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The Swifts are Back in Town

In Costa Rica, the dark clouds of the wet season have descended upon us. Every afternoon, around one or two, they gather and swoop in to unleash their million count buckets and if the winds happened to bring in a bit of extra moisture from the Caribbean, the sky loaders work double, triple time to keep the rains a coming.

It’s only May, the rain bringers are just getting started; barely kicking the gears to get that sky river rolling. Some afternoons, the rains deluge and flood streets, even create local tornadoes. We saw one such heavy energy system the other day, happily, from a safe and dry distance. It was a massive lead block, a thing of dense gray water seemingly turned solid and alien that grossly interrupted the usual bucolic scenery of towns, scattered palm trees, and green quilted hills. In the news later that day, we watched footage from the center of that aquatic creature, an ocean in action that ripped off roofing and forced trees to bend the knee. From our perspective, it was a lead void that obscured the skies over the town of Grecia and the southwest flank of Poas Volcano. From the inside, I figured I had learned what a fish sees when it looks through the water of its tank.

Fortunately, so far, that seemed to be the worst of the early wet season weather. No doubt, as the season moves forward, we’ll see more of the sky becoming oceanic, especially with a super el Nino forming. What will it bring? Probably nothing good, severity on top of extreme is never a boon, at least not unless you are a mountain hoping to shed tonnages of soil and trees. Not unless you are a stream dreaming of becoming a rushing, unstoppable river.

In the meantime, although we have seen a few afternoons of rain steady from the afternoon on well into the night, there have also been sunny mornings, fresh foliaged trees graced with singing vireos (a la Yellow-Green), Clay-colored Thrushes bring beakfulls of food to hidden young, curious, loudly calling Brown Jays, heavy set Red-billed Pigeons power flapping through the humid air, and other neighborhood urban birds.

Those would be species like Blue-gray Tanagers, an occasional Blue Grosbeak warble-singing with hope at the edge of determined second growth, a motmot hooting from the shade, and others.

Here at the tail end of migration, as the warblers in NYC sing proud to announce their festive northern arrival, we still have some migrants. These are the classic “late ones”, the birds hesitant to leave their Amazonian haunts. Yesterday morning, around 5:40 a.m., I saw some of those later migrants; a flock of Eastern Kingbirds winging it north and briefly stopping to feed from a fruiting fig, pewees air bouncing from perches, and a stealthy Willow/Alder Flycatcher keeping to low vegetation at the edge of a small, urban stream.

My greatest hope is seeing a migrating cuckoo, the more likely one being a Yellow-billed. But they are tricky here in Costa Rica, with those long, svelte wings, most probably zip right over the entire country in one night. The ones that stop hide all too well and they don’t sing but I know they are here, hopefully I’ll get lucky before they are gone. I’ve been listening for them at night too but haven’t heard any. In fact, although I have heard various other species call from night skies above the Central Valley, I have yet to hear the guttural calls of migrating cuckoos.

I might not be seeing cuckoos but I’m grateful to see an abundance of swifts. It’s like this every wet season. After clear and breezy dry season skies nearly bereft of swifts, all of a sudden, we’ve got the air birds dotting the cloudy skies, calling from high above, and even zipping low over local roofs. They’ve come back to town and are still ever difficult to see well but at least they are here.

Where were they in the dry season? In all likelihood, the swifts were out foraging over rainforests or, maybe just too high overhead to see. In the dry season, birding eyes can always find the low flying Chaeturas (the good old “cigars with wings”) and the falconish, big White-collared Swifts but, to see the less common swifts, you usually need to bird more humid regions.

Not so right now and, amazingly, the uncommon swifts will forage right over busy streets and congested roads. That’s how it was this afternoon. While waiting in line for a late afternoon traffic light to change, dozens of scythe-winged, dark birds zipped over houses and busy streets. If anyone person bothered to look up and notice them, they could easily be envious. While we sat nearly trapped in vehicles waiting to move a few feet, the aerialists moved unhindered and fast, flying where they pleased and far, as if the town wasn’t there, as if to show off their natural freedom.

Without binoculars, I couldn’t say for sure which species were flying overhead but suspect they were mostly Chestnut-collared Swifts along with a few other species. When I got back home, birds were still flying over houses as well as high in the sky. Thanks to magnified views, I espied several White-collared Swifts along with a handful of Black Swifts, several Chestnut-collareds and, the stars of the wet season, Spot-fronted Swifts.

A few swift photos from some years ago…

There may have been White-chinned as well but I couldn’t see enough details to say for sure, nor did they reveal their identity with vocalizations. Happily, the Spot-fronteds did, mostly as they chased each other on air-chopping, bat-like wings. I suspect it’s some form of courtship, supposing they know that now is the time to nest, now is the time of insect abundance, at least on the Pacific side of the mountains.

We’ve been witness to that abundance ourselves, noticed clouds of gnats, millions of tiny bugs swarming over the streets. Swift and flycatcher food, could that also be why the flycatchers migrate late? More en-route sustenance?

The low pressure and clouds drive the air plankton down and the swifts follow suit. And you can actually see them, note pale scaling on the belly and eventually catch the fine details on their heads and, even so, their fast ways ensure that they aren’t the easiest of birds to watch. But now is the time to try and focus in on swifts in Costa Rica, at least in the Central Valley, because now is when the swifts are back in town.

To learn about swift identification in Costa Rica, check out the freshly updated Costa Rica Birds- field guide app, my ebook, “How to See, Find, and Identify Birds in Costa Rica” and this excellent article written by my friend and Ornis birding guide, Dani Lopez-Velasco, “Neotropical swifts: some noteworthy Peruvian records—and additional aerial enigmas“.

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Observations from Overcast Birding near Poas, Costa

Going birding in Costa Rica? It’s worth being aware of the biggest birding factors. If you’re a birder, you already know them; factors like habitat, time of day, season, and weather. In these modern, tech-birding times, we can also factor in eBird although it’s worth mentioning that you can’t trust all eBird records and, that bird sightings are automatically biased for heavily birded areas.

That bias means that yes, you can get an idea of where certain species have been seen but, it doesn’t mean that they don’t also occur in other suitable places. Remember that there’s a lot of places with little to no eBird coverage, and even in places where folks do go birding, many aren’t finding all the birds in that given area.

I was reminded of all of these bird-affecting factors during a recent day of guiding in the forests on and near Poas Volcano. Since we couldn’t start until well after the early morning, I wondered what we would see. Would the day bring breezy, sunny weather perfect for picnics but bad for birding? Would we become besieged with pounding rain and be relegated to watching for a hint of avian life from a sheltered, fixed position?

As luck would have it, we experienced none of the above. Instead, we lucked out with the in-between weather, misty, cloudy conditions that do more than remind you of cool, camping weather in Pennsylvania. In Costa Rica, this is the weather you hope for because overcast days are always better birding days.

That doesn’t matter do much from 6 to 8 a.m. but after that avian morning rush, it makes all the difference. Arriving at the road to Poas around 11, we got there just in time for late morning activity. Under the cool, overcast skies, a good number of birds were active and calling and we were kept busy with nice views of regular resident species. Those would be birds like Collared Redstart, bush-tanagers, Mountain Elaenias, Slaty Flowerpiercers, Sooty Thrushes, Fiery-throated Hummingbirds, Mountain Thrushes, and others. Thankfully, those other species also included nest building Black-and-Yellow Silky-Flycatchers, and Long-tailed Silky-Flycatchers.

