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Tips for Birding Costa Rica- Caribbean Lowland Specialties

birding Costa Rica

In Costa Rica, there’s a lot of cool birds everywhere. Parakeets and parrots make morning flybys over busy urban roads, Gray Hawks call from above while doing their daily soaring over my minimally green neighborhood, tityras oink from big trees, and so on and so on. Those birds are definitely cool and I’m happy to notice them but if I want to see trogons and quetzals and hundreds more species, I need to move a bit further afield.

One of the great things about Costa Rica is that I don’t need to move very far. It only takes a 30 minute drive to reach cloud forest remnants with fancy chlorophonias and Bare-shanked Screech-Owls, only an hour to get low enough on the Pacific side to reach fantastic Scarlet Macaws. There’s also the other side of the mountains, the wet and mossy habitats on the Caribbean slope. Looking north, I can just about see it, at the edge of where the rain clouds hit way up there on the continental divide.

Go just a bit further and most of that water is destined for the Atlantic. Follow the highland streams and they become rivers that transect middle elevation forest before rushing through foothill rainforest to eventually slow down in the Caribbean lowlands. On the way, a birder also passes through different avian communities, each one more or less related to elevation.

The lowest, hottest parts have some of the highest diversity. Those Caribbean lowlands also have birds that don’t occur in other parts of Costa Rica. These are species that live in the La Selva area, inhabit the beautiful rainforests of Tirimbina, and call from the fantastic forests around and near Laguna del Lagarto. To see the following bird species in Costa Rica, you’ll have to travel to the Caribbean lowlands; they rarely occur above 300 meters in elevation and aren’t usually on the other side of the mountains.

Rufescent Tiger-Heron

Costa Rica’s rare tiger-heron likes marshes, usually near rainforest, and forested streams and swamps. It’s a lot easier to see in Panama and South America (where it replaces the Bare-throated Tiger-Heron) but if you need to check it out in Costa Rica, try looking for it in Tortuguero, around Boca Tapada and Laguna del Lagarto, and any suitable habitat in the Caribbean lowlands.

Harpy Eagle

This monster raptor is such a rare bird in Costa Rica, it’s almost not worth mentioning it. You probably won’t see one in the Sarapiqui area nor most other lowland sites but, vigilant birders replete with amazing birding luck could spot one in the Boca Tapada area and perhaps in the lowland forests north of Rincon de la Vieja.

Although individual Harpy Eagles could also feasibly move into foothill rainforests, on the Caribbean slope, they seem to be more of a lowland bird (or “were” since they have largely been extirpated). However, on a bright note, perhaps they could be reintroduced to the Gandoca-Manzanillo area, and, with reforestation, other sites too.

Gray-rumped Swift

For the most part, it seems like these small swifts are lowland birds. I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen any in the foothills but I always see them fluttering just above the canopy of lowland forest, even over second growth and remnant forest meandering along lowland waterways.

If you’re birding the Caribbean lowlands and see a group of small, rather low flying swifts, those would be Gray-rumpeds. In migration, there’s also similar Chimney Swifts but they are darker brown, have slightly longer wings, and are typically actively migrating (flying either straight north or directly south). In the summer months, there’s also a rare chance for a couple of Austral migrant Chaeturas but I’ll save that can of worms for another post.

Pied Puffbird

This tanager-sized, sort of batis looking puffbird is a true lowland species. I often find at the edge of rainforest as it calls from some super tall tree, usually after whistling like one. If not, if the small canopy dwelling bird doesn’t call, you’ll need a lot of luck to notice one.

Chestnut-colored Woodpecker

Chestnut-colored Woodpecker.

This beautiful woodpecker lives in lowland rainforest and adjacent gardens and second growth habitats. It took me a while to finally see this species, I think because I was mostly birding in foothill habitats. They seem to have a penchant for coconuts; I often see a pair pecking into big green coconuts on the La Selva entrance road.

Olive-throated Parakeet

birding Costa Rica

See some small, long-tailed parakeets flying over or near lowland forest? You’re probably seeing this species. Olive-throated Parakeets are regular in most parts of the Caribbean lowlands but are especially common around Cano Negro.

Compared to the larger, brighter green Crimson-fronted Parakeets, Olive-throateds also lack red, and have scratchier voices.

Purple-throated Fruitcrow

A canopy view of a Purple-throated Fruitcrow.

This wonderful bird mostly occurs in South America but also ranges north to Costa Rica and adjacent southeastern Nicaragua. It lives in tall lowland rainforest and, in Costa Rica, seems to be more common near and south of Limon.

They also live in and around La Selva but are much less common north of there. Bird in the right places and it’s not that tough to see especially if you know its vocalizations. Fruitcrows usually occur in small, noisy flocks that swoop through the canopy. I often see them flocking with other medium to large birds like oropendolas, woodpeckers, woodcreepers, and Rufous Mourner.

Snowy Cotinga

Another lowland cotinga, this special bird is one to look for when birding any Caribbean lowland rainforest. They might also be more frequent near and south of Limon but occur in forest throughout the Caribbean lowlands, even in Cano Negro.

Snowy Cotingas don’t seem to be as common as they used to be but are still regular in most forested areas. Watch for a chunky pale bird perched high in a tree.

White-ringed Flycatcher

This Social Flycatcher look-alike is fairly common in any sort of lowland forest habitat, even tall second growth. If you see a “Social Flycatcher” perched high in a tree and making a trilled vocalization, you’ve found a White-ringed Flycatcher.

They usually occur in pairs or small groups, are quite vocal (thankfully), and tend to perch in the canopy. White-winged Flycatchers can also join mixed flocks and are separated from Social Flycatchers by their broader white eyebrow that meets on the back of the head, a white crescent above the eye, pale edging to the tertials, and trilled call.

Black-capped Pygmy-Tyrant

birding Costa Rica

This tiny, tricky bird occurs in a few foothill areas but is mostly a lowland bird. Since it loves the canopy and about the same size as a large beetle, you’ll have to learn its bug-like call to find one. Luckily, it usually vocalizes over and over.

Listen for it in any site with Caribbean lowland rainforest.

Honorable Mentions

The following birds are more common in Caribbean lowland habitats but also occur in the foothills. Several have moved upslope in response to warmer temperatures.

Slaty-breasted Tinamou– Although you can see this tinamou at sites like Quebrada Gonzalez and north of Rincon de la Vieja, it’s a lot more common in lowland rainforest. For whatever evasive reason, they do not normally occur south of the Revantazon River in southeastern Costa Rica.

Sungrebe– This funny little waterbird is a lowland species that mostly occurs on the Caribbean slope but since it also locally occurs in and near the Osa Peninsula, it’s much more of a Caribbean lowland species.

Watch for it at Cano Negro, Tortuguero, on the Sarapiqui River, and on any other lowland river, lagoon, or marsh with vegetation that hangs over the water near the bank.

Olive-backed Quail-Dove– This elusive dove is a challenge but it’s probably more common than it seems. Keep an eye out for it in any lowland and foothill rainforest, perhaps especially beneath fruiting trees. Once, I also had perfect views of two or more at an antswarm in Tirimbina.

Blue-chested Hummingbird– This dull hummingbird is fairly common in lowland forest habitats but also occurs in various foothill sites. If you are birding the Caribbean lowland and see a small grayish, plain hummingbird with a grayish tail, its probably a Blue-chested.

Blue-chested Hummingbird

Middle American Screech-Owl– Like the quail-dove, this owl is likely more common than most birders realize. It makes a long, quiet trilling (typical screech-owl) call and, to escape larger owls, is pretty skulky and usually sticks to the undergrowth.

