the manageable size of Costa Rica makes it plausible to visit several habitats on different day trips and living here means that I can easily get to some of the more far flung sites (to boost the year list of course). High bird diversity in Costa Rica also means that I see a bunch of birds every time I head out in any case so I’m not complaining! Take for example two recent trips to Carara National Park and vicinity. On one day trip, even though the focus was on bird photography, we still ended up identifying over 140 species (!). This reflects the amazing bird diversity in and around Carara as do the 120 or so species identified from a morning of guiding done there yesterday.

A high number of species were identified on the forest trail behind the HQ in part because the birds were singing up a storm. Mornings in Costa Rica are filled with bird song because March is nesting season for a number of bird species . It can be frustrating when they chortle, trill, and chirp yet refuse to come out from behind that wall of green but at least we know that Green Shrike Vireos are hanging out in the canopy and that Blue-black Grosbeaks are haunting the undergrowth. With a little luck and patience, though, the majority of vocalizing species show themselves and this  was how we got Black-faced Antthrush, Rufous-breasted, Riverside, and Rufous and white Wrens, and Dusky Antbird among others. These species are pretty much par for the course at Carara although the antthrush isn’t always guaranteed. We did pretty good on woodcreepers for birding just one morning. Five species were seen (Wedge-billed, Northern Barred, Streak-headed, Cocoa, and Long-tailed) and one was a heard only (Black-striped). The pickings were slim on trogons however, with just one Baird’s heard and a pair of Black-throated seen.

Black-throated Trogon.

Both spadebill species were calling (Stub-tailed and Golden-crowned), the buzzy trills of Northern Bentbills were heard throughout the morning, and we had very close looks at a good number of Chestnut-backed Antbirds. Mixed flock activity was fair and resulted in niceties such as Slaty Antwren, Royal Flycatcher (pretty scarce this year), and Tropical Parula.

Cloudy weather made it easier to see Lesser Swallow-tailed and Costa Rican Swifts above the forest and also revealed a few migrating Cliff Swallows. Back down in the understory, Streak-chested Antpitta was a non-heard no show but we did get nice looks at both White-tipped and Gray-chested Doves and a pair of beautiful Ruddy Quail-Doves seen at the Heliconia patch on the “Universal Trail”. This spot also had Long-billed and Bronzy Hermits chasing each other around and was close to where we had perfect, close looks at three Great Tinamous. Conspicuously absent were the odd, metallic calls of Three-wattled Bellbird. Maybe they will show up next month to feed on fruiting figs but for the moment they have mostly (or only?) been seen in the hills above Carara (you might get them along the road to Bijagual).

As far as colorful birds go, Turquoise-browed Motmot showed nicely near the trail entrance, Scarlet Macaws made regular flybys through the canopy, and we had several sightings of Red-legged Honeycreepers, Bay-headed Tanagers, and Golden-hooded Tanagers.

Red-legged Honeycreeper

During a day of guiding on Sunday, a different set of more than 100 species were seen in much wetter, middle elevation forests near San Ramon. Over there on the Caribbean slope, we started things off with Least Grebe, Ringed Kingfisher, and Solitary Sandpiper on a lake along with flyovers of Red-billed Pigeons, Brown Jays, and Montezuma Oropendolas. This was quickly followed up by Crested Guan posing for us in a Cecropia, a Stripe-breasted Wren that thankfully revealed itself in a mossy vine tangle, Buff-throated Foliage-gleaner coming into playback of its song, Scale-crested Pygmy-Tyrant and Black-headed Nightingale-Thrush showing well, Tropical Parulas trilling from the treetops, and several tanagers that called but remained oddly elusive.

We eventually got good looks at Scarlet-thighed Dacnis, Emerald, Silver-throated, Speckled, Passerini’s and Crimson-collared Tanagers but Black and yellows and Carmiol’s (Olive) afforded very few good looks and White-throated Shrike Tanager ended up being a heard only. Not fully connecting with a good mixed flock was also why we missed out on fairly common species such as Russet Antshrike, Spotted Woodcreeper, and Slaty-capped Flycatcher.

We were entertained by American Swallow-tailed Kites as we scanned the treetops of an open area but didn’t chance upon any of the toucans, raptors, parrots, or other birds that are often seen from this point. A nice surprise bird here was a Lattice-tailed Trogon that called and then gave good looks as it flew in front of us before it swooped out of sight into a dense patch of forest.

Nothing in the trees today.

As is usual along the road to Alberto Brenes Reserve, we had nice looks at Rufous-tailed Jacamar but even one of those needle-billed iridescent beauties taking a dust bath in the road was trumped by seeing Ocellated and Bicolored Antbirds. Although we couldn’t find any army ants, they must have been terrorizing invertebrate communities somewhere in the area because the presence of these two antbird species is typically associated with good old Eciton burchelli. On a side note, Ocellated Antbirds seem to be sighted with more regularity along this road than others areas in Costa Rica.

Some nice heard only birds were Black Hawk-Eagle, Nightingale Wren, and Tawny-faced Gnatwren.

Hopefully this will give readers an idea of what may be waiting for them if visiting Carara or San Ramon in the next two weeks. If you go, tell us about your highlights in the comments.

The variety of habitats that fall within the count circle resulted in over 340 species being identified! Red-crowned Ant-Tanager, Ruddy Woodcreeper, Rufous-breasted Wren and other Pacific Slope species demonstrated that the seasonally dry forests of this biogeographic area were represented at the Eco-Musas park. Over on the other, wetter side of the mountains, several routes that accessed middle-elevation forests turned up a very good number of Caribbean Slope birds including the likes of Black-headed Tody-Flycatcher, Rufous Motmot, Ocellated and Spotted Antbirds, Thicket Antpitta, and Black-headed Antthrush. Cloud forests in the area also turned up Black-breasted Wood-Quail and Resplendent Quetzal among other species. The area around Tierras Enamoradas was especially productive for a bunch of foothill forest species. On a side note, this hotel has excellent birding near the cabins and on trails through the forest (have seen Great Curassow, lots of intact rainforest). They prefer to sell package stays that are good bargains if you want to do canopy tours and that sort of thing but while non-birding spouses and kids can zipline through the forest and ride horses, you can go birding on your own or with a resident birding guide.

Some highlights were Bare-necked Umbrellabird (3 seen, one right at the San Luis Canopy!), the trio of Costa Rican antthrushes, the triplet of Costa Rican leaftossers, Sunbittern, Tiny Hawk, 5 (!) sightings of Ornate Hawk-Eagle, two White-tipped Sicklebills, Keel-billed Motmot, Scaled Antpitta, Yellow-eared Toucanet, and four Sepia-capped Flycatchers!

Another advantage of these results is that numbers of bird species are given for each site. Now many of these species are rare so you can’t expect to just bird the routes of the count and and see them but at least you know that you have a chance! These count results show that any birder headed to the La Fortuna area should consider spending a night in the area to bird some of these sites or at least take the route from San Ramon through San Lorenzo and stop for birding along the way. I can’t wait to get back to the area as well as check out spots past Tierras Enamoradas where there is a lot of promising, underbirded habitat.