The Long-tailed in particular were in abundance, we had so many close views, we almost got tired of looking at them!

Other birds of note were a brief view of a Buffy Tuftedcheek, nightingale-thrushes, and a distant calling Buff-fronted Quail-Dove but I didn’t want to linger very long. There was a bit too much volcano traffic and we had other birds to see so, by noon, we made the short drive downhill for lunch at the Volcan Restaurant.

That nice, birder friendly site paid off with several hummingbirds and one of our birds for the day, Resplendent Quetzal! While watching from the back windows, in a surreal half a moment, we saw two quickly zip in and disappear in the streamside forest.

After failing to relocate them (but seeing Black-thighed Grosbeak in the process), I eventually spotted one of the males fluttering high over forest just down the road. As is usual with R Quetzals, it was another, dream-like surreal moment. While looking out over the forest, the bird suddenly appeared in silhouette against the pale gray sky. No colors, just a bird slowly flying in a straight line with its long tail fluttering behind it, all the while looking like a fancy kite being flown by a happy child.

We walked in that direction and sure enough, the male quetzal flew out again, eventually giving is excellent perched views joined by its mate.

The next place on our list were the cloud forests of Varablanca, forests that border Braulio Carrillo National Park between 1500 and 2,000 meters. We got there around 1:30 or so and it was still overcast but, the bird activity had calmed down quite a bit. That was surprising, it was early afternoon after all, about when many birds sort of take a siesta. Even so, in the high areas, we still managed to see Flame-throated Warblers, Barred Becard, and a few other birds before birding our way down the San Rafael Road.

Thankfully, this road is paved down to around 1550 meters as it borders beautiful cloud forest adjacent to Braulio Carrillo National Park. The good road condition and very little traffic always makes for fun, easy-going birding.

Although the cloudy conditions resulted in little soaring raptors, we did alright with some other birds. With diligence, as the afternoon wore on, bird activity eventually picked up again and we had views of Prong-billed Barbets, Northern Emerald Toucanet (that was actually early on at a fruiting tree), Tropical Parula, White-throated Spadebill, thrushes, woodcreepers, an extremely tame Collared Trogon, and some other birds.

One of those other birds beat out quetzal for bird of the day. Around 1500 meters elevation, while trying to espy a pair of skulking Red-faced Spinetails, a big, chunky, black bird fluttered into view. I immediately knew what it was and, thankfully, we for excellent views of a female Bare-necked Umbrellabird before it moved off and into the forest!

Not long before then, I had mentioned that umbrellabird was possible, that, given the time of year and elevation, a few were likely somewhere out there in those cloud forests. However, I also mentioned that we’d still be very lucky to see one. Running across one is typically random and there are few in number; it isn’t an endangered species for nothing.

I’m not sure why the umbrellabird was present but there were a couple of suitable fruiting trees near there and it’s possible it was feeding from them. Pale-vented and Mountain Thrushes were also foraging at those trees, heck, the even more elusive Lovely Cotinga might visit them too!

While we saw the umbrellabird, I also had another interesting observation. It was a sound actually and one that I still wonder about. It just doesn’t fit anything that could occur there, at least the bird vocalizations I am aware of. It sounded like a dove but the longish, descending call seemed too high pitched for a Ruddy or Chiriqui-Quail-Dove. Those are the two main candidates and I suspect it was one of them but I’d sure love to see what that bird was. I also wonder if it was some owl making some weird call during the day? All the more reason to return and look for it!

The final highlight was listening to nightjars at dusk. A bit after 6, Common Pauraques called and, in one spot, were joined by the whip-poor-willish sounds of the Dusky Nightjar. Listening to the evening nightjar serenade was a treat and a fine way to end our eventful day of birding.

To see the birds we recorded, check out the trip report. Learn more about these and hundreds of other birding sites in Costa Rica (along with how to find the birds) with my 900m plus page ebook, “How to See, Find, and Identify Birds in Costa Rica”.

I hope to see you here!

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Costa Rica Birding News April, 2026

April is the spring month, the one where the flowers come back to bloom, migrating Red-shouldered Hawks flap and turn high above the thawing grounds of the Lake Ontario plain, ducks are on the move, and Yellow-rumped Warblers brighten the local birding scene. Those and kinglets, and singing sparrows, and tail bobbing phoebes.

At least that’s how I recall birding on the Niagara Frontier, in the western edges of New York State. Birds are also on the move in Costa Rica but the scene is several layers of difference. Exciting layers of migration and local birds and a change in the weather. Here’s some news about some changes and what’s been happening and expectations for birding in Costa Rica this 4th month of 2026.

Cinchona…a lack of hummingbirds

Violet-Sabrewing-male
Even the sabrewings were absent.

The construction has been completed at Cinchona and it has brought more and needed elbow room. It probably hasn’t affected the surrounding habitat too much and birds still come to the fruit feeder but the hummingbird scene is at an all time low.

The lack of hummingbirds is probably at least partly related to the lack of feeders (just one was present on the last visit), but it seems like there should still be more. Maybe there’ll be days when they are more? Sadly, lately, there haven’t been so don’t be surprised if you visit and see very few hummingbirds. If not, don’t fret, you can still find them elsewhere, maybe at a few other roadside sites higher up the road and definitely at other places.

Watch the feeder and surrounding trees though. Highlights from a recent visit included Black-breasted Wood-Quail being furtive behind the feeders, and Scarlet-thighed Dacnis among other birds.

Hot weather but rains are starting

April is hot in Costa Rica but ends with fresh, rainy airs. Instead of that March lion start and lamb ending, we’ve got April beginning like a furnace and ending like a cool shower. Sort of. In any case, visit now and you’ll get hot days but you can also expect some cloudy weather and at least some afternoon rains.

Those rains and clouds are good for birding, get out there and watch, especially after the rain stops!

Swifts are in the air

One thing that the rains bring are swifts or, better to say that the rains bring the swifts lower and into view. The aerialists were always up there, just beyond speck visibility, up there riding the highest airs or chasing storms to Panama. Who knows?

What I can say is that with the rain clouds here now, you have a good chance of watching swifts within bino viewing range. Watch for them just before the storms arrive, right at the misty edge. It’s a good way to test your skills and patience trying to identify uncommon White-chinned and Spot-fronted Swifts. Hopefully they’ll call, that makes it easier.

Raptors flying too…

April is also raptor flying time in Costa Rica. In fall, the river of raptors flows south but, in spring, it reverses course and the flow gets a big pulse in April. The birds can fly anywhere (we saw a nice group of Swainson’s on Poas) but the Caribbean lowlands are typically best.

There be Broad-wingeds, Swainson’s, TVs, Mississippi Kites, and a few other birds. As The Urban Birder says, “Look Up”!

Ground-cuckoo may still be showing at San Luis Canopy

A Rufous-vented Ground-Cuckoo has been showing at an ant swarm near the San Luis Canopy for some weeks now. Since they are still seeing it, apparently, local guides keep track of ant swarms and can bring you to the bird!

Although that could change at any time, one of the local guides told me that they are still seeing it as of yesterday. To see it, inquire at the San Luis Canopy (opens at 8) and expect to pay $20 per person.