Look for it at night in any area with lowland rainforest. You might also find it in more foothill sites; this species seems to be moving upslope in some areas. As a bonus, the local guides at La Selva often know of one or two roosting birds.

Slaty-backed Forest-Falcon– A tough bird anywhere, in Costa Rica, small numbers sneak around lowland and some foothill forest sites. Maybe there’s more around than we know of? Hard to say because, like other Micrasturs, they are mostly detected by voice so if they don’t call, you have no idea they are around.

All of that said, in Costa Rica, they seem to be most frequent in the lowland rainforest near and south of Limon.

Semiplumbeous Hawk– Listen and watch for this Broad-winged sized raptor in any Caribbean lowland rainforest. These days, they also occur in most foothill areas too.

Great Green Macaw– Although primarily a lowland species, in the wet season (like now), Great Greens move into foothill rainforests. Good places to see them from May to perhaps November include Quebrada Gonzalez and nearby, and the area around San Miguel de Sarapiqui.

It’s surreal to stand in a gas station to watch groups of Great Green Macaws do late afternoon flybys over a fairly busy crossroads!

Great Potoo– Happily, this crazy muppet-like bird is fairly common in Caribbean lowland forests. Over the past ten years, it has also been moving into foothill rainforest.

White-fronted Nunbird– Small groups of this rambunctious species haunt mature lowland rainforest at and near La Selva, Hitoy-Cerere, Laguna Lagarto, and other places. They also live in foothill sites, especially near Bijagua and on the Peninsula Road near Arenal.

Although deforestation has made them pretty uncommon, if you look for nunbirds in the right places, they aren’t too tough to find.

Black-crowned Antshrike– Learn the calls of this antshrike to see how common it is. Its antshrike laughing vocalization is a typical sound of lowland rainforest. In several areas, we have also been seeing it in foothill rainforest.

Fasciated Antshrike– Like the antshrike, this cool zebra-like bird is another typical Caribbean lowland bird that has also been moving into the foothills. Watch for them un vine tangles.

White-flanked Antwren– Although this species has become uncommon at La Selva, I routinely find it at most other mature lowland forest sites in the Caribbean lowlands. I also see it at quite a few foothill rainforest sites.

Watch for them in mixed flocks with Streak-crowned Antvireos and other small insectivores. I usually find them by imitating their vocalizations.

Plain-brown Woodcreeper– A regular understory woodcreeper of the Caribbean lowlands, smaller numbers also occur in the foothills.

Yellow-winged Flycatcher (aka Flatbill)– Same goes for this flycatcher although it’s much more common in lowland rainforest.

Long-tailed Tyrant– This cavity-nesting flycatcher species occurs in foothill sites with suitable broken snags but is much more common in the lowlands.

Canebrake Wren– Learn this wren’s calls and you’ll see how common it is in the Caribbean lowlands. You might also find that it has also followed grassy roadside habitat into the middle elevations! Although I’m not sure if they have become established, I have heard this species at sites above the Peace Lodge.

Olive-crowned Yellowthroat– Like the Canebrake Wren, this warbler has also moved upslope. Even so, it’s most common in lowland marshes and wet, marsh-like grass. It can live in the same places as Gray-crowned Yellowthroats and both respond to each other’s vocalizations, certainly for inter-specific competition.

Red-throated Ant-Tanager– Much more common in lowland forest and second growth but, in some areas, you also encounter them in the foothills.

Dusky-faced Tanager– Same as the ant-tanager and usually in the same sort of second-growth habitat.

If you go birding around La Selva, Laguna del Lagarto, and other Caribbean lowland rainforest sites, watch for the birds mentioned above. You probably won’t see them in other parts of Costa Rica! To learn more about the birding sites mentioned in this post and hundreds of other birding sites in Costa Rica, support this blog by purchasing “How to See, Find, and Identify Birds in Costa Rica”.

I hope to see you here, hundreds of birds are waiting!

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Urban Birding in Costa Rica (and Walmart)

Urban birding in Costa Rica? Does Costa Rica even have urban areas? Well, obviously yes but if all your conclusions about Costa Rica came from tourism marketing videos, that would be a valid question. According to images and videos, Costa Rica is (1) beaches, (2) zip lines through tropical forest, (3) volcanoes, (4) tropical wildlife like sloths, toucans (occasionally species that live in Brazil), and monkeys, and (5) everyone exclaiming “pura vida!”.

This toucan does live in Costa Rica.

Hey, I don’t blame those marketers (except for using the wrong toucan species), after all, the goal is selling an experience, showing potential tourists highlights and reasons for vacationing in Costa Rica. They aren’t wrong either because this birdy nation is those things but, just like Niagara Falls, NY is more than the famous cataracts (to me it’s also family, DiCamillo’s bakery, a blizzard of gulls, and a lifetime of memories and fantastic stories), Tiquicia has so much more.

For the record, as with most countries, Costa Rica also has busy urban areas. For my nature-linked tastes, they are too busy but at least escaping them is pretty easy. Fly into SJO and you’ll experience that urban stuff pretty quick but, if you stay outside the metro area, you’ll also leave it behind just as soon as you arrive. However, if you do find yourself faced with urban birding in Costa Rica, don’t despair!

As the Urban Birder David Lindo reminds us, birds are everywhere, even in big cities, often more than you think and in places where you least expect them. With recent heavy rains and a mild cold keeping me from doing much birding, those urban birding concepts have been on my mind. These were a couple recent reminders that birds really are everywhere and they can even include rare and endangered species.

Yellow-naped Parrot at Walmart

Yes, sounds like an odd birding dream but it just goes to show that, in Costa Rica, birding dreams come true! The other day, I took a regular, random shopping trip to Walmart with my partner and her daughter. In Costa Rica, although one sees fewer “Walmart people” than in the USA, people watchers will be pleased to know there’s usually one or two folks shopping in would be pajamas, employees sport those same blue, Walmart vest things, and there’s always a couple of shoppers roving the store in motorized carts.

However, before you feel a bit too reminded of being back in the USA, you’ll notice many more differences. Forget about undercover security and shopping on your own. There’ll be a few security guards decked out with an impressive and potentially intimidating display of pseudo-military looking gear (stuff like tactical looking vests with too many pockets, maybe a flashlight and other random stuff but perhaps lacking weapons), and you’ll find yourself wondering how other shoppers manage to block entire aisles while being completely unaware that they do not have the entire store to themselves.

Actually, those aisles blockages are mostly because the aisles are too narrow but whatever. The worst thing, though, and the most different, will be the salespeople. These bastions of Costa Rica Walmart are invariably women who sport uniforms that represent what they want you to buy. You won’t help but notice them and not only because they stand in place and block the selections of tortillas or bread or sliced ham.

No, you’ll notice them mostly because as soon as you come within range, they will start talking to you, automatically telling you about this and that product in question or asking you what you are looking for. It doesn’t matter if you would rather look at those tortillas for yourself or check ham out on your own. It doesn’t matter if you stare straight ahead with a blank and unbecoming 1,000 yard stare. No, they will still want to “help” you.

I understand that’s their job, it’s good they have one, perhaps I should talk with them more? But the thing is I don’t go to Walmart to casually converse with people about ham discounts. I don’t really want to be there at all so I’m not keen on spending time to stand and listen to sales spiels. I’m not particularly anti-social, I would just rather not spend my time that way.

In an attempt to avoid the unwelcome conversation, I usually end up saying, “No, gracias” but then I invariably wonder why I thanked them for advice I didn’t ask for. My partner says to answer them in English and yes, that has helped. I have done that as well as occasionally answer in other non-Spanish languages and let me tell you, no matter how talkative, when presented with a classic language barrier, even the most gung-ho Walmart salesperson throws in the towel!

