Have you ever wondered what it’s like to drive in Costa Rica? What it looks like to drive along mountain roads on your way to seriously exciting birding sites like Cerro de la Muerte, Irazu Volcano, and Braulio Carrillo National Park? Well, if you live and drive in North America or Europe, it’s not going [...]
Continue reading about Some Tips for Driving when Birding in Costa Rica
Costa Rica is a pretty mountainous place. When I glance out the window of our second story home, I can see the Cordillera Central off to my left, the hulking Irazu Volcano in front, and the ranges of the Talamancan and Escazu Mountains off to my right. Having grown up in non-mountainous Niagara Falls, New [...]
Continue reading about Some Common Highland Species to Know When Birding Costa Rica
This past Saturday, I spent most of the morning in the rainforests of Carara National Park. I usually visit this birdy protected area for guiding, but on Saturday, I cruised down the new highway to the hot coastal plain not to help birders see Turquoise-browed Motmots, Great Tinamous, Slate-headed Tody-Flycatchers, and Spot-crowned Euphonias, but to [...]
I normally don’t get the chance to go birding on Mondays. The morning is typically reserved for bringing my daughter to the babysitter, and the rest of the day sees me sitting in front of the computer. I hear TKs and Rufous-collared Sparrows in the early part of the day, envy the freedom of Red-billed [...]
Continue reading about Good Birding near San Ramon on Monday
I would love to guide three week tours in Costa Rica that culminate in 500 plus bird species. We would stalk mossy, middle elevation forests in search of Ochre-breasted Antpitta, quail-doves, and Lanceolated Monklet. Mid-morning skies above Quebrada Gonzalez would be scanned for hawk-eagles, King Vulture, and other raptors. Exciting, bird filled days would be [...]
Continue reading about Costa Rica Birding Highlights from Guiding at Carara National Park
Given the date of this #146th edition of IATB, I should be marching in some freezing cold Saint Patrick’s Day parade or at least celebrating in true form with requisite green colored spirits. Alas, living in Costa Rica means that there will be no partying nor watching of curly-haired Irish dancers for me BUT at [...]
Continue reading about March On Into Spring – I and The Bird #146
I haven’t been birding in the western end of the Central Valley for at least a month but I was reminded of how good the birding is near the town of San Ramon when the Union de Ornitologos de Costa Rica released the Christmas Count Results for this area on March 4th. The results can [...]
Continue reading about Don’t Ignore the San Ramon Area When Birding Costa Rica
Cotingas! An appropriately evocative sounding name for breathtaking birds that look like the results of someone’s wild imagination. They all seem to be odd or wacky because birders familiar with temperate zone families just don’t know what to make of them. Purple-throated Fruitcrow- hmmm, if it’s a crow then why does it have shiny purple [...]
Continue reading about The Best Sites for Seeing Cotinga Species when Birding Costa Rica
Costa Rica is in the tropics and every time I go birding I am reminded of this fact. Sure the rays of the sun are more intense than in western New York, winter just doesn’t exist (yay!), and there are a heck of a lot of bird species flitting around this place but that’s not [...]
Continue reading about Unpredictable Birding in Costa Rica at Quebrada Gonzalez
Here are a few updates on birding in Costa Rica that may be of help to birders visiting the country soon to see shimmering quetzals, a treasure trove of glittering hummingbirds, and (inadvertently) a whole mess of Chestnut-sided Warblers: El Tapir: The massive Porterweed bushes that were herbicided at El Tapir have not grown back [...]
Continue reading about Some updates on birding in Costa Rica