Big morning of birding on the Pacific coast- 226 species by 10 a.m.

On another nice and birdy note, my partner Maryllen and I started a Big Day a few days ago. Notice I only mention “started” meaning that we ended up aborting it pretty early. That was a shame but it had to be done; all the fast car chargers had stopped working overnight (and thus stranding several drivers) and since having them available was essential to the electric car Big Day plan, we had to abort the mission.

Nevertheless, we still had an exciting, successful morning of birding and the attempt helped me realize how I could tweak it to maybe break a record. Starting at midnight at Punta Morales and birding until 10 a.m. around Carara and Tarcoles, we identified 226 species. Yes, that many and mostly in the same area. That high number emphasizes how incredibly diverse the Carara ecotone is. For myself, it also helped me realize that, given the right factors on the rest of the route, reaching 350 or even 400 species is possible in one day of birding in Costa Rica.

Check out the trip report.

I’ll be writing more about this exciting day and idea perhaps here and elsewhere, stay tuned!

Third Edition of the Garrigues and Dean Field Guide Coming Soon!

It’s official, the third edition of the Birds of Costa Rica: A Field Guide is coming out! It’ll be available in October and, based on what I’ve seen will be yet another boon for birding in Costa Rica. The authors and publisher redid many illustrations, added various behavioral and habitat illustrations, and have included all species on the Costa Rica list.

If you are headed to Costa Rica after September, you’ll want to definitely get this book for the trip.

The Costa Rica Birds Field Guide app– customizable, updated with more bird finding tips, shows 1020 plus species.

If you’d also like to have a birding app to boost your birding experience in Costa Rica (and have an Apple device), this is the one to get. I admit I work on this app but that’s also why I know why it’s such a helpful tool before, during, and after a birding trip or tour to Costa Rica.

For the recent update, I went through every one of the 1020 plus species to refine their descriptions, habitat information, and tips for seeing them. I also included more birds, images and a vocalization or two. Why more birds? Since you can fit a heck of a lot in a digital format, I figured it would also be worth including species that could occur in Costa Rica. Those would be birds like Altamira Oriole, Yellowish Pipit, some Siberian vagrants, and various pelagic species.

Sure, a birder can download the Merlin pack for free but with this app, you can make target lists, mark birds seen and heard, take notes, look at species while listening to their vocalizations, and have more accurate, updated, locally written information and tips (along with other perks).

I could say more but I’ll leave the local birding news at that for now. If you’re headed to Costa Rica soon, I hope you enjoy your trip!

To support this blog and learn about 100s of birding sites in Costa Rica, ID tips, and more, please consider purchasing my 900 plus page ebook, “How to See, Find, and Identify Birds in Costa Rica”. I hope to see you here!

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A Productive Morning of Birding at Villa San Ignacio

cabani's ground-sparrow

Costa Rica can be a crowded place, especially in the Central Valley. While San Jose is technically only in one part of the valley, that’s how most visitors refer to this ever popular region. It’s not the only city or town in the Central Valley but no one can blame them for calling all of the urban sprawl and winding streets and small stores and quaint churches with shaded parks “San Jose”.

From a bit east of San Jose on west to the edge of Alajuela (that’s the actual name of the city where the airport is), it all seems to blend together. At one point in time, it certainly didn’t but we could say the same about Los Angeles, Dallas, Bangkok, and so many other modern mega-cities.

The Greater Metropolitan Area or (GAM as it is locally referred to) hosts a fair portion of Costa Rica’s 5 million people population and yet, birds are there too. Not as many as are even marginally wilder areas but in the GAM’s parks and riparian zones, urban birds persist. There are Crimson-fronted Parakeets roosting on and screeching from buildings, Blue-gray Tanagers and Great Kiskadees calling from parks and other birds too, more than you think.

However, species numbers really jump when you finally reach a good amount of green space, especially when you can bird in fair bits of remnant forest and other habitats. You’ll find those habitats in Estes Park as well as other Costa Rica birding sites shortly after leaving the edge of the main urbanized front. One such bit of green space is at Villa San Ignacio, a small hotel situated at the edge of the urban perimeter, just northwest of Alajuela.

Villa San Ignacio is a bastion for birds because although the hotel does have some landscaped grounds, it’s done in a manner that preserves and showcases biodiversity. Unlike so many other places, this hotel also hosts several large and mature trees, especially massive figs that provide critical food for a wide variety of species.

You can also check out short and easy trails in regenerating forest and watch the skies for flyover raptors, swifts, and other birds. Some road noise reminds you that you’re still in an urban area but the wealth of birds seems to convince you otherwise or, at least show what mature trees and habitat preservation does for birds, butterflies, and more.

On Monday, I spent most of a morning at Villa San Ignacio and the birding was good as always. As per usual, it was also unpredictable with some birds appearing and others staying hidden or being no-shows. That’s normal for tropical birding, at least in Costa Rica. It’s why it’s worth staying longer and birding the same rich areas more than once, why it’s worth always watching and keeping an eye out for the unexpected.

These are some of the highlights and happenings from that morning.

Cabanis’s Ground-Sparrow

Right off the bat, we hit the local jackpot with this rare and threatened species. Shortly after 6, while walking up the road towards the upper rooms, I was happily surprised to hear the high pitched tick of this special bird.

Even better, the pair and what looked like a juvenile foraged right in the open. They didn’t stray far from the hedgerow at the edge of a green, metal fence but you can’t ask much more from these major skulkers. As is typical for this special towhee, you’ve got to see it early and get onto it quick. It won’t take long for them to get into cover and be essentially invisible for most of the day.

Short-tailed Hawks and other Raptors

Around 9, as the cicadas pumped up the volume and heat waves swirled into the tropical skies, raptors did their morning dance. Black Vultures circled and gained height, a couple of migrant or wintering Broad-winged Hawks followed suit and were followed by high flying views of Gray and Short-tailed Hawks.

No Zone-tailed that day but later on, we also had both caracaras and additional Gray Hawks. It’s worth it to keep watching above, to keep looking up (as the Urban Birder David Lindo reminds us). Other days I’ve also seen migrating Swallow-tailed Kite and Swainson’s Hawk, Peregrine Falcon, and even Double-toothed Kite.

Long-tailed Manakin and other forest birds

Down in the forest, fewer birds showed than I had hoped but we still heard and saw some things. One or two Long-tailed Manakins called, “Toledo” while White-eared Ground-Sparrows gave cascading calls from the undergrowth and Rufous and white and Rufous-breasted Wrens dueted from the vines.

Those birds stayed hidden but we did manage to see Common Squirrel Cuckoo, Olive Sparrow, saltators, Cabanis’s Wren, Barred Antshrike, Gray-headed Chachalaca, and some other species.

Indigo Buntings

One of those species,, one of those surprises, was the Indigo Bunting. Not just one either but several! An uncommon bird in Costa Rica, it was fun to see fully plumaged deep blue males, molting patchy blue males, and at least one plain sparrowish female.

We probably had 10 in total, they were either migrating through or grouping together and getting ready to migrate. One also sang its prolonged, jumbly song that we hear at this time of year in Costa Rica. I included this vocalization on the recently updated Costa Rica Birds – Field Guide app but, in checking it, I realized that I also need to include the bunting’s commonly heard call notes. I’ll probably get to that in May but hopefully sooner (I recently included better habitat information, more birding tips, and images).