Now if you find yourself in a Costa Rica Walmart, in all likelihood, those organic, real life influencers will know you are a tourist and probably be too afraid to talk to you anyways. However, if not, and if you don’t feel like practicing Spanish or would rather spend time watching birds (because when birding in Costa Rica, every second counts), you can always smile and say something in English. Thanks to Duolingo and so many people wanting to learn English, it’s still a risk but what are you gonna do? You got birds to see (dammit)!

A word of advice; the coffee and tea aisle is especially challenging. It’s a veritable gauntlet of loquacious and determined coffee and tea influencing saleswomen so out of control, I never purchase coffee in Walmart for that very reason!

But so what about shopping in Walmart, like, isn’t this a birding blog? Yes but when birding abroad, you will likely need to step into a store, and Walmart is a common choice. It’s good to know what to expect. Also, when you step outside the store, at least the one in San Francisco, Heredia, you might see a Yellow-naped Parrot.

Yes! Insanely, when we exited Walmart yesterday afternoon, like magic, the laughter-like calls of Yellow-naped Parrots were somehow penetrating the urban din. Showing that nature must triumph (or that they had loud voices), a pair of these critically endangered species defiantly yelled over the nearby traffic. They were perched right on the tip of a non-native cypress and even without binos, the bright yellow on their napes stood out against their plumbeous sky backdrop.

It was a fantastic sighting! I mean, I almost ran back inside to confront the aisles influencers and tell them that no, I’m not interested in that block of Turrialba cheese but let me tell you all about the fantastic Yellow-naped Parrots at the edge of the parking lot! Oh, not interested? Well, I wasn’t interested in hearing about cheese either but you started telling me all about it anyways…touchee senora.

Now this doesn’t mean Walmart is a good place to see birds, in fact, I can’t recommend it. But, it is a reminder that birds can appear in Costa Rica in odd places, even rare species. When in Costa Rica, you stop birding at your own peril because even in urban areas, a Lineated Woodpecker may swoop into view, Short-tailed and Gray Hawks might be soaring above, and wood-rails are sneaking around the edges of polluted streams.

A classic view from Walmart except that there are two Yellow-naped Parrots perched in the trees on the left, and the mountains in the background have cloud forest with quetzals and tapirs.

Centro de Recreo SITET

Speaking of wood-rails, this undiscovered birding gem has them along with lots more. I thought I knew about most of the places to go birding in Costa Rica, I mean, I included hundreds of sites in “How to See, Find, and Identify Birds in Costa Rica” and yet, after a random school trip, I realize have to edit the book and include this place, the Centro de Recreo SITET.

Located in Rio Segundo, rather close to the airport, this is a small but excellent oasis to see common birds in an urban setting. Forget about that ridiculous Walmart Woods eBird hotspot, this is the place to go! We went to this small, private park for a school picnic and wished we had brought binoculars! A combination of mature Caribbean pines, huge figs, second growth, stream and pond attracted a surprising array of species.

Need Boat-billed Heron? Several roosted over the pond, even good enough for pictures! How about Gray-cowled Wood-Rail? A few of these fancy rails fed near a stream also frequented by Lesson’s Motmot and other common species. Chestnut-capped Warblers and Cabanis’s Wrens called from the thick stuff, Black Phoebe wagged its tail, and Ringed Kingfisher flew overhead, I wouldn’t be surprised if Cabanis’s Ground-Sparrow is also present.

birding Costa Rica

This overlooked site looks especially good for migrants and interesting wintering birds. I’m definitely going back to see what I find. If you want to check it out, this site has a 2,000 colon entrance fee ($4), is closed Mondays and open other days from 8 to 4. It’s located off a busy road but once inside, the birding should be alright and there are various picnic tables and grills. I bet it can get loud and busy on the weekend but other days are probably quiet. This is my eBird list, it also shows exactly where this spot is located.

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Costa Rica Birding = A Whole lot of Wrens Going On

The Wren is a plain yet spunky little bird. By chance, it also has the distinction of being the bird after which all other members of its family were named. Well, at least officially named in the English language.

If we think about the many vocal and equally personable members of its family that grace tangles, cacti, rocks, and other places replete with nooks and crannies, I’m sure hundreds of local cultures in the Americas also had plenty of names for wrens.

I wonder how many names referred to their loud, vociferous nature? How many had names synonymous with gnomes and tiny forest elves? Were some named after their habitat? Others for their behavior?

Here in Costa Rica, wrens can be known as “cucaracheros” (cockroachers) and the Rufous-naped Wren is the “chico-piojo’ or “louse kid”. I know, sounds odd but not when you hear Rufous-naped Wrens sing. With a bit of imagination, their vocalizations do sort of sound like they are exclaiming funky name. As far as cockroaches go, that makes sense, I bet the hardy bugs also feature in many a wren’s diet.

In Costa Rica, there have surely been many names for the local reps of the Troglodytidae. More than a few wrens creep, sing, and shuffle foliage in these lands. More like two dozen species!

Yeah, if we lump Isthmian back with Cabanis’s, there would be 23 but that’s still a heck of a lot of wrens going on. It’s much more than the number of wrens in the entire USA and about the same as Ecuador. Our couple dozen wren species don’t quite match the wren diversity in Mexico or Colombia (30 plus species in each country!) but imagine 24 wren species packed into West Virginia and you get the picture.

How Can so Many Wrens live in Costa Rica?

Our local abundance of wrens is probably explained by some of the same reasons why so many other bird species live in this birdy land. Some wrens like the lowlands, other are in the highlands, some prefer dry or moist forest, and other wrens are into humid conditions.

Then there are wrens that evolved to live on one side of the mountains and vice-versa.

I suspect the bug factor plays another role. Heavy rain and humidity mean lots of bugs hiding in dead leaf clusters, abounding in leaf litter, and generally inhabiting the many hiding places afforded by crazy amounts of tropical vegetation.

In other words, Costa Rica is a perfect place for wrens, several of which are adapted to different types of second growth.

Wren Hotspots

Do wren hotspots actually exist? Does anyone actually care to visit a wren hotspot? These are valid questions, at least for the serious wren-chasing birder.

Being an aficionado of biodiversity and all things avian, I, for one, enjoy visiting any and all birding hotspots. If I can see more wrens, I’m all for it! I want to see those creeping feathered characters but perhaps even more so, I want to hear them.

Wrens are natural masters of the vocal trade and I love to enter their realms and soak up the music. You’ll hear a wren or two no matter where you go birding in Costa Rica but to experience the real wren orchestra, you gotta greet the dawn at wren hotspots.

Around Carara, Rufous-naped Wrens and Cabanis’s Wrens chortle from dry, open and brushy areas. Don’t forget about House Wrens and if it’s dry enough, Banded Wrens will sing from the woods too. In riparian zones and the viny forest edge, Rufous-breasted Wrens and Rufous-and-white Wrens vie for center stage.

A Banded Wren.

Personally, I think it’s hard to beat the quick hollow whistled songs of the Rufous-and-white but the Rufous-breasted never stops trying. Get into rainforest and you’ll hear the loud, quick songs of Riverside Wrens. Listen carefully and you might also hear high-pitched descending notes floating out of a ravine. It’ll be tough to see it but at least you’ll know there’s a Scaly-breasted Wren nearby.

That’s eight wrens for the band but there’s still room for one more! From dense, humid thickets, the snazzy Black-bellied Wren lends its voice for a total of 9 wren species bird rocking the habitats around Carara!

The Carara ecotone is pretty good for wrens but it’s not the only wren hotspot in Costa Rica.

Travel to the other side of the mountains and we also find some pretty wreny spots. In particular, foothill rainforest stands out. Go birding around Arenal or Nectar and Pollen or other similar spots and you’ll hear Bay Wrens chattering at the edge, cool Black-throated Wrens singing from older, dark tangles, and the confusing songs of White-breasted Wood Wrens and Stripe-breasted Wrens in the forest.

Black-throated-Wren

High in the trees, Band-backed Wrens join mixed flocks, investigate bromeliads, and make weird, raspy calls. Down low, a Nightingale Wren sings like a happy go lucky person lost in the woods. If you are lucky, you might also hear the cool, musical notes of the gnomish Song Wren.

Exit the forest and you might be greeted by the voices of House and Canebrake Wrens. That makes for 9 wren species too! Not to mention, it doesn’t take much to go upslope a little bit and add two more wrens to the total.

Bay Wren

Go north and you’ll reach the third wren hotspot in Costa Rica- Cano Negro. In the forest, woodlands, and scrub of Canno Negro, wren diversity also reaches an impressive 9 species. The roster includes the same birds as foothill rainforest but switches out the Nightingale Wren for Spot-breasted Wren.

Rare Wrens in Costa Rica

Although some are naturally tough to see, most wrens in Costa Rica are pretty common. With some patience and occasional waving away of tiny flying insects, you’ll eventually lays eyes on the wren prize.

However, there are a few species that are especially tough to see or are just plain rare. In a family of renowned skulkers, the Nightingale and Scaly-breasted Wrens excel. These two birds are pretty easy to hear but notoriously difficult to see!

Yeah, you’d think they would be doing the usual wren thing of hustling for bugs between bouts of chattering but not so. This pair of wwird little birds are either too refined for such mundane behavior, way too shy, prefer not to be seen, or have cloaking devices we are unaware of.

Nightingale Wren uncloaked.

Whatever the reason, these solitary birds are very difficult to see. It can be done but you’ve got to call them in or track down singing birds and test your patience. Since it’s technically illegal to use playback in official protected areas, you’ll need to go the ultra-patient route there.

Song Wrens are also tricky. Bird in the right places for them and they aren’t too bad but despite their beautiful voices, the little birds aren’t really fans of the limelight. They do like Army Ants though! Find those wonderful, voracious predators where Song Wrens live and you’ll see the birds.

Now those wrens mentioned above can be tricky to see but they aren’t actually rare. Timberline Wren? Not rare either but yeah, you do need to go way up to the tops of mountains and they can get skulky too.

The rare label goes to the Grass Wren and, most of all, the Rock Wren. In Costa Rica, Grass Wrens are very local and probably endangered. Although us birders have found them in more places than expected, any of their sedge and wet, grassy field habitats are few in number and under constant threat.

As for the Rock Wren, although adventuring to see it would be admirable, you are better off looking for the bird elsewhere. At least that would be a far easier endeavor. In Costa Rica, all we can do is assume that some live in a few rocky places in northern Guanacaste.

Assuming is necessary because no one has reported a Rock Wren in Costa Rica for a number of years, even experienced guides that watch birds pretty close to where Rock Wrens are supposed to be. I figure they are still out there but maybe in very few spots and/or remote areas far from roads.

Want to see wrens in Costa Rica? We’ve got a lot and these aren’t your The Wren or Winter or Pacific Wrens either! More like babblerish birds with cool plumage patterns and serious chords. Use the Costa Rica Birds Field Guide app to learn their songs and get ready for your birding trip to Costa Rica. Find birds in Costa Rica and support this blog with “How to See, Find, and Identify Birds in Costa Rica”.

I hope to see you birding here, most of all, I hope you hear the local wren orchestra.

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Quail-Dove Identification in Costa Rica

buff-fronted-quail-do

Quail-doves seem to herald from the realm of birding dreams. The plump birds aren’t quails but you could be excused for believing it. They are indeed doves but are a far cry from those everyday, easy-peasy Mournings.

Instead of sitting in the open or easing on down the middle of a road, quail-doves lurk in the shadows. Shy by nature, quail-doves are careful. I can’t blame them. I mean if I had to walk the same forest floor as hungry Ocelots, boas, and other animals that couldn’t wait to devour me, I’d be pretty darn timid too!

Most forest floor birds are careful but quail-doves take it to another level of caution. They have to because unlike somberly plumaged wrens, antbirds, and Swainson’s Warblers, quail-doves are downright fancy.

They got cool little face patterns and patches of iridescence that transform them into beautiful little birds. Quail-doves can still sort of blend in but not if they take bold steps, and definitely not in open habitats.

All of that cautious behavior makes quail-doves somewhat more challenging to see than other birds. You can still find them, sightings can happen (!) but only if you get lucky, or play by quail-dove rules.

Those would be:

  • Walking slow and careful like a quail-dove.
  • Keeping silence. Forget talking, better to not even whisper.
  • Keep an eye on the forest floor in mature forest, especially below fruiting trees.
  • Listen for and track down calling quail-doves.

Yeah, that’s especially challenging in group birding situations and requires a high degree of patience but what are you gonna do? Thems are the quail-doves rules!

Now that you have a fair idea of how to look for quail-doves, here’s some tips to identify them in Costa Rica. The two main problematic species are the first ones mentioned, I’ll mostly focus on them.

Buff-fronted Quail-Dove vs. Purplish-backed Quail-Dove

The Monteverde parking lot Buff-fronted Quail-Dove (aka “Super Friendly”)
Purplish-backed Quail Dove on the trail at Pocosol- a rough picture but it does reflect how they are often seen.

Way back when, in more ecologically healthy times, ancestors of these two species took two different paths. One preferred the high road, and the other, the not so high road. After long years of separation, one became the Buff-fronted and the other the Purplish-backed.

Despite their names, these two species can look a lot more similar than you think, especially when they give you typical, few second, quail-dove views The heavily shaded, understory conditions don’t help either!

Both have a similarly patterned, mostly gray head, dark back, and gray underparts. If you know what to look for, separating the two isn’t all that problematic. Confusion stems from the color of the back, and expecting to only see Buff-fronteds at high elevations.

Regarding their back, the Buff-fronted’s is maroon-brown, maybe with a hint of burgundy; a color that can easily make you wonder if it might actually be some shade of purple. Focus on that tint, especially if the quail-dove is in middle elevation cloud forest, and it’s easy to enter it into eBird as a Purplish-backed.

If you see a quail-dove like this at high elevations, yes, without a doubt, Buff-fronted. Purplish-backeds only typically range up to around 1,200 meters or so. But what about the adventurous Purplish-backeds that walk a bit higher? What about Buff-fronteds that commonly range down to 1.200 meters or even lower?

Oh yeah, they can overlap! Buff-fronteds stroll at lower elevations than you think. Perhaps they are limited to old second growth in such elevations? Maybe other odd situations such as the feeders at Cinchona?

Whatever the case, you CAN see these two birds in the same area. That just means that in places where foothill rainforest transitions to cloud forest, you can’t assume identification based on elevation.

Instead, if you see a quail-dove at Cinchona or other spot with similar elevation, focus on these main field marks:

  • See if the bird has a buff or just pale gray front- The Buff-fronted lives up to its name. The Purplish-backed has a pale gray front.
  • Look at the back- If the bird has a green nape, and the back and wings are the same maroon-brown color, it’s a Buff-fronted. If the bird has a distinct amethyst purple patch on its back that contrasts with duller brown wings, hello Purplish-backed!
A much nicer picture of a Purplish-backed Quail-Dove from the Costa Rica Birds Field Guide app. This picture was taken by Josh Beck.