Speaking of buntings, on that morning at Villa San Ignacio, I was reminded that Painted Buntings can make a call that sounds a lot like the one-noted call of a Mourning Warbler (at least to my ears). While pishing by a hedgerow, a bird responded and I figured it would be a Mourning. Much to my surprise, I found myself focusing on a leafy green female Painted Bunting! It was a good reminder to brush up on their calls.

Plain-capped Starthroat and 69 other bird species

How many bird species can you see in a day at Villa San Ignacio? I figure that varies but I can say that 70 in a morning is possible. That’s what we had on Monday and that was also lacking several regular species! Some of the other nice ones were Plain-capped Starthroat on the walk up to the upper rooms, close Cinnamon Hummingbird, Scrub and Yellow-throated Euphonias, and a bunch of other birds, many feasting on the fruiting figs.

Check out the bird list!

That constant birding activity is why I always look forward to birding back at Villa San Ignacio. Along with the good service, friendly vibe, and beautiful habitat, it’s a hard blend to beat.

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Costa Rica Birding News- The Poas Area

Headed to Costa Rica? Wonder where to go birding in Costa Rica? You are the fortunate one. The cold fronts seem to have dissipated and they’ve taken their saturating weather with them. I don’t mean to speak ill of the rains, the complex tropical habitats in Costa Rica depend on their abundance and all the humidity they bring. However, constant wind and rain can become a bit too abundant, especially when the overexcited elements raise rivers and tease bits of mountains to race downslope and block roads.

For the moment, happily, those challenges seem to be taking a break. As a bonus, both lanes are also open on the Tarcoles Bridge! You could still run into traffic but shouldn’t have to deal with 3 hour traffic jams. You’ll probably still have to deal with some roadwork traffic between Tarcoles and Jaco but, it won’t measure up to the infamous bridge traffic of early March, 2026!

Better weather and less traffic jams (in some places) aren’t the only things to smile about. We’re birding up in here and the avian action is getting fierce! Birds seem to be tuning up in anticipation of the breeding season, I’ve seen several species with nesting material, and at least some areas seem to have a healthy variety of fruiting and flowering trees.

That of course translates to insect and bird food; exactly what we want. Much of what I’m saying stems from recent birding in the Poas area, check it out:

Resplendent Quetzal Activity

As is per usual at this time of year, quetzals are getting feisty. Actually, they’ve been feisty for a month or more but now, as they nest, they may call a bit more. At least that’s how it seems to me. In the Poas area (meaning anywhere from Poas to Varablanca and on down to Virgen del Socorro), I’ve heard quetzals singing and seen males give display flights. Not a huge number but, certainly more than other days.

Also, I’ve noticed at least a few trees covered in the small “wild avocados” that quetzals feed on (along with Black Guans and other fun birdies). There’s one within good viewing distance of a road and I’m guessing that one will be ripe for quetzal banquets in a week (and they might already be feeding from it!).

Lovely Cotinga Still Occurs in Virgen del Socorro

Whoah! Yep. Yes, Virgen del Socorro (and Cinchona) are in range for this uber stunning, rare bird but, they are rarely seen in that area. I figure the paucity of cotinga sightings from this classic birding site are related to the bird’s quiet nature, lack of spots to scan the forest canopy, and the species being genuinely scarce in Costa Rica.

It’s one of those birds that I figure could show up but, at the same time, wonder how many are still around, or, if they only occur far off on the other side of the canyon. After this past Friday, I’m pleased to say they can still show in the Virgen del Socorro area. We were checking the road between Socorro and Cinchona when I noticed the tell tale rustling of foliage that hints at bird activity. After a closer look, we realized that several birds were indeed feeding on berries; birds like Pale-vented Thrushes, tityras, elaenias, and others (although less tanagers than I had expected).

Given the quantity of fruit, I was also surprised to not see any toucans or guans. Would those diehard fruit lovers visit the natural table another time? Were they in another part of the forest? There did seem to be a lot of fruiting trees around. No matter how surprised I may have been by toucan absence, that didn’t come close to matching my smiling surprise at seeing a male Lovely Cotinga!

Amazingly, despite intently watching the fruiting trees, we wouldn’t have even seen it if I hadn’t decided to walk 20 feet up the road to check some other trees. As we walked underneath what was probably a fruiting fig, there was a big flash of turquoise, way too much for a male Scarlet-thighed Dacnis, and I immediately realized what was going down! No distant scope views that day. More like point blank, in your face looks at a shining, living turquoise sculpture with amethyst highlights.

After a couple minutes, the royal rare denizen of Socorro flew across the road and down into the canyon. You can bet I’m going to find some good overlooks for scoping the treetops. There be cotingas out there.

Cinchona Hummingbird Cafe- a Lot more Elbow Room

Over at the Cinchona hummingbird cafe, they have finished their remodeling. Alas, the rustic look is gone but so is the floor that sometimes shook with people’s footsteps. It has been replaced with a rock solid concrete base under a high roof. There’s a lot more elbow room and the place did need it but, it remains to be seen how that may affect the birds.

There’s a bit less habitat but, during a couple brief visits, the birding seemed alright. The usual suspects were still coming to the fruit feeder and nearby trees hosted some other species. Hummingbirds were not in abundance but, sadly, it’s been like that at Cinchona for at least a few months now. Wait long enough and maybe some will pop in for a visit but, lately, it’s mostly been the domain of Green-crowned Brilliants and a couple sabrewings.

Hopefully, that will change but I wouldn’t absolutely count on it. Instead, watch for hummingbirds at flowering plants and visit other sites.

Fair Hummingbird Action

This subtitle may seen contradictory to the text above it but yes, there has still been a fair bit of hummingbird action, just not at the Cinchona feeders. Are there more flowering plants in the wild, more hummingbird food available? Could be, I do know I’ve done alright with seeing a fair number of species.

In the Varablanca area, I’ve had good looks at Green-fronted Lancebill, Coppery-headed Emerald, Black-bellied Hummingbird, Green Hermit, Violet Sabrewing, Purple-throated Mountain-gem, Green-crowned Lancebill, and Scintillant Hummingbird.

Coppery-headed Emerald birding Costa Rica

Higher up on Poas, I’ve also had the usuals; Volcano Hummingbird, Lesser Violetear, Talamanca Hummingbird, and Fiery-throated Hummingbird. One spot has also been good for the woodstar and, down in the foothills, I’ve had good looks at Purple-crowned Fairy, Black-crested Coquette, and Violet-headed Hummingbird. I’ve also been hearing Brown Violetear. In other words, the hummingbirds are out there, you just have to know where to look (and have them show up).

Ornate Hawk-Eagles and Other Raptors

The sunny weather has also been good for raptors in the Poas area. Perhaps not so much in the high elevations but the middle elevations and foothills have delivered. I wish I could say Solitary Eagle but no, if that species still occurs in Costa Rica, there are likely very few in very remote areas.

However, I can say that I’ve been seeing several other raptors, especially Ornate Hawk-Eagle. The powerful goshawk on steroids can occur anywhere from Varablanca down to San Miguel, maybe even high up on Poas. Keep that mind when birding the area, even at Cinchona. Once, I saw one soar into view right next to the cafe.