Ruddy Quail-Dove vs. Violaceous Quail-Dove vs. White-tipped Dove

A Ruddy Quail-Dove from Luna Lodge, Costa Rica, a place where it is common.

In general, these are pretty easy. Both Ruddy and the rare Violaceous have reddish beaks but Ruddy is more brownish or red-brown with pattern on its head while Violaceous has a more uniform grayish head and contrasting white underparts.

Based on its general plumage pattern, the Violaceous might remind you of a White-tipped Dove. However, if that “White-tipped” has a red beak , grayish head, and rufous tail, it’s a Violaceous Quail-Dove.

Chiriqui Quail-Dove

This hefty quail-dove is pretty easy. No other quail-dove in Costa Rica is brown with a gray cap.

Olive-backed Quail-Dove

Another easy quail-dove, at least to identify. It’s the only one that has mostly dark gray plumage and a white mark on its face.

Quail-doves are some of the tougher birds to see in Costa Rica. They require a special type of patience and can be especially tough on group birding tours. However, play by their rules and you can see them!

Maybe not the Violaceous but if you go to the right places, the other quail-doves for sure! Learn more about seeing quail-doves and other birds in Costa Rica with “How to See, Find, and Identify Birds in Costa Rica”. Use it to get ready for your birding trip to Costa Rica and see hundreds of bird species. I hope to see you here!

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5 Suggestions for Better Birding in Costa Rica, July, 2023

Birding in Costa Rica this July? Maybe you are already here! I hope so, I mean, one of my constant hopes is for every birder to experience the avian splendor in this beautiful Central American nation. Although most folks visit in the dry season, July is our other, mini high season for birding.

July usually gives us a break in the rains and more time for birding, Even better, a lot of resident species have just finished breeding, more juvenile birds are around, and the activity…well, the bird activity is simply delish and delightful.

Mixed flocks call, scramble, and roam the foothill rainforests, quetzals are doing their spectacular thing in the highlands, and there’s lots more, always lots more Costa Rica birds to experience.

To help improve and enhance your birding trip to Costa Rica, here are five tips for “better birding”.

Don’t Worry About eBird, Just Keep Watching Birds in Good Habitat

EBird data for Costa Rica are helpful but the platform doesn’t have the final say on where to go birding. Yes, you can see where certain birds have occurred and learn about various hotspots BUT birds are not restricted to where eBirders have seen them. Whether a site is on eBird or not, the best birding is always in the places with the best habitats.

Now that doesn’t mean that eBirders aren’t visiting excellent sites. They certainly are but there are lots of additional sites with just as good or better birding. Many areas of good habitat don’t stand out or even show on eBird simply because they don’t receive much coverage.

birding Costa Rica

With that in mind, don’t be shy about watching birds in Costa Rica wherever you find good forest and other suitable habitats. That’s where the birds are.

Visiting the Pacific? Scan the Ocean, Maybe Get on a Boat, and Take Pictures!

El Nino has been bringing us some seriously rare birds. The latest stars of the local birding show have been Peruvian Boobies, Blue-footed Boobies, and Sooty Shearwaters but various other species are possible too.

This is the year to scan the ocean or take a pelagic trip in Costa Rica. Scan the sea or get out on a boat and you’ll probably see something good! Since weird stuff can appear that is not in most field guides for Costa Rica, please take pictures of as many seabirds as possible. You never know, you might find some crazy rarity!

birding Costa Rica

To be ready for it, get the Costa Rica Birds-Field Guide app for IOS devices. All possible seabird species are on the app, including some that have yet to be found in Costa Rica but are expected to occur. Get ready for your trip by marking target birds, studying bird sounds, and more.

Visiting the Caribbean? Scan that Ocean and Take Pictures!

The Caribbean side of Costa Rica is also turning up major records. There have been tantalizing reports of a possible Gannet, Great Shearwater was seen from shore, and a pelagic trip turned up Cory’s, Great, Audubon’s, and Manx Shearwaters! Those might be normal off North Carolina but in Costa Rica, those birds are riding the aquatic Mega train!

Although I do suspect that these and other pelagic species visit the deep waters of the Caribbean more often than expected, they are still rare birds around here (except for the Audubon’s).

Once again, you might document some serious rarity. Keep looking!

Keep an Eye Out for Red-fronted Parrotlets

Costa Rica has a bunch of parrots, parakeets, and even two monstrous macaws. Most of these cool, fancy birds are easy to see but there’s one special little species that stays out of the spotlight; the Red-fronted Parrotlet.

This miniature parrot seems to be genuinely uncommon and is the toughest member of its family to see in Costa Rica. The challenge stems from its tendency to wander up and down mountains in search of just the right food coupled with its habit of quietly feeding high in the canopy of dense rainforest.

In June and July, Red-fronted Parrotlets may move around a bit more. With that mind, keep a close eye and ear out for these birds at fruiting figs and other fruiting trees, even in the Central Valley and the Caribbean lowlands. Lately, they have been seen in the high Talamancas as well as in typical sites like the Monteverde area and El Copal.

They make distinctive, high-pitched reedy calls, are small, and show red in their wings. Good luck!

Where to See The Cotingas

No matter where you go birding in the Neotropical Region, if cotingas are in range, these birds perch right at the top of the wish list. Colorful or cool and bizarre, cotingas are a welcome sight for any birding eyes.

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Unfortunately, in Costa Rica, most are not common and a few are kind of rare. With that in mind, here are some tips for seeing them in the next few weeks:

  • Bare-necked Umbrellabird- Some are still in middle elevation forests but others have already moved to lower elevations. At least one has been seen in Centro Manu and there have been other sightings from Monteverde, Veragua, and the foothills of Braulio Carrillo National Park. Other good areas right now may be the San Luis Canopy, Arenal, and other forested foothill sites on the Caribbean slope as birds move between middle elevations and the lowlands.
  • Three-wattled Bellbird– Several bellbirds are still on breeding grounds around Monteverde and near San Ramon but some are definitely on the move. There have been recent sightings from the Sarapiqui lowlands and other areas indicating that some of these cool, crazy birds are moving to post-breeding, lower elevations.
  • Snowy Cotinga– This awesome bird is at its usual lowland rainforest haunts. Best places are lowland forests from Guapiles to Panama (especially south of Limon), Sarapiqui, and Cano Negro.
  • Yellow-billed Cotinga– Although it is not listed as endangered on the IUCN list, this is definitely a mistake. The Yellow-billed Cotinga is seriously endangered and only occurs in a few areas. The most reliable site continues to be Rincon de Osa and mangroves near Sierpe. Sure, it can occur at a few other spots and you might still see it at Cerro Lodge or Carara but, tragically, that population is doomed. It has steadily declined, nothing has been done to improve habitat for it, there are further plans to destroy vital corridor habitat at the Nativa Resort, and there might only be three birds left.
  • Lovely Cotinga– Always tough in Costa Rica, they might still be on breeding grounds in middle elevation forest but some are surely moving lower. A female was recently seen at Arenal Observatory Lodge. Other suitable areas include any good middle and foothill elevation forest on the Caribbean slope.
  • Turquoise Cotinga– This uncommon bird is still showing at the usual spots in the General Valley, Esquipulas, and in and near the Osa.

Support a Local Conservation Project

The folks at the Ibycter project are working hard to learn more about one of the only known remnant populations of the Red-throated Carara in Costa Rica.

This formerly common species has seriously declined in Central America but no one knows exactly why.