Other raptors have included Barred, Short-tailed, Gray, Roadside, and Broad-winged Hawks along with King Vulture (near San Miguel), Double-toothed Kite, the rufous bellied local version of the Red-tailed Hawk, Swallow-tailed Kites, and the decidedly uncommon Great Black-Hawk.

And that’s not all! Although I have not seen them lately, White Hawk and a few other raptors also live in the general Poas birding area.

I suppose that’s all for now. Let’s just say that the birding has been pretty good up there and since it’s only 45 minutes to an hour drive from the Central Valley, a morning of birding could be well worth your while. Happy birding, I hope to see you here!

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Recent Birding News and Tips from Carara, Costa Rica

Last week, I did some birding around Central America’s biggest ecotone. It’s an area where rainforest meets dry forest meets mangroves and some! It’s such a crossroads of biomes and habitats, I’m not even sure if ecotone is the right term. “Megatone” might be better but “hot birding wonderland” would also work. I’m talking about Carara, the place where the Grand Tarcoles River empties the waters of the Central Valley into the Pacific, where coastal hills capture life giving rains, and where the biodiversity is sort of astonishing.

Given the meeting of so many habitats, the high end species numbers shouldn’t be surprising but, there’s just so much, I can’t help but use superlatives. If you’re headed to the Carara area, get ready for deserved superlative birding. Going birding around there soon? You might find these bits of news and tips helpful.

Tarcoles Bridge Work

Lately, this has been some of the biggest news in Costa Rica. The Tarcoles Bridge, the one where so many thousands of tourists stop to look at crocodiles, is undergoing roadwork. And it’s not pretty. Temporary road closures and changing the two lane bridge to one lane for 24 hours a day on the main and almost only coastal route to Jaco has its consequences.

I was there on the first day of the closures and on the way back from Jaco to Tarcoles, the normally 30 minute drive took four hours.

Yes, you read that right. Four. Complete. Hours. Since then, it’s been similarly bad, sometimes better, sometimes worse. Given that this is also a vital route for commerce, workers, and students, this particular bit of roadwork is throwing a giant wrench into a lot of people’s lives.

With almost no alternatives, if you are headed to and from Jaco or even Manual Antonio, you may be in for a terribly long wait. I suggest trying to see which times are best and probably crossing the bridge at 4 in the morning or so. The current schedule is for the one lane closures to end on March 27th and to happen again from May 4th to May 9th. There will also be some nighttime full closures from March 15 to April 20th. These can happen on any night during those dates from 9 pm to 5 am.

If you plan on visiting Carara National Park, the wait might be a bit less but anything can happen, perhaps more so on weekends. The good thing is that the park is fairly close to the bridge so, if you have to cross back over to the Tarcoles Birding Lodge area, that won’t take as long as driving from Jaco. I suppose another good thing is watching birds while you wait in traffic but, that’s not exactly ideal.

Yellow-billed Cotingas from the Tarcoles Birding Lodge

Now for some good news! While watching from the overlook at the Tarcoles Birding Lodge, I had a quick, distant flyby cotinga one morning and saw two distant males the following morning! This is great news because the Carara population is so dreadfully small, it really could disappear at any time.

Seriously, there might be 5 or fewer birds still occurring in the area. Another positive sign was a recent sighting of a female by an experienced ornithologist (which makes me think he really did see one and not a tityra). What this means for birders visiting the area soon is that you might also see one by scanning for them from the Tarcoles Birding Lodge in the early morning. You’ll see other birds too, maybe even a Gray-headed Kite like the bird pictured at the top of the post (we had one).

You might also get lucky on the Cerro Lodge road, boat tour, or even in the national park but your best bet will be scanning the distant mangroves from the Tarcoles Birding Lodge or maybe Cerro Lodge too or, maybe even another new place…

More Birdy Accommodation in the Area

The new place that could turn up the cotingas as well as lots of other nice birds is a cozy BnB called “Finca Quietud”. This small place just down the Cerro Lodge road is especially suited for couples and single travelers looking for a quiet place with friendly owners, an excellent breakfast, and a nice pool.

It also has an excellent view of a wetland, mangroves, and the sea. I bet the cotingas could be seen from there along with lots of other, more expected species. On a recent visit, one of our highlights was a pair of Spectacled Owls that flew into view before dusk!

Humid Forest Species in Carara

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Regarding Carara National Park and vicinity, it seems like the trend of humid forest species becoming rarer is taking place. Unfortunately, climate change has been causing the forest to become drier bit by bit or, at least changing the amount and timing of rains. In any case, various rainforest species seem to have declined and a few have become downright rare, at least in the accessible part of the park.

You can still see a good variety of birds but many are not as common as they used to be and a few have become really tough. The more challenging ones seem to be species that require the wetter forests, birds like Baird’s Trogon (maybe the hardest hit), Orange-collared Manakin, and Golden-naped Woodpecker among some others.

Carara is still worth birding but, to see some birds, if you aren’t birding further south, you may need to look for them higher up on the Bijagual Road or, at Macaw Lodge. It tends to be wetter in those spots (in a good way for birding) but, even there, Baird’s Trogon has become much less common. To look for those birds, especially at Macaw Lodge, local guide Beto Guido is one of the better guides to go with. He birds there quite a bit and recently, even found a rare Agami Heron at the lodge!

Mangrove birding

One of the other birding bonuses around Carara is looking for mangrove species. In Costa Rica, some of those specialties include the endangered Mangrove Hummingbird, Panama Flycatcher, and Mangrove Vireo among a few others. You might get lucky with those species on a mangrove boat trip but even then, they can be easily missed.

The funny thing about those mangrove birds is that they don’t seem to be very common, even in the mangroves! Usually, mangrove sites near Playa Azul are good for them but, recently, despite giving those sites a very good check, they weren’t.

Mangrove specialties seemed oddly absent there and at another spot near Bajamar. One thing I did notice was that those unbirdy mangroves also seemed drier than usual and lacked standing water. I suspect that has something to do with it because it was the only difference compared to past visits that did readily turn up the mangrove specialties.

Also, on a recent visit to mangroves at Mata de Limon, I did see all the mangrove specialties (and heard a Rufous-necked Wood-Rail too!) and those mangroves had lots of standing water. This was a change from another fairly recent visit where they were drier (and turned up far fewer mangrove birds).

I suppose the lesson here is to lower expectations or check other sites if the mangroves look dry and, maybe take that boat trip after all.

That’s all for now, if you visit the Carara area, I hope you catch the bridge traffic at the right moment and see lots of birds. Be ready for hot weather and bring plenty of hydration (no plastic bottles allowed in the national park). As always, I look forward to getting back to that birdy megatone.

On another note, I recently updated the Costa Rica Birds Field Guide app to match most of the recent eBird taxonomic changes and made some other changes too. I’ll write a post about that this upcoming week!

To learn more about sites mentioned in this post along with 100s of other birding sites and information about birding in Costa Rica, support this blog by purchasing my 900 plus page Costa Rica bird finding ebook, “How to See, Find, and Identify Birds in Costa Rica”. Happy birding, I hope to see you here!

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Recent Highlights from Birding Costa Rica in the Rain

This past week in Costa Rica has been a mix of wind, rain, sun, and AC temperatures. It’s not like that everywhere, depends on where you go but if you’ve been birding in the highlands or Caribbean lowlands, I bet you know what I mean.

It’s been one cold front after another and although I’d be lying if this northern born Niagaran said it was actually, honestly “cold”, I will admit to having worn a fleece jacket while birding. Up on 8,000 foot Poas, I wore two layers, and put on this flannel shirt thing during a boat ride on the Sarapiqui (it’s usually way hotter in that tropical domain!). Yep, cooler than normal and I can only hope that the icy northern push brought us a weird sparrow or two.

No one has found any mega vagrants yet but I’m still hoping for it. Cool weather or not, the birds are still here in Costa Rica. These are some recent highlights.

Sarapiqui boat ride

Once again, taking the Green Ship Sarapiqui boat tour paid off with fantastic looks at a Sunbittern. After spotting the bird trying to skulk behind some river grass, we boated on over, waited, and then watched it stalk the sand. Just like a Gondwana robin, it pulled worm after worm out of the ground!

Walk away views were had and we continued on but the Kagu relative wasn’t finished with us yet. In a moment, it flew upstream, showing its wild, sunburst patterned wings as it glided to a river snag. After sharing the perch with an Anhinga, the Sunbittern glided off again, back into the shadows and out of sight.

We didn’t have a heck of a lot of other birds from the boat that morning but the Sunbittern show made up for it.

Middle American Leaftosser at Cinchona

A leaftosser I saw in the Socorro area some years ago.

Seeing a mud-brown bird with tawny highlights might not seem noteworthy but when you realize how infrequently you see these birds, it can take center stage. Luck was with us when one called and showed right next to the Cinchona birding/restaurant platform/seating area. We had fantastic looks and that was especially good because we didn’t see a whole lot else.

Unfortunately, construction work was being carried out and the associated clanging and spark-flying soldering wasn’t exactly a bird friendly atmosphere. Even so, some birds still came in to the feeder! Also, by now, I would think that they’ve finished the work, I just hope that whatever they are doing doesn’t destroy more habitat.

On a related note, if you are in to hiking up a somewhat slippery road/trail, you could always explore the Old Cinchona area. This is across the street from the main cafe and up a steep driveway. Head up there and walking the old roads can be very birdy. Head to the left and uphill and you could find various uncommon middle elevation birds, maybe even Red-fronted Parrotlet.

Ornate Hawk-Eagle and Bicolored Hawk

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A picture of another Bicolored Hawk in the rain, this one from the Arenal area.

Over in the San Rafael de Varablanca area, on the La Legua road, clear skies produced a calling Ornate Hawk-Eagle. It was a distant one and did not come in to my whistling response (sometimes they do) but adult hawk-eagle a la ornatus it was. This is a good area for this species, especially on sunny days.

It’s also good for other raptors, yesterday morning, we had a juvenile Bicolored Hawk perched in the rain. It was a treat to get prolonged looks at that uncommon bird!

Good Birds at Arenal Observatory Lodge

I haven’t been birding there lately and I bet the weather is rough but, folks have also been seeing some good stuff over that way. Birders have also been treated to a subadult Ornate Hawk-Eagle and some lucky birders even got looks at a ground-cuckoo on the Waterfall Trail!

Yellow-eared Toucanet has also been seen along with lots of other nice birdies.

Rain and more rain

The cold fronts have brought constant rain to the highlands and parts of the Caribbean lowlands. Although not exactly a highlight, rain can have its birding benefits, as long as it doesn’t pour like crazy.

For example, in lightish rain, I think raptors sometimes perch more in the open (that’s not the first time I’ve seen Bicolored Hawk do that), and other birds can forage much lower and closer. Up on Poas and Varablanca, although the birding was shelter and umbrella-worthy, the bird activity was in high gear.

Bright Collared Redstarts flitted close by, Ruddy Treerunners were running up trunks, Costa Rican Warblers flitted, a quetzal called, and there was a mess of Mountain Thrushes.

Collared Redstarts are a birder’s Turkish Delight.

Route 32 has been closed = more traffic on Route 126

Ok, so this isn’t exactly a highlight but it’s still good to know. The main road from San Jose to Guapiles and Limon has been closed for several days and could still be closed in subsequent days. Hopefully not but it’s best to be aware of that possibility.

You can still drive on 126 and go past Cinchona but you won’t be the only vehicle on the road. You could run into traffic jams, especially by the Peace Waterfall. Hopefully, the main route will open back up and stay that way but, there could easily still be issues for the next few days.

There’s always lots more to say about a lot more birds but these are the ones that come to mind at the moment. On a bright note, it looks like we probably won’t have any more strong cold fronts (fingers crossed), so that should help with getting around and seeing some sunshine, at least on the Caribbean slope.

To learn more about the sites mentioned above and hundreds of other birding spots in Costa Rica, support this blog by purchasing my 900 plus page ebook, “How to See, Find, and Identify Birds in Costa Rica”. Happy birding, I hope to see you here!

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Cold Front Birding in Costa Rica

Costa Rica is decidedly tropical. Ain’t no winter going on here and yet, recently, ice and snow touched the high parts of this birdy nation. Not exactly flurries, no playing snow king of the mountain in plowed parking lots or scraping windshields but, there was some freezing weather in certain parts places. Those would be uplifted and volcanic grown spots like 12,000 foot Chirripo Mountain and 11,000 foot Irazu Volcano.

Yeah, that infamous polar vortex up north stretched its icy fingers into Central America and I won’t be shaking its subzero hand. I’ll take a pass on birding those cold places for the moment, will at least wait until Irazu gets back to its 50 and 60 degree temps before I do any Unspotted Saw-whet Owl searching.

That’s way up in the highest parts of Costa Rica but what about the rest of the country? Can you still go birding? Of course you can! The birds aren’t going anywhere, here’s what else this and similar cold fronts bring and what to expect for birding.

Dry season? Umm…not exactly

Cold fronts like these long freezing fingers are a reminder that the “dry season” refers to the Pacific slope. In the mountains and on the other side of the country, the part where rivers flow to the Caribbean, you’ll need your umbrella. You might also need a poncho and rubber boots and a whole lot of dessicant packets for your optics because, on the Caribbean side, a cold front is a wet front.

Yes, the temps drop a bit and that is some nice respite from heat and humidity but, it’ll rain, and probably a lot. Don’t expect predictable rain either, more like annoying, light misting rain that morphs into serious heavy downpouts before eventually going back to light rain again and so on.

We’re talking wet birding but, we’re not talking no birding. Find shelter and watch from there, keep watching and waiting for the rain to slow or stop. When that happens, bird activity will jump, be ready for a wealth of avian moves.

At least wet weather sometimes encourages Sunbitterns to forage in the open!

Road closures

One unwanted side effect of heavy rains are road closures. They usually happen in mountainous areas and might not occur at all but you’d be wise to keep checking Waze. That especially goes for any travel on Route 32. The heavy rains and steep slopes on this important highway make it the road mostly likely to be closed, at least during serious cold fronts.

Other roads can close too, and some minor ones might even flood. Just be aware of where you are going, alternate routes, and not driving through flooded areas and you’ll be fine.

On a related note, the main road to Poas seems to be closed. A bridge is being replaced and might not be ready for another month or two. Hopefully, there will be a temporary bridge in place but I’m not sure of the current situation.

Windy weather

The other side effect of a cold front in Costa Rica is the wind. I’m happy to say that the wind has calmed down for the moment, hopefully it will still stay that way. When the cold front hits, it throws a constant blast of windy weather into the Central Valley and Guanacaste.