To learn more about these birds and develop strategies to protect them, they have been observing and recording a small family of Red-throated Caracaras in northern Costa Rica. They hope to attain information about their life history and learn about their movements by place transmitters on the birds.

To learn about and help this local conservation effort, please visit the Carara site and Facebook page.

Supporting the project might help you see some very special birds in the future, and, most of all, you will be helping to conserve one of the most threatened bird species in Central America.

I could say a lot more but perhaps it’s best to finish by saying that as long as you go birding in Costa Rica, you’ll have good birding. The best birding depends on what you want to see and how you want to do your birding thang but, you’ll always see more if you, (1) get up and out there early, (2) go birding in high quality habitats, and (3) hire a good local birding guide.

To learn more about all of the best sites for birding in Costa Rica, and how to see cotingas and much more, support this blog by purchasing, “How to See, Find, and Identify Birds in Costa Rica“. As always, I hope to see you in Costa Rica!

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Introduction

Highlights of Recent Back Road Birding in Costa Rica

The best birding in Costa Rica depends on what you are looking for. If that translates to an abundance of great looks and photos of beautiful common birds, you’ll find that personal paradise in many a hotel garden. If shorebirds are your thing, high tide at Punta Morales is a good bet (along with checking Puntarenas for random megas like Pacific Golden-Plover). However, if your most wanted birds are the rare, the uncommon, the challenging members of the local avian kingdom, then the search can get complicated.

To know where to go for birds like Blue-and-Gold Tanager, Song Wren, or cotingas, eBird gives good hints. However, the true key to seeing them is knowing how to find them, and knowing the best places to visit, especially when many such places are well off the regular birding routes. Such little visited and less accessible places often have better birding than popular hotspots (and is one of the reasons I include many of them in “How to See, Find, and Identify Birds in Costa Rica”}.

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A Blue-and-Gold Tanager high on a perch in misty weather.

What?!? Better than eBird hotspots? Well…yes and that’s probably the case for any place lacking major eBird coverage (in other words, most nations). Don’t get me wrong, eBird is a huge help and fantastic birding tool but, birds are always where the habitat is and if such places aren’t visited by many birders, they can’t get much coverage on eBird.

This is why, when guiding for custom, target bird trips, I often visit sites off the regular birding map. These are places that don’t fit into regular birding tour circuits because of location or access but can be an excellent fit for small birding groups in Costa Rica doing their own birding thing.

Recently, I enjoyed some of that fine back road birding in Costa Rica. Here are some highlights from three such sites:

The Road to Manuel Brenes Reserve

What can I say? Quality habitat is where the birds are and this road fits the bill. It can be rough and is best done with four-wheel drive but if you can bird this road, you’ll have chances at common, uncommon, and rare birds. In late March, during a brief, hour or so early morning visit, we seriously lucked out with one of the kings of Costa Rica birds, the Bare-necked Umbrellabird.

This crow-sized cotinga can be seen at this and other suitable places but, thanks to their random, quiet behavior, and low numbers, umbreallbirds in Costa Rica are always a challenge to find. As is often the case with this species, we saw one by pure chance, just as we were trying to locate a calling Barred Forest-Falcon.

As we peered into the dense forest, the cotinga blasted into view and perched in a nearby cecropia. The female or juvenile male sat there looking around and ate some Cecropia “fruits” for ten minutes until it took off like a shot, zipping back into the forest. It flew like a big woodpecker and was surprisingly fast!

Not a bad way to start the birding day! We then focused on the forest-falcon and although we didn’t get the best of looks, we did manage brief views of the bird in flight and perched behind mossy vines.

After listening to the mournful whistle of a Northern Schiffornis, seeing some mixed flock action, and not noticing any signs of Army Ant swarms, we ventured on to our next little visited birding site,

Lands in Love.

After paying the $15 fee to use the trails, we ventured into the forest and found two of our main targets right away; Thicket Antpitta and Tawny-chested Flycatcher. The main entrance to the trails below the rooms is overgrown and not maintained but we still managed to get good looks and photos of the antpitta, and nice views (but not the best of shots) of the flycatcher.

Venturing onto the trails from a spot above the rooms (this trail entrance is maintained), a walk through beautiful, mature lowland-foothill rainforest resulted in good looks at Streak-crowned Antvireo, White-flanked Antrwren, and Golden-crowned Spadebill. Just as we were leaving the trail, we also ran into an ant swarm of small Labidus ants. These small black ants don’t attract as many birds as the classic, larger Army Ants but they can still attract birds nonetheless.

Their foraging gave us good looks at Ocellated and Spotted Antbirds and a few other birds. We didn’t have any sign of the ground-cuckoo but when I first noticed the bird activity, I could have sworn I saw something sneak off on the ground. Maybe one was there, hiding back in the shadows? The idea me eager to get back into that beautiful forest!

Our other main back road birding sites included:

The Road to the River Next to La Selva, and Roads That Loop Behind Selva Verde.

In the morning, birding next to La Selva, and especially down at the river, can be fantastic. Scanning high trees immediately revealed a female Snowy Cotinga and a White-necked Puffbird. We kept watching and the birds kept on appearing. Three Hook-billed Kites flew in and perched high in a fig. Pied Puffbird flew in to another high perch, Chestnut-colored Woodpecker showed, and we were entertained by additional birds. One of the best were a few Spot-fronted Swifts that flew low enough and at the right angle to see the gleaming white spots on their faces.

I heard Purple-throated Fruitcrows but they wouldn’t come close. Luckily, we caught up with that cool cotinga on the road behind Selva Verde. I don’t usually see it there so it was a nice surprise to hear one call and have it fly into view. It was hanging with a bunch of oropendolas, and as I figured, White-fronted Nunbirds.

As per usual, these choice puffbird species flew high overhead but, eventually, they did us a favor and moved much lower and into much better lighting. As is typical with such flocks, they were joined by Rufous Mourner, Black-striped, Northern Barred, and Cocoa Woodcreepers, and a few other medium sized bird species.

Black-striped Woodcreeper from another day.

We topped off that quality back road birding with close views of the one and only feathered bug, Black-capped Pygmy-Tyrant, and calling White-ringed Flycatchers. After those views, it was time for us to move on but oh how it is worth it to bird the forests near La Selva and Braulio Carrillo! Yesterday, a fellow local birder told me about a verified sighting of a Crested Eagle from near there (near Poza Azul and Tirimbina) a day before we were in the area!

Hopefully, that super mega eagle will stick around but who knows, it was a near adult likely moving around in search of territory. It could be anywhere in northern Costa Rica by now but my bets are on it either using the forests at and near La Selva (that includes the places I visited and Tirimbina), the forests north of Quinta de Sarapiqui, or foothill rainforests near the Socorro area. I sure hope someone sees it again, it will be interesting to see where it is found. I know I’ll be keeping that mega bird in mind!

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Better Birding in Costa Rica: Preparations for 2023

The end of the year and high season for birding in Costa Rica is still a few months away but I’m already getting ready for it. It’s raining a lot and there’s not a whole lot of birders here at the moment but in a way, the high season is already happening. Main birding hotels are filling up for dates from January through March and guides and transportation are getting booked too.

Cope’s Place books up in advance too. If you want to visit, let me know ASAP!

The following are recommendations and things I have been doing to prepare for the main birding season:

Updating a Birding Companion for Costa Rica- “How to See, Find, and Identify Birds in Costa Rica”

Editing and updating this resource has kept me pretty busy but it will be worth it. The new version will include updates for existing sites and information for many new places. With so many birding-focused sites popping up, I’m sure it won’t cover everything but it’s going to come close.