The birding becomes very challenging because the birds don’t want to deal with that wind any more than we do. To see them, you’ll have to find sheltered spots and wait for the wind to die down.

Odd birds? Any country firsts?

One exciting possibility of a cold front is it bringing some poor, lost birds to the playing field. Maybe, maybe not but given the unusual and severe push of cold weather from the north, I think it’s worth looking for them.

I would guess that the cold front might bring some ducks, gulls, or other waterbirds to Costa Rica. Other species to watch for are sparrows and other songbirds that typically winter further north. Those and wanderers like waxwings.

It will be interesting to see what local birders find these days! I’ll be looking too. If you happen to see some crazy sparrow or other odd looking bird, please eBird or Facebook it or do whatever it takes to get the word out.

Altitudinal migration

Male White-ruffed Manakin.

Most of all, this is how cold fronts affect birds in Costa Rica. Various species, especially frugivores, tend to migrate to lower elevations. Don’t be surprised if you see typical middle elevation birds like Silver-throated Tanagers way down in the lowlands at La Selva. There might also be White-ruffed Manakins, Black-faced Solitaires, and Black-thighed Grosbeaks.

Other birds are possible too, even things like Yellow-eared Toucanet or rare Lovely Cotingas. Keep those birds in mind when birding foothill and lowland sites right now!

Although I don’t look forward to birding in any rain, I am psyched about birding in lower elevations and looking for rarities. This cold front has got to have several birds on the move!

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A Day of Birding near Carara, Costa Rica- Updates and Tips

Going birding around Carara National Park, Costa Rica? If so, good choice, a birder can’t go wrong with such a mega meeting of biodiversity. Too much for one day but you can still try, the constant new bunch of birds can keep you going, keep you seeing more birds until you can’t see no more. Of course you don’t have to throw all your birding eggs into a one day basket; not an ideal choice for any area with more than 100 possibilities and far from the best option for birding areas with species lists that run into the hundreds.

However, if you only have one full day to work with or, one day and morning, what are you gonna do? Throw up those birding hands and sip creative cocktails? Heck no, if you got the energy, what you do is bird as much as you can and then celebrate with post birding cold beers or cocktails or wild and crazy kombucha. Don’t do yourself in, pace yourself but, you might as well keep on birding, at least in places where hundreds of lifers are waiting.

Carara National Park and surroundings is one such “place”. This major ecotone blends so many bird rich habitats, you’d be much better off patiently birding the zone for 3 or 4 days. One day is a lot, one day can be a major challenge, especially if you go for humid forest birds in the morning and dry forest birds in the afternoon.

I did that yesterday with a few guys from Toledo. The weather cooperated, I forgot to put on sunblock and it was a marathon day of birding in Costa Rica but it all worked out. After birding two main routes from 6:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., we finished with more than 150 species. Yeah, some of those were heard onlys but lots more were seen including such niceties as King Vulture, Black Hawk-Eagle, Crane Hawk, Double-striped Thick-Knee, Mangrove Cuckoo, Velvety Manakin, Riverside Wren, Golden-naped Woodpecker, etc., etc.

It’s pretty birdy up in the Carara area, if you plan on checking it out, aside from suggesting working in at least 3 days for the area, here’s some other updates and tips.

Road Work on the Tarcoles Bridge

Roadwork on the famous “Crocodile Bridge” continues and won’t end at least until May. It is open but the new speed bumps can cause some traffic jams both ways and, traffic jams will be worse during one lane closures. These will take place as so:

-Feb. 23 to March 27

-May 4 to May 9

-Closed at night from 9 PM to 5 AM on yet to be determined dates from March 15 to April 20.

During roadwork, crocodile viewing is also prohibited from the bridge but, I’m not sure how much that will be enforced. However, if you still want to see crocs, don’t frown yet! There are plenty of boat trips for close looks and a brand new thingee has also just opened at the bridge. It’s called the Croc Skywalk and looks like it will eventually offer crocodile viewing along with other tourist activities. As I drove past, I saw a whole bunch of buses and people there yesterday. I look forward to checking it from a birding perspective and including it in the next update for my Costa Rica birding site guide.

Start the Bijagual Road Back as Far as You Can Go (use 4 wheel drive)

Carara isn’t just the national park. There’s also several other birding options including the Bijagual Road. This great birdy route starts near the coast and then makes its way into the hills adjacent to and in back of the national park. Follow Route 320 long enough to Route 319 and you’ll even access the very little birded but excellent eastern part of Carara. You’ll need a four wheel drive and that might not be good enough for the furthest stretches of route 319 but it will be exciting!

At the least, if you do spend some time on this road, I suggest driving back on it pre-dawn so you can start the birding near El Sur. This is a bit past the turn off to Macaw Lodge and gets you way back into the wild and least accessed part of Carara. As I was saying, past El Sur, road conditions might be impossible for a 4 wheel drive but it will still be worth starting way back in there. You can look for various owls and other nocturnal birds en route and will be in the right place at dawn.

Try to bird the road past El Sur but, if not, it would still be worth checking roadside forest near the turn off for Macaw Lodge and on other parts of the road. The combination of mature rainforest, second growth, canopy views, and some open fields is a good recipe for a very birdy, high total morning.

It’s the best area around Carara for Black Hawk-Eagle (although we got one soaring high over the Pura Vida gardens), has birds not generally found in the park like Yellow-crowned Tyrannulet, Pale-breasted Spinetail, Thick-billed Euphonia, and even occasional Streaked Saltator and White-lined Tanager. Other weird stuff could also occur, maybe even Tiny Hawk and there should be chances at the rare Turquoise Cotinga.

You’ll still need four wheel drive to get to the Macaw Lodge area and El Sur but it will be worth it.

Hummingbirds?

We had a good, long day with lots of birds but, I can’t help but mention one downside and it’s a reoccurring one; the lack of hummingbirds. Yes, they are still out there but not nearly in the numbers they used to be and it is disturbing to say the least. And no, it’s not just a lack of flowers or that they are all somewhere else. There are fewer hummingbirds overall. For example, some ten years ago or even less, any trip to Carara National Park or nearby would easily result in a dozen species (and several of each species). Yesterday, in humid forest, I only had Rufous-taileds and maybe a couple other species on the Bijagual Road.

Sadly, this appears to be the new normal for humid forest habitats in several parts of Costa Rica and must be a consequence of climate change having disrupted flowering and insect productivity. So far, those hummingbirds are still out there and can be found, but it’s not the easy, expected task it used to be. Imagine suddenly seeing one tenth of the hummingbirds you used to at feeders and flowering gardens and you’ll get the picture.

Eyes on the Sky for Raptors

When birding anywhere around Carara, it’s worth to keep checking the sky. Several raptors occur in the area and the Bijagual/Macaw Lodge area is an excellent area to watch for them. The hilly topography makes it possible to scope the canopy for perched raptors and there’s plenty of sky to scan for birds in flight.

On our morning visit, we didn’t have too many raptors but, I bet more dedicated raptor viewing would turn up more. On the Bijagual Road, we had:

-A couple of Broad-winged Hawks

-One calling Gray Hawk

-One or two Roadsides

-Both caracaras

-Calling Laughing Falcon

-Black Hawk-Eagle

-Double-toothed Kite

-King Vulture and the other two vultures

In dry forest on the Guacimo Road, we also had excellent views of a Crane Hawk and a Common Black Hawk.

Bajamar Mangroves were Frighteningly Dry

While birding the Guacimo Road, I was eager to get back to the mangroves at Bajamar. On past visits, whistling like a pygmy-0wl was an easy way to bring in mangrove specialties like Panama Flycatcher and Mangrove Hummingbird and with various other species.

Not this time. I was surprised to see that hardly any mangrove birds responded. I also noticed that the mangrove forest floor was uncharacteristically dry. It should have been muddy and buggy but, instead, it looked like the water hadn’t reached there for a while. Nearby lagoons had water but nothing seemed to be reaching the mangroves, I can’t help but wonder if that explained those bird’s absence.

With that in mind, you’ll need to get in your mangrove birding at other spots (like Tarcoles or elsewhere).

As always, after coming back from birding such high biodiversity sites in Costa Rica, I can’t wait to go back. I go home with all sorts of questions and the only means of answering them is going right back there and birding again. How many owls are out there? Potoos? Wintering nightjars? Cotingas and other uncommon species? No matter how often you go birding in Costa Rica, there’s always lots more to see. I hope you get the chance to experience it.

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A Reminder to see These Birds in Costa Rica

Who doesn't want to see a Snowcap?

Going birding in Costa Rica? I know, like you need a reminder to see birds! You’re gonna be looking for them, you’re gonna be seeing them, and you’ll be celebrating a fine cornucopia of lifers, photos, and priceless experiences. However, this being the high season, I figured it might be useful to mention a certain set of species, a group of avian taxa worth your while.

Yes, all birds are worth your while, all birds merit connection and you watch whatever floats your personal birding boat but, you might not be so aware of the importance of the birds I’m going to cover. If so, great! If not, check this out:

Streak-chested Antpitta on the Caribbean slope

If you see a Streak-chested Antpitta in Costa Rica, there’s a good chance it’s going to be on the Pacific slope, probably at Carara. That’s great, I hope you see one or more and I wouldn’t wish you otherwise. However, if you can, it’s also worth laying eyes on Streak-chested Antpitta from the other side of the mountains.

You see, that bird is not exactly the same as the ones from Carara or Panama or further south. It’s also just enough not exactly the same to be considered a separate species. Nope, no official study yet but, based on the same number of differences used to separate related species of antpittas, those Caribbean slope birds should be given species status too.

I’m pretty sure the Birds of Costa Rica by Dyer and Howell mention this along with several other likely splits. They don’t mention exactly where to see it but that’s not really the scope of a field guide anyways. It needs large areas of mature rainforest and one of the best sites is Quebrada Gonzalez. Although I haven’t had as many there as I used to, it still occurs.

Sharpbill

Like the antpitta mentioned above, this species also has disjunct populations in need of detailed studies. They don’t live near each other, sound different, and look different so, there might be 3 or 4 species involved.

If you saw one of those more common and easy ones in Brazil, I’m sorry but it’s probably not the same species. If splits eventually happen, the subspecies in Costa Rica and Panama will very likely be elevated to species status (and I’n guessing probably subsequently red-listed as Vulnerable).

Watch for this special bird in mixed flocks and fruiting trees in foothills and middle elevations, especially at Skytrek, the San Gerardo Station at Monteverde, and Tapanti.

Elegant Trogon

It’s worth seeing this bird because those Arizona and Mexican trogons were split from it. Yep, if you saw one from Cave Creek or wherever, that is currently known as a Coppery-tailed Trogon.

To see Elegant Trogons in Costa Rica, watch for them in dry forest on the Nicoya Peninsula and in Guanacaste. Rincon de la Vieja is a good spot as is Santa Rosa National Park.

Paint-billed Crake

I mention this cool looking little gallinulish bird because it seems to be more common in Costa Rica than previously believed. Nope, not exactly common and it moves around but, you go to the right place and do the work, you have a fair chance of seeing one.

Try wet rice fields just about anywhere but especially in the Ciudad Neily area. They can also occur in dense vegetation along ditches and other odd wet spots.

Ruddy Pigeon

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This one’s a bit debatable but, I think it’s still worth mentioning. Although the Ruddy Pigeon has an official big range in South America, most of those birds live in the steamy lowlands. So what are they doing in cloud forests and high elevations in Costa Rica and Panama?

Exactly, how come “our Ruddys” live so high and cold when the other ones aren’t? It might because they aren’t quite the same species. Yeah, they sound similar but then again, not exactly and, vocalizations aren’t everything so…even if you have seen them in the Amazon, it would be good to see this bird in Costa Rica too.

Volcano Hummingbirds on Poas and Irazu

If you do any high elevation birding, there’s a fair chance you’ll be living the bino/camera life on Cerro de la Muerte (The good old “Mountain of Death”). You’ll see Volcano Hummingbirds but, what you won’t see are Volcano Hummingbirds with pinkish or rose gorgets. That’s cause those little jammies live on other high mountains; one on the Irazu-Turrialba massif and the other one on Poas and Barva Volcanos.

They are still considered the same species but, it wouldn’t be surprising if more detailed studies split them into separate species. Fortunately, they are pretty easy to see. Watch any high elevation vegetation on Irazu and Poas and you should see both. Watch for large bugs that are actually tiny hummingbirds. Oh yeah, and make sure you watch for them above 2,200 meters to rule out the similar Scintillant Hummingbird (more or less).

Ochre-breasted Antpitta

Have you seen Shakira and those other dancing Ochre-breasted Antpittas in Ecuador or Colombia? I hope so but I also urge you to see the one that lives in Costa Rica. Yeah, it’s still the same species but, yet again, more detailed studies could easily split it.

I mean, it looks a bit different, sounds slightly different, and has quite the disjunction range so, it could be split. Unfortunately, it is not an easy bird to see in Costa Rica. Try quality middle elevation forests such as El Copal, Hotel Quelitales, and Tapanti.

Azure-hooded Jay and Slaty-backed Nightingale-Thrush

You’ll want to see these beautiful cloud forest birds anyways but, it’s also good to know that the ones in Costa Rica and Panama are waiting to be split from birds in other parts of their range.

The jay isn’t easy or common but, if you watch for it high quality cloud forest, you might see them. The nightingale-thrush is much easier in middle elevations, if skulky.

Ashy-throated Chlorospingus

This is an uncommon and cool bird to see, even if it’s not as brightly colored as the Emerald Tanagers it often flocks with. It might be a future split or, might not be but, since it only lives in quality habitat, looking for it is birding in the best of places. Nope, not the easiest of birding but, foothill rainforest with chances at uncommon species like Yellow-eared Toucanet and so on and so on.

There’s lots to see in Costa Rica and you don’t need to see these species but, if you want to see some likely splits, these are some good ones to go after. There’s also taking closer looks at Nutting’s Flycatchers to see if the very cryptic Salvadoran Flycatcher also occurs but I can’t blame you for leaving that ponderous task to local birders or another trip.

No matter what birds you look at or how you go birding, I hope to see you here!

To learn more about sites mentioned in this post and how to find these and more than 900 other birds in Costa Rica, consider supporting this blog by purchasing my 900 plus page Costa Rica bird finding guide, “How to See, Find, and Identify Birds in Costa Rica”.