As always, the goal of this book is to help birders of all levels have a more fulfilling birding experience in Costa Rica.

The new version should be available by the end of October. If you buy the current version of this Costa Rica bird finding guide from now until the new version comes out, I’ll also send you the new version free of charge.

Updating the Costa Rica Birds Field Guide App

I have also been updating the most complete birding app for Costa Rica. Not that long ago, we updated it to include new additions like Spectacled Petrel and Lesser Black-backed Gull. However, recently, a couple of local birders discovered Buff-collared Nightjar in Costa Rica (!) and there were a few other edits to make. With that in mind, we decided to make another update, one that will hopefully be ready by the end of this month.

The new version will have:

  • Images for 941 species on the Costa Rica list.
  • Vocalizations for 870 species on the Costa Rica list.
  • Images, information, and sounds for 64 additional species that may eventually occur in Costa Rica.
Altamira-Oriole-Costa-Rica-birds-app
Altamira Oriole is one of those eventual birds for the Costa Rica list.

Birding in More Places

I have been trying to do more birding in out of the way places as well as easily accessible overlooked sites. Results have included Blue Seedeater, sites for Striped and other owls, and more. As with anywhere, the more you go birding, the more you find.

Make Reservations Now…

Just another reminder to not wait to make reservations. The most popular places are really filling up!

Plan Your Trip Around eBird?

If you still want to plan a trip, what about just planning it around eBird? While that wonderful birding platform can give you some good ideas, I wouldn’t use it as the sole resource to plan a birding route in Costa Rica. EBird is great but in Costa Rica, it’s also naturally biased towards the birding circuit and popular sites, and lists for such sites don’t have all of the birds mentioned (us reviewers are trying but there’s still a lot to do). These are the places birded the most often but other birding spots also exist, many with fantastic birding. Just remember that, as most everywhere, in Costa Rica, the best birding is where the best habitat is.

As always, I hope to see you here in Costa Rica. Hope you see a lot this October 8th on October Big Day!

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Costa Rica, July 2020- Where I Would Prefer to be Birding

July in Costa Rica, a month marked by a respite from the rains. Birding tours take advantage of the break in the weather to come to Costa Rica and watch quetzals, Emerald Tanagers, and three dozen hummingbird species. They could just as well catch the same exciting wave of birding on trips to Costa Rica in June, September, or any other month of the year but for the visiting birder, a chance of sun beckons more than a promise of rain. Personally, I almost prefer the rain because although I may need to sit out the birding game during those occasional thunderstorms, the cloudy innings are going to be full of avian excitement. There are times when the mixed flocks just don’t stop and when a fruiting tree dishes up a constant, parading banquet of tanagers.

Emerald Tanager

Blue-and gold Tanager

Such a birding boost tends to happen more on days of cloud and rain although I will admit that a few sunny days are nice. This is why July typically brings us some very welcome groups of birders during an otherwise slow and low season and of course, that bit of July business acts as an important injection of economic activity for every aspect of the tourism industry, birding included.

In a normal July, visit Carara National Park, Monteverde, or other sites and you might run into a birding tour or two. You might feel the lifer excitement emanating from other birders as they see their first Red-capped Manakins, watch flocks of parrots fly past the overlook at Cerro Lodge, locate a speck of a hawk-eagle flying high as it calls from above.

The tower view at Cerro Lodge, an excellent spot for views and shots of flyby parrots.

Not this July but we all know that 2020 isn’t a year for much of anything typical. While trying to stay well, and survive both literally and economically, blessed are those of us who can still find time for birding. Many find more than enough time even if the birding does take place at or close to home. In doing so, in hearing the descending calls of a White-eared Ground-Sparrow, at least we can be reminded that avian diversity can occur much closer to home than expected, that many birds can thrive in a variety of settings.

It’s wonderful to have parrots, ground-sparrows, and other interesting birds near our place in Heredia, Costa Rica but even the most appreciative of birders need occasional changes to their avian scene. Out back, I look past the vine-ridden second growth of the riparian zone and urge my gaze up onto the slopes of the nearby mountains, the volcanoes that host barbets, Black-cheeked Warblers, even quetzals. Some of my wanted year birds are up there doing their thing. In a July sans pandemic, I would probably be birding up that way.

White-eared Ground-Sparrow- I hear this cool bird out back on a daily basis.

I might bird the Poas area although would more likely be checking out a road that borders the cloud forests of Braulio Carrillo National Park. That less traveled way connecting Varablanca in the highlands to Socorro in the foothills offers a precious glimpse into wilderness that may host Solitary Eagle and other rare birds. Would I get lucky with antpittas and ground-cuckoos species at an antswarm? Would a forest-falcon make a sudden, stealthy appearance? When the forest is intact, when its lush, complicated body of green and moss and massive trees creeps up and down ravines for several kilometers, it feels like anything is possible.

A view along this road.

With high clearance and a four wheel drive, a birder can explore that exciting byway, bird the way down to lower elevations where glittering flocks of tanagers move through the bromeliads, where White Hawks call from the mist, where we can find hawk-eagles and other birds of the deep wild places. In fact, forget the vehicle, a trek down that road would be an exciting expedition coupled with the promise of avian adventure. The trek would provide much needed insight into raptor and cotinga populations. It might tell us if umbrellabirds still inhabit those forests, and might even reveal the presence of unicorn birds like the Gray-headed Piprites and the Black-crowned Antpitta.

It would be best to do this erstwhile expedition for at least three nights, camping along the way. Maybe four would be even better because the more time you spend in quality tropical habitat, the more you see, the better the chance of detecting a higher percentage of what is truly there. It’s like opening the window to see just a bit more, the stuff that was just outside of view, gazing longer at a complex painting to eventually find treasures hidden in plain sight.

Even with that window of focused observation, it still wouldn’t be everything because birds wander, some are in constant natural stealth mode, tropical birds play by their own complex set of rules. But, you won’t find anything if you don’t look and a trek down that road will reveal more of what’s going on than a one-day, bumpy drive. I hope I can do that mini-expedition some day, explore that road at leisure because no matter what I find, I already know that the birding will be nothing less than fantastic.

One of the best places to use as a base while exploring the Varablanca-Socorro road is Albergue Socorro. With luck, in 2021, another lodge with fantastic birding potential in this area will also be open and ready to impress. To learn more about where to look for birds in Costa Rica and to get ready for any type of birding trip to this beautiful country, please support my blog by purchasing How to See, Find, and Identify Birds in Costa Rica. Happy birding!

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Common Birds of the Cafetal

Coffee farms or “cafetales” aren’t one of the original natural habitats of Costa Rica but since they have been here for more than 100 years, a lot of birds have become adapted to this “modern” green space. Although biodiversity on coffee farms depends on how many trees are present and degree of pesticide use, they can harbor a good number of birds and other wildlife.

The types of plants and animals housed among rows of dark green bushes with occasional trees can’t compare to the ecological latticework of moist forests and wetlands that would naturally occur in the Central Valley. That said, any vegetation is better than no vegetation and in an increasingly urban environment, cafetales act as important verdant patches in a landscape dominated by concrete, glass, and asphalt.

Do you find yourself joining the family on a coffee tour when you would rather be watching Fiery-throated Hummingbirds and quetzals on Poas? Not to fret, bring those binos because there are birds in the coffee! Some cool birds live in those wonderful, special bean producing bushes. These are ten of them:

Crested Bobwhite

If you are familar with bobwhites and hear one calling in Costa Rica, look around because it’s more than likely not a birding flashback. The Crested (Spot-bellied) Bobwhite sounds pretty much like the ones up north. They prefer grassy, weedy fields but also occur in cafetales especially when they have a grassy understory and are adjacent to weedy fields.

Short-tailed Hawk

This small raptor is a common hawk in many parts of Costa Rica. It seems to do well in the mosaic of riparian zones, patches of forest, and agricultural lands of the Central Valley. Watch for both morphs soaring high overhead.

Blue-vented Hummingbird

This hummingbird can feed from the flowers on coffee bushes and trees that grow at the edges of and in coffee farms. It’s pretty common, listen for its distinctive double-noted, short whistled call. The Rufous-tailed Hummingbird is the other most common hummingbird in coffee farms.

Yellow-bellied Elaenia

One of various flycatchers that occur on coffee farms, this species often reveals itself with a vocalization that sounds kind of like a scream. Watch for it feeding on berries and other small fruits.

Clay-colored Thrush

No coffee farm in Costa Rica is complete without a healthy selection of Clay-colored Thrushes. One of the most common species in the country, expect to see lots of Costa Rica’s national bird when birding coffee farm habitats.

Blue-gray Tanager

A common, beautiful bird, watching this species in coffee farms is a peaceful pleasure.

Cabanis’s Ground-Sparrow

Endemic and likely made rare by a combination of reduced habitat, feral cats, pesticides, and cowbird parasitism, this colorful little towheee persists on and near coffee farms. It is a skulker though, watch for it in the early morning.

Grayish Saltator

One of the most common species of the Central Valley, this seemingly cardinal relative does very well in garden and edge habitats. Its cheerful song is a core component of the Central Valley’s auditory soundscape.

Yellow-green Vireo

Another common species of the valley but only during the wet season. Like the Red-eyed Vireo, it sings a real lot. It also occurs in just about any set of trees including ones in and near coffee.

Rufous-capped Warbler

A snappy, chat-like bird, the Rufous-capped Warbler lives in the understory of dry and moist forest, in second growth, and in coffee fields. This is one of the more common, typical species of coffee farms.

These are some of the species to watch for and expect when birding any green space in the Central Valley. Want to learn much more about about where to find birds in Costa Rica and support this blog at the same time? Purchase my 700 plus page e-book, How to See, Find, and Identify Birds in Costa Rica. Plan for out trip with the Costa Rica Birds Field Guide app, customize it and use it identify everything from motmots to flycatchers while birding in Costa Rica. I hope to see you here!

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Advice for Birding the Cerro Lodge Entrance Road

Cerro Lodge is the place to stay when bathing in the mega-birding in and around Carara National Park. Other options include the oft-used Villa Lapas, the sometimes crowded Punta Leona, the new Macaw Lodge back in the hills on the other side of the park, and at least one hotel right in the middle of tiny Tarcoles. However, none of them share the blend of proximity, and diverse array of birds not found in the park possible around Cerro Lodge.

One of those birds is White-throated Magpie-Jay- we had these and others near Cerro.

Part of Cerro’s appeal comes from the birdy entrance road. This unassuming dirt road passes through open areas with scattered trees, second growth, and part of a river floodplain that results in a host of good birds. Whether staying at Cerro or not, this road is worth some serious binocular time. A couple of hours on that road that week reminded me of its worth as a site unto itself, here’s some advice on birding it :

  • Make time for this site: If you have plans to enter the national park, check out the road from 6 until 7 (opening time for the park during the dry season), or until 8 (opening hour at other times of the year). Or, if you have an extra day of birding, spend a full day on this road. Like every high diversity site, the more you bird it, the more you find, especially since the habitats also seem to act as a corridor between mangroves, other forest, and the park itself.

It’s also good for lots of common and edge species like this Lineated Woodpecker,

and Rose-throated (not) Becard.

  • Quality birds: If someone ever tells you that all birds are “quality” or that every bird is the same, they are either masquerading as a birder, or don’t know the difference between “common” and “rare”. Quality birds are the ones we don’t see that often, can’t really be seen elsewhere, or happen to be major targets because they look so cool. In other words, endangered and rare species, endemics, and stuff like Double-striped Thick-Knee. In the case of the Cerro Lodge road, it hosts a bunch of those quality species including the cool and crazy thick-knee.

Its cool, its crazy, its got thick knees and hypnotic golden eyes.

  • Double-striped Thick-knee: This target seems to be more frequent on the entrance road than in the past. Check for it in one of the first open pastures, and in the pastures in the floodplain. We saw 6 last week.
  • Crane Hawk: The road is one of the better places in Costa Rica to see this odd raptor. Watch for it flopping its way through the trees in the canopy or near the ground anywhere along the road. It also soars on occasion. We had rather distant looks at two different Crane Hawks.
  • Other raptors: Hang out on this road long enough and you have a chance at a pretty good variety of raptors. The long sight lines and birdy habitats offer chances at such other species as Gray-headed, Hook-billed, and Plumbeous Kites, occasional Harris’s Hawk and Pearl Kite (in the floodplain), Short-tailed, Broad-winged, Gray, Roadside, Zone-tailed, and Common Black Hawks, Laughing Falcon, Collared Forest-Falcon, and both caracaras. Even Tiny Hawk has nested on the road in the past!

Short-tailed Hawk is one of the most frequently seen raptor species in Costa Rica.

  • Owls: Cerro is known as a site for Black and white Owl and this species can also show on the road along with Mottled, Striped, Barn, and Pacific Screech Owls. Not to mention, Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl is common during the day.
  • Swifts: Spot-fronted and Black Swifts are sometimes seen from the road in the morning along with more common White-collared and Chestnut-collared Swifts.
  • Psittacids: This can be a great area for parrots, parakeets, and their kin as they visit fruiting trees and move to and from roosting and foraging sites. The numbers and species vary throughout the year but lucky birders might see every possible species in one morning, mostly as flyovers. If not, it’s still pretty normal to see Scarlet Macaw, Red-lored, Yellow-naped, and White-fronted Parrots, and Orange-fronted and Orange-chinned Parakeets.
  • Good variety of dry forest species: Expect several dry forest species, including Black-headed  Trogon, Turquoise-browed Motmot, White-lored Gnatcatcher, Nutting’s and Brown-crested Flycatchers, occasional Stub-tailed Spadebill, Banded and Plain Wrens, White-throated Magpie-Jay, Stripe-headed and Olive Sparrows, Painted Bunting, and so on.

This is a good site for Nutting’s Flycatcher-  it looks almost exactly like the local variety of the Brown-crested but check out the small bill.

  • Keep an eye out for the cotinga: Last but not least, Yellow-billed Cotinga moves through this area, maybe even once or twice a day. The size of this population is very small (and, sadly, will likely disappear from the Carara area within ten years) but the few remaining birds are seen now and then near Cerro Lodge and in trees near the floodplain.
  • Bring a scope: It comes in handy when checking out distant crowns of trees and open areas.
  • Check the small marsh at the edge of the floodplain: It’s been so dry, this small wetland might not even be around when you visit. But, if so, check it for Bare-throated Tiger-Heron and other expected wetland species, possible American Pygmy-Kingfisher, and rarities like Masked Duck and maybe even a rail or two.

How to get there: From the turn off to Jaco on the Caldera highway, drive five minutes and watch for the turn off to Guacalillo on the right. Go a bit further and watch for the Cabinas Vasija on the left. The road will start going down a hill and shortly after comes to the entrance road to Cerro Lodge (the next road on the right). Be careful, it’s easy to miss!

For more information about how and where to see birds in Costa Rica, buy “How to See, Find, and Identify Birds in Costa Rica”, the most comprehensive bird-finding guide for the